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Year of the Fish
I had the opportunity to talk with An Nguyen - an actress who I believe is an upcoming star - about the new David Kaplan film, Year of the Fish. An moved to the United States at three years old from Vietnam but you may know An from The Brave One (2007) and Definitely, Maybe (2008). Year of the Fish is the modern day Chinese version of Cinderella set in New York’s China Town. The film was shot on location and An told me that the cast shot 12 - 14 hour days, six days a week, for four weeks.
Also starring in the film are Tsai Chin (Memoirs of a Geisha, The Joy Luck Club), Ken Leung (Lost, X-Men The Last Stand), and Randall Duk Kim (Kung Fu Panda, The Matrix Reloaded).
“Working with Randall, Tsai, and Ken was priceless. I take away so many wonderful shared moments between us during the production of the film, most of them being off-set.” An says. She also mentions that overall, there was a small cast for the film, noting that it made it easier to get to know everyone well and move locations during shooting.
In 2007, Year of the Fish was selected to play at the Sundance Film Festival. An explains, “We had a lot of support from the Sundance Institute (including receiving the Annenberg Grant) while working on the film so we knew there was a very real chance the film would be accepted.” She also adds, “I had a lot of friends come to Park City to be a part of the unveiling and that was very special. I went to a lot of parties and screenings while promoting Fish and it was extremely well- received which was such a relief.”
An shares that the one thing she wants the audience to remember from the film is that, “Cinderella goes on to live a humble life and get an education.”
What would you say that the audience gets more out of the fish than a fairy godmother?
For me the fish is more intimate than a fairy godmother that just appears once or twice and only then when life seems completely hopeless. That fish was by my bedside and was always watching over me; It was nice to know that.
As a modern-day adaptation of Cinderella, how could you relate to your character’s emotions for this film?
There is always that mother figure one is trying to please. Mrs. Su is the mother Ye Xian never had.
Having previously appeared in The Brave One (2007) and Definitely, Maybe (2008), what would you say you have learned from those film sets as well as Year of The Fish film set?
I worked on "Year of Fish" prior to the "The Brave One" and "Definitely Maybe" and I think because of my responsibility working on "Fish" in such a large role I became very confident in my abilities as an actress and was able to parlay that success onto subsequent films. Its not everyday you get invited to set with Jodie Foster for a violent smack down! I got to do my own stunts in "The Brave One" which was uber cool. I was tied up with explosives and squibs and there was some controversy surrounding how my character should die. They rewrote it so I got shot in the torso instead of the face - how nice! It was a lot of fun and very different from working on "Fish" where we were filming 8-10 pages a day and working very, very hard. We were a little more pampered on "The Brave One" with the most delicious platters of food floating around, Robert Downey Jr. came to visit, and the fans would show up in droves to watch during all hours of the night. Working with Adam Brooks on "Definitely, Maybe" was such a joy. He was so infectiously happy to be directing his labor of love and I got to be in something more light-hearted and romantic and I got to wear pretty clothes.
When was the moment that you knew you wanted to be an actress and who inspires you?
I had always had a gift for storytelling when I was little because my family immigrated here when I was three so everyone was always curious about that story. I grew up with a very beautiful and dramatic Auntie who had people captivated in her wake. She was definitely a force in my life and a role model. Other than her, an actress I'm really excited about right now is Olga Kurylenko, next up in "Quantum Solace." She made "Hitman" worth watching in a role that could have been entirely forgettable and not taken seriously.
What types of acting roles would you like to explore and why?
I like playing strong female characters, so perhaps a villainess? Or the woman who everyone thinks is the villainess, but isn't. It can be more fun to be wicked sometimes.
Year of the Fish opens in limited theaters on August 29, 2008. The film is in English and is unrated with a running time of 96 minutes.
1 Thoughts:
NEW YORK TIMES
August 29, 2008
A Chinatown Fairy Tale
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
An adult fable told with childlike simplicity, “Year of the Fish” updates an ancient Chinese version of the “Cinderella” story with imagination, charm and just the right amount of sweetness.
Our put-upon heroine is Ye Xian (An Nguyen), a mousy naïf whose new job at a sleazy massage parlor promises happy endings — for the clients, at least. When she balks at fulfilling her job description, Ye Xian is demoted to cleaning toilets and cooking meals for the parlor’s wicked madam, (Tsai Chin), and grasping employees. Little does she know that an enchanted fish, a witchy soothsayer and a handsome musician are about to save her from her servitude.
Filmed in New York’s Chinatown using a digital variation on the animation technique known as rotoscoping, “Year of the Fish” straddles the wavering line between reality and its simulation with pleasing calm. Instead of the pulsing images of the Richard Linklater films “A Scanner Darkly” and “Waking Life,” you have a more subdued, mellow style that’s easier on the eyes and the equilibrium. And the movie’s smudged skylines and pearly-pastel streets do much to soften the story’s sweatshop-and-slavery grittiness.
Written and directed by David Kaplan, “Year of the Fish” packs more sadness than the familiar fairy tale but offers its own fantastical delights. Ye Xian’s party dress, made of teardrops, suits her — and her story — perfectly.
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