Projects matching: Shane O'Sullivan

Synopsis

This archival documentary traces the rise and fall of Richard Nixon and the death of the American dream, from the presidential primaries of 1968 through the Watergate break-in of June 1972 and Nixon’s resignation two years later, killing trust in the political process and the American presidency in the wake of the Vietnam War. Narrated by Harry Shearer (THIS IS SPINAL TAP), the film tells the untold story of the Watergate burglars, based on director Shane O’Sullivan’s book on the subject, and explores representations of the Nixon years in popular culture, using the music, commercials, and cinema of the era to evoke the fevered political landscape and the culture wars between Nixon’s silent majority and the radical anti-war left. How MEDIUM COOL, LION’S LOVE and SHAMPOO reflect on the political events of 1968; and how paranoid thrillers like THE CONVERSATION, TAXI DRIVER and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN can be read in the context of the Watergate break-in and investigation which followed.

Synopsis

The story is set in London in the present day. A young Chinese girl (Lili) runs away from an arranged marriage in Hong Kong and comes to London in search of rock-idol Bobby Gillespie. She finds his flat but he's recently moved. An Indian commercials director (Jamal) answers the door and seeing the lost look on Lili's face, invites her up for coffee. He takes a liking to Lili, casting her in a tampon commercial and adopts her as his muse - until his Muslim family finds out. Drawn in by the music and fashion of London's Asian subculture but with no experience of living abroad, Lili stumbles from one cultural faux pas to another until a young, inexperienced Japanese detective living in London (Go) is assigned by her father to track her down. Her short attention-span and inability to stick to one style or boyfriend for more than ten minutes leave him weaving in and out of London's East End searching for clues. The longer he looks for her, the more he falls under her spell until finally, he must choose between turning her in and keeping his business or falling in love. Ravi, the middle-aged owner of a popular Muslim tea-shop in the area, becomes a central figure in bringing the lost souls together in this deadpan detective comedy celebrating the youthful energy of multi-cultural London.