To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey (2010)

Director:

Brian Jamieson

Writer:

Brian Jamieson

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Drama

Plot:

The definitive and true-life story of Nancy Kwan who as a young Eurasian girl from Hong Kong captured...

Cast

Sandra Allen	...	Herself
Marciano Batista	...	Himself (as Father Marciano Batista)
Joan Chen	...	Herself
Edward S. Feldman	...	Himself
Ross Hagen	...	Himself
Bernard Jamieson	...	Himself
Stephen Jefferies	...	Himself
Ka Keung Kwan	...	Himself
Nancy Kwan	...	Herself
Veronika Kwan-Rubinek	...	Herself
C.Y. Lee	...	Himself
Bey Logan	...	Himself
Mark Longtin	...	Himself
Elaine Forsgate Marden	...	Herself
Norbert Meisel	...	Himself
Andre Morgan	...	Himself
Marian Naman	...	Herself
France Nuyen	...	Herself
Paul Osaki	...	Himself
Renee Robertson	...	Herself
Lorea Solabarrieta	...	Herself
Robert E. Sparks	...	Himself
Vivian Stackpole	...	Herself
Camille Stoebner	...	Herself
Ted Thomas	...	Himself
Phil Whelan	...	Himself
Vivian Wu	...	Herself

Directed by
Brian Jamieson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Brian Jamieson

Produced by
Brian Jamieson	....	producer
Lawrence Tseu	....	executive producer

Sound Department
Paul Hollman	....	sound re-recording mixer

Editorial Department
Stephanie Filo	....	assistant editor
Matt Hopkins	....	assistant editor (as Matthew Hopkins)
Bill Macomber	....	post production supervisor

Other crew
Christopher L. Perez	....	clearance counsel
Nick Redman	....	narrated

Other Companies

• Fancy Film Post Services  post-production facilities

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Hong Kong:I | Singapore:PG

Documentary of the life and career of actress Nancy Kwan

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I thought the story was very interesting and gave us a glimpse inside at what it was like for Asians in show business back in the fifties and sixties. Hollywood's attitude toward ethnic actors and actresses were a bit racist and stereotypical until a young actress named Nancy Kwan (whose Chinese name is Ka Shen) broke onto the scene and helped changed the views of many. Most noted for her performances in The World of Suzie Wong and Flower Drum Song, this documentary looks at Nancy Kwan's entire career and shows us a strong, determined woman who no matter what, always pushed forward and delivered her best even when what she had to work with was not very good.

The story is solid and helps us connect by letting us in and seeing the personal hardships she has endured. The film is well shot with wonderful out takes from the various movie and television performances that Nancy did over her career, as well as interviews with some of the people that were closest to her. I also enjoyed listening to Nancy talk about her life and her thoughts about what she has been through. Many times documentaries like this are done after the person has passed away and we only hear opinions from others that knew them and what they think, so it was refreshing to hear her own accounts.

My only criticism of the film is about the constant cutting away to the scenes in the temple ruins. I felt this was way too repetitive, completely unnecessary and a bit distracting. It was almost like they were trying to stretch the film length out and used those scenes to do it. If that was their goal I think they could have found more creative ways to do so. Other than that, I found To Whom It May Concern a very enjoyable and informative piece of work. I definitely recommend it, especially to those who are cinema history buffs.