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China Girl

China Girl

Romance · Crime · Drama · 1987

Teenage lovers Tony and Tyan-Hwa tip the balance of power in New York's Little Italy and Chinatown.

Movie details

China Girl

“He's Italian. She's Chinese. Their gangs are sworn enemies. They are secret lovers... caught in the crossfire.”

1987 Romance · Crime · Drama 1h 30m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

Teenage lovers Tony and Tyan-Hwa tip the balance of power in New York's Little Italy and Chinatown.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over China Girl?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Abel Ferrara

Written by

Nicholas St. John

James Russo

James Russo

Alby

Richard Panebianco

Richard Panebianco

Tony

Sari Chang

Sari Chang

Tye

David Caruso

David Caruso

Mercury

Russell Wong

Russell Wong

Yung Gan

Joey Chin

Joey Chin

Tsu Shin

Judith Malina

Judith Malina

Mrs. Monte

Court is in session

Put China Girl on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.