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A Great Wall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the 1986 film. For other uses, see Great Wall (disambiguation).
A Great Wall
Theatrical release poster
Simplified Chinese北京故事
Literal meaningBeijing Story
Hanyu PinyinBěijīng gùshì
Directed byPeter Wang
Written byShirley Sun
Peter Wang
StarringPeter Wang
Sharon Iwai
Kelvin Han Yee
Li Qinqin
Wang Xiao
Hu Xiaoguang
Shen Guanguan
CinematographyRobert Primes
Peter Stein
Edited byGrahame Weinbren
Music byGe Ganru
David Liang
Distributed byOrion Classics
Release date
  • May 30, 1986 (1986-05-30)
Running time
97 min
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Mandarin

A Great Wall (Chinese: 北京故事; lit. 'Beijing Story') is a 1986 comedy-drama film written, directed and starring Peter Wang. It was the first American feature film shot in the People's Republic of China and was Kelvin Han Yee's first film.

Plot

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When a Silicon Valley Chinese American executive goes back to his homeland of China for the first time in 30 years, he and his family encounter many culture clashes between the lives that they lead in the United States and the lives of their relatives in China. The finale of the movie includes an exciting table tennis match involving the Chinese-American son played by Kelvin Han Yee.

Cast

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  • Peter Wang as Leo Fang
  • Kelvin Han Yee as Paul Fang
  • Li Qinqin as Chao Lili
  • Shen Guanglan as Mrs. Chao
  • Hu Xiaoguang as Mr. Chao
  • Wang Xiao as Liu Yida
  • Sharon Iwai as Grace Fang
  • Xiu Jian as Yu

Reception

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The film was met with critical acclaim. The film has a score of 60% from Rotten Tomatoes based on ten reviews.[1]

Roger Ebert from the Chicago-Sun Times awarded the film three out of four, and wrote, "A Great Wall is a human comedy about a Chinese-American family that goes to visit relatives in Peking, and within that simple premise are so many inspirations that the movie is interesting even when it's just looking at things", and went on to say "The chief pleasure of "A Great Wall" is its observation of the different attitudes toward the daily process of living in China and the United States."[2]

References

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  1. ^ "A Great Wall (Beijing Story)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "A Great Wall, Roger Ebert Review". 18 July 1986.
[edit]
  • A Great Wall at IMDb
  • ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› A Great Wall at AllMovie
  • A Great Wall at Rotten Tomatoes
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