Saving Face is a 2004 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Alice Wu, in her feature-length debut. The film focuses on Wilhelmina, a young Chinese American surgeon; her unwed, pregnant mother; and her dancer girlfriend. It was the first Hollywood movie that centered on Chinese Americans since The Joy Luck Club (1993). The name itself is a reference to the pan-East Asian social concept of face. Saving Face premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2004 and was released by Sony Pictures Classics on May 27, 2005 in the United States and received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Plot Dr. Wilhelmina "Wil" Pang is a successful young American surgeon living in New York City. Wil is a lesbian but is closeted to her mother Hwei-Lan and her mother's friends. Wil is forced by her mother to come to a gathering at the restaurant Planet China with family friends where her mother has plans to set her up with a son of a friend, but Wil is drawn to Vivian, the daughter of one of the Chinese mothers who recently got a divorce. They run into each other at the hospital where Wil works, only to discover that Vivian's father is Wil's boss, Dr. Shing. Vivian and her father have a tense relationship since Vivian is currently pursuing her love of modern dance instead of the more respectable ballet. Wil comes home to discover her mother has been kicked out by her grandfather for being pregnant out of wedlock, bringing shame to the family. Wil asks for the identity of the father, but Hwei-Lan refuses to answer. From then on, Hwei-Lan lives with Wil. Vivian invites Wil to one of her dance shows and after the show, the two hang out. Vivian reveals the fact that they had met once before when they were children; Vivian kissed Wil on the nose after Wil rescued her from bullies; Wil ran away afterward. Vivian and Wil go to Vivian's apartment and the two kiss. The couple goes on several dates, but Wil is afraid of kissing Vivian in public. At Vivian's request, Wil presents Vivian to her mother as a friend so that they can meet and the three share an awkward dinner. It is revealed later that her mother knows of her homosexuality, but is in denial. Set up by Wil, Hwei-Lan goes on several dates to find a man to be a father to her unborn child, but remains unattached. She debates on whether to accept the affections of Cho, a man who has loved her for 15 years and is willing to parent her child. Vivian reveals to Wil that she was accepted into a prestigious ballet program in Paris and is considering the offer. Wil congratulates Vivian and gives her encouragement to accept the offer. While Vivian still debates on the offer, Vivian's father speaks to Wil and presses her to convince Vivian to accept the offer. Wil withdraws from Vivian, and Vivian accepts the job in Paris. After Wil’s grandmother passes away unexpectedly, Hwei-Lan accepts Cho's marriage proposal. At the wedding, Wil interrupts with a love note from the father of the child saying how much he loves her and wants to marry her despite their age gap. Wil points out the elderly pharmacist, Old Yu, as the man she loves. Old Yu protests, and Little Yu, his son, stands up and announces that he is the one. Wil and her mother run out of the wedding and onto a bus, laughing. After an emotional talk with her mother, Wil rushes to the airport to catch Vivian. Wil apologizes, but Vivian challenges Wil to kiss her to prove her sincerity. Unable to publicly display her love out of fear, Wil is left at the terminal as Vivian leaves for Paris. Three months later, Wil goes to another party at Planet China, where Hwei-Lan and Little Yu are now a couple. Wil sees Vivian, who has come to see her mother. Wil approaches Vivian and asks her to dance. They dance and kiss. Hwei-Lan and Vivian's mother smile at each other while giving a thumbs up. Some people leave in disgust, but Wil and Vivian ignore them, while everyone else joins in to dance. In between credits, Hwei-Lan has Wil and Vivian (now engaged), family and friends over at her apartment for a function. Hwei-Lan asks Wil about having babies, to which she reacts with a spit take.
Cast
Production
Origins Alice Wu, who directed the movie, wrote the script several years earlier while working as a program manager at Cinemania and Music Central, Microsoft's CD-ROM entertainment department. She originally started writing a novel inspired by her experience coming out as a lesbian to her middle-aged mother. Wu came out to her mother in her last year of college and remembered her reaction as “she basically said, 'I don't think you're gay, and I never want to see you again.' We didn't talk for two years. But I never doubted her love for me. It had everything to do with her willingness to make changes in her own life to be happy." Later, Wu and her mother grew very close, resulting in Wu dedicating Saving Face to her mother because “[she] wanted her [mother] to know it’s not too late to fall in love for the first time. [Wu] want[ed] her to leave the theater feeling that sense of hope.” She has also explained that although she has a lot in common with Wil, the situation of the film is not based on her life. Alice Wu later realized that her novel would be a better fit for a movie and drafted the first script in three days during a 12-week screen writing class at the University of Washington. As advised by her instructor, Wu gave herself five years to make the movie, quitting her Microsoft job, moving to New York, and taking a filmmaking class taught by Alan Oxman.
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