^Jortlanb (Observer
O ctober 16, 2013
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Page 9
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North Portland
Re-imagining
lhe m eaningof family
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Joey (portrayed by Patrick Wang, left) and Cody (Trevor St. John) with their son Chip (Sebastian Brodziak) in a scene from the film ‘In the Family. ’
Asian-American Tennessean grappling
with the aftermath of his life partner Cody's
death and embroiled in a fight for custody
of Chip, the six-year-old boy they viewed
in J ( lx , i
as his son but the law doesn't.
D arli l \ O r li <■ \
But in a manner that befits this plain-
spoken actor and director, Wang doesn't
load the dice with dramatic speeches in
which the characters discuss what they
me really sad because this careful film so mean to each other. Instead, he depicts
deserves an audience.
the lived-in intimacy of parents juggling
Yes, it is nearly three hours long, and its pick-up times and carrying on dual con­
deliberate pace has led several critics to versations with their child and each other;
categorize it in the genre of "slow cinema," of cordial relationships with co-workers
ch aracterized by long takes and a who ask after Chip; and of the routines
minimalist, observational tone, but you and buoyant chatter of a well-loved child.
will be hard-pressed to find a film that is Wang understands the importance of ev­
more carefully constructed, suspenseful eryday life in demonstrating what is true.
and in its way, revolutionary.
Joey's status as an outsider is subtly
The film's main character is Joey, an conveyed. We learn enough of his back­
O pinionated
UDGE
&
Inspiring film deserves an audience
I've been slowly moving through my list
of the best movies of 2012 in this column,
and the film you are least likely to have
seen is perhaps the one I have most often
recommended since I first saw it last year.
"In the Family" (#10 on my list) played
in Portland for less than a week. First-time
director Patrick Wang, who also wrote and
stars in the movie, distributed the film
himself and now has self-released it on
home video. The lack of a distributor makes
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ground to tell that he has been raised
outside his birth culture and has spent
time as a foster child. He is nearly always
the only non-Caucasian in the room and is
accustomed to breezing past others'
doubts and discomfort with courtesy.
Though in flashback it appears that
Cody's family accepted Joey and treated
their relationship with respect, everything
changes when Cody is hospitalized and
then dies. We see how, in crisis, Cody's
family closes ranks, and the hospital staff
efficiently enforces appropriate norms. It's
an important detail of Joey's experience,
and one of many ways the film keeps
things specific and complex.
Wang takes the time to deconstruct
how it is that otherwise good people can
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