Way too many links

Before we get to the matter of lots of links I need to state that Mr C has posted his winners and losers at the NYAFF over at Planet Chocko. If you're curious what his take is on the festival follow the link to find out. (I should also add that he's off to San Diego Comicon and has promised to report in if he should come across something really good.)

Now on to the business at hand---

While we at Unseen Films have been engaging in cinematic overload enmasse I've been collecting links to various articles across that thing known as the Internet. In order for you to help you kill time before your next film I now present way too many links:

The Asian American International Film Festival is coming up August 10 to the 20th. You can follow the link but I'll have a post on it up in a day or so.

The dangers of over reactive film fans

Hitchcock Cameos


Bill Murray Reads Poetry

Expectations on Pixar

Looking Back at Labyrinth

The first 12 Years of Film Threat on line

Robert Altman's California Split

Movie Posters

Leonard Lopate talks to Tsui Hark about the Star Asia Award and then talks about how the 1970's were a golden age for horror films.

Yet another piece relating to the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image.

On shooting Dreamchild.

The Chess Match in the Seventh Seal analyzed.

Terrence Malick's film The Tree of Life is causing lots of people to walk out. Here's a piece about asking for a refund.

Up N'Atom- weird cartoon from Columbia studios in 1947 that is more like a Tex Avery or Looney Tunes cartoon than it has any right to be.

DB and a few final thoughts on the NYAFF- Plus the Audience award winners

On the day that the Audience Award for the NYAFF were announced I find myself trying to write up some kind of summation for this years festival but I find I can’t come up with anything more than what I said when I sent a thank you to everyone who worked on the festival, namely the festival kicked ass. It’s direct to the point and sums up my feelings.

I had a great time and I’m so happy that the festival has not only gotten better but also managed to control any growing pains. It remains steadfastly about the films and the fans and not about anything else. I say this because earlier this year one of my other favorite festivals of the same age seemed about to morph into something else and possibly even jump the shark. Happily none of that is apparent with Asian Film Festival, it's the same festival we've all loved for years just a little more mature and taller in stature.

Since there is little to say beyond the festival kicked ass, I thought I’d give you a list of my favorite films of the festival, plus my very short list of disappointments (because everyone else is doing the best of lists).

My favorite films of the festival, in no particular order are:

Troubleshooter- a wonderful popcorn movie that does what it does so well that you don’t care you’ve seen variations on the plot before.

Abraxas-Finding your way and finding bliss even if it means playing punk rock when you’re a Buddhist monk. Electric doesn’t begin to describe it.

A Boy and His Samurai-talk about feeling good and being happy. This won the Audience Award for this year (See Below)

Machete Maidens Unleashed- The perfect exploitation film except it’s a damn fine documentary…how’d that happen?

Mr Taps’s Holiday- There were maybe only 25 of us in the shorts screening so almost none of you can understand the feeling of having a bizarre premise of a man with a water tap in his head go from one of the biggest WTF films to one of the most romantic films ever made over the course of 30 minutes. Amazing doesn't describe it.

Ninja Kids- pure Miike silliness at it’s best

Milocroze: A Love Story- uneven but when it’s on, which is most of the time, it’s as wild and wanton and amazing a film as you’ll ever find.

Ringing in Their Ears-by the time the climatic concert ends you’d be smiling from ear to ear. Joy in easy to take movie form.

Unjust-Sydney Lumet hasn’t died, he’s just gone to Korea. Bleak corruption tale will curl your toes.


Almost on the list, and still fighting for position:

Gantz- both films together tell one hell of a story- but it’s so clunky and seems to be missing some explanation that they just miss being on a favorites list. (This was second on the list of Audience Favorites)

Heaven’s Story-The story haunts me, but it’s a bit too long at almost 5 hours, but the film has been the source of endless debate.(And were this a best of festival list instead of a favorite list it would be on it---It was the fifth favorite film of the festival for audiences)

Sell Out was one of the most cynical movies ever made and one of the funniest. It also has a couple of amazing musical numbers that Broadway would be jealous of.

Punished blew me away when I saw it but it kind of got lost with the weight of everything else. I reserve the right to change this films position based upon a second viewing.(and if you don’t let me I’ll have Anthony Wong beat you up)

13 Assassins was not included above because it’s already a favorite and has only gotten better in the directors cut, but how many times can I gush about a film.(Similarly Reign of Assassins or Detective Dee)



There were a few things that disappointed me this year, chief among them is completely missing every introduction and interview done by Grady. How did I manage that? Sure I talked to Grady in passing a couple of times but there is something about his boundless energy that makes it fun to go to see a movie. There is always next year…and the Korean Cultural Service screenings.

As for movies---

The second half off Karate-Robo Zaborgar was a complete collapse of a great film that made me not want to see it again.

Last Days of the World worked less and less the more I saw it. I’ve seen it multiple times now in an effort to decide what I thought of it and I’ve finally decided it’s a miss, a nice idea poorly done, and losing it’s way after a clever start.

Yellow Sea is a good film that just wasn’t worth the effort I put into see it (There is a long story here and if you knew it you'd understand). It’s too much of the same thing over too long a period of time and it doesn’t hold a candle to the directors earlier film The Chaser. While I do give the film points for the creative use of sharp objects, I can't find the love many people have for the film only the like.

Osamu Tezuka's Buddha didn’t work for me. I wanted to love it but the compression of a story near and dear to me is too great so that it seems like it's all highlights and no emotion.

The two least films of the festival were the shorts Debris and Tunnel which, together made up a half an hour of my life I’ll never get back, and would really love to, I mean there is an episode of Gilligan's Island I haven't seen enough times.

And that ends my thoughts on this years NYAFF. It's been a hell of a year and if I get to bed now I just may have rested enough by the time it all starts up next year...


For those who didn't click on the link above the top five films as voted by audiences are as follows:

1 A Boy and His Samurai
2 The Gantz Films
3 Ocean Heaven
4 Reign of Assassins
5 Heaven's Story

The full list with commentary can be found here.

Mondocurry NYAFF Reflection Part 2: FURIOUS FEMME FATALES and other acknowledgements

Having gotten my big TOP 5 list out of the way, I transmit to you one more round of reactions to my favorite film event to write about, the New York Asian Film Festival.

A question about this year’s tenth anniversary blow out, which was even raised by Subway Cinema’s twitter feed, is where were all the women? There were no female guests, and a scarce 3 films (one of which I was not such a fan of) were directed by female directors. Fortunately, there was no lack of girl power on the screen, as women featured prominently in many of this year’s new and old titles, kicking ass and fighting the powers that be.

In honor of that, I’ve come up with the following list to acknowledge those razor sharp female performances. As usual, I feel the need to disclaim that its only based on the movies I watched and prone to glaring omissions (for instance Dragon Inn, a movie I didn’t see during the fest, features Maggie Cheung in an action role!). Following the list is a quick look at some films that I feel deserve special recognition for particular achievements.

TOP 5 FURIOUS FEMME FATALES












1. Asami as Nonoko in HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR

Who is really in control when women are presented as sexual objects for men’s fantasies? In answer to this question is a brilliant scene where men ecstatically ogle girls’ exposed bottoms as if it is the greatest day of their lives. Meanwhile on the other side of a partition, Asami crouches in the crudest of manners, shooting the breeze with her colleagues like it’s just another day of parting the typical male slave to his sexual longing with his money. Of course unbeknownst to the men, they will lose more than just their cash…Asami leads the charge with a portrayal of maniacally energetic sexuality, which climaxes in her violently and bloodily rendering her john sexually powerless. She literally uses sex as a weapon, making the metallic vagina dentata she wields seem to fit like a …not a glove…I’ll leave you to finish that simile on your own.

2. Chiaki Kuriyama as Chigusa and Kou Shibasaki as Mitsuko In BATTLE ROYALE

Eleven years later, Battle Royale is still a shocking vision of kids embroiled in blood spattered violence, not the least of which involves aggression-fueled teenage girls. While Chiaki Kuriyama would go on to international notoriety as the giddy ball and chain swinging right-hand school girl in KILL BILL, Kou Shibasaki’s role as Mitsuko comes from an even darker place. She adapts to the kill or be killed mentality of the program immediately and, with a hunter’s proficiency, eliminates several classmates from the game. Chigusa (Kuriyama) lashes out against a classmate’s lustful obsession and attempt to threaten her into sexual compliance. There are hints that Mitsuko had been dealing with being ostracized from her classmates, forced to grow up too quickly at the hands of abusive father figures (this is explored further in the manga of the same name). They both represent a bloody blast of youthful female rage against elements of a male dominated society.

3. Seo Young-Hee as Bok-Nam in BEDEVILLED

Of all the female protagonists in this year’s movies, Bok-Nam has arguably the biggest cross to bear. She is good hearted and simple and sadly all alone to deal with an isolated existence on a remote island shared with a handful of abusive males and a community of elderly women that turn a blind eye in resentment. When the abuse extends beyond her to her daughter, her mind has nowhere to go but blank. Seo Young-Hee turns in an enthralling performance as an over the edge murder machine with a focus as razor sharp as the scythe she brandishes. One psychosexual scene finds her provocatively seducing her tormentor before exacting a painful revenge that is sure to please audiences looking for hard earned onscreen retribution.

4. Norie Yasui as Lulu/Junko in LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO

The character of Lulu is perhaps the most complicated and least action-oriented of the list. We meet her as a shy and withdrawn girl with a troubling home environment and a diminished job situation. When opportunity, in the form of a successful porn video casting, arises she transforms herself into a 2-dimensional cliché of a male fantasy to escape from life’s hardships. With support from another strong female role Ayano, whose stress outlet of choice is clubbing away with a baseball bat, Lulu sheds this shallow persona. In a striking final scene, the weary, self-aware, and more alluring than ever Junko (no longer prone to using the moniker Lulu) looks her oppressor in the eye and hits back. Whether she ends up all right or not in the end isn’t important. It’s Norie Yasui’s transgressive portrayal of a girl fighting back that puts her on the list.

5. Pam Grier as various, Marie Lee as Cleopatra Wong, Jeanne Bell as TNT Jackson, and others in MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED

Pam Grier may have faired best in the end, but all of the real life fierce females featured in this Australian documentary on exploitation films made in the Filipino deserve to be acknowledged. Putting storyline exploitation to the side, the film asks if the actual struggles these girls put up with in the rugged jungle as movie set was worth it. Regardless of the answer, these actresses would not give up on dreams of stardom without a fight, sticking it out through the harshest conditions. Whatever the cause, be it the directors’ input or the market’s call for something new to drive up box office sales, there were few onscreen depictions of desperate damsels here. For whatever abuse was dished out by male tormentors, it was given back double in crazy explosions of violence by way of kung fu, machine guns, and of course those weed whacking blades called machetes.


ADDITIONAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Best Visuals – MILOCRORZE (dir. Yoshimasa Ishibashi)

This movie had hands-down the best look of any of the films in the festival this year. Had it packed the same emotional punch as the films I listed in my Top 5, it would’ve absolutely been my favorite film of the festival.

Best Soundtrack – THE UNJUST (dir. Ryoo Seung-Wan)

I should point out right away that the director’s previous festival hit, CITY OF VIOLENCE, which also screened this year, is another shining example of making excellent use of a film score to enhance a movie’s action. In THE UNJUST, there is a repetitive swirl of strings and drums that perfectly punctuates the dizzying, spiraling grip of panic that closes in around the corrupt protagonists. To get a sense, watch the clip of the far underwatched Subway Cinema trailer for their Korean Sea of Revenge program. The sounds from THE UNJUST comes in like a swarm of pissed off hornets at the 9 second mark and last until the 17 second mark.



Best English as a Second Language Comedy – SELL-OUT (dir. Yeo Joon Han)

This Malaysian movie has nonstop laughs, in English! It keeps up a hilariously absurd dialogue both in spite of and in full recognition of the potential for miscommunication and the unnaturalness of the thrown together English dialects as a lingua franca, often making it the subject of the jokes. The witty crafting of words continues right through to the show tunes ala karaoke box that make up the musical numbers of this stand out bizarre satire. Enjoy the "Money Song" below for a bit of the lyrical genius, subtitled for your convenience!



Best Erotic Moment – LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD (dir. Eiji Uchida)

I may be unnecessarily revealing deeply disturbing scars in the inner recesses of my psychological makeup, but that thing that the guy does with the thing, and then that other thing happens…that was pretty hot!

With much anticipation, I await the excitement that you bring our way next year, New York Asian Film Festival 2012!

Follow me on twitter? @mondocurry

Mondocurry NYAFF Reflection Part 1: TOP FIVE FAVORITE NEW FILMS

It’s that time…time to wrap up thoughts on this year’s extra celebratory New York Asian Film Festival. Not only was it an extremely significant year for the festival as it whooped it up for its tenth anniversary, but personally it was a high point because it marks the first year I officially joined up with Team Unseen to offer my feedback on the course of events. It was at last year’s NYAFF that I met DB and enjoyed some good times over some unique films…which came after a year or so of exchanges through our respective stream of conscious-esque blogs (that starting right around the conclusion of the NYAFF from the year prior to that). That has all lead to me writing directly for Unseen, a move that’s caused me to up my writing game (which I acknowledge is still rather amateurish) and enjoy a sense of community around appreciating films.

Now then, let’s stop sniffling and move the hanky to the side. Here are my Top 5 favorite films from the 2011 New York Asian Film Festival…

BUT FIRST, a disclaimer: this is an EXTREMELY SUBJECTIVE list, which only includes films I have seen and by no means reflects the entire array of films at the festival. To those of you who saw it all, I salute you (and I’m also a little afraid of you!) It is a festival that opens the doors to several unique movie watching paths, which fall under the umbrella of ‘Asian film.’ I definitely wear my preferences on my sleeves and chances are, had I seen more films, they still wouldn’t make it as high up on my list as those that piqued my interest enough for me to grab a ticket. For the most part, I saw what I wanted to see except for The Yellow Sea, which may not have changed my list much as it received some rather ambivalent reactions from my film watching compatriots. Last off, I did not include for consideration a few films in the lineup that I had already seen prior to NYAFF and did not watch again during it. Therefore, monstrously good films like 13 ASSASSINS and DETECTIVE DEE AND THE PHANTOM FLAME were not regarded as candidates, which in a way is fortunate because I don’t envy the task of determining favorites with those monumental movies in the mix.
Now then, THE LIST

TOP 5 NEW FILMS

1. BEDEVILLED

It seems strange to put a straight up genre film at the top of the list. But, as a suspense fan, this movie had me riveted from beginning to end. The setup depicting a corrupt and chauvinistic contemporary urban Korea invoked its due outrage. The calm before the storm on a remote island masterfully built up an unsettling feeling of dread, making the explosion of rage in the film’s final act well earned. It was not without its twists: are we supposed to cheer for abused Bok Nam’s path of carnage. The NYC (home to Bernie Goetz NYC as it were) audience certainly felt so. But isn’t she trying to kill the main character? And why isn’t the similarly tormented main character joining in the transgressions? It all comes together in the end to show a difficult coming to terms and a realistic transformation within a still imperfect world. Bedevilled is head and shoulders above the last female character driven Korean thriller that I remember getting a US theater release, THE HOUSEMAID, so here are strong hopes that this will see the inside of some theaters too.

2. RINGING IN THEIR EARS

Some films are based around an emotionally moving story. Some are cleverly composed. This movie is both, although it is not 1 but rather 4 (and maybe more than that!) engrossing tales that are told. The music by Japanese DIY success story Shinsei Kamattechan is unique and engaging, and even when it is far from universally appealing, is filled with heart. Meanwhile, they have a bona fide hit that I would challenge anyone with a love of rock music to resist nodding his head to. In lesser hands this would be little more than an indie rock infomercial, but Yu Irie made this a very special multi-faceted film that needs to be experienced to be felt, and is deserving of loads of attention.

3. HEAVEN’S STORY

I didn’t expect this to go on my favorites list. Was I really going to put it there just because of its novelty of being four and a half hours long? Just because it has the commodity of being seen by a scant few people at its one afternoon screening? No, it is in my top 5 list because it’s four and a half hours long and kept my rapt attention and left me feeling like every part of my body was numb except for my heavily throbbing heart. The time spent lingering on the characters and their relationships makes you feel all the more in tune with the weight of the burdens they bare. It is a story about real life, with birth and death examined in full. Yet, it also weaves an incredible tale whose unlikelihood becomes irrelevant in the face of its masterful telling. Watch it all at once, and if you trail off during parts, be sure to listen to the hauntingly beautiful song over the credits, which actually more or less retells the entire story!

4. ABRAXAS

For me, this was all about the noise. I love noise in music. And so does the ne’er do well with a heart of gold retired indie rocker turned monk in the lead role of this subtle drama. His obsession with it comes across as entirely authentic. Noise is a conduit for his rage, despair, confusion, loss, and joy. Its use never comes off in a gimmicky fashion; it is powerful, even as it is wrapped within a narrative that moves to the beat of a quaint small town drama. I found many of the festival’s most heartbreaking and joyous moments on film right in this movie.

5. LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO

This one also surprised me by slipping into my Top 5 list. I think I’m influenced by the fact that a few moments had me genuinely disliking the film when it shifted gears and changed my feelings drastically to ones of deep compassion for the main characters and respect for the film. What a turnaround! It is a thoroughly interesting film to look at, giving occasional glimpses of jagged claustrophobic Tokyo alleys with blistering sounds in the background. Then, there is the world of porn in glorious Technicolor. Scenes sparkle and pop before giving way to the ugly reality behind them. This film deals with some disheartening, yet fascinating, aspects of reality, both within and outside of the realm of the Japanese adult video industry. It is not an easy ride, watching the trials that are in store for the movie’s very sympathetic characters. Its surreal path towards tackling some very serious issues planted it firmly within my favorites of the festival.

It may seem glaringly one sided that 4 of the 5 movies are from Japan. It could be that I got swept up in the tide of strong feelings being evoked by seeing a series of great Japanese movies in succession. Or maybe there is just some bona fide exciting activity going in Japanese film, which is being reflected in the movies screened at this year’s NYAFF (the current Japan Cuts lineup may offer further evidence of this). 2 years ago, the situation was reversed with my favorite movie hailing from Japan, but four excellent films from Korea making up the rest of my top 5.

I also notice my picks lean towards certain genres. All of them, to a pretty big extent, can be considered dramatic and have aspects of real life societal ills being dealt with. They are dark and yet not one of them is without some uplifting or inspiring aspects. Perhaps I was thinking more along the lines of my recent interests rather than taking a well rounded look at the qualities of this year’s films. However, I didn’t always lean towards films of that nature. During previous festivals I delighted in finding the most WTF moments and was excited by the most fantastical visions. Maybe these serious dramas were just made better than those other films? At the very least, I think it’s worth considering the possibility that an exciting movement of sorts is going on that’s putting real life matters in the context of stylized and imaginative onscreen storytelling. I feel it is reflected to some extent in all of the films I put on my list.

On that note, here are a few films that were really close to the top in my heart, but either because of their genre or lack of darkness, were passed over in favor of the five films above. Thank goodness, then, for

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

MILOCRORZE

SELL-OUT

MACHETE MAIDENS

THE UNJUST

These films will likely be acknowledged for something noteworthy in part 2 of my reflection on this year’s New York Asian Film Festival.

Follow me on Twitter? twitter.com/mondocurry

The Yellow Sea: last screening - NYAFF 2011

The 10th annual NY Asian Film Festival came in whimpering to the theme of love & being horny on the 1st day of screenings to going out with a bang on the Yellow Sea of revenge by the 14th night! Mucho thanks to the guys & gals at Subway Cinema for organizing such a fun event!



THE YELLOW SEA directed by Na Hong-Jin, part of the korean sea of vengeance themed programming was the last screening on this fortnight of NYAFF bliss! Let me highlight a few things from this festive night that made the finale quite unique before going off on a tangent with an abbreviated mr. c monarch note of the film. Trouble would lurk in the projection booth at Walter Reade Theater before the Yellow Sea screening. There were technical difficulties with projecting the subtitles and/or they didn’t have the right format of the film for the showing. The movie seemed to be of the digital projection variety as opposed to traditional film with no subtitles burned onto the image. The director, Na Hong Jin had to use power point with the english text translations on each slide to translate the dialogue for all the scenes in the movie while he tapped on the computer to forward each slide in morse code like rhythm to be in sync with the conversations in real time! The power point slide would be projected onto the digital print of the movie on the bottom of the screen where traditional burned in translations would be! Na Hong Jin did a great job with the subtitles as his timing was impeccable! There were a few instances when the subs were a millisecond or two ahead of the dialogue but better early than late, I suppose! The director told us that he had only one hour to prepare for this debacle! Kudos to Na Hong Jin for rolling with the punches to allow us to watch this film! The 2nd highlight or more accurately, lowlight of the night was the Q&A session after the screening. Some of the questions that were asked by the audience to the director were totally ridiculous & quite embarrassing in my opinion. It definitely made the Q&A awkward & sort of weirded out the night to an otherwise enthusiastic crowd for the screening! The translator also looked confused. Maybe she botched up the translations so we didn't look as bad?! The 1st question/comment posed to Na Hong-Jin from the audience was: I screened this film in China a few months ago & I liked that version better. Do you think an alliance or collaboration with East Asia is important? *WHAT?*
The 2nd question was: How many cars did you smash up on the set? Another bright question: How pertinent was North Korea in relation to the film? *WHAT?* The film had nothing to do with North Korea. It was all about South Korea, China, & the ethnic Koreans living in China. You should of seen the look on the director & translators face! One south asian film student asked: Do you think about the edited portion of the scene before you actually shoot the footage? *WHAT*
The one question that took the golden trophy was (not in these exact words): What is going on with Korea & the epidemic of recent thriller-killer-violent films like the Yellow Sea, I Saw the Devil, The Chaser, and so on! What does that say about Korean society? *STEREOTYPE* It’s called entertainment, buddy!

To be honest, I had mixed feelings about THE YELLOW SEA. The movie had big budget aesthetics written all over it and it seemed to be expertly filmed minus a little bit too much of the shaking camera syndrome & closeup shots to show intensity when under the duress of a life or death action sequence. For fans of ultra violence & blood splatter induced by a hatchet in a thriller setting which crosses over to the horror umbrella, you might find this of interest! For you realism fans, you might start out believing in the dream like Martin Luther King Jr said, but after a few twists & turns here and there, you might start questioning the script. The story starts out great, real grim, dark, & bleak! The setting of the movie takes place in Yanbian, China, a city that is not too far from the borders of north korea. Yanbian would be heavily populated by ethnic Koreans otherwise known as joseonjok who live/work there in hopes for a better opportunity outside of Korea. Our main character, Ku-nam is a cabbie, living day to day with a mah jong gambling habit. He suspects that his wife is cheating on him as she disappears into the arms of South Korea while the grandma takes care of their child. Temptations would soon grab a hold of our furry ethnic Korean friend when a proposal from a raggamuffin gangster type who is very proficient with a hatchet wants to hire him as a hitman to eliminate someone in Seoul. With a big debt on his hand, a runaway wife, and a kid to support, our joseonjok man takes up the offer to murder a professor and bring back his thumb! The only caveat is that he must complete this mission under a strict time limit or else his mother & daughter will be in harms way. The games would soon begin as a rocky boat ride of immigrants from yanbian china to south korea proves to be lethal for some. Things don’t go as planned as Ku-nam entangles with another mafioso when going for the hit. Things from here on out will get the movie realists to shake their heads. Car chases, evading police, eating dog meat off the bone, hatchet hacking, running...lots of running, & some South Korean, Benny Hill style law enforcement will all be a part of this dark thriller-horror-comedy?! The prospects of finding his wife and/or the lover will add fuel to the fire! The crazy hatchet master that hired Ku-Nam will eventually come out from Yanbian-China to play in South Korea! Both of these characters will have more than 9 lives each as death seems to elude them! Realizing that he has been framed, Ku-nam tries to unearth the story as survival & the search for his wife will make a heavy heart. This movie will be a real hit or miss for some. The story takes a bit to build up, but when it does, it gets real suspenseful offering up lots of violence to boot. The instrumental soundtrack to this film is very eery and puts you on edge when the characters start fleeing for their lives or while they are breaking down human parts for portability reasons! The movie is over 2.5 hours long & even with the unbelievable plot, I have to say that I was still engrossed in all the melee! I was completely fascinated by the ethnic Koreans aka joseonjok's that are living in Yanbian, China! I hope to see more movies on this subject!

A Thank You to Everyone at the New York Asian Film Festival

At the time this posts the NYAFF will have finished screening its last film for 2011 some three hours previously. It's also the time that I would have been home had I gone to the screening of Yellow Sea.

I'm not here to take stock of the film festival just yet (though I do have to say that this year it did kick ass) rather I just want to take time out to say a sincere thank you to everyone at the fest who made everyone's time so much fun. You guys rock and you are still the best film festival in New York bar none.

Thank you to the volunteers who were helpful and fun to joke with.

Thank you to the Film Society of Lincoln Center for letting the barbarians come and play.

I want to thank Samuel Jamier and the Japan Society for once more spreading the fun across Manhattan by co-hosting some of the films.

Mostly I need to thank Grady and Marc, and the guys whose names I don't know because you're not out in front but who have been there all these years, for sharing your love of Asian cinema with all of us at the best two week party anyone could ever hope for. Not only did you let us all come in to see the wonders you found, you made sure we all were having the time of our lives.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

You once more out did yourselves.

Now rest up and chill out...and don't worry about a thing, since we'll all be there next year as you guys continue your second decade of fun.

The City of Violence + The Unjust : NYAFF update - day 13

Day 13 of the NYAFF would feature the films of Ryoo Seung Wan and Lee Joon-Ik which was part of the Korean inspired sea of vengeance theme! The films on the Walter Reade chalkboard on day 13 seemed to be a nice 3 course meal of contrast representing the work of these multifaceted directors. THE CITY OF VIOLENCE, BATTLEFIELD HEROES, & THE UNJUST would anchor the Ryoo Seung Wan and Lee Joon-Ik boat ride! Action, dark comedy, & a crime drama would be the cine-cuisine special of the day! I was only able to set sail with the City of Violence and The Unjust, though.

It took me quite a bit of time to decompress & settle my chi after watching the ultra uber-violent piece of art on film known as THE CITY OF VIOLENCE. To me, this movie is a slice of heaven in my favorite genre of film! Thanks to mondo curry-san for reminding me of this gem last year which I overlooked since 2006! This movie has a non cerebral vengeance plot with some of the most energized martial arts action & raw stunts reminiscent of the 1980-1990’s HK action films! Director, Ryoo Seung Wan & actor, Doo-hong Jung most DEFINITELY displayed the korean art of Tae Kwan Do to its highest form as the ballet like flow of spinning kicks performed with killer instinct & fury was a sight to behold! The story evolved from 5 childhood friends growing up together in a small city with all the friendship dynamics you would expect, to eventually grow up & out while finding their own paths in life. Four of the friends (3 are brothers) remain in the city they grew up in still ruling the roost with original ganster mentality except the older, weaker brother while the 5th friend, Tae-Su is a cop in big city pimpin’ Seoul. One of the five friends would let greed & power get the best of him as he tries to turn the small, quaint city that he grew up in into a money making tourist machine as per the brass of asses from Seoul! “By Any means neccessary” would be a great phrase for this antagonist as nothing will stand in his way, not even lifelong friends! You get a feeling that this character is subconsciously striking back at his old crew from past experiences as a child, now that he has the authority to lash back in different ways to finally achieve the power & fame that he ultimately wanted! The two fight sequences in the movie that will create orgasmic spasms while under the watchful eye include the street fight scene & the finale martial art rendezvous that had the flow of Bruce Lee going through the levels of the pagoda like in the game of death! The street fight scene has got to be on my top 10 list of all time best action skirmishes in a movie! I mean, that sequence totally blew me out of the galaxy! You had the rhythm of the jackie chan like action, battling characters that looked like they could be from THE WARRIORS who teamed up with the korean hip hop/b-boy dance troupe while adding reinforcements from the BMX team & cute korean school girls?! Director Ryoo Seung Wan summed it up perfectly! His state of mind when filming THE CITY OF VIOLENCE incorporated the mindset of a typical 1970’s like crime action drama with Jackie Chan acting, Martin Scorcese directing, Sam Peckinpah editing the film, & Sergio Leone scoring the soundtrack! To me, City of Violence inherited all of those traits & then some! The birds eye-view/overhead camera shots of the fight scenes truly complimented the beautiful art of Tae Kwan Do as they twist & turned 360 degrees while demolishing their opponents! Ryoo Seung Wan would also mention that Tsui Hark’s THE BLADE, John Boorman’s POINT BLANK, & John Woo’s slow motion, big city pimpin’ style really influenced his personality in the direction of the film! Another awesome tidbit of information from the Q&A session with the director after the screening was the question: who was the costume designer? Of course, I forgot the name but the designer was the same person that worked on OLD BOY & LADY VENGEANCE! Ryoo Seung Wan requested that the costume design have the same look & elegance reminiscent to the old Shaw Brother studio films!

I was clenching my fist & kicking dead air when watching this film, y’all! It’s a fun movie to behold with plenty of action that will make you say...ohh..ahh..oh my god..what da! The soundtrack of The City of Violence is off the charts as well! Spaghetti western, korean hip hop along with some bad ass funk is a win, win for me! Get a copy of the DRAGON DYNASTY released version of THE CITY OF VIOLENCE, y’all! You’ll thank me later!

I’m not sure if I have enough words to give THE UNJUST a proper hype-up that it deserves! My 2nd screening of the day directed by Ryoo Seung Wan with the korean sea of vengeance theme in mind from the NYAFF was a by-product of deception in the justice system & the politics that are involved in the internal fight! The aftermath of watching The City of Violence was of the energy zapping sorts & it absorbed all my midi-chlorians (star wars reference)! I might need some tag team help from Mondo Curry & DB with an assist for THE UNJUST bon bon trail to go along with my abbreviated cliff notes! First of all, the movie was filmed with dazzling aesthetics in mind with a suspenseful like artisan precision leaving you to jump around in your seat not knowing what to expect! The cityscape camera shots that would eventually innovate monster like acts manifested by these characters in the so called noble like professions of crime & justice would be stunning to the eye! The Unjust was basically a chess match of corruption involving the south korean crime fighting force of various departments including a prosecutor that was played by the real life brother of Ryoo Seung Yan, & an internal affairs unit. A massive hunt & the pressures of trying to crack the case of a serial killer on the loose that has an affinity for school girls is at large. The local crime unit seemed to have a lead to the real serial killer but unfortunately the team killed him with no substantial evidence that would of clearly convicted him. So goes the massive coverup of trying to frame an innocent somebody X for these killings. The bad cop, bad prosecutor, & bad justice team in general, keep digging themselves deeper and deeper until the truth is unearthed. The dirty cop is one ruthless & selfish son of a bitch willing to do anything including beating up & instilling fear into anyone standing in his way. I would definitely think twice before stealing this dudes lunch money! The prosecutor is no angel, either with his manipulative ways! The ping pong match of covering deceit on top of deceit was fascinating! The action is few & far in between but when something does kick off, someone is getting a deep thrashing of a beatdown! The last 30 minutes of the film will have you jumping around like HOUSE OF PAIN!

Mondocurry NYAFF report vol. 11.2: The Cut of THE BLADE

For those looking for evidence that this was a special year for the New York Asian Film Festival, Monday night was it. Starting with THE BLADE, which was overflowing with raw energy, the evening would continue on a high note with its screening of DETECTIVE DEE AND THE PHANTOM FLAME, which I did not stay for but could see gathering momentum as the crowds gathered en masse on the theater. In between screenings, Tsui Hark would take the stage to receive an achievement award, bringing things full circle for the festival, which began ten years ago by putting together a retrospective of his films. There was a buzz about these screenings worthy of quite possibly every guest at the festival who was still in New York. I passed by MILOCRORZE director Yoshimasa Ishibashi as he left the screening of THE BLADE. Subway Cinema’s twitter feed indicated that the man behind CITY OF VIOLENCE and THE UNJUST, Ryoo Seung-Wan was on hand to watch the film as well. It also became apparent why there were no movie screenings at Japan Society that night, as Samuel Jamier who has been programming the excellent selection of films in the Japan Cuts lineup, made his way up the stairs for the award ceremony and screening of DETECTIVE DEE.

I was one of the “BLADE virgins” that night and was in store for a rare vision of inspired chaos. Adding to the air of intrigue was the explanation that a policy change on the part of the film’s holding company would prevent it from ever being screened again (along with any other film in its possession that lacks an official mpaa rating).

THE BLADE was a dark, sinister maelstrom of whirling bodies and clanging steel. It begins with the unsettling image of a stray dog unwittingly making its way into the crushing grip of a bear trap laying in the street. Our attention is then turned towards a vision startlingly reminiscent of Shinya Tsukamoto’s TETSUO 2: BODY HAMMER, as a sea of bronzed bodies inhabits the dim industrial space of sword production company Sharp Manufacturers, welding shards of steel into edged weaponry. In an interesting twist, the narrative is shaped by the company owner’s daughter who takes amusement in the subtle manipulation of her favorite workers into an imagined conflict with one another. If this is all sounding rather contemporary so far, bear in mind that the film was made in the not-too-distant 1995. It is, however, a take on the classic One Armed Swordsman tale, set in a stylized conception of ancient China.

After the workers are admonished for an unsanctioned confrontation against a roving gang of marauders, I felt like I was losing the thread of the story, as with the older Wu Xia movies shown at the festival (a check-in with connoisseur of all arts martial Mr. C suggested that I had pretty much gotten the gist ). Not to worry, though, as this movie truly is all about the action. It is shown that noble employee On’s father was savagely murdered by the gang, and a burning quest for vengeance accompanied increasingly frantic fight scenes gets under way.

One of these battles costs On his arm, but it doesn’t diminish the action at all. The spinning style of the swordplay is so fast and out of control it skirts the line of complete incomprehensibility. The final action scene adds chains and a return of those nasty bear traps to the mix, making it one of the fastest and most impressive combat sequences around.

While these intense clashes of steel against steel are the film’s highlights, scenes that come in between are also compelling. Fellow employee Iron Head and the conspiratorial daughter are on the move, looking for On, and encounter shadowy cities where all manner of mental and physical enslavement are taking place. There is talk down the line of the travelers’ need to be on the move, unable to settle down or embrace any long term peace. This is quite a beautiful nightmarish vision, one that may never be experienced on a big screen again.

The Q & A that followed the screening, which you can watch by clicking on the clips below, was moved along by Grady Hendrix at a rapid clip to make way for the award presentation. During it, Tsui Hark discussed how he incorporated the company owner's daughter into a more prominent role during shooting, the carrying out of the film's action sequences, and his thoughts on its bleak tone.







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Mondocurry NYAFF report vol. 11.1: a Look of Admiration at LULU AND AYANO

Monday was my last day of feasting my eyes on Asian films. I saw two movies, each worthy of their own write-ups.

The first was LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO. This was a movie that had me teetering between several different emotions - fascination, annoyance, disbelief, and sympathy – before gaining my admiration and winning me over as one of my favorites of the festival. The film takes an unblinking look at the Japanese porn industry. It’s not a tell-all, but as the tale of its two protagonists unfolds, we are given plenty of views of Japan’s unique sex industry, which range from laughable to highly disturbing. Considering the source material for the movie, a book of interviews with unrecognized actresses in the industry called NAMAE NO NAI ONNA TACHI (Women Without Names), as well as director Hisayasou Satou’s extensive experience directing “pink” movies, I would say it’s as authentic a depiction as one is likely to get.

The movie starts with Lulu’s indoctrination into the realm of adult video making. She soon meets Ayano, who is the bold and outspoken Ying to Lulu’s wavering insecure Yang. A friendship develops between the experienced and novice participants, and their differences end up providing that missing something that each of them needs to get by.

Along the way, the characters put up with the pitfalls that revolve around the porn industry: misleading recruiters, sleazy agents, cutthroat competitive actresses, and freakish fans unable to function socially in the outside world that threaten to come out from behind their keyboards. There are also the degrading and not to mention life threatening premises of the movies being produced. The film manages to show all this with an even hand, refraining from browbeating its audience into taking a certain stance.

The film also looks at societal pressures of living in today’s Tokyo, which affects these girls, and in many cases leads them into the positions they are in: image consciousness (a scene at Lulu’s office job suggests that only by behaving sexually and submissively can a girl gain attention from her advantaged male peers), falling into debt and the trouble it leads to with organized crime, and the lack of positive parental role models. In the case of Lulu’s mother, there is a portrayal of vindictiveness and self centeredness rivaling the bile- inducing characterization of the same sort of mother figure in Kore- Eda’s NOBODY KNOWS.

While Ayano is cool as a tough as nails begrudging veteran, it’s Lulu that steals the show. Her character changes drastically from dithering doormat to giggly caricature of a fantasy cosplaying porn idol to hardened strong-minded individual. Newcomer actress Norie Yasui makes the transformation look far easier than it must’ve actually been to portray.

That second personality, the hyper cartoonish porn star, was a difficult one for me to endure. Had the film been a celebration of this sort of silliness, I would’ve given it a big thumbs down. The movie proves to be a testament to the importance of distinguishing between annoying character and annoying movie. The exasperating extreme to which she goes in this mode is necessary to show the emptiness of the false hope given to her at the beginning of the movie. It is after she sheds this hollow shell and, though mistreated, stands defiant against the antagonism that she is at her strongest and sexiest.

There is no lack of brutality or tragedy in the movie. I’ve noticed some viewers of the film complaining that a particularly gory scene is too farfetched for it to be taken seriously. In response to this I would point out that over the course of the past decade, Japanese headlines are, sadly, rife with just this sort of over-the-top incident. A harder to swallow aspect of the story is the friendship between Lulu and Ayano at the movie’s core. How often in real life do individuals stuck in the marginalized fringes of society actually form bonds instead of looking out only for themselves? This is a film that uses a fantastic, and therefore compelling, story, to draw attention to serious social issues.

Looking back, I feel that LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO along with 3 other Japanese films that I saw (HEAVEN’S STORY, RINGING IN THEIR EARS, ABRAXAS) could’ve been presented together under a theme of realistic dramas (albeit with touches of the fantastic) that take piercing looks at contemporary Japan’s societal ills. Had this been done, it may have drawn some bigger audiences to these movies that truly deserve to be seen, as well as created a situation to perhaps have the directors be on hand for q & a’s (I for one would have loved insight into the minds behind ALL of these films!). It is understandable, however, that this did not happen considering it is the festival’s tenth anniversary and a multitude of other focuses (Wu Xia, retro films, Korean action, and Tsui Hark) were already planned. Perhaps this great run of Japanese movies will continue and receive such a focus next year. In the meantime, keep your eye on JAPAN CUTS across town as it is certain to show more films of this nature before it is over.

For an insightful testimonial at just how powerful an effect this film could have, check out this reaction written by self professed former porn actress. The translation seems spotty, but its essence is clear.

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NYAFF and Japan Cuts- A mixed shorts program and food place to die for

Today was an abbreviated day for me. I was supposed to see the second Mise-en-scene short program at the NYAFF and two films at the Japan Society. However life interfered and I had to cut short my time at Japan Society or else not get home tonight.(Then again after the movie at the Japan society I would have left anyway so the mood wasn't spoiled)

First up was the short film program, and as I've been told about past years the turn out was rather light. My understanding is that the short films don't get a big crowd because they are usually scheduled midday mid-week, but I've always been told the best films usually are found there. This year I was warned that the films were unusually mixed.

Mixed?

The program ran the gamut from the best of the festival to the least.

First up was Tunnel. This is a 15 minute shaggy dog story about a man who is one ball away from bowling a perfect game when some annoying people show up. She has terminal hiccups and pops her gum, he is just freaking strange. Told out of order, it would have to be for it to be at all interesting, the film ultimately is pointless since the story once it's all laid out makes you go "That's it?". Apparently. In the end it's 15 minutes I'll never get back.

Debris is another 16 minutes of my life wasted. It's about the lone guy at a space gas station dreaming of women and then finding a porno mag floating outside the space station. Despite some very good visuals this one was a time suck. It just seemed to go on and on and on toward a conclusion that was like WTF.

Yoon Hye-Ryeom's Familyship is three minutes of sustained black comedy that starts with a mom threatening to shoot her son if he doesn't get a math question right. its wicked funny. The director was in the house and an excellent and truly informative Q&A followed all of the films. I realize I never found out the name of the gentleman who interviewed her, but this guy was amazing and I told him so. As I said I have been to dozens of Q&As and this is one of the best. The fact that he could turn a 3 minute film into a 30 minute interview was miraculous. It was so much better than many other Q&As I've seen at Lincoln Center which often rambled and were off topic. Here the discussion was interesting and on point, often in ways you never knew were on point. The interviewer said it was all Yoon Hy-Ryeom who IS and excellent speaker, but a large part of the success goes to the modest fellow asking the questions since he knew what to ask and how to move things along (Trust me I've seen train wrecks at the NYFF, Tribeca and Film Comment Selects that would curl your hair and this was light years from that).

My Mom's Great Kimchi Stew was an over long piece that nominally is about a mother who cooks Kimchi on the first of the month and forces her family to eat it the rest of the month. It has some amusing bits but its wildly over long at 19 minutes.

C-Kal is a very good animated short film about what happens when one member of a group of martial arts heroes decides to go off to get glory for himself. Its done to look like watercolor on textured paper and it's amazing to look at (and the story is good too)

The winner of the bunch and one of the best films of the Festival and of the year is Lee Sang Geun's Mr Tap's Holiday. It is just fantastic. DO yourself a favor and just give yourself over to this marvelous and moving film and be moved. The plot has a plumber working on the tap in a wall. During the process of fixing it the wall cracks and out steps a man with the tap coming out of his head. He wanders off leaving the plumber staring. We then follow Mr Tap as he goes on an adventure and is reunited with a lost love. I can't explain it even if I wanted to. This is just one of the films you have to see to have it make sense. And you will want to see it, you just don't know it yet. Trust me, this is one of the most romantic films you'll see all year. This is one of my finds. And yes I thought this was just too weird and strange at first but it just clicked and it had me getting misty by the end.

After the shorts I wandered the city a bit and then I headed down to the Japan Society.

I was supposed to see two films, but because of a situation involving cars I had to bail on seeing Birthright (aka Umbilical Cord) which a thriller. However after the first film I would have left the theater anyway since I didn't want the spell broken. BAsically I was feeling too good.

Rinco's Restaurant is, probably going to become one of my favorite films of all time. Its a very bittersweet film about Rinco, who loses her voice when a boyfriend steals all her things and runs away. She moves back home with her mom, the talking pig and opens a restaurant. There's more to it then that (like eating Rinco's food has the ability to give you what you want) but I'll let you find out about it for yourself.

This is a magical realism story about finding ourselves, finding what we want and making our way in the world. Its got a marvelous imagery, great characters and one of the most joyous feelings I've ever experienced at the movies. I was crying because something about the film was making me feel so damn happy I couldn't help myself. And then when the sad parts came I got teary from those too. (Yea basically I cried all over the place).

I love this film.

It just made me feel good, even the sad parts.

When it was over I sat in my chair wondering why I had never heard about this film before. Why weren't more people talking about it? It just blew me away. I was feeling so moved that even if I could have stayed for the second film I wouldn't have since I was still processing, still feeling Rinco and I didn't want it to end.

Oh my lord was my world rocked in a good way.

One of the best films of the year and you really should make an effort to track this down. (And it can be had on DVD if you look around- though check the subtitles since some versions apparently aren't good. I'll post where to find it cheap once I sort out who has the best version)

And that's it for today's films, some good ones, some bad ones and some great ones.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another run in the Railtruck at the Japan Society and a trip to Yellow Sea to close out the NYAFF. Things are in flux so I'm not sure how it will all play out. Even If I don't make Yellow Sea(it would mean I'm out until almost 3 AM because of trains) Mr C is going and he is going to report on the closing ceremonies.

NYAFF Bonus

No one at Unseen Films is attending any screenings at the NYAFF today. I'll be at the Japan Society for tonight Japan Cuts films, but since we've been posting like mad about the festival I thought I'd keep the coverage with something I thought some of you might be interested in this interview with Grady Hendrix one of the organizers of the festival. This was recorded in May. In it he talks about Asian film and the future of the New York Asian Film Festival.

Reign of Assassins screening at the NYAFF - day 10

director Su Chao Pin after the screening!

Drizzle my nizzle, my kung fu sizzle chest brethrens! The Reign of Assassins screening at the NY Asian Film festival would rain martial arts heaven in all its wu xia glory! I was shocked that this 1pm screening was not even close to being at full capacity. Perhaps the showing of Heaven's Story at the Japan Society at 2:45 pm stole the show? Reign of Assassins would slowly strip tease itself as a revenge-love story combo punch that would cast Michelle Yeoh as the character of “Drizzle”, an assassin that would be knee deep in tofu, busy slaughtering, laundering, & scheming about with the dark stone gang. One of Drizzle's main projects was to find then hide the centuries old remains of a great buddhist monk which is said to provide immortality & eternal life for someone possessing the corpse because of the high level of karma that this monk had achieved before his passing! Deception, love, & vengeance would all come into play when Drizzle decides to leave her past behind with the dark stone chain gang and live a normal life! Michelle Yeoh’s character wields an unflappable, bendable, & unbreakable double edge sword with an advanced technique called water shedding which basically shreds her opponents with precise ginsu cuts! It’s tough for Drizzle because she needs to hide her past & that includes public display of her martial mastery! Only a man like John Woo, Nicholas Cage, or John Travolta would understand her situation! Drizzle’s new found husband is also a bumbling idiot that can double as Mr. Magoo or can he? He is a man who is passionate about his noodles including having first hand knowledge of tortoise powder! The end game would reveal who the real eunuch is & the motives for the endless slashings by the chinese lord sith! Love will be the final say as I wiped a tear or two away in the finale! The director Su Chao Pin was on hand after the screening for a brief discussion with Grady Hendrix! (see the Q & A video below). The director explains that Reign of Assassins is loosely based on an old martial arts novel that he tweaked & twisted with a non-traditional ending! So far, I have screened about 15 films at the NYAFF and Reign of Assassins is my favorite to date at the festival! I usually don’t fall for love stories but vengeance fueled the fire with lots of martial arts eye candy as support, but the relationships in this film do poke away at you in the heart! I'm sure this movie will get a release in movie theatres near you sometime soon!

Mondocurry NYAFF Report vol. 11: bidding adieu to the new york asian film festival

I watched my last screenings yesterday of a surprisingly gripping drama from Japan called LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO (its Japanese title roughly translates to We Nameless Women) followed by the fever dream of watching THE BLADE.  Tsui Hark was again on hand to speak after the screening of this highly appreciated film, which brought out several, possibly all of the Asian guests in New York for the festival.

I am brimming with thoughts, but I leave it at a fond farewell since travel awaits.  I will follow up when I am settled in to where I am going, with the Q & A after THE BLADE and more organized thoughts.

Although my time at the NYAFF is over, the festival is far from done.  There are three more action packed days, punctuated by a double feature of Tak Sakiguchi films (VERSUS, YAKUZA WEAPON), a double fearture of Ryoo Seung-Wan films (CITY OF VIOLENCE, THE UNJUST), and finally, a double feature of Na Hong-Jin films (THE CHASER, THE YELLOW SEA).

Damn...I'm certainly jealous for not being able to be there for those.

NYAFF / Japan Cuts DB's Love and Loathing and Lulu and Anyano leaves a rnging in his ears

With today's film I've effectively seen at least part of every feature playing at the NYAFF other than Horny House of Horror. The part is the first half hour of Yellow Sea which I saw on import DVD sans English subtitles (I was told the American release company asked them not to be included because they have high hopes for the US release, I don't know how true it is.)

Today was a double feature of the first two films screening, Love and Loathing and Lulu and Anyano and Ringing in Their Ears. Because of scheduling I missed The Blade and the Star Asia Award for Tsui Hark during the showing of Detective Dee. Mondocurry and Mr C did see The Blade so expect a report or two down the line.

The day began by dashing into the theater with my friend Stan in tow just as the prize drawing was happening. Once inside we settled into our seats to see the days first film Ringing in Their Ears.

Ringing was the top of the list film for me for this year's festival, thanks to being blown away by director Yu Irie's 8000 Mile movies from last year. They were amazing and along with last years Live Tape,set the bar impossibly high for music films. I'm happy to say that Irie did not disappoint .

Nominally a film about the band Shinsei Kamattechan, the film only fleetingly has them front and center. Mostly the film focuses on a single mother and her 5 year old son; a high school girl who is shogi champ with romance trouble; and the band's manager who is trying not to have the band sell out. It's not until the end of the film when the band hits the stage for a long concert that they take a front and center stance, which in the hands of master filmmaker Yu Irie, is actually the background music for the other plot threads.

I liked the movie until the music kicked in and started to get misty from happiness. There is something infectious about the band that forces you to smile. I dare you not to feel bliss at the site of five year olds dancing around their dining room.(and I dare you not to be charmed by the chorus that makes the teachers crazy.)

Its a film that is very much fiction and very much real. There were more than a few exchanges that seemed ripped from life. The sequence where the mother asks her son who he loves more, her or her ex husband is eerily like listening in on a private conversation.

This is one of the top tier films of the festival and if it was playing again I would say run out and see it. But it's not so all we can hope for is that the film gets a US release.

The second film was Love and Loathing and Lulu and Ayano. The write up said the film was a pro-sex film about a young woman who finds her self in porn. It makes it seem like its a light look at the complications of being a porn actress (it's based on a book on porn day actors), unfortunately it's something else entirely.

The film tells the story of Junko, a 22 year old with an over bearing mother who finds some sort of fulfilment as an otaku porn princess. She also finds Anyano an other actress who ends up being a friend, a creepy stalker fan and varying degrees of trouble and happiness.

What I, Stan, Mondocurry and Mr C thought was going to be a light hearted look at the people who do porn, was instead a really good but rather dark look at making sex films in Japan. Far from erotic, and having only two short sequences with nudity, this is a film that is really about the people and their lives. It started out as funny and amusing, but it rather quickly turned into something else.

The easiest way to describe the film is to ask if you know the song Wig and a Box from Hedwig and the Angry Inch? Its a song about putting on a wig and becoming some one else. That's what happens with Junko. She puts on a wig and becomes Lulu. But there is always the darkness of going back to yourself and we see that as well. We also see the jealous, poor self images, slime balls and violence related to the industry.

No, it's not an anti-porn tirade. Its a warts and all look at the job of sex. It's a non-judgemental look at the industry which has a great deal of darkness in it.

It's also a troubling film. Having seen and reviewed several documentaries on the adult film industry this is the first film that actually made me step back and pause at what the industry is all about.

I really liked the film a great deal, but in all honesty I'm not sure what I think about it. Its a film that is still rattling around in my head.

It was not what I expected and it kicked the legs out from under me.

Definitely worth seeing if and when this hits these shores once more.

As I said after that Stan and I left to catch a train home.

For me there is another break from the NYAFF tomorrow as I head over to the Japan Society for a samurai double feature. (Actually no one from Unseen will be at any screening but I will be dropping in a NYAFF bonus tomorrow afternoon. It's something Mondocurry found and may interest some of you.

Wednesday it's the second of the shorts programs before I head back to the Japan Society...and Thursday should be Rail Truck on the big screen at the Japan Society and Yellow Sea at NYAFF (I say should be but I'm not sure because that think called life is saying otherwise.)

With three more days of the NYAFF and 11 days of Japan Cuts left keep reading because we at Unseen Films will keep reporting. (Remember there are reports from both Mondocurry and Mr C coming up so keep reading--- and if you are sick of Asian films we are still doing counter programing so there is no reason not to stop by.)

Mondocurry NYAFF report vol. 10: Birth, Death, and In Between - HEAVEN'S STORY

Today I watched only one movie at The Japan Society, but it had the weight of three. HEAVEN’S STORY is an epic drama that left me awestruck and emotionally drained at its conclusion. I believe it is this year’s highly impactful Japanese dramatic masterpiece of the festival, like CONFESSIONS and LOVE EXPOSURE of the previous two years. Unfortunately its enormous 4 and a half hour running time and lack of the notable stars or panache of a film like MILOCRORZE had it delegated to one afternoon screening.

With a naturalistic shooting style, which includes occasional shaky camera takes that do not seem out of place, director Takahisa Zeze presents an all encompassing view of life and death captured in the relatively small realm of interconnected individuals that inhabit a small town. What connects them is the occurrence of two murders at around the same time. Although the length of the film might suggest that we see these characters’ experiences over the course of their entire lives, the film does not go much further than a decade or so later than the incident. This is most significant for Sato whose family is murdered when she is still a young girl and is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy when the story catches up with her as a teenage loner.

The film’s length owes to the very detailed portrayals of characters during key moments in their lives, even before we are made fully aware of their role in the story’s main narrative. While this may seem unessential, it goes a long way in adding depths to the characters that make you care about them a lot. We are also given fascinating views of people in the margins of Japanese society: a bounty hunter, an indie rock guitarist, and a doll maker whose eerily life like creations are later seen used in symbolic bunraku theater performances. Such scenes can be a bit difficult to follow in the first half of the film, where characters’ relations to one another are not yet developed. In the movie’s second act, the tension-filled progression of the film is captivating throughout.

There is actually an intense action story within the sprawling drama, one that discusses the follies of revenge effectively and with far more gravity than this year’s I SAW THE DEVIL or even the sober PUNISHED, also in the NYAFF lineup. The film is not subtle about making the connection between life and death as two connected parts of the same cycle. Along the way, life is portrayed mostly as hardship and pain. Tragic events occur as direct or indirect results of events that took place earlier in the film. There is also a theme, noticeable in many contemporary Japanese films (this year’s ABRAXAS and LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD among them), of intergenerational conflict with the younger characters picking up the pieces of or lashing out after the missteps of adults.

I have not written as much about the settings of films as I did during last year’s NYAFF. HEAVEN’S STORY is noteworthy for its quaint yet engaging small town atmosphere. Particularly breathtaking is a more outlying area where a few rundown residential buildings are all that remain of civilization, the rest overrun by weeds and vines. It is the perfect setting for scenes of mankind giving in to its worst impulses.

The leisurely paced and picturesque ending of the movie reveals Zeze’s view of what follows the end of a person's life. I would not dare to spoil the movie by discussing it, but I will say it manages to be saddening and reassuring at the same time. This is a vision entirely worth taking the time to watch unfold…if there is an opportunity. The most productive course I could imagine is to express your interest in the movie to the good people at Japan Society that run the film programming for Japan Cuts and perhaps it will be screened again at another time in the year.

NYAFF Meets Japan Cuts: DB does the Gantz double feature and feels the power of Yakuza Weapon

It's well after 2AM as I finish this. I left the house today around 930 this morning and I got in just before one. It's been a long day of wandering the city around the Japan Society where the NYAFF has taken up residence for day three of it's cross over with Japan Cuts.

I'll save you the sorid details of my getting over the the screenings and I'll pick up the tale with my arrival.

Large signs on the door proclaimed that the screenings of Gantz were sold out and that if you wanted to go you had to get on a wait list. I spoke with the woman at the counter and she pointed out two guys looking for tickets for the two films and since I had an extra set I went over to them. I sold them to the guy who hadn't wandered off for a smoke. Not only will smoking kill you it will prevent you from getting Gantz tickets.

It was an odd audience, it was made up almost entirely of teenage girls. It was the youngest crowd that I had seen, and Marc from NYAFF as well since he commented on it being a young and good looking crowd.

The Gantz films tell one story. The first movie kind of ends but a segment in the middle of the end credits suggests more and a teaser at the end of the film promised a second part. The second film picks up five months later.

The plot of the film has a group of people snatched to mysterious room at the moment of death. They are told that the large black orb called Gantz that is in the room with them now has control of their lives. They are to be sent out on missions to kill some invading aliens. If they score 100 points they can either go on their way or they can revive one of the dead fighters. The first film deals with them fighting aliens for Gantz and the second film has complications as the aliens try to locate the god-like Gantz to destroy it.

Yes, I know I'm being vague, but part of it is you need to have things revealed to you as the are in the film and part is the lateness of the hour. Actually it's something I can't explain it simply, in large part because the film doesn't explain a great deal. Yes we (barely) have enough to follow whats going on, but at the same time there is a great deal left out. I have a several questions I'd live answers to but which I don't really expect to get.(Like why are they fighting the aliens anyway).

I like the films. I think they are full of great action set pieces that will blow your mind. There is a twenty minute subway fight in part 2 (called Gantz Perfect Answer) that is a real knock out. Unfortunately because of problems with the plotting the film kind of feels like watching someone play a video game, on the other hand it's a really good video game. I also dare you not to see steals from the films of Ray Harryhausen in the climatic battles that end the first half.

And you will need to see the two films. The second film has several moments that brought cheers and tears to the audience but they only work if you know what they are referencing in the first film.

Ultimately my assessment is that had they spent say 15 more minutes on the plot the films would have been truly classics of science fiction.

ONE HUGE WARNING- whom ever released the first film in the US did so only with an English Dub. It's beyond bad and I consider it one of the 5 worst dubs I've ever seen. Don't see it that way. The films were screened at the Japan society with English subtitles and that's really the way to go.

When Gantz ended I wandered off to get food. I did not get food at any of Mondocurry recommendations rather I got some not very good chicken and noodle soup on Second or Third Ave.

Back at the Japan Society for Yakuza Weapon.

I waited on line and ended up talking to the very lovely and very nice Lee. She is a hardcore Asian film fan who was a font of knowledge as well as good company. I had a great time talking with her but because of a difference in seating choices, I needed the aisle because the Gantz screening did a number on my back, and she wanted to sit in the middle of the row, we did not sit together. We were supposed to chat at the party but it was crowded and because it all ran late (they screened an extra movie) I needed to fly because of trains so I missed saying good bye. I hope she won't hold it against me and will speak to me when next we attend screenings. (and please send me the name of that wacked out western).

As for Yakuza Weapon...

Twitch was right, this is a film best seen while drunk...and with friends. If I wasn't in a theater full of crazed Sushi Typhoon fans this would have been a tough haul, especially early on. Its a movie you'd make with you buddies...though this is based on a comic by the creator of Devil Man.

The plot has the tough guy son of a yakuza king pin fighting in Viet Nam. He's sent home by a secret Japanese organization who reveal his father has died. The rest of the film has him battling the yakuza boss who betrayed his dad, and ultimately being turned into cyborg with a machine gun for a hand and the ability to shoot rockets out his leg.

Its a wild bloody violent trip with blood sprayed every where and bloody body parts flying into pools of blood. (you sense a theme here?) Its for adults with a high tolerance for gore and people turned into weapons (I'll leave where the guns are in the naked girl to your imagination).

I have mixed feelings about the film but I cheered and I clapped and I laughed. (I think it did everything right that Foxy Festival did wrong).

I do have to mention the five minute single take fight scene that they worked out only an hour before they shot it. It will blow you away.

After the film the star/director/ writer Tak Sakagushi and actor Arata Yamanaka had a sword fight on stage. It was a great deal of fun.

The Q&A revealed a couple of interesting bits.

First Tak smoked for the role, and as a result is hooked.

The moves made by the female weapon were based on Mexican wrestling.

Changes from the Manga were basically making the Tetsu character more important and making the hand gun something that morphs instead of being clicked on.

(Spoiler)The film was finished before the recent earthquake in Japan and had the film had not been finished they would have changed the ending. However they now see it as a reflection of the countries survival.

There was only a few other minor points however Marc said that all of the Sushi Typhoon films now have a US distributor and that all of them will be coming out starting in the fall with Hell Driver. Details are coming next week.

As a bonus they then ran the 16 minute tribute to the final fight in Jackie Chan'sWheels on Meals called Sakigake!! Micchan (Fist Fighter, Micchan). This is a segment from Hijoshi zukan(2009) which is a film about unconventional women. It was a blast as Tak fights a freeloader at his noodle stand.

And with that I headed home. LIRR trains are spotty after 11 so I left when I had a chance.

I'm off tomorrow before I go back to the NYAFF on Monday and then several days bouncing between Japan Cuts and the NYAFF.

Keep reading for more details.

(One question, is it me or if the new screen at the Japan Society off center? I sat all the way to the left for Gantz and it all seemed good. When I sat in the same row to the right for Yakuza Weapon the screen seemed farther to my left.)

Mondocurry NYAFF report vol. 9: Go Hark Or Go Home - ZU plus Q & A with Tsui Hark!

Today the New York Asian Film Festival’s focus on Wu Xia films continued while at the same time, its celebration of director Tsui Hark began. Both were carried out with a screening of ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN and a conversation with Tsui Hark!

The film was a trip and then some. It’s the kind of thing that would probably leave me lost, confused, and disinterested after a few minutes had I watched it at home. Yet, on the big screen I was still very lost and confused, but also in a constant state of fascination with the swirling images tearing across the screen.

The story is extremely confusing and highly irrelevant. There is a very witty opening sequence that finds warriors from different groups caught in the middle of a battle between other warrior clans. Their allegiances are marked simply by the color of their robes. From there, it’s all mystics and their disciples and a quest to destroy a powerful evil entity.

There is an awesome interlude along the way that takes us to the lair of a group of female mystics. Their costumes and flying powers are as exotic as the airy hall they inhabit. The effects may be dated, but are incredibly imaginative. Laser-like beams zip across the screen, huge statues float and, as the conclusion draws nearer, close-ups of the goddess Li I Chi form hypnotic psychedelic imagery.

I can’t emphasize enough how this is a movie for the big screen, which in turn, speaks to why the New York Asian Film Festival and what they do is so essential. Yes there are copies of ZU and other classic movies out there. But these images should not be compressed onto a television screen. They should be appreciated sprawling across a theater wall to capture the grand scale on which they were imagined.



Tsui Hark did not introduce the movie and reportedly expressed bewilderment at the excitement over it. He did join the audience for a Q & A and humbly discussed how he presented the concept of ZU to producing company Golden Harvest, his earlier days spent in New York City, and his ambitions as a film maker. The substantial audience responded enthusiastically, setting the tone for NYAFF’s screenings of other Tsui Hark films which the director will also attend.





DRAGON INN (produced by Tsui Hark) plays Sunday, July 19 at 4:00 pm
THE BLADE plays Monday, July 11 at 6:00 pm
DETECTIVE DEE AND THE PHANTOM FLAME (Hark’s lastest film) plays Monday, July 11 at 9:00 pm. It’s a sold out screening, but standby tickets will be available.

All screenings are at Walter Reade Theater and all will include a Q & A with Tsui Hark!

Mondocurry NYAFF report vol. 8: Battle Royale VS. The Story of Ricky: Riki O

This was a truly inspired double feature of films. I will probably expand on them further down the road. For now, I'll just put a few quick thoughts out there. Battle Royale was packed to capacity with eager moviegoers. I''d never seen such a line at a Japan Society screening before. It extended back towards the classrooms on the lower level of the building and then back around up the stairs into the lobby again! During the introduction, it became evident that about half of the audience had seen the before and for the other half this would be the first time. Either its somewhat timeworn nature, New York City cynicism, or the energy of seeing something with a large group of people made for a lot more laughs than I'd expected. It was not the derisive kind. Often, it was out of appreciation for "Beat" Takeshi Kitano's madcap performance as the class' teacher/oppressor, one that ranks among the most delirious portrayals of a psychotic villain in film history. The movie fiery performances by women, or in this case high school girls, are also awe inspiring.

The trip across town was easy by car in the late traffic-less hours of the night. I didn't notice anyone else who had gone from one screening to the next and still wonder if others tried to do both films.

THE STORY OF RICKY: RIKI OH! is sheer lunacy from beginning to need. It is a film whose logic must only apply after the clock strikes 12:01 am. The dubbed dialogue is hilariously filled with cliches and awkwardly intoned utterances. Every fight scene MUST involve some sort of epic physical disfigurement. Heads explode, fists pierce through bodies, or people are reduced to ground meat. This marks another wonderful exploitation film, the sort that cannot or just does not get made anymore. A must for the big screen. While the audience was relatively small, they roared with laughter the entire time.

I hope the NYAFF unearths even more wild movies like this next year and puts together more inspired double features. Seeing these movies again on a large screen is completely worth it.