By Hanna Rantala
LONDON (Reuters) – “The Wedding Banquet”, a reimagining of Ang Lee’s Oscar-nominated 1993 film of the same name, will resonate with a new generation, its star-studded ensemble cast says.
The romantic comedy, directed by Andrew Ahn and co-written and produced by James Schamus, who also co-wrote and produced the original film, is set in Seattle and centers on two same-sex couples and close friends, Angela and Lee, played by Kelly Marie Tran and Lily Gladstone, and Chris and Min, played by Bowen Yang and Korean newcomer Han Gi-chan.
The plot revolves around Angela and Lee, who are trying to have a baby, but costly IVF treatments block their dream of becoming parents. Meanwhile, Min, the heir of a wealthy Korean business family, is nearing the end of his student visa stay and proposes to his long-term partner Chris. But when commitment-averse Chris turns him down, Min offers to fund Angela and Lee’s treatment in exchange for a green card marriage.
“It’s been 32 years since the original film came out. A lot has changed in queer life,” said “SNL” and “Wicked” actor Yang at the movie’s London premiere on Wednesday. “I feel like Andrew updated this in such a clever way to check in with how we feel about marriage these days as queer people.”
Gladstone, Oscar-nominated for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”, described the movie as a tribute to her mother, who lost a baby boy before giving birth to her.
“Knowing how much miscarriage and infertility affected my mum and affect a lot of women that I know, I wasn’t sure I was ready to explore any of that,” Gladstone said. “That little lifelong pang of knowing that there may have been a brother that I missed out on but getting to reconcile and find a version of what we both feel he would have been like in this film was just a little extra magic.”
Ahn’s fresh ideas compelled Schamus and Lee to give their blessing to the project.
“I think my favourite part of being a part of this new movie was not looking too much back. This is not a nostalgia trip for me,” said Schamus.
Ahn initially had reservations about making the film. Lee’s version was the first gay film he saw as a youngster, Ahn said, which had a profound impact on him. Getting to explore the themes of marriage and children that many in his community were wrestling with convinced him to go ahead.
“Pressure, that’s there. But because I found something really personal to talk about in this new film, I felt like I had a creative North Star that I could always rely on,” Ahn said. “I wanted to do something a little different, but building off of the philosophy of the original.”
The film also stars Oscar-winning South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung as Min’s grandmother, whose unexpected arrival creates tension and chaos among the couples and veteran actress Joan Chen as Angela’s activist mother May.
Wednesday’s premiere marked the opening of the 39th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, which runs through March 30 with a programme made up of 56 features, 81 shorts and a television series from 41 countries.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; editing by Diane Craft)
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