AllMovie

Mounted on September 13, 2008 as a joint effort between the San Francisco Opera and Chinese-American author Amy Tan, The Bonesetter's Daughter adapted Tan's fourth novel (of the same name) as an opera. It represented something of a cross-cultural first, as well - one that brought Chinese and U.S. artists together under the same proscenium as it told Tan's story of the insoluble bond between mothers and daughters. Stylistic touches, considered remarkably bold but ingenious at the time, included a Western orchestra with Chinese instruments added, the presence of acrobats, and much more. The documentary Journey of the Bonesetter's Daughter travels behind the scenes of this groundbreaking production to study some of the hurdles that the production presented, and the artistic risks that it wrought, as well as librettist Tan's efforts to preserve the emotional integrity of the material on stage.