New York Asian Film Festival: Filmbrain's Picks

Summer's here (well, close enough), and that means the Subway Cinema gang are back with their annual New York Asian Film Festival, which runs from 16 June - 1 July. For this, their fifth year, they've actually trimmed the number of titles (23 features versus last year's 31), but it works to the festival's advantage, for the lineup isn't quite so fanboy-heavy as it has been in past years. In other words, there are plenty of sublime treats for those not interested in wrestling coleopteras or zombie mermaids. The most pleasant surprise this year is the inclusion of Peacock, winner of the 2005 Silver Bear at the Berlinale. (Filmbrain's Berlinale review HERE.) Don't let the "festival movie"-sounding plot summary scare you away -- cinematographer Gu Changwei's debut feature is a simple, subtle, family drama that creates moments of beauty out of the simplest of images. (Screens on 22 June at The Anthology)

It's Gozu for kids! Well, not exactly, but Takashii Miike, the director least likely to contribute to the kid-flick genre has done just that with The Great Yokai War. Easily one of the most imaginative, entertaining and just plain screwy films I've seen this year, it's a fantasy tale that is part Miyazaki, and part Peter Jackson, but infused with that trademark Miike madness. A young boy (Ryunosuke Kamiki, in a remarkable performance) must join forces with the Yokai (Japanese folk-spirits) to prevent nothing less than total apocalypse. Rather than creating a CGI-fest, much of the film is lo-tech, with nearly all of the Yokai portrayed by actors in rubber suits. Like Spirited Away, The Great Yokai War contains richly developed characters, and a plotline that isn't afraid to challenge kids, though it should be noted that there are some disturbing images that might be too intense for the young 'uns. But in what other kids' film will you find a whip-wielding Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill, Vol. 1) in a mini-skirt, or an almost fetishistic obsession with the ever-moist thighs of Mai Takahashi? Forget all the Hollywood blockbusters -- The Great Yokai War is the most fun you'll have in the dark this summer. (Screens on 17 June and 25 June at The Anthology)

It wasn't too long ago that a film like Linda Linda Linda would have been unimaginable. An uneasy history (to say the least), combined with government bans resulted in very little shared pop-culture between Korea and Japan. But the recent Kanryu (Korean pop culture) boom in Japan, driven mostly by a younger generation who aren't troubled by past events, can be viewed as the beginning of a reconciliation between the neighboring nations. With its paper-thin plot, Linda Linda Linda manages, somehow, to become the best youth-culture film out of Japan since All About Lily Chou Chou. After losing their lead guitar player to a jammed thumb, a high school all-girl rock group winds up selecting a Korean exchange student (Bae Doo-na, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) to take over as lead vocalist. The rest of the film follows the girls as they rehearse the three songs (by pop-punk band The Blue Hearts) that they've chosen to cover. The petty rivalries and inflated drama of being a teenager is captured in great detail, and it's one of the more honest teen films to appear in some time. Bae Doo-na is unquestionably the star here, and though much of the humor revolves around her limited Japanese, her physical performance, with awkward, self-conscious moves and unmatched ability to stare is a wonder to behold. It's a surprisingly calm film, and director Nobuhiro Yamashita keeps his camera movements to a bare minimum. With infectious tunes and solid performances throughout, Linda Linda Linda is a non-sensationalized, understated high school film with a payoff that makes it more than worth your time. (Screens on 24 June and 1 July at The ImaginAsian)

A few months back, I sang the praises of Song Il-gon's Spider Forest (which has since been released on DVD in the US). The good news is that this year's NYAFF is screening not one, but two of his other features. The first, Feather in the Wind (Git), is a subdued, quiet little romance that avoids the histrionic melodrama often found in the genre. There's no great tragedy, and nobody is dying of a rare disease. Git tells of a filmmaker who travels to a remote island to meet with a former girlfriend who left him ten years earlier. There he meets Lee So-yeon, a young woman who dances the tango and runs a motel with her mute uncle. Granted, by description alone it does sound a bit twee, but there's something very poetic about the film, and it feels almost autobiographical at times. Director Song does a wonderful job in capturing the rough landscape and ever-changing climate of Udo Island, and it's a perfect example of just how gorgeous a lo-fi digital feature can look. (Screens on 26 June and 30 June at The ImaginAsian) I've not yet seen Song's latest feature, Magicians, which, like Russian Ark, is a continuous ninety-minute take, but Cinephiliac assures me it's quite an achievement. (Screens on 22 June at The Anthology, and 26 June at The ImaginAsian)

It's with a certain hesitancy that I recommend Park Kwang-hyun's Welcome to Dongmakgol. It's not a great film, but there are some unforgettable moments in this anti-war parable, which became a surprise box-office hit in Korea. The premise is interesting enough: during the Korean War, six soldiers who have been separated from their platoons -- two South Koreans, two North Koreans, and an American -- all manage to wind up in a remote mountain village that knows (or cares) little about the outside world, and where violence or aggression is unknown. (I think you can see where this is going.) After a prolonged and amusing standoff, the soldiers learn that they aren't so different after all, and agree to help the village re-stock their food supply, which was destroyed by a stray grenade. Along the way they will learn to play American football, fight a giant boar (in slow motion), and dance amidst a sea of CGI insects with the village simpleton-cum-pixie Yeo-il (Oldboy's Kang Hye-Jung). The third act, which has the soldiers making the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the village is a bit overwrought, but the film does have it heart in the right place. Films with this much charm usually send me running, but there's more than enough about Welcome to Dongmakgol (including a lush score by Joe Hisaishi) to justify the ticket purchase. (Screens on 23 June and 1 July at The ImaginAsian) As for unseen films, two that I won't miss are Funky Forest: The First Contact, which is Katsuhito Ishii's even-more-surreal follow-up to the bizarre but brilliant Taste of Tea, and Ryuichi Hiroki's It's Only Talk, which is about the life of a manic-depressive blogger in Tokyo. (How can I but not see that one?) Tickets for all screenings can be purchased HERE. Hope to see you there.

Comments

[hfolkner]

Filmbrain, I believe you were referring to Kill Bill (volume 1) and not Pulp Fiction for the Chiaki Kuriyama reference...

anyway, nice selection of films (haven't seen Great Yokai War yet, but plan to in the near future.) Have fun at the festival.

[Filmbrain]

Yes, of course. I guess QT's films have become interchangeable for me.

[nkw88]

Don't forget Blood Rain and Duelist.
Both films show the beauty of Korean period drama
like Untold Scandal.