Chan Is Missing Blu-ray Review
Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, August 7, 2022
Wayne Wang's "Chan is Missing" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Wayne Wang and critic Hua Hsu; new program with Wayne Wang and Ang Lee; archival documentary on the making of the film with cast and crew interviews; and more. In English, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked"
Wayne Wang's films can be divided into two groups. In the first group, you will find arthouse favorites like
The Joy Luck Club (1993) and
Smoke (1995) as well as big studio projects like
Maid in Manhattan (2002) and
Last Holiday (2006). In the second group, you will discover Wang's more obscure and often even controversial films like
Life is Cheap… but Toilet Paper is Expensive,
The Center of the World, and
Chan is Missing. The films from these two groups are so different that Wang's involvement with a few of them can appear almost suspicious.
Like most cinephiles, I discovered Wang during the great renaissance of American independent cinema in the early 1990s. It was because of Virginia Madsen that I sought
Slam Dance, a very twisty film noir with an indescribable sense of humor, which convinced me to explore more of Wang's work. I liked quite a few of the films I saw, but by the time
Maid in Manhattan appeared in my local video store in the early 2000s, I knew that something had destroyed Wang's very unique sense of humor.
This sense of humor, which I have to admit a few times remained elusive to me for much longer than it should have, has a special purpose in Wang's films. It is either very direct or very subtle, but its presence is always a lot more interesting than the obvious subject matter of Wang's films. This is a crucial detail, so if you ignore it, there is an excellent chance that you would have a very frustrating experience with quite a few of Wang's films. (For the record, I am not referring to the big studio projects and most recent films Wang has done since
The Center of the World).
Chan is Missing is set in San Francisco's Chinatown and follows closely two cabbies, Jo (Wood Moy) and Steve (Marc Hayashi), tracking down a mysterious character who has disappeared with a large chunk of their savings. They know pretty well the area where the man has been active, but do not know much about his private life, which is why they have to rely on information from local residents to figure out how to locate him and recover their money. However, while playing reluctant detectives, the cabbies slowly begin to realize that they might be chasing a ghost in a place that has been perfectly content to treat him as such.
The 'obvious' subject matter of
Chan is Missing is the hunt for the ghost, but this film is neither an exotic supernatural thriller nor a tense crime drama. It is actually a quirky social commentary on life in San Francisco's Chinatown where different groups of Asian Americans have created a very unique melting pot. Even though they are fully aware of its inner forces, like the viewer, Jo and Steve slowly begin to grasp its enormity and, in the process, the many particular ways in which it shapes people's lives.
In
Chan is Missing, Wang's sense of humor is easily detectable and produces plenty of easy-to-digest hilarious material, but what makes it effective is the freedom it provides for honest analysis. For example, Wang rightfully highlights the deep political division within the Asian American community and a myriad of cultural issues that keep different immigrant groups suspicious of each other. Also, the hunt for the ghost produces different and very interesting takes on the American Dream rationalized with honest arguments that could seem almost controversial now.
Shot with an extremely small budget and in black and white,
Chan is Missing has a rough borderline documentary appearance. The street footage from Chinatown, in particular, easily could have been extracted from archival reels used utilized by a local TV station.
*Wang shot
Chan is Missing on 16mm film stock. However, theatrical screenings of
Chan is Missing were done with a 35mm blowup.
Chan Is Missing Blu-ray, Video Quality
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer,
Chan is Missing arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This digital transfer was approved by director Wayne Wang."
I have a very old
Chan Is Missing of
DVD release in my library which was produced by Kino Lorber in 2006. I did some quick comparisons with it and I can categorically declare that the Blu-ray release offers a dramatically better technical presentation of the film.
Obviously, there is plenty of footage that still looks a bit rough, meaning that delineation and clarity could vary depending on how Wang's camera moves and captures outdoor and indoor activities. Shadow nuances are quite fluid as well, though they are actually very consistent with the film's borderline documentary appearance. Grain exposure is vastly superior, too. However, I must point out that the DVD release does not do a very good job of retaining the native information that is on the master that was used to produce it. The grayscale is very similar, but in 1080p everything looks fresher and better balanced. Image stability is excellent. There appear to be a few flecks here and there, but the surface of the visuals is very healthy. All in all, despite its serious budget limitations, I think that
Chan is Missing looks wonderful in high-definition. (
Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
Use the thumbs up and thumbs down icons to agree or disagree that the title is similar to Chan Is Missing. You can also suggest completely new similar titles to Chan Is Missing in the search box below.
