Best movie of this year hands down!

Why so much hype?

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Here a perfect example of a boring film.It starts out strong, the first twenty minutes or so are somehow interesting and perhaps a good character development... we have this old man, trying to deal with his loneliness, with a struggling relationship with his daughter. Then this theme lasts forever. Literally no conflicts happens in this film. All of it seems pointless, and apparently the highest point of this film is nowhere near of being interesting. This coming from someone that can stand really boring films. So i am not exaggerating about it, trust me. The boredom in this film is beyond the acceptable limits by far.Maybe i am not in the perhaps small 'targeted' group of audience of people that are 60 years old or more, but frankly, i am just warning about 99% of the people in this world that are not in the targeted audience to stay away from the film.But yeah, those who have a grandpa do know that this film is very truthful to reality. It depicts the loneliness and the struggles that a 'old' person suffers when 'changes the ambient that he/ she is used to live. Real deal here. Very realistic. But all in all, the climax don't does nothing to me. It is just about some pointless revelations explaining why the 'quiet' behavior of both the father and daughter. Not mildly interesting.The technical aspects in this film are generic at best. Not worth to mention.Skip this film and avoid an inevitable headache. 3.7/10

An older Chinese man is seen arriving at an airport in an unspecified American city. His daughter, Yilan, is there to meet him. They have not seen each other in years. Their encounter is not exactly a warm one. It is clear the two have grown apart. Yilan has been living in American for some time. She has made a somewhat nice life for herself in her adopted country. Yilan lives in one of those sterile condominium complexes where everything looks cold. Mr. Shi, as the father is known, speaks some English; he jots down new words he sees, but he lapses into his own language, when he cannot find the right words to express himself. He does not appreciate the way his daughter is living. Going through her things, he discovers she has fondness for Russian things, like the Matryoshka dolls she keeps on top of her dresser. Mr. Yi feels his daughter is not eating properly, so he begins to cook meals that are hardly touched by Yilan.The old man goes out to a nearby park just to get out of the apartment. He happens to meet a lovely Iranian lady who is also living a similar experience as Mr. Shi. Even though they cannot speak fluent English, they manage to talk about many things. The lady is of a certain age, she is proud of having come to America, leaving the chaotic world of her native country behind. She is also grateful to be living with her doctor son in a nice environment. One day she stops coming to the park, so one of her friends stop by the bench to inform Mr. Shi the Iranian lady is now living in a Seniors' home, something that surprises the old man.Yilan is not too happy with the new addition in her life. She has been secretly avoiding her father to stay away from the apartment. Coming home late one evening the truth emerges. Yilan has been seeing a Russian colleague who happens to be married. He has a family back home; it is obvious the affair is over. When Mr. Shi questions her about what he learned, she becomes defensive. She goes on to accuse her old man to have lived a lie all his life. What's more, Yilan knows he had cheated her mother with a mistress. Years of bitterness surfaced between father and daughter. Finally, Mr. Shi decides to explore whatever he can from the country he is visiting riding trains to get to his destinations.A lovely story based on stories by Yiyun Li is explored by director Wayne Yang, whose films have delighted movie going audiences for the way this creator views complex situations, mainly involving Chinese characters and culture. The film is basically a study about two generations that have grown apart. The older father, has stayed in his native country, China, where he felt his work was needed, in spite of his troubled past within that society. Yilan, in contrast, adapted well to her new country, viewing the situation with her family with different eyes. She has a new set of values, but keeping some of her native culture alive. The arrival of the father puts a strain in Yilan's life. Suddenly, her world begins to crumble right in front of her eyes; she begins to resent the intrusion in her home of a man she does not even relate to, anymore.Beautifully acted by Henry O as Mr. Shi, and Feihong Yu, who is seen as Yilan. The generation and culture gap are clearly the focal point in their relationship. Vida Ghahremani makes a good contribution as the only friend Mr. Shi finds in his new surroundings.

The films of Wayne Wang are an acquired taste. His early films,such as 'Eat A Bowl Of Tea','Dim Sum:A Little Bit Of Heart',and his best known film 'The Joy Luck Club' are meditations on the Asian lifestyle in the United States. If your tastes are aimed at explosions,car chases, mindless teen sex romps,bathroom humour,then avoid Wang's films at all costs. If you like a well written screenplay that doesn't dwell on car chases,explosions,toilet humour & all the rest that make for just another descent into the cinematic sewer,then you just may get your groove on with the films of Wayne Wang. Here,a elderly Chinese widower comes to the U.S. to visit his adult daughter (and try to run her life), while adjusting to the American experience (or at least trying to adjust). Toss in an attempted friendship with a widow from Iran,mix in some long hidden family secrets, and we have ourselves the formula for a real human drama. The cast,mainly made up of unknowns,make this slowly paced (but never boring)drama an alternative to the formulaic Hollywood garbage that always seems to be the centre of attention at the local multiplexes. No rating,but outside of the discreet mention of extra marital affairs,nothing to offend here.

It is so refreshing to see a director (Wayne Wang) so courageously has his audience go through watching and listening to conversations in mixed dialogues exploring the "human relationships and communications" that goes beyond common language! There is an understanding that masterfully is being established during the movie with the audience, interestingly enough, the old man (Henry O) fails to establish this with his daughter, but it is being established with the audience, "with subtitles at times." Then the climax, the scenes/conversations in the park between an Iranian old woman (Vida Ghahremani) and the Chinese old man (Henry O) in mixed languages, Mandarin, Farsi, and English, "with No sub titles!" which the audience has no problem understanding it and it is fluent, enticing and absolutely delightful. This is an amazingly smart and fascinating movie with masterful acting, specially the old couple, the Iranian old woman (Vida Ghahremani) and the Chinese old man (Henry O). Warning: if you are looking for an Action or Kong Fu movie, this may not be your top choice.