THE JOY LUCK CLUB

 

The Joy Luck Club  is a 1993American film about the relationships between Chinese-American women and their Chinese mothers. It is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Amy Tan.

 

After the death of her mother four years earlier, a young American girl of Chinese heritage, June (Ming-Na Wen), is confronted by her mother's church friends, who call themselves The Joy Luck Club. The club consisted of June's mother, Suyuan (Kieu Chinh), and her friends Lindo (Tsia Chin), Ying Ying (France Nuyen), and An-Mei (Lisa Lu). The club informs June that her older twin sisters, who were thought to be dead, are actually alive in China. June is urged by her mother's friends to go to China to meet her sisters. The movie uses June's going-away party as a vehicle for reflecting on the struggles of the Joy Luck women and their Americanized daughters. All four came to the United States with hopes and dreams of a better life for themselves and their daughters. The mothers strive to teach their daughters values that were denied them in China: assertiveness, self-worth, and dignity for women. The lessons are hard to teach and learn, however, because of deeply-rooted cultural and family patterns. The movie is a powerful statement about breaking from dysfunctional patterns while valuing culture and heritage.