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]
|
