#1124: WANG, Wayne: Chan Is Missing (1982)

WANG, Wayne (United States)
Chan Is Missing [1982]

Spine #1124

Blu-ray

A mystery man, a murder, and a wad of missing cash—in his wryly offbeat breakthrough, Wayne Wang updates the ingredients of classic film noir for the streets of contemporary San Francisco’s Chinatown. When their business partner disappears with the money they had planned to use for a cab license, driver Jo (Wood Moy) and his nephew Steve (Marc Hayashi) scour the city’s back alleys, waterfronts, and Chinese restaurants to track him down. But what begins as a search for a missing man gradually turns into a far deeper and more elusive investigation into the complexities and contradictions of Chinese American identity. The first feature by an Asian American filmmaker to play widely and get mainstream critical appreciation, Chan Is Missing is a continuously fresh and surprising landmark of indie invention that playfully flips decades of cinematic stereotypes on their heads.

75 minutes
Black and White

Monaural
in English, Cantonese and Mandarin
1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2022

Director/Writers

Written by Isaac Cronin, Terrell Seltzer and Wayne Wang.
Wang was 33 when he directed Chan is Missing.

Other Wang films in the Collection:

#1180: Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985)

The Film

a

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic Oliver Wang.

Commentary

None.

Is Chan Missing?

A making-of documentary directed by Debbie Lum.

Conversations

Between Wang and critic Hua Hsu and Wang and filmmaker Ang Lee.

Conversation

Between Wang and film programmer and critic Dennis Lim.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

By Director
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