Watch Forbidden City, U.S.A. For Free

People are voting emotionally.

One of the best films i have seen

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

East meets West in this lively documentary about the first all-Chinese nightclub in America and some of the personalities who brought it to life: Larry Ching and Paul Wing (the Chinese Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire, respectively, quoting the club's own promotional ads), owner Charlie Low, and Toy Yat Mar (the Chinese Sophie Tucker), among others. The film works on several levels: as an insider's guide to a rarely seen aspect of show business; as a valuable local San Francisco history lesson; as big band nostalgia; and most of all as a cultural study exploring some of the attitudes, ironies, and misconceptions surrounding the Chinese American community, people who by definition are racially Chinese but culturally American. Director Arthur Dong has assembled a wealth of material: rare documentary footage; obscure excerpts from old Hollywood movies; and a rollicking background of 1940s swing music. But the best thing about the film is its many interviews: beyond being informative, each character tells a fascinating and touching story.