The Trained Chinese Tongue

"Tina's a year younger than I when I first came to the States, and she speaks much better English than I did at the time. Somehow I can't imagine her not talking to anyone at school for days, or getting stomach cramps when called upon class, or locking herself in the bathroom at school, hiding from classmates who aim imaginary machine guns at her who swear to kill all communist Chinese."

A short and sweet experimental documentary that shows the diversity in language and to some extent varying experiences as an Asian American, and at the same time, the commonality of making a home-cooked meal and sharing it with loved ones. It's kind of surprising that strangers in the grocery store allowed Laurie Wen into their home (except that first one, who flees :), and there is obviously a warm-hearted, informal feeling to everything we see. It was perhaps successful in refuting stereotypes (even within the community), but I just wish there had been a little more content. Not a bad way to spend 20 minutes though, and depending on your dietary preferences, those tight shots on the woks may have you salivating.