Mad Fate (2023) Fantasia 2023 NYAFF 2023

The life a fortune teller goes horribly wrong after he tries to change the fate of a young woman destined to die. It doesn’t work and he finds his life in free fall and connected to a young man with mental issues and a serial killer who is being hunted by a relentless cop.

Belt in boys and girls and prepare for a film unlike any other.  It’s the result of director Soi Cheang (ACCIDENT, MOTORWAY, LIMBO) collaborating with Johnnie To and screenwriter Yau Nai-Hoi (RUNNING ON KARMA, THROW DOWN, BLIND DETECTIVE) to make a film that is quite simply unlike anything you’ve experienced outside the work of the trilogy of filmmakers. A mix of genres including horror, action, drama, comedy and a few others, this is a film that doesn’t behave in any expected ways. If you hate predictable films this film is for you. I say that because twenty minutes in I stopped trying to second guess what was going on and just went with it.

This film may not always make perfect sense (the filmmakers are notorious for that sometimes), but God damn it is compelling. You simply will not be able to look away from the screen because you will have to know how this all plays out.

Wow. Wow and wow.

Easily one of the best films at Fantasia and NYAFF, not only because it’s a film that will have you on the edge of your seat, but also because it is a film that forces you to engage with it on multiple levels whether you want to or not.

Highly recommended.

THE KILLING ROMANCE (2023) NYAFF 2023 Fantasia 2023

Famous actress marries a controlling billionaire after one of her movies tanks. Seven years later his controlling nature and refusal to let her restart her career fester she decides to try and kill him. Enlisting the a fan who lives next door she tries to make it a reality only to find it all go sideways.

Semi-musical comedy noir satire is something you will love or hate. According to the post screening Q&A the film was so divisive of audiences in Korea it ended up losing money. I can completely understand that since some bits of the film play better than others. Indeed just as the film pulls it all together  near the end, it almost instantly loses it’s way with a couple of WTF turns.

While I freely admit the film was over sold to me going in, I did like the film. I don’t think I would have been over the moon regardless because I found it so uneven.

Actually the problem with the film is that according to the Q&A this “light” semi musical comedy started out life as a very dark domestic violence tale that was so dark director Lee Won-suk didn’t think he could handle it as written and lightened it up. The problem is that the character of Jonathan, though played for laughs, is still one of the most vile screen villains and a number of turns really aren’t funny, especially when you consider this was supposed to be a serious film. (And while I found out it was supposed to be serious after the fact, I was still bothered by turns.)

My reservations aside the film is worth seeing, especially if you want a film that isn’t like anything else.

NYAFF 2023 Short Takes: HOME SWEET HOME, EYE OF THE STORM and FACES OF ANNE

HOME SWEET HOME (2023)
A man who moves his young family move into a new house discover that there is some dark force at work in it.

Low key slow burn horror film has a chilly feel to it. Taking it's time in building suspense this film may not play well with those wanting a jump scare every couple of minutes. Don't let that scare you off this is a film with an oppressive atmosphere. 

If you like low key horror that packs a punch see this film.

EYE OF THE STORM (2023)
Medical thriller for the age of Covid has a doctor on his way home to his daughter's fifth birthday to help with a medical emergency. Little does he know that the hospital is about to go into lockdown with a mysterious disease that is ripping through the place.

Turn your brain off and go with it thriller plays into our fears about the recent pandemic. We know this can happen.  Unfortunately you're going to have to not think about some of what happens because the film takes a couple of turns that are there simply because it allows the plot to move the way the filmmakers need it to.

Much too neat construction aside, I like it. Worth a look.

FACES OF ANNE (2023)
A young woman named Anne wakes up in a locked room not recognizing her face. She is told not to make a fuss or the nurses will come in. What then transpires is Anne's attempt to escape and find out what is going on.

Leisurely paced thriller is very much a case of we've been here before.  That wouldn't be a problem except  that the pacing is much too slack. We have time to think about what we are seeing  and as a result we are comparing it to the previous films. Stories like this have to move and constantly give us revelations. so we are off balance and not thinking of the next thing.

Abang Adik (2023) NYAFF 2023

Two brothers, one a deaf mute, get caught up in human trafficking. While one brother is a straight arrow, his brother has been known to bend the rules, unfortunately both brothers future are linked forever

This is a good and gritty tale of two brothers sliding into darkness. Its a tale of brotherly love, and it is that tale that drives the the film forward and keeps us interested. Both Wu Kang-Ren and Jack Tan give staggering performances. While they are good through out the point where the sell the film and the relationship is in the moments between the pair. In those times when we see the two brothers behaving as only brothers who love each other do, the make you believe they are related. Having two brothers I could see how we interact in their relationship.

If you want a solid if a bit down beat tale ABANG ADIK is recommended

NYAFF Short Takes 12 WEEKS, IN HER ROOM and MOUNTAIN ONION

12 WEEKS
A thought provoking look at abortion in the Philippines though the lives of several people.  While the film is at times polemical, for the most part it zeroes in on the complexity and emotional toll of the choice to end a pregnancy. In an age where a woman's right to choose is being threatened 12 WEEKS is an important film because it shows that things are not as simple as the foes of abortion make it out to be.

IN HER ROOM
Cinematic novel from novelist Chihiro Ito concerns a dentist who falls for a woman who lives in a room full of plants. Things become complicated when he senses there might be another object of her affection.

Cinematic equivalent to reading a dense novel IN HER ROOM is full of long takes, long pauses and deep meanings. If you can get on this film's wavelength this film is going to be a great time at the movies, on the other hand if don't this is going to be a long slog.

MOUNTAIN ONION
Two kids discover their parents marriage is on the rocks and they wind up on the road...

Unexpectedly delightful comedy drama is one of the joys of this year's NYAFF. This is exactly the sort wondrous film that made NYAFF a must see event. Off kilter, unexpected and aimed straight at your heart this cinematic confection is certain to put a smile on your face and a tear in your eye.

Highly recommended

Shaky Shivers (2023) NYAFF 2023

Playing at this years NYAFF in a side screening at the Look Cinemas on 57th Street SHAKY SHIVERS is a horror tinged comedy. Actually it's a straight comedy with werewolves, zombies, bigfoot, a deadly cult and other horror tropes, but no scares.

The plot of the film has two friends going to an abandoned camp to find out out if one of them is going to turn into a werewolf, she she was bitten by a "dog" and cursed by weird woman who wanted food from their ice cream shop. While at camp weird things begin to happen.

How you react to this film will be determined by how you react to the sense of humor and the tone of the film. The film has knowing attitude, but the actors play it very straight with the result you have a film that seems to be an odd straight forward horror film with jokes...except that it isn't supposed to be scary.  If you go in thinking there are going to be scares you will be disappointed.

On the other hand if you are a horror fan who loves comedy you will enjoy the hell out of this film. It's a knowing send up of films made with love. Its full of horror references that will tickle fans. The more horror films you've seen the more that will tickle you.  What I love is that the references are just there, they aren't pushy, they just flow, the result is a film that will delight you in the best possible way.

What a joy.

Recommended.

NYAFF Short Takes DECEMBER and MOUNTAIN WOMAN

DECEMBER
The divorced parents of a murdered high school girl come together in order to fight the early release of the girl who killed their daughter.

Good but polemical examination of the Japanese justice system where teenagers are often tried as adults. Pondering questions such as justice, revenge and how we grieve the film often feels as though it is interested in moving our heads instead of our hearts. 

While I liked the intellectual musings I was never moved emotionally.

MOUNTAIN WOMAN 
in 19th century Japan a woman leaves her village which is experiencing failed harvests and wanders into the mountains, nominally to die and instead finds life.

This is a moody meditation on life and existence.  A great looking film  it is rather somber. Geared more to the art house crowd this is not for all audiences.

The Abandoned (2022)NYAFF 2023 Fantasia 2023

Burned out cop who is about to commit suicide is surprised when people come running around her car, fleeing from a dead body. This sends the reluctant detective to team up with a newbie to track down a serial killer.

This mix of one part psychological study and one part thriller results in a  moody trip to the dark side. The film also has something to say about the way people see migrants since the victims all appear to be one. But don't worry about that last part this is a gritty thriller that is likely to get under your skin.

 I really liked this film a great deal, Sure there is a few too many pregnant silences, but the the thriller itself is so compelling that you are going to want to see how this plays out...and then you'll want to see it again to see what you missed.

Recommended.

White Storm 3 Heaven or Hell (2023) NYAFF 2023 Fantasia 2023

WHITE STORM 3 HEAVEN OR HELL is the third film in the Hong Kong film series and to me it’s the least of the trilogy.

Aaron Kwok and  Louis Koo play under cover police detectives who have infiltrated the operation of drug lord Sean Lau. When a the bust that is supposed to take Lau down goes sideways, Koo’s cover is blown and Kwok is severely wounded and carried off with Lau to Thailand, unconscious and still under cover.  As Koo tries to find his friend Lau begins making in roads into the drug trade into the Golden Triangle. Kwok slowly recovers and becomes emotionally attached to a Noon the girl who took care of him during his illness.

Beginning with the recovery of drugs in the South China Sea and a completely bat shit crazy shoot out on the docks of Hong Kong, WHITE STORM 3 begins spinning out it’s story  jumping back and forth through time to set up the  evens we are seeing in the present. It pauses periodically for some crazy action sequences and some heavy doses of melodrama that push the envelope toward silliness.

Lau, giving the only real performance in the film, happily dances back and forth between serious and silly creating a really bad guy who is fiercely loyal to his friends and seemingly devil may care. It’s the best thing in the film and deserves a better movie.

Actually the whole film seems to be stumbling over the line between seriousness and parody. There is lots of macho posturing, bad action tropes (bullets and explosions kill all the nameless figures and spare the stars), over done melodrama (like when Kwok must pry his lady love from hugging a post because she won’t leave the battle zone because she’s "used to the fighting"), to bad performances (one scene at the end between the 3 leads had  the people around me at the NYAFF screening roaring with laughter because of the ridiculous dialog and performances) and some WTF turns that provoke audible audience disbelief (a bomb to the head and a broach on a tire).  Most jaw dropping of all after the film essentially ends there is an  final thirty second sequence that looks like an ad for Hong Kong Airlines (I’m guessing they paid for product placement).

Even the action sequences, outside of the opener, are not what they should be. They look kind of half assed and as if they wanted to just blow things up.  Things are confused and it almost never sure what you are looking at unless the stars are in the frame. Yea it’s fun to watch things explode but the truth is with out the context that is missing for much of the film it’s kind of like watching random bits on You Tube.

Honestly I don’t hate WHITE STORM 3, I’m just disappointed. The first two films  were really good thrillers, this is just a mess.  (To be honest  it didn’t help that Louis Koo didn’t appear on the screening and NYAFF only announced it via a small out of the way note on the door to the auditorium and on the stage of the theater right at the start- I didn’t see it on social media. Honestly I would not have schlepped in to see the film which opened the next day in local theaters)

Worth a look for forgiving action fans

NYAFF 2023 Short Takes: I LOVE YOU BEKSMAN, EMPTY NEST and A-TOWN BOYZ

 

I LOVE YOU BEKSMAN
Androgynous salon worker with orange hair falls madly in love with a beauty queen. 

This is just an okay romantic comedy that doesn't do anything unexpected. Full of cliches and well worn turns the film entertains but never soars.

EMPTY NEST
Elderly woman contemplating ending it all has a change of heart when she meet a young salesman. However as the friendship grows, a darkness begins to rise in her new friend.

While the narrative isn't anything new what shines here is the performances of the leads Zhu Xijua and Zhang Youhao,. Transcending simple film acting the pair give us characters we can really feel for with the result being that we are moved by their plight

A-TOWN BOYZ
A look at the lives of three Atlanta bases hi-hop artists of Asian decent, Harrison “Vickz” Kim, Eugene Chung, and Jamy “Bizzy” Long.

This is a good look at three up and coming performers and the things that have happened to them on their way up. Eunice Lau should be applauded not only giving us a compelling film but also giving us a side to the hip hop story that we haven't experienced before

A Light Never Goes Out (2023) NYAFF 2023

Sylvia Chang gives a wonderful performance as a woman mourning the death of her husband (Simon Yam). Her husband was one of the few remaining neon sign artists in Hong Kong. As she battles with her daughter about what is best, she decides, with the help of her husband’s apprentice, to finish one last sign.

Sweet charming and fuzzy in the right way A LIGHT NEVER GOES OUT is beautifully made drama that hits all of the right notes. While the film doesn’t do anything ground breaking, it does take the form and crafts a film of the highest order. Sure we’ve been here before, but the craftsmanship before and behind the camera are so good that we can’t help but have a grand time.

That the film works so well is do to Chang in the lead. We instantly like her and we root for her to finish the one big job. Additionally her pairing with Simon Yam makes as perfect a screen couple as we are likely to ever see. You feel the love between  them in the flashbacks and in the sequences where Yam comes to her now. Watching them together I realized that was the sort of relationship I want, I want to feel the way they feel for each other.

I loved this film a great deal.

Go see this at NYAFF- and stay through the end credits where they pay tribute to the artists who made all the signs that once filled Hong Kong

Mayhem Girls (2023) NYAFF 2023

As a group of high school girls form around one particular girl, the group begin to develop super powers.

Superhero influenced fantasy film has bits you would expect in a film like this and a whole lot of bits that you don't. This is actually more a coming of age tale then a straight on super power tale. It's the fact that this isn't a straight on superhero film that makes it something special.

This is quietly one of the more enjoyable films of the festival.

Kitty The Killer (2023) NYAFF 2023

Alleged comic book logic rules the day in the battle of assassins controlled by secret organizations as a young school girl code named kitty tries to unravel a mess her boss got himself into and get revenge for his killing.

I'm sorry if that doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, that's because this film doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense. Pulling plot points from at least three or four dozen other sources from books, comics, TV series and movies. Its a film that borrows liberally from everywhere to make stew that explodes and splash itself all over the place. Things seem to happen just to keep the movie going. The filmmakers claim it's comic book logic, but comics have logic, this just has odd turns just because.

That might have worked if the film was fast paced, but this film is slow as molasses. Everything in this movie moves at one quarter speed including the action sequences which while blood soaked  are all in slow motion. There is no spark no zip. Worse there is no suspense because there is no hurry. This is quite simply one of the dullest action films I've ever seen.

Who was this film made for?

I can not in good conscience recommend this film to anyone who even remote likes action films.

EXTREME FESTIVAL (2023) NYAFF 2023

Woman takes on the task of running a local cultural festival and ends up having everything that can go wrong go wrong.

Mannered comedy of errors requires you to click into it's wave length and it's kind of dislike for it's protagonists. There is a sense that the filmmakers don't particularly like their main characters, which would be fine but I'm not certain they have earned the dislike since when we see them they are already stressed out.

While there are some laughs mostly the humor falls flat having been done better elsewhere. 

While not bad I'm left to ponder why this film was chosen for the festival since it's unremarkable.

Hail To Hell (2023) NYAFF 2023

Two bullied girls decide that they are going to commit suicide until they see that their tormentor is living a happy life in Seoul. Deciding to get revenge before they die the pair  go to Seoul where they find their target not part of a Christian group. However things are not as they seem...

Black comedy about bullying, society and religion is going to work for some people and not others. The film has a very dark sensibility to it which may result in you sitting stone faced wondering why its supposed to be funny. Additionally many of the jokes are the sort to make you smile instead of laugh from the belly. You very much have to be on this film's wave length.

The big problem for me is even with the dark tone, the film goes kind of black with its portrait of the cult and what it is doing. It's not that I have a problem with it's look at the cult, rather the shift that takes place while we are there really belongs in another film. Tonally and thematically that part of the film should have been elsewhere.

While wonderfully not your typical film, I'm still not certain being different is enough to make you like the film. Somewhere about an hour in a kind of disconnected from the film.

Cord of Life (2022) NYAFF 2023

Across the board one of the top films at this year's NYAFF, CORD OF LIFE is full of life. 

The film is the story of a musician who takes his mother, who is suffering with Alzheimer's Disease back to the Mongolian country side one last time.

It's a simple plot for a complex and touching film. Full of moments that will ring true for anyone who has had to deal with aging and sick parents, this film doesn't sugar coat what a chore they can be. Additionally the film also shows us what a joy it can be to connect to our parents at a time in our lives when we don't always think that is possible, I was moved  by what I was seeing because I could see moments with both my mom and my dad before they passed.

Technically this film is a marvel.  One of the absolute must sees on a big screen films playing the festival CORD OF LIFE is a delight for the ear and the eye. I can not impress enough how gorgeous this film is. I say that because watching man sequences I wished I was seeing the film on an even bigger screen so that I could truly fall into the images.

This is filmmaking of the height order.

Highly recommended- this film will delight your eyes and move your soul

IN BROAD DAYLIGHT(2023) NYAFF 2023

Punch in the face film about an investigative reporter going undercover at a home for disabled people and finding that there is abuse going on. While her reporting results in public uproar sad truths continue to come out after the fact that shake her to her core

While this is an excellent film that's beautifully done all around the film scores bonus points by not taking the easy way out and showing us a happily ever after ending once the story is published. The film charts what happens next and it's just as riveting if not more so.

This is one you are going to want to watch and then revisit just because it's filmmaking of the highest order.

Recommended

A pointer towards Motherhood (2023) NYAFF 2023

I have seen MOTHERHOOD and I can't fairly review the film. The problem is not anything to do with the film itself, rather it was how it was sent to me and the issues I had while trying to play it. While I eventually was able to sort those issues out and I was able to see the film sans technical issues, I know that my feelings toward the film were effected by the first go through.

The film is a look back at what happened to drive a teen aged girl to commit suicide. She seemed to have everything, however her relationship with her mother was strained. Her mother was loving toward everyone except her. Indeed she had a wonderful relationship with her own mother,

 The film is an artistic and literary attempt to show the relationships of mothers and daughters. It is very much a mannered art film and I'm kind of surprised this isn't playing the New York Film Festival instead of the New York Asian Film Festival because the film is closer to the films that play later in the year.

Beyond that I don't feel comfortable critiquing the film simply because of the above mentioned issues, though I would be very interested in seeing the same material handed by female director.

NYAFF 2023 Short Takes: EFFECTS OF LYING, GAGA and BEAR MAN

 

EFFECTS OF LYING
A British Asian family descends into chaos as a day goes horribly wrong when the patriarch fails to navigate the relationships with his wife and daughter. 

This is a good, if at times by the numbers farce that hits all the right notes making us laugh one minute and feel warm and fuzzy the next.

GAGA (Tradition)
A look at a family belonging to the indigenous population of Taiwan, as they try to cope with events in the wake of the passing of the patriarch and the return of one of their members from abroad.

This is a low key drama that transports us to a place most of us have never been. Its a visually beautiful film that often delights the eye. If the film doesn't take us to some new high place of drama, it's still quite all right since this is a solid tale perfectly told.

BEAR MAN
How you like this over the top comedy will be determined by how you feel about the film and it's boisterous sense of humor. Nominally based on a myth about how bears can become human, the story actually focuses on two men who may or may not be North Korean bears who disappeared after eating mugwort and garlic.

Possessing broader humor than I am I normally like, it was not my kind of silly, BEAR MAN made me smile. While it didn't completely knock my socks off I was entertained

The Host (2006) NYAFF 2022

A family desperately tries to locate one of their members who was carried off by a giant mutant monster.

Oscar Winner Bong Joon Ho's THE HOST returns to Lincoln Center as part of the New York Asian Film Festival. It originally played as part of the New York Film Festival in 2006. That's when I saw it originally, where the screening burned into my brain as one of the great times at that festival.

When the film played in 2006 most people had no idea who Bong Joon Ho was. Sure some people did, but many people at the screening didn't. More importantly a lot of people there had no idea what they were seeing. They weren't expecting a giant monster movie with a wicked sense of humor. As much as I was enjoying watching the film, there was a point where I kind of stopped watching the film and started watching  the audience- the people freaking out at the scary points, the blue hairs  talking to each other, desperately trying to sort out what it all meant. I remember shaking my head and cursing that the director wasn't there that day because, frankly it would have been a hell of a Q&A.

Now the film is legendary.  Its a classic giant monster film. And if you've never seen it- you must. The film is just a great deal of fun on every level. It's also influenced generations of filmmakers and film lovers.

I can't recommend it.

Just go.