Los Angeles has Winchell's, Krispy Creme and, a new infusion of Dunkin' Donuts outlets, but, the breakfast pastry business is still dominated locally by independent Cambodian bakers and entrepreneurs.
Alice Gu's entertaining Documentary traces the history of that development through the life of Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee who was a General in his homeland who fled to America at the end of the Vietnam war. 'Uncle Ted' as he became to be known by his larger Cambodian family, started off with one shop and soon built a mini-empire when he sponsored dozens of his fellow refugees and helped them set up their own donut stores (taking a cut, of course).
It's a fascinating tale of the American dream come true (Bush Sr. Even awarded Ngoy a Presidential Award. Unfortunately, Ngoy had personal demons, including a gambling addiction and lost it all. Even with his personal downfall, the Cambodian community has continued to have a strong presence in the local donut market with generations following in the footsteps of Ngoy and his extended family's in the business.
Director Gu does a good job piecing together her story using documentary footage (and some animation) to fill in on the history of the Cambodian conflict. She does seem to soft-pedal some of the negative aspects of Ngoy's personal life. There seems to be more to the story which is more hinted at than is shown here. Still, a colorful tale of how a tight knit and rather small community has battled the big corporations and more than held its own.