Masashi Nagadoi's Photo #3534558561726115021

I had a delightful luncheon with Adele Yoshioka-san, a.k.a. “Sunny,” at a fantastic authentic Mexican restaurant called CASABLANCA in Venice. Yes, the restaurant recreates the vibrant ambiance of what Rick’s Cafe was like, by displaying tons of movie memorabilia! Needless to say, “Casablanca” is one of the most memorable classic films and one of my favorites.

During my sensitive, confused, and frustrated late adolescence, as a Ronin (having failed to get into my desired art college miserably) after high school without much prospect or direction to move forward in life (largely also due to two other traumatic life-changing events: my girlfriend at that time broke up with me, and my father and I had a strained relationship about my future path — he was a tax accountant, huh!), I often sought solace in the labyrinthine streets of Tokyo, ending up watching movies at the local revival movie theater. It was a protective, sanctimonious, safe, healing space, an escape from harsh reality, seeking mental refuge. I probably watched close to 200 movies during that year. That was when I encountered “Magnum Force (a.k.a. “Dirty Harry 2” for the Japanese Title)”. Clint Eastwood had already established himself as one of the biggest stars; and San Francisco was one of the most desirable cities to live in at that time. I longed for that city, heavily influenced by another favorite movie of mine, “Foul Play”.

I vividly remembered “Sunny,”a beautiful, attractive Asian female character. It was intriguing, impactful, and extremely rare to see an authentic Asian character portrayed in such a manner on par with a male principal in the movies back then. It should be noted that “Magnum Force” was written by John Milius and Michael Cimino! So it was a violent film reflecting the conflict of different values in the ever-changing world of San Francisco. But the fact that “Sunny” stood out was probably because of not only her cinematic, confident presence on screen but also her unique quality of soothing people. Maybe it also has something to do with some sort of my own childhood-heroine syndrome as well as my own older-sister complex if you go deeper psychoanalytically.

Anyway, years later fate would intertwine our paths once more when I got to know Adele-san at the CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) Organization in Hollywood. I found that she is such a warm, supportive, and infinitely considerate person. It’s real. It was my great privilege and gratitude to forge a wonderful friendship with Adele-san. Life has been interesting and blessing. It’s been a truly surreal experience, movie magic!