Red Doors

I really appreciated the slow, deliberate, and organic way this movie unfolds. The film is nearly plot less in the best way possible; it is a movie about people simply existing within their world, and writer/director Georgia Lee wisely eschews the temptation to up the ante or artificially increase the dramatic conflict beyond what is absolutely necessary. There are no villains here, just people trying to exist and navigate their way through their relationships with one another.

Everyone in this film -- from the three sisters (Jacqueline Kim, Elaine Kao, and Kathy Shao-Lin Lee) to the depressed father (Tzi Ma) to even the high school prankster (Sebastian Stan) and the overbearing mother (Freda Foh Shen) -- are fully fleshed out characters who transcend their respective "types" (aloof father, overbearing mother, responsible older sister, etc.) Only Sam Wong's distracted fiancé (Jayce Bartok) comes close to caricature, but his quiet interactions with Sam are always believable and never forced. The script is delicately and subtly written, and Lee manages to find a gentle humor in even the more potentially dark situations.

It's nice to see such a quiet and subtly realized movie today, when even smaller character dramas have a tendency to resort to melodrama or artificially "quirky" characters to make their impact. This film definitely feels like Ang Lee at his "Ice Storm" and "Brokeback Mountain" best, but it has a lightness of touch that Lee himself hasn't had since "The Wedding Banquet" over a decade ago.

This is both a film and a filmmaker that deserve to be discovered.

I watched this film tonight with a packed house at Pt. Washington library. One of the actresses and the assistant director were there to answer questions after the movie. People kept coming into the theater room after the movie had been running for a half-hour or more, and the room was filled with not just the usual in-town audience but many friends of the film who had traveled 20 or 30 miles to be able to see the film screened.

I think every father has problems adjusting to how their daughter(s) lives change as they grow up. My own father's favorite picture of me was taken in my freshman year of high school when I still wore glasses(!) and hadn't yet changed into the young woman that disagreed with many of his plans for her.

I was very pleased by the character development of the sisters and the father, they found ways to make changes in their lives even when the changes were difficult.

I liked the film very much, and most of the audience did too! Congratulations to Georgia Lee and the cast and crew for this great family film!

after first seeing the interview with the director and cast etc., i was hopeful that this would be a good film. NOT..... It is just so lame. Characters are not well developed, plot developments are soooo predictable. not one of the three sisters or their parents- become real people for the viewer. I think the screenwriter just tried to cram too many story lines in and could not decide where to focus. The father's story had promise.His scenes provide some entertaining and fun quirkiness; but he was left half formed, as was everyone else. I really cannot imagine WHAT the director et al. thought they were bringing new to the world . Maybe this was their run-through and their next films will be worth watching.For a much more interesting, entertaining film about Chinese American women/family, see the very worthwhile Saving Face.

An excellent examination of life from several unique points of view that have not been given this type of treatment before. One can tell if a film is relevant when everyone who sees it takes aways something different from what was apparent to them on the screen whether it be humorous or dramatic. The appreciation of this film will only be tempered by your own experiences. Watch this film more than once and watch the layers unfold. Nothing on the screen is superfluous. One of the most satisfying films I've seen this year.

One of my favorite scenes was when the white guy/boyfriend (which would be me in the same situation)is invited to dinner and the younger sister puts something in his bowl that startles him. The moment is very brief. I thought it was hysterical, from my point of view. However, my wife who is Chinese didn't even notice the moment until we discussed the movie later in the evening. She could only notice the decor, which she though was funnier. Both scenes had the same level of truth. This is why the film is a remarkable achievement.

The story of a Chinese-American family experiencing transition. The father retires, the three daughters make changes in their lives, and the entire family begins to discover their true selves and what truly matters - family and love.

Some of the descriptions call this family bizarrely dysfunctional - but really there is nothing outlandish or extremely unusual going on. Just people finding their way.

The dinner scenes made me wish I was there - so much yummy food prepared lovingly by a caring mother. People from large families that eat together in a traditional way might take it for granted. But those of us whose families never sat and ate together, long for that kind of togetherness (and home-cooked food).