The story reminds me of 'Banquet' by Ang Lee, which is also about a Chinese father visiting his adult child in America. In that story made in the 1990s, the Taiwanese father finally found out that his son was a gay, while in this film, the father found the affair of his daughter. Both stories display the conflicts between two generations, or to be more specific, the Western and Eastern culture and ethics.
This film by Wanye Wang, however, was even more restrained, with only two main characters but not many dialogues between them. I have just started to read the original story by Yiyun Li and am pleased that the film perfectly inherits the plain and succinct style of the novel. Much background information (how the mother died, why the father and daughter did not meet for 12 years, etc.) was concealed and only revealed bit by bit through dialogues.
A worthwhile movie if you want to learn about a typical Chinese parent: he does not say "I love you" but he can find the nearest Asian supermarket and cooks 4 dishes for a meal (usually too much for two people); he does not clarifies misunderstandings but only reveals the truth when he is too much wronged; he is so lonely that he talks about his child to any seemingly friendly elderly people he can find in a park; he calls the child when he/she is not back after 10 pm and waits in the kid's room.
This film by Wanye Wang, however, was even more restrained, with only two main characters but not many dialogues between them. I have just started to read the original story by Yiyun Li and am pleased that the film perfectly inherits the plain and succinct style of the novel. Much background information (how the mother died, why the father and daughter did not meet for 12 years, etc.) was concealed and only revealed bit by bit through dialogues.
A worthwhile movie if you want to learn about a typical Chinese parent: he does not say "I love you" but he can find the nearest Asian supermarket and cooks 4 dishes for a meal (usually too much for two people); he does not clarifies misunderstandings but only reveals the truth when he is too much wronged; he is so lonely that he talks about his child to any seemingly friendly elderly people he can find in a park; he calls the child when he/she is not back after 10 pm and waits in the kid's room.