In the current cinematic landscape, queer love stories are an everyday, tangible part of the rom-com scene. However, it hasn't always been that way, with historical offers feeling countercultural. One example of this comes from director Alice Wu's 2004 debut Saving Face, pushing against culture not just in existing as a tender lesbian romance in the '00s, but pushing against the expectations of the Chinese American diaspora. Now re-released on Blu-Ray as part of the Criterion Collection, Wu's film is as moving and compassionate as ever, as it seeks to bridge the gap between generations.
Saving Face follows Wil (Michelle Krusiec), a young surgeon in New York city, who plays the dutiful Chinese daughter at community dinners and dances each week, while ignoring the elders' attempts to set her up with nice young men. Young men who cannot peak her interest anyway, given that she's a lesbian. However, when the charming, nonchalant dancer Vivian (Lynn Chen) appears at one of these dinners, Wil's eye is immediately caught. But the path of true love never did run smooth, and a spanner is thrown in the works when Wil's traditional Chinese mother (Joan Chen) gets pregnant out of wedlock, is disowned by the community, and moves in with Wil. As both women deal reckon with the cultural barriers and notions of propriety that ostracise them, they grow towards a greater understanding of themselves, and each other.
Wu's film is a quiet, understated one: Krusiec plays Wil with a restraint that is matched by the writer-director's filmmaking style. This restraint is beautifully played, demonstrating Wil's inner wrestle with the tangible feelings she has for Vivian, but also the ways in which her upbringing has continually told her to repress such feelings. In contrast, Lynn Chen plays Vivian with an openness that is warm, confident, and utterly inviting. You can't help but root for her, and subsequently for them. The contrast between the romantic leads is not as important, however, as the one between Wil and her mother.
Joan Chen as the mother character is an oxymoron herself: a stereotypical Chinese mum, who still refuses to accept Wil's sexuality, despite having known about it for years, and yet, she herself has transgressed the expectations of her community and become pregnant. Even more transgressive, is the fact that nobody seems to know who the father of the baby is, despite the rabid gossip within the community. She too is a picture of restraint, and as we see this trait played out in both women, it is clear how much they have shaped it in each other. As Wil is drawn out by Vivian, in turn, Ma is drawn out by her daughter, as she begins to go on dates, and ask the questions of what she actually wants for herself and for her children. It's a tug of war between culture and personal desire, with the conclusion of the film showing a beautiful balance found in honouring both.
Wu's strength as a filmmaker and writer is most clearly seen in the characterisations of these three women. There is an authenticity and vulnerability in the way she writes, which is made all the more truthful and compelling by a perfectly cast lead trio, and the choice to have the film be bilingual (Mandarin and English). Her film invites those outside of the Chinese diaspora to understand this community, and even given its flaws, feel great compassion for it, and the ever relatable human experience of trying to please our parents.
Saving Face is, of course, also just a beautifully tender romance, encouraging its audience to live boldly and loudly in the pursuit of love; to be unafraid of showing how you feel. Its need to have a fairytale ending does in some ways undermine its premise, but it's also a marker of the genre, and ensures that the film leaves you with a warmth rather than the melancholy it earlier portrays.
Blu-Ray Special Features:
- Audio Commentary featuring Alice Wu
- New interviews with Wu and actor Joan Chen
- Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Wu
- Behind-the-scenes featurette
- Program featuring Wu and members of the cast at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
- An essay by critic Phoebe Chen
Saving Face is available on Blu-Ray via Criterion on 1 September.
