Sometimes Right For Its Time
By Win-sie Tow, Special Contributor

Before Ebert’s accolades, before two Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best Dramatic Feature and Best Supporting Actress, Charlotte Sometimes was the worst rated film in IMDB history and bashed by one critic to “take the slow boat back to China”. Talent ultimately speaks for itself, and Sometimes went on to wow the independent film circuit. Director Eric Byler and actress Jacqueline Kim discuss Asian American identity, Better Luck Tomorrow comparisons, and Roger Ebert.

Roberta: Why has Charlotte Sometimes been so controversial?

Eric Byler: People thought it was risky to have an Asian American cast. Someone said, “Is this [script] too good to be Asian?” If we had used the same script with recognizable Caucasian actors, the film would have lost its mystery.

Jacqueline Kim: The beauty of auteurism is making a subjective world with your own eye. That’s why it’s important for Asian Americans to be filmmakers.

R: How has being hapa (Byler) and Korean American (Kim) formed your identity?

EB: Asian American film festivals rejected the film, because my ethnicity was unclear. But I didn’t want to change my name. My films have biracial characters, because I want to create more consciousness among people who don’t just belong to one race.

JK: Asian Americans have taken their time to make films about identity, which can’t be blamed on the lack of predecessors. I’d like to take some responsibility for that. It’s not just Hollywood’s ignorance that places us in peripheral roles.

R: How has Ebert’s support for Charlotte Sometimes and Better Luck Tomorrow affected Asian American cinema?

EB: Charlotte Sometimes is in theatres largely because of Ebert. Every film needs a stamp of approval. Ebert accelerated our journey by identifying films in which character, plot, nuance, and atmosphere take precedence over ethnicity.