Chan Is Missing

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Chan Is Missing

1982,

1h 20m,

Comedy

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Watchlist

96%

52 Reviews

Tomatometer

75%

500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

52 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

In this understated comedy from director Wayne Wang, Jo (Wood Moy), a cab driver in San Francisco's Chinatown, and his nephew, Steve (Marc Hayashi), have placed their combined savings into the hands of the shady and mysterious Chan. When this unreliable holder of their funds disappears, Jo and Steve become amateur investigators and attempt to track him down, meeting with resistance -- and plenty of humorous characters and situations -- along the way.

Critics Consensus

An entertaining mystery that's also rich in setting and character detail, Chan Is Missing suggests thrilling potential from director/co-writer Wayne Wang.

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Derek Smith

Slant Magazine

Jun 21, 2022

Wayne Wang’s playfully enigmatic debut was a watershed for Asian American filmmakers.

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

May 19, 2021

4/4

Wood Moy and Marc Hayashi serve notice that they are actors worthy of more films. But the lion's share of the credit for Chan Is Missing must go to director Wang, who with this one tricky little film serves notice that he is a filmmaker to watch.

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Michael Maza

Arizona Republic

May 19, 2021

Chan Is Missing is craftily iconoclastic; unlike so many big-budgeted Hollywood genre-splicings and sendups, it sledgehammers old forms, not just for the heck of it, but with an eye toward building something new.

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Apr 27, 2025

8/10

Style, not story, is the real reason for watching Chan Is Missing. It’s shot with many references to film noir while also ironically salting in some Charlie Chan-like aphorisms.

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Olivia Popp

Asian Movie Pulse

May 21, 2023

Wang simply chooses to ignore conventional bounds altogether, instead creating a film that acts as geopolitical primer, a delicate portrait of a community, and meditation on identity politics and border anxieties in contemporary America, all in one.

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Bill Cosford

Miami Herald

May 19, 2021

3/4

It is in black-and-white, it is quite funny, and it is a revelation.

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Wayne Wang

Director

Wood Moy

Jo

Marc Hayashi

Steve

Laureen Chew

Amy

Isaac Cronin

Writer

Wayne Wang

Writer

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Synopsis

In this understated comedy from director Wayne Wang, Jo (Wood Moy), a cab driver in San Francisco's Chinatown, and his nephew, Steve (Marc Hayashi), have placed their combined savings into the hands of the shady and mysterious Chan. When this unreliable holder of their funds disappears, Jo and Steve become amateur investigators and attempt to track him down, meeting with resistance -- and plenty of humorous characters and situations -- along the way.

Director: Wayne Wang
Producer: Wayne Wang
Screenwriter: Isaac Cronin, Wayne Wang
Distributor: New Yorker Films
Production Co: New Yorker Films
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 4, 1982, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 14, 2016
Runtime: 1h 20m
Sound Mix: Mono

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