Park chan-wook is no stranger to delivering some of the best character studies that also pack a sense of sexual perversity, and pain within its seams. “The Handmaiden” is one of his most epic in scope dramas that also manages to be one of the most erotic romances I’ve seen in a while. “The Handmaiden” is pure ambition that succeeds in delivering something of a labyrinthian narrative of crime, salvation, and romance that begins as a simplistic drama. It takes a brilliant artist like chan-wook to handle a film that morphs in to various themes and experience various tonal changes without it completely falling apart, but Park chan-wook handles it by making each new turn around the corner absolutely suspenseful.
Tag Archives: Asian
Karate Kill (2016) [Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2016]
Kenji, a karate master who keeps to himself, learns of his little sister’s disappearance so he flies to the US to find her and kill anyone who gets in his way. Writer/director Kurando Mitsutake builds a crazy fun action film. His film not a character study and that is perfectly fine. It’s build like an 80’s action film on steroids which mean the characters are okay, the bad guys are really bad and the good guys are not so numerous. However, the fight scenes are many and highly entertaining. The film is built to showcase the fighting and the action, the kidnapping of the little sister is only a reason for the lead to go nuts and fight everyone in his path to get her back. The film is in both Japanese and English adding an angle to Kenji’s travel to the US as he does not speak English and must rely on other Japanese people for most of his communications. The cultural differences are there from that but also seem to be exaggerated for the sake of entertainment.
The Killing of America (1981) [FrightFest 2016]
Originally released in 1981, The Killing of America is a “documentary of the decline of America.” The film is a collection of news footage and interviews about violent events that have happened in the United States up until the murder of John Lennon in Manhattan in 1980 and the violence at the gatherings following his death.
Harmony (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
Health and happiness conscious people have found a way to live forever and without despair. In this utopian future, Tuan Kirie is an investigator for the health agency. As she breaks the rules at her outpost position, she is brought back to Japan where a sudden wave of suicides happens as she arrives. Tuan Kirie is dispatched to investigate these and she takes advantage of this to investigate her past as well.
The Inerasable (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
A horror writer works on a serial using fan letters about paranormal activity in their lives. After receiving a letter about a haunting that rings a bell, she teams up with the student who sent it and they work to uncover where all the paranormal happenings in the area come from.
Kaijyu Mono (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
In the only logical location for Kaijyu attacks, Japan, a Kaijyu wakes up and eats teenagers in a forest. A scientist and his assistants look into the event and get involved in the fight against the Kaijyu. The film is directed and co-written by Minoru Kawasaki who also worked on The Calamari Wrestler, a film with a very particular story line. With his co-writer on Kaijyu Mono, Takao Nakano, they create a delightfully bizarre tale that only makes sense when screening at Fantasia.
The story they build here is full of surprises and twists, not all of which make sense but they somehow fit in this film. It’s hard to explain, but it works, possibly because the whole premise is completely crazy. The characters they have created are not particularly original or deep and they feel like crazy caricatures which brought this viewer to the conclusion that it’s a wanted thing. They add so many odd selections to their film that it all has to be planned.
The cast for this is composed of Saki Akai, Bin Furuya, Shinzo Hotta, etc. They all are a bit cartoon-y and definitely do so on purpose as this is what the story lend itself to. That being said, the acting, within its confines and limitations, is quite good. It cannot be easy to keep a straight face when the elder actor on set shows up dressed as Sailor Moon for example.
The titular Kaijyu us fun, but not particularly original. It looks similar to many Kaijyus seen before, which is most likely a wanted thing as a throwback to old school Kaijyu films. This particular monster is clearly a man in a suit and it shows, adding charm to its appearances and to its fight sequences. In these sequences, the monster fights a giant man, made so by shots in the story and by using cool maquettes in the film techniques, bringing even more nostalgia to the proceedings. The fights themselves are more like wrestling than martial arts even though they do through some of that in there, they are very exaggerated, but quite entertaining.
Kaijyu Mono is a fairly simple film, keeping proceedings to a minimum of locations and characters. It’s fun and entertaining but doesn’t re-write the book on its genre or bring much new elements to the table. It’s silly, many elements are just there to be funny or look cool, but it works in a sense that it’s entertaining non-sense with a strong sense of nostalgia. Fans of old Kaijyu films should love Kaijyu Mono.
Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14th until August 3rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.
Lowlife Love (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
A lowlife, 39 year old film, director uses his position to sleep with young actresses under promise of making them stars. While doing this, he’s trying to get his next film produced and cast. Around him: His best friend makes porn films to gather money for a filming budget; a young film writer wants to get his script produced; a young actress falls in love with the film writer, et al. Everyone seems to be out for their own careers and selves, not caring about others.
Lowlife Love is written and directed by Eiji Uchida and is a study of people doing everything they need to get to their ends, to get fame for themselves, no matter the cost to others and themselves. Uchida crafts a study of what drives people, some people, to go to ends some never would to get what they want. His style is a bit in your face, showing events and how they affect everyone involved but never truly getting to the bottom of the reasons and the feelings behind it all.
To bring this to the screen, Uchida has a cast of 30 or so, most of them giving decent performances. Unfortunately, most of the characters feel a bit thin and one dimensional at times, with a very few standouts. Thankfully, one actress shows nuance and layers in her performance, Maya Okano as Minami shows the best arc, the best performance. She shows great talent and becomes the best part of the film. Her performance shows naïveté at first and then a form of regret as she has lost her innocence throughout the events of the film.
The cinematography by Kenji Noguchi follows the tone of the film, framing the scenes in ways to enhance their feeling of despair and of need for fame. The film feels almost dirty some times, claustrophobic at others times, all through the look the images’ framing give it. He adapts his style to what the scene needs, showing versatility. However, the film’s story not being exactly great, this is a bit lost in the shuffle.
Lowlife Love is an attempt at making a dark dramedy about what goes on behind the scenes of some films but it makes it sound like it’s what goes on behind all films. The story could have been great but its execution, starting with the story’s writing, is not on point. A lot of it feels as though the filmmaker is trying hard but not hitting his mark, the characters feel exaggerated, and this all leads to a less than fascinating film. Unless one is really into director Eiji Uchida’s films, it may not be worth watching.
Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14th until August 3rd, 2016.