In the past few years, massive, spectacle-filled foreign films have been slow to come to the U.S., which especially surprising considering last decade’s genre explosion ( Hero, House of Flying Daggers, etc). Now Wayne Wang, the director of ‘The Joy Luck Club’, is returning to U.S. cinemas July 15th with ‘Snow Flower and the Secret Fan’, a new film based based on the novel written by Lisa See.
The film stars Jeon Ji-hyun and Li Bing-bing ( in addition to many other foreign actors) as two close friends struggling to stay connected as work, relationships, and the difficulties of life start to pull them apart. Meanwhile, in the 19th century, two sisters make an effort to stay in contact and subvert the extremely rigid female conventions of the time by crafting a secret language that only they understand. Slowly, the past and present converge as each group of women struggle to hold onto the people they care about most in the midst of sweeping change.
Featuring an experienced director and one hell of an all-star Asian cast, Fox Searchlight Pictures is primed for a large summer release. And while it certainly won’t contain the action sequences of the previously listed films, it looks to be an interesting movie and a sumptious visual feast.
The trailer is posted below. More info on the film as it’s release date approaches.
