In this batch of capsule reviews from the Seattle International FIlm Festival, I’ve chosen to focus on four documentaries – two that explore the Asian American experience in different ways, and two that are more science/nature oriented. There’s a lot to get into, but before we dive in, I would be remiss not to mention that the Filipino film, The Missing also screened at SIFF, which I’ve written about previously, so be sure to check out my previous review of that film.
Final Rating 4/5
When Dakota first asked me to do some reviews for SIFF, he specifically recommended I check out this documentary; after all, as the resident FIlipino American reviewer who loves food, this was always going to be something I was interested in.
Food Roots, directed by Michele Josue, follows the story of half-Filipino entrepreneur/television personality Billy Dec, who grew up in the city of Chicago, where he’s made a name for himself in the hospitality industry. While he had been raised by his lola (grandmother) Caring, he never actually was able to record her recipes before she passed; thus, when two of his three remaining lolas pass away he makes it a point to learn the family recipes directly from the source. He traveled to meet with his extended family, from Manila to Baguio to Vigan to even the mountains of Kalinga to meet famed tattooist Whang-od.
Interspersed throughout Dec’s journey meeting relatives and learning recipes, we see old home footage and videos of his childhood, and we learn about the troubles he and his families faced that drove him to pursue the life he did so that he could support them. While Dec does have a moderately interesting career, what really brings it alive is just how personal he gets with some of the universal stories Filipino-Americans face.
From the archetypal story of briefly rebelling against Filipino food after being teased at school, to not learning Tagalog because his parents were trying to lose their accent. He even delves into how mental health issues can impact families, and how despite his best efforts he can still feel like he didn’t do enough.
Perhaps where this documentary is at its best is when those stories of his family’s past and of learning recipes intersect. When he realizes that those recipes themselves carry his family’s extended history and that his efforts in hospitality, something he always saw as merely a business venture, in fact is deeply rooted in what his family has always done. In another documentary, this narrative would perhaps be forced and a bit corny or even blithely Eat Pray Love-esque.
However, the way it’s built up throughout the hour-long documentary and how it’s transparently authentic and earnest makes it work. If anything it could have been a bit longer to feel less rushed or to dive into topics like what non-colonized Filipino cuisine looks like. Still, Food Roots is overall a solid heartfelt documentary for everyone, Filipino or not.
Final Rating 2/5
As someone who is Asian American and also who attended an Ivy League university and remains involved as part of my alma mater’s Asian American alumni association, I certainly have my own biases and thoughts on the Supreme Court Case of Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard regarding race based affirmative action (in short, I support retaining affirmative action in the pursuit of making a diverse student body, while also acknowledging that implicit racial bias in admissions processes can disadvantage certain groups).
That baggage perhaps makes me not the target audience for Admissions Granted, directed by Hao Wu and Miao Wang, which I think strives to take a broader look at the subject for someone less familiar, and also perhaps colors my view on how they treated certain subjects in the film.
To this film’s credit, it does take on a relatively balanced journalistic approach in its coverage, interviewing those both for and against affirmative action. It does bring up the historical basis for affirmative action in the first place, and fairly lays out why someone would be for it or against it in modern times.
It even mentions tangentially related issues – how legacy admissions is arguably an even more egregious example of affirmative action, or how this ruling may have ripple effects down the line for DEI efforts in the workplace, or how once again Asian Americans are being used as a wedge in race relations.
That said, by taking a relatively neutral stance on the topic (even bringing in one Asian American commenter who seemed to straddle the fence on the issue), the filmmakers lack of point of view or perspective on the topic allows for their subjects to “take over” the film. In particular Edward Blum, the caucasian conservative lawyer who has been filing multiple suits since the 90s in a crusade to eliminate race based admissions. Part of it is that he is admittedly very well spoken and eloquent, but also that history he has of litigation de facto makes him the protagonist of one side of this case.
On the pro affirmative action side, there is no real equivalently central figure to counterbalance. For example we get intimate shots of Blum going through binders of headlines of cases he’s won, while for the other side at best we get interviews at desks.
This has the effect of unfortunately de-centering the Asian Americans in the film (which maybe is inadvertently symbolic of Asian Americans’ place in this narrative), and depending on your perspective, gives too much oxygen to a dangerous point of view akin to “both sidesing”.
Ultimately this was a frustrating watch for me, even beyond my own personal biases on the subject matter, in that it failed to really capture the story of any of the Asian American characters interviewed. While it has the veneer of journalistic neutrality and context, it fails to really dive deep into any of what I would consider the more interesting nuances of this complex topic.
At the very least, it does point to the larger question that remains unanswered in our country – whether equality means treating everyone differently, or whether you need to treat people differently to achieve equality.
Food Roots and Admissions Granted were seen during the 2024 Seattle International Film Festival. Thank you to the festival for screeners.
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