Saving Face (2004)

Lynn Chen, Michelle Krusiec & Joan Chen star in queer filmmaker Alice Wu’s pioneering 2004 lesbian rom-com SAVING FACE.

SAVING FACE follows the growing romance between Wil (Michelle Krusiec), a surgeon, and Vivian (Lynn Chen), a dancer. Wil’s mother (Joan Chen) has been kicked out of her parent’s home, and lives with her daughter, because she became pregnant out of wedlock. Both mother and daughter face familial, and community, judgment that places strain on the romantic relationships they wish to pursue.

In a 2005 SFGATE interview with G. Allen Johnson, Wu spoke of the process of having her screenplay turned into a film. Some producers had pressured her to make the characters white, or straight, because they wanted to attach stars like Reese Witherspoon and Ellen Burstyn. But, Wu’s screenplay reflected her own experiences coming out so she felt strongly about keeping the characters Asian American. There also wasn’t exactly a lot of queer Asian representation on the silver screen (something we’re still dealing with today), let alone stories with happy endings, so it was important to keep Wu’s vision intact.

SAVING FACE premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2004, ran the independent film circuit, and then went into limited release in the US in May 2005. It was later nominated for a number of awards; it won “Viewer's Choice” at the Golden Horse Film Festival in 2005, a “Visionary Award” for Wu at the San Diego Asian Film Festival and the “Audience Award” for Best Narrative at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

Today, as SAVING FACE nears its 20th anniversary, you can stream it on Mubi (Canada), Fubo (USA) and Tubi (USA/Mexico) – it’s also available for rent/purchase through AppleTV, Amazon and YouTube.

SAVING FACE

2004. USA.

Director: Alice Wu

Screenwriter: Alice Wu

Starring: Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Jin Wang, Guang Lan Koh, Jessica Hecht, and Ato Essandoh