Review of Chan Is Missing (1982) by Edith N — 07 Jul 2007

The low budget of this film, about the search for a Taiwanese immigrant in San Francisco, is pretty apparent if you know what you're looking for. I mean, the black & white is clearly a stylistic choice; it's 1982, after all, and there's no substantial cost difference. However, an experienced eye can detect the lower-quality film stock--and of course, there's nothing in this movie that would [i]require[/i] a higher budget.

As Jo explores deeper in his search for Chan Hung, who owes him (and his partner Steve) $4000, he learns that the man he seeks is many men, few of whom have any place in the US. Jo and Steve were born in the US; Chan was not. Mrs. Chan wants her husband to be rich, and he is not. Every perspective of Chan gives us a view of a different man, but none can be found.

We never do find out where Chan Hung has gone. We don't even find out why, though there are some pretty strong suggestions. The man just vanishes, and no one even knows if he's still in the US. I take it as the story of a man who just can't take anymore; it happens.

Soonish, we'll be getting to [i]Chinatown[/i]. This, however, is a story from within Chinatown, that product of early Californian racism. (Go look up Chinatown on a map sometime, then look up Chinese population statistics of the era. It's astonishing.) There are Anglos in the movie, but not as major characters. This is a look at the Chinese perspective [i]from[/i] the Chinese perspective, and it's well worth examining.