Main Cast: Marc Hayashi, Wood Moy, Laureen Chew, Judi Nihei, Peter Wang
Release Year: 1982
Country: US
Run Time: 80 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This thriller about a $4000 robbery was successfully lensed by writer/director Wayne Wang on a budget of $22,000. Cabdrivers Wood Moy and Marc Hayashi are robbed by the elusive Chan Hung (whom we never see in the film). As Moy and Hayashi track down the thief, Wang offers indelible images of the seamier portions of San Francisco's Chinatown. Whether the two cabbies ever retrieve their lost loot is immaterial; the film is a mood and character piece, seasoned with unexpected moments of laughter. Chan is Missing became a sleeper on the arthouse circuit, a fact that would open many professional doors for the multi-talented Wayne Wang. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
In addition to being one of the screen's more unconventional mysteries, Wayne Wang's Chan is Missing is also a relatively rare, authentic portrait of life in a Chinese-American community. Working in 16mm on an ultra-low budget, Wang cannily uses his San Francisco locations to create a vivid, urgent look and feel. The story ostensibly revolves around two cab drivers -- engagingly played by Wood Moy and Marc Hayashi -- searching for stolen money, but the plot is little more than a device to introduce the audience to a rich tableau of interesting characters. The tone of the film is warm and generous, and writer-director Wang keeps the action at a brisk pace, mustering up a remarkable amount of detail in the film's brief, 80-minute running time. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
Presco Tabios - Presco; Frankie Alarcon - Frankie; Virginia Cerenio - Jenny's Friend; Roy Chan - Mr. Lee; Leung Pui Chee - Mr. Fong; Judy Mihei; George Woo - George; Emily Yamasaki - Jenny; Ellen Yeung - Mrs. Chan Hung
Credit
Wayne Wang - Director, Wayne Wang - Editor, Robert Kikuchi - Composer (Music Score), Michael Chin - Cinematographer, Wayne Wang - Producer, Terrel Seltzer - Screenwriter, Wayne Wang - Screenwriter, Isaac Cronin - Screenwriter
Chan Is Missing is a 1982 film which tells the story of two taxi drivers searching the streets of San Francisco'sChinatown for the man who ran off with their money. It stars Wood Moy, Marc Hayashi and Laureen Chew.
The movie was written by Isaac Cronin and Wayne Wang, and directed by Wang. It is known to be one of the first major American film productions in which Chinese Americans are portrayed in a realistic fashion, using many non-actors, in contrast with other films in which Chinese and Chinese Americans are portrayed in predictable and limited roles based on stereotypes. The movie is considered a seminal work of Asian American Cinema. The song playing at the beginning of the movie is by Sam Hui. It's Mandarin Chinese name is Jia Jia Re Chao.[1]
In 1995, Chan Is Missing was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Chan Is Missing: A Film By Wayne Wang, With Introduction and Screen Notes by Diane Mei Lin Mark (Honolulu: Bamboo Ridge Press, 1984), ISBN 0-910043-06-X
