A Chinese-American retiree's sudden disappearance inspires life-changing perspectives in each of his three daughters. RED DOORS has captivated audiences, festival jurors, and film critics alike en route to winning awards a... more »t the Tribeca Film Festival, CineVegas, and Outfest. Funny and moving, absurd and painfully real, RED DOORS provides a unique view of the modern American family.« less
"I had the opportunity of seeing this at a film festival and now have pre-ordered the DVD. It is a wonderful story about a disfuntioncal family. Even thougt they are Asian I feel it can apply to many families. I do not understand the reason for the "R" rating. Do not let turn you off from seeing this film. I think mature young teenagers will also enjoy it, and would hate for them to miss this message. It is about life and what is happening in the world today between the generations.
I am not Asian, but felt it applied to many families that have old customs and older people who feel their children should follow family traditions.
This film has great acting, photograpy is wonderful and these up-and-coming filmmakers are ones to watch.
I had thought it should have won CineVegas' film festival."
Taking life as it comes - this is a film to enjoy
L. Riggin | 02/13/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a rare film. Nothing is trite or predictable; it's a very creative script that makes each character endearing. There are no bad guys here, just people taking life as it comes. Others have said that this could be any family, not specifically an Asian-American family and I think that is the point: the laughter and the tears transcend heritage or skin color."
So you think you're family is nutz? See this movie!
Joyce Schwarz | Marina Del Rey, CA USA | 02/12/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Red Doors is an acclaimed and festival winning film about a dysfunctional Chinese American family who's door is yes, red. Balancing your ethnicity in a modern world is just part of the story, living sane in an insane world is another part and just rolling with the punches is another. Outragous black comedy that breaks all cliches about Asian families and roles in our society. Retirement is a subplot that many Baby Boomers can relate to. Funny, poignant and a bit maddening! Every character plays it to the hilt, and the deadpan script squeezes out some unbelievable dialogue that makes this a very special film. See it after an argument with your family. Or before you go home for a visit. Or when you break up with your fiance. Love and life goes on. Family is more than just relationships."
Great story
Martin Lewis | New Jersey | 03/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a fantastic film that has clearly defined characters that I cared about and a story that kept me interested thoughout the film. It is really a slice of suburban life, kind of like American Beauty with a much happier ending. Check this out."
Funny and poignant
E. Anderson | 03/26/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Red Doors is a film about a dysfunctional Chinese-American family living in a suburb in New York. The parents Ed Wong (Tzi Ma) and May-Li Wong (Freda Foh Shen) have three daughters: Sam (Jacqueline Kim) who is the oldest, Elaine Kao (Julie) is the middle child, and the youngest daughter is Katie (Kathy Shao-Lin Lee).
Ed had just retired and is trying to figure out how to excape the dullness of his life. His daughters are experiencing their own dysfunctional dramas.Sam is a business woman who is getting ready for her impending nuptials to Mark (Jayce Bartok) but when an old high school flame returns to town, Sam begins to question if she is ready for marriage. Julie who is a med student who is excelling at her studies but when it comes to her personal life, she doesn' t exactly get a passing grade due to her acute shyness. Her world is quickly turned upside down when she meets a popular actress named Mia Scarlett (Mia Riverton), and eventually becomes romantically involved with the actress. Katie is engaged in a prank war with her next door neighbor's son Simon (Sebastian Stan). When Ed suddenly up and leaves the family, the girls are forced to re-examine their lives and how to live on accordingly to what their heart says, not what is expected of them by family obligations (sort of an invisible fence).
I loved Red Doors. The home video footage of which I assume is from Georgia Lee's childhood added an authentic feel to the film. The ending though left me a bit unsatisfied. I hate it when films end on such a broad note. I was hoping that this film would have come to one of my local arthouse theatres but it didn't. I had to wait for it to come out on dvd. The relationship between Julie and Mia reminded me that of Wil and Vivian in the other Asian American film Saving Face(which is one of my all time faovrite films). It was complicated because Julie is more introverted while Mia is more extroverted, plus Mia was a popular actress which throws a monkey wrench into their relationship. Still the way the conflict was resolved between Julie and Mia was certainly more realistic than Wil and Vivan's. There is an obvious great love between the family members in the film especially between the mother and her daughters. I wish the film ended with some sort of resolution to the father's situation. Overall excellent film."