Film Chinois

3m, 2f / Murder Mystery/Thriller, Noir / Unit set 2007 Ovation Award, Best World Premiere Play. The place: Peking, China. The year: 1947, an uneasy time between WWII and the Communist takeover two years later. Randolph, a fresh-faced American operative, has been sent to the Raymond Chandler-esque Imperial City with an important mission. He makes progress, but soon chances into a staunch Maoist named Chinadoll, his would-be adversary and lover. A cat-and-mouse game ensues. As Randolph plunges deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness of what was once the most beautiful city in the world, he soon finds his life imperiled, even as he begins to unravel the mystery of a piece of old home-made film, and the whereabouts of a beautiful woman who seems to have vanished into thin air. This first U.S. production of Singaporean playwright Damon Chua's work reveals an imaginative voice admirable. Los Angeles Times"