Director:
Emily Ting
Year: 2019
Rating: 6.0
This film from director Emily Ting had a very limited
theatrical release and then went to streaming which in truth is where it
belongs. It is a small film, personal, with a low budget (though there is
some shooting in China and HK) that is almost all filmed in interior sets
and the arc of the story is more than a little predictable. But that predictableness
is part of the enjoyment - comforting that in the end all will work out -
so you just go along for the ride watching the sights go by. These days in
truth I am not in the mood for challenging films - stuck inside for nearly
two months now as are so many I am happy to watch a film in which I know
where the destination will end - thus partly explaining the recent spate
of Korean comedies. The film does have a fine cast though of actors unknown
to me as well as two who I am a fan of. Was surprised and pleased to come
across both of them.
Sasha Li (Anna Akana, who is apparently a fairly popular Vlogger of her short
films) is a spoiled Chinese America Princess living off the very nice allowance
in Los Angeles of her distant father who runs a toy factory in China. There
is apparently a lot of money to be made from cheap stuffed animals. Her mother
also lives in a lovely home in the city. Neither work - just luxuriate. Then
dad cracks the whip and demands that Sasha join him in the family business
in the wonderful city of Shenzhen. I have been to Shenzhen. Not for long
but long enough to know I never want to go back. A city that has the charm
of a dead rattlesnake - that has grown from nothing to millions in a short
period in order to manufacture items to be exported - not far from HK. She
refuses to go - there are a lot of daddy issues - he basically exported her
and her mom to L.A. so that he could remarry and as it turns out he did that
to the family before Sasha. Chinese newly rich with a house you could get
lost in for days.
But when he cuts off her credit cards, stops her allowance and stops the
alimony to her mother, she has no choice but to fly to China and join the
biz and meet her other half-siblings (Lynn Chen). And the 22 year old lovely
Lulu - hmmm - how would you describe her duties - personal attendant to Mr
Li. Very personal. And the story arc proceeds as expected exploring culture
clash, generational clash and patriarchal clash. But nicely done. I had intended
to watch perhaps 15 minutes before going to bed and watched the whole thing.
Her father and mother are played by two familiar faces. Dad is Richard Ng,
a constant presence in HK films in the 1980s and 90s - primarily goofy comedies
- but here he plays a dramatic role speaking mainly English and is very good
at balancing the gruff tough boss/father with a very Chinese love and desire
to take care of his family financially but rarely able to show them the affection
they want. And the mother - who has a smaller role is Kelly Hu who I have
seen little of since Martial Law with Sammo and a TV show I still watch at
times. Nice to see her looking quite good if a little older.
I looked through the director's previous films and was intrigued by one titled
Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong (2015) and saw that the female character designed
toys. What is with the toy thing I wondered. Well, it turns out that Go Back
to China has some autobiographical aspects - her father was a toy manufacturer
in Taiwan and at one point she went back to help out and made a documentary
about it called Family Inc. Worth checking out if I come across them.
