With lots of Chinese elements, the creators of the film "Crazy Rich Asians" hoped to embrace Chinese culture and the local market, however, this film looks exotic to Chinese as to how it looks to the rest of the world.
The romantic film, directed by Chinese American filmmaker Jon M. Chu and starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Nico Santos, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong and Michelle Yeoh, debuted in China last weekend. It is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan, telling the story of a Chinese American professor who travels to meet her boyfriend's family and is surprised to discover they top the list of rich Singaporeans.
One attraction, and a curiosity, for the audience is gaining an insight into how the richest Asians live their lives and uphold national traditions, as, in reality China has become the second largest economy in the world with many newly rich families. However, most audiences will find "Crazy Rich Asians" is just another Cinderella story wearing an Asian skin.
In the Chinese market, "Crazy Rich Asians" has a different Chinese title, literally translated as "Amazing Romance When Reaching for Gold"; however, Jon M. Chu said his film is not about a gold digger.
"Kevin Kwan's novel is about fashion, wealth and love. I want to explore and express something deeper and wider. Actually, the core elements of the film are love and family. It doesn't really matter whether you are a crazy rich man," Chu added.
The director also hoped to pay tribute to Chinese families and the older generation, and also wanted to open a new era for Asian stories and actors in Hollywood. Apparently, he made it. In the United States, "Crazy Rich Asians" just as with "Black Panther" for the black community, made many Asians feel proud to see the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority Asian American cast in a modern setting since "The Joy Luck Club" in 1993. In many aspects, therefore, this is a great triumph.
The Asian-focused film topped the box office in North America for three consecutive weeks in August. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, grossing US$238 million worldwide thus far, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, making it the highest-grossing romantic comedy in a decade.
However, at a seminar on the theme of "Transnational Asian American Speaker Series: Crazy Rich Asian: Race, Representation, Resistance?" held at Barnard College in New York on Oct. 23, Asian participants divided somewhat awkwardly on the film. For instance, one Singaporean audience member pointed out the film doesn't really relate to the real life of Singaporean people, while an Indian participant said Americans always ignored Indians in their definition of "Asians".
For the Chinese audience, after the film hit local theaters last Friday, the film did not seem that real. "The East in the film is not the real East, but the East in American eyes, just like the popular General Tso's Chicken in America, which doesn't really exist in China," Dai Tianwen with Jiemian.com said. "For example, the family in the film love to get together making dumplings. But dumplings are a North China tradition. In South China, Singapore, and South Asia, dumplings should not be considered either a tradition or a popular option. It's pure imagination and mishmash."
Therefore, the rave reviews "Crazy Rich Asians" received initially were not replicated with great applause from China. After six days since its opening, it only grossed a meager 10 million yuan (US$1.45 million) and received a 6.2/10 score from more than 30,000 users on film rating site Douban.com, rather pale in comparison to its American performance.
Nonetheless, "Crazy Rich Asians" does represent a cultural milestone for Asian film to get mainstream attention in America and could change many things in the future. "I think it's wonderful to see so many different-layered, multi-dimensional Asian characters on screen, I think the significance of the movie will be felt for a long time," said South Korean American Ken Jeong, who plays a wealthy father in the film.
"It affects a lot in Hollywood, " director Chu said at the Chinese premiere in Beijing on Nov. 24, "I think when you see such an amazing cast on the big screen -- being funny, being loving, being dramatic, having beautiful voices... All these things together, I think, show the world, especially Hollywood, we are ready after it has been a long time of our absence. I hope this can inspire other young filmmakers and writers from here and all around the world, it's our time to tell our stories and the world wants to hear them."
Chris Pang, a Chinese Australian actor who plays Colin Khoo agreed. He told China.org.cn that as he didn't watch "The Joy Luck Club" in the cinema; so, along with many others worldwide in the West, "Crazy Rich Asians" marked his first view of a modern cast of Asian faces together on the screen.
"This film represents so much more than just the first film to do that in 25 years -- it represents the start of something -- a movement. I'm very interested to see how China will react to a story exploring the traditional Asian values and overseas 'America-born Chinese' values. Here's a fish-out-of-the-water story where both sides of the coin are Asian. However, at heart, it's a film about love, duty and family."
Due to the film's success worldwide, Warner Bros. Pictures has already confirmed to develop a sequel with Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim returning to write a script based on the book's sequel, "China Rich Girlfriend."
Source: china.org by zhang rui