Two cabbies search San Francisco's Chinatown for a mysterious character who has disappeared with their $4000. Their quest leads them on a humorous, if mundane, journey which illuminates the many problems experienced by Chinese-Americans trying to assimilate into contemporary American society.
Direction
Wang turns $20K into a movement-defining manifesto.
Writing
Dialogue that meanders beautifully toward profound nowhere.
Cinematography
16mm black-and-white that makes SF Chinatown feel like memory itself.
Director
Wayne Wang
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in 16mm for roughly $22,000, it became the first Asian-American feature to get theatrical distribution. Wang literally couldn't afford permits for half the locations.
The 'Chan' of the title deliberately evokes Charlie Chan—the racist Hollywood stereotype—while subverting every trope. Wang made his mystery about the impossibility of knowing anyone, especially yourself.
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