AUDIO

They Think I'm Chinese! (On me prend pour une Chinoise!)

by Nicole Giguère
color. 52 min. w/English or French subtitles. , Prods. VF & Natl. Film Bd. of Canada, 800-542-2164; www.nfb.ca. 2013. DVD UPC 698193274386. $195. Public performance; streaming rights available. SOC SCI
COPY ISBN
The five girls featured in this film actually are Chinese ethnically, though they are Canadian by nationality, having been adopted in the 1990s from orphanages in Hunan, China. A trip back to those orphanages uncovers little history and only adds to the poignancy and mystery of their origins. The teens are presented here in Montréal as typical young women thinking of college, relationships, family, and careers. Director Giguère, the mother of one of the girls, has filmed them since early childhood, but we view them here over only a three-year span. Featuring the teens over a wider range of years (as in Michael Apted's "UP" movies) would have been more compelling and put a greater emphasis on the adoption program.
VERDICT A portrayal of a mother's fascination with her child rather than a chronicle about adoption. For libraries with a large ethnically diverse population.
Reviewed by Kitty Chen Dean, New York , Aug 01, 2014
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