Filmthreat - YOUNG MAN KANG: CORRECTING CUPID'S MISTAKE

Filmthreat
filmthreat.com

YOUNG MAN KANG: CORRECTING CUPID'S MISTAKE
June, 25, 2000

For every film playing in a theater today, there are literally hundreds (if not thousands) which never get the chance to find their way into the projector of a commercial venue. The vast majority go unseen for a very good reason: they are so awful that don't deserve to be seen. But there are a precious few which, for a variety of reasons, are suffering under the injustice of not getting the attention they are truly deserving. One of the most delightful unseen gems in today's indie cinema is "Cupid's Mistake," a wonderful Los Angeles-based love quadrangle which explores the agonies and ecstasies of romance. Filmed on a teeny $980 budget (yes, $980!!!), this cross-cultural comedy of missed passion and unexpected surprises provides a unique casting opportunity for Asian-American actors, most notably the beautiful Toya Cho as a model who can decide between two suitors and the muscular Ken Yasuda as the bodybuilder who is more focused on building his biceps instead of warming his heart. At a time when the Asian-American presence in films is basically limited to martial arts chopping and token supporting role sidekicking, it is a wonder to experience this unique non-stereotypical big-screen presentation of this community. "Cupid's Mistake" is the creation of Young Man Kang, a 34-year-old filmmaker whose training and experiences straddle two worlds. Born in Korea, he studied fine arts at Hong-ik University in Seoul and taught fine arts at a prestigious prep school there which bears the Beckettian moniker of Godot Art. He moved to New York in 1994 to study filmmaking at the New School and created several short subjects including an animated film. Moving again in 1996, he came to Los Angeles and began work directing commercials, with duties as a storyboard artist and camera operator thrown in for good measure. "Cupid's Mistake," on which he wore three hats as director-writer-producer, was shot in classic Cassavetes-style guerrilla cinema: a shoestring budget (no money for filming permits), the bare bones of a story outline but no written script, and a remarkable free reign for improvisation among his actors. Unlike many indie films in waiting, "Cupid's Mistake" has a distributor: Phaedra Cinema, which is best known for its foreign films "The Terrorist" and "La Separation." However, the production was shot on digital video and has yet to be transferred to film stock--a technological situation which has hindered a wide release (although plans for a few exhibition and an Internet pay-per-view screening are in the works). To date, the film has had exactly one public screening, at the weekly Light+Screen Film Festival held in New York City's celebrated Siberia Bar--to overwhelmingly positive audience reaction.