asian american film lives!

so, i think most of you know how big a hater i am on asian american film. saving face? snooze. the debut? eh. charlotte sometimes? right. i just don't think i should have to lower my standards just because they're asian american films. i hold them to the same standards as any film. to me, there is no affirmative action program for asian american film, or music for that matter.

i always go into these heavily hyped films (see examples above) with high expectations - this WILL be the film that redeems my faith in asian americans' ability to make good films, to have interesting stories, and good acting. after being so disappointed so many times, i pretty much avoid all asian american film unless it's GUARANTEED to be good. which is impossible to guarantee, i know. but that is kind of the way i approach all movies i see - i want them to be in the 98th percentile of films. or have really hot guys in them.

which is why this year when 500 people asked me if i was going to the film festival, i said "(hell) no(!)" i guess it's a tribute to how popular the festival has become that so many people are asking me about it. but i was still so wary of the quality of the films. and after hearing from various folks who had seen movies at the fest. this year, i was ever more skeptical.

so i almost didn't go see the short film collection mystery arcade last night. but alex bought tickets, and i figured it would be good to do something asian american scenester-y because i haven't done much of that since the bot went british.

the first few films were total conceptual films that were trying way too hard to be art house. people, narrative is your friend. hiro was cute and interesting. steve brought up a good point during the films - what makes a film "asian american." some of these films felt more "asian" than "american" especially with all the english subtitles. which is fine, but i wonder what the criteria is. one film was made by an asian american, but featured no asian actors or plot elements. is brokeback mountain an asian american film?

but the best one by far was a canadian short called astronaut. it's a mockumentary that's not immediately apparent it's not a documentary. think of it in the same vein as the office. which is amazing in and of itself - an asian american office. crazy!! it's about three "typical" asian american young men who manage to come off as both pathetic and sympathetic at the same time (like david brent). you want to cringe but then you also want to laugh. the acting is so perfect, you almost can't believe the characters aren't real. the film is also throughly asian american (whatever that means), dealing with issues of alienation from family, acclimation to the united states, disillusionment with the american dream.

this is what asian american film should be doing - exploring new territories, really pushing the envelope to see what can be done, not merely retreading the same things that have been done before in hollywood 10,000 times. true, mockumentaries are no new thing (christopher guest). but it was so refreshing to see asian america(n males) portrayed in all their uh....glory. that was a cheap shot at all the apa dudes who play video games for weeks in a row (have fun while you can, right?), but i meant in all their complexity. apa males always have complexes about their media portrayals and masculinity, so they feel they are practically entitled to positive portrayals that boost their egos or show how lovable they are. BARF. what's should be happening is a push for more accurate portrayals of apa males (and apas in general) - that means the good (their struggles to make ends meet, to find companionship, to make human connections) and the bad (their need to control women, to be the hero, the inability to see women as more than objects that have to be taken care of and given material things). this movie showed men as they are - you want them to succeed and be happy, but then at times they're just so ridiculous.