Netflix’s ‘Tigertail’ Explores a Taiwanese Immigrant’s Struggle to Connect With His Daughter

Sandra Miska

The fraught relationship between an emotionally-distant father, Pin-Jui (Tzi Ma, Hong-Chi Lee as a young man), and his adult daughter, Angela (Christine Ko), is front and center in “Tigertail,” a Netflix feature from writer/director Alan Yang. Yang, who co-created the series “Master of None” as well as wrote and produced for “Parks and Recreation,” explores the dynamic between an immigrant parent and his American-born child through a more serious lens here, alternating between the present day and Pin-Jui’s youth in Taiwan to illustrate how his circumstances and life choices not only impacted his own life, but also Angela’s, who discovers that she his more like her dad than either of them realize.

Ko, who, like her character is Taiwanese-American, immediately connected with Angela when she first read Yang’s script. The actress opened up to Entertainment Voice about her own childhood in Georgia, where she grew up with her aunt and uncle who adopted her at age three. “It was a very similar upbringing where they were very strict and I did not really talk about feelings and emotions, and I really loved the arts and entertainment, and that was something that wasn’t as prevalent in our culture. I really felt like when I read the script, this idea where there’s a disconnect with our parents, and it’s not because we don’t love them, it’s because it’s hard for us to communicate, I personally really related to that.”

While lawyer Angela grappless with the demise of her own marriage, she finds herself simultaneously struggling to connect with her stoic father, who has lived a somewhat solitary life since his own divorce years earlier from Angela’s mother, Zhenzhen (Fiona Fu, Kunjue Li as a young woman). There’s much tension when the pair are alone together, and Angela’s frustration is palpable as she pushes for her father to show even the slightest hint of emotion. 

“Angela reallys wants a relationship with her father,” said Ko. “I think so many second generation kids feel this thing where you want to be able to relate to your parents, but it’s hard. There’s a silence there, and you’re scared to ask more questions, and you’re scared to upset them, so out of respect you refrain from doing that. Instead you’re just quiet and kind of accept what they say to you.”

If only Angela had known the man we get to know through flashback, a more carefree, even at times happy-go-lucky, young person in the throes of first love with his childhood sweetheart, Yuan (Yo-Hsing Fang). As she is from a more upper-class background, marriage is supposedly out of the question, but that doesn’t stop the pair from enjoying each other when Pin-Jui is able to break away from his factory job and his inquisitive mother. After his mother has an accident on the factory floor, he makes the heartbreaking decision to take up an offer from his boss to marry his daughter, despite his having no romantic feelings for her, in exchange for the older man giving the couple seed money to start a new life in America. There’s a perceivable change in Pin-Jui as he leaves behind his home and true love in an effort to do what he believes is the right thing.

Once the young couple arrive in New York, the focus shifts more to Zhenzhen, who struggles with feelings of isolation during the long days she is home alone while her husband works. A language barrier prevents her from making friends at first, but she eventually connects with Peijing (Cindera Che), an older, more outspoken Taiwanese immigrant. In a twist that’s relatable for many women of her time, immigrant or not, Zhenzhen has a bit of a feminist awakening, and her desire to have a career outside of the home and Pin-Jui’s unwillingness to evolve plays a major role in the eventual dissolution of their marriage.

Onscreen, Angela and Pin-Jui experience a slow thaw in their relationship. In real life, Ko and Ma grew closer during film, which helped them during their journey to the emotional climax. “As we started shooting towards the end, when I really got to know him as a person and love him as a fellow actor, it made the scenes in which we had to play the distance easier, because I [came to understand] that the reason why there’s tension is because there’s love, because if you don’t care about a person, there’s no tension there. There’s no want to connect.”

Like Yang, Ko comes from a comedy background, and she can currently be seen on the FXX sitcom “Dave.” “Emma [her character] on ‘Dave’ couldn’t be more different than Angela. It’s just fun to work a different muscle. This is a whole new experience for me, as well, because the majority of the stuff we shoot is improv, where on Alan’s film it’s very [scripted] in a specific way.

Playing Angela, Ko learned a lot about forgiveness, not only towards others, but also towards herself, as we humans tend to be, next our parents, our own harshest critics. “Tigertail” also teaches an important lesson about being attuned into the needs of others. “Personally, I came out of filming this movie and was like, ‘Okay, I want to be a better daughter and I want to be a better partner.’ I feel like all my life I’m always talking about what I want, and then this movie made me look back and be like, ‘Oh, what do I give back to people? How do I make them feel when they’re with me?’ That’s what I want to focus on.”

“I think the main takeaway from this film is just how much time we have in our lives to connect with people we care about, and that it’s okay if you didn’t have a perfect relationship with your parents growing up,” continued Ko. “It’s really never too late. Especially right now, we’re all separated, the streets are empty and everyone is staying inside because we love each other. We’re doing it because we care about each other and we’re trying to protect each other. If this is a time to pick up a phone or send an email out to someone who you haven’t connected with in a really long time, do it. What do you have to lose?”

“Tigertail” begins streaming April 10 on Netflix.