When director Wayne Wang misses, it's by a mile, but when he hits -- as with The Joy Luck Club or Eat a Bowl of Tea -- you're in for a lovely time. This simultaneously gritty and effervescent peek at the inner workings of the semi-estranged relationship between an old-country Chinese father and his Americanized daughter is full of quiet humor and gentle angst, and Wang's vision of the American Midwest as a contemporary melting pot is frequently charming.
Tue., Aug. 11, 1:30 p.m., 2009