The ninth annual Asian American Showcase, presented by the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media and the Gene Siskel Film Center, continues Friday through Thursday, April 8 through 14, with screenings at the Film Center. Tickets are $9, $7 for students, and $5 for Film Center members; for more information call 312-846-2600.
After the Apocalypse
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Searching for food and companionship, five mute survivors of a nuclear war roam a seemingly deserted urban wasteland. Yasuaki Nakajima, who wrote and directed this low-budget indie, manages to turn financial constraints to his advantage, shooting in grainy, deliberately overexposed black and white and using music and ambient sound to establish the eerie atmosphere. The mood is broken, however, as the male characters get bogged down in a predictable struggle to win the affection of the sole woman. The lack of dialogue also invites some awkward and unintentionally corny moments; this may have been influenced by Tarkovsky and Antonioni, but the results are sometimes closer to street-corner mime. 72 min. (Reece Pendleton) Nakajima will attend the screening. (8:15 PM)
R Repatriation
“Soppy” doesn’t begin to describe this 2004 drama by Quentin Lee. As the title character, a queer teenager disowned by his Chinese-American family, Jun Hee Lee appears in almost every scene, but he’s not convincing as an anguished son wronged by his authoritarian dad (Raymond Ma) or as a drug-addled hustler. Jerry Hernandez has more screen presence as the trick-turning dope dealer who befriends Ethan, but he and the rest of the cast can’t overcome the awkward temporal switches, the dream sequences, or a third act that misfires hysterically, right down to its lame Butch and Sundance homage. 87 min. (AG) Quentin Lee will attend this screening. (8:15 PM)
Anita Chang directed this loving video portrait of her Taiwanese grandmother, an outspoken woman who spent her youth rebelling against cultural and generational strictures. Initiated just before the grandmother suffered a debilitating stroke, the video relies on voice-over narration from numerous family members, with characters introduced so rapidly that following the story becomes almost impossible. Chang flirts with the idea that these collected memories effectively fictionalize her grandmother, but unfortunately she backs off. 52 min. Also on the program, Top Woman Shooter (2004, 22 min.) profiles a Korean-American who is the best female handgun shot in the world. Director Bryant Wong draws a connection between her immense competitiveness and her husband’s infidelity, but he doesn’t explore it in any depth. Two short documentary videos complete the program, which runs 110 minutes. (JK) (5 PM)
See listing for Fri 4/8. (7:45 PM)
