'' The Jade Pendant '' is a 2017 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Leong Po-Chih Leong Po-Chih (born 31 December 1939) is a British-born Chinese film director from Hong Kong and United States. Early life On December 31, 1939, Leong was born in England. He has two siblings. Leong attended the London Film School, before em ...

and starring

Godfrey Gao Godfrey Gao (; 22 September 1984 – 27 November 2019) was a Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor. Described as Asia's first male supermodel, Gao was the first male Asian model to appear in a campaign for Louis Vuitton. As an actor, he was known f ...

as Tom Wong,

Clara Lee Clara Lee (; born Lee Sung-min () on 14 January 1985), better known by her mononym Clara, is a Swiss-born British actress and model based in South Korea. Career Clara (born Lee Sung-Min，李成敏) made her entertainment debut under her birt ...

as Peony, following a tragic love story leading to the largest mass lynching in American history, of 19 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles' Chinatown, in 1871.

Cast gallery

File:Clara Lee from "China Film Week in Tokyo & Okinawa 2017" at Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2017 (40203185331).jpg,

File:一人·一张 NO.146 高以翔.jpg,

File:Tzi Ma (28212965079).jpg,

Tzi Ma Tzi Ma (;) is a Hong Kong-American actor. He is well known for his roles in television shows, such as ''The Man in the High Castle'' and '' 24'', and films, such as ''Dante's Peak'', ''Rush Hour'', ''Rush Hour 3'', ''Arrival'', '' The Farewell' ...

File:Tsaichin-memoirsofageisha-3.jpg,

Tsai Chin Tsai Chin may refer to: * Tsai Chin (actress) (born 1933), actress from Shanghai, also known as Irene Chow * Tsai Chin (singer) (born 1957), Taiwanese singer {{Hndis ...

File:Russell Wong, AFI Film Festival Los Angeles 2009.jpg,

Russell Wong Russell Wong (; born March 1, 1963) is an American actor of film and television. He was one of the first actors of Chinese descent to hold a leading role in a primetime American television series, portraying Jian-Wa with Chi Muoi Lo portraying W ...

File:Mark Boone Junior by Gage Skidmore.jpg,

Mark Boone Junior Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...

Plot

A tragic love story Follows the journey of a young girl and lead character in the film ''Peony'' (

), who, fleeing an arranged marriage in China, is tricked into signing a contract to work as a "flower girl" in America, with her friend Lily (Nina Lu). Her determination and martial arts skills, aid her refusal to succumb to the world of prostitution, then she meets ''Tom'' (

), an American Born Chinese cook whose father Mr. Wong, (

) works on the

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

. Despite the gender role reversal of Peony and Tom, the relationship thrives to marriage and a child. Throughout the film, Peony is wearing a circular disk green jade pendant, which was a gift from her grandmother to bring her luck and protection. Not all is blissful though, as Hong Kong Triad boss ''Yu Hing'' (

) seeks to extend his power into America, is fixated on obtaining Peony for his own needs. This film tells the tale of the first great Chinese migration to the United States, was released on the anniversary of the largest mass lynching in American history, of 19 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles' Chinatown, in 1871 and was Filmed in Utah.

Cast

as Tom Wong (湯姆・黃) *

as Peony / Ying Ying Leung Wong (牡丹 / 黃粱瑩瑩) * Brian Yang as Sam (三姆) *

Tsai Chin Tsai Chin may refer to: * Tsai Chin (actress) (born 1933), actress from Shanghai, also known as Irene Chow * Tsai Chin (singer) (born 1957), Taiwanese singer {{Hndis ...

as Madame Pong (龐太太) *

as Wong Lim (黃廉) *

Chen Tang Chen Tang (), born in Jining, Shandong, was a Han dynasty Chinese general famous for his battle against Zhizhi in 36 BC during the Han–Xiongnu War. Battle of Zhizhi At approximately 36 BC, the governor of the Western Regions was Gan Y ...

as Joe Lee (李喬) * Jamie Harris as Robert Thompson * Nina Wu as Lily (莉莉) *

Sue Wong Sue Wong is a Chinese-born American fashion designer best known for her dress designs with a contemporary twist based on old Hollywood glamor style. Her collections, available in some 27 countries, have been noted for her interpretations of the t ...

as Po Ping (王太太) * Edward Zo as Mei Song (宋眉) *

Christine Ko Christine Ko (born August 3, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American actress, known for her roles as Emma on the CBS sitcom '' The Great Indoors'', Mandy on ''Upload'' and Emma on ''Dave''. Before her success in America, she had a brief career in Taiwan ...

as May (梅) * Song Hanz as Rough Looking Man * Raymond Ma as Dr. Tong (董大夫) *

as Captain Wynne *

as Yu Hing (余興)

Reception

The bigger Hollywood studios initially rejected the idea of a western with a cast of predominantly Asian descent, which would only be acceptable in a

kung-fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

movie. however, independent producer Thomas Leong liked the story and in 2015 agreed to the project. ''The Jade Pendant'' took the honour of receiving the "Golden Angel" Award for "the best film by an Independent Producer" at the 2017

Chinese American Film Festival Chinese American Film Festival (CAFF) is an American film festival held every November since 2006 in California (with events in Los Angeles and San Francisco, previously also in San Diego). History In 2005, the Chinese American Film Festival w ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jade Pendant, The 2017 films American Western (genre) films Films set in the 1870s Films set in Los Angeles Triad films 2010s American films 2010s Hong Kong films