As locations go, the desert motel has long been an evocative symbol for transience in movie narratives, atmospherically suitable for all manner of escape scenarios and reckonings. It’s also a conveniently economy-minded setting for any micro-budgeted mood piece with the existential on its mind, which Korean-American writer-director Chris Chan Lee’s perplexing “Silent River” most assuredly is, even if its self-conscious mix of the mysterious and the mundane never quite coalesces.
Lee is most known for his 1997 debut about Asian-American high school kids, “Yellow,” which helped introduce John Cho to audiences and, along with a handful of other films that year (including the Cho-starring, Justin Lin–co-directed “Shopping for Fangs”) signaled a new indie visibility for Asian-American filmmakers. (They were dubbed the “Class of ’97.”) “Silent River” is only Lee’s third feature, which may be why it shows he’s still very much an indie filmmaker at heart, preferring...
Lee is most known for his 1997 debut about Asian-American high school kids, “Yellow,” which helped introduce John Cho to audiences and, along with a handful of other films that year (including the Cho-starring, Justin Lin–co-directed “Shopping for Fangs”) signaled a new indie visibility for Asian-American filmmakers. (They were dubbed the “Class of ’97.”) “Silent River” is only Lee’s third feature, which may be why it shows he’s still very much an indie filmmaker at heart, preferring...
- 10/13/2022
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
Chris Chan Lee’s third feature Silent River has all the materials for a great noir. From an intriguing premise about a man on a run to the hallucinogenic visuals and its eerie mood, almost every detail feels like something that came out of the mind of David Lynch. Yet, in spite of that promising potential, Silent River ends up like an afterthought, too busy building atmosphere instead of crafting a compelling narrative.
Set in a stunning American desert, the story centers on a man named Elliott (West Liang). We first meet him as he’s arriving at a motel, limping and carrying a black suitcase from the trunk of his car to the room he just rents. The man is clearly running away from something, though what it is that he runs away from is unclear. What’s not a mystery is his destination: he wants to meet and...
Set in a stunning American desert, the story centers on a man named Elliott (West Liang). We first meet him as he’s arriving at a motel, limping and carrying a black suitcase from the trunk of his car to the room he just rents. The man is clearly running away from something, though what it is that he runs away from is unclear. What’s not a mystery is his destination: he wants to meet and...
- 11/10/2021
- by Reyzando Nawara
- The Film Stage
Chris Chan Lee is a Korean American independent filmmaker. In his debut feature “Yellow” he told a story of Korean-American teens, whose graduate night turns into a thriller. His second full-length movie “Silent River”, screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival in Asian American Panorama section, doesn’t focus on Asian-Americans or ethnicity-related issues. The only spoken language is English, and while the main characters have Asian roots, the fact bears no meaning to the storyline. You could swap them with anyone.
“Silent River” is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival
The movie starts with a man (West Liang) traveling in his car through the American desert. Eerie music sounds in the background and a landscape of yellow-red rocks, dried tree trunks and sands add to the uncanny atmosphere. A man arrives at a parking lot of a cramped motel and limping, carries his suitcase to unpack it in a generic room.
“Silent River” is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival
The movie starts with a man (West Liang) traveling in his car through the American desert. Eerie music sounds in the background and a landscape of yellow-red rocks, dried tree trunks and sands add to the uncanny atmosphere. A man arrives at a parking lot of a cramped motel and limping, carries his suitcase to unpack it in a generic room.
- 11/2/2021
- by Joanna Kończak
- AsianMoviePulse
Trailblazing Asian American actor of stage and screen and co-founder of the Los Angeles-based theatre group East West Players Soon-Tek Oh died on April 4 after a battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 85.
Oh was born in what is now South Korea. He attended high school in South Korea and went on to Yonsei University in Seoul. When he came stateside he attended the University of Southern California and later received an Mfa from UCLA.
The Korean-American actor is known as the actor who provided the voice of Fa Zhou, the father of the titular character in Disney’s 1998 animated feature Mulan. He went on to voice the character in Mulan II. In addition, he appeared in the 1974 James Bond installment The Man with the Golden Gun. He had a long list of other TV and film credits in the past decades including many pop culture staples such as MacGyver, M*A*S*H,...
Oh was born in what is now South Korea. He attended high school in South Korea and went on to Yonsei University in Seoul. When he came stateside he attended the University of Southern California and later received an Mfa from UCLA.
The Korean-American actor is known as the actor who provided the voice of Fa Zhou, the father of the titular character in Disney’s 1998 animated feature Mulan. He went on to voice the character in Mulan II. In addition, he appeared in the 1974 James Bond installment The Man with the Golden Gun. He had a long list of other TV and film credits in the past decades including many pop culture staples such as MacGyver, M*A*S*H,...
- 4/7/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
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