Netflix just released the official trailer for Alan Yang’s Tigertail, a movie Yang himself as labelled to be “a love letter to [his] family”, since it is loosely based on Yang’s father’s immigration story. Yang took to Twitter to share the trailer release and spread some love during this unprecedented time in history.
The trailer for TIGERTAIL is here! Please share it with anyone who needs an escape for two minutes today, especially Asian-Americans, who are facing an unprecedented time in our history. This film is a love letter to my family and all of the Asian immigrants out there. 謝謝大家！ pic.twitter.com/hn0s36FVqJ
— Alan Yang 楊維榕 (@alanyang) March 26, 2020
This is Yang’s first feature film; he was mostly working in TV before this, as writer and producer for Parks and Recreation, and the co-creator of TV show Master of None with Aziz Ansari. Tigertail is on my 10 Original Netflix Movies to Watch in 2020 list, and the trailer shows us all clearly why this is the case.
The parts of the film that take place in Taiwan has this sensual, fever dream-like quality, where everything is slow and languid. This transitions to the more sombre, cool tones of America, after main character Pin Jui moves there and settles into life there. The older Pin Jui is played by Tzi Ma, while the younger version of him is played by Hong-Chi Lee.
In an interview with Vulture, Yang explained why John Cho, who was slated to star in the movie, eventually didn’t end up being a part of it.
He said: “It killed me to do it, but his character was in some of the modern-day scenes, and we didn’t end up using those scenes.” He called Cho and they had a long, meaningful conversation about it, and Cho understood that “sometimes in the course of editing, the movie tells you want it wants to be” – all part and parcel of the filmmaking process. Cho is still an executive producer on the film, and continues to show his support for Yang and the film.
Tigertail will be released on Netflix April 10, 2020.
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