The American dream gets complicated in Tigertail, the directorial debut of Alan Yang.
Pin-Jui always wanted to come to America. While he was happy in Taiwan, he imagined even greater things for himself across the sea, so he jumped at the first opportunity to leave his home. Problem is that involved marrying a woman he hardly knew, and once they were alone in a new culture, their lack of chemistry only became more apparent. Still, they built a life together, and throughout the years, Pin-Jui revisited the fateful decisions that brought him his uneasy happiness.
While new to feature directing, Yang is seasoned at laying out complicated stories of immigrants such as this from his extensive TV work. Probably best known as a co-creator of Master of None, he’s also written and/or directed for such acclaimed shows as Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, and Forever. All incredibly ambitious stuff, so it’s no surprise that it looks like he’s trying to cram a lot into Tigertail.
Headlining as the reminiscing Pin-Jui is Tzi Ma, who’s appeared in a ton of high profile films like Arrival and Rush Hour but rarely gets the chance to star. That’s no fault of his own, of course, it’s just American movies don’t really put Asian or Asian-American characters at their center. Like him, co-stars Christine Ko and Fiona Fu have been bouncing around without a big part, making this project a big chance for pretty much everyone involved.
Tigertail is directed by Alan Yang and stars Tzi Ma, Christine Ko, and Fiona Fu. It will be released worldwide on Netflix on April 10th, 2020.
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