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Cast

Michelle Krusiec
as Wil

Joan Chen
as Ma

Lynn Chen
as Vivian Shing

Li Zhiyu
as Wai Gung

Jin Wang
as Grandpa

Guanglan Shen
as Wai Po

Guang Lan Koh
as Grandma

Jessica Hecht
as Randi

Ato Essandoh
as Jay

David Shih
as Norman

Brian Yang
as Little Yu

Nathanel Geng
as Stimson Cho

Nathaniel Geng
as Stimson Cho

Mao Zhao
as Old Yu

Louyong Wong
as Dr. Shing

Wang Luoyong
as Dr. Liu

Clare Sum
as Mrs. Wong

Qian Luo
as Mrs. Shing

Richard Chang
as Stephen

Hoon Lee
as Raymond Wong

Ruth Zhang
as Mrs. Yao

Connie Hsia
as Mrs. Chen

Jackson Ning
as Mr. Chen

Jamie Guan
as Mr. Yao

Paul Sum
as Mr. Wong

Brittany Perrineau
as Dara

Xiaofeng Zang
as Mr. Fu

Lu Yu
as Stoic Date

Fang Yulin
as Wart Date

Lu Yue
as Stoic Date

Saidah Arrika Ekulona
as Nurse 1

Pamela Payton-Wright
as Dr. Morgan

Twinkle Burke
as Hospital Receptionist

Tina Johnson
as Nurse 2

Phillip Meng
as Mambo Date

Chloe Tsang
as 8-Year-Old Chinese Girl

Rosa Luo
as Cho Sister 1

Christy Qin
as Nurse at Clinic

Nan Meng
as Mother at Clinic

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News & Interviews for Saving Face

Critic Reviews for Saving Face

Audience Reviews for Saving Face

• Dec 27, 2012

  Absolutely delightful. An American-Born-Chinese lesbian finds her world rocked when her widowed mother is disowned for getting pregnant out of wedlock. The story subverts stereotypes about race, gender, sexuality, and age, but it never seems to do too much. Enough time is spent on major and minor characters and plots. The end teeters on Joy Luck Club-level saccharine, but the performances are all nuanced and the bilingual script is seamless in mixing the elders' traditional Mandarin and the ABCs' mix of English and broken Mandarin. There is the requisite nagging Tiger Mom we've come to expect from Asian culture clash films, but Joan Chen brings a quieter, more sensual layer as well, since Ma is also back on the market. Michelle Krusiec, as the surgeon daughter, is brilliantly still and funny in a serious way. There are even a few mannerisms of hers that I know I do/did in my one short film acting experience. She, along with Carey Mulligan and Emmanuelle Béart, are actresses whose faces I'd like to wear, "Silence-of-the-Lambs"-style.
  Alice S Super Reviewer
• Jan 16, 2012

  An American-born Chinese doctor falls into a lesbian relationship with a woman who rejects the strictures of their shared culture against the backdrop of her mother's scandalous pregnancy. The first act of this film is positively delightful, a Chinese version of Imagine Me and You. Michelle Krusiec is a gem as Wil, full of quick wit and a reserved sexuality. Joan Chen perfectly captures the type of Chinese mom I've seen in real life, commanding yet somehow behind the times enough to make one cautious to rebel, feeling a sense of respect we automatically associate to antiquity. And Lynn Chen is the perfect leading lady to Krusiec's character. The film is about all the things one might expect, prejudice, modernity, and the need to rebel against the mores of the past. Obviously, these themes aren't new, but they seem fresh through writer/director Alice Wu's lens. The second and third acts were a little slow; it was almost as though the film had to stop to unravel itself, and the sharp, charming wit of the first act slipped away. Overall, Saving Face is a delightful film, and I hope to see more of Krusiec.
  Jim H Super Reviewer
• Apr 25, 2010

  Romantic comedy with a difference as a Chinese American widow and daughter break with tradition by getting pregnant and being gay. Nice film, I liked it. From OZQ's favourites list <img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XUBl74j_tDQ/TMk8535ZPBI/AAAAAAAAAiM/pMspnvwSC_Y/s400/saving_face.jpg">
  Lesley N Super Reviewer
• Apr 25, 2008

  I really like these two characters a lot. Very good acting and a sweet but believable little movie.
  Sunil J Super Reviewer

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