Being Chinese in Quebec ? A Road Movie
Three stars out of five
Documentary
Directed by: Malcolm Guy, William Ging Wee Dere
Running time: 70 minutes
Parental guidance: For all
Playing in English and French with English and French subtitles at Cin?ma du Parc
MONTREAL - Parker Mah and Bethany Or have identity issues, and those issues are at the heart of the thoughtful documentary Being Chinese in Quebec: A Road Movie.
Mah and Or can?t decide whether they?re Canadian, Qu?b?cois, Chinese or some combination of all three. Their dilemma is one faced by anyone from any cultural community ? they?re battling with the pull of tradition versus the desire to adapt to the dominant culture, or in the case of Canada, cultures. So they head out on a road trip across Quebec to try to find some answers by connecting with folks of Chinese origin.
It won?t come as much of a surprise to anyone that the film ends with more questions than answers, but there are plenty of insights into the province?s Chinese communities along the way.
These identity issues never go out of style chez nous. This is, after all, a place where there is no shortage of folks who don?t even buy into the notion of multiculturalism as a good thing ? bonjour Bernard Landry! ? so it?s always healthy to get a look inside one minority community grappling with its ties to the mainstream culture.
The film arrives 20 years after Moving the Mountain, a look at the hidden history of the Chinese in Canada made by the same two filmmakers, Malcolm Guy and William Ging Wee Dere, but this time they?re more focused on the reality of Chinese-Quebecers today rather than looking backward. The documentary starts with some of the history and it?s the least successful part because it?s presented in such a static fashion.
We hear about the racist head tax, the equally offensive Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, which kept families separated for decades. But it?s all a little dry. The film comes to life when they meet all kinds of different characters, ranging from small towns to Quebec City and Montreal, who talk about their personal experiences. There?s the fellow running a d?panneur in the tiny burgh of St-Agapit who has a PhD in biology but can?t work as a professor here because his French isn?t good enough. And the young hockey player on the Quebec Remparts, Mikael Tam, who says he?s not hurt by racist taunts on the ice because he?s proud of his heritage.
Many talk about feeling both Qu?b?cois and Chinese, and that?s the dominant theme: you can?t avoid trying to balance the two identities. The problem is that the filmmakers ? and the two stars ? take a rather prosaic approach to the question.
Things wind down with Or saying, ?We can all be Qu?b?cois ... And as Chinese, we?ll find our own way of doing so.?
It?s a noble sentiment, but it?s a little too pat. Life is messier, more complex than that, and this doc could have used a little more of that messiness. I wanted to know more about Or and May. Sure they?re Chinese-Canadians who go back a few generations in this country, but what makes them tick? Who are they?
One of the most interesting moments is a discussion with a bunch of young Chinese-Montrealers talking frankly about being both inside and outside the culture here. They touch on the sensitive topic of how quasi-racist humour is too prevalent in the franco culture here, how the only Asian characters they see on TV series ici are adopted Chinese kids. I would have liked to hear more of that kind of talk. I would have liked them to stir things up a little more.
bkelly@montrealgazette.com
twitter: brendanshowbiz
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