This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions.
When Wayne Wang’s The Joy Luck Club was released in 1993, it stood as only the second Hollywood film ever to tell a contemporary story with a majority Asian cast – the first, Flower Drum Song, had arrived 32 years prior.
Based on the bestselling 1989 novel by Amy Tan, it tells of four Chinese mothers and their daughters in San Francisco. They play a regular mahjong game, calling themselves The Joy Luck Club.
After the death of founding member Suyuan (Kieu Chinh), her daughter June (Ming-Na Wen) is invited to take her place.
