RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Face
Face

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Face (2004)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
52 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:23

Fresh:12

Rotten:11

Average Rating:5.7/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Mar 4, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan's directorial debut is an ambitious drama that tells an ultimately uplifting story about the importance of family and the role it plays in shaping a child's life. Genie (Kristy... Bertha Bay-Sa Pan's directorial debut is an ambitious drama that tells an ultimately uplifting story about the importance of family and the role it plays in shaping a child's life. Genie (Kristy Wu) is a Chinese-American teenager who has been raised by her loving grandmother. Through a series of flashbacks, the story of Genie's mother, Kim (Bai Ling), is gradually revealed. It seems that Kim abandoned her daughter just after giving birth to her, when the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy became too painful to bear. Back in present day New York City, Genie has caught the attention of a charming African-American DJ, Michael (Treach), whose constant wooing manages to crack her seemingly impenetrable shell. It is at this point that Kim returns to New York with the hopes of making a connection with Genie, but Genie wants nothing to do with her mother. When Genie's grandmother learns that Michael is black, her traditional sensibilities threaten to ruin the only familial bond Genie has left, forcing Genie to mature at a time when she should still be dizzy with youth. Bay-Sa Pan's sensitive, heartfelt indie drama features marvelous performances by its wide-ranging cast, including Wu, Ling, Treach, and Ken Leung. [More]

Starring: Bai Ling, Kristy Wu, Kieu Chinh, Treach

Starring: Bai Ling, Kristy Wu, Kieu Chinh, Treach, Ken Leung, Will Yun Lee

Director: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan

Director: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan
Screenwriter: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan, Oren Moverman
Producer: Alexa L. Fogel, Joseph Infantolino, Bertha Bay-Sa Pan
Studio: Indican Pictures

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jan 31, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Face

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

No review available.

comment Comment
09/10/05
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

The performances are almost enough to overcome the story’s essential inertness.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
08/18/05
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

By the end of Face, we've been drawn deep into the battle for both communal support and individual freedom that marks the progress of so many ethnic groups in America.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
07/29/05
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With no access to these women's inner selves, we are left wanting at least a fuller portrait of their outer lives, some way to infer the meaning that the film declines to provide.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
05/12/05
Kerry Lengel
Kerry Lengel
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ling, delicate and haunted, and Wu, a real spitfire, make their reconciliation sting as much as it soothes.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/06/05
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A film with visual flair, musical inspiration and dramatic gravity. From the top to the bottom of the cast list, there are performances rich in detail and intelligence.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
03/18/05
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

New Jersey-born, Taiwan-raised director/cowriter Bay-Sa Pan gives the conflict a culturally particular spin and elicits strong performances from her appealing cast.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/18/05
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

It's a tale worth telling again -- especially if you feel the material as strongly as recent Columbia film-school grad Bertha Bay-Sa Pan seems to.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
03/18/05
Russell Scott Smith
Russell Scott Smith
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A sincere but superficial version of a familiar story.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
03/18/05
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A meditation on the conflict between family loyalties and personal ambition, Face ... can feel slight on a first viewing. But ... it is likely to remain in your head long afterward.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/17/05
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

the director seems all too cognizant of her pedestrian script’s inability to express more than superficial pathos

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/16/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Filmcritic.com

The movie never really finds a fresh groove.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/15/05
Laura Sinagra
Laura Sinagra
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bertha Bay-Sa Pan gets good performances -- notably from Ling, who convincingly evolves from mixed-up coed to successful businesswoman.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/04/05
E! Online

There's something especially frustrating about small, personal independent movies that adhere to the stodgy conventions of small, personal, independent movies as if compelled by a cadre of militant MFA candidates.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
03/03/05
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Well made, nice performances, very slowly paced.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
03/03/05
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

The story's conflicts between modern and traditional attitudes, family and independence feel like familiar fodder, and the pedestrian approach fails to inject much freshness into the material.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/03/05
David Rooney
David Rooney
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Feels like the stretched-out short student film that it is.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
03/03/05
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

Too slight in realization and trite in characterization to work as it might have.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/28/05
Donald J. Levit
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

It is the best performance of [Ling's] eclectic international career, and it raises the level of this otherwise competently made movie to something more special.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/15/04
G. Allen Johnson
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Face is a film of considerable charm and warmth, even if the material sometimes feels well worn.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
08/26/04
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
95% 95% Star Trek
67% 67% Bruno
47% 47% My Sister's Keeper
66% 66% Is Anybody There?
82% 82% Thirst

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video!

Friday Harvest

Friday Harvest

This week's best pics, posters, and videos!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

What to Watch?

What to Watch?

Read our Holiday Movie Preview!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
50
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
110
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
62
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
  • Rachel McAdams Debunks Spider-Man 4 Rumor Source: Entertainment Weekly
117
  • Avatar: Gambling on Film's Future Source: Los Angeles Times
128
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
115
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
96
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: 2012 Destroys the Competition
85
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
66
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
49
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Star Trek, Bruno, and Cheaper Sopranos
32
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
26
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
25
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
41
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Face at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Face at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Star Trek DVD Exclusive
Star Trek DVD Exclusive External Link

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.