What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this film includes scenes of family expulsion and conflict, rape, child abandonment, parental death, spousal abuse (both physical and mental), and suicide. While not actually very racy, raunchy, or violent by today's standards, each story includes extremely upsetting material. This warning is more about emotional content than any graphic sex, violence, or language.
- Families can talk about family and cultural differences. As the film revolves around the stories of four mother-daughter relationships, the film presents a good opportunity to talk about the nature of mother/daughter relationships. What are the similarities and differences between the kinds of conflicts present in the film and those that occur within your family? Parents and children could also discuss ways in which Chinese culture appears different than (or similar to) American culture. How does the shift from China to the United States change the ways that families interact with each other (or does it)? Do these characters have any added pressures put on them by their cultural heritage? (NOTE: This story is told in a combination of English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.)