Much like a rigorously structured book, James Redford’s Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir fits together perfectly like a puzzle to tell the story of the life of the prolific author. Composed quite seriously in nature and tone, the late director’s (Robert Redford’s son) documentary may be too rigid for my taste, but will no doubt be enjoyed for fans of Tan’s, as well as those curious to learn more of this important literary figure.
Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir gives us the benefit of having Tan talk directly into the camera as she shares her struggles of growing up with a widowed and suicidal mother, whose pressure on their family to be “perfect Americans” caused incredible tension. Tan’s strained relationship with her mother is seen as the bedrock of the documentary, and the heart-rendering reason as to why she never wanted to become a mother herself.
However, as Tan talks about growing older and developing more mature outlooks on life, she began to disassociate from that love/hate relationship and put those feelings into full-bodied character development for her books, beginning with the best-selling The Joy Luck Club.
From there, Unintended Memoir explores other undiscovered corners of Tan’s life, including her battle with Lyme disease, joining a rock band, and her secret passion–bird watching–which add further interest to this complex person.
However, Unintended Memoir lacks cinematic imagination to tell her story. It’s a very straight-forward approach, and has an old-school style of documentary filmmaking–which isn’t a bad thing, per se; it just feels dated, whereas more diverse storytelling could have made her story even more impactful.
What surprised me the most to learn (out of all of her admissions) is that Tan didn’t start intentionally writing until her mid-thirties. To know that a minority woman of color can follow her dreams at this time–and better yet, find tremendous success by writing straight from her heart and personal experiences, is incredibly inspiring. To go from a schoolgirl who was ashamed of her mom’s Chinese food, to metamorphose into a revered idol in the Asian American community–and worldwide–is a beautiful evolution.
James Redford’s documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir might just make you want inspired to pick up one of Tan’s novels–as it’s done for me.
