It is surprising because the cinematography is stunning, very much like Eisenstein. A static camera letting the locations and the actors do the work.
The credits are long because this was clearly a labour of love with finance coming from people who cared for it. This seemed odd to me because it was a re-make, the story had already reached the screen.
The plot is about four gay people coping with life as adults or middle aged people. It is also about how immigrant communities come to terms with living in America. Clearly the target audience was not Donald Trump.
You would think from the above that the film would be message driven or edgy. It is not. It is simply a feel good movie whose message is the important things in life are love and family.
There was one really good joke in the film with a character locked in a lavatory and an invisible phone ringing loudly. No doubt there would be many in the cinema reaching to check that their phones had been switched off!
The Parkway Cinema in Workington is a great find. A comfortable and well equipped multiplex. It takes over an hour to get there from Millom by public transport but it was worth it.
The Wedding Banquet is a 2025 American romantic comedy film directed by Andrew Ahn, and co-written by Ahn and James Schamus. A remake of the 1993 film of the same name, the film stars Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-jung.
Jonathan Brind