Based upon Amy Tan's 1989 Best Seller The Joy Luck Club tells the tale of the experiences of four mothers and their daughters. Their life stories, past experiences and memories are shared with the audience when each of their memories are stirred at a sendoff party for June (played by Ming-Na Wen).
The joy luck club was formed when June's mother after migrating to America met with 3 other mothers with similar experiences. They grew close and formed the "Joy Luck Club", a club where the mothers share their stories and experiences. After the passing of June's mother she is invited to take her mothers place at the table.
The film opens the viewers mind to the past experiences of the families through flashbacks which each of the characters have while at the send off party for June. The mother's flashbacks concentrate on their struggles during early life in pre revolution china while their daughters concentrate on their mother daughter relationships. The Flashbacks appear to concentrate on three aspects of each characters life. Their early life mid life and present life. By effective use of these flashbacks the film succeeds in presenting and comparing the past and the present and comparing the two. The director Wayne Wang has obviously taken great care in the structure of the flashbacks as they blend the past and present smoothly with no jarring of the storyline. .
The stories of the mothers and daughters as individual memories create an idea of the purpose of the joy luck club but when pictured as a whole many strong common themes emerge from the movie. Two of which are the mother daughter relationships and the ways that the development of children differs between generations and countries. The film deeply explores these themes through the memories of the mothers and daughters. .
A large part of the development of the characters occurs through the flashbacks. We are introduced to many of the characters while they are still children and have the opportunity to see how they handle situations and overcome difficulties.