SF STORIES DATE: WEDNESDAY, MAY 5 TIME: 9:15 PM VENUE: NCPD BUY TICKETS

SF STORIES
(United States, 2009) Dir./Scr.: Raul Jocson
Video, 112 min., color, narrative

SF STORIES opens with Michael, bumbling his way through a first date, and you’d be forgiven for initially assuming that the plot will take on a boilerplate, rom-com direction. However, soon enough, writer/director Raul Jocson’s ambitious feature debut veers off into unexpected directions of human drama and humor. With its nine interwoven vignettes, the film reveals layers of intricate storytelling, all set against the backdrop of a local’s San Francisco, far away from cable cars and sourdough soup bowls.

As the title suggests, SF STORIES is a collection of mini-stories, each with its own arc but featuring characters whose lives overlap each others in unexpected ways. The structure bears traces of everything from Robert Altman’s NASHVILLE to Paul Haggis’ CRASH but befitting the compact density of the city that inspires it, Jocson infuses SF STORIES with a quieter, more intimate touch. Roiling through the hills and valleys of San Francisco is a melancholy felt by the characters, a desire to connect to either through love, lust, family or friendship. Among the cast of misfits whose lives are traced is Brad, a stoner/rocker with serious aggression issues towards the local food deliveryman Luk, himself an immigrant worker toting more baggage than just stale egg rolls. Then there’s Wendy, a self-described stalker magnet, whose tumultuous life seems cosmically tied into Michael’s. Fate seemingly conspires to throw them together but their particular neuroses do little to smooth the path.

SF STORIES is a compelling outing for Michael Cheng, who plays his namesake. Cheng has amassed an impressive number of television appearances in series as different as HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER to WENDY WU: HOMECOMING WARRIOR but this is his most substantial role since first debuting in Sung Kim’s 2003 feature BOOK OF RULES. Cheng plays Michael with a heartbreaking mix of wincing awkwardness and winning earnestness, transcending the typical “lovable loser” caricature to show real depth and charm. Equally notable is Jocson’s freshman effort in the director’s chair. Up until now he’s been better known as a screenwriter and SF STORIES’ complex intersections show his deft touch as a storyteller. However, in bringing his own stories into such vivid life, Jocson marks his arrival as a promising new filmmaker whose potential reaches far beyond the fair city by the Bay.
— Oliver Wang

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COMMUNITY CO-PRESENTER: FilAm ARTS, Inc.