Saving Face (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Aug 25, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Alice WuRelease Date(s)
2004 (August 26, 2025)Studio(s)
Sony Pictures Classics (The Criterion Collection)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: A+
Review
Same-sex relationships have often been the focus of contemporary dramas and comedies. The Prom, Carol, Moonlight, Lost and Delirious, Call Me by Your Name, and Brokeback Mountain all deal with either the joys or pitfalls, or sometimes both, of two like-gendered individuals who act on their affection for each other despite societal and family obstacles. Saving Face takes a serio-comic look at a young woman trying to cope with her love for another woman and the opposition to such relationships by the tradition-bound family and community she loves.
Semi-closeted lesbian Wilhelmina “Wil” Pang (Michelle Krusiec) is a workaholic surgeon who suddenly finds herself sharing her apartment with her widowed mother, Hwei-Lan Gao (Joan Chen)—known as Ma—whose father banishes her on learning that she’s pregnant without benefit of a husband. Wil soon meets Vivian (Lynn Chen), a sexy New York City Ballet dancer. The two young women become romantically involved but Vivian is frustrated with Wil’s reluctance to reveal her own sexual identity. They don’t go out and never share public displays of affection. To complicate things, Wil immerses herself in her work to such a degree that she leaves little time for a normal social life.
The sit-com premise of Wil’s mother unexpectedly becoming her roommate offers a lot of laughs, but with heart. Wil can’t bring herself to tell her Ma she’s gay and Ma is angry at being forced to confess that she’s pregnant. Wil convinces Ma to start dating, hopefully snaring a husband before the baby arrives, and her father (Jin Wang) sets her up with men he deems to be suitable partners. Most of the dates turn out to be total mismatches.
The scenes between mother and daughter offer tension, tenderness, and laughs as each tries to navigate an uncertain future. Wil doesn’t want to make waves but realizes that to be her true self, she must come out to her family and the world. She’s constantly on the go at work, hopping from one operating room to the next, covering for other doctors, confident in her skills. When it comes to her new relationship, however, she’s awkward and insecure. It takes Vivian’s sensuality and patience to break down Wil’s emotional barriers.
Ma, an old-school parent, is judgmental in a way she feels will benefit Wil. When Wil invites a Black friend to dinner, Ma watches him eat as if he’s an exotic animal at the zoo. Her world changes dramatically when she herself becomes an embarrassment to her father. Torn between wanting her own happiness and placating her elderly father she, like daughter Wil, is walking on proverbial eggshells.
Krusiec projects a sweet personality. Her eyes reflect Wil’s inner turmoil as she tries to deal with her mother and be honest with Vivian. Her chemistry with Joan Chen is outstanding. The two actors are entirely believable as parent and child. Krusiec has a flair for comic timing and knows how to let humor emerge from the situation.
Krusiec’s Wil and Lynn Chen’s Vivian create a warm rapport that feels authentic. A bedroom scene seems real as the two women love and laugh. We understand them. Wil needs to be honest with herself and the world about their relationship, while Vivian needs to be desired and drawn into Wil’s world unequivocally.
Joan Chen has a great role in Ma. She’s adept at balancing comedy and wrenching emotion. It’s funny as well as sad to see her standing silently, head bowed, as her father berates her about how her pregnancy will bring shame to the family. His primary concern is the family’s reputation in the community, not his daughter’s welfare. The expression on her face shows humiliation. Will she submit to her father’s demand that she marry in order not to bring dreaded shame upon her family?
Saving Face is director Alice Wu’s first feature film. A spin on the romantic comedy, the film centers on intergenerational conflicts in a Chinese-American flavor. Supporting players add enormous color. A bevy of middle-aged gossips don’t hesitate to express their unsolicited opinions to anyone in earshot. Many characters have behaviors and quirks that viewers can recognize from those in their own circles. The pace is brisk, with the interweaving stories of Wil and her mother nicely balanced. The film is fresh, its comedy gentle and never mean-spirited, its characters well scripted and brought to vivid life by an outstanding cast.
Saving Face was shot be director of photography Harlan Busmajian on 35mm film with Arriflex cameras and Cooke S4 lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection is sourced from a high definition digital master, approved by director Alice Wu. Clarity and contrast are excellent. The color palette covers a broad range of hues from vivid reds, greens and blues on the women’s dresses to Wil’s blue scrubs in the hospital and Vivian’s elegant attire. Wu made a point of using rich, saturated colors. There’s a golden look to a scene between Wil and Vivian and subway scenes have a distinct, greenish cast. Wu uses quick cutting to keep up with the rapid speech of the older Chinese-American characters. Unlike many movie bedroom scenes, the one in Saving Face is lit without obscuring shadows. The set design of Wil’s apartment reflects a young woman who spends long days at work and has little time to maintain a neat living space.
The soundtrack features English, Mandarin, and Shanghainese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Dialogue is clear and distinct. Most characters speak English. Some switch back and forth between English and Mandarin. Dance music is heard at a Chinese-American community get-together, and a subway train pulling into a station is heard along with ambient sounds of commuter rush hour. Anton Sanko’s score offers some upbeat musical cues and captures the lighthearted feel of the film.
Bonus materials on the Blu-ray release from The Criterion Collection include the following:
- Audio Commentary with Alice Wu
- New Interview with Alice Wu (24:37)
- New Interview with Actor Joan Chen (17:21)
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Alice Wu (4:02)
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (8:59)
- Alice Wu and Cast at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival (12:21)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:53)
Audio Commentary – Writer/director Alice Wu felt that her Saving Face script was a New York story. Flushing is a section of Queens that saw a recent influx of Chinese immigrants. Wu wanted to emphasize the Chinese-American community. She auditioned over 1,000 people to fill 35 roles. In style, the film is an old-fashioned screwball romantic comedy with modern characters. Wu speaks about how color and lighting play an important role in many of the film’s scenes. Natural outdoor lighting—sun, clouds—along with the right costume can suggest different seasons. A scene at the back of a bus toward the end of the film is an homage to The Graduate. An airport scene between Wil and Vivian was shot at the old TWA terminal because of its striking architecture. When Ma, Wil and Vivian have dinner together, a lot is going on in subtext. Ma is shunned in her community because some Chinese women are insecure about their own husbands. Wu discusses balancing comedy with the two parallel stories without resorting to stereotypes and cliches.
Interview with Alice Wu – In this 2005 interview, director Alice Wu discusses the process of writing Saving Face and her determined effort to realize the film exactly as she envisioned it.
Interview with Actor Joan Chen – Chen speaks about her varied career and discusses the making of Saving Face. She found the script to be a “really well-written, solid story.” She liked the character of Ma because she has many facets. Chen talks about the cultural revolution in China and her early years in Chinese movies. The film Little Flower, in which she starred, had a romantic tone and was shown to everyone in China. Never taking acting seriously as a career, she moved to California to study biology but eventually got involved in movies. In her first feature film, Taipan, she played the lead. She also appeared in the Academy Award-winning The Last Emperor. With Saving Face, Chen felt that director Alice Wu would “treat the film right” because it was such a personal story. She and Wu became friends, and Wu cast her as Ma without an audition.
Deleted Scenes – Five deleted scenes are shown with optional commentary by Alice Wu: Ma Gives Mrs. Wang a Facial, Mrs. Yao Sees Stimson Cho, The Lazy Susan, All Moved In, and The Tablecloth.
Behind-the-Scenes Featurette – Alice Wu directs scenes, the crew sets up equipment, and the actors offer their thoughts on the script, Wu’s directing style, and their characters. It was important for Wu to show the characters authentically, but also to have them appeal to a mass audience. Wu speaks about shooting on location, noting that New Yorkers aren’t impressed by filmmaking. Because the film told a personal story, Wu knew exactly what she wanted. “It’s her baby.”
Sundance Film Festival – After its premiere at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, Saving Face was shown at the Sundance Film Festival the next year. This short follows cast and crew at Sundance as they talk about their experiences. The first screening took place in a library temporarily transformed into a theater. Wu introduces the film and notes that the print that will be shown is exactly what will play in theaters in general release. Afterwards, she speaks about the film and answers questions from the audience. The actors are introduced and join the Q & A session.
Booklet – The accordion-style booklet contains the essay Daughters in Love by Phoebe Chen, cast and key crew list, and 13 color photos from the film.
Saving Face is a well made comedy that touches on human emotions in a thoughtful way. We immediately empathize with Wil and her complicated inner struggles with her identity, and Ma and the conflicts she faces, but director Alice Wu couches them in an entertaining series of episodes featuring a wonderful supporting cast. That she ties up the problems of the characters a bit too neatly is forgivable in a joyful picture.
- Dennis Seuling