Was I the only one that was so confused throughout this film? You can't tell if the scene is a flashback, and all the Asians look alike. You also cant tell if the person is the mother or daughter. (sometimes, anyways) It's confusing!
From,
Patrick Dunne
Formerly Orange_vertigo
Trolls killed: 12
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i didn't find it confusing at all.
fyi, all asians don't look alike.
the mothers and daughters were MEANT to resemble each other. A big part of the story was how the daughters couldn't recognize any of their respective mothers in themselves because they felt that being American created a gap that was too large for the souls and culture to traverse.
"Ohhh, it's a person." Family Guy
i got it more when i watched the movie.. but when i read the book, i cannot remember who is who
ohh baby :)share
I liked the movie better, too. It seemed that the screenplay stripped the story down and got rid of a lot of the excess flab that wasn't really necessary. (But then, screenplays when adapted from novels usually tend to do this-it's all part of paring the story down to its essential elements).
shareHey, even if you really think all asians look alike, I can't believe you would put such a cliched stereotype onto the net. As I recall, all of the main characters looked quite different, so I don't think that is the problem. Actually, this story is a bit unusual in that it follows four (in fact, eight really) separate stories, so that it can be harder to keep track of everybody. At least the story proceeds in an order, so that each pair mother/daughter is dealt with in turn. As for the flashbacks, I had no problem at all. It seemed pretty clear to me, alone from the style of costumes, etc. what was the past and what was the present. Essentially, there were three time periods, the mothers' childhoods in China (I'm guessing 1940's to early 1950's), the daughters' childhoods in San Francisco in the 1960s, and the present in SF in the 1980s. The difference between China and SF is pretty obvious. Also, the two time periods in SF are easily distinguishable because in the 1960s the daughters are young girls and in the 1980's they are women. It takes a little concentration, but essentially it is at all not hard to follow.
shareI don't have a hard time keeping the stories straight on the movie, maybe because I've seen it so many times, but even the first time was okay. It is true that I can never keep the names straight, even in the book it was hard for me. If I see a name I have to have one of their quotes or something referencing their story to tell which one is which. Even with June and Rose, so I don't think it's only the Chinese names.
shareI don't get what's so offensive about "they all look alike".
I don't think they all look alike, but if someone knows/sees few Asians, you have to forgive him for not being able to tell the difference. It's like my Asian aunt who says all my white cousins look the same. It's just a matter of how familiar you are with other cultures.
If you can't tell the difference, you can't tell the difference! It's not a choice!
Besides, in this film I found the names much harder to differentiate than the faces.
shareIt's very offensive.
Actually, it is a super duper offensive 'cliche' phrase when said about any culture. It indicates that the person spouting this phrase sees only race and not the distinctive qualities that make each human different.
Take your time, open your mind and really look at the people in the film. Pause and study each facial feature and character, then watch it. You will find, that hair color and skin tone does not make everyone look the same.
If that were the case, I would be mistaken for Catherine Zeta Jones all day long.
Believe me, it hasn't happened.
'just when I think the World is full of tolerance and intelligence...I read another post'
^In All Seriousness. . .
"Sic Vis Pacem Parabellum-If You Want Peace, Prepare For War. . ."
I don't mean to be offensive, but I too was confused by all the names and faces the first time I saw the movie. As a Black person, I have often heard it said that we all look alike. Not wanting to be the type of person who would say "they all look alike to me", I went back and looked at the movie again. The second time I focused on each person and their facial features and personalities and I was able to follow and enjoy the movie.
shareY'all are either on crack or retarded if you got anyone in this film mixed up. Their complexions are different, the shape of their faces, some have bigger eyes, the hair styles. Augh... just wtf?
I see what you did there.
Some people just are not capable of enjoying a movie that uses a whole ethnic cast. It enriches our lives to watch something outside of the norm. This is one of my all time favorite movies!
'cool movie type trivia stuff worked cleverly in to a signature'
People who are offended should get over it... you don't CHOOSE to confuse the faces.
shareBut one does choose to not pay attention.
And one does choose to write one of the most offensive 'cliche' phrases when discussing race.
Would it not have been better to say simply, "The characters were confusing to me."?
Because plain and simple, they don't all look the same.
Most ignorance, I ignore.
But since this is a message board, and the original poster asked a question, I choose to NOT get over it, and I try to give a bit of understanding.
No offence taken, just disappointment in the reality of the state of many minds in the world.
'cool movie type trivia stuff worked cleverly in to a signature'
[deleted]
It's 4 years later, but I had to respond to this. It's a scientific fact that each ethnic group has difficulties distinguishing individuals in other ethnic groups. So to a Native American, African-Americans all look alike. Now, there is a point where after viewing a person for so long, you can identify them as an individual, but each person's time is different. For some it is instantaneous, for some it could be years (that's obviously not the norm). There are so many innocent Acrican-Americans in American prisons because the victims were not able to distinguish who the criminal was in a lineup. It's not ignorance; it's the norm. Congrats on having a great memory for personal details. Others are not that fortunate.
eta: When I say all people in an ethnic group, I don't mean, for example, that every Asian looks like every other Asian. Rather, when you get individuals together who are the same gender, have the same hair color, haircut, they're around the same height and have similar features, it is difficult for most people in every other ethnic group to determine who is who. This also isn't just for one ethnic group towards another; it's every ethnic group towards every ethnic group that isn't their own.
I was never confused. Each woman looked far different from the other. The plot lines flowed well, and the individual stories were very clear.
not only did each woman have a distinct personality, but the women looked nothing like each other with the exception of a few minor Asian features/hair color.
Wow, I sure hope you are kidding about each one looking the same.
--The day I hold too tightly to my opinion is the day I stop learning. May that day never come.
My husband is Asian--I'm white--and some of his relatives have said that they can't tell white people apart because we all look the same. One time I replied with, "So if I say that all Asians look alike, does that mean I can sleep with Daniel Dae Kim and it won't count as cheating because I thought he was my husband?"
Didn't go over so well...... ;-)
Don't feed the troll people.
shareYes, I had the same confusion when I watched the movie for the first time. But it's not about their appearance; it's because that the plots were somehow complicated.
shareWell... a monologue given by a specific person usually followed that person's flashback.
It wasn't like one of the women was giving a monologue about their life and then it cut to another person's flashback. Unless maybe it involved their daughter. (But even so... all of the daughter flashbacks involved the mother, and you could clearly tell who it was.. the mothers in the daughters flashback looked the same, just a bit younger).
It might depend on the person, really...
I watched this with a friend and he had the same confusion throughout the movie, but I can't say that I did.