Old Man River

Cyndy Fujikawa is the kind of person you'd want sitting next to you at a dinner party: warm, witty, and a great storyteller. And, boy, does she have a story to tell. In Old Man River, Allan Holzman's filmed version of her stage show, Fujikawa embarks on a multimedia monologue that would give Spalding Gray a run for his money. The story revolves around Fujikawa's search for the truth about Jerry Fujikawa, her late father. With the aid of film clips, photos, and a marvelous knack for mimickry, she traces Jerry's shadowy family life, his career as a bit-part actor (he played "Oriental characters" in movies and TV shows), and his internment during WW2.

What could have been a self-indulgent, preachy, dull enterprise is instead quirky, touching, and gripping -- all thanks to Fujikawa's narrative skills. Her chronological meandering weaves elements of the story in delightfully surprising ways. She avoids sentimentality by switching from pathos to irony in a heartbeat. Most important, she finds universality in her very personal tale. Like all good storytellers, Fujikawa isn't only talking to you, in some sense she's talking about you.

-- Chris Wright