There are very few films I have watched that have been extremely visceral experiences. “The Joy Luck Club” was one of those few.

“The Joy Luck Club” is a movie about four immigrant women, their stories and their daughters. It touches on the treachery and tribulations immigrants face in their home country and in the new country they immigrate to. 

Alongside this, it covers the disconnect these women have with their daughters, who do not fully understand the good intentions their mothers brought with them to America.

The movie was directed by Wayne Wang and was adapted from Amy Tan’s book by the same name. “The Joy Luck Club” has a large cast made up of mainly Chinese actors, a rarity for Hollywood, especially in the 1990s.

Despite most movie adaptations of books being mere ghosts of the original material, this adaptation gets the main points across and delivers the same powerful message as the book.

The movie starts off with the narrator telling the story of a woman and a duck that had stretched its neck in hopes of becoming a goose, but instead transformed into a swan.

With the swan, she sails to America and tells the swan of all the things she hopes for her daughter. She tells the swan that it would be a gift to her daughter because, much like the swan, her daughter will become more than the woman could ever hope for.

 When she gets to America, the swan is ripped away from her by customs and all she is left with a single white swan feather.

Throughout the movie this story is retold, and with it comes the line, “This feather may look worthless, but it comes from afar and carries with it all my good intentions.”

“The Joy Luck Club” made me reflect on both my relationship with my mother and my culture. 

It made me realize that there were a lot of things my mother has done that may have seemed worthless to me, but carried with them all of my mother’s good intentions.

The first time I watched this movie was during a film appreciation class.

I did not know much about the movie going into except that it was an epic about immigrants. If I had known that it was going to be a life changing experience, I would have at least brought tissues with me.

This movie was especially touching for me because I am the daughter of a woman who worked her tail off to move to the U.S. from the Philippines.

Though the cast and the culture were not of the same background as me, I could still relate to them and the message of the movie.

In the daughters, who are Americanized and are disconnected with their culture, I saw myself and my cousins.

In the mothers, who sacrificed and wanted so much for their daughters, I saw my mother and my aunts.

I don’t know at what point during the movie I started hysterically sobbing, I just know that I did.

Throughout the movie, all I could think was, “I need to call my mom.”

When I finally messaged her and told her how much I appreciated everything she has ever done for me, she was surprised and worried about me. 

Later, when I asked why, she said that none of us (my brothers and I) ever say things like that, so she was worried that something had happened to me.

This movie has opened my eyes and has given me a new perspective on my mother and my relationship. It has allowed me to fully understand why my mother cried when my family finished unpacking my dorm on my first day of college.

There are very few movies that make me cry during them. There are even less that make me cry just thinking about them.

”The Joy Luck Club” is a near perfect movie that encapsulates the experience of Westernized children of immigrants in a way that is touching and relatable.

If you are looking to watch a movie in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, I can not recommend this movie enough.

I give “The Joy Luck Club” 5/5 mustangs.