The Dragon Painter
Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Rating (out of 5): ****
The most amazing thing about The Dragon Painter (1919) isn't so much that it has been rescued, restored and released on DVD, or that it's quite good, but that it ever existed at all. In the early days of the 20th century, many decades before "politically correct" was invented, racial stereotypes were everywhere and went largely unquestioned. Yet the Japanese-born actor Sessue Hayakawa (1889-1973) somehow became a major star of the American screen -- and even a heartthrob -- without changing his name or hiding his cultural background. He was born of high status, the son of a governor, but trouble with his hearing steered him toward the stage. While touring the United States, producer Thomas Ince discovered him and gave him his first movie roles. His breakthrough film was Cecil B. DeMille's The Cheat (1915). Of course, he played mainly the "exotic other," either as an alluring love interest or a captivating bad guy, but he enjoyed a long career. He worked all the way through the 1960s and even earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). By the end of the teens, Hayakawa was making as much or more money than many white stars, and he left his studio contract to form an independent company that would make purely "Asian" films. Sadly, most of these films are lost, but The Dragon Painter remains.
Subscribe to GreenCine Guru RSS