Confetti movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: Confetti (not to be confused with the 2006 British comedy of the same name.)

This lovely film premieres in theaters on August 20, 2021.

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 89 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

The film centers around a traditional Chinese family who face a number of obstacles after their daughter is diagnosed with dyslexia. Education is extremely important in China. Parents will do anything to ensure their children’s education because it secures a good future for the entire family.

The movie is based on the director’s personal experience. This is what the director, Ann Hu said after writing and directing the film, “I became a mom fifteen years ago. My baby girl was such a little living wonder that she never failed to wow me. I can still remember the day when I left China for America, with an urgency to find a school that could teach children with dyslexia, a learning disability that was almost unheard of in China but crippled the future of millions of children around the world. Along my journey, I encountered many parents and children with similar struggles from all around America, China, and the world. An I heard their stories. I was humbled by their experiences and determination, and shocked by how big the dyslexic population is (about 10-30%) internationally, and how little the world understands dyslexia, and how amazingly gifted these people are, and how few, even today, of us know that we have the tools to overcome it with proper guidance at an early age. I learned this was a universal story. I began to write about what I saw, which became this film today.”

THINGS I LIKED:

We get to go to China! I’ve been there many times and truly love that country. It has its problems like all countries, but it really is a lovely country. I have gone there on many speaking tours and to teach in some of the schools during short winter and summer camps to show them how teachers in America approach learning. I learn so much every time I go there. One of my sons married a smart and beautiful young woman from Hong Kong! Like the Chinese culture, this movie is very gentle and hopeful.
Zhu Zhu is a bilingual actress and TV host who got her start as a host on MTV China. She also hosted an English-learning show and released her solo album in 2009. You may recognize her from the movie Cloud Atlas. She’s the only Chinese actress to be featured on TC Candler’s “100 Most Beautiful Faces” for two consecutive years. She does a wonderful job in this film as a persistent young mother.
I’ve always loved Amy Irving ever since I first saw her as Maid Marion in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves . That’s still one of my favorite versions of the Robin Hood story. It’s great to see her on the big screen again.
The director mutes the color palette to show moments from the past, a cliched yet effective technique.
At the beginning of the movie, Chen Lan (played by Zhu Zhu) hands a walnut to her child and tells her to eat one whenever she doesn’t understand something. It’s an interesting metaphor because a walnut looks like a brain and the Chinese family’s challenge is to try to understand their daughter’s brain that works differently from other children.
At the end of the movie, be sure to read the list displayed on the screen that shows incredibly famous and talented people in history who had dyslexia!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It’s very slow-moving.
We sometimes have to watch the same scenes over and over again as one of the characters repeats the story to another person.
We don’t learn that much about Thomas, the American teacher in China who was the one who set everything in motion in the beginning.
The story is pretty straightforward.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

There’s a lot of Mandarin spoken with subtitles.
Children will probably be bored watching this.
No objectionable material.

THEMES:

Education
Learning styles
A mother’s love
Parenting
What is “normal”
Hope
Persistence
Service to others
Unexpected turns in life

FUNNY LINES:

None. It’s a fairly dramatic, serious film.

INTERESTING LINES:

“No one fights teacher in China.” – Meimei (Harmonie He) “Tell your mother we fight for our rights.” – Helen McClellan (Amy Irving)
“If something’s broken, we don’t leave it broken. We fix it.” – Helen McClellan (Amy Irving)