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Dominican Rep. Year of the Fish
- Original title
- Year of the Fish
- Year
- 2007
- Running time
- 96 min.
- Country
United States- Director
- Screenwriter
- Cast
-
- Music
- Cinematography
- Producer
- Genre
- Fantasy. Drama
- Synopsis
- YEAR OF THE FISH is an animated independent feature film written and directed by David Kaplan, shot entirely on location in New York City’s Chinatown. A modern-day adaptation of Cinderella based on an old Chinese version of the story, it was shot on inexpensive live-action video that was used as a guide for digital painting in post-production.
The story is a mix of fantasy, romance, and suspense. A young hopeful girl named Ye Xian (An Nguyen) travels alone to New York City to try to make some money for her ailing father back home in China. She falls into the clutches of Mrs. Su (Tsai Chin), who runs a massage parlor in the heart of Chinatown. But Ye Xian refuses to do the requisite sex work for the clients, so she is made into a menial servant who must do all the laundry, cleaning, shopping and cooking – a Cinderella. However, she finds solace in a magical fish given to her by the strange hunchback Auntie Yaga (Randall Duk Kim) and in her fleeting, tender encounters with Johnny (Ken Leung), a local jazz musician. With a crescendo that takes place at the height of the Chinese New Year – complete with lion dancers, firecrackers, and an enormous banquet in a palatial Chinatown restaurant – YEAR OF THE FISH spins the conventions of the traditional fairy tale in ways that are consistently surprising and engaging.
The film features a first-rate Asian ensemble cast including Tsai Chin (THE JOY LUCK CLUB), acclaimed Broadway veteran Randall Duk Kim (THE MATRIX RELOADED), Ken Leung (X-MEN 3, RUSH HOUR) and introduces An Nguyen as Ye Xian. It was executive produced by Janet Yang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB, PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT) and produced by Rocco Caruso (JUDY BERLIN).
Kaplan’s screenplay is based on a 9th Century Chinese variant of the folk-tale, the oldest known version of the story, recorded some 800 years before our better-known European versions. It was developed at the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs and was the recipient of a 2005 Annenberg Fellowship.
The animation was created with an advanced algorithmic digital painting technology to achieve a living, fluctuating painterly look. The aesthetic effect is totally unique, less like a graphic novel and more like a painting brought to life.
LOGLINE: Cinderella in a Chinatown massage parlour.- Awards
-
2008: Independent Spirit Awards: Nominated for Producers Award
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