CHAN IS MISSING (1982), dir. Wayne Wang

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“Chan is Missing” is a movie about the Chinese made by a Chinese-American, and it avoids the racial stereotyping a lot of Hollywood films do not. It was directed and co-written by Wayne Wang, who has gone on to direct other films about under-represented minority groups, including an adaptation of Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club.” Although the low-budget “Chan is Missing” was filmed over a decade earlier, Wang’s penchant for Chinese characters with real depth already showed.

The movie centers around two San Francisco cab drivers named Jo (Wood Moy) and his nephew Steve (Marc Hayashi), who want to start their own taxi service. When the movie opens, they have given $4,000 to their partner Chan Ho, a relative of Jo’s ex-wife, to go file their business with the city. Unfortunately, several weeks have passed and they haven’t heard back from him. Then they find out from a social worker that Chan was recently involved in a traffic accident, but hasn’t made any of his court appearances.

What happened to Chan? Is he dead, or could he have run off with the money after the accident? Jo and Steve go looking for Chan in Chinatown, only to be told by his co-workers and friends that they haven’t seen him around either. But his jacket turns up at a nightclub he frequented, and there are possible clues in the pocket: a clipping from a local newspaper, about an elderly Chinese man who killed another man over political differences; and a letter from Chan’s brother written in Chinese.

The friends at the nightclub think Chan used the $4,000 to go back to China and resolve a family matter. But Jo, intrigued by the clipping, takes it to a buddy at the Chinese consulate. It turns out to be warning about how dangerous the political climate has become between Chinese who support the mother country’s stance against Taiwanese independence, and those who side with Taiwan. Later, during a stakeout of Chan’s apartment, they hear from his neighbor that a mysterious woman stopped by to talk with Chan about some photographs.

­­Could the photos Chan supposedly took have something to do with his disappearance? The mystery gradually unravels, albeit in a talky manner reflective of both independent American cinema and the production’s limited budget. Of course, some viewers will be turned off by the lack of movie stars and basic-looking set-ups; indeed, much of the acting seems done by amateurs, and although the black-and-white cinematography could be described as effectively-noirish at times, “Chan is Missing” is not exactly great-looking.

Still, based on cultural significance, the film deserves four stars just for employing real Asian actors as competent protagonists. From the very beginning, Jo and Steve aren’t the usual Chinese stereotypes; the kind of buffoons Mickey Rooney wore yellow-face for in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” They don’t have buck teeth or misplace their r’s and l’s, they don’t practice tai chi or kung fu. On the contrary, both men speak English that sounds vaguely American, and while they exist in a universe of Chinese culture – for example, at the house of Chan’s ex-wife, she gives Jo an orange – such references never seem like attempts at exoticism.

The movie also allows Jo and Steve to be very aware of what non-Chinese think of their kind. The former mentions that his fares inevitably ask where a good place to eat at in Chinatown is; he’ll start telling them the differences between regional Chinese cuisines, leading to a good tip. Meanwhile, Steve, who is the more cynical of the two protagonists, bristles over having gone to see “Saturday Night Fever” at a Chinese theater, only to find the opening theme dubbed, “You can tell from the way I use my wok, I’m a Chinese cook, I’m a Chinese cook.”

Finally, the movie shows Chinese can be prejudiced against one another, which may blow some people’s minds. In the history of American cinema, it’s not uncommon for those with similar skin tones to be lumped together, and Asians have especially gotten that treatment. While heterogonous-minded Hollywood still has trouble distinguishing Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans from one another, in “Chan is Missing,” what gets emphasized is that Chinese come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and political beliefs, and certain ones consider themselves better than others.

For example, early on there is a scene in which Jo, Steve, and Steve’s sister are sitting around the kitchen table, teasing each other about the ingredients in the meal, whether they’re from American supermarkets, as opposed to the more questionable Chinese groceries. They also say unflattering things about “New Money” Taiwanese, disparage “Commie-lovers” who support the regime back in China, and discuss how two Chinese City Council candidates draw from very different demographics within Chinatown.

Being that the main protagonists are American-born Chinese (or “ABC’s”), Jo and Steve initially expect Chan to fit certain stereotypes for a “FOB” – a derogatory term short for “Fresh off the Boat,” or recent arrival to the United States. Steve in particular has a negative image of them, beliefs that get thoroughly subverted over the course of the film. By the end, one character realizes Chan, who could very well be a stand-in for all Chinese, can no longer be so easily categorized. Not that that’s such a bad thing.

Overall rating: *** (out of ****)

TRIAD ELECTION (2006), dir. Johnnie To

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There are two types of gangsters that populate this film – angry, cocky ones and calmer guys who look like they belong in a boardroom. “Triad Election” argues the second kind is always more dangerous.

This sequel to 2005’s “Election” returns to the universe of the Triads, the brotherhood to which all organized crime gangs in Hong Kong belong. According to tradition, every two years the inner circle of elderly “boss”-types picks a new chairman, who is essentially a CEO of crime. For the past two years, Lok (Simon Yam) has held that role and the brotherhood has flourished, but with a new election around the corner, some young, hungry challengers have thrown their hats into the ring. Unfortunately, what none of them realize is Lok wants an unprecedented second term.

Of the Triads’ various up-and-comers, the most qualified for the chairmanship would be Jimmy (Louis Koo), an illegal porn-dealer turned legitimate businessman. However, during a dinner with Lok and his other “brothers,” Jimmy makes it clear he’s not interested, seemingly paving the way for Kun (Ka Tung Lan), who acts like he has chips on both shoulders, or Jet (Nick Cheung), Lok’s right-hand man, whom he promises to make chairman in exchange for his loyalty.

What starts off semi-familial – the middle-aged Lok, surrounded by his five “sons” – becomes a tightly-paced sequence of double-crosses and unsavory violence, spurred by the Chinese government’s blocking of Jimmy’s grand scheme to develop land just inside their border. Apparently, only Chinese patriots are allowed to do business in China, and the only way Jimmy can become a patriot, he is told, is to become Triad chairman. Since he doesn’t reveal his motivation to the other “brothers,” Jimmy and his loved ones are soon targeted by rivals, just as he finds his morals being increasingly challenged by the inner circle’s demands.

Having not seen “Election” beforehand (Actually, I thought “Triad Election” was “Election”; it wasn’t until the opening credits, in which it’s called “Election 2” that I realized my mistake), I wasn’t sure how many moral codes Jimmy broke in the first film to get where he is, e.g., whether he previously ordered a man’s death. Either way, he does it here, and it’s only the first of a number of transgressions. The violence gets pretty disturbing, such as the torture sequence where a man gets beaten to death with a sledge-hammer, ground up, and fed to a German shepherd. But To, who is Hong Kong’s pre-eminent filmmaker, choreographs the competition with the elegance of a chess match: each player biding their time, not giving away their respective strategies, and only shedding blood when it matters most.

To, who has made movies of all genres, employs stillness to nearly Zen-like effect. Countless shots consist of characters sitting silently or staring off into the distance, making them look about as glamorous as models in a magazine ad. However, it also serves to ratchet up the suspense, as his protagonists become like coiled snakes, always in the midst of contemplating their next move, which they act in swift, deadly fashion. This feeling of calm also gets expressed through the smooth camerawork and in the musical score, which often consists of either a faint drumming or a few notes on a stringed instrument repeated over and over again, creating a vibe of steadiness.

“Triad Election” is a crime film of surprising depth, even if most of the supporting players are thinly characterized. There is a recurring subplot, about the lengths both Jimmy and Lok are willing to go to keep their progeny away from the gangster life. When Jimmy tells his wife early on, “Our children will be doctors and lawyers,” he’s not just talking as a parent who wants his progeny to achieve great things; what he wants, we sense, is for them to have legitimate jobs, to not have to exist in the shadows, as he has had to.

Similarly, Lok has an adolescent son named Denny, and his efforts to shield him from his father’s Triad life have twisted their relationship. When he finds out Denny may be involved in gang activity, he and his henchmen confront his son and a group of youthful hoods in a restaurant. Unfortunately, violence breaks out, and the boy runs off, frightened of his own father. After Lok unsuccessfully tries to catch him on foot, he gets in a car and watches as his son speeds off. “Don’t scare him,” he tells his men, his face an unexpectedly moving mask of sadness and worry. “Just bring him home.”

One could also read into the relationship between Jimmy and mainland China as reflecting the Hong Kong film industry’s anxiety about the mother country, whether it will respect their traditions, or toss them aside if the upside is wealth and power. If the first “Election” is anywhere near as good as “Triad Election,” the series deserves its reputation as one of Hong Kong’s best in recent years. But for my money, it isn’t quite up there with “The Godfather,” despite the shared attributes of darkly-lit atmosphere and small men fighting over small corners of power.

My problem is with the epilogue and what happens to Jimmy, which I won’t give away. Suffice it to say, this movie is intended to be a tragedy, and tragedies – for me, anyway – are always more interesting if the protagonist falls through a weakness in his/her own character. In “The Godfather, Part II,” for example, Michael Corleone had the whole world in his hands, but lost it because he couldn’t forgive his brother’s betrayal. Again, I don’t want to say what happens to Jimmy, except it appears he was always up against powers far greater than his own. In the end, he never stood a chance, but maybe in the next life, he’ll be more wary of guys in suits who look like they belong in the boardroom.

Overall rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)