Why hasn’t there been an Asian American gangster film that’s successfully crossed over yet? There have certainly been plenty of them made—every year there seems to be at least one or two independently produced titles on the Asian American film festival circuit. And certainly if you look at other racial/ethnic communities in the U.S., they are well represented in this genre which suggests on some level that it should be a genre that our filmmakers could use to break through. Some examples: African American (Boyz N The Hood, Menace II Society), Latino (American Me, Scarface—albeit it had a non-Latino lead), Irish American (State of Grace, The Departed), Jewish American (Once Upon A Time In America) and, of course, Italian American (Mean Streets, Goodfellas).

But the gold standard for ethnic gangster films (or any gangster film, really) is The Godfather and its first sequel (which I’ve previously blogged about here). And today, I’d like to look at that masterpiece as a way to discuss the topic of Asian Americans and the gangster movie.

Before I start, I want to make clear the distinction between Asian and Asian American. There is a long tradition of excellent gangster films from Asia. Even if you look at the movies from just a handful of places like Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, you’ll find some of the best work in this genre anywhere in the world. But these are not Asian American.

I also want to exclude the numerous American movies where Asian gangsters exist solely to act as the generic villain (i.e. Rush Hour, Romeo Must Die). While you can argue that those could be considered Asian American gangster films, they’re usually not interested in fully examining that lifestyle with the depth that the movies I’ve listed above try to do.

I think I can safely say I’ve seen most of the gangster flicks made by our Asian American filmmakers and while some are good, I’ve found many to be disappointing. Issues of quality aside, what I’ve generally found missing from some of our filmmakers’ efforts is a sense of “authenticity.” You watch something like Mean Streets or Menace II Society and you feel the authenticity in every frame—both culturally and in the criminal lifestyle that’s being depicted. You feel like you’re seeing a world that’s lived-in. It feels real.

I’ve heard people make the model minority argument and say Asians just aren’t “threatening” enough to be the focus of an effective gangster picture, but I think that’s bullshit. Again, just look at how good the gangster flicks from Asia are and anyone who knows anything about real-life Asian American gangs know they are some of the most bad ass mofos around.

This isn’t to say “authenticity” can only come from those who are from that background. The two main creative forces behind The Godfather—director Francis Ford Coppola and writer Mario Puzo—had no direct experience with the Italian mob. Their film isn’t actually “authentic” in the strictest sense of the word either—the world of the movie is about as historically accurate as the world in Star Wars is. But it feels lived-in; it feels real.

What Coppola and Puzo focused on was what they knew well. And that was the Italian American immigrant story and culture, which like almost all immigrant stories is about family. When people talk about The Godfather, they may talk about moments like the horse’s head in the bed and Sonny’s violent bullet-riddled death—all cinematically amazing—but the reason the film is so revered and considered one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th Century is because at its heart, it’s not your average gangster film. It transcends that:

A boy comes to the United States to escape the difficult life he would have faced back in his motherland. He hopes to achieve the American Dream. He eventually starts a family and finds success, but realizes that as a first-generation immigrant his options are limited. But he works hard for his American-born children; hoping that doors will be open to them that weren’t for him. His greatest wish is that his favorite son will not have to go into the family business; that he may one day achieve a greater position in life—maybe become a Senator or even President. But that is not to be.

That’s essentially the story of The Godfather. But I bet that’s probably also a story that almost every Asian American reading this can personally identify with. In a way, it’s our story as well. If in some alternate universe, The Godfather had been made with an Asian American cast, I think it still would have been a huge success. By tapping specifically into his Italian American heritage, Coppola created a masterwork that became truly universal.

And I think there’s a lesson in that. Instead of trying to ape other movies, perhaps the key to making a great Asian American gangster film is to look specifically to our own heritage and history; to approach such a film not as your typical shoot ‘em up gangster flick, but as something else completely like Coppola did.

I’ve always loved gangster movies, but I have to say that until recently, I never had an interest in making something in the genre myself. But a few years ago, I saw The Departed and American Gangster almost back-to-back and I remember thinking, “Man, wouldn’t it be awesome if someone could tell a story like that but with Asian Americans”–something that epic and hardcore, but rooted in our history and culture. That thought led me to do a little bit of research and some of the things I’ve dug up are pretty amazing. It’s all there. The Asian American Godfather is just waiting to be made. It may just be a question of–who’s going to step up and do it?

(Photoshop courtesy of Offender David)