Assembly from China is more than just a war film (China Film)
Assembly pushes the envelope in the way it straddles multiple genres. Set in Northeast China in 1948, the first half of the film serves up brutal war action, reminding us yet again of the tragic waste of lives that combat can incur. The action is intensely shot and physically impressive. But then the story dramatically shifts gears to deliver something emotionally richer and more complex. I don't want to give away any more than that but it proves to be a riveting film.
Also playing tonight is the South Korean film Public Enemy Returns . It is the second follow up to the hit police thriller Public Enemy. Although I was unable to screen the film in advance, it wins a vote of confidence from me based on the clever storyline and fine, offbeat performances of the first film. South Korea is producing some of the best genre filmmaking in the world so check this one out.
The high kicking JeeJa Yanin in Chocolate (Magnet Releasing)
Then tomorrow, October 10, I was able to screen a quartet of films that I'd recommend. At the top of the list would be the Thai actioner Chocolate . The film is from Prachya Pinkaew, the director of Ong Bak and The Protector, the Thai action films that introduced audiences to the impressive Tony Jaa. Chocolate promises to deliver a female Tony Jaa in JeeJa Yanin (who looks about 12 but IMDb cites her age as 24). This five-foot-two dynamo plays an autistic girl who becomes a kind of idiot savant of martial arts. Some of the fights are truly amazing but I fear that the young star and the multitude of stuntmen were often hurt, just watch the outtakes at the end. But some kick ass fight nonetheless.
Ken'ichi Matsuyama plays a kind of goth Sherlock Holmes in L: Change the World (Viz Media)
Another highly enjoyable pop entertainment film is L: Change the World, a spin off from the wildly successful Death Note franchise. (NOTE: The second Death Note live action film, Death Note 2: The Last Name will have a special screening October 15 and 16 as part of Viz's ongoing film series.) L was the young detective in both Death Note films who had to track down a killer that used a shinigami's death notebook. L, still played by the quirkily endearing Ken'ichi Matsuyama, was the best thing in the Death Note films so it's cool that he got his own film. L: Change the World is not as clever a battle of wits as the Death Note films and it misses out on the moral dilemmas those films posed. But L (who's been described "a goth Sherlock Holmes with a killer sweet tooth") is always fun to watch.
Loser! Big Man Japan (Magnet Releasing)
Now a little bit of patience is required to appreciate Dai Nipponjin ( Big Man Japan ). This mock documentary by Japanese comedian Hitosi Matumoto begins with a camera crew following Dai Sato (played by Matumoto), a middle-aged loser who may just be the dullest guy in Japan. We sense some hostility on the part of his neighbors, and viewers may also experience hostility as they wonder where this oddball movie is going. But give the film a chance and you will find a comic payoff. Our first clue as to what's up occurs when the man enters The Department of Monster Prevention. Matumoto foreshadows what's to come by having Dai Sato obsessed with things that get big (be it an umbrella that extends or expanding seaweed). Then we finally discover this guy's secret: when giant monsters attack Japan he turns into a 500-foot tall superhero. But he's still a loser even as a superhero. Dai Nipponjin is the driest of dry comedies as it chronicles Dai Sato's problems from failing TV ratings to appeasing sponsors to a wife who can only stand to see him once every six months.
And finally on October 10, I'd like to highlight the documentary Dirty Hands , a profile of L.A.-based graffiti artist David Choe. In some ways the film feels like a mess that's unable to organize itself or provide insights into Choe or a context for his work. Yet the chaos of the filmmaking reflects the artist himself. The film never satisfied me yet it was also compelling to watch. Go and decide for yourself.
On October 11, there's a delicate and intimate Asian American work called Santa Mesa that follows a young orphaned boy back to the Philippines to live with his grandmother. There's also a rather formulaic Asian American romance called Kissing Cousins that boasts a pair of appealing leads. The main guy's job as the deliverer of bad news proves quite entertaining. October 11 also serves up a collection of horror shorts gathered under the banner of Fright Night and the only anime offering, Vexville . But don't expect the lovely hand drawn style of Hayao Miyazaki. Vexville is a 3-D, CGI actioner that looks more like a video game. I wasn't able to screen it in advance but I'm always happy to check out anime on the big screen.
Shinigamis or death gods appear in Accuracy of Death (Accuracy of Death Film Partners)
On October 12, there are more shinigamis (death gods) on hand in Accuracy of Death , (also known as Sweet Rain ). The Japanese film stars Chungking Express ' Takeshi Kaneshiro as a shinigami who comes down to earth to deal with soon to expire mortals. Sweet romance and supernatural fantasy blend nicely here. Sweetness, sometimes in excess, can also be found in the period dramady Always while melodrama marks the Canadian-Asian film Ocean of Pearls , about a Sikh doctor struggling with finding a balance between his culture and assimilating into Canadian society. Absurd action can be found in Japanese Dororo , based on a popular. The film screened at the recent New York Asian Film Festival where the program listing suggests "Disney movie + Lord of the Rings + samurai film + LSD = this huge Japanese blockbuster about a wandering swordsman who fights demons." Well that about sums it up. The film boasts wild action and effects.
South Korea's brilliantly disturbing Shadows in the Palace (Achim Pictures)
On October 13, my favorite film of the festival screens: Shadows in the Palace. Action of a more chilling kind permeates this South Korean entry. This all-female murder mystery is set in the 15th century and is the creation of woman writer-director Kim Mee-jeung. She tricks us by serving up an elegant and refined surface but underneath lurks something dark and evil. The events take place in a royal court and involve the lethal and ruthless maneuvering of the lovely court maids. This is a horror film in that the physical and emotional violence that these women inflict on each other is truly terrifying. This is my must-see pick for the fest although it may send some running for the exits.
On October 15 is my documentary pick for the festival: Shame . In his feature-length documentary debut, New York-based filmmaker Mohammed Ali Naqvi recounts the story of Mukhtaran Mai, an uneducated Pakistani village woman who, in 2002, was gang-raped to atone for a crime her brother allegedly committed. But rather than quietly accept her fate, Mai charged her rapists and took them to court. The film follows her for years as she fights legal and social battles that not only changed things in her village but had an international impact as well.
Also screening on October 15 is Wayne Wang's latest film A 1000 Years of Good Prayers . Cross-cultural misunderstandings have been a favorite theme of Wang's since he followed a pair of cabbies around Chinatown in Chan is Missing in 1982. But now a more mature Wang sees cross-cultural misunderstandings occurring within the Asian community and across generations. Wang found the perfect vehicle to explore these themes in a pair of short stories by Yiyun Li that spans three generations of Chinese immigrants. In the first film, A 1000 Years of Good Prayers , a father visits his adult daughter in California. They may share a common language but they cannot communicate. A 1000 Years of Good Prayers focuses on a Chinese immigrant who's been in the U.S. for years. But the second film Princess of Nebraska looks to a much younger immigrant who's just arrived in the U.S. That film will debut on YouTube on October 17.
Always 2 is SDAFF's closing night film (Toho)
October 16 is the closing night of the festival and the sequel to Always is the selection. Always 2 follows the cast of the first film as they move past the war. The film has a particularly entertaining open that features one of my favorites from Japan, Big G (that Godzilla). But that's the kind of cameo you can get when you have Godzilla's copyright holder Toho as the studio behind Always 2.
The San Diego Asian Film Festival runs through October 16 in San Diego at the UltraStar Mission Valley Theaters at Hazard Center. The dates listed are the first screening date for each film and many of the films have encore screenings. For a complete schedule go to the festival website at www.sdaff.org . There's sure to be something for every taste, and some of the best films in the world are currently coming from Asia so the festival had some choice titles to work with.
