U N D O I N G a Film by Chris Chan Lee
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U N D O I N G A Film by Chris Chan Lee Writer/Director Chris Chan Lee Details 90 minutes, HD, color, 2006 Producers Karin Chien Sung Kang Starring Sung Kang George Huey, Eric Kim, Catherine Park Kelly Hu Contact Karin Chien Russell Wong (917) 209-9602 Jose Zuniga [email protected] and Tom Bower Website www.undoingmovie.com SYNOPSIS One year after the death of his best friend, Sam Kim returns to Los Angeles determined to find redemption from the past. His mentor and only friend, DON, is a retired gangster with a parallel desire to leave the former world behind. But as Sam tries to balance revenge with reconciliation, he is drawn into the shadowy world he had left behind. Can Sam undo his mistakes before losing what he came back to save? - 1 - U N D O I N G D I R E C T O R ’ S S T A T E M E N T The story of UNDOING came to me upon my return from working overseas. A few years ago, I spent a little more than a year directing TV in Singapore. On a professional level, I found the experience to be both challenging and rewarding, however, throughout my time abroad, I became keenly aware of the disconnect between myself and my environment. Being an American-born Korean and working in a foreign country, I was missing home. The relationships and circumstances I had left behind were constantly on my mind. While working in Singapore, I was surrounded by a sea of unfamiliar faces - the Chinese production staff, the Malaysian camera crew, the Indian studio technicians, etc. In spite of our different backgrounds and cultures, I was inspired by these individuals and our collaborations. They were not unlike the passionate filmmakers and artists I left behind in America. Mindful of the miscommunication that often occurs as a result of language and cultural barriers; I became acutely observant of human interaction at the microscopic level. I was obsessed with the depth of expression communicated through silences and the slightest of inflections. In October 2001, I finally returned to the States, after months of watching what had transpired in the US through a Singaporean lens. Although I was only gone for a year, I experienced a second wave of culture shock upon my return to California. With my need to take a break from yet another cultural exchange and my hunger to resume writing, I was compelled to explore what it was like to come back home and pick up the pieces. The first seeds of UNDOING came to me as a result of these experiences and circumstances. I wanted to tell the story of an older man (Don) and a younger man (Samuel) from completely different generations and backgrounds, yet whose lives were so deeply intertwined and connected so as to be as near family as two unrelated men could be. Intent on articulating all the minutiae in the interaction between people, I rapidly wrote the first draft in 9 days. From my experiences being away and then returning home, I’ve learned that reality is subjective and can’t always be communicated through words or actions. Utilizing the filmic language of noir allows me to convey the subjective experience of life. My interpretation of noir, at its most fundamental level, is that it uses the physical environment as a vehicle to express the inner emotional state. Intentions, regret, and solitude are very internal concepts. What better way to materialize these emotions than using the platform of noir storytelling? In every life, there is a component that we experience alone, in solitude. Yet through film, this solitude can be a shared experience. - 2 - U N D O I N G S Y N O P S I S After a mysterious year-long absence, SAM KIM (Sung Kang) returns to Los Angeles determined to find redemption from the past. His mentor and only friend, DON OSA (Tom Bower), is a retired gangster with a parallel desire to leave the former world behind. But as Sam tries to balance revenge with reconciliation, he is drawn back to the shadowy world he left behind. Can Sam undo his mistakes before losing what he came back to save? UNDOING suggests the uniquely American genre of film noir, set on the mean streets of Los Angeles’ Koreatown. The story unfolds as we learn about the night, a year ago, when Sam and JOON (Leonardo Nam) meet for a joyride through Koreatown. Joon has more serious plans for the evening, but they soon go terribly wrong, leaving Sam alone and lost in a world he desperately wants to escape. A year later, Sam returns to the scene of the crime, and with Don’s help, finishes what he should have done a year ago. But just as things appear to be resolved, we find out that Sam came back not only to avenge Joon’s death, but also to win back his love, VERA (Kelly Hu). Sam locates Vera working as a waitress/bar manager at the Red Room, and they’re suddenly thrown back into their impossible desires for each other; two people who seem hopelessly isolated from the world around them and from each other. Abandoned a year ago, Vera resents Samuel and now finds herself deep in debt and also emotionally entangled with the owner of the Red Room, RANDALL (Jose Zuniga). With no family and no outside resources, Sam must return to the Koreatown streets of his past in attempt to settle Vera’s obligations, as well as his own debts to the past. His reckless naiveté leads him to hustle a corrupt, veteran police detective named KASAWA (Mary Mara). Unbeknownst to others, Kasawa and Sam’s mentor Don share a history in a former generation of inner city crime. Though the two have lead their lives in opposing order: one in law enforcement and the other in crime; they share a unique bond in their attempt to find comfort in the niche they’ve spent a lifetime carving out. But Sam stirs chaos and, in classical noir form, “good” and “bad” are not so easy to differentiate; each character struggles with the conflicting impulses of good and evil in the world around them, and in themselves. The Los Angeles in UNDOING provides a window into an eclectic, multi-ethnic world; a hybrid of cultures and social influences that oscillate between conflict and unity. UNDOING explores the emotional, spiritual, and physical loneliness of disenfranchised beings, and the irony that such a diverse American city could lead to such solitary existence. Devoid of traditional families to provide a sense of belonging, the relationships in UNDOING suggest surrogate structures formed by each character’s need to connect with one another. Yet UNDOING is not about loneliness; it is about a world where loneliness forces each character to confront their true selves, and propels them to finding truth in their lives. - 3 - U N D O I N G PRINCIPAL CREW BIOS C H R I S C H A N L E E WRITER/DIRECTOR Chris Chan Lee wrote/directed YELLOW, an independently financed feature film about the harrowing grad night of eight Korean-American teens in Los Angeles that culminates in a violent crime that will forever change their lives. YELLOW was invited to over a dozen film festivals, including the Slamdance Dramatic Competition 1998, Singapore International 1998, and the Los Angeles Film Festival 1997. The film received a U.S. theatrical release by Phaedra Cinema (now Pathfinder Pictures) and worldwide sales by Cinema Arts. YELLOW garnered high critical praise throughout the nation from publications such as the Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert), the Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, and the Village Voice. A sensation on the college circuit during its educational run by NAATA; young audiences got to see their lives reflected onscreen for the first time. In 2002 Chris completed a one-year stint in Singapore directing television at MEDIACORP STUDIOS for English-language primetime TV series. A one-hour drama on which he was a principal director was subsequently nominated for Best Television Drama (as well as two best acting nominations) at the ASIAN TELEVISION AWARDS (Asia’s Emmys). Chris has also directed music videos for Asian American artists SEAM and THE MOUNTAIN BROTHERS, which have aired on MTV. He graduated from the USC School of Cinema in Los Angeles. K A R I N C H I E N PRODUCER Karin Chien is an independent film producer based in New York City and Los Angeles. Ms. Chien is currently in post-production on FOLLOWING ROSA, which filmed in the Philippines in Fall 2005. Ms. Chien also produced THE MOTEL (winner of the Sundance/NHK Filmmakers Award, the Humanitas Prize, and 3 Best Narrative Feature Film Festival Awards), which will be released theatrically by Palm Pictures June 2006. Ms. Chien has produced the feature-length films MVP, which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and ROBOT STORIES, winner of 35 film festival awards and self-distributed theatrically to over 50 cities nationwide. Prior to producing, Ms. Chien worked in independent film production in New York City as a production coordinator. Before working in film, Ms. Chien served as operations director of The Bohan Group, the nation’s top due diligence firm in mortgage finance. Ms Chien earned an M.A. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University and a B.A. in English at the University of California, Berkeley. - 4 - U N D O I N G PRINCIPAL CREW BIOS S U N G K A N G PRODUCER Sung Kang is currently starring in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 3: TOKYO DRIFT and THE MOTEL, both in theaters June 2006.