Banana In a Nutshell

Roseanne Liang is a 1st generation New Zealand born Chinese. Having been in love for 8 years with a white New Zealander, her task is now to navigate the cultural minefield of getting a blessing for marriage from her very traditional Chinese parents, who have built a Chinese castle of their home in Auckland, New Zealand. Here, nestled in white middle-class suburbia, a white boy will have to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese well enough to impress a Chinese father.
Banana in a Nutshell starts by tracing Roseanne Liang's upbringing as an over-achieving 1st generation Chinese New Zealander. Through an intimate voice-over and archival materials, it covers her stellar academic successes tempered by her dismal social inadequacy. This problem is surprisingly solved by the emergence of a wonderful boyfriend called Stephen and even more surprisingly, the falling into of love with him.
The second section of Banana in a Nutshell covers Roseanne's parents' traditional Chinese roots in Hong Kong, and their subsequent desire to raise 'good Chinese children' a world away in New Zealand. Through a confessional monologue and series of interviews with Roseanne's sisters, the growing divide between the children and the parents is illustrated most starkly with their hostile reaction to her eldest sister's first non-Chinese boyfriend. From this experience, Roseanne and Stephen decide to keep the first 6 years of their relationship a secret. An unexpected tragedy precipitates a showdown with Roseanne's parents which results in a major concession: a white boy may ask for acknowledgement and a daughter's hand in marriage, but only if he shows his devotion to the Chinese culture by learning its language.
The third and final section of Banana in a Nutshell covers Stephen's quest to learn Chinese to a level well enough to impress Roseanne's father into giving his blessing for marriage. Through observational footage peppered with interviews of Roseanne and her sisters, the question of fairness is asked (considering Roseanne's middle sister's Chinese New Zealander husband doesn't speak any Chinese), how her father will actually examine Stephen on his language skills and whether he will find him wanting, and finally what they will do if her father refuses. We follow the couple to just before the big meeting with Roseanne's father, then wait nervously with her in the car. Finally, we catch the immediate verdict, the elation that follows, and finish on a promising domestic scene where Roseanne muses in voice-over on what is to come…