Short film

The Choice
1987 · 20 min
A quiet, bittersweet slice of immigrant life that lingers on quiet desperation and the pressure to seem successful.
- Directed by
- Joe Yng-Jaw Jiing
- Starring
- Larry Wu (Yi Min), Richard Fang, Hal Shafer
- Overview
- Color UCLA Student Film, Preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Set in the present, the story takes place in Los Angeles. A foreign student from Taiwan , who is a great Chinese guitar player, arrives in the U.S. in the 70's. He decides to study nuclear engineering, but after graduation, he takes numerous menial jobs. The story begins when he receives a letter from his brother, notifying him of his visit from Taiwan. Exhaustedly, he tries to impress his brother by renting a new car and a new set of furniture. However, misfortune befalls him, as his house is robbed and he loses his job. For the first time, he is forced to think seriously about the meaning of his life in America.
- How it feels
- Melancholic, earnest and tense. Measured and needs your attention.
- About
- Immigration, identity, isolation, class
- Content
- Mild violence and language. No gore or sexual content.
- Note
- Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown
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- Directed by
- Joe Yng-Jaw Jiing
- Starring
- Larry Wu (Yi Min), Richard Fang, Hal Shafer