8 Asians

In today’s New York Times, the newspaper profiles Asian American director Wayne Wang, most noted for his Amy Tan adapted film, “The Joy Luck Club.” Wang has two new films coming out:

In “A Thousand Years,” opening Friday, a Chinese widower arrives in an American suburb for an extended stay with his divorced daughter, who has lived in the States since college and who resents her father’s intrusions into her private affairs. “The Princess of Nebraska,” which is being distributed free on the Web starting Oct. 17 (youtube.com/ytscreeningroom), concerns a newer arrival, a young woman from Beijing attending a university in Omaha who has traveled to San Francisco to get an abortion. Both films are subtle updates of the immigrant story, revealing the complexities beyond the customary themes of alienation and assimilation.”

More recently, Wang has been directing more mainstream movies like “Maid in Manhattan,” “Because of Winn-Dixie,” and “Last Holiday.” Personally, I liked Wang’s “The Joy Luck Club” a lot (as I had mentioned – despite some shortcomings) because I was *amazed* at how well Wang was able to translate the novel into a movie (tying eight different characters and their intertwining stories.) I’m curious as to how the producers plan on making money on “The Princess of Nebraska” if they are showing it for free on YouTube… From the trailers below, I think I am more interested in seeing “A Thousand Years.”

A Thousand Years

The Princess of Nebraska