Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

2011 • 104 minutes
4.3
39 reviews
22%
Tomatometer
PG-13
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

From the director of The Joy Luck Club, and based on the best-selling novel, comes a timeless portrait of female friendship. Centuries ago, two "sworn sisters" are isolated by their families, but stay connected through a secret language written in the folds of a white silk fan. Now in modern-day Shanghai, their descendents must draw inspiration from the past as they struggle to maintain their own eternal bond in the face of life's complications. What unfolds are two stories, generations apart, but everlasting in their universal notion of love, hope and friendship.
Rating
PG-13

Ratings and reviews

4.3
39 reviews
h saltzmo
July 16, 2014
I loved the book so much that I had to watch this despite all of the reviews claiming that it's awful. However, I found myself wishing for it to end several times - even when I was only thirty minutes in. What I wanted was a movie depicting the book. This has scenes directly from the book, but with modern girls in a similar situation to Lily and Snow Flower. This normally wouldn't be a problem - movies have successfully done this before - but Snow Flower and the Secret Fan becomes more about these modern girls than the ones in 19th century China that we grew to love. The scenes that do follow the book are well-chosen and are meant to draw emotions, but they never gave us enough background on the two girls to become empathetic in the first place. I never once felt sad for either girl simply because it was so difficult to understand what was going on - and I had read the book carefully so as not to miss a single detail. You might feel as though you HAVE to watch this movie since the book was so heartfelt and pure, but DO NOT. Granted, it hasn't ruined my thoughts about the book - really it's only deepened my respect for Lisa See - but I feel like I wasted two hours of my life.
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It's funny how time flys
October 2, 2015
I read this book about 12 years ago and am glad they made this movie...
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Tenae Williams
November 21, 2014
My tears flowed as a river
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