Kam Raslan's “ Malayan Spy ” is the kind of novel that sneaks up on you. It spins espionage, history, and unadulterated humanity into a tangled, captivating web, leaving readers questioning what really drives the tides of geopolitical change: grand ideologies or good old-fashioned vices like greed, lust, and ego? (Spoiler alert: it’s probably the vices.) Set in hazy post-war Britain and Berlin, with a lens that zooms into Malaysia’s pre-independence struggles, “Malayan Spy” introduces us to Hamid, an ambitious young man who is at once sharp and self-destructive. Told entirely through Hamid’s perspective, the narrative holds an intimacy that feels confessional. In this way, Raslan’s work is reminiscent of the brilliance of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s “The Sympathizer”; like Nguyen’s novel, “Malayan Spy” unfolds largely as an extended flashback as Hamid revisits the twists and turns of his past, bringing things back full circle to his present as an old man where his story — and the weight of his memories — comes to a quiet rest. “The character of Hamid, he would be my father's generation,” Raslan says. “My father died when I was very young, so I never knew him. But I knew his friends. And so he is an amalgam of people like my father, my father's friends, but also older than my father, almost reaching toward my grandfather. And so I wanted to capture a generation.” “[And] really, it was for me to try to capture my youth, to try to remember youth and the kind of crazy things you do.” Raslan adds.  Make no mistake: Hamid is far from a polished James Bond. He’s messy, morally ambiguous, and, dare I say, a little too human for comfort. “We all have our foibles,” Raslan says. “With Hamid, his one thing is he just likes nice things. But he can’t afford them. So he has to go around to get money, and he’s constantly blackmailing people — but in a charming way. You don’t even notice you’re being blackmailed.” His story is a deeply interior one, offering us an unfiltered view of his insecurities and vices as much as his schemes. It’s these flaws that make him such a compelling lens through which to explore the geopolitical tremors of the era. Raslan doesn’t just hand you the history; he makes you feel it — its betrayals, its bargains, and its body count.  Hamid is someone who lives with the consequences of his own choices. He carries the weight of history, but he’s also markedly shaped by his self-interest and incompetence. This duality of the personal and political runs through the novel like a live wire, never letting you forget the stakes of the games Hamid plays.  As Raslan remarks, “We think that things are decided upon through careful thought. But the actual impulses are just basic greed, lust. And lo and behold, there’s a nation’s destiny laid out by individuals.”  And yet, Raslan doesn’t drown the reader in cynicism. His prose is sharp, often witty, and never wasteful. Beneath the political intrigue and personal flaws lies a deeper meditation on betrayal — not just as a plot device, but as the very glue holding the story’s structure together. From the opening pages to the closing twist, “Malayan Spy” unfolds as a loop of consequences, each more apt than the last. “We are betrayed by time,” Raslan reflects. “We are fundamentally betrayed by time as the nation moves on. [Hamid] is betrayed by time in that he's relating this story to us now when he's in his 80s, and the land that he had invested in has turned its back on him. But the one area where he's not betrayed is by the woman who is just a great betrayer and she's just doing everything it seems to serve herself. But actually what she wants more than anything else is normalcy. And that's the one thing that he can offer. So he doesn't betray her and he doesn't go on to betray her in the future either.” In the end, “Malayan Spy” stretches beyond its genre, offering an intimate examination of the baser instincts that drive both individuals and history. Kam Raslan’s Hamid, with all his flaws, reminds us that behind the grand narratives of nations and politics lie deeply human stories fueled not by noble ideals but by the messy realities of desire, self-interest, and betrayal. This is a story that lingers, inviting readers to look beyond the surface and confront the uncomfortable truths about power, loyalty, and time’s unforgiving march. It challenges us to question who truly pulls the strings in history — and at what cost. About the Author: Kam Raslan is a Malaysian writer and broadcaster. Originally a filmmaker working in London, Los Angeles, Malaysia, and Indonesia, he has written for many publications including “The Economist,” “Mekong Review,” and a long-running column in “The Edge Malaysia.” He hosts two shows on BFM Radio: “A Bit of Culture” and “Just For Kicks.” Kam Raslan is the author of “Confessions of an Old Boy,” a collection of short stories, the various adventures of Dato’ Hamid from the 1940s to the 2000s. The book was first published in 2008 and has been re-issued in 2024. Cover Photo: Courtesy of Penguin Random House SEA

Warning: possible spoilers ahead! Available in cinemas on March 25th On behalf of The Universal Asian, I had the privilege of attending an early screening of A24’s latest offering: "Everything, Everywhere All at Once," written and directed by the dynamic duo known as Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert). Starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Stephanie Hsu, and Jamie Lee Curtis, this frenetic film is nothing short of brilliant insanity. Previously known for "Swiss Army Man," Daniels have crafted a film that truly manages to be everything, everywhere all at once. It encompasses every genre, every tone imaginable all while offering a kaleidoscopic commentary on family, intergenerational trauma, and existential ennui. Michelle Yeoh is inimitable as Evelyn Wang, an exhaustedly numb Chinese immigrant everywoman, as she tries to juggle a tax audit, her emotional distance from her daughter (Joy [Stephanie Hsu]), her father’s perpetual disapproval of her life choices, and a mission to save the multiverse—unceremoniously dropped into her lap by an alternate version of her mild-mannered husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). As she pinballs between versions of herself, she slowly pieces together a realization that family, simultaneously enduring and dysfunctional, is the answer to everything and nothing at all. “She is just absolutely incredible in this role,” says Ke Huy Quan. “Michelle Yeoh, the person, the actress, is very glamorous and beautiful, and for her to so willingly shed all of that and get into this humble, middle-aged woman who is struggling to keep a family together and to finish her taxes at the same time, to see her deliver that performance is amazing to watch, and I’m just in total awe of her talent.” “[This movie] shows the depth of her talent,” James Hong, esteemed veteran actor, adds. He plays Evelyn’s austere father with surgical precision, able to cut into Evelyn’s most vulnerable parts with a single word, in a way only family is capable of. “She’s not just a kung fu artist, as they cast her in a lot of other movies. She is truly a brilliant actress. I think people will see the different dimensions of her.” Photo: Courtesy of A24 In my conversation with Ke Huy Quan, it is surprising to learn that this is his first major role in decades. The resurgent actor delivers his performance with a sweet sincerity, completely natural and believable. “I don’t think I could have done this character had it been given to me 10-15 years ago,” Ke admits. “I was really nervous when the role was offered to me because I hadn’t done it for so long. So, I hired myself an acting coach, a dialogue coach, [and] a voice coach so the [versions] of Waymond could sound slightly different, and most importantly—and more interestingly too—a body movement coach. I wanted the audience to be able to tell which Waymond you’re looking at just by the way he stands and the way he walks and the way he moves.” His hard work most assuredly paid off, giving us three solid facets of Waymond Wang. In a glittering world of entertainment industry success for Evelyn—which takes inspiration from Michelle Yeoh’s own phenomenal career—and corporate success for Waymond, Ke Huy Quan channels the slick vulnerability of a heartbroken ex-lover against a backdrop awash with a sumptuously saturated color palette straight out of Wong Kar-wai’s "In the Mood for Love." In another universe, Alpha-Waymond is a fighting force to be reckoned with in a jaw-dropping fanny pack sequence. But, my favorite version of Waymond is the one in “our” universe, an unfailingly kind, empathetic, nurturing soul with an endearingly meek physicality. He is the backbone of the film, a steady reminder that sometimes strength is not found in battle, but in surrender. It is Waymond who breaks the cycle of trauma in his family with a desperate plea for peace. Photo: Courtesy of A24 “I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to go there emotionally when we did that scene,” Ke Huy Quan reflects. “It was in front of so many people. [But] once I stepped in front of the camera and I started speaking—the first word out of my mouth—it began to hit me. What this character means and what it represents. I’m glad I was able to go there, to give the performance the Daniels wanted. I’ll let the audience decide, and hopefully I don’t disappoint them.” “I wanted it more than anything on the planet when this was presented to me,” he continues, recalling the audition process. “And I’m so grateful to [Daniels] for offering me the opportunity to play this kind human being that believes in empathy and love and respect for each other. And to do this with Michelle and James Hong and Stephanie, and of course the great Jamie Lee Curtis, was just a dream come true.” “The two Daniel guys, they’re crazy,” James Hong says with a chuckle. “In [writing] this movie and directing it. Of course, the producers did a very good job and A24 took a chance in distributing it. I hope it’s a success. I sit here and I wonder, will the people like it? Will they understand what this movie is about?” Amidst the chaos that is "Everything, Everywhere," it’s difficult to hold onto the idea of a single narrative, theme, or message. To me, that is exactly the point. This film is a massively ambitious attempt at a theory of everything, and not in the sense of theoretical or quantum physics. The film swings wildly between existentialism and nihilism. It proposes a meaningless universe in conjunction with a directive to find meaning as a mode of survival. In other words, the world is what you make of it, nothing or everything. Perforated throughout the film is a recurring discussion of the complexity of family and the movement of trauma down and alongside the generations. “There’s a great valley of difference between the two generations,” James Hong acknowledges. The Minneapolis-born actor is a son of immigrants himself. “The old generation from a foreign land, between that group and the one that is born here into rock and roll and jazz and all that modern stuff.” It is this valley that’s slowly and steadily crossed in "Everything, Everywhere." There is a tangible divide between Evelyn and her father, which leads to a jagged edge between Evelyn and her daughter. The friction between the three characters sends sparks flying in a particularly tense scene when Evelyn balks at her father’s seemingly cruel order to kill her daughter to keep them all safe. And, in the background of the multiversal madness, Evelyn struggles to balance her support of her daughter’s sexuality and her fear of her father’s reaction to it. There is something precious in the imperfection of Evelyn’s character, a monument to the somewhat hypocritical nuance of humanity. Cover photo: Courtesy of A24

"The Wedding Banquet" (2025) is now in theaters. Photo: Courtesy of Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures In 1993, Ang Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet” broke ground as one of the earliest films to bring a queer Asian love story to a global audience. It was a story of compromise, of navigating the delicate balance between cultural tradition and personal truth. For many, it was a revelation, a rare glimpse of queer life framed not by tragedy but by humor and heart. Thirty years later, the world has shifted in profound ways, and with it, the story of “The Wedding Banquet” has found a new chapter, reimagined for 2025. At the heart of the original film was a singular question: How can one stay true to themselves while upholding the expectations of family? In 1993, the stakes were clear. Marriage was portrayed as the finish line, a hard-won victory for those who could claim it. For Wai-Tung and Simon, balancing a sham marriage and a closeted existence was as much about survival as it was about love.  Photo: Courtesy of Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures The 2025 reboot, helmed by an ensemble cast including Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Lily Gladstone, and Han Gi-Chan, takes that foundation and builds something bolder. It shifts the focus from marriage as the ultimate goal to the broader, messier questions: What else is part of an evolving relationship? Marriage is great, but what about parenthood? Choosing a family? How do we navigate the responsibilities and uncertainties of queer love in a landscape that is both more accepting and more precarious? Bowen Yang reflects, “I feel like we're still collectively figuring out how to move into those spaces of acceptance that feel uncomplicated and don't have an asterisk to them. It just feels very relatable. And there's the power in that.” The reboot captures that relatability by refusing to shy away from the complexities of queer life today, where the victories of the past coexist with the challenges of the present. Photo: Courtesy of Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures Family, of course, remains central to “The Wedding Banquet,” but the film reexamines the theme through the lens of chosen family. In this updated vision, family is not just a biological bond but a conscious act of connection and support. “Between Angela and Min, they choose their biological family, to bring them into the fold after years of being alienated by them,” says Bowen Yang.  “It’s kind of a double meaning. There’s the family you choose, and then there’s the act of choosing your family,” adds Lily Gladstone. “I have my own perspective that is shared widely through Indian country. We're not a homogenized society, but there are some things that are kind of common. And one of those is this concept of chosen family. We keep really tight record [of our family lineage] orally and [for] the last couple hundred years for government purposes, on paper. Adoption is as good as blood. Like when you're coming of age, and you're starting to date around, your family lets you know who you're related to and who you're not, so you don't cross those lines.” Bowen Yang and Han Gi-Chan, who play one half of the central couples, bring a contemporary depth to their roles (Chris and Min, respectively). Their characters delve into the complexities of queer relationships today: the shadow of generational trauma, the weight of societal expectations, and the joy of building something entirely new. Their story isn’t just about coming out; it’s about staying out, about the daily acts of courage required to live authentically in a world that still resists full acceptance. Photo: Courtesy of Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures “Min feels like he can't come out to his family because it would cut him off from something that he feels rooted to,” says Bowen Yang of his co-star’s character. “[And] Angela had a pretty tumultuous coming out that ended up boomeranging back into overcorrected acceptance. She still feels alienated even though it feels like it's this thing that's being embraced about her now. The movie does a really amazing job of mending those wounds as the story progresses.”  “I agree,” Kelly Marie Tran adds. “I also think Kendall’s coming out and the idea that Chris takes care of them in this process is also such a beautiful depiction of what a coming out can be if you have a family that doesn't accept you.” Photo: Courtesy of Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of “The Wedding Banquet” is also its most coincidental: the timing of its release. While the film was crafted as a deeply personal story about queer love and family, its arrival feels a little bit like fate, or at least a blessing, shining as an inadvertent beacon in a sociopolitical climate battered by conflicting waves of progress and backlash. “We didn't make a political film,” says Lily Gladstone. “We made a film that had really solid bedrock with socioeconomic, cultural comments without being explicitly about queerness, about culture, about gentrification. Those are all just the world that this family finds themselves in. And I think that makes a film that represents people really authentically where they're at. And the rest of the ship was just built so well that it can weather a lot of different seas. So I do feel like it does have this timeless element because it embraces and acknowledges the culture and the time that we find ourselves in, and each character's proximity. It makes space for widening the lens and the conversation about queerness globally and culturally.”  “I learned just now that it is not a safer time for LGBT communities to live peaceful lives,” Han Gi-Chan says. “We didn't plan this timing [for the movie] to come out. And not only for those communities, but every humanity on earth could see this movie and feel what family means, what love means to them. It's a story for all times. We live with a family, we live with love.” “I feel like we did create this big warm hug of a film for people that we always intended to,” Gladstone adds. “We didn't know that we were making such good medicine for the times ahead for people who needed it.” Bowen Yang echoes this sentiment, noting, “They say hyperspecificity ends up being universal. I feel like this kind of hyperspecificity ends up being relevant and timeless. And it's never not going to be important to touch on these things, just like how the original movie was relevant at the time [and] still is.” About "The Wedding Banquet" (2025): Run: 87 minutes Director: Andrew Ahn Screenplay: Andrew Ahn and James Schamus (Based on the screenplay by Ang Lee & Neil Peng and James Schamus) Producers: Anita Gou, p.g.a., Joe Pirro, p.g.a. Featuring: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-Chan, Bobo Le, Camille Atebe, Joan Chen, Youn Yuh-Jung Directors of Photography: Youn Yuh-Jung Production Companies: Bleecker Street, ShivHans Pictures, Kindred Spirit & Symbolic Exchange Cover Photo: Courtesy of Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures

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Erika is a Korean adoptee (KAD). < Back Erika Fisher Contributor Erika Fisher is an #importedAsian from Korea; born in Seoul and raised in the U.S. While her professional background is in international education, she’s also worked as a freelance writer, editor, and writing instructor for nearly 20 years. Erika currently lives in London with her husband and two children, and has previously lived in Kenya, Thailand, and the U.A.E. You can find her at www.erika-fisher.com .