'Tigertail' Review: Alan Yang's story is a heart-touching one about immigration, family, and love
Spoilers for 'Tigertail'
One of the first lessons that Pin-Jui learns as a young boy is to not cry - "Crying never solves anything," his grandmother tells him. As a young boy, Pin-Jui is living with his grandparents who work and live in the rice fields of occupied Taiwan as his mother looks for a job back home.
When Pin-Jui misses his mother and father — who died when he was a year old — he sees a vision of them in the fields. He returns to the shanty to tell his grandmother about seeing his parents in the field. But he is quickly hidden in a cupboard as soldiers from the Kuomintang forces come to check for dissidents.
They don't find him, but only a little while later, Pin-Jui meets his soulmate in the fields, a young Yuan.
Soon afterwards, he returns to his mother who finds a job. Years later, as a grown young man, he works with his mother in a factory. The manual labor in the factory was hard and tedious, but his mother was always in high spirits.
One day, the owner of the factory proposes that he is seeking a dependable man for his daughter ZhenZhen (Fiona Fu). Pin-Jui who is already in love with Yuan finds himself conflicted.
The arranged marriage with ZhenZhen gives the opportunity to go to America and change his and his mother's life. But can he leave the love of his life behind?
When his mother injures herself at the factory one day, Pin-Jui knows that the only way to an improved life is out of Taiwan. And so, he decides to leave his mother, the love of his life and the land he dearly loved to make a home in a foreign land.
Written and directed by Alan Yang (of 'Park and Recreation' and 'Master of None' fame), 'Tigertail' is a beautiful, touching story about the immigrant experience.
Life in America is nowhere close to how Pin-Jui had imagined it. As he toils in a deli all day to return home late in the night, he barely has any time for his new bride ZhenZhen. Soon, the two realize that they have nothing in common with each other except the monotonous, morbid life they share in their dinghy flat.
As 'Tigertail' displays Pin-Jui's (Tzi Ma) constant struggle to make a living, it also portrays ZhenZhen's isolation in a strange land. As her husband works hard day and night, ZhenZhen doesn't have a lot to do but clean around the house and sit by the window reminiscing of life and family back home.
One night, she returns with the proposal of doing a teaching course so she could teach children. But a stubborn Pin-Jui rejects the idea altogether - she will barely have time after they have kids.
When they do have kids, the two still remain aloof, and their children know of it too. The distance between the two is also imprinted on the children as Pin-Jui's daughter Angela (Christine Ko) grows up to be pretty much like him.
Years later as a grown woman, Angela still has a very hard time connecting with people - specifically her father. He hadn't even told her about his mother's demise, going to the funeral all by himself.
The moving multi-generational, multi-lingual drama is told through flashbacks as Pin-Jui reflects on his life's journey - the incomplete chapters and the abandoned memories.
Angela tries connecting with her father but their meetings become more and more painful for her to bear as their silences are barely even filled by the chomping of food.
Pin-Jui is not a stone-cold person. Years of monotonous work has transformed him into a stubborn person devoid of love and compassion. He sees his daughter struggling with her failed relationship but can hardly provide any comfort to her.
A reconnection with the past facilitates Pin-Jui with the much-needed courage to rekindle his relationship with his daughter - it is never too late.
Alan Yang's story spans continents and decades, from 1950s Taiwan to present-day New York City. A heart-rending tale, it forces you to reflect on life, love, and family.
'Tigertail' is shot with an artful vision. Once, as Yuan and Pin-Jui are sitting by the lake, he lies to her about his meeting with ZhenZhen. The camera focuses on them from behind — lighting on Yuan's face and Pin-Jui remains in the dark — a beautiful portrayal of the things he is hiding.
A special mention to composer Michael Brook’s painful soundtrack that will tug at your hearts pulling you into Pin-Jui's tale, rapt with attention.
In the end, when Tzi Ma's Pin-Jui revisits his old home with his daughter, he breaks down crying - letting out a lifetime worth of pain, opening up all his bottled angst and suffering.
'Tigertail' is currently streaming on Netflix.