Tigertail (Movie)

                                                                

        This movie tells the story of Pin-Jui. He is a young boy from a poor family living in Huwei (Tiger Tail). His youth is simple despite the hardships of poverty, and he fell in love with his childhood friend Yuan Lee. The story constantly stresses his desire to want to eventually go to the United States and make a better life for himself and his mother. After his mother gets hurt working at the factory, Pin Jui decides to do what is necessary to head off to the United States to help his mother live a better life. His boss at the factory recognizes that Pin Jui wants to go to America, and tries to connect his daughter Zhenzhen with him. Eventually, Pin Jui seizes this opportunity and marries Zhenzhen to be able to have the financial ability to head off to the unknown. He sacrifices the life he once knew and leaves behind his mother and the love of his life. I thought it was very deep when he brings Yuan to his home for the first time. It almost was a goodbye, because he used to not let her see his home in fear of scaring her away with poverty

         In the United States, life is far from what they expected. They lived in small apartments and worked very hard jobs. They were also lonely, no longer surrounded by people they once knew and struggled with language and cultural barriers. There was no excitement and love in his marriage either since it was a marriage of convenience. However, the two worked together to make a better life in the United States. Now, an older man, he reflects on his past, his immigration struggles, and all the regrets of his past as his marriage ends unhappily and he struggles to communicate his soul to his daughter.

It gave off very similar vibes as The Farewell. However, The Farewell did a much better job with tugging at heartstrings. I also feel like the acting in this movie felt very robotic and it was hard to really feel for the monotone characters. There's nothing too exciting or unique about this film. In fact, some aspects of this movie felt very dull and unresolved. However, I do like the way it was able to depict the monotonous way of life moving forward and also the struggles of what it takes to accomplish dreams in another country--especially when the country was far from what you expected.

Also, another thing to note, it is not a movie about reconnecting with mainland China's roots but rather Taiwan!