(Henry Koster, US 1961, 133 min., 35mm)
Nancy Kwan, fresh from her success in The World of Suzie Wong, steps into this Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about arranged marriages in San Francisco. Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) is a picture bride from China, who has been chosen to marry Sammy Fong (Jack Soo), a nightclub owner who only has eyes for singer Linda Low (Kwan). Sammy instead tries to unload Mei Li on the Wang family, who have been seeking a bride for their eldest son, Wang Ta (James Shigeta), whom Linda is pursuing because of the family’s money. The first major Hollywood film to feature a primarily Asian cast in a contemporary Asian-American story, it would be the last for another three decades, until The Joy Luck Club in 1993.
Upcoming Events in this Series
Film Screenings | A Brighter Summer Day
Sight and Sound Club | AAPI Heritage Month Director Edward Yang, a vanguard member of the Taiwan New Cinema movement, took five years to make this drama of youth in crisis, his only period film.
Film Screenings | Member Movie Night: Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (35mm)
AAPI Heritage Month | Member Movie Night Director Wayne Wang followed his breakout indie hit Chan Is Missing with this family drama based in San Francisco. Real-life mother and daughter Kim Chew and Laureen Chew play widowed matriarch Mrs. Tam and her daughter Geraldine.
Film Screenings | Yi Yi (35mm)
Sight and Sound by Decade | Sight and Sound Club | AAPI Heritage Month Winner of the Best Director prize at Cannes, this intimate epic of family life is an exhilarating cornucopia of memorable characters.
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AAPI Heritage Month
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4 Films on Screen In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Dryden Theatre features four films that highlight Asian culture, both in the United States and beyond.