Plot

After the success of his low-budget CHAN IS MISSING, the story of a couple of Chinese cabdrivers and some missing money in Chinatown, Wayne Wang returned to the exploration of the melding of Chinese and American culture. In DIM SUM: A LITTLE BIT OF HEART, he moves away from the streets of San Francisco?s Chinatown and concentrates on a simple story about the interactions of a Chinese family. Laureen Chew, who appeared in CHAN IS MISSING, cowrote the story with Wang and Terrel Seltzer. She portrays Geraldine, a 30-year-old woman who still lives with her widowed mother. Geraldine has a boyfriend, Richard (John Nishio), who wants to marry her, but she doesn?t want to leave her mother (Kim Chew) alone. She is, as her uncle Tam (Victor Wong) says, "a good Chinese daughter." Tam, a lifelong friend of Geraldine's father and not really her uncle, wants to marry her mother, but she also is "too Chinese," and doesn?t want to remarry. As the most Americanized of the characters from his generation, Uncle Tam tries to find some common ground so the mother and daughter can each find happiness in life. Wong, in a wonderfully written and acted part, projects a warmth and earthy wisdom about both Chinese and American culture in this funny, perceptive look at family life.


Reviews:
"...Luminously lensed....[The] film is a pleasure to look at..." -Variety
"...The emotion that DIM SUM taps is profound....The solidity and enduring nature of these characters are revealed. Poignantly. Quietly. With the greatest tenderness..." -Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times

DVD Features:
* Dim Sum Take Out: A Short Film
* Featurette - Dim Sum Take Out - An Introduction
* Interview - Conversation with Lauren Chew

Related Links

• IMDb Page
• Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
• DVD Talk review
• New York Times

Customer Comments

• Reviewer: briksdal on 20-Sep-2008

  Well acted, but a bit slow moving. As seems to happen so often in Indie films, the ending is a bit vague.

• Reviewer: Cooper on 25-Jan-2009

  This story held my attention and it made me hungry at the same time. I liked it although the ending confused me. It leaves the audience with various possibilities of the purpose behind the characters expression of emotions.

Additional Information

• Country: United States
• Language: English, Cantonese, English Subtitles
• Format: NTSC
• Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
• Color: Color
• Sound: Dolby Digital