OPENING NIGHT AT THE SDAFF: THE GAME OF ANG

So far, I have watched three Asian-themed films over the past week: the low budget FINISHING THE GAME and the lower budgeted Canadian/Filipino horror film ANG PAMANA at yesterday’s striking opening night at the SDAFF; and Ang Lee’s latest US $14 million LUST, CAUTION. Guess which is the worst film?

It just goes to show you that a high budget does not a good movie make.

FINISHING THE GAME is as outrageous as it is poignant. I have a good friend, white, who has very close ties with the Asian community, and who saw the film a while ago at another festival. He told me that after watching the movie he felt that it was insulting to Asians.

So as I sat watching the movie last night with a good racial and cultural audience mix, I looked around to see who was laughing at what jokes and when. I noticed several white folks with a face that perhaps was reflecting my friend’s inner thoughts and wondered what could be happening.

There is an interesting dilemma here, one of a contradictory nature that goes deep into this country’s psyche.

If you are white and laughing at the Asian racially motivated humor, then that could be misconstrued as being a racist. Then if you are not laughing, then perhaps people might think that you’re either taking it too seriously, or maybe covering up the embarrassment that you are or were a racist and did not want to come across that way, or you feel that Asian actors have come a long way and this sort of film is a step back, or you just did not get it.

Personally, I laughed my socks off, because in a freaky way, I could associate with the situations and circumstances. You see, I started off as an actor/stuntman in the Chinese kung-fu film industry back in the 1970s in Taiwan, the token white dude that got my butt kicked in by a different kung-fu film or TV star every few months.

Every film industry uses stereotypes as characters. The travesty in America today though is that film and TV shows in general perpetuate the stereotypes out of ignorance and sadly the majority of the audiences in America buy into that as reality. Furthermore, when a white screenwriter writes an Asian character (and most screenwriters in the industry are white) they write what they perceive is an Asian or what the studio perceives is an Asian.

So FINISHING THE GAME is an intelligent film that addresses many of the problems that Asian American actors face in the entertainment industry, and also what Asian Americans face in society. By Asians coming out to support and laugh at films like this, shows that the Asian communities have come along way from just being the silent crowd. The process is slow and ardent, but with filmmakers like Justin Lin and actors like Dustin Nguyen, Sung Kang and Roger Fan, they are burning the path for future generations.

What can I say about ANG PANAMA, my god, what a great movie. I’ve been covering horror films for years, but have never had the opportunity to see a Filipino horror film. I imagined that it would have looked schlocky with low production value, sort of like the Chinese horror films from 30 or 40 years ago. No way.

ANG PANAMA was really well directed, the acting rivaled anything I’ve seen in Hollywood horror films and the story was gripping. What makes Asian horror films uniquely Asian is that Asian filmmakers are tapping into folklore, urban legends of creatures that stalk the Asian night and tales of whisper and gore, things that have shaped the spiritual enigmas of each culture that Western moviegoers suck up like a starving vampire hungry for blood.

Director Romeo Candido keenly tackled three legendary creatures of Filipino folklore, and so last night I became one of those Western vampires, the only difference is that this film did not suck.

One of the intriguing aspects of the film that lies close to the Filipino heart is the anting-anting, in the film a mysterious amulet that held the key for the film’s hero to imbibe invincibility in order tackle evil.

Certain Filipino warriors of yore maintain a supernatural intention behind their fighting, which gave the warriors unceasing power, where a warrior could psyche themselves up into undertaking suicidal missions with the combination of the anting-anting and the equally secretive Orascion (special prayers).

There are several ways that one can get or find an anting-anting. Although ANG PAMANA borrows from the reality of the Mutya anting-anting, where it comes from a plant, Candido adds in his own twist that is not only creepy but an effective part of the story.

If you missed the film this time around, it is replaying Sunday evening, Oct. 14th, at 7:45 pm.

Like the anting-anting, support for Asian film comes with undying commitment where the power of the amulet and people is a virtue of devotion and one’s annual pilgrimage to this festival.