By Emmanuel Kang

"Last Mountain," which opened May 25 in Los Angeles, is a satirical adventure film about a drunken homeless man’s obsession to find a unicorn.

Karus, the homeless drunk, played by Korean American actor Soon-Tek Oh, persuades a young Latina immigrant to join him in his fantasy-like pursuit of the mythical animal, which he is convinced, lives in the mountains surrounding the city.

Set in Los Angeles, much of the action takes place in the Eastside and in the mountains.

The tale unfolds as Karus and Annunciata, played by Lorina Zapata, evade Border Patrol who are pursuing her, believing that she is an undocumented immigrant.

There are some memorable scenes. One was a scene depicting arrogant immigration officials at the local Immigration and Naturalization Office who treat their clients with contempt. Karus, risking his own well-being, thrusts himself into one such setting and fights for Latinos waiting to see officials to seek permanent residency.

The film is action-packed and fast-moving.

There is excitement as the unlikely pair-Karus and Annunciata- travel at high speeds in a van, with plush red interior, to stay a step ahead not only of Border Patrol but her lowrider cousins, who believe she has been caught by the authorities.

The story of the drunken veteran in pursuit of his fantasy and the impressionable young immigrant touches on many dimensions of multiethnic Los Angeles, where immigrants are headed to being a majority.

One dimension that comes through is the insignificance of race and ethnicity as issues between the Asian American protagonist and his Latina partner. Departing from tiresome stereotyping of Asian males in American films, Karus comes across as a man who is strong and can maintain mature, emotional relationship with women. He may be homeless and drunk much of the time, but women are attracted to him.

In "Last Mountain," there is no depiction of Asians in the roles of market owners, martial arts practioners or Confucious-like sages mouthing wise sayings.

The story heats up as Karus and Annunciata search for the unicorn, her low rider cousins look for her, and Border Patrol set up a police dragnet to catch them all. The persistent pair does find the unicorn and captures it. But no sooner than they are seen riding on the unicorn together, Karus is shot by the Border Patrol. There is a touching scene of Annunciata tearfully cradling the dying man.

Oh, a veteran of such popular series as MASH, Hawaii Five-O, and Kung- Fu, is superb in his portrayal of Karus. He emanates an aura of both a mystic and a samurai warrior when he charges on a white unicorn wielding a sword.

Zapata, who is making her feature film debut in "Last Mountain," too, should be commended for her portrayal of Annunciata.

The film, based on a l994 novel, was shot with the Sony HDCAM HDW-700 A Camera according to a statement released with the film. "Last Mountain" revolutionizes filmmaking as the first full-length narrative independent feature in the high definition format, the statement said.

"Last Mountain" was chosen as the premiere-opener for HDFEST 200l that debuted on May 25 at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.