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Between 1924 and 1947, Chinese women were banned from immigrating to the United States. Men who had come hoping to send for their families later were stranded. Chinatowns across the country were dying. When the ban was lifted, prosperous men sent their adult sons, who had been allowed as boys to come from China, back to enter into arranged marriages. But when Wah Gay (Victor Wong) sends his son Ben Loy (Russell Wong) back to their native village to marry Mei Oi (Cora Miao), the daughter of his best friend, it's a case of love at first sight. Oddly reminiscent of Michael Corrleone going to Sicily in THE GODFATHER, it's very nicely staged by director Wayne Wang. As he demonstrated in DIM SUM, Wang has a deft feel for the small emotional touches that make characters come alive. When the couple returns to New York's Chinatown, Ben takes a job as the manager of a busy restaurant. The combined pressure of work and his father's insistence that he produce grandchildren causes Ben to become impotent. Soon the neglected Mei Oi finds companionship with Ah Song (Eric Tsang), a slick gambler. When rumors spread within the small, enclosed community where face (i.e., honor) is very important, it precipitates a crisis for everyone, especially the two grandfathers.
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