''I Was a Simple Man'' is an American
family drama
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...
film written and directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi. The film stars Steve Iwamoto,
Constance Wu,
Tim Chiou and Kanoa Goo.
[
The film has its world premiere at the ]2021 Sundance Film Festival
The 2021 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 28 to February 3, 2021. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 15, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, the festival combined in-person screenings at the Ray ...
on January 29, 2021, and received a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 19, 2021, by Strand Releasing.[
]
Plot
Cast
The cast includes:Nelson Lee
Nelson Lee (born October 16, 1975) is a Taiwanese-Canadian actor. He is best known for portraying Shen in '' Blade: The Series'' and Dragon King in '' Stargirl''.
Life and career
Lee was born in Taipei, Taiwan on October 16, 1975.
He starred in ...
as Mark
* Hau'oli Carr as Ashley
* Kyle Kosaki as Young Masao
* Boonyanudh Jiyarom as Young Grace
Reception
The film won the Grand Jury Award at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...
and the Made in Hawai‘i Award at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival
The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii.
HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...
.
It was named the fourth best film of 2021 in the ''New Yorker Magazine'', where film critic Richard Brody called it "one of the great films about death." Roxana Hadadi wrote on ''RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...
'' that the film is a "100-minute spell of beauty and melancholy, intimate and grand in equal measure", while David Ehrlich of ''IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' called it "masterful" and dubbed it a "Critics Pick".
References
External links
*
*
2021 drama films
2021 films
2021 independent films
American drama films
American independent films
2020s American films
{{2020s-US-film-stub