Americanese
Americanese | |
---|---|
Directed by | Eric Byler |
Written by | Eric Byler |
Based on | American Knees by Shawn Wong |
Produced by | Lisa Onodera |
Starring | Chris Tashima Allison Sie Kelly Hu Ben Shenkman Autumn Reeser Joan Chen |
Cinematography | Rob Humphreys Stacy Toyama |
Edited by | Kenn Kashima |
Music by | Michael Brook |
Distributed by | IFC First Take |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Americanese is a 2006 American
Background
The film was written and directed by
Premise
Raymond Ding, a middle-aged
Encouraged by their best friends to move on, Raymond and Aurora each begin new relationships. Aurora dates Steve, a white man closer to her age (and also her best friend's former boyfriend). Raymond dates Betty, a
Cast
- Chris Tashima as Raymond Ding
- Allison Sie as Aurora Crane
- Joan Chen as Betty Nguyen
- Kelly Hu as Brenda Nishitani
- Ben Shenkman as Steve
- Sab Shimono as Wood Ding
- Michael Paul Chan as Jimmy Chan
- Autumn Reeser as Sylvia
- Ryan Cutrona as Hank Crane
- Takayo Fischer as Keiko Crane
- Annie Katsura Rollins as Julia Crane
- Greg Watanabe as Young Wood
- Stephen Bishop as Miles
- Munda Razooki as Test Driver #1
- Nathaniel H. Taylor as Test Driver #2
- Tyler Hori as Little Raymond
- Michael Potter as University Administrator
- Carol Saraceno as Woman with Dog
- Yuri Treschuck as Amerasian Youth at Bus Stop
- Jen Brown as Rumana
- Kayvon Esmaili as Brenda's Boyfriend at Party
- Teddy Chen Culver as Rumana's Boyfriend
- Pearl Wong as Helen Ding
Film festivals
2006
- South by Southwest Film Festival, in competition – Austin, TX[1]
- 24th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, Opening Night film – San Francisco, CA
- 11th Chicago Asian American Showcase, Opening Night film – Chicago, IL
- 22nd VC FilmFest, Closing Night film – Los Angeles, CA
- 9th Aurora Asian Film Festival, Opening Night film – Aurora, CO
- 32nd Seattle International Film Festival – Seattle, WA
- 7th DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, Opening Night film – Washington, DC
- 14th Hamptons International Film Festival, in competition – East Hampton, NY
- 26th Hawaii International Film Festival – Honolulu, HI
- 29th Denver Film Festival – Denver, CO
2007
- 9th Wisconsin Film Festival, Diaspora Melancholy: Asian American Films, co-presented by the Asian American Studies Program, University of Wisconsin–Madison – Madison, WI
Critical reception
Americanese was met with generally positive reviews. The film has a score of 67% from Rotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews.[3]
Acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three and a half out of four, and wrote "Byler deals with characters who have lived their years, learned from them, and try to apply their values to their lives. Their romances are not heedless but wary, and involve a lot of negotiation," and finished by calling the film "...uncommonly absorbing".[4]
Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times stated that Americanese had "fine, understated performances and the self-assured way that Byler lets the film find its own rhythms, rather than setting into some template, result in a mature film of subtle complexity".[5]
Awards
- Audience Award – Best Narrative Feature – SXSW[1]
- Special Jury Prize – Outstanding Ensemble Cast – SXSW[1]
- Golden Space Needle Audience Award – Best Actor, 2nd Runner-Up (Chris Tashima) – Seattle International Film Festival[6]
References
- ^ a b c d Americanese wins at SXSW Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine on IndieWire
- ^ Americanese acquired by IFC Archived 2008-03-13 at the Wayback Machine on IndieWire
- ^ "Americanese". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "Americanese". Roger Ebert.com. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ Crust, Kevin (11 May 2006). "A modern love story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ 2006 SIFF Award winners on Alternative Film Guide