Chan Is Missing
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: B+
Even a few years before Spike Lee’s independent
breakthrough She’s Gotta Have It (1986), Wayne Wang created the
still-impressive Chan Is Missing in 1982, a film that broke ground in opening
up the world of Chinese Americans living in San Francisco’s famous Chinatown
district. Like Ridley Scott’s Blade
Runner the same year of release decided to portray the downside and
darkside of the town, with its supposed glory days in yesteryear and how the
area is still a gilded cage of despair and little hope.
Taking place in the time of its release, a man name Jo (a
great performance by Wood Moy) decides to try to find Chan Hoon, a man who
seems to have disappeared with $4,000 of other people’s money. The search for the man turns out to be the
search for the soul of a town, Jo, his people and their place in America that
is built on as many myths as realities.
Running only about 80 minutes, Wang’s film has much heart and soul,
mowing down stereotypes and myths left and right. It was recognized with a cultural registry honor in 1995, but the
film itself is a living work as relevant as ever. With China’s prominence on the rise, the film has a major new
context, but without that, it is a landmark of independent filmmaking.
As for the title, it too is a clever starting point for so
many reasons. The famous Chan U.S. pop
culture always has is Charlie Chan, from the books and great B-movie Detective
film series, but the films still have their dating stereotypical points despite
their superior writing and acting. The
films also have the stereotype of the detective (no matter what his ethnicity)
solving the mystery quickly. In real
life, Jo is no detective, he has no one to go to, has all kinds of myths and
lies to dodge and hurdle over, is far more alone, and that both the title
mystery and life have no easy answers.
Jo also is the antithesis of Charlie Chan in breaking down the “always
smart Asians” stereotype by being so human and not showing any Asians as
soulless human robots. Another way of
breaking this “exotics” label and prison is to say Chinese and Asians are
humans too and not only good for being human calculators and white-collar
workhorses, as if that was the only reason to acknowledge anyone.
Wang has gone on to other challenging films, as well as
safer and predictable, if occasionally entertaining commercial fare like Maid
In Manhattan and Last Holiday, but the world has far from caught up
with his incredible film. Its arrival
on DVD is something to celebrate. If
you have never seen it, it is a must see for any serious film fan.
The 1.33 X 1 image was shot in black and white and looks
pretty good for its age and if you zoom in to 16 X 9/1.78 X 1 framing, will
find the compositions hold up and the captioning is 16 X 9 compatible. Cheers to Michael Chin for his fine
cinematography, which I enjoy and find impressive at both ratios. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is nice and clear
for a production of its time, with good original music by Robert Kikuchi Yinojo
and a film-stopping use of Rogers & Hammerstein’s show-stopping Musical
number Grant Avenue sung by Pat Suzuki concluding the film. Though much of the film is talking heads,
the voices and recording have character.
Note that The Grace Jones song of the same title does NOT appear in the
film. Extras include a making of
featurette running over 28 minutes and two interviews with male leads Hoy (9.5
minutes) and Marc Hayashi (5:45) who plays Steve, a member of the young adult
generation who may be missing the most important points one can only hope the
viewer gets.
- Nicholas Sheffo
