All language subtitles for AKA.Mr..Chow.2023.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-LAMA

(sniffs) Are we good?

Whenever you're ready,
say "Action."

interviewer 1:
I'm ready. Action.

Give me another movie
right now.

I'll give you first shot.

interviewer 1:
Uh, "North By Northwest."

"North By Northwest."
Here we go. Building lobby.

People coming out.

Soon after,
three people coming out.

You see Cary Grant
with his secretary

walking towards
our first shot.

Like this.

Come out outside.

He gets a cab before the guy.

Woman wanna get a cab
to show his character

he don't give a shit
about the woman.

Now, how many human being
on this planet,

"You give me a movie,
I give you first shot?"

None. Not one. Only me.

interviewer 1:
"Giant."

"Giant."

He's on the train going
to see Elizabeth Taylor.

(cinematic music playing)

Gimme another one. Let's go.
Speed, I give it to you.

interviewer 1:
Uh, "Lawrence Of Arabia."

"Lawrence Of Arabia."
Now, watch this one.

This one, oh, my God.

My forte.
Bird's-eye shot, like this.

Concrete.

The tiles are about 3'4."

You see Larry,
which is Lawrence of Arabia,

Peter O'Toole, walking slowly
towards the motorcycle

on the left.
He fix something,

he walks back,
and he comes back again,

and he jump
on the motorcycle.

As he pushes the--

-(motorcycle starts)
-(imitates motorcycle
starting, revving)

Cut to him. He's got the wind,
got the glasses.

-(motorcycle rumbling)
-(imitating motorcycle)

Suddenly, a truck comes.

-(brakes squeal)
-(imitates squeal)

-(crash, wheel spinning down)
-(imitates crash,
wheel spinning down)

interviewer 2:
"Breakfast At Tiffany's"?

It's a comedy,
but I'll give it to you anyway.

It's kind of a comedy,
and very racist
with Mickey Rooney.

Playing (gibberish),
supposed to be Japanese.

Disgusting, uh, racism
character, right?

Hollywood production.

("Moon River" by
Henry Mancini playing)

The long shot,
"Breakfast At Tiffany's,"
sun rising.

Tiffany on the right.
New York cabs and everything.

Oh, you get off
in the evening clothes,

looking in
the window of Tiffany.

Thank you. Next.

interviewer 1:
Why is the first shot
so important?

Why not?

First shot,
of course, is important.

Is your birth important?

When we first time meet,
is it important?

Look at the entrance
of Beijing Opera.

(Chinese opera music playing)

My father coming out.

(music building)

First of all,

the minute he enter,
the lights go tang! Like this.

You watch his body language.

Split second, you know
who he is!

That's an entrance.

(rapid Chinese opera
music continues)

(instruments rattle)

(music slows, final crescendo)

(paper rustling)

-(bang)
-(yells in native dialect)

(yells in native dialect)

(paper rustling)

(machine whirring)

(speaks native dialect)

-(slaps tarp)
-(distant bang)

Give me, uh, black and white

with a stick, please.
And rubber hammer.

(ladder rattles)

Thank you.

So, I'm trying
to marry this part

with this part a little bit.
I'll see what happens, okay?

If I put white first...

and a little bit of black
on top, black would dominate.

Where's the hammer?
Hammer, darling.

Speed, please. Speed.

See? Didn't come.

Came late, and this fell.

So, what do I do with this?
Don't worry about it.

It's part of the process.

It meant to be.

-(paint splats)
-Hoo!

(bangs hammer)

Let's...

thousand flower bloom.

-Hoo!
-(banging)

(banging, splattering)

So, this is quite a nice hit.
We got to control that corner.

-Hoo!
-(bang)

In terms of my father's
Beijing Opera,

the beard, he--
the idea is to make it heavy.

(exaggerated breathing)

Everything heavy, expensive,

and, uh, difficult
is usually good.

Tai chi is very light, right?

But it's heavy. Hoo!

Beard.

Longer, thick, heavy.

It's beautiful.

He can blow a candle out.

-(quick blow)
-(Chinese percussion playing)

The air go through
the thickness of the beard

to put out the candle.

-(quick blow)
-(percussion hit)

An orchestra is heavy.
Tang! Tang!

-Tay! The "tay"
is Picasso's focus.
-(percussion hit)

(quiet percussion playing)

When I was a little boy,
like 4 years old,

someone took me to
the backstage,

and I saw
Chinese Beijing Opera,

big face
painted different color.

The most frightening thing
you ever seen.

I was shocked.

-And I was so frightened.
-(percussion playing)

But at the same time
attracted to it.

So, the spirit of
Beijing Opera,

the energy,

that is in my blood already.

(music builds)

-(ambient street noise)
-(percussion hit)

Okay, the movie
starts like this.

♪♪

In my childhood,

atmosphere of Shanghai,
very exciting.

Very, um, full of foreigners
at the same time.

And gangsters and opium

and decadence
and Beijing Opera

and food and lights.

Incredible city.

♪♪

So, let's set up
this first scene

in this man's life.

When I was born,
I was given two names.

My Chinese name
is Zhou Yinghua.

Ying means hero.

Hua is China,
so I'm China's hero.

Two, my mother,
who's Catholic,

already named me
Michael Chow.

Cecilia Zhou:
Michael's childhood is
totally different from ours.

The time when he started
to have his asthma,

his fate is sealed.

That means he became
my mother's focus.

He was the only child
that had his cradle

next to my mother's bed.

Michael Chow:
My mother attended me

with tremendous amount
of fuss

and spoiled me
and overprotecting me.

I hardly go to school.

I literally lived
like a prince.

♪♪

I'm influenced very much
by both of them.

My mother, quarter Scottish,

fluent in English,

and a very modern woman.

Cecilia:
My mother was very smart,

very capable,

dealt with all the underworld
societies in Shanghai.

Michael:
Because the whole
theater world

is gangster world.

So, my mother,
she carries a gun.

She fought all the gangsters.

(quiet dressing room chatter)

And, uh,
my father is opposite.

He was completely an artist.

(Chinese percussion playing)

He was devoted to theater,

read everything,
wrote many plays.

Smell theater, eat theater,
sleeps theater.

He was famous
when he was 7 years old.

His stage name
become Qi-lin Tong.

(percussion hit)

It means "unicorn boy."

Unfortunately,
at late teenage age,

his voice broke.

It become very rough.

A master hides his weakness.

A grandmaster uses his weakness.

-(singing in native dialect)
-(Chinese opera music playing)

My father revolutionized
the Beijing Opera

by creating a new style
of acting called qi pai.

(continues singing)

He performed
almost every night.

He was a giant of an actor,

so I wanted to be
just like him.

(applause)

(speaking native dialect)

-(applause)
-(crowd cheering)

Michael:
In the early 1950s,

there was lot
of uncertainty in China.

My mother saw an opportunity

to send some of her children
to study in the West,

except for my brother,
William,

who followed my father's
footsteps in Beijing Opera.

And my sister, Tsai Chin,
was going to London

to study acting,
which, at the time,

was very unusual
for a Chinese girl.

And I was going to England
for boarding school.

♪♪

(ambient traffic noise)

While my mother
was in Hong Kong,

preparing for my voyage
to London,

I was left alone
in Shanghai with my father.

(street chatter)

I would go to his rehearsals

and watched him perform.

(mystical music playing)

My father was always busy.

That was the only time
I had the warmth

of the father-and-son
relationship.

(quiet restaurant chatter)

I spent 10 magical days
with him.

-(creature growls)
-(wind blowing)

I always remembered

what he said to me
before we parted.

He said, "Wherever you go,

always remember
you are Chinese."

(music fades out)

So, that's my bonding
with my father,

and it's enough.
And, uh...

Yeah. It lasted me a lifetime.

♪♪

And then, I took a slow boat
to Southampton London.

I was with my sister,
Tsai Chin.

-(bird caws)
-(wind blowing)

The journey took 30 days.

-(cawing)
-(splashing)

(bird caws)

We went through India,

Suez Canal, and Egypt.

(ship horn blares)

(wind blowing)

When I arrived in England,

I parted with my sister.

(puffing, whistling)

And then the train
take me to London.

(train whistling)

I end up in London

on the most foggiest day
England ever had.

-(fire crackling)
-(muffled chatter)

And then to some
strange funny house.

And they gave me Welsh rarebit
for dinner,

which is toast with cheese.

And then, the door closed.

In the movie,
the soundtrack will be...

(imitates dramatic sting)

and screen goes black.

(dramatic sting)

I'm on my own.

No language, no nothing.

Completely separated
from my family.

(air rushing)

I'm in a deep hole,

like I'm landing on the moon.

(eerie ambience)

The deep fear of abandonment.

Constant panic attack.

Then I realized,
"What are you going to do?"

I'm supposed to be a prince.

I'm supposed to be
this big star's son.

I cannot let him down.

From a very young age,
I knew I must be great.

Then, I crawl
out of the dungeon,

like this, into daylight.

Then, I went
to boarding school.

Kind of like
a Harry Potter situation.

(chairs creak)

I was very unhappy there.
I can't mix with anybody.

And they make me run.
I got asthma. How can I run?

They made me run anyway.

One day, a fellow student,
they say to me,

"Ooh! We gonna eat rice!"

So, I said, "Great." Then,
I end up with rice pudding,

which is sweet, and I went,

"What the fuck is that?"

Rice, you see?
Very simple thing.

I was deprived from it.

And, of course,
it's not really the rice.
It's the whole thing.

And don't forget, I come
from the contrast.

Uh, pampered by everybody.

Spoiled, fragile.

Now, I gotta be
this tough prison.

I mean, this basically
is prison to me.

I get bullied
and all that shit.

So, my subconscious say,
"Rebuild my identity."

I got to rebuild a new China.

New culture.

Especially in a foreign land.

Hey, look!
Cheeky, cheeky laundry!

Please don't do that!

-Catch, Slick!
Chink in the middle!
-Don't! Please!

Please! Please!

Michael:
When I was 18, 19,
my sister, Tsai,

was already
a working actress.

-Please don't! Please!
-It's not fair!
Stop it, boys! Please!

Michael:
She got me a role
in the movie she was in.

Please, Johnny.
I'll lose my job.

Then, I'll lose the van.

-Then you can't use it.
-Shut up!

And like all the movie (laughs),

I play
a Chinese laundry boy.

-You're working late.
-24-hour service, Mister.

And, uh, my first scene
was my death scene.

(truck roaring)

-(indistinct yelling)
-(tires squeal)

-(crowd screaming)
-(fire truck bell rings)

It's the first shot of
my experience as an actor.

It's the Chinese kid.
He's dead.

(crowd chattering)

Michael:
The minute I have that part,

all the other
movie parts comes.

In Chinese,
there's a very famous saying.

"If you want to do
anything properly,

you have to eat bitter."

Chi ku. Chi means eat.

Ku means bitter.

-(soft music playing)
-So, I adopted a Zen attitude,

which is minimalism in living.

-And I was living in a studio
with one stove...
-(fire crackling)

...one pot, one frying pan,

one spoon, and one bed.

And I feel lucky.

At that time, England had
an educational policy

to have art schools,

so I went to Saint Martin's,

and I started painting.

To support myself,

I got some help
from my mother,

and also, I acted in movies.

-(soft music playing)
-(door creaks)

So I was making this movie.

I have to shave my hair.

I had no choice.
You kidding me?

I won't be working if I--

You know, I won't do this

because this is degrading
to the Chinese people.

Thanks, Major!
Anytime you need me.

But, at least I can
make a living

with biggest movie star
in the world.

Charlton Heston,
Ava Gardner,
you name it, right?

Anyway, I'm good at
being charming, you know?

My mother's side coming out.

-And also, I guess
I'm little bit talented.
-(soft music playing)

(horses clopping)

(speaking Italian)

(speaking Italian)

Cecilia:
In 1961, Michael,

at that time,
was filming in Rome.

♪♪

(quiet street noise)

Michael:
The first time I went to Rome.

And I went,
"Wow, what a city."

It was Rome post-Fellini's
"La Dolce Vita."

-So Rome at the coolest.
-(bikes rumbling)

I was on location
for six months,

eating in the best restaurant,
everything.

This is like a movie, right?

In fact, all my life,
growing up,

I live in the movies.

♪♪

My mother, she loves movies.
I love movies.

(trolley bell dings)

We would go to see movies
every afternoon.

A double feature.

(projector whirring)

Nonstop, five hours.

Escape to a magical place.

Her favorite genre is
film noir, and so is mine.

My mother came to Rome.

I haven't seen her
for, uh, eight years,

but, to me, like eternity,
you know?

Cecilia:
When Michael first saw Mother,

he fell upon her lap
and cried.

"Why are you so cruel,

"sending me away

at such a young age?"

And my mother,
what, what else can she say?

Michael:
20th century in China,

we suffered from
two world wars, civil war,

famine, you name it.

But above all,
foreign humiliation.

Because you are dealing with

the soul
of Chinese suffering.

She sent me to London
out of love.

No one can ask
for better than love.

My life extreme.

My life is designed
for melodrama drama.

In destiny.

(mysterious music playing)

So my whole world
become movie.

Maximillian Chow:
Movies and my dad.

Movies are dreams.

(woman groaning)

And that
he lives his life dreaming

for whatever story
he wants to tell

and be told and to live in.

♪♪

Michael:
"Modesty Blaise"
with Monica Vitti.

Modesty:
Read it to me, please.

Michael:
The opening shot,
they dubbed me, unfortunately.

Scorpio,
not like you to be lazy.

-No.
-But today, it is
an effort to exert yourself.

Michael:
I don't speak
proper English, right?

I wasn't properly educated,

but I fake it through
really good, right?

Sounds good, sounds like
I speak excellent English,

but, in fact, I don't.

You know, he came to the West,

didn't have the language,
didn't have, um, family.

And so,
what could you connect to

other than these visual mediums
that would, um,

make you feel safe?

♪♪

(bangs, splatters)

-Let's do one across first.
-(material stretching)

-Okay, here we go.
-(spray hisses)

So this is a process, right?
It's like cooking.

And you make everything perfect,

the painting not gonna
come out right.

-So, you need lot of...
-(can rattling)

...lot of kung fu.

Okay, let's go across...

Fundamental difference
between the West and the East

in terms of thinking...

Go to the edge.

...is man, again, with nature,

gotta be in harmony with nature.

That's why Chinese painting,
you see man, tiny little thing,

which, which is the truth,
become harmony.

The West wanna conquer it.

♪♪

One thing about collaging

is, endlessly,
you can save the painting.

(stapling)

I improvised just now.

-I rather like this.
-(clatters)

(stapling)

-(torch searing)
-Sometimes, I wanna
have this burn.

Burn represent pain, right?

Pain, suffering,
is a fuel for the artist.

Sometime make beautiful holes.

I'm painting with the fire.

See how beautiful it become?

When I was young,

I wanted to become a painter.

-(slapping, stapling)
-(clattering)

And I painted religiously for
about 14 years. Religiously.

-Hammer, please.
-(staples)

But, eventually, I give up.

China in the West
was low of low in everything.

They say,
"No, you can't be a painter.

"In fact, you can't
do anything, except for

restaurant and laundry."

(laughs) So, I said, "Okay.
Let me be creative."

('60s rock music playing)

(quiet street noise)

♪♪

-(party chatter)
-(cars honking)

I soon discovered three things
if you can pass in England.

Eccentric,

aristocrat,

artistic.

Well, I think I'm an aristocrat

because I was born
into a prince.

How do I know this?
Look at my hand.

Does it look like a laborer?
No.

Look, delicate little thing.

I also went to a fortune teller

in, um, in Hong Kong
with my sister.

And first thing he says to me,

I have to be eccentric.

The more eccentric I am,

the more successful
I will become.

- Do you like coffee?
-Yes. Is this a Gallup poll?

-(psychedelic music playing)
-Michael: No.

Only thing I asked was
would you like cup of coffee?

Joanna:
Yes, please.

Well, the kitchen's over there.

You know how to make it,
don't you?

Grace Coddington:
Well, I think it coincided
with a time

that he was also, um, filming

a film called "Joanna."

And he permed his hair
for this part. (laughs)

(laughs) My darling Grace.

Grace, I knew
a little bit already.

She was already
a very famous model

when she did the iconic
Vidal Sassoon cut.

Grace:
When I was pretty young

and a young model and stuff,

I was sharing a flat
with a lot of

young Asian actress.

Uh, one of them was
actually Tsai Chin, his sister.

(romantic music playing)

Why do Chinese girls taste
different from all other girls?

You think we're better, huh?

No, just different.

Like Peking duck is different
from Russian caviar.

Just take the movie part.

Always make the Chinese look
so disgracefully bad. You know?

Make me choke with sadness.

You learn very quickly
you are nothing.

Take this knife,
and place it at the throat

of the man who is your father.

(dramatic music playing)

(scuffling)

So, I'm gonna create an embassy,

my father's qi pai style.

Philosophy. Thinking.

Everything
(speaks native dialect).

Every detail.

Chic of all chic.

Truth of all truth.

Looking for, every evening,

a performance to transcend.

I said, "What are you gonna do?"
And he said,

"Well, what could
a Chinaman do?" (laughs)

So, I said, "Run a laundry
or, or a restaurant."

So, I said-- (laughs)
So, he said,

"I'm not gonna do a laundry.
I'm doing a restaurant."

Michael:
I didn't have any money,
so I found an investor.

All the movie people,
all the walks of arts,

with that connection
to all of them,

it's easy for me
to raise money

and open the restaurant.

It's always a vision
and took off like a rocket.

♪♪

Cecilia:
With the name, Mr. Chow,

because no one
had called him Mr. Chow.

Now, everyone had to call him
Mr. Chow.

Gaby Tana:
He was always
looking to create

a level of, of cuisine

that was so refined and higher
to what people expected.

Grace:
Michael wanted the food
to be the very best,

so he went to Hong Kong,

testing the chefs.

And he found the chefs there
and he brought them back.

Michael:
Look, the very
basic principle of cooking,

the bigger the fire,
quicker the seal.

(yelps) Like my painting.

So we want the fire this big.

-(flame roaring)
-(clanging)

(Kwok Wing Hor
speaking native dialect)

♪♪

Michael:
In the meantime,
charge a lot. Important.

Because why
should I charge a lot?

Just to create respect.

Respect for my country.

Above all, for my father,
for my parents, for respect.

Grace:
And then, he explained
this whole thing of,

"You know,
I'm getting all my friends,

"all these great artists,

"and they've all agreed
to give me a painting,

and I'm gonna give them
some free meals."

What it did is it
secured a clientele

that was the best of the best.

He was gonna have,
um, Chinese chefs and cooks,

but Italian waiters.

Michael:
So, he came up
with a portrait of me

as an old man,
with an old man's body,

with permed hair,
painted me yellow,

and then half Italian,
half Chinese wrestler.

Peter Blake:
Clive made Peking ducks,

which are bronzes, which are
chromed and hang downstairs.

I mean, this lot here
was, uh, Jim Dine.

♪♪

Gaby:
Well, Michael's
always just had

such an extraordinary
aesthetic.

He's such
a brilliant designer.

It was all about the light,

the furniture,
and the detail.

And it was always, you know,
Michael's stage.

Michael:
Chinese are low of low,

so I wanna show them
we are the chic of chic.

So chic that you don't know
what day it is.

Grace:
Come and see
my vision of the world

and that beauty

and enjoy my food

the way I would like you
to taste it.

And from day one,
the restaurant was

an amazing hit.
It was crazy.

♪♪

So all roads lead to Mr. Chow.

The globe is there.
I mean, the world is there.

All the Hollywood is there.

Best models.
Best photographers.

Best everything.
Top, top, top.

All the cool people
in the world,

all gathered here.
Here we are.

And we are in the middle,
and we gonna spin.

(upbeat music playing)

(music stops)

interviewer 1:
How long did
the marriage with Grace last?

How long the marriage
last with Grace?

Not very long.
Maybe a year.

Grace:
Not very long after
we were actually married,

my Vietnamese boyfriend
reappeared

and I disappeared out
of Michael's life.

Yeah, I was devastated
when Grace, you know...

I go through the,
"Oh, okay. Here we go again."

And the "Here we go again,"
is the, uh,

panic attack.

Because my mother
abandoned me, right?

So I started relationship
with women very young

and I was very desperate.

I need a partner
to build my castle.

I can't do it on my own.

Once I find a woman,

I know that would be
my foundation,

like my mother,
so when you take that away,

I can't even
get out of the bed.

So, there was a period,
there's nothing.

There's pathetic
kind of a... human.

So, I choose
to escape through movies,

escape through playing cards.

Grace: It was
an addiction of his.

You know, he got into his game
and didn't wanna leave,

and it would last all night.

Michael:
In my case,
I'm a poker player, right?

That feeling of losing
is irreplaceable.

You don't enjoy it.
It's kind of a double-triple,
you know?

And the addiction, you know--
So, but, let's not talk about it

-too, um, too much over that,
but you got the idea. Yeah.
-interviewer 1: Yeah.

-So anyway, where are we?
-interviewer 1: Tokyo.

Tokyo! Okay.

So how I met Tina
was through Japan.

♪♪

(quiet street noise)

I was fascinated by
Japanese culture at that time

and I was gonna do a movie,

go to Tokyo, and that whole
drama take place there.

Antonio Lopez.

Fantastic
fashion illustrator,

chicest man on this planet.

He said to me,
"Oh, you must meet Tina,

you know, who's in Tokyo."

♪ Pink Pop, Pink Pop,
Pink Pop, Pink Pop ♪

-(singing in Japanese)
-(upbeat music playing)

Adelle Lutz:
Tina was adorable.

She was 16 years old

when she did her
first Shiseido campaign.

The red lips,

a lot of eye makeup.

-(singing continues)
-With a baby face,

this tiny little baby face

perched on these long legs.

And we moved to Tokyo

from Bay Village, Ohio.

We'd never met
anyone like him.

(gentle music playing)

He was this thin, skinny guy

with that long black hair.

Michael:
Tina. First time I saw her,

again, take my breath away,
you know?

She's just an incredible

human.

To put it simplistically.

Adelle:
I think I could tell
she was attracted to Michael.

She certainly moved to London
pretty quickly.

Grace:
I was in Paris,
and he called me up,

and he said,

"I'm getting married again."
(laughs) I said, "Really?"

"Yes," he said. "I want you
to meet my wife-to-be."

To me, she's the most
beautiful woman.

Not just a face beauty,

but it's everything beauty.

You know, Michael was always
blowing his own trumpet

and things like that,
and she took him down a peg.

And they were
an amazing couple.

(gentle music continues)

♪♪

Michael:
We got married in London,

and, uh, everybody came,
so the usual suspect came.

Joan Juliet Buck:
And I remember a party here,

and Michael and Tina
receiving right here,

and people came up the stairs
to congratulate them.

(gentle music fades out)

Adelle:
Michael was so happy.

He really--

He had
this little perfect family.

That's what I wanted. A home.
That's what I wanted.

And a family, yes.

(gentle music playing)

China, my first child.

The whole experience was

extraordinarily emotional.

You know, I was there

and see China
take her first breath.

♪♪

Adelle:
And then when Max came along,

even better.

♪♪

♪♪

(gentle music stops)

interviewer 1:
Tell me about LA.

How did the whole idea
of LA come about?

Jerry sends me this
very badly typed letter.

He was in south of France.

That's Jerry Moss,
the famous music executive.

The M in A&M Records.

He said, "Would you like
to come to Los Angeles

to open a Mr. Chow?"
Something like that.

(grunts)

(grunts) Tina goes,

"Wait a minute.
He's the A&M! A&M Records!"

Oh? Okay.

So, Jerry Moss,

he brought me to LA
to open Mr. Chow.

♪♪

(helicopter whirring)

(birds chirping)

Brian Grazer:
My attraction to Mr. Chow's
was very early.

I just wanted to be in,

because all you have to do
is drive down Canon,

and there's paparazzis
and movie stars and,

"Oh, my God!
There's Gregory Peck!"

(laughs) You know?

Adelle:
Sunday nights was
Old Hollywood.

Marlon Brando, he'd just
sit there like a Buddha.

The Wilders were there,
Billy and Audrey.

Brian Grazer:
I would be able
to see some of these icons

that were untouchable to me.
Walter Matthau, I mean,

Jack Lemmon would be here.

You know,
the Fondas were here.

From time to time, Mae West.

Mae West would get
the standing ovation,

and she'd just take it in.

(laughing)

More than the dinner.

♪♪

(car honking)

-(Michael yells)
-(staff responds)

(all clap)

Practice,
which means kung fu.

-staff: Yes!
-Michael: Because we are
in the theater,

we are here to entertain.

Let me entertain you.
Am I correct?

-staff: Yes.
-Michael: The show must go on.

Csabi Szekely:
Six o'clock,
opening the curtain.

They have the maître d',
who is the director.

And then,
you have the caterers.

You have the waiters.
You have the assistant servers.

You have the food runners.

You have the dishwasher,

which is very important
in a restaurant.

And last,
don't forget the chefs.

We deboning the fish
in a special way.

We require skill and elegance,

and skill is part
of the entertainment.

-Yes or no?
-staff: Yes!

Certainly, those guys
making the pasta

and slapping it around
every night, that's a show.

Brian Grazer:
To form the noodle's identity,

and then he cooked the noodle!

So, I mean,
everything is a show!

He's a grand showman.

Michael:
What does all this adds up to?

Let me tell you
what they add up to.

Adds up to, like all theater,

every night, we are looking to
for transcendence

to a higher place,

to a transcendent
spiritual level.

Yes, you will find it.

So, let's look up what
the negative tendency are.

Negative tendency
for maître d's,

never look at them in the eye.

(lifeless) Good evening.
Hello. This way. Enjoy.

(normal)
Are you kidding me or what?

Come on.
This restaurant has a leader.

Always. Has a host,
with all eyes on him.

This is theater, okay?

(ambient traffic noise)

(dance music playing)

(club chatter)

Ian Schrager:
I was, uh, working
in a nightclub studio,

and, uh, there was
like a cultural force

coming over from London,

uh, when Michael was opening
the restaurant.

There was just
an incredible buzz.

♪♪

There was all of a sudden
a new man about town.

He opened up Mr. Chow's
on 57th Street.

It was in the middle
of the, uh, upper East Side.

You know, you'd go in there,

you'd see this
whole crowd of people

that would be there.

And then, later on at night,

they would go to Studio 54
to party.

(dance music continues)

I mean it.
If we had a tunnel,
it would be a good thing.

Michael:
The last party in Studio 54

was by Ian and, uh,
Steve Rubell

for my birthday.

One thousand people.

They were in jail,
singing happy birthday to me.

At that point, Steve and I
were away (laughs) on vacation.

(dance music stops)

Michael:
So that era gone down,

and Mr. Chow came up.

Then, everything
went crazily great.

(energetic funk music playing)

I would hear about Mr. Chow
in Jay-Z songs,

and, uh, Mariah Carey
one time on a video,

she talked about, you know,
going back to Mr. Chow's.

You better be taking me
to Mr. Chow's

for some squab, like, right now.

♪♪

Brian Grazer:
Well there is a theatricality
to the restaurant

in that, um,
everybody's performing.

That stair.
Like, people stood there.

You-- People stood there
until you looked at them.

And people were always
looking up to see
who's coming in.

Adelle:
There was a huge fashion scene

at the New York restaurant.

Perry Ellis.

Calvin Klein.

Andre Leon Talley.

Fran Lebowitz:
The fact that there were
a lot of fashion people here

was Tina.

Restaurants always wanted
those people, you know,

because they attract
other people.

And they attract
other people

because people
wanna look at them.

Adelle:
You know, restaurants,
they're kind of like

inviting people to your home,

and Tina had a lot of charm.

Joan:
She was a great hostess.

I mean, people would just
come in to see her basically,

to watch her
because she was so exquisite.

And she made it
always feel like a party.

And the champagne
would just flow.

Fran:
To me, it was Tina.
But also,

we weren't
welcomed everywhere.
You know,

girls sat on girls' laps.

I was thrown out of a restaurant
because of that.

LL Cool J:
Well, I'm from
Queens, New York.

I grew up in a city
in the hood.

So, coming here was
like a statement, you know,

'cause we was Red Lobster,
you know what I'm saying?

(laughs) We was going
to Red Lobster. Sizzler.

Oh, they got the bread!
Tony Roma's.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, it was that world.
You know?

And Mr. Chow's, for us,

felt like a step up.

It represented kinda

a doorway to the
American Dream, so to speak.

You know, a lot of people
that try to be high-class,

they always wanna shy away
from Blacks or Latinos

or people that, you know,
come from a regular place.

When you come to Mr. Chow's,

they're not giving you grief
about hats.

Like, I went to Mastro's.
They're like,

"Oh, yes, but you have
to take off your hat."

Take off my hat?
What does that
have to do with anything?

Am I paying my bill?

(patrons chattering)

Good evening.
Annina's waiting for you.

Bruno Bischofberger:
Jean! Jean!

Mr. Chow.
A chair, please.

To a great show, Jean.

-(applause)
-Artistic vanguard
in New York City

was always downtown.

And it was really through
Michael and Tina

and their interest
in the art world

that they drew the artists
here to Mr. Chow.

♪♪

Joan:
There's that book
filled with artists' drawings

and he's been collecting for
years and nurturing artists.

Jeffrey Deitch:
Michael's portrait collection,
which is amazing,

it could be a museum.

Ed Ruscha:
As I recall,

there wasn't money exchanged.

More like an exchange of food

and services at the restaurant.

Jeffrey:
The Ed Ruscha portrait
of Mr. Chow,

it shows the genius
of Ed Ruscha

as a conceptualist,

and to create the portrait
out of ingredients

used in Mr. Chow's cooking.

Ed Ruscha:
Soy sauce refused to dry,

but it was still stable.

I think there was
a secret element

and so much time has passed

that not even the artist can
remember what that secret is.

Kevin Lipton:
Mr. Chow is a character
created by him.

It was emblazoned on
a million packages of matches.

Well, the way I would describe
Mr. Chow, the character,

is the same green guy

sitting in a bowl of noodles
because that's what it is.

It's a caricature of the man

who doesn't want
people to know
who he really is.

Jeffrey:
Andy, he gets
Mr. Chow perfectly.

He divined this mystery

that's inherent to
Michael's personality.

It's Mr. Chow
and the shadow of Mr. Chow.

Michael:
Andy Warhol,

during his journey
of struggle in life,

he learned two words,
and the two words are

"So what?"

And the minute he got
the, "So what,"

he went, "Whoa!"
He have freedom.

♪♪

Jean-Michel, Michel, Michel,
my darling Jean-Michel, um...

Apart from my portrait,
which I gave him food,

I bought a few paintings
from him

for about $15,000
or something,

but that's already
gone up a little bit.

Jeffrey:
I remember a number of times

standing with
Jean-Michel Basquiat
on the street

trying to get a cab,
and every cab would pass.

They didn't wanna pick him up
with his dreadlocks,

but here in uptown New York,

he was 100% welcomed.

Maximillian:
I think then Mr. Chow
was a safe place

for a lot of people,

but specifically
for Jean-Michel, yeah.

Because it was in a place
that the more artistic

and the more odd you were,
the more comfortable you felt.

Jeffrey:
Michael and Jean-Michel
had a lot in common.

Both had to make it
on their own.

Jean-Michel, who lived
in the streets of New York

for some time, and Michael,

he had to invent
a whole new persona.

Michael:
So, Jean-Michel is
the same thing.

He is so focused

on this racism thing.

It's beautiful.

♪♪

It's a little bit like
qi style like my father.

One side,
very violent and heavy.

The other one,
tender and gentle.

So, that is the basis

of our connection.

Grace:
You know, I was unaware
of racial problems, I guess,

until one day,
I wanted to get a cab home,

and I said, "Oh, come with me
to the hotel down here.

I'll ask the doorman,
and he'll get us the cab."

And he said,

"The doorman will never
get a cab if I'm with you."

And I said,
"What are you talking about?

You're Michael Chow."
You know? (laughs)

The problem with racism,
it hurts.

Mm.

Yeah. You're low of low,

are reminded again and again,

and then again.
All the time, nonstop.

The doorman kept
pushing us aside

and giving somebody else
the cab, like this.

If you take away my glasses,

you take away my big tipping,

and take away my Rolls Royce,

I'm not good enough now.

But, if I have my glasses,

if I drive a Rolls Royce,

if I go and buy for the moment,

if I give anybody $100,
they will start smiling.

They say, "Mr. Chow, this way."
They even call me Mr. Chow.

It's very difficult
to be kind and real.
Very difficult.

Because we are usually afraid,

but if you practice that,

you become a better human being.

For instance, I said to them,

"When I come in, I want
everybody to say hello to me."

They think because
I need people to come--

No, no, I don't need people
to come in to me, okay?

I want them to say hello to me

because I want them
to practice with me.

Because they don't know
how to say hello to me.

Because they give me
a phony, you see?

Just like-- Back to
Marlon Brando again.

When Marlon Brando
go on the set first time

in this particular movie,
want to test the director.

He gave him two performances.

One performance,
second performance,

see which performance
the director take.

If the director is no good,
he give him a phony one.

He say,
"Mama! Would you come to me?"

The director say,
"Oh, sensational."

And first one, he say,

"Mom..."

"Cut! No, no, no! Not that one!
I want,

'Mama! Please come to me!'"
He said,

"Fuck you.
The rest of the movie,

you're gonna have a hard time
from me, okay?"

Marlon says. Okay?

Now, to be real is important.

To be real-- (sudden sigh)

First, you have to unload.

Not just in the restaurant.

I want them go home in life,

while they're driving
down the road

with a cop
coming up to him,

they become confident
in themselves

because they are real.

I want to share

that human experience
with them,

so that they're not
afraid of anyone.

Who been here longest?

-(staff mumble, chuckle)
-Phil! Ladies and gentlemen,
Mr. Phil.

(applause)

Phil, how long you been here?

-Forty-seven.
-Michael: Uh-huh.

-Next January, gonna be 48.
-Michael: Wow.

Phil's been working with me

since the day
the restaurant opened.

He is extraordinary good man.

He had this Zen thing, right?

He's low-key, s--
Incredible guy, you know?

Only thing I get from him,

which is painful, is make me
feel not very good man.

From time to time.

So, when you meet
a really good man,

you feel like a asshole.

You follow me?

In my world,
one, prepare to eat better.

Two, you have to be
prepared to be an asshole,

but asshole with a twist, okay?

Not normal asshole.
Specialized asshole.

Mr. Chow taught me
to stand up for myself.

I-I don't take shit from nobody.

Michael:
Another thing is
when you pick up the napkin,

we want to be economical
in one movement,

so we have to study
all this shit, okay?

Every detail
is the universe.

So, we go to the napkin,
and we'll go like this...

Brian Murati:
Staff meeting at 5:30, line up.

Everybody must line up
with the aprons

matching to the ankle.
Everyone the same.

Mr. Chow always believed
in details, details, details.

Yes, details.
"All details are universe."

That's what Mr. Chow says.

Example, every detail
in the universe.

Cut to Karl Lagerfeld.

He said, "What you got there?"
I said, "My bow tie."

He said, "You're wearing
a clip-on bow tie?

"You wearing a--
Are you out of your mind?
Give it to me.

"Give it to me!
(mutters) Take this.

Never wear a clip-on
bow tie, okay?"

"But, no, no!
You don't understand!

It's very difficult to tie
the fucking bow tie."

You know what?
In Mr. Chow right now,
you go there,

everyone all hand-tied.

How do you navigate
somebody who has strong views?

Uh, you listen.

I think that that's the,
the key.

I remember
when I first came here,

there was a periscope
coming down from the ceiling.

And I asked people,
"What is that?"

"Oh, Mr. Chow lives upstairs,

so he can watch over everything
through the periscope."

♪♪

China Chow:
My father had
this big lacquer desk,

and there was this console with
a, uh, remote control camera.

(office phone ringing)

Please come in, Mr. Fisher.

-Mr. Osato is expecting you.
-Thank you.

Max:
My father was
in a James Bond film.

"You Only Live Twice."
He played Spectre 4.

China:
And so, when they would
go to the restaurant,

Max and I would go
and we would
spy with the camera

and see what was happening.

Max:
We would get up,
get on the joystick,

and you'd be panning
across the restaurant.

♪♪

And then,
you'd just see my dad
looking at the camera,

and you'd be like, "Okay,
it's time to go to bed."

He really created
this viewing space,

a little bit like
the Wizard of Oz.

That's when Michael
wanted to watch the restaurant

rather than be
in the restaurant.

Jeffrey:
How do you get
inside Michael Chow?

What's really there?

With the tragedy of
what happened in Shanghai,

th-there is a deep
sadness inside.

I found out about what had
happened to my family, um,

through bits and pieces,
I think, similar to my dad.

I'll say this.

It's not a mistake
that my name's China.

♪♪

I know that I come
from a family

that's had a lot of history.

And that history is both
important

and heartbreaking.

(crowd yelling)

(rhythmic whistling)

(yelling continues)

Cecilia:
Chinese Cultural Revolution.

That time, no one knew
wh-- what it really was.

-(marching)
-(protesters chattering)

In the summer of 1966,

started with
the Red Guards in the truck.

They came after my father.

First thing, they came in,
they kill the dog.

And then it's
group after group
of Red Guards.

Obviously, it's a great tragedy.

Not just my family,
but my family in particular

because my father's name
is so big,

he was the first one
to be purged, so to speak.

♪♪

Cecilia:
They came and condemned him,
saying that,

"You are
a counter-revolutionary."

And my father
pounded the table, saying,

"No! I will not accept it."

China:
And my grandfather
was thrown in jail

and spent many, many,
many years there.

And my Uncle William
was thrown in jail.

Cecilia:
William, he was arrested

because he talked
about Jiang Qin.

And that was a slander
of Chairman Mao's wife.

I remember sitting with Michael.

It was just the two of us.

He had this small voice.

"William has been in prison
for eight years.

William ha--"
Over and over.

(voice breaking)
After 10 years

of criticizing him

and being alone,

house arrested by himself
for so many years,

he got sick.

And then,
he died in the hospital.

It's a great deal
of suffering, but so what?

I don't mean, "So what"
in, uh, in, uh--

In, "My mother
got beaten to death."

What do you want me to say?

Wh-What--

You know,
there are other people suffered.

Everybody suffered.

Tragedy or family tragedy,

no one want to talk about it.

That's how we all
each handled it,

in our own way to survive.

The problem there is

when you don't mourn
somebody properly,

it stay with you forever.

-(subway rumbling)
-(traffic noise)

♪♪

Cecilia:
After the Cultural Revolution,

William wants to leave China.

So, Michael decided that
they can settle in New York

and he will support them.

Michael:
This is 1981.

William came out of China,

and I put on Beijing Opera
in Lincoln Center

to honor my father
with my brother performing

in his role.

Gaby:
William was beautiful.

Very, very refined.
Sort of like...

like a great duke. (laughs)

Michael:
William taught me
a lot about qi style.

In fact, I had
an Andy Warhol interview

with Tina and me.

Andy Warhol:
Your brother's an actor.

How come you never
became an actor?

I always wanted to be, but never
had the opportunity. And then--

Well, you left, left Shanghai
at such an early age.

Left when I was 13,
was already too late.

How did your brother stay on?

Michael:
Well, he-he's older than me,
so he's the number one son.

-Tina Chow: So, he had
the proper training.
-Michael: Yeah. And he's still--

-Tina: Very strict
training, too.
-Michael: Yeah.

So, he stayed on and, uh,
followed my father's footstep.

Then, we go into early '80s
where my brother came out

with his wife Jane

and his two daughter,

who also suffered

during that period.
Dark period.

And they lived on
the 10th floor apartment

which I set it all up,

ready for them, you know,
with loving care.

As usual, down to a

bar of soap, so to speak.

Cut a very long story short,

she jumped.

Gaby:
When his niece took her life,

that really was the straw
that broke the camel's back

for, for Michael
and for all of them.

I mean, you never heal
from something like that.

And I was the one chosen,
I don't know why,

to the morgue to see her,
and that affect me a great deal.

Gaby:
And at that time, Michael,

he wanted to stay upstairs.

Grace:
And, uh, basically, she would
come down in the evenings

and check how everything,
you know,

and looking extraordinary

and swinging with the people,

and that upset him
all the more, I think.

It was carrying on without him,
you know?

♪♪

Joan:
As he retreated,
and she just kind of went out

and was much more
of a public person

than ever before.

They, they sort of moved apart.

Michael:
Tina is extraordinary.

Physically,

and internally, externally,
beautiful woman. You know?

Style, the whole thing.

Lot of desire from others,
right?

♪♪

Grace:
Weird pictures of Tina

all wrapped up in rope
and things.

I hate that picture.

It was ugly!

Helmut Newton,
he saw Michael and Tina

as Tina, the trussed-up
property of Michael.

Michael:
I mean, If you really
wanna get into it,

I'm Fu Manchu,
and she's tied-up slave.

In film noir, you always have

this cynical Chinese
in the background, right?

"Okay, I admit.
I'm the evil guy." Okay?

Because I look like this.
You know? Whatever.

Am I-- I don't know.
And you say to me,

"Oh, why you so obsessed
with this racism thing?"

Well, if I don't upset with it,
who's going to do it?

(solemn music playing)

Adelle:
Michael had disappeared

out of not only the restaurant,

but I think they were
living together,

but it wasn't working

as a family very well.

And then, Tina had an affair

and they moved to LA.

It was so sad. I don't know,
apart from the stuff

that was, you know, published,
in terms of infidelities,

I don't think that helped.

And I think there was a layer
of, uh, public nature to that,

that Michael didn't care for,

that I think he felt, uh,
embarrassed by.

Because Tina
belong to New York,

it's territorial now.

Now, we're dealing
with territorial.

They wanna make me
into the villain, right?

Because the whole community
want to make a villain,

so the villain must be me.

When it's not true.

Well, I was very young
when we left New York.

I think we left New York
in order for them

to try and salvage
the relationship,

and, uh, that was around 1985.

I was probably around
7 years old.

Gaby:
He wanted to move to LA.
That's why LA really happened,

and Tina didn't really
wanna move to LA.

And at that time,
I abandoned my children even--

Not abandoned my children,
but I can't deal with it.

You know, can't deal with it.

So, I'm looking for a cure,
looking for cure,

biding time, looking for a cure.

What time is it? Biding.

Looking for a cure.

Again, I didn't know
what, what is depression,

you know, so, but I obviously
suffer from depression.

I think that there was
a lot of stuff at home,

on, you know, both fronts,

my-- both parents,
uh, that it was just

easier to be in boarding school.

♪♪

Gaby:
It was difficult
for a lot of people,

because everybody loves them

and didn't wanna see
this happening.

And then, of course,
the most heartbreaking

was then
when she got sick.

I was living in Paris
at the time,

and she called me from Japan

where she was
when she found out.

And I just couldn't believe it.

I remember when Tina was sick,
and I remember

people were shocked
that she was sick,

because we weren't used to
women getting it. That's true.

And we were--

had friends who
were clearly already

living with AIDS
and, and dying.

Joan:
Antonio and Juan were sick,

and so many of the guys,
they were dying

in horrible ways

of a disease that had tremendous
stigma attached to it.

Even today, I get,
I get upset

by having lost so many friends.

I mean,
a whole group of people,

creative, brilliant people.

We lost so many of them.

There was also a lot of anger.
And so, people would often say,

"Tina got it from this person--"

And I would say,
"You know what? Who cares?"

And that's a horrible thing
to say,

because whoever she got it from
did not do it deliberately.

When I heard that she was sick,

I went to visit her,

and she was very surprised
to see me.

She was in good spirits,

and she even had the feeling

that she would get well.

She would get well.

♪♪

Adelle:
After Tina died,

a theater director friend
rang me, and she said,

"Do you know how important

"your sister's obituary was

in 'The New York Times'?"

Because no one admitted

to having AIDS,
and the family said,

"This is how she died."

And they, I think,

might possibly have never
covered a woman.

She was very brave.

interviewer 1:
How was it for you
when she died?

The 30 seconds of silence
says it all.

It is what it is.

So, um, to-to-to answer
your question, basically,

uh, I'm equipped to,
to-to deal with it.

To deal with anything, actually.

Yeah, to deal with anything.

♪♪

After Tina died, I think he was
very happy when he met Eva.

(gallery chatter)

They were a good team.

I mean, she's very proactive
and a businesswoman also.

(gallery chatter)

Adriana Berenson:
Eva and Michael,
they were also a power couple.

She has--
also is very charismatic,

and they complemented
each other.

John:
And she became a magic carpet

out of his depression,

and he did, once again,

become active in everything.

I'm excited to see
that one over there.

Happy birthday! (kissing)

-You look great.
-Michael: My son, Maximillian.

-(laughter)
-He's so tall!

Michael:
So, that was a time

where I'm in the mood
for never go hungry again.

So, I have to come back.
So, how do you come back?

I'm gonna build

the greatest
21st-century house.

Then, you have the fronting.

Brian Grazer:
I went to his house
on Mapleton.

He says, "Come to my house."

It blew my mind.

I said,
"Who is the architect?"
(laughs) He said,

"I'm the architect.
I built it."

♪♪

Julian Schnabel:
The first thing
you notice when you go in

is to the right is this
gigantic Keith Haring painting

that's gotta be 12 feet tall
that goes to the ceiling.

And, uh, you go in further,

and it's like
a giant open ballroom.

There's spectacular paintings
on all the walls.

Jeffrey:
I remember sitting
in the kitchen.

I noticed a little painting

leaning against a wall.

I asked Michael, "What's that?"

He perked up.

"That's one of my paintings

from back in the early '60s
in London."

And that is how the whole saga
with Michael Chow

as the reborn artist,

or as he prefers
to call himself now, M,

that's how it began.

(tapping)

(cracking)

Michael:
In Chinese culture...

they have a convention
for the artists...

in creating new name.

So, I choose M.

M is a neutral name.

Is easy for the West,

easy for the East.

And also,

if I paint under
the name... (laughs)

Mr. Chow, it's ridiculous.

(torch hissing)

(crackling)

Julian:
I think that Eva and Michael
had a difficult time,

and painting gave him
that outlet.

And when he started to do that,

he kind of got rejuvenated,
and he, all of a sudden,

was much more enthusiastic
about being alive.

(laughs) Unfortunately,
I'm in the late part
of my third act.

My time is very precious
and very limited.

And I must devote myself
to my painting.

(ladder rattling)

(indistinct background work)

♪♪

Kevin:
It was clear that he and Eva
were not in a good place

and hadn't been for
a very long time.

Eva... (laughs)

(gibberish)
So, I gotta go strip one by one.

(soft laugh)

Simon De Pury:
She is, uh, super strong,
uh, in character,

like, like he is,

and, uh, you know,
they have been partners

for many, many years,

and has played
a big role in his life.

Michael:
Of course, castle has problems.

Can be a prison.
Can be a prison. (laughs)

Uh-oh!
Never thought of that one.

But, life says, "Okay, let's
change the script a little here.

"Let, let's destroy the castle
in order to feel

other magical stuff
waiting for you." You see?

I said, "What is it?"

"Not gonna tell you,
but it's coming."

♪♪

Jose Antonio Alonso Espinosa:
While he was going
through the divorce with Eva,

somebody said,
"Well, if this goes on,

you both are gonna
lose everything."

And he told me,
"You know? I don't give a shit.

"I could go back to the street.

"I lived there before,
so I don't give a crap.

If I lose everything,
I can live in the sidewalk."

(wind blowing)

Michael:
After the high,
you go to the simplicity.

You go to the low.

You go to, back to the,
uh, fundamental,

which is one fork,
one frying pan, one bed.

(rapid breathing) Zen.

And find the universe in that
and start rebuild,

go again.

assistant camera:
Take one, mark.

interviewer 3:
How did you guys meet?

Uh, we met on an elevator.

Yes. We met on an elevator

on the way to a doctor's office.

When I met Michael,
I was in graduate school.

I was, uh, finishing
my graduate degree

in social work, um...

I don't know. He told me
he'd been gambling for 50 years.

You know, so that's kind of
his drug of choice, so to speak.

Um...

And as we started talking,
he became really kind of,

he just started to become aware
and would tell me about, um,

about how he's used gambling
as sort of a,

a way to numb pain.

I played poker all my life.

Recently, I quit.

Means I'm getting better.
Why I'm getting better?

Because I met Vanessa.

♪♪

Vanessa Chow:
I think I was like 27
at the time.

Our age difference
was something

that we openly discussed.

You know, Michael had already
lived this kind of grand life,

and he had adult children.

I think some of them
are older than me. And so...

And he was like,
"Will you marry me,

and will you have,
and will you have my baby?"

And I was like, "Oh, my gosh,
you're crazy, but yes. I will."

(birds chirping)

Dada gonna put you down,

and Dada gonna have some coffee!

Ooh, yeah. Ooh...

I'm living in a movie
all the time.

Instead of three-act movie,
I have five acts, right?

(kiss smacks) Here we go.

(birds chirping)

I find it very challenging,

because, physically,
I have to be athlete

to deal with my youngest son,
Phoenix.

He's 2 years old.

He run around so fast

so I have to keep up.

-(Vanessa speaking inside)
-(door shuts)

I wish I had that skill
when I was, uh, younger.

Dada love you.
See, she smiles.

Vanessa:
Michael insists on looking
after the babies at night.

Yes.

Vanessa:
The kids sleeping and knowing

that their dada is,
like, there,

he thinks is going
to make them strong

and sort of get
their foundation right,

knowing that their father's
always there

while they're sleeping,
and so...

He just thinks that's
really important

for them to, to have that.

-(baby babbling)
-So this is Michael when
he was 6 months old.

-Look at this little cutie.
-Michael: Look like this one.
Exactly the same.

Vanessa:
Yeah. And there's Phoenix
when he's 6 months old.

-They're, like, literally twins.
-(babbling)

Airmail, six cents.

I wrote this when I was 13.

Perfect Chinese,
perfect everything,

-and now, I can't read it even.
-Vanessa: Yep.

-He can't read his writing now.
-(babbling)

Michael:
That moment when
I was 12 or 13 years old

when that door shut,
my heart turned to stone.

So, very fortunate.
She saved my life, you know?

So, she saved my life.

(train rumbling)

♪♪

(yells in native dialect)

Lights!

(lights clicking)

♪♪

-Yes.
-interviewer 2:
What did you see?

Well, I didn't see much.
I see lot of, uh...

mm...

Chinese epic battle.

Hm. That's what I saw.

And I saw, uh...

I saw across the river a sage

and that particular sage
is my father.

I know it's my father.

My best dreams are...

I can fly.

I fly into the sky
like Superman

and I can fly everywhere.

♪♪

(indistinct chatter)

(chatter stops)

China:
The first time that we went
to China as a family,

and he was telling us
about his mom

and talking about the last time
he saw his mom,

I'd never seen him cry before,

and it had such an impact on me.

-(Michael mutters)
-(Cecilia gasps)

(sighs, sniffles)

We didn't get it.
We didn't say goodbye
to our father.

Vanessa:
Yeah, I think his whole life

is sort of a tribute
to his father.

Especially, like,
he said that

the last thing
his dad said to him was,

"Wherever you go,
remember that you're Chinese."

And I think Michael
has really, like, lived that.

Michael:
My father is

the quintessential
Chinese man.

And that's what my journey
is all about.

To fulfill

my father's destiny.

This is a portrait
of, of Vanessa,

and, uh,

sort of blonde
Marilyn Monroe-ish.

So, this one, it's called

"The Pink Drop Giant
Pink Waterfall Drop."

Pulled away from the hole,
and then created this hole,

and it's a drop hanging.
It's very romantic, right?

And this thing keep on growing
due to gravity,

getting longer and longer.
(laughs)

His big handicap as an artist

is that he's already
a star as Mr. Chow.

He's a star as somebody
who's hugely successful

in the restaurant business.

He built an incredible brand

in a different field.

Gallerists who
know him very well,
they're afraid.

They don't wanna show
Michael Chow

because they're afraid
people will say,

"Oh, you know, you're showing
a restaurateur?"

Art world
puts people in silos.

But yes, Michael has
this challenge now.

(ambient traffic noise)

Jacob Twyford:
Before I'd met Michael,
I knew he was a restaurateur.

So when he
walked in the gallery,
I knew who he was,

and I think,
"Great! I'm gonna sell him
a Peter Blake."

And, uh, in fact, he sold me

his entire lifetime's
ambitions.

So, when somebody comes
to me and says, you know,

"Oh, but he's just a wealthy man
who likes to paint."

I say, "No. He was a poor man
who liked to paint.

"He-- Then, he got wealthy,

and now, he's back here,
and he's painting again."

-I want the light to shine here.
-(workers chattering)

(slapping)

This one is upside down as well.
This is the middle panel.

No, no, no! Don't cut it!
Please.

-No, don't cut it yet.
-Why?

(plastic crinkling)
-Michael: Yeah, we, yeah,
we take this off, and later,

we can put this fucker
back if you want.

Sorry, I swearing
because I'm happy.

Don't forget, I'm almost 85.

No, leave it on. L-L-Let me--

Don't touch it.

I prefer to do it myself.
Thank you.

(crinkling)

Jacob:
I think when M was 16, 17,

Cork Street was the place
where he would go
to see other art,

go to meet other artists.

This is where
the conversation took place.

♪♪

Michael:
In 1958, I'm, like, begging
for exhibition here.

And since then, the rejection
in the art world.

Finally,
this is very important
coming home for me.

(majestic music playing)

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

(muffled chatter)

♪♪

Vanessa:
It means so much
to us, you guys.

Michael's been waiting for this,
like, his whole life, you know?

♪♪

Steve Coogan:
I mean, you look
at his paintings,

in actual fact,
they reflect his personality,

which is ambitious
and has a sense of scale.

(gallery chatter)

Kathryn Andrews:
What surprises me
about these paintings,

actually, when you think
about M's trajectory,

is how joyous
and free they are.

I mean, think about this
young boy coming to London,

totally stripped
from his family.

And yet, when I see
these paintings,

they speak about turmoil,
they speak about tension,

but they're also
very just joyous and free.

(gallery chatter continues)

China:
I care more that
he's making the work.

To me, is what's important.

That he has something that
he feels that he needs to say,

and therefore, he is,
he's putting it out there.

(gallery chatter)

Michael:
Whether my present peer
would accept me or not,

it's matter
because I have vanity,

and I, I like audiences,
I like applauses.

By the way,
my father says,

"Don't listen to the...
hand applauding.

Listen to the heart applauding."
Okay?

I'm not that level yet.
I'm working on it.

I'm still
listening to the hand.
I prefer the hand.

♪♪

Max:
What are things that
I've learned from my dad

that have informed
what kind of person I am?

The importance of art
and creativity

is something that is
very important to him, and,

and that it's not trivial.
It's, um...

It's actually one of the things
that makes us human.

(air rushing)

♪♪

(air rushing)

Michael:
Most important thing
about artists is their job

to be true to their time,

true to their dream,

and, above all,

true to themselves.

So, real version of me?
Look into my painting.

And painting can never lie.

Nowhere to go.
Nowhere to hide.

We will find you.

("Na Ge Bu Duo Qing" by
Yao Lee playing over speakers)

Alexa! Play Elvis!

-(singing in Chinese)
-Alexa.

Alexa!

(singing continues)

Alexa!

Alexa! Alexa!

Alexa! Alexa!

(singing continues)

(singing continues)

(singing continues)

(song ends)

(bright, orchestral
music playing)

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

(music fades)