Li Zhiyu Movies
An Asian-American woman and her mother both find their private lives are becoming a family matter in this romantic comedy-drama. Wilhelmina Pang (Michelle Krusiec) is a surgeon living in Manhattan whose mother (Joan Chen) is eager for her to settle down with a nice man and get married. What Ma doesn't know is that Wilhelmina happens to be a lesbian -- or rather, Ma prefers not to acknowledge it, since she once walked in on Wilhelmina and her girlfriend several years before. As it happens, Wilhelmina is looking for someone special in her life, and thinks she may have found her in Vivian (Lynn Chen), a beautiful dancer, but a fear of commitment and a desire to keep her medical career on track is making their relationship problematic. As Wilhelmina tries to get her love life in order, her mother's shifts into crisis mode. Ma, a 48-year-old widow, has just discovered she's pregnant, and her staunchly traditional father (Li Zhiyu) will not allow her back into the home they share until she's married someone respectable. Unwilling to name the father of her baby, Ma is forced to move in with Wilhelmina, and while enduring the emotional roller coaster of pregnancy she is being pressured by friends and relatives to marry Cho (Nathaniel Geng), a sweet but boring man she doesn't especially like. Saving Face was the first feature film from writer and director Alice Wu. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, (more)
- 1989
A liberated Chinese woman (Xu Lisha) try to overcome centuries of male-dominated tradition in this distaff social drama. She chooses to have an abortion rather than interrupt her career which pays more than her dullard husband earns. Neighborhood gossips and a harridan mother-in-law constantly remind her of ancient traditions that enslave women. She meets another man at work, but she is left alone sitting on a street corner when both he and her husband abandon her. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Three different women play three periods in the life of a successful actress in modern-day classical Chinese theater, whose hallmark role is as a male demon, Zhong Kui. Flashbacks take place as she applies the makeup for this role, and bring the story of her life (from the 1950s to the 1980s) to light, beginning with the sacrifice her loving peasant father made to ensure that she got the attention she needed to be a success on the stage. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Xu Shaoli, Li Baotian, (more)
- 1985
Qui Jin is the true story of a turn-of-century Chinese woman who attempted to alter the destiny of her people. Leaving her family at home, Qui Jin (Li Xiuming) organizes a revolt against the various foreign powers who hold China in thrall. She dies in the process, but her name and revolutionary spirit lives on. Chinese director Xie Jin has made it his cinematic mission to deify personal heroism, and Qui Jin is one of his best works along these lines. The film was lensed in Japan, taking utmost advantage of the excellent technical facilities of that nation's movie industry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
