“The world of mental illness is hidden behind a curtain,” says Kazuhiro Soda. The Japanese filmmaker’s second feature documentary, MENTAL, is a fascinating peek behind that curtain. Mental illness is terrifying for anyone who suffers from it. But mental patients in Japan have even more to contend with, as society shuns them and the government politicizes their care. Sit in on my talk with Soda, and have your consciousness raised.

Mental recently won Best Documentary at Pusan Film Festival and Dubai Film Festival, and is slated to play at Berlin Film Festival the first week in February. Mental is cinema verite—a filmmaking method whereby the director finds and records actual events, without prompting or scripting the participants. It was the ideal means to meet the variegated personalities of Chorale Okayama, an outpatient mental clinic in Japan. Soda interspersed observation and interviews of mental patients, staff, volunteers, and home mental health aides. He elaborated on his process in the Director’s Statement:
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Tags: Berlin Film Festival, Dubai Film Festival, film, Japan, Kazuhiro Soda, Kiyoko Kashiwagi, Mental, mental illness, Pusan Film Festival

Hey, Americans, Happy Thanksgiving. That means stuff your face and watch some movies! I’m catching up on film, including The Namesake from 2006. One scene got me thinking about relationships between Asians and non-Asians–how their cultural navigations are portrayed in film. Here’s just a few that stick out–add a few of your own.

In The Namesake, Mira Nair’s adaptation of the Jhumpa Lahiri novel, Gogol (Kal Penn) takes his white girlfriend Max (Jacinda Barrett) home to meet his very traditional Indian parents. Max ignores many of the politely-given instructions on cultural taboos to respect. I cringed. But the real kicker was when she asked to attend a family mourning ceremony. “I wanna go to India with you to spread the ashes!” Good Lord! Gogol’s in mourning, and she’s gripping his arm, wheedling her way into a trip abroad. I know what the white girl wanted….the trip to India would “prove their love.” But it came across like attending a family mourning ceremony was another notch to make in her cultural-experiences belt. That really bothered me.
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Tags: asian, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, film, interracial, Jason Scott Lee, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kal Penn, Mira Nair, Mississippi Masala, Sarita Choudry, The Namesake

As we gear up for next month’s release of Ping Pong Playa, here’s more of my conversation with Roger Fan. An interview is always about the artist’s thoughts. But we had such a great rapport, I couldn’t help but share a few of my own. Roger has a natural love for the human race that makes him an excellent listener. Here’s more on Asian film, American film, stereotypes, and Justin Lin.

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Tags: actor, asian american, film, funny, interview, justin lin, movies, ping pong playa, roger fan, sung kang, the out takes