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Combination Platter

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Original title

Combination Platter

Year

1993

Running time

84 min.

Country

United States

Director

Tony Chan

Screenwriter

Tony Chan, Edwin Baker

Cast

Music

Brian Tibbs

Cinematography

Yoshifumi Hosoya

Producer

Bluehorse Films

Genre

Drama | Independent Film (US)

Synopsis

Made on the proverbial shoestring, Combination Platter represents the directorial debut of 23-year-old Tony Chan. Himself a Hong Kong émigré, Chan draws from his own experiences in detailing the tribulations of illegal immigrant Robert (Jeffrey Lau), who takes a low-paying job at a Szechuan restaurant in New York (the film was shot in the restaurant owned by Chan's parents!). Robert would like to attain U.S. citizenship and has been told that this will be possible if he marries an American girl. Frightened at this prospect -- -especially since it will set him back 25,000 dollars -- Robert nonetheless scurries about to "Americanize" himself in as short a time as possible. (Did you know that tipping the waiter is considered an insult in China?) The plot is secondary to the film's atmosphere and ambience: the dialogue flows so naturally from the restaurant's patrons and employees that one is hard pressed to believe that a written script (by Tony Chan and Edwin Baker) actually existed.

Awards: 1993: Sundance: Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award

1993: Independent Spirit Awards: Nominated for Best Screenplay & Best First Feature

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User history

Combination Platter

1993

Tony Chan