boston progress radio

The other day, Sudo posted Emily Lawsin’s list of essential API* movies and it made me think about what would be on my list. So ta-da!

A little bit of background though: before I became the writer or whatever I am today, I was obsessed with film. Something about being involved with filmmaking was so romantic to me, and I made a few short videos in college, and played small production roles on some other semi-professional and professional projects. After college, I joined the DC APA Film Festival in its infancy, where I met the great George Lin; from there, my involvement in API* arts scenes grew and grew.

So here is my top 10 list of essential API* films (absolutely biased):

10. Yellow
A classic of Asian American film. BLT and F&F heads, this is the direct ancestor, and in my opinion, it will never be topped. There are only so many things you can do in a movie about the lives of teens, and Yellow does almost all of them. Holla!

9. Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart
Also hard to choose between this and Pushing Hands – but this one hits closer to my emotional center. It’s a crime that Victor Wong will be best remembered for Big Trouble in Little China…but I supposed at least he’s remembered. RIP.

8. My America…or Honk if You Love Buddha
And Victor Wong makes a nother appearance on the list. I love the way Renee Tajima-Pena structures this movie, because it’s similar to the way my mind works. Also, I heard the Seoul Brothers (the rapping duo in Seattle) were hella brolic and used to stand in the UW locker room waiting for someone to challenge them to a fight.

7. Lumpia
A superhero who fights bad guys by throwing lumpia in their mouths from a distance? YEAH.

6. American Desi
This was the first time I noticed Kal Penn. At the time I was like who is this clown? Haha. Who knew? It’s telling that so many API* films have lead characters that wish they weren’t Asian. Damn you society!

5. Refugee
Spencer Nakasako is great at doing what he does with helping young people tell their stories. I think the reason why I love this joint so much is that when it came about, it was after quite a few years of no new films coming out of there, and I think part of me figured they had stopped making these video diaries. So the fact that it was so unexpected when it did come out makes it even more special to me.

4. The Conscience of Nhem En
It’s a very difficult film to watch about an old man who was once a 16 year-old photographer for the Khmer Rouge. He took pictures of people before they were executed. The interviews with survivors are made that much more emotional when presented in contrast with the last photos of those who didn’t survive. I recommend it completely, but would likely never watch it again myself. Here starts a run of depressing movies.

3. Who Killed Vincent Chin?
Just an extremely well-made film that reveals shocking detail after shocking detail about the infamous beating murder of Vincent Chin. It’s a call to action for all of us.

2. Letters to Thien
Another documentary about another hate crime victim. It’ the interviews with his parents that are most affecting to me, the way they smile when they talk about his haircuts, and the way they deal or don’t really deal with their sadness and anger.

1. Kelly Loves Tony
Like a lot of movies on this list, I first saw this movie in Asian American Studies class – the very class where I met the woman who is now my wife. Part of me feels like they’re another couple who met each other when we did; watching this movie is like checking in with an old friend. Silly, I know.

Anyway, when I got my paper about this film back, the instructor told me to rewrite it, asked “why don’t you care?” It was a challenge to me; it helped me realize that I couldn’t be lazy all the time. I could slack in whatever class that didn’t matter to me, but if I couldn’t put some effort into Asian American Studies – something I was actually interested in – then why be in college at all?

I rewrote the joint, and for a little while I spent more time thinking about Kelly and Tony than I did anything else. I saw the similarities and the differences, and I broke down their experiences in my head – and I started to see it all coming together, why gangs exist, why it’s such a struggle to finish school, why do some get sidetracked from concentrating on goals, and it became more clear that everything around us was sick. And if we didn’t actively fight it, we’d all eventually end up sick too.

Things started to change for me; I forced them to. Life got harder, but better. I am an artist who believes art should strive to be tranformative all the time. How the creator aims to do that will of course vary, but I think the best art isn’t the stuff that makes you say this is nice, it’s the stuff that makes you say oh…this is life.

Last 5 posts by giles

• Review: I Love Yous Are for White People - October 23rd, 2009
• Youth Media Blog-a-thon: Health Care - October 1st, 2009
• Video: MRSHMLO - Rocky Rivera - September 3rd, 2009
• ...while the old folks dance at your family reunion... - August 17th, 2009
• Two Americans Walk Into North Korea... - August 7th, 2009

Tags: film.