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Movie Review “My Beijing Birthday” Join me to meet the director on Oct 23, 4 pm in a free screening!

Published on: 21st October, 2009

Movie Review: My Beijing Birthday

(Out of five starfish)

By Perry S. Chen

Can a relationship form between a middle-aged New Yorker and a group of Chinese school kids? After 12 years, would they still remember one another? You will find all the answers in the moving documentary “My Beijing Birthday.”

In 1996, New Yorker Howie Snyder went to China to discover the hearts of the Chinese children. Little did he know what he would find! He started taking comedy classes with a bunch of 6 to 8 year olds in Beijing, and their teacher Mrs. Ma. He discovered many extraordinary things and threw them a birthday party at a Beijing McDonalds that they would never forget.

Howie developed special friendships with the Chinese children, including Liu Hongjun, a naturally funny boy who makes hilarious monologues, and Wang Yifei, a carefree girl who aspires to become a doctor so she could cure all the sick patients in China.

Mrs. Ma is another fascinating character. She is a strict teacher with “tough love” who treats everyone equally, including Howie. One of the funniest scenes in the film is when Mrs. Ma disciplines Howie when he was late for class. You could tell Mrs. Ma loved the kids from the way she smiled proudly when watching their performances.

Twelve years later in 2008, Howie revisited China to work on the Beijing Olympics. The kids had grown into young adults. They had new and exciting experiences. Howie got them all together with the help of Mrs. Ma.

My favorite character is Howie because he is smart, humorous, and he has a good heart. He speaks flawless Chinese and must have been studying the language for many years! How he said the Chinese tongue-twisters is truly amazing! Even my mom, a native Chinese speaker can’t say them as fluently as he!

I noticed some irony in the film. For example, the Chinese kids’ favorite food was McDonalds, even though China is renowned for its own delicate cuisines. Also, Mrs. Ma used comedy to help her overcome the grief and isolation when she was sent to the countryside to labor during the Cultural Revolution.

I gave the movie 4.5 starfish. The film showed us that we should focus more on our similarities rather than our differences. I wish I could see the kids more when they became young adults. I wonder when Howie will make another film about them.

I am going to interview Howie at the 10th annual San Diego Asian Film Festival on Oct 23, following the 4 pm screening at the UltraStar Cinema in Mission Valley. I am very excited about the interview! Watch my reviews of this and other films on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/perryspreviews

This movie is about cross-cultural friendship. Howie observed that the Beijingers are very much like the New Yorkers: tough on the outside, tender in the inside.

You may speak different languages, but friendship speaks only one language.
Copyright 2009 by Perry S. Chen

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Perry Chen is a 9-year-old columnist, movie critic, and radio talk show host of “Perry Previews the Movies” on www.wsRadio.com. He has been featured on CBS Evening News, Fox, KUSI, San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Family Magazine, San Diego Magazine, SDNN, The China Press, etc. His reviews are available on his website: www.perryspreviews.com. Listen to his radio show on www.wsRadio.com/perry

Perry invites viewers to join him at the free screening of director Howie Snyder’s “My Beijing Birthday” on Friday, Oct 23, 4 pm at the San Diego Asian Film Festival at UltraStar Mission Valley Cinema (7510 Hazard Center Dr. 92108, 858-619-685-2841), followed by Perry’s interview with the director and audience Q&A. More info: www.sdaff.org