THE CHINESE INVASION
A short eleven-year span (1982-93) produced five stellar movies about the experience of Chinese immigrants new to our shores. It also brought us Chinese-born director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain), who seems to understand us better than we do.
Chan Is Missing (1982) is a wry charmer. The entire cast (all unknowns) and crew are of oriental descent. Two San Francisco cab drivers have their life savings stolen and spend the movie looking for the thief. The movie’s pint-sized budget seems to have been put in the right places. 
In A Great Wall (1986) a Chinese-American family makes the long trip to mainland China to look for their roots. The culture shock to both the visitors and the visited is both funny and revealing. The family’s children are thoroughly American but adjust better than their parents. As FDR said so well, we’re all immigrants, and in a real sense this fine film is about all of us.
The culture shock runs the other way in Eat A Bowl Of Tea (1989), a merry low-key film about Chinese immigrants coming to America after the second World War and trying to adapt to new ways. Marriage in particular is very different in the new land, and the young folks adapt quickly while their parents need a wake-up call. (With our divorce rate, you have to wonder if the old folks don’t have a point!)
The Wedding Banquet (1993) is part of a desperate attempt by a gay Chinese-American to fool his very conservative parents from the old country into believing he is 
not only straight, but married as well. The scam stretches tighter as the principals try to
plug more holes in the dike. Ang Lee’s screenplay and direction are sure-handed and entertaining and there are plenty of laughs and surprises for everyone.
Saving Face (2004) written and directed by Alice Wu, is also about Americanized children of Chinese descent and the conflicts they face. The main plot involves two girls in love with each other, afraid of the stigma of their society. They come to realize that their mothers are much more modernized and savvy than they thought. 
The Joy Luck Club (1993) is a group of elderly American ladies who grew up in China and who gather to play cards and swap stories. Their children are completely Americanized and as each of the parents’ stories emerge, they come to realize how extraordinary their mothers are. Amy Tan co-wrote the screenplay based on her wonderful novel. This movie is the pick of the litter and one of the unsung treasures  of the 90's. 
All of the films in this column are available on video, and all are available on DVD. All are fine for children 12 and up.