by Audrey Tse

Many times we have gone to the movie theatre without realizing the effort and undertaking the movies shown on the big screen require. In the Making: Summer at MoMA taught me how to look at films from different angles, preparing me for my following experience. The knowledge I learned during the summer came into practice effortlessly.

I discovered a whole other side to movie production when I volunteered with the Chinatown Youth Initiative to help put up movie posters in exchange for a free movie ticket to the movie, Red Doors. When I met up with the group to hang posters, I was surprised to see two of the cast members from the movie right there, along with 3 other volunteers. With all of them sitting and talking in such a friendly manner, I felt easily welcomed. One of the cast members, the very charismatic Tzi Ma, gladly told me more about the movie.

Red Doors tells the story of the Wongs, a bizarrely dysfunctional Chinese American family living in the New York suburbs. Ed Wong (Tzi Ma) has just retired and plots to escape his mundane life but the lives of his three rebellious daughters change his plans. I also met Freda Foh Shen, who played Tzi Ma’s wife in the movie. It was so welcoming to see how they were both so real, and with a story to tell of their own. Listening to them talk, I began to see the movie come to life, and saw that they had so much passion for cinema. Tzi Ma was telling us how he related to the character he played, and believed that there were various aspects that anyone from any age group could relate to in the movie.

After building up my expectations for Red Doors, I can honestly say that I was not disappointed. From the moment the movie began to the end credits, this movie breaks all stereotypical views of the Asian American family. Anyone would be able to see eye to eye with this hectic family; each character has their own set of issues that we find we can relate to. The director, Georgia Lee bases the movie on her own family, showing us their growth in many ways.

Lee’s strikingly simple camerawork paid its homage to the multilayered story she paved. The cinematography quietly reflected the emotions of the various scenes with much consideration. While watching the movie, I began to see the same techniques I learned from the MoMA film class pop up. Techniques such as time remapping were often used to differentiate the past from the present, along with other techniques. Watching the transitions also made me flashback to when I actually learned how to shoot them myself.

So the next time you see a movie poster or go to a theatre, remind yourself that there’s much more there than a screen and a cast. Because of MoMA and this learning experience, I know I never will look at movies the same way.

Photo courtesy of blanc de chine entertainment, reddoorsthemovie.com