March 19, 2007
SFIAAFF: Shanghai Kiss
SFist Mihi reports in from the SFIAAFF this weekend!
The world premiere of Shanghai Kiss played on Saturday night at the Castro Theatre and the house was packed.
One of the themes running through the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival last year was about how there weren't enough Asian-American men in movies. Clearly things have not improved since out of the three movies we saw over the weekend, two of them featured the same dude (Ken Leung) as the male lead (and the third one was a Japanese anime).
Shanghai Kiss is the story of a struggling 28 year-old Asian-American actor (the perspicacious Ken Leung) in L.A. who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 16 year-old girl (played by Hayden Panettiere of ABC's "Heroes"). He's forced to confront both his identity crisis and his troubled relationship with his father when he inherits a house in Shanghai where he meets the lovely Kelly Hu (who also stars in an ABC series, "In Case of Emergency" and who is in another SFIAAFF film this year too).
After the jump: donkeys in Compton or taking the bus in LA? And the director's poignant story about his father.
We admit there were a couple of things that immediately ruined the movie for us. A 28 year-old man and a 16 year-old girl? Creepy. Plus, the 16 year-old who lives in Beverly Hills meets the main character while riding a bus. In LA. We grew up in LA and no perky, pretty, princess 16-year-old who lives in Beverly Hills rides a bus. Ever. Why not just have them meet while riding donkeys through Compton? Much more believable that Beverly Hills blondie on rapid transit.
The directors, Kern Konwiser and David Ren were in attendance and before the movie they spoke to the crowd. Ren said he wrote the script in part to connect with his own father, with whom he has a troubled relationship. "When he drinks, I don't even know him," said Ren quietly. Shanghai Kiss is his attempt to communicate with his father but unfortunately the snowstorm in New York grounded his dad's plane and his father was missing the world premiere of the movie. He paused and the crowd was hushed, struck by the tragic irony and subdued to be witnessing such an intimate moment. "But this is a comedy!" finished Ren and the audience laughed in relief.
Shanghai Kiss plays on Friday night at Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose.
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Thank you for coming out and supporting my film!
Regarding the "creepiness" of a 28-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl:
I think the current age of consent laws in the US are absurd. People mature sexually and emotionally at different ages. It's important to use common sense and judgement to determine whether someone is ready for a relationship. There are no such laws in Asia and Europe yet the countries aren't filled with older men taking advantage of younger girls.
Maybe a 28-year-old and a 16-year-old doesn't "look right" together but it's not about looking right. It's about feeling right.
We shouldn't limit ourselves to the people we can be happy with or we could be lonely for the rest of our lives. There are few people we truly connect with emotionally. When we find that person, we should hold on to them forever. We shouldn't limit ourselves in terms of age, race, looks, and even sex.
I married a Chinese woman. I didn't marry her because I'm Chinese and we look right together. I didn't marry her to appease my parents. I married her because she makes me laugh. She takes care of me. We take care of each other. And when we love, we love with a passion stronger than anything in this world.
As it turns out, my wife's two years older than me. But it wouldn't matter if she were 16 or 30 or 50. It wouldn't matter if she were white, black, or hispanic. It wouldn't matter if she were a supermodel and janitor. There isn't a person on the planet who can tell me I couldn't be with her.
Please have a open heart.
David
I went to the premiere of Shanghai Kiss in the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival last Saturday. The atmosphere was electric. The dialogue was clear, clever, and concise. The acting was brilliant, notably Ken Leung and Haden Panettiere, with very strong performances by Kelly Wu and the guy who plays Joe, Ken’s best friend in the movie. You could feel the waves of laughter coursing through the audience. There were so many aspects to the film: romance, friendship, racial identity, age difference versus true maturity, and love for one’s parents. The audience was so rapt in attention that with each twist and turn of the plot, you could feel as if they sighed, gasped, and chuckled in unison. The 1 hour and 40 minutes did not seem long at all, and the conclusion felt right. The good feeling continued after the film, where people stood around and discussed and commented on various aspects of the movie.
With all this in mind, I am slightly disappointed at the SFist Mihi report that nitpicked at the dramatic license used for how Ken and Haden met. Is it realistic, for example, for an ordinary girl to suddenly become a princess in a European country, or for man to spontaneously burst into song and dance in the middle of the street? As for their age difference, I felt immediately that Haden was much older, in terms of maturity, than Ken. Moreover, they had a lot in common: they understood each other’s jokes, they both shared losses, and they connected at a very deep emotional level. There was a much greater age difference in the characters in Lost in Translation, and I didn’t see any problems with it. I think it’s time to lighten up a little.
Overall, I think the movie is deep and interesting enough to be worthy of these commentaries flying all around the internet.
[Reposting to correct error in spelling Hayden. Please remove previous submission. Thanks.]
I went to the premiere of Shanghai Kiss in the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival last Saturday. The atmosphere was electric. The dialogue was clear, clever, and concise. The acting was brilliant, notably Ken Leung and Hayden Panettiere, with very strong performances by Kelly Wu and the guy who plays Joe, Ken’s best friend in the movie. You could feel the waves of laughter coursing through the audience. There were so many aspects to the film: romance, friendship, racial identity, age difference versus true maturity, and love for one’s parents. The audience was so rapt in attention that with each twist and turn of the plot, you could feel as if they sighed, gasped, and chuckled in unison. The 1 hour and 40 minutes did not seem long at all, and the conclusion felt right. The good feeling continued after the film, where people stood around and discussed and commented on various aspects of the movie.
With all this in mind, I am slightly disappointed at the SFist Mihi report that nitpicked at the dramatic license used for how Ken and Hayden met. Is it realistic, for example, for an ordinary girl to suddenly become a princess in a European country, or for a man to spontaneously burst into song and dance in the middle of the street? As for their age difference, I felt immediately that Hayden was much older, in terms of maturity, than Ken. Moreover, they had a lot in common: they understood each other’s jokes, they both shared losses, and they connected at a very deep emotional level. There was a much greater age difference in the characters in Lost in Translation, and I didn’t see any problems with it. I think it’s time to lighten up a little.
Overall, I think the movie is deep and interesting enough to be worthy of these commentaries flying all around the internet.
one stupid film is all i could say. As the San Fransisco Daily Reported - the writer of this film is like a 15y/o boy trying to be sophicated.
lol. I reckon the film would be much more interesting if you just wrote about your OWN life! It seriously is a mess and a joke!
all i have to say is that david ren is the MOZART of the american movie director's catalog. at the age of 21, he perfected the art and profession.congradurations David! I look forward to your next 30 films in the next 50 years coming.