For many cinema buffs of a certain age, actress Nancy Kwan made an indelible impression in her first two Hollywood movies: The World of Suzie Wong and Flower Drum Song. Afterwards, though she made quite a few other films – some A-list, some not – and appeared in some popular television shows of the 1960s and 1970s, her star shone less brightly as the years passed. Brian Jamieson’s To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen’s Journey, a documentary on the life of the renowned performer, proves an illuminating look at the actress and, more importantly, the woman who became the first true Chinese movie star in American cinema.
To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen’s Journey
Directed by Brian Jamieson
Studio: Redwind Productions
Year: 2010
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 106 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround English
Subtitles: none
Region: all region
MSRP: $ 19.95
Release Date: available now
Review Date: May 4, 2012
The Film
4/5
Though the film begins with Nancy attending a 2007 performance in Hong Kong of a ballet version of The World of Suzie Wong (with appropriate and interesting parallels to the film itself seen acted and then danced before us) and frequently cuts back to reaction shots of her as she watches, the documentary offers a fairly chronological look at the public and private life of Nancy Kwan (whose childhood name was Ka Shen, hence the movie’s title). Interested in a career as a classical dancer rather than as an actress, Nancy rather stumbled into the sights of producer Ray Stark who put her under contract (we see her first screen test) and sent her to understudy France Nuyen in the stage version of Suzie Wong. When Nuyen dropped out of the film adaptation, Nancy was screen tested some more (we see those tests as well) and hired. The rest is history.
While younger viewers may be completely accustomed to Asian leading men and women in the movies and on television today, the documentary makes a strong point of how revolutionary Nancy’s quick rise to stardom was where she was virtually alone as an Asian screen star (at least until the rise of Bruce Lee). Interviews with Asian stars like Joan Chen help explain the phenomenon of Nancy’s achievements, and Nancy herself, along with the film’s narrator Nick Redman, also illuminate her unique position in the industry at that time along with a very generous selection of film and TV clips showing Nancy at work on everything from a Disney film (Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N) to a Bob Hope Christmas special.
The personal life of the film’s subject also comes in for heavy scrutiny: a glamorous but uninvolved mother (with unmistakable traces of bitterness still in Nancy’s voice discussing her) and doting father and loving stepmother, a relatively brief marriage to an Austrian that produced a beloved son Bernhard (whom she considered her friend as well as her offspring) and whose life ended in tragedy, and a happy second marriage to producer-director Norbert Meisel. The film’s last hour focuses more closely on her personal life filled with not only joy but also a soul-crushing loss which she claims she still feels every day ending the film on a somewhat dark and cloudy note.
Director Brian Jamieson has assembled an impressive array of photos, home movies, film clips, vault footage, and recently filmed interviews that are all edited together in their varying aspect ratios with a smoothness and aplomb that’s admirable. Nick Redman’s mellifluous voice weaves in and out of the narrative supplemented by Nancy Kwan’s own reminiscences of her life and times making for a documentary that’s quite affecting if just a bit shy of being riveting.
Video Quality
3/5
The film transfer has been framed at its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.77:1 and has been anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. The multiple aspect ratios of the varying materials used to tell Nancy’s story are no problem at all for the transfer though sharpness varies, of course, based on the materials at hand. There’s a fair amount of moiré in the image, and certain colors (reds especially) cause the image to pulsate when they’re prominent in a shot. The film has been divided into 18 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
Though the liner notes refer to a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, the track is, in actuality, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround. The spoken words, either in interviews or in the many film clips, are clear and precise with no aural artifacts marring their complete understanding. Chris Babida’s lovely Oriental-tinged score offers pleasing fidelity as it wafts through the soundstage.
Special Features
1/5
The theatrical trailer runs for 2 ¼ minutes and is presented in anamorphic widescreen.
In Conclusion
3.5/5 (not an average)
Brian Jamieson’s heartfelt tribute to actress Nancy Kwan in To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen’s Journey offers some insider information and an occasionally moving account of the life and career of the actress in a nicely produced and directed documentary. It can be found for purchase at www.screenarchives.com or www.KaShensJourney.com.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
