Chinese Restaurant: On the Islands

Most ambitious debut project: Chinese Restaurant: On the Islands, by the Canadian director Cheuk Kwan. Intrigued by the worldwide omnipresence of Chinese restaurants, he travelled to a dozen countries to investigate the experiences of the Chinese diaspora through its most familiar landmark. In Chinese Restaurant he takes us to Mauritius, Trinidad and Cuba. The sequence in Havana is perhaps the most interesting, as Kwan hunts through the city’s tiny remaining Chinese population for people who may be relatives. A Chinatown has been preserved there for tourists, but the locals can be found eating and singing at a neighbourhood seniors’ centre. This is a fascinating venture, but the segments are too long. Kwan explained after the screening that he is planning an extensive series; I suspect his rich material would be better incorporated into one delicious, diverse film.