Go Back to China is the inspirational family film we desperately need right now

Emily Ting’s Go Back to China is a tiny gem of a film that shines bright and colorful. Everyone needs to see it.

Go Back to China was nothing like I expected. I’m not sure what I was expecting exactly, maybe a decent comedy with the occasional laugh here and there, and it certainly was all that, but it was also so much more. I didn’t expect to like the film as much as I did and I liked it so much that I had to look up writer and director Emily Ting seconds after the credits to write down every scrap of film that she had ever touched.

In case you were also wondering, Ting directed Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong and the documentary film, Family Inc. Her new film, however, is the perfect way to start off the new decade, a semi-autobiographical film that’s a mix between Legally Blonde and Crazy Rich Asians, but without any love story. Which I must say was incredibly refreshing.

It caters to the struggles of younger generations while also instructing them on how to do better. The star of the film is Sasha Li (Anna Akana), a spoiled rich girl living off a trust fund provided by her absentee father. She’s an incredibly endearing L.A. brat that expects everything to be handed over to her as if she’s earned it. Despite this major flaw, she’s one of the most relatable protagonists I’ve seen in a long time. She also has an incredible pink fluffy coat.

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After being a year out of college with a fashion degree, Sasha is struggling to get a job, but runs into that one irritating problem so many people born after 1990 have probably faced more than once. The dreaded words that are spoken by the interviewer as they numbly glance over your resume, “You don’t have any experience.”

I heard this sentence uttered to me so many times during my early-20’s that I still cringe when I hear the word “experience” (not really).

After blowing through half of her million-dollar trust fund (WTF!), she is cut off by her father (Richard Ng) and forced to move back to China. If she wants her money back, she has to work for him for one whole year. A very Devil Wears Prada moment.

[Minor spoilers ahead]

Now, a lot of this movie is predictable. You know that Sasha’s credit card is going to be declined way before it even gets declined and you know immediately that her fashion degree will come in handy at her father’s toy factory, where they’re in need of fresh new ideas. Although predictable isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this case because it allows you to put more focus on what’s happening to Sasha herself. Her personal journey is the story.

By the way, the toys Sasha designs are the cutest things I’ve ever seen! I wanted to reach through the screen and grab one. Fat little deers and sloths in scarves that were killing me with their cuteness.

Go Back to China touches on a lot of points and we don’t have time to go through them all, but one important thread it runs through is cultural ignorance, or rather, First World privilege. There is a moment in the beginning when a white woman, for no reason, shouts at Sasha to “go back to China”.

As if the mere presence of an Asian woman that she has never met before offends her personal existence, an example of the way people can often act when they live sheltered and far from reality.

The film dives into the struggles that come with living in China, putting a face to the “Made in China” tag seen in every department store. Ting is simple in her display, and the result is powerful. An intimate fish out of water approach that puts a woman who’s spent her whole life in America into everyday situations normal for those living in China.

Luxuries many take for granted such as affordable daycare, the right to an education, the freedom to have as many children as you want, healthy work lunches, and free-range use of the internet.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It’s proof that a movie can both entertain and inspire at the same time. You’ll go from rolling your eyes at Sasha to cheering her on, she’s a heroine to be proud of.

Go Back to China will appear on video on demand and have a limited theatrical release on March 6, 2020.