Based loosely on the life of Yang\u2019s father, Tigertail<\/em> focuses on Pin-Jui (The Farewell\u2019s<\/em> Tzi Ma), who immigrated from Taiwan to the U.S. as a young man (played in flashbacks by Lee Hong-chi), and now has strained relationships with the rest of his family. As an older man, Pin-Jui is stoic, and reserved, and seems emotionally shut down. As a younger man, he\u2019s fun, idealistic and spontaneous. Yang shows us how the one man eventually becomes the other, as Pin-Jui gives up his first love Yuan (Yo-Hsing Fang), and marries a relative stranger, Zhenzhen (Kunjue Li), to live in America. There, his dreams of prosperity are quickly replaced by a harsh reality of hard work, cramped living quarters, and a lack of community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yang\u2019s film is particularly lovely in its flashbacks, with color-drenched visuals and a romantic atmosphere that recall Wong Kar-Wai. Scenes in Taiwanese bars and restaurants are stylish and warm, characterized by vintage fashion and a fantastically curated soundtrack. As the younger Pin-Jui, Lee Hong-chi is charming and bright-eyed. His slow breaking down as he gives up his youthful optimism, bit by bit, is both sympathetic and heartbreaking to watch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The modern portions of Tigertail<\/em> are less strong, as Pin-Jui tries to connect with his daughter Angela (Christine Ko), who\u2019s experiencing a marital breakup similar to the dissolution of her parents\u2019 marriage, and shares some of her dad\u2019s reserved qualities. While the scenes exploring Pin-Jui\u2019s past feel rich and full, this section is less well-developed. We\u2019re given detailed information on Pin-Jui, but know almost nothing about his family; it\u2019s never revealed, for example, what Angela\u2019s job is, or even her age. We know Pin-Jui also has a son, Bobby, but never see him as an adult. It\u2019s possible Yang consciously avoids these details to try to keep the focus solely on the father. That choice leads to some missed opportunities, but its commitment to perspective is admirable, not to mention fairly uncommon among movies of its kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tigertail<\/em> is a thoughtful, empathetic movie, even if its short running time doesn\u2019t quite give it the room it needs to tell the story it\u2019s trying to communicate. It\u2019s easy to see a version of Yang\u2019s film expanded from a 90-minute character study into a three-hour multi-generational epic. Perhaps more space would give the movie\u2019s other characters and relationships more growth, and fill in a few of the bigger gaps. Like its main character, Tigertail <\/em>is restrained almost to a fault, but it still shows plenty of promise for Yang as a filmmaker. ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tigertail2.jpg\")
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