This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”. To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.
Chan Is Missing
I'd heard about Smoke and Blue in the Face, and Wayne Wang has often been mentioned amongst the names of other independent filmmakers that I enjoy so I wanted to check him out. But I thought maybe it would be a good idea to check out his first film.
Chan Is Missing on it's own does not inspire me to see any more of Wang's work, but I am still interested. I definitely saw some potential here.
Although the story itself wasn't all the gripping, and the acting didn't always feel quite right, I did appreciate the fact that this was a story about a large American culture that had been virtually ignored in American films. And I think it still has.
Chinese American culture hardly ever seems to be portrayed in films in a very honest and complete way that I can think of. Either some aspect of their stereotypes are exploited as part of a secondary character or story, or their entire culture is exploited.
This movie explores a lot of different important issues and aspects of a major American culture that seem to be a part of their daily lives. I found it very interesting for that reason. But the story itself was not all that compelling other than what Wang was trying to reveal through it.
Rating: 7/10