En Ryo Identity

1993 • Directed by

Paul Mayeda Berges

Documentary

Paul Mayeda Berges ponders the difficulties of being biracial in En Reyo Identity. To grasp the Japanese half of himself, Berges strikes an on-camera dialogue with his grandmother, who suffered internment during World War II but is, to Paul's chagrin, exceedingly lax in her assessment of that and other life experiences. The videomaker counters with excerpts from home and Hollywood movies and even folkloric stagings as if to plead for a history-making that does not invalidate emotion.