MovieChat Forums > How to Make an American Quilt (1995) Discussion > could be better

could be better

posted 18 years ago by Rufus-T
2 replies | jump to latest

I do like the movie. The story is quite interesting, as well as the metaphor provided by the quilt. I love the cast (well, mostly picked this out because of Wynona Ryder).

It was quite boring in the beginning. It started to pick up when the story of the old ladies' past begins to reveal. The best is Anna's story. She said something like "I rather wonder than kick myself". This is ironic because that is not how usually the media teaches, more like that of the opposite.

When movie ended, but I felt something is missing in the movie. It was flat I guess especially the beginning, and maybe the music didn't help enough either. I like the ending with the dive. Kind of like life is like the dive, let go and let gravity (which is life force) takes care of you. At that moment, I like the movie, but I felt not satisfied and that the movie could have been one of the best movie if done right, which did not happen. I can't explain more on why. Maybe someone can help me out if agree with me.

[–] wallykitten1 18 years ago

I really liked this movie, but I can see how you'd feel that way. I kind of felt like the ending was a little flat but I think it was because all the other women's stories were pretty meaningful and Winona's characters story didn't seem as intense as the rest of them. Sorry for the run on sentence. Anyway, I'm not sure if that is how you felt, but that was my feeling.

[–] Rufus-T 18 years ago

The way you described it. This movie also reminds me of another movie I like a lot, but that I wasn't satisfied: Joy Luck Club. The Joy Luck CLub book is terrific from beginning to end. In the movie, the mothers' stories would have made that one of the most powerful movie ever. Somehow, the daughters' stories were not casted nor presented that well. I guess it is very hard to make a good movie with many stories involved. Joy Luck Club could have been called How to Make an Chinese-American Quilt. Unlike How to Make an American Quilt, Joy Luck Club has one my favorite movie ending.