Dear David B. Jaffe, Saw your query for Asian Immigrant Experience films, posted it to my fellow subscribers on the eram-list and got the following replies. Happy viewing! ERaM (Ethnicity, Racism and the Media) Programme Convenor Dr Apurba Kundu -------------------------------------------------------------------------- TO THE PERSON LOOKING FOR MOVIES ABOUT ASIAN IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCES IN THE U.S. I RECENTLY WATCHED ON CALLED "THE WEDDING BANQUET". IT WAS PARTLY IN ENGLISH AND PARTLY WITH ENGLISH SUB-TITLES. IT WAS A COMEDY, BUT IT ALSO DEALT VERY MUCH WITH DIFFERING/CHANGING/EVOLVING VALUES WITHIN THIS ONE FAMILY UNIT. C. REID ------------------------------------------------------------- There's "Sam and Me" a Canadian film about the relationship between an Indian (South Asian) man who takes care of an old Jewish man in Toronto. I can't remember when it came out or the name of the director who's the same woman who directed "Camilla". (She's Indian herself). Also Mina Shum's "Double Happiness" perhaps? (1993) She's also Canadian. Gaik Cheng Khoo University of British Columbia ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Mississippi Masala," starring Denzel Washington and directed by Mira Nair, may be of particular interest due to its focus on the manner in which South Asian immigrants have complicated the questions of privilege and hierarchy vis a vis race within the context of a historically charged Mississippi. Nice love story, too. In a different vein, for a film that complicates and challenges the usual one dimensional portrayals of Black/White race relations and of gender see "Love Field"(1992) starring Michele Pfeiffer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Two movies of Wayne Wang - "Chan is Missing" and "East a Bowl of Tea" feature the experience of Chinese immigrants to the U.S. ___________ Dina Iordanova Phone 512-471-2382 East European Media and Cultural Studies Fax 512-471-3368 Radio-TV-Film/Slavic; CMA 6.118 E-mail: [log in to unmask] University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712-1091 http://www.utexas.edu/ftp/depts/eems/main.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In response to a number of postings regarding films that depict the Asian American immigration experience, may I offer a couple of suggestions: I don't recommend "Come See the Paradise," the mainstream movie that dealt with the Japanese American internment camps during WWII, because of distortions in history and because it is framed around the typical "white knight" rescues Asian female romance plot. "PictureBride" deals with Japanese immigration to Hawaii, with the story line dealing with the picture bride phenomenon. In a completely differentvein are a couple of documentaries: "Who Killed Vincent Chin," about the beating death of a Chinese American in Detroit. "Forbidden City," about the Chinese-American nightclub in San Francisco after WWII "The Color of Honor," about the role of Japanese American men in the U.S. Army during WWII ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The director of SAM AND ME is Deepa Mehta. And you're right. She also directed the late Jessica Tandy in her last film - CAMILLA. Both films may have made in Canada but they deal with universal themes of relationships between people from different ages, backgrounds, races or cultures. ------------------------------------------------------------------- There are several films in the Hollywood industry that try to portray the Asian Experience in America, but many of them are mainstream. I am not Asian, but I enjoy films. Some mainstream films would be: Wedding Banquet Joy Luck Club Dragon - the story of Bruce Lee Heaven and Earth >From Here to Hanoi Mississipi Masala I would prefer some non-traditional movies you would have to look up in video store. I have seen many of these films that deal with these issues in a more realistic and less "Hollywood" manner. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dennis Quid film is entitled, Come See the Paradise (1990) by Alan Parker, who also directed Mississippi Burning, Birdy, Fame, The Commitments, Pink Floyd: The Wall, Midnight Express, amoung others. Odd variety of topics. I beleive Cineaste magizine had a cover story about it. For films and film/video makers dealing with the experiece of Asian Immigrints in the US see MOVING THE IMAGE: INDEPENDENT ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN MEDIA ARTS (1991) pub.: UCLA Asian American Studies Center. It contains several articles that mention Asian immigration. I remember one about James Howe, oscar winning cinematographer and the racism he faced working in Hollywood. You may want to call the Asian Society in Manhattan. They sponser the Asain Film/Video festival in NYC. There was a recent film about a Asain restraunt waiter in Queens (1992?), can't remember the title....sorry Also: there is a independent documentary, that uses footage from a Japanese internment camp in Utah or Neveda-- someone had snuck a 8mm camera into the compound. I saw I copy of this at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. They could give you the title. Also: Wong, Lloyd. "This is Our Home: Claiming South Asian Identity in Britain.". Fuse. Summer 1990. pp. 9 -11. Jeff Heinle Jeff Heinle [log in to unmask] 3880 North Star Road Cottage Grove, WI 53527 Film Archivist, State Historical Society of Wisconsin (608)877-1075 ----------------------------------------------------------------- I believe the film with Dennis Quaid is called "Welcome to the Paradise". You may also want to consider "The Joy Luck Club". Rick Shepherd ------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]