Sex and Relationships

A few years ago, I asked the San Diego Asian Film Festival staff why there were no Middle Eastern entries in the festival. I was told that they had to draw the line somewhere. What a difference a war makes. Suddenly, Middle Eastern entries are Asian after all (now if we could just convince Turkey and Russia to come back to the fold...). Anyway, SDAFF has shown courage in showing some of the visual images. In keeping with our new-found interest in war and war-related topics, things are coming back that we as an audience haven't wanted to deal with in the past few years.

In addition to Vietnam (from the Vietnamese perspective for a change), this year we are also dealing with the Cambodian experience vis-a-vis the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. NEW YEAR BABY (directed by Socheata Poeuv) is a historical yet highly personal account of those tragic years. One quarter of Cambodia's population was killed in the idealistic yet misguided attempt to establish a perfect classless society. The worst thing about this time is the enduring silence about the atrocities and hardship. In the hospitals, patients died because the pills, made from roots and bark, had no effect.

Everyone was in survival mode in the concentration camps. Angkar, the central party, decided everything--who lived, who died, who got food, and who got married to whom. People tried to make the best of the situation--but not many could stand up to the "clean sweep of the past." The years of desperate despair ended when the Vietnamese soldiers liberated Cambodia (however, one gets the impression that the despair never really went away completely--just the desperation...). The animation sequences employed to depict the Khmer Rouge times are artistically beautiful. There were some interesting comments like having to make knots of trouser legs so as to store rice when relief came.

All in all, a touching family journey into a horrific past with references to the refugee camps in Thailand. The father married a woman whose husband died as a direct result of the regime. He took on the responsibility of all the children while making four dangerous crossings--in the name of family. He is the quiet and unspoken hero. In a different realm altogether was SHANGHAI KISS (directed by Kern Konwiser and David Ren). This film was about relationships and identity. David Ren (who was also the writer) admitted that the film was made in part to "bring his father back into his life." He also shared that his real father (as the father in the movie) struggled with alcoholism. Also in the Q & A following the film, David confessed that real life is not like the movies. Resolution in his personal life has been harder to find.

The film was shot in L.A. and Shanghai (with a minor location shoot in New York thrown in) with an excellent cast. How does a 18 year old come up with such great actors and production values by the age of 22? This story about Liam Liu (played by Ken Leung) who is addicted to meaningless encounters with stereotypical California blondes, revolves around the search for identity and love. Along the way, he befriends a 16 year old (played by Hayden Panettierre) who is probably more mature than he is at 28. He also has a sexual relationship with a beautiful Chinese woman In China (played by Kelly Hu). This is a good and refreshing comedy. Luckily for the producers and investors of this movie, most of the actors have become famous since the movie got made (due to other roles). Ken is funny and Hayden is charming. The best part of the movie is that david credits the commentaries on DVDs for his film education!

Continuing the relationships theme (and adding a heavy dose of erotica--some definitely from a feminine point of view...), THE TROUBLE WITH ROMANCE (directed by Gene Rhee) was filmmaking at its best. Through the casting of some beautiful people (Kip Pardue, David Eigenberg, Roger Fan, Sheetal Sheth, Emily Liu, Josie Davis, Jordan Belfi, and Jennifer Siebel) and very high production values (not to mention some clever dialogue in very mature settings), this film achieved in four vignettes what Hollywood generally can't do in multiple movies. Like HBO productions, this work certainly pushed the limits. I interviewed a fresh aspiring actress a few years ago at this very venue--Sheetal Sheth. I felt she would go far. Talent and beauty are potent forces in the film industry. I feel vindicated. The performances in this film sizzle.