The individual who pays serious attention to the movies is always seeking the perfect movie. That is a movie with is powerful, caring, bold, striking, original and which tells a powerful story about characters which the viewer cares for. Such a movie is Steven Dunning's `Now Chinatown' which recently was shown in the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. This writer was blown away by the production.
Set in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, this movie explores the complex interactions in a immigrant neighborhood and the search for redemption of a young Chinese girl. There is no end to the superlatives which may be said about this movie. The acting is magnificent, the casting superb, the script is obviously crafted by a man who loves the English language, and the story line is captivating and fascinating.
But what is more interesting is that this production was made with virtually no money. The producer/director/star Steven Dunning paid his dues while working for ten years in the film business and called in his chips to make this movie. Yet the movie never seems to be cheaply made and although it is clear that all the setups are shot in real places. One never notices the lack of the artificial glitz which mainstream Hollywood seem to believe may be substituted for a good script and vision.
The movie tells the story of Lee, a young girl who had immigrated to the U.S. from China. She works in a small restaurant in Chinatown where she is unmercifully abused by those around her. She is eventually befriended by a American customer who mistakes her restaurant for another much better eatery with a similar name.
At first the movie seems to be simply an interracial/cultural romance. Yet it quickly shifts into a deeper examination of the life of a young girl living in an alien society cut off from the cultural cues of her homeland. The character Lee is played by Lianne X. Hu, a young actress who previously played a small role which did not make the final cut in Albert Brooks's `The Muse.' Hu's performance is captivating as she combines in her character both shyness and personal strength is a character who is faced with a bleak and dreary future and yet will eventually overcome all.
The climax of the film occurs at a banquet staged for Assistant Deputy Consul of the People's Republic of China. Well played by Ming Lo, whose previous credits include `E.R.', `The Practice,' `Dr. Doolittle,' and `Contact,' the diplomat explains decades of his life and the current situation in which Lee finds herself in a few short sentences. Although the diplomat is the villain of the movie, he reveals himself to be a complex character who only arrived in his current situation after years of struggle. That he criminally exploits his power over those weaker than himself is tragic. Yet he is by no means a cardboard villain. Rather he, like all the other characters in this well crafted drama, does not control his life. Everyone here is controlled by transcendental forces which are beyond their ability to manipulate or even recognize. Only in the end does Lee manage to escape the fate that everyone else in the movie seems to be foreordained to suffer.
The catalyst for change is the American interloper who appears at the restaurant to purchase a meal. Well played by Steven Dunning, he is similar to the Gentleman Caller who appears halfway through Tennessee Williams's `Glass Menagerie.' His purpose seems to be to disturb the existing order and to force a new relationship of the characters. Dunning fills Steve with compassion, realism and cultural sensitivity. It is worth noting that Dunning did not wish at first to play Steve, but only took over the position when he failed to cast a suitable actor for the part.
This movie is worth seeing. Unless it gets wide distribution this may be difficult to do. If you see it advertised make the effort to see it. You'll be glad that you did.
