The Wash (1988 film)

For the 2001 movie of the same name, see The Wash (2001 film).

The Wash
Directed by	Michael Toshiyuki Uno
Written by	Philip Kan Gotanda
Starring	Mako Nobu McCarthy Sab Shimono Patti Yasutake
Cinematography	Walt Lloyd
Edited by	Jay Freund
Music by	John Morris
Production company	American Playhouse
Distributed by	Skouras Pictures
Release date	August 17, 1988 (1988-08-17)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Wash is a 1988 film directed by Michael Toshiyuki Uno and written by Philip Kan Gotanda, adapted from Gotanda's 1985 play of the same name. It tells the story of a newly separated nisei couple, husband Nobu and wife Masi, and their individual and collective struggles with their past, which along with their marriage centered on Japanese tradition, despite their residing in the United States.

Plot summary

After what is implied to be many stressful years of mistreatment, Masi has recently left Nobu early in the story, due to his intolerably sexist nature, is able to move on, and begins dating the widower doctor Sadao. Nobu does not similarly move on and begins to panic at the loss of Masi, although he still dates widowed restaurant owner Kiyoko as a way to get free meals. As a result of Masi's "abandonment", as Nobu tends to classify it, Nobu is forced to confront both his traumatic memories of the Japanese American internment camps, which the story establishes as the root of his inflexible nature, and the reality of the consequences this inflexibility has finally produced for him. Nobu's long-running feud with his youngest daughter Judy stems from his refusal to acknowledge his daughter's marriage to a Black man and their multi-ethnic child. Nobu eventually accepts Judy's son Timothy as a grandchild, but the story does not end with any reunion between Masi and Nobu; Masi not only stays with Sadao but she also, symbolically in the final scene, refuses to any longer launder Nobu's clothes for him, as she had during all their years of marriage. It is this aspect of the plot from which the story's name is obtained. Nobu ends up alone, with Masi divorcing him so that she can marry Sadao; Nobu does not speak to her during her last visit, while at the same time, refuses to return Kiyoko's phone calls and the potential for a future relationship.

Production

The Wash was first performed as a play in 1985; Gotanda then wrote the screenplay for the 1988 independent film version. Nobu McCarthy reprised her role from the stage production for the movie, while Sab Shimono switched roles: Shimono played Sadao, the part originated by George Takei, while Mako Iwamatsu played Nobu for the movie.

External links

• "Clip 1 of 2, from Philip Kan Gotanda's 'The Wash'". Youtube.
• "Clip 2 of 2, from Philip Kan Gotanda's 'The Wash'". Youtube.
• Gotanda, Philip Kan (1988). The Wash. IMDb.