Red Doors (2005)

The story of a Chinese-American family experiencing transition. The father retires, the three daughters make changes in their lives, and the entire family begins to discover their true selves and what truly matters - family and love.Some of the descriptions call this family bizarrely dysfunctional - but really there is nothing outlandish or extremely unusual going on. Just people finding their way.The dinner scenes made me wish I was there - so much yummy food prepared lovingly by a caring mother. People from large families that eat together in a traditional way might take it for granted. But those of us whose families never sat and ate together, long for that kind of togetherness (and home-cooked food).

You could say a film proves itself by whether you give it a second thought. Another proof is how the film plays on second viewing. "Red Doors" plays very well on first viewing and lodges itself in your memory. On second viewing, it inspires awe.This film does not give up its secrets in bursts of action or plot-twists. Its strengths are symphonic, and it builds to a conclusion that will remain in your thoughts for a long time afterward. I especially appreciate the way it leaves its audience; "Red Doors" honors its viewers without ever pandering to them.Everything about the film seems natural and easygoing until you see things that leave you wondering: How did they know? Ordinary things--the angle of a girl's hair, a home-video montage--grab you by the throat. The music craftily draws the viewer into the situations without ever drawing attention to itself. The performances, without obvious star-turns, have a cumulative impact that's just overwhelming. To see "Red Doors" is to form an attachment to it. To see it again is to immerse yourself and love it.

Other than the problematic portrayals of Asian-Americans in terms of the lack of authenticity, this movie is also problematic in terms of pacing and story content. There's plenty of discussions elsewhere on the internet on what this indie film means to us Asian-Americans in terms of the lack of male representation and false depictions of Asian-American family life. With all that said, this movie is also problematic in terms of pacing and story content.What this movie desperately needs is a complete revamp of the script even before production began. The story seems very contrived and artificial. For an indie movie like this, the story is the only thing that makes or breaks its acceptance by the targeted demographic. What this movie lacks is focus and clarity. It meanders all over the place without a focus on any character that tells a concrete story. It's loosely constructed to tell a family story, but instead ends up arbitrary characters that are rather cliché and story plotting that seems forced rather than natural character developments. The tacked on "happy ending" didn't seem natural or deserved by the story plot and character motivations.It's like that bad joke about Chinese food leaving you hungry again after an hour; while this movie seems to have interesting subplots and characters, but at the end you realize what a phoney story it is. It's not simply there are mostly Asian-American females, but as an Asian-American if I can't identify with any of the characters then I think this story isn't really serving any purpose except like chop-suey it fools the mainstream audience to believe what Asian-Americans are about.

A gentle, thoughtful film. Interestingly quirky characters, although, like the Joy Luck Club or the Soong Sisters or Wing Chun (grin) the male characters are fairly much peripheral to the story either because the actors don't have much to do or couldn't do very much with what they had. But there are plenty of male centered films out there. This is a change of pace.And pace is the right word, this film unfolds gradually, gracefully, and, despite the quirkiness of its characters (a teenager who conducts romance with explosives, e.g.)in a very natural, easy going style.It does not have a Hollywood ending, sad and wistful instead, but satisfying nonetheless.