Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 29, 2023

My hometown of Portland, Oregon evidently once had the second biggest Chinatown in the United States after San Francisco, but the ravages of time and tide have reduced at least the physical evidence of that population pretty dramatically, though there are still vestiges in the northern downtown neighborhood known as The Pearl. San Francisco's Chinatown has had a considerably more long lasting existence, as anyone who has visited the area in "Baghdad by the Bay" will agree. Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart offers a rather sweetly intimate look at an immigrant family in San Francisco's Chinatown, as an at least somewhat Americanized daughter named Geraldine (Laureen Chew) attempts to navigate some occasionally rocky territory with her mother Mrs. Tam (Kim Chew, Laureen's real life mom), a resolutely "old country" type who happens to be superstitious and is convinced she's about to meet her Maker and so that getting Geraldine happily married is Job One.

There's already a rather interesting and "real" feeling dialectic at play in the relationship between mother and daughter, for as much as Mrs. Tam and maybe even Geraldine herself (who has a boyfriend waiting in Los Angeles) may give lip service to Geraldine getting hitched, there's also an unstated understanding that Geraldine feels responsible for taking care of her aging mother, and Mrs. Tam isn't exactly immune to the blandishments having a full time "caretaker" offers. A third character, perhaps slightly confusingly called Uncle Tam (Victor Wong), is also on hand and has eyes for the widowed Mrs. Tam, though she may not be particularly responsive to any amorous intent.

This is a rather quiet, gentle and unhurried film that may be short on "plot" (at least as it's often characterized), but absolutely lovingly long on character. Some of the supplements get into the rather interesting background of the film as well as director Wayne Wang's decision to use non-professional actors in two key roles. There is admittedly perhaps a bit of "not quite ready for prime time" in the Chews' work, with just the hint of awkwardness at times, but the underlying "truth" of the relationships being depicted is so palpable that any minor stumbles easily fade into the background.

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. I think this may be the first Criterion release that I've personally reviewed that doesn't have a section in its insert booklet (or in this case, leaflet) that offers at least some verbiage on the transfer and/or restoration. Instead the only data I could find was on the back cover of this release, which states this features a "high definition digital master of a new director's cut featuring previously unseen footage, supervised by director Wayne Wang". While some may chafe that the aspect ratio here isn't quite at the theatrical exhibition ratio of 1.85:1, and others may note that there are some noticeable color timing and clarity variances that accrue at times, on the whole this is a really nicely organic and well detailed presentation of the film. I personally found the grading to be just a tad on the yellow and/or brown sides at times, but on the whole there's a really nicely naturalistic appearance here, with some of the primaries in particular (especially reds) often looking wonderfully vivid. Fine detail on items like fabrics is typically excellent. Grain resolves without any issues. There are some minor signs of age related wear and tear, and what I'm assuming is some of the "previously unseen footage" (it's been years since I saw this film theatrically, and I frankly don't have a clear memory) can show some desnity differences from the bulk of the presentation.

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart features a nicely expressive LPCM Mono track in English (with a few moments of Chinese here and there). The film is very dialogue heavy, and the mono track does a good job of prioritizing all the spoken moments, with ambient environmental sounds and a rather sweetly evocative score by Todd Boekelheide mixed well. All elements are delivered without any damage or distortion. Optional English subtitles are available.

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Wayne Wang and Arthur Dong (HD; 24:14) is a 2022 interview that covers Wang's career in general and Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart in particular.


• Laureen Chew (HD; 13:53) is a 2004 interview with Chew, who discusses how the film is based at least in part on her real life relationship with her mother.

Additionally, the foldout leaflet contains a good essay by Brian Hu.

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart may falter in the "truth in advertising" department in its very title, since I'd argue this film offers a lot of heart. Technical merits are generally solid, and both of the on disc supplements are appealing. Recommended.