The Joy Luck Club

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The old woman remembered

a swan she had bought...

many years ago in Shanghai

for a foolish sum.

"This bird," boasted

the market vendor...

"was once a duck that

stretched its neck...

in hopes

of becoming a goose.

And now look.

It is too beautiful to eat."

Then the woman and the swan

sailed across an ocean...

many thousands of li wide...

stretching their necks

toward America.

On her journey

she cooed to the swan...

"In America I will have

a daughter just like me.

But over there, nobody will say

her worth is measured...

by the loudness

of her husband's belch.

Over there, nobody will

look down on her...

because I will make her speak

only perfect American English.

And over there, she will always be

too full to swallow any sorrow.

She will know my meaning

because I will give her this swan...

a creature that became more

than what was hoped for."

But when she arrived

in the new country...

the immigration officials

pulled the swan away from her...

leaving the woman

fluttering her arms...

and with only one swan

feather for a memory.

For a long time now,

the woman had wanted...

to give her daughter

the single swan feather...

and tell her, "This feather

may look worthless...

but it comes from afar

and carries with it...

all my good intentions."

- Hi!

- Oh, Jennifer! Oh, hi!

- Hi, June.

- Hi.

Yeah, I want-- That's it.

How are you, June?

...the official line

of scrimmage. No gain.

- Come on, do or die.

Right here. Come on, do or die!

- Come on!

- All right, all right,

they're lining up for a pass!

- A pass, man!

- It's a pass! Here we go, baby!

- Fourth and seven.

- Here we go. Come on!

- Oakland.

All right, all right,

here we go! Here we go!

- Yes. Yes. Yes!

- Yeah!

Yes! I told you, man!

I told you!

Yeah, you owe me five bucks!

Every morning,

"Wave, Wave, Waverly-a!"

I do not sound like--

She's saying I sound like my--

I do not sound like my mother.

How could I be like my mother?

- And you started--

- She said that too.

- She is right, you know.

This kind of vegetable...

- What?

- Don't put Chinese cabbage in the salad.

- has to be, has to be boiled.

- I always use Chinese cabbage--

- It's bitter.

- Mmm, Dad, that smells good.

- Thanks.

- No! No!

- It will fall apart!

- Someone help me now.

- I can't believe they're still arguing.

- Come on, picture time!

- Picture time! Picture time!

All right, picture time now.

- Waverly, Waverly loves it!

- Aunt Rose! Rose!

- Rose! Rose! Rose!

- Come on, come on, come on.

- Picture, picture.

- We're ready.

- Come on.

- Oh! June.

-June. Come here.

- Come on, June!

- Get over here!

- Get over here!

-Get over here!

-Come on!

-Oh, no, that's all right, Lena.

- Come on!

- It's all right.

- No, really.

- Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead.

- Go on!

- Come on, right now.

-June, come closer, darling. Come closer.

- All right, enough.

- Enough. Time to take the picture now.

- Come on, girls.

All right, let me check your hair.

Okay, it looks nice.

- Now smile naturally, Ma.

- I always do, Waverly.

- You look beautiful.

- No, you don't. Do a nice, friendly one.

- You look younger all the time.

How is that?

- I give you my good skin.

- Really? You promise?

- You will look like me when you are older.

- Yes.

- Come close.

- I'm close, Mom.

- But don't crush my hair.

- Say cheese.

- I won't.

- Cheese!

- Cheese!

- Cheese!

Ying Ying, take this.

-My mother died four months ago.

-...$9.99.

I realized for the first time,

they wanted me to take my mother's place.

So I sat down on the East,

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