Saving Face (2005)
90%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 3 nominations
A charming tale of a love affair that overcomes cultural taboos.
Saving Face is a rom-com that tackles family drama in a refreshing way. It’s not preachy, but it still manages to address important issues with a light touch. Sure, the message is “follow your heart,” but isn’t that what we all want in the end? Plus, it’s one of the few films that focuses on queer people of color and their families, which is a modest achievement in itself. Overall, it’s a beautifully crafted movie that balances tradition and finding your own way. So, grab some popcorn and get ready for a heartwarming ride!
Production Company(ies)
Participant First Look Media, Anonymous Content
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some sexuality and language
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 36m
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Language(s):English, Mandarin, Shanghainese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 27, 2005 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 18, 2005
Genre(s)
Romance/LGBTQ+
Keyword(s)
Saving Face, R-rated, Romance/LGBTQ+, 1h 36m, directed by Alice Wu, written by Alice Wu, starring Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Jessica Hecht, Ato Essandoh, Nathanel Geng, Stimson Cho, produced by James Lassiter, Will Smith, Teddy Zee, reviewed by Terry Nguyen, Alyx Vesey, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Scott Tobias, Marrit Ingman, Peter Howell, Amanda Jane Stern, Mattie Lucas, Ren Jender, Dorothy Woodend, Cynthia Fuchs, box office gross $1.2M, budget unknown, Sony Pictures Entertainment, family drama, romantic comedy, LGBTQ+ romance, cultural taboos, lesbian, traditional grandparents, widowed mother, romantic secrets, pregnancy, openly gay, bilingual script, Chinese-American, prejudice, modernity, rebellion, respect, antiquity
Worldwide gross: $1,236,518
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,884,433
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,432
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 205,500
US/Canada gross: $1,187,266
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,809,374
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,061
US/Canada opening weekend: $75,104
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $114,457
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,883
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Joan Chen – Ma
Lynn Chen – Vivian
Jessica Hecht – Randi
Ato Essandoh – Jay
Nathanel Geng – Stimson Cho
Director(s)
Alice Wu
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
James Lassiter, Will Smith, Teddy Zee
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (89) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (12)
Why do rom-coms always get happy endings, and not family dramas? With Saving Face, Wu dares to ask: Why not both?
May 4, 2022
Terry Nguyen
Vox
TOP CRITIC
Saving Face could get really preachy if it wanted to. But that it addresses multiple concerns with a light touch is one of its virtues.
January 11, 2021
Alyx Vesey
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
Abjectly collapses into feel-good nonsense.
February 9, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The message here, as in every quirky ethnic romantic comedy, is ‘follow your heart.’ But wouldn’t it be great if for once the characters cared more about the continuity of antiquated cultural traditions than their own personal happiness?
September 26, 2005
Scott Tobias
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
… surprisingly fresh and charming overall.
July 5, 2005 | Rating: 3/5
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Goes beyond the obvious into something a lot more current and meaningful: the need to make your own love, even if society looks askance.
July 1, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
Saving Face is a beautifully crafted movie about the fight between family tradition and finding a new way for yourself.
December 30, 2020
Amanda Jane Stern
Film Inquiry
The result is a good, if occasionally uneven, film that should have and could have been great.
June 5, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Mattie Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Saving Face is one of the few films focused on queer people of color and their families. Having those two elements together might seem like a modest achievement, but Pariah is one of the only recent films that also includes both.
March 9, 2019
Ren Jender
Bitch Flicks
Although everyone seems to be trying very hard, it has a deadly earnestness that squashes any fun flat.
August 24, 2017
Dorothy Woodend
The Tyee (British Columbia)
Chinese-American mom and daughter reconnect.
December 17, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
Cynthia Fuchs
Common Sense Media
Wu has abundant affection for her characters and a sharp eye for how they interact.
August 3, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com…
Plot
In Manhattan, the brilliant Chinese-American lesbian surgeon Wil is surprised by the arrival of her forty-eight year old widow mother to her apartment. Ma was banished from Flushing, Queens, when her father discovered that she was pregnant. The presence of Ma affects the personal life of Wil, who is in love with the daughter of her boss at the hospital, the dancer Vivian Shing. Once her grandfather has promised that her mother would only return to Flushing remarried or proving that it was an immaculate conception, Wil tries to find a Chinese bachelor to marry Ma.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Joan Chen, who plays Hwei-lan in Saving Face, is a well-known Chinese actress who has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including The Last Emperor and Twin Peaks.
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