richardkong » Movies & TV

The Perfect Human and Apple

Rich — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:18:55 +0000

While watching Jony Ive talk about the new Macbook Air, Jorgen Leth’s short film, The Perfect Human (1967), came to mind. This short film is permanently imprinted into my brain because I watched it more times than I can count while working as a film studies TA during grad school. If you’re intrigued by the following, I recommend watching Lars von Trier’s Five Obstructions (2003).

Into the Wild

Rich — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:21:42 +0000

“When you forgive, you love.
And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.”

Quagmire? Um, yes, I think so.

Rich — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:59:15 +0000

Just watched the Oscar-nominated documentary No End in Sight. It’s probably the best, or at least most important, movie I’ve seen in the past year. This isn’t the kind of movie you can have playing in the background while you tend to a few other things. It’s the kind of movie that requires your full attention.

Movie Watch-a-likes

Rich — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:52:45 +0000

I volunteered to come up with a list of movies that might interest people who either watched The Namesake and liked it or are on the hold list to get it from the library and need something else to watch in the meantime. It’s basically the same thing we do with our book “read-a-likes“ only it’s a list of movies instead. Here’s my tentative list of movies that have something to do with Indian Americans and/or India:

American Desi. 2001.
Bride and Prejudice. 2004.
Cheeni Kum. 2007.
Gandhi. 1982.
Heat and Dust. 1983.
Householder. 1963.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. 2001.
Legally Desi. 2004.
Mississipi Masala. 1991.
Mistress of Spices. 2005.
Mitr, My Friend. 2001.
Monsoon Wedding. 2001.
Passage to India. 1984.
Rang De Basanti. 2006.
Return from India. 2002.
The River. 1951.
Water. 2005. Rated PG-13. DVD W WORLD (HINDI)

If you have any suggestions to add to this list or if you question the inclusion of one of the movies listed above, feel free to leave a comment.

Another way to approach it would be to come up with a list of movies dealing with the American immigrant experience, whatever that means. This is more difficult for some reason. Any ideas?

Telling Our Family Stories

Rich — Thu, 24 May 2007 03:56:09 +0000

Many years ago I watched an early film by Martin Scorsese called Italianamerican. It’s basically an extended interview of his parents speaking about their lives back in Italy and in America. When I watched it, it made me want to tell the stories of my own family. For a long time, I’ve wanted to create a documentary about my grandparents. I’d like to tell of their lives back in Korea, their journey to first Brazil and then to the U.S., and their lives here in the U.S. with their children and their grandchildren. I’ve put off the project for a long time, mostly because I knew that to do it right would mean investing a lot of time that I didn’t have. But lately I’ve been thinking that I’m going to make an effort to get this thing off the ground soon…

That’s why I’m so excited of an upcoming event at the library. One of my professional goals is to develop interesting events for the community I serve. Since I have an academic background in film studies, my natural inclination is to create programming that somehow incorporates films. A couple of months ago I started thinking about putting together an event to celebrate APA Heritage Month at the library. A friend told me about this filmmaker named Vivian Wong and suggested that I contact her. Thankfully, when I contacted Vivian she was very receptive to the idea of driving all the way out to Thousand Oaks from LA (in heavy traffic!) to show some short documentary films dealing with the Asian American experience and give a short presentation titled “Uncovering Ourselves: Storytelling Through Oral History and Family Photos.”

The event is this Thursday night and I’m very excited about it! I’ve seen the films that are being screened tomorrow and they’re all so moving in their own way. They include:

No Vacancy
An intimate look at a South Asian family who owns and manages a motel in South Central LA. Directed by Tina Bhaga, Elena Bovetti, and Alexandra Lewis, 11 minutes, 2004.

Selling Louie’s Village
One family’s experience of owning and operating a Chinese Restaurant in small town Oregon. Directed by Jason Mak, 14 minutes, 2004.

Metros Es Para Todos: Grandma Hee Pok Kim & The Bus Riders’ Union
Hee Pok Kim, an elderly LA Koreatown denizen, recounts her growing sense of political involvement as a result of her activities with the Bus Riders’ Union. Directed by Eurie Chung, 8 minutes, 2006.

Beyond the Sea
The story of three Filipino Navy men and the impact their military service had on them and their families. Directed by Mark Villegas, Gena Hamamoto, and Kristina Nierva, 10 minutes, 2006.

Homecoming
A personal documentary that recounts the filmmaker’s experience as a second-generation Chinese American and her relationship to her grandmother from Malaysia. Directed by Vivian Wong, 8 minutes, 2005.

It should be a great night. Hope to see you there!