Journey from the Heart

What a treasure this film is! Too often Asian women are seen as the passive, the unambitious (unless they are portrayed as an ambitious hooker!), the sensual-- filmmaker VV Hsu moves all those assumptions aside in this breakthrough film that should have more press. I was lucky to catch it at a film fest where the reaction was the same all over, "This film should get more attention!" Finally a story that anyone can relate to. A family vacation that is supposed to bring together three generations, but nobody can really get along. Sounds like my family! Tsai Chin is excellent as the matriarch who brings the family together with her tough love attitude! The sisters Ming Na and Ming Yee who bicker and fight like kids cracked me up and the young daughter who is more kept together than the two of them combined paints a perfect and complete picture! The characters are rich, the acting is enviable, and the story is perhaps timeless! The cinematography is sweeping and gorgeous. It ultimately is a story about love, forgiveness and togetherness. Well done! My heart is warmed! 10/10!