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Chan is Missing, 1982
Jo (Wood Moy) and his nephew Steve (Marc Hayashi) are two men living in Chinatown and hoping to get a taxi license. A man named Chan took their money to purchase the license, but then disappears. Jo, with help from Steve, sets out to track down Chan and solve the mystery of his disappearance. Along the way they encounter various characters and explore the politics between Chinese immigrants and the Chinese-American community.
I should really just throw away what I think I know about movies, because they are misconceptions like 90% of the time. I had avoided this film because I thought it was sort of a gritty, depressing film (perhaps misled by how often I'd seen the word "noir" applied to it, and my experience with noir-inspired films in the 80s is that they tend to be downers). Instead, this is more of a comedy/drama/thriller, with an emphasis on how the investigation uncovers the range of identities and characters within the Chinese/Chinese-American community.
Moy and Hayashi make for a fantastic set of protagonists, and even their dynamic speaks to something generational and different within a community. Steve feels far more Americanized than Jo, speaking with a distinct New York patter to the extent that one character even asks him "Who do you think you are? Richard Pryor?". Jo becomes the central character as the film goes on, and through his investigations, he comes to reflect on what it means to be Chinese-American, even noting that his desire for the mystery to have a neat solution is an American trait, and that if he were "Chinese enough" he would be able to accept the unknowns of the situation.
As a mystery itself, the film hinges on the politics of immigrants living together in a similar space, when their beliefs are very different. The mystery frequently comes back to an incident that took place at a parade, where supporters of China clashed with supporters of Taiwan. This conflict may have even led to a murder, a newspaper clipping of which feels like the film's first real clue. As Jo questions different people who knew Chan, he encounters very different perspectives on the man. One person notes his love of Mariachi music, while another bemoans the fact that he would not assimilate.
Character-wise, the film has some really excellent supporting work. While it may feel a bit too "to camera", I really appreciated a scene where a lawyer (Judy Nihei) explains why a police stop went so bad for Chan, explaining the breakdown in communication that results from how Chinese people culturally tend to respond to questions. It was interesting to hear this speech, because it was very similar to something I learned in graduate school about different cultural practices in writing and how the concept of a "logical" response is culturally relative.
Another standout is a character called Henry (Peter Wang), and someone please tell me why Peter Wang only has 6 film credits to his name. He is absolutely hilarious as a cook working in a Chinese restaurant, bemoaning the way that people order food at the restaurant. ("If one more person asks me for wonton soup, I tell them I give it to them backwards: "not now"!"). Wearing a shirt that says "Samurai Night Fever," he sings "Fry Me to the Moon" and talks about the irony of the fact that the most successful people who came over to America couldn't find work because American companies don't want Chinese engineers. But people like him who will work less prestigious jobs can do just fine.
What is fantastic about the film is the way that Jo's investigation so deftly works against stereotypes, simply by putting such a diverse range of Chinese or Chinese-American people on the screen and letting them interact. The characters are different in their politics, ages, language, and social status. All of this working against a story where, as the narrator notes, there's no point in going to the police because "at any time there are probably three guys missing called Chan."
This was a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable film. Highly recommended.
Chan is Missing, 1982
Jo (Wood Moy) and his nephew Steve (Marc Hayashi) are two men living in Chinatown and hoping to get a taxi license. A man named Chan took their money to purchase the license, but then disappears. Jo, with help from Steve, sets out to track down Chan and solve the mystery of his disappearance. Along the way they encounter various characters and explore the politics between Chinese immigrants and the Chinese-American community.
I should really just throw away what I think I know about movies, because they are misconceptions like 90% of the time. I had avoided this film because I thought it was sort of a gritty, depressing film (perhaps misled by how often I'd seen the word "noir" applied to it, and my experience with noir-inspired films in the 80s is that they tend to be downers). Instead, this is more of a comedy/drama/thriller, with an emphasis on how the investigation uncovers the range of identities and characters within the Chinese/Chinese-American community.
Moy and Hayashi make for a fantastic set of protagonists, and even their dynamic speaks to something generational and different within a community. Steve feels far more Americanized than Jo, speaking with a distinct New York patter to the extent that one character even asks him "Who do you think you are? Richard Pryor?". Jo becomes the central character as the film goes on, and through his investigations, he comes to reflect on what it means to be Chinese-American, even noting that his desire for the mystery to have a neat solution is an American trait, and that if he were "Chinese enough" he would be able to accept the unknowns of the situation.
As a mystery itself, the film hinges on the politics of immigrants living together in a similar space, when their beliefs are very different. The mystery frequently comes back to an incident that took place at a parade, where supporters of China clashed with supporters of Taiwan. This conflict may have even led to a murder, a newspaper clipping of which feels like the film's first real clue. As Jo questions different people who knew Chan, he encounters very different perspectives on the man. One person notes his love of Mariachi music, while another bemoans the fact that he would not assimilate.
Character-wise, the film has some really excellent supporting work. While it may feel a bit too "to camera", I really appreciated a scene where a lawyer (Judy Nihei) explains why a police stop went so bad for Chan, explaining the breakdown in communication that results from how Chinese people culturally tend to respond to questions. It was interesting to hear this speech, because it was very similar to something I learned in graduate school about different cultural practices in writing and how the concept of a "logical" response is culturally relative.
Another standout is a character called Henry (Peter Wang), and someone please tell me why Peter Wang only has 6 film credits to his name. He is absolutely hilarious as a cook working in a Chinese restaurant, bemoaning the way that people order food at the restaurant. ("If one more person asks me for wonton soup, I tell them I give it to them backwards: "not now"!"). Wearing a shirt that says "Samurai Night Fever," he sings "Fry Me to the Moon" and talks about the irony of the fact that the most successful people who came over to America couldn't find work because American companies don't want Chinese engineers. But people like him who will work less prestigious jobs can do just fine.
What is fantastic about the film is the way that Jo's investigation so deftly works against stereotypes, simply by putting such a diverse range of Chinese or Chinese-American people on the screen and letting them interact. The characters are different in their politics, ages, language, and social status. All of this working against a story where, as the narrator notes, there's no point in going to the police because "at any time there are probably three guys missing called Chan."
This was a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable film. Highly recommended.