New to DVD this week:
LATE LIFE: THE CHIEN-MING WANG STORY
Director:
Frank W Chen
Premiere:
Los Angeles Asian Pacific 2018
Select Festivals:
NY Asian American International, San Francisco CAAMFest
About:
A former NY Yankee and Taiwanese hero attempts a comeback.
Celebrated as the first Taiwanese NY Yankee, earning him national praise in his homeland as “the Pride of Taiwan,” Chien-Ming Wang had a successful, if short, stint with that team before injuries derailed his path. Though he bounced between other teams after the Yankees, Wang’s injuries largely kept him from major league play, forced instead into instructional or minor leagues. Chen’s portrait picks up as he struggles to return to the majors, facing the challenges of competing against younger players, separation from his family, and the disappointment and fear of being a hasbeen. While sympathetic to its subject, the doc unfortunately is overlong and never digs particularly deeply into Wang’s motivation in the face of little reward and seemingly little chance of success, but should still resonate with diehard baseball fans.
what (not) to doc 