FILM REVIEW: The Search for General Tso

A small-town chef proudly displays her version....

If you live in the right place and have a sharp agent and good connections, and especially if your parents are already in the business, you can make a crummy movie and have it seen by millions. Often these "must-see" movies are nothing but trashy star vehicles with little to recommend them, yet people flock to the theaters anyway. That's not the case with independent films, many of which are seen only by a handful of film buffs on the festival circuit.

I had the good fortune of seeing one of those last night. The Search for General Tso was shown at a small art gallery here in Portland, and perhaps 100 lucky souls filled the tiny room, braving the frigid temperatures to sit on folding chairs and watch it projected off a computer onto one of those pull-down screens used in high-school science class. Besides being very funny, the film is informative concerning Chinese-American history, beautifully shot and amazingly well-edited. Throughout, charming animated graphics help tell the story in a wholly unique way.

Filmmaker Ian Cheney went off in search of the inventor of that ubiquitous chicken dish found on virtually every menu in every Chinese restaurant in America. We follow him to New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Taiwan, Arizona, Texas and many points in between, meeting an eclectic bunch along the way. Much of the fun comes from up-close interviews with regular folks (some sane and others quite batty) and "experts" including famous chefs and historians, none of whom have the answer but all of whom are willing to share their often hilarious opinions on who originally devised the dish. We meet one memorable character who has been collecting menus from Chinese restaurants for decades; he's obviously thrilled at this opportunity to show the world his treasure, carefully opening dozens of storage boxes stacked to the ceiling to do so.

.... of one of these.

After the screening the audience was treated to a Q&A session with Cheney and his producer, Amanda Murray. Both of them articulate and amusing, they shared stories of the film's inception and their trials of finding funding over the course of "from four to ten years," according to the director.

Hopefully someday Cheney will become successful enough for his films to be shown in real theaters around the world. Until then you can find this particular gem online at iTunes, or wait until it shows up on Netflix in May. Google it and see the trailer today!