Tuesday, January 31, 2006
CULTURE SHOCK Revised 020106 4AMPT
I have to admit that when I saw that
was a NYTimes Best Film, I thought that it was a Charley Chan movie (almost always played by an anglo).
That is one of the many points of this simple little indie film. The Chinese in America have a complex cultural overlay.
There are the two Chinas, commie and Taiwan. There are the traditional and the assimilated. And so on.
As it turns out, this Chan has some money that is owed to two guys who go in search of him. They encounter many people who might have clues. Each of the people has an idea of why Chan is missing. There lies the conflict.
By the end, there are maybe thirteen reasons.
A little like Godot. If Godot was Chinese.
It is all set in Chinatown in San Francisco.
This is Wayne Wang's second film. He was named after John Wayne. How is that for culture shock?! He made it for 22,000 dollars. It has more to chew on than most of what we are offered on the big screen for megamillions.
It is crude and yet, at times, quite poetic and beautiful to watch.
There are times when a caucasian (me) will squirm at what is going on. Also the point of the film.
No. It is anything other than Charley Chan. Let alone with an anglo actor.
It gets a 4 out of Netflix5 from me.
