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Documentary Review: The Donut King (2020) by Alice Gu

The American Dream can also be delicious

During the latest decades, the concept of the “American Dream” has been criticized and even ridiculed as much as it was celebrated back in the 60s and the 70s. The success of a Cambodian immigrant who became (aka Uncle Ted) reminds that the dream was actually a realistic goal at some point, through a rather tasteful approach.

“The Donut King” is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival

Mixing animation, music, archival and historical footage, all excellently connected by Carol Martori's editing, presents the whole story of Ted Ngoy, notwithstanding the historic/political events that resulted in him finding success in America. Going back and forth in time in a fashion that retains interest for the whole of its 90 minutes, the documentary presents the history of war that resulted in thousand of Cambodian migrating from their country, while also highlighting the struggles Ted's Chinese mother had to face in order to take care of him as a single parent. The events that led him to an immigrant camp during the 70s, to the church that sponsored him and his family, to the odd jobs he had to do in the beginning (gas station attendant, door-to-door salesman), to the discovery of the donut and the subsequent training and opening his fist shop all seem like a fairy tale, but it is actually the true story of Uncle Ted.

The first shop he opened, his own sponsorship of other Cambodian immigrants, their training in donut making, and the leasing of their own establishments in California to the point that nearly 80% of donut shops in the Los Angeles area are owned by Cambodian Americans is the second part of the success story. His rise to a true mogul of the area (including a house worth $2 million) and his constant support of his compatriots in any way possible highlight a persona that was humanistic as much as a genius of entrepreneurship. Of course the documentary would not be fulfilled if there was not a reference to the famous pink box, and its presentation, both as conception and its eventual rise as a cultural symbol, is also quite thorough.

Up to its middle part, and particularly after the story of how he met and eventually married his wife, Ngoy's portrait seems like a genuine eulogy. However, Gi does not refrain from portraying his faults also, and particularly how his gambling obsession essentially ruined him and led him to return to Cambodia with almost nothing, in an element that makes the documentary even more shocking.

The eventual emergence of the Dunkin Donuts franchise in the West Coast after a series of failures to do so due to the prowess of Ngoy and his family and colleagues, also moves towards the same direction, as much as the stories of the next generation, who did not want to continue the legacy of the mom-and-pop shop of their parents. However, the reemergence of a new generation of American-Cambodians who has the mind for innovation and the subsequent continuation of the success of the chain closes the documentary in a positive and optimistic note.

Alice Gu's camera follows the ever-smiling uncle Ted through a tour to his past and present, while the interviews with his immediate and more distant family and a number of people he helped shed an even more thorough light to this unique persona. Lastly, the repeated images of donuts are almost unfairly attractive, to the point that the documentary could be perceived as a great ad for this particular kind of pastry.

“The Donut King” is thorough, rich in context if a bit beautified in places, and definitely well shot and edited. The only problem (kind of) is that the viewers will probably run to the closest donut shop as soon as the movie is over.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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