Oscar-nominated San Francisco native Arthur Dong has dedicated his film career to making documentaries about LGBTQ and Asian American experiences. His queer-themed films in particular have told stories about some rough topics, yet he told them all with a meticulousness which makes each film riveting to watch.
That's not to say that his Asian films are less interesting. On the contrary, they are entertaining and fascinating and give a voice to a community that's all too often been left in the background.
Kino Lorber, purveyors of classic and cult films on Blu-ray, has released the Arthur Dong Collection, an expansive three-disc box set that features every film Dong has ever made. The collection goes all the way back to an experimental film that he made in 1970, and continues through to his most recent work.
Early works
Disc one, Asian American Stories, begins with "Sewing Woman" (1982), a short film about his mother that received his Oscar nomination. The disc continues with the highly entertaining "Forbidden City, USA" (1989), which might be of special interest to San Francisco audiences.
It's a remembrance of a Chinese nightclub that operated in the city from the late 1930s until 1970. The club presented Chinese artists in razzle dazzle musical numbers, giving many performers a chance to work at a time when show business doors were closed to Asian American entertainers. The film includes interviews with many of those performers, and with club owner Charles Low.
The next film, "Hollywood Chinese" (2007), is a fascinating look back at how Hollywood treated and portrayed the Chinese community across the decades. There's a plethora of film clips, and interviews with Chinese actors like Nancy Kwan, Joan Chen and B.D. Wong, who managed to make their mark on film history.
The film recalls a long-forgotten movie made by a Chinese filmmaker during the silent era, and also looks back upon white actors who performed in what was then known as "yellow face," i.e. playing Chinese through the use of make-up. Two of those actors, Christopher Lee and Luise Rainer, a European actress who won an Oscar for playing a Chinese woman, were interviewed for the film.
The final story is "The Killing Fields of Haing S. Ngor" (2015), a riveting documentary about Ngor, a physician who survived the Cambodian genocide, going on to win an Oscar for starring in "The Killing Fields," a 1984 film about that genocide. The documentary is a gut-wrenching tearjerker, and a horrifying look at the evils of war. It might just make you admire how truly brave Ngor was.
War and inequality
Disc two, LGBTQ Stories, features four films. In "Coming Out Under Fire" (1994), men and women who served in the armed forces during World War II recall their struggles to keep their sexuality a secret at a time when being queer in the military meant a dishonorable discharge, followed by jail time. Many veterans, now out and proud, shared their memories of having served during that difficult time.
"Outrage '69" (1995) is the first installment of a PBS series, "The Question of Equality." This film recalls the constant police harassment that led up to the Stonewall Riots, after which the first Pride parades were held and when now defunct organizations like the Gay Activists Alliance were formed.
The film dares to talk about the deep divisions there were in the early days of what was then called the Gay and Lesbian Movement, when women and people of color felt that they were being excluded from white male-dominated activism. Interviewees include the legendary drag and trans activist Sylvia Rivera. There's a 1973 clip of Rivera screaming "Gay power!" from the podium of the Gay Freedom Day rally; an important history lesson.
"Licensed to Kill" (1997) is a disturbing series of interviews with men who murdered other men simply because they were gay. Not one of them shows any remorse in these prison-shot interviews, and two of them admit to having had gay sex. Dong made the film because he himself had managed to escape from a potential gay bashing in San Francisco in 1977. He wanted to understand what makes some people hate gay men so much.
The final film in the LGBT set is "Family Fundamentals" (2002), a sobering look at how conservative Christians try to come to terms with their gay and lesbian children, not always with success. It's a sad film which shows how religion is often used to judge and reject people just for being who they are.
The third disc features four hours of bonus content. This includes several short films, such as "Public," an experimental film that Dong made in 1970 when he was a teenager. There are also interviews with Dong.
The Arthur Dong Collection is a fitting tribute to a great filmmaker. His stories are our stories, and they need to be told.
The Arthur Dong Collection, $39.96, available on Blu Ray from Kino Lorber. www.kinolorber.com
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