Before Wayne Wang went on to produce such dreadful films as Maid in Manhattan (2002) and Last Holiday (2006) this Hong Kong-born director actually followed a creative philosophy that inspired him to produce some great works (the 1995 charmer Smoke quickly comes to mind). As it is the case with many successful directors in America, however, once the six digit checks from Hollywood started arriving Wang's affection for meaningful cinema cooled off as quickly as a bowl of tea. Instead of Gong Li and Maggie Cheung the director found it classier to deal with Jennifer Lopez and Queen Latifah.

My introduction to Wang's work materialized partially because of my affection for Virginia Madsen. In his Slam Dance (1987) the beautiful blondie played a femme fatale with plenty of trouble ahead of her. Now looking at Chan is Missing (1982), a film which appears to be more of a documentary picture than a low-profile pulp-fiction, I feel sorry that this talented director went on to evolve into what Hollywood considers a success story. Indeed, the transformation which Wang has undergone from Chan is Missing to Last Holiday is not only surprising it is quite frankly intimidating as he obviously appears to have lost the touchy humor and sharp tongue that made his works worth seeing.

Thankfully Chan is Missing takes us back to the good old days when Hollywood was far and away from Wang's horizon. This little known independent picture follows the story of a mysterious man who we only come to know as "Chan" while Jo (Wood Moy) and Steve (Marc Hayashi), two colorful Asian-American cabbies, persistently wander through the streets of San Francisco's Chinatown attempting to uncover his location. The motive for their persistence: Mr. Chan owns the two men a large amount of money.

Despite of what appears to be an unconvincing storyline Chan is Missing is a gravely serious film about perception and cultural assimilation in America. Shot in black and white due to the self-admitted lack of funding which Wang experienced at the time of production the film creates a colorful portrait of San Francisco and its large Asian-American community as the main characters embark on a journey with many unknowns. Along the way they argue, laugh, and touch upon every single issue you could think of pertaining to race, class status, and cultural identity by injecting a good dose of unpolished humor in this otherwise rather simple story.

Humor, however, is only a loose pretext for Wang's serious exploration of the numerous social dilemmas which the Asian-American community is plagued with. Furthermore, the pacing of Chan is Missing is well devised to allow plenty of room for the main characters to balance between "revealing" and "entertaining" by improvising at areas where the script (if such was indeed present) allowed it. The result as you might guess is a film that will appeal to many Asian-Americans as they will recognize a lot of their own misery shown on the screen. There will be, however, those who will conclude that the social messages behind Chan is Missing are not powerful enough to erase the lack of engaging storytelling where the typical for mainstream cinema fast-action environment is missing.

Wayne Wang's Chan is Missing is also an excellent film that sheds some light on parts of San Francisco that tourists are very unlikely to have a glimpse at while visiting the city. The rough shots of darkly-lit backstreets, shopping districts, and shipping docks which Wang offers through his camera are indeed fascinating to explore. There is a certain sense of authenticity oozing from this film which unfortunately is nowhere to be found in the director's latest works where sugary romance and hard-to-swallow "genuine" laughs seem to be prevailing. Indeed, the Asian-American community might have lost one of its most daring and original directors while gaining some well-deserved exposure.

Awards/ Recognition:

In 1982 Chan is Missing won the Independent/Experimental Film and Video Award granted to Wayne Wang by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. In 1995 the film was also recognized by the US National Film Preservation Board.

How Does the DVD Look?

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 Chan is Missing looks quite convincing on DVD. Obviously this is a low-budget independent picture which certainly has the look of a film that was made 24 years ago. The print provided by Koch Lorber however reveals a good degree of contrast, a clean transfer, and generally acceptable degree of film grain (it is indeed very difficult to tell what was intentionally shot on film and what was not as Chan is Missing often has that rough street look which I am certain Wang was aiming for). To sum it all up I do not think that what we are offered by Koch Lorber falls way behind what Wang intended his film to look like.

How Does the DVD Sound?

Presented with its original Dolby Digital track Chan is Missing offers a mix of Cantonese and English where the non-English portions of the film appear with English subtitles. As it is the case with the video presentation the audio mix most certainly implies a low-profile independent status. Nevertheless dialog is clear and easy to follow leaving very little for the viewer to worry about.

Extras:

Koch Lorber's DVD of Chan is Missing offers some interesting extras that shed light on this most interesting project. There is a rather short "Making Of" titled Is Chan Missing? which follows the history of the film as well as the identity of the mysterious Mr. Chan. Interestingly enough the more the cast discusses Mr. Chan's veiled in secrecy persona the less we find out about his true identity (did he really exist?). Next, there are two separate interviews with Wood Moy and Marc Hayashi that further elaborate on the history of this project. These two interviews are actually much better than the "Making Of" discussed above as they provide some additional information pertaining to the families of the main actors, the manner in which the film affected them, and of course their experience as Chinese-Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Final Words:

I really liked this film! This is a great American independent feature that (sadly) shows the evolution of a director who has lost his passion for socially relevant cinema as well as his edgy sense of humor. Looking back at Chan is Missing and now the recently released Last Holiday I can not believe that the same man stood behind the camera. What a downfall! RECOMMENDED!