I was really excited by this film when I saw the trailer. An Asian-American film that blended classic Asian cinema and modern American taste. However, the final product misses its mark very sorely. While the visuals are pretty to look at, the lack of a coherent and cohesive story is crippling. While on paper, this film is supposed to be a deep character study of Pin-Jui, the film doesn't connect the dots and explain why he is the way he is. Finally, the dialogue in the film is painfully on-the-nose. There is a lot of telling, no showing. This kind of personal film is hard to make - Yang tried to tell his father's story. Telling your parent's story is almost intrinsically difficult. By definition, you are removed from that time, place, and life. I wonder if Yang would have succeeded more if he were paired with a native Taiwanese writer his father's age.
Review of Tigertail
