She bought new eyes. Her daughter bought resentment. Family vacation from hell, 1990 edition.
Doris Chu, a recently divorced Chinese American woman, has plastic surgery to make her eyes rounder. From her teenage daughter Mei's perspective, her mother's two eyes equal two lies. When the family journeys to a desert resort during Doris' recuperation, a series of revelations and bitter confrontations erupt. This beautiful black and white drama is a poignant study of generational conflict and the struggle for identity in a world of hybrid cultures.
Direction
Tom's unflinching close-ups weaponize silence.
Cinematography
Black-and-white desert becomes emotional battleground.
Director
Pamela Tom
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released in 1990, this preceded mainstream Asian American cinema by decades, making its surgical gaze on double eyelid surgery almost prophetic.
Director Pamela Tom later said she cast Sala Iwamatsu specifically for her ability to convey entire histories through stillness—crucial for a character hiding behind bandages.
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