The Wash
credits:
Director: Michael Toshiyuki UnoProducers: Lindsay Law, Calvin Skaggs
Writer: Philip Kan Gotanda
Cast: Mako , Nobu McCarthy, Sab Shimono, Patti Yasutake
Tribute to Mako
USA 1988 | 94 mins | DigiBeta | English
THE WASH, overlooked when originally released in 1988, today looks something like an understated masterpiece, thanks to its nuanced storytelling and first-rate acting. It is also a fitting tribute to the late Mako, the Oscar-winning actor who, through his involvement with the East-West Players theater company, did so much to broaden the opportunities for Asian American actors to portray non-stereotypic roles.
The story, by noted Bay Area playwright Philip Kan Gotanda, concerns the separation and end of the 40-year marriage of Masi and Nobu Matsumoto (Nobu McCarthy and Mako). Although she has moved out and found her own apartment, Masi still drops by once a week to pick up Nobu’s laundry, a metaphor for the unspoken connections and ritualized obligations that connect the couple, and which places them in the Nisei cultural context. The couple’s two grown daughters, Marsha and Judy (played by Patti Yasutake and Marion Yue, respectively) have very different reactions to their parents’ changing relationship, one later complicated by Judy’s decision to marry. Sab Shimono plays Sadao, a courtly widower who treats Masi as she always hoped Nobu would.
The story is measured in its pace, the acting excellent throughout, and there are marvelous touches of humor and poignant, subtle comments on the human condition. Spend an evening with this movie and enjoy a rare treat.
—Stephen Gong
