On June 11, 1989, American tennis prodigy Michael Chang was standing on Roland Garros’ Court Central, about to face Stefan Edberg in his attempt to be the first American victor of the French Open’s men’s singles tournament since 1955. Several hours later, he hoisted the Coupe des Mousquetaires as the youngest player to ever win a men’s Grand Slam tournament at 17 years and 109 days old. Chang, the son of immigrants from Taiwan, sealed his victory a day after the protests in Tiananmen Square came to a head.

Drawing on an incredible wealth of archival materials, noted author Jay Caspian Kang, in his directorial debut, uses Michael Chang’s incredible success as a lens to explore the story of Asian immigration and assimilation during the second half of the 20th century. Drawing on themes he explores in his 2021 book, The Loneliest Americans, Kang examines not just Chang’s importance but also what is gained and lost when a family decides to throw everything aside to chase the American Dream.––Jason Gutierrez