Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a story of female friendship. The relationships are about dedication and life long commitment no matter what happens. Based on the novel by Lisa See, the film is based on two friendship one in contemporary times and one in 19th century China. This is Wayne Wang’s attempt (the film is co-written by Angela Workman) to remake the magic he captured with The Joy Luck Club 18 years ago (I cannot believe that film was released in 1993. Time does fly.) Problem is this is not 1993 and this film is plodding. The friendships between the women are wonderful and the foot binding scene is excruciating and made me wince big time. If you loved the book you will probably like the film, just be prepared for its slow pace.

And there is a surprising appearance from an unexpected Aussie towards the end of the film but I won’t give away who it is. The film is produced by Wendi Murdoch and Florence Sloan, two women who are using their access to Hollywood power to make a movie about a topic that is outside your typical Hollywood movie. I commend them for getting this story out.

Check out the trailer here.