The western idiom that “there is no honor among thieves”* crosses cultures to infiltrate this English-subtitled Japanese film about modern-day “yakuza.” Although they’re supposed to live by a code of honor, the professional gangsters in this movie turn out to be as dishonorable as any run of the mill mobster. Director Takeshi Kitano (aka [...]
Despite its detailed coverage of a tumultuous China at the turn of the century, “Empire of Silver” is really a love story. While epic events like the Boxer Rebellion unfolded during the last days of the Qing Dynasty, this film’s focus is about boy meeting girl, boy falling in love with girl; then, boy having [...]
To be honest, Monique Truong’s long-awaited second novel “Bitter In The Mouth” is so full of surprises that it’s difficult to review without spoilers. This novel of a young girl growing up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina in the 1970s and 80s offers much more than a plot synopsis can reveal. But let’s start [...]
“Not many people know about ‘ikebana,’” said Megumi Schacher as I enter her home studio in the verdant Brier neighborhood. One of her two cats languishes in a chair near an arrangement of tall irises and other foliage in a shallow container. A large collection of vessels lines the multiple shelves along one wall. “When [...]
How can we ever find the time to pursue our creativity? This is a common question in a society busy with work and family, but the Susie Lee Ensemble hopes to provide an answer. In their new dance piece, “Swimming the List”, the ensemble features solo dancer Ying Zhou in an exploration of how creative [...]
Martial arts releases in the U.S. have come a long way since Bruce Lee first graced our silver screens in the early 1970’s. Back then, Hong Kong-made action movies were mostly about tournaments involving opposing schools that touted differing fighting styles. Inevitably, the good guys prevailed over the bad guys who always tried to cheat [...]
For Nari Baker, the process of putting together her exhibit “Talking to Ghosts: Waiting in River Between Worlds” was as much a journey of discovery as it was for the participants she interviewed. Featured at Jack Straws New Media Gallery, the exhibit presents eleven adopted Korean Americans, including Baker herself, addressing their birth parents in [...]
Sitting in a small café in Seattle’s University district, singer-songwriter Emi Meyer spoke with me about her recent tour of Japan, her experiences growing up playing music and the process of culturally coming to terms with her Japanese and Caucasian heritage. With three albums available on CDBaby, iTunes, and at Uwajimaya, she has achieved [...]
Throngs of fans lined the streets of South Downtown on a recent sunny Sunday. As they filtered through the doors of Showbox SoDo to kick-off this year’s International Secret Agents (ISA) concert tour on July 31, anticipation filled the room, excitement heard through an eruption of delighted squeals and showcased in homemade signs expressing love [...]
Intercultural translation always poses challenges. American playwright Mia Chung was intrigued by the challenge of understanding North Korean culture. “I felt very alienated from North Korea,” says Chung, who believed the isolated nation served “as a bizarre massive brainwashing experiment.” “In short, I was very susceptible to the simplistic caricature of North Korea that [...]
A reunion is afoot in Seattle theatre during August. Local theatre producer and ReAct Theatre board member Roger Tang collaborates again with his college dorm-mate David Henry Hwang in ReAct’s production of Hwang’s play “Yellow Face”. “I like to joke that I knew Dave before he had a middle name,” says Tang. “We were theme [...]
A spin-off from the sci-fi anime television series, “Trigun: Badlands Rumble” reintroduces its primary characters against a landscape that appears to be the American West in outer space. Based on the original story line created by Naito Yasuhiro, this English subtitled adaptation features a menacing, muscular man with the unlikely name of Gasback — pronounced [...]
Writer: “What’s the difference between photography and writing a novel?” Dean Wong: “Well, with photography, you have to be there. You have to see the scene in front of you, you have to be ready to capture it. “The thing that I find fascinating about writing is that you don’t need to be there to [...]
A series of postcards, bearing messages scrawled in bad handwriting, introduces the unfolding horror of 1937 Nanking, China. Japanese soldiers there have overtaken the capital city and no escape remains for its Chinese residents. Unfortunately, the postcards (written in English) flash by too quickly to be read clearly although the carnage that follows needs no [...]
Derek Nguyen is a multifaceted artist with a diversity of career accomplishments and personal experiences. He has worked as a writer, director, producer, and playwright on both films and stage dramas. And he is also very active in the Asian American arts scene, as he’s collaborated with Greg Pak, Risa Morimoto, Soomi Kim, as well [...]
The new “Love You Better (EP)” from Seattle reggae band Kore Ionz can be summarized in one word: awesome. The title track is a poignant love letter that once you hear it, you can’t help but sign on to wholeheartedly yourself. The Korean American lead singer Daniel Pak, wrote the lyrics in a rush of [...]
“The Elements Within” exhibit at Mithun — running until June 21 — features a collaborative show of artisanal slab furniture and calligraphic wall hangings. Calligrapher and choreographer Yoko Murao was invited to include her works alongside Gudrun Onkels and Eric Holder, makers of fine furniture and woodcrafts at SlabArt. The exhibit’s title alludes to the [...]
Born in Saigon, Vietnam and raised in Orange County, California, filmmaker Stephane Gauger aims to tell universal stories with a global outlook and a distinctly Vietnamese point of view. “The best films are the universal ones,” said Gauger. He added that, in his newest film, “Saigon Electric”, which recently made its Seattle premiere at the [...]
The Wing Luke Museum’s current exhibition, “Dual Nature: Contemporary Glass and Jewelry” sets out to explore the parallel histories of glass and jewelry in the Pacific Northwest through the work of eight emerging and established Asian and API artists. It succeeds in delving deeper than a simple compare-and-contrast of the two media to reveal dualities [...]
Apart Together In 1949 war-torn Shanghai, a couple is forced apart when a Nationalist soldier escapes to Taiwan leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend. In 1987, the elderly former soldier returns for her. Ignoring the fact that his ex-lover already has a mate (a former Communist soldier), several adult children (including the Nationalist’s son) and grandchildren, [...]
First came the Butoh Wave last autumn. And now comes the Daipan Butoh’s Next Wave Seattle Butoh Festival, to be held from June 3 – 18. This upcoming festival will include performances, workshops, and public lectures on the Japanese-originated dance form of butoh, and includes not only local butoh artists, but also a range of [...]
Early in the 1990s, provincial officials in Henan, China, launched the Plasma Economy campaign. Residents would be paid for their blood, which would in turn be sold to biotech companies. Due to high demand on the part of these companies, the blood business boomed. Induced by financial reward and by dishonest local officials, poor peasants [...]
Only 17 years-old, “Dilawar” is growing up way too fast. Living in India-occupied Kashmir, he’s on the verge of becoming a bad boy until he gets thrown into jail for doing something stupid. Realizing that he’s on the road to self-destruction, he tries to straighten up — but righteousness seems to elude him.
For anyone unfamiliar with the play, Sex in Seattle is a romantic comedy following the ups and downs in the love lives of four Asian American women, now in its tenth year. The format is similar to an Asian TV drama with episodes that comprise an overall story arc. Currently on episode 19 of 20, it is a local institution approaching its final curtain. Those who follow Asian dramas will also find many similarities, including the dedicated fan base (there were a couple of people in the audience that had attended every episode), and the fact that it is hard to join the story in the next to last episode.
Currently on display at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle’s International District is “Cultural Confluence: Urban People of Asian and Native American Heritages” which offers a unique look into a world seldom explored by the mainstream. For these artists of Asian and Native American backgrounds, the balance of preserving [...]
