At 13 years old, Ernest (Jeffrey Chyau) is, like any kid his age, struggling with the pains of growing up. But unlike most protagonists in American movies, Ernest is a middle class Chinese American kid ...
When I watched Jennifer Phang’s Advantageous (2015), I was supposed to be working, finishing up a deck to be presented that afternoon. That day, the US had pulled out of the Paris climate accord. Over ...
When Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift first came out 14 years ago, I was ten. Now, I don’t remember much about those days–save the odd holiday or the never-ending studying–but what I do remember is ...
Kim Ji-young (Jung Yu-mi), Born 1982, lives at home with her two-year-old daughter. Having sacrificed her dream of being an author to work at a marketing agency, and then sacrificed her life at the agency ...
At first glance, director Hsieh Pei-ju’s Heavy Craving seems to suggest a drama centered around food–that much can be presumed by the film’s hunger-inducing title. But that pretense suddenly drops as the movie starts off ...
What are the hallmarks of a martial arts film? There’s the main character: usually a spunky young underdog who believes that he’s invincible. There’s the sifu (teacher), the zen master that guides him through his ...
Lingua Franca is many things: a narrative that spotlights the many untold stories often left in the margins, a lyrical polemic on trans sexuality and desire, an expression of the anxieties induced by Trump’s America, ...
How does one define sexuality? Ask a million different people, and you’d probably get a million different answers. It’s only been a few years since sexual fluidity has become a widely accepted concept, but even ...
Directed by Kathy Meng, “My Boyfriend’s Daughter” is a short film that follows Essie (Claire Hsu), a young Asian American woman engaged in a relationship with the significantly older Karl (Guy Ventoliere). However, despite dating ...
“This is not a love story. I hate love stories. If you’re single in this city, it’s the worst place to be.” From the opening narration, Mayumi Yoshida’s “Tokyo Lovers” makes it clear that loneliness ...
