Close Call: A Teen’s Rebellion Tamed by Love By Nicole Kim A close call between the destruction and salvation of an adolescent’s wreckless path to self-revelation is the premise of the independent film by director Jimmy Lee. Seven years in the making, “Close Call” is a piercing, raw venture deep into the life of a lost Korean-American teenage girl who finds solace in creating havoc in her life to replace the rejection of her workaholic mother. Described by Yolk Magazine as “disturbing, powerful, intense, and realistic,” “Close Call” takes a brutal glance at Asian American youth culture, urban-style. The bold, counterculture film metaphorically envelops the anxieties of the disillusionment of the fabric between the traditional, first generation immigrant parents and the stuck-in-between identity crisis of second-generation Asian American offspring. Simultaneously, another issue the movie puts on trial is the deterioration of the family structure in the modern American society. Divorce tears apart the nuclear family; the father deserts then, 10-year-old Jenny (Annie Lee), and returns to the motherland to pursue journalism. Meanwhile, the mother is forced to work continuously to support Jenny. Bitter at the world and completely vulnerable, Jenny plunges into the risky underground life of raves, drugs, sex and boys, boys, boys in the tempestuous city of Los Angeles. It is through this tumultuous path of losing herself in the darkness of crime and destruction that her dad brings her back from her self-demise. The generational gap is bridged by the loyal, unconditional love of a father, and his raving attempt to save his baby girl. According to Yolk, “Close Call” is “graphic content contrasted with melodramatic Korean old world culture that makes for a story that has never been told with such honesty.” Traditions of the East mesh with the new, Americanized ways to create a cultural web that develops unexpectedly from a world of antagonism into one focused on cooperation. Born and raised in Los Angeles, lead actress Annie Lee is no stranger to the entertainment industry with previous experience on stage and in various short films. However, “Close Call” is this UCLA graduate’s first feature film debut. Director, Writer and Producer Jimmy Lee established Prime Media Pictures in 1999. “Close Call” was shown as a Feature Film in the 2001 San Diego Asian American Film Festival. Stay tuned for this striking film. It breaks the squeaky-clean image to reveal a dramatic, intense Asian American life most would rather not expose. “Close Call” is expected to be released in select theatres around the Los Angeles and Orange County area.