A Great Wall - An American Comedy Made in China

Peter Wang's A Great Wall, released in 1986, is a wonderful drama dealing with the cultural differences within one Chinese family -- a brother and sister whose families live in two separate parts of the globe. Peter Wang, the director, also plays the lead, Leo Fang, who is the brother who left for America (presumably before the Cultural Revolution?), settled in San Francisco, and became a successful computer engineer. He married a Chinese American woman, Grace (Sharon Iwai), and they have a son, Paul (Kelvin Han Yee), who portrays a typical all American son who loves sports. They live in an exclusive neighborhood in San Francisco, so they are well to do. Peter is passed over for promotion to chief of the department, a move that angers him because he was clearly next in line for the position. He feels that it is because of his race that he was passed over, and quits after an argument with his boss. His sister, Mrs. Chao (Guanglan Shen), writes to Peter and invites him and his family to visit them during the summer. They take her up on the offer, and spend a month in Beijing; Peter to get back in touch with his roots, and Grace and Paul to be exposed to a new world. Grace has only a basic knowledge of Chinese; Paul, despite taking language class year in and out, still doesn't know it well. There they meet Mrs. Chao and her husband, Mr. Chao (Xiaoguang Hu), a former communist high ranking official who lives in a sizable home at the edge of the city. They have a daughter, Lili (Qinqin Li), who is a pretty young woman studying for the national exams. She has a friend, Wang Xiao (Kelvin Wong), who has a crush on her, and is the local ping pong champion. He is studying for the exams as well -- for the third time, having failed exams twice before. He lives with his father in a tiny house, and they struggle to make a living. The Wangs initially stay at a hotel, but their reunion with the Chaos goes so well that they are invited to stay at their house. There each family note the differences between them -- Peter is annoyed at the bathroom, where there is barely a shower, and he has to squat when using the toilet. Mrs. Chao and Grace find some common ground in talking about their husbands, and Mrs. Chao makes Grace a Chinese dress -- Grace shares makeup with her. Mr. Chao accepts the Wangs, but is somewhat bothered by the wife and son's inability to speak the native tongue, plus, he has some preconceived notions of Americans -- promiscuity and violence. Lili, by spending time with the Wangs, comes to assert her own independence, to the point where she argues with her mom for opening the letters she receives from Wang Xiao. Wang is bothered by this intrusion by the American family; Lili never spends as much time with her. His friend thinks that he should follow a different path; not only because of the cultural differences, but the class difference between him and Lili might be too much to overcome. Peter takes up Ping Pong at the local center (having been a city champion player back home), where the coach see promise and includes him in the club to train. Wang, the current champion, ends up training with him. While the differences don't cause conflict between the two families, as the exams draw closer, Lili becomes moody, and ends up locking herself in her room, to cram. The Wangs leave the house and move back into a hotel, so as not to be a distraction. But Lili, going without food for several days, has a breakdown, and ends up going to the hospital, and misses the exam. Wang takes the exam, though it is not certain whether he passes. He beats Peter in the tournament, where both play very well, though Peter is despondent afterwards -- he hates to lose. The Wangs go back home, culturally enriched, while Lili and Wang, both jobless and passing time until the next exams, share a moment that may lead to them being reunited.

The movie is a mixture of drama and documentary. While the story is driven by the meeting of the families, and the differences they find between them, it is also about Chinese culture, both traditional and modern, specifically mid 80's Beijing. It's interesting to look at this film now, in light of the changes that have happened in the past decade. The Beijing of the mid 80's no longer exists, having been replaced by skyscrapers, computers and a new generation that has money, power, and cosmopolitan. There are many scenes of local life, of traditional music and dance, to playing football on the Great Wall. Thankfully there is none of the typical dramatic instances of cultural clashes. They are subtle yet clear to both sides the differences, yet they make the most of being together at this one moment in their lives. A Great Wall is a loving look at a time once lost, for both Peter Wang and Chao's Beijing.