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Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Minh Duc Nguyen
Starring: Porter Lynn, John Ruby, Melinda Bennett and Long Nguyen

With a deft piece of editing, the opening montage of “Touch” delivers a promise that, despite a no-name cast and filmmaker, we’re in for something special about a very specific community.

A light comedy painted with brushstrokes of both drama and humor, the film’s core is constituted by Tam (Porter Lynn), a quiet nail technician who is a magician at bedazzling her client’s fingertips, and Brendan (John Ruby), a male mechanic embarrassed by his grease-stained hands who is seeking help with a condition that has become a point of consternation for his wife. From moment one of Brendan’s meeting Tam, it’s clear that Tam’s touch and attention, two things clearly missing from his relationship, enchant the first-timer.

With the exception of her work at the salon, Tam’s world is one without intimacy, her routine drowned in familial duties and responsibilities to her wheelchair-bound father. She’s committed to her family, a trait learned through (perhaps unnecessary) flashbacks. Brendan, too, is committed to his marriage and uses his interactions with Tam to glean information with which to pursue his wife despite an ambivalence that would end many a union.

Despite some over-the-top amateur acting in one or two tiny roles, director Minh Duc Nguyen carves out many moments of truth in the nail salon that provides the film’s meeting point. Almost as a Greek chorus, the Vietnamese workers comment on their clients’ stories in their presence, able to disguise their disinterest, disdain and disgust via a barrier of language that, through subtitles, brings the audience inside their community.

The salon and its workers create an environment of riches, a sense of family in which each unit has an individual voice, a trait so often missing at the independent level.

While a co-worker seeks to set Tam up with her nephew, that scenario serves to juxtapose a social awkwardness with the ease of communication developing between Tam and Brendan. The more Tam counsels Brendan on reigniting his marital relationship, the further she is drawn out of her soft-spoken shell.

At 1 hour 45 minutes, the film feels a little drawn out and could be helped by a better score. The music in the film is its weakest element, a strange combination of poppy Vietnamese songs and Spanish guitar instrumentals that hamper the film’s access and add a cheesiness that isn’t present in the leads’ performances.

The film’s cinematography is worthy of its own special credit. Shot with clarity in both lighting and framing, the lensing adds a ton of value to the filmmaker’s low-budget project and is representative of what can be achieved regardless of a film’s financial constraints.

While Ruby provides an honest performance, quiet and interesting in his role as Brendan, Lynn is a revelation as Tam, exuding a confidence and bravery that showcase her talent in a way that should be exploited for further successes. Director Nguyen has delivered a find worthy of the festival circuit and, with some minor adjustments in his pacing and music choices, should definitely be added to your “someone to watch” list.

Photo: John Ruby and Porter Lynn “Touch”; photo © A Gray Picture