Nobody does it better

My threshold on the issue is apparently a little higher than many, but I can agree that there continues to be issues with the way Asian Americans are portrayed in Hollywood. In spite of some encouraging developments, we still see Hollywood portrayals of Asian Americans as exotic, emasculated, and emotionally constipated. THANK GOODNESS, therefore, for Asian Am film making, where Asians FINALLY get the opportunity to make films that portray Asian Ams as exotic, emasculated, and emotionally constipated.

We stopped into the SFIAAFF last Monday for a double-feature of our own making, catching screenings of "Eve and the Fire Horse" and "Kieu" separated by about one bottle of Sake. (Sorry we didn't catch up after Eve, rancho! We didn't stick around for the Q & A.)

Given some of the things we've seen at the fest, I've become so very very appreciative of a film that elegantly and competently tells a simple story illustrating coherent themes with interesting events and likable characters. Such is Eve. It may not find itself counted among the all-time classics of motion picture, but put it up against similar kid-focused fare from Disney, or even 'serious' kid entries like " In America" and you'll find it'll hold its own and possibly a little more.

Very much like "In America", it portrays the experiences of an immigrant family as seen by two young sisters (in "In America", the family is Irish). Naturally, the immigrant sob story has been done to death, but the kid angle is fresh enough that Eve brings some new things to the table. I'll spare you the plot summary (because I hate writing them, they're boring to read, and they're laden with spoilers), but it manages to squeeze in a surprising amount of edginess in dealing with issues of race and religion while maintaining a whimsical attitude that's true to the subject.

That said, it still suffers from a few minor things that irk me in these kinds of films. The kids are emotive and animated, but the adults in Eve have the emotional range of a light switch, flipping mainly between blank and upset. And as always, ample screen time is spent showing folks bowing before ancestral altars, lighting incense, doing things for good luck, lacing dialog with natural symoblism (sometimes sarcastic, thank goodness), etc. Given the strong religious themes, some of this is naturally necessary, but there's a rote feeling to these kinds of scenes in these films that I'd sooner do without. Yes, they're foreign and have different customs. WE KNOW. Just move the story along, please. The way some films show this stuff, you'd think people spent half the day doing this kind of thing.

This entry's long enough. I'll hit Kieu next time, and BOY, will I hit it.