“Catfish in Black Bean Sauce” Starring Chi
Muoi Lo and Sanaa Lathan Directed by Chi Muoi Lo
Despite an intriguing title that could send film and literature
students into a frenzy in search for its underlying meaning, the
movie’s director/producer/lead actor Chi Muoi Lo admitted
that he was not really thinking of anything profound when he came
up with the title. It’s a good thing that the movie title
worked out to be as exotic as the dish. The title does justice to a
movie that tackles real-life relationships between real
Californians. The movie is about people of diverse backgrounds and
their battles, against all odds, in making their own uniqueness
rise above their differences. It is about different ingredients
resulting in a palatable meal. The story revolves around Dwayne
(Lo), a Vietnamese immigrant raised by an African American couple.
Having grown up in California, he feels distant from his cultural
past. His adopted parents, Harold (Paul Winfield) and Dolores (Mary
Alice), were unable to provide a link to his ethnic heritage.
Meanwhile, his sister, Mai (Lauren Tom), is never fully at ease
with the Western culture. A feeling of “being
different” while growing up fosters a strong drive for her to
search for her identity. One way she tries to accomplish this is by
finding her parents. She later does finds her mother, Thanh (Kieu
Chinh), only to realize they are far from the closeness she
expected. The movie also points out examples of ethnic differences
outside of the ones usually found between African Americans, Asians
and whites. Mai, who is married to a Chinese man, Vinh (Tzi Ma),
finds herself explaining to her mother why she married a
non-Vietnamese. Her mother, on the other hand, bluntly calls her
marriage a mistake. Nina (Sanaa Lathan), Dwayne’s African
American girlfriend, adds another dimension to the story. Partly
because of his Vietnamese mother’s influence, Dwayne
questions his identity, doubting his relationship with Nina. To add
more colors to the story, all colors from the rainbow to be exact,
Dwayne eventually finds out that his best friend Michael (Tyler
Christopher), the only major white character, happens to fall in
love with Samantha (Wing Chen), a transvestite. The twists and
turns and colorful innuendoes make an interesting concoction. The
result is a successful movie that adds spice to a repertoire of
Asian American movies. “Catfish in Black Bean Sauce” is
certainly worth seeing, especially for those in search of a
different way of looking at relationships between races.
Roberto Reyes Ang Rating: 7
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“Love’s Labour’s Lost” Starring
Kenneth Branagh and Alicia Silverstone Directed by Kenneth
Branagh
Forget Jane Austen. No other writer has had more film
adaptations than the Bard himself. Unlike Austen’s works,
filmmakers take more liberties with Shakespearean works (with the
exception of “Clueless,” based on “Emma”).
Just in the ’90s, we’ve seen “Romeo and
Juliet” set on a Florida beach and most recently, Ethan
Hawke’s “Hamlet” placed in high-tech New York.
Director-actor Kenneth Branagh’s fourth Shakespeare
adaptation, “Love’s Labour’s
Lost”doesn’t just take that step out of 16th-century
England and into the pre-WWI era, but follows it with the American
musical. With Gershwin tunes and Fred Astaire-Ginger
Rogers-inspired dancing, the film takes place in the roaring
’20s we remember from history books ““ when the world
was a beautiful and carefree place. Branagh swells this atmosphere
to huge proportions. The story, about four men who fall in love in
spite of themselves, smacks of gooey romance. It’s about
dancing and singing yourself silly after having glimpsed the girl
of your dreams. And then you’ve also got love poetry from
Shakespeare, the guy for whom a type of sonnet is named. So,
“Love’s Labour’s Lost” wallows in the
indulgence of a first crush. From an outside standpoint, it seems
corny, but once you’re experiencing it, it’s as
irresistible as this film is. The King of Navarre (Alessandro
Nivola) and his three friends (Branagh, Matthew Lillard, Adrian
Lester) make a pact that they will study rigorously for three years
without distractions, including women. The four males cannot resist
infatuation, however, after they meet the Queen of France (Alicia
Silverstone) and her three attendants. With their eyes glazed over
the women’s pictures instead of their texts, the four men
secretly seek to contact the queen and her attendants. Soon, they
find each other out, decide to break their pact and pursue their
crushes at great speed. Their happy world, however, is shattered
shortly after. When the King of France dies and WWI materializes,
the four couples split up but draw hope they will see each other
again. In the popular trend of adapting Shakespeare for film,
Branagh is successful once again. It’s not that he draws
believable performances from non-Shakespearean actors, and
it’s not even that he convinced them to sing and dance, but
the film is consistently understandable. Branagh achieves this with
the aid of a few fools (including Nathan Lane) and some funny
newsreels explaining parts of the story in plain English. But most
incredibly, Branagh is able to revive Shakespeare’s
400-year-old language to reflect whatever mood the story takes on,
whether comical, romantic, silly or sad. Maybe it was the
actors’ expressions, the design and props, or just the
perfect tone of voice, but Branagh’s final product is nothing
short of magical. The only minor distraction, however, is that the
song and dance numbers feel cut and pasted on the narrative.
It’s admirable that Branagh keeps pushing the envelope in
this film, but just his ability to make Shakespeare wholly
entertaining and gobs of fun is genius enough.
Sandy Yang Rating: 9