Forever, Chinatown

Frank Wong, retired from prop-making for movie companies and other jobs, now lives in San Francisco near his grown son and grandchildren. His hobby is making remarkable miniature replicas of typical sights in old Chinatown: a kitchen, an herb shop, a funeral, exercisers in the park, a poor worker's room, a laundry, a shoe shine stand, a Chinese New Year celebration. All carefully and beautifully done, these miniatures have been frequently exhibited, making Wong a noted local presence. In footage that seems like mere filler, viewers follow Wong to his previous life in Hawaii, which he says he is sorry to have left, and to Los Angeles, where he also spent many years. Then Wong expresses nostalgia for the former Chinatown but comments on the rampant racism and degradation faced by Asians. The miniatures are worth seeing, but viewers are not able to linger over them to admire the details, which is frustrating.