In my dealings with Asian cinema, I have seen a number of strange, extreme and experimental films, but I have to admit “Mehsampur” left me quite perplexed, regarding both its nature (an experimental mockumentary one could say if the basic premise was not a real event) and its quality. Let us take things from the beginning though.

“Mehsampur” runs as part of the 9th edition of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, that runs at 15 cinemas, across London, Birmingham and Manchester, from 21st June to 1st July, with 27 films, including features and short films, in competition. It is the largest South Asian film festival in Europe. Buy your tickets via this website, at respective cinema box offices: http://londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/

The film functions as a very strange documentary, that has an eccentric filmmaker named Devrath arriving to Punjab to make a movie about the popular folk-singing duo Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur who were assassinated in the village of Mehsampur in 1988, in a crime that remains unsolved. His attitude, however, is rather extreme, as he asks anyone who comes his way about the killings rather rudely, and spends much of his time in bars watching some very strange live performances. Eventually he tracks down the former manager of the group, Kesar Singh Tikki, who seems to hold a grudge against them and is keener on promoting his other acts through Devrath’s film. Later on, he meets a wannabe actress, Manpreet, who ends up having quite graphic sex with him, and Lal Chand, an actual member of the band who was also shot but survived. After a number of events, that could only be described as surrealistic, Devrath forces the unwilling two on a trip to the area where the murder occurred. And then things get really strange.

Let us try the description thing again. Kabir Singh Chowdhry directs a documentary about a mockumentary (or maybe the opposite), where the narrative occasionally functions as in a feature, but rather surrealistic film, since the actual characters involved in the case mostly act, instead of “being interviewed”. Confused? Wait until you see the movie.

The fact remains though, that despite the fact that its purpose is rather vague (showing the real Punjab? finding the murderers? creating a feature?), the movie soars with a raw energy that derives mostly from three factors. The first one is the presence of Devrath Joshi as Devrath, whose obnoxious, offensive and weird resolve keeps the film moving forward at all times, despite  the fact that the pace is not so fast. Additionally, the difference in character between Lal Chand and Navjot Randhawa who plays Manpreet, also works quite well in the disorienting base the film lies upon.

The second is Devrath Joshi (yes again), Kabir Chowdhry and Rahat Mahajan’s cinematography, which has captured the various settings and episodes in a way that may not be so artful, but fits the unusual aesthetics of the film to perfection.

The third is the imagination and the direction of Chowdhry, who has created a spectacle that works in so many ways (even as a psychedelic road movie), despite the lack of abidance to almost any norm regarding fiction or documentary.

As I said in the begging, “Mehsampur” is not easy to describe, since it is more of an experience than a film, or to watch for that matter. As an experience though, it is truly worth it. Personally, I will keep my eyes on Kabir Singh Chowdhry

Takumi Saito is a well-known Japanese actor, heartthrob and model, notorious for the popular TV-series-turned-movie “Hirugao: Love in the Afternoon” with actress Aya Ueto. Saito’s directorial debut “Blank 13” is the tale of an alienated son, longing and struggling to engage one last time with his father, holding on to a handful of memories. The movie is based on the true story of a friend of Saito and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Blank 13 is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The title “Blank 13” refers to the 13-year gap in the relationship between Koji (Issei Takahashi) and his father (Lily Franky). An unrepentant gambler and liar, the father had vanished in thin air 13 years before, leaving behind his wife and his two young children. On one hand, his escape from responsibilities had felt like liberation for the family, increasingly harassed by creditors, but it had also forced the mother to work very long hours, night and day to get by, leaving the boys growing up and coping with life completely alone.

Lots of reasons then to be resentful towards this man and it’s not a surprise that when Koji’s oldest brother (Takumi Saito) announces he has some news from him, nobody really jumps for joy. The man is very ill and has only three months left to live but Koji’s mum and brother don’t feel like going to see him. They are still hurt and they haven’t forgiven him for the way his careless life had deeply affected them. But Koji has got one thing – only one – that still connects him to his father; their shared passion for baseball. Not that his father had dedicated much time to him, but that single time he’d taken the little boy to the stadium, and those few afternoons they’d played catch together are everything that Koji has left of his father and therefore, he decides to go and meet him.

“Blank 13” is unusual in its structure and manages to feel fresh despite a story that it’s not particularly original but it is narrated with great empathy and attention to details. Moreover, it stays above any moral conclusions and away from slipping into an easy fatherly-redemption faux-pas.

The narration unravels on a non-linear timeline. It starts in fact with a funny episode at the father’s funeral where the sparse attendees are compared to the big crowd of a nearby funeral and it triggers immediately some considerations about the value of a person, measured on the base of the emotional legacy left behind. This introduction is followed by a series of very intense and painful flashbacks, showing some significant episodes of the family and their tribulations with the inconsiderate father. Then, all of a sudden, the title appears, half way through the movie and the narration abruptly changes tone and mood. The few participants to the funeral that we saw at the beginning start spontaneously to recount episodes of their interactions with the deceased (mainly concerning gambling and money), recalling a series of hilarious memories before the eyes of the astonished sons. But discovering a sweet and generous side of their father will only make them feel more distant and estranged from him.

In a recent interview in London the director explained “Blank 13” was filmed in just a week using a mix of techniques that clearly delineate the different dimensions and indeed make it very compelling. All the flashbacks are shot in an elegant saturated photography, inspired by Christopher Doyle’s distinct palette and stark imagery; they are vivid, touching and very stylized. On the contrary, the monologues at the funeral have been filmed docu-style, without any rehearsal and only a trace of script. They are in fact a series of long takes of the characters while improvising a jam session of tributes to the late friend. Some of them are comedians, others were casted only on the base of their bizarre demeanor but despite the eccentricity of this directorial choice, the effect is surprisingly organic and amusing. An engaging element is also the abrupt change from drama to comedy, and not the other way around like it more commonly happens; Saito said he was inspired by some Japanese bread rolls that have 2 or 3 different flavors at the same time; unquestionably a curious source of inspiration but – considering the result – utterly agreeable.

Although the film is centered on the father / son dynamics, the mother figure (Misuzu Kanno) is also an extraordinary presence that permeates the whole film. She is rarely seen – mainly from behind – and has very few lines but the whole narration is filtered through her character, indirectly creating a haunting feeling of presence.

Takumi Saito has put together the bitter-sweet “Blank 13” with great maturity and a special care for composition and structure. When asked about his next project, he revealed it will be something totally unexpected and after “Blank 13” we are looking forward to being surprised again.

Selected Filmography:
Magnificent Butcher
The Prodigal Son
Mr.Vampire
School On Fire
Painted Faces
Exorcist Master

During the mid 1990’s, I happened to stumble across a kung fu movie called “The Prodigal Son“, which changed my life forever. It had everything, awesome Kung Fu, Comedy, Drama, Training Sequences and the star of the show, Lam Ching Ying. It was only a few years later when I read Lam Ching Ying had passed away in 1997 from liver cancer, I was deeply saddened. Since then, I have had the privilege to collect many of his movies, Lam Ching Ying was not only a great Martial Artist and Stuntman, but he was also a very good Actor.

Lam Ching Ying joined the Peking Opera School at a very young age, under the guidance of Madame Fan Fok Fa. By the age of 17, Lam became a stuntman appearing in Shaw Brothers movies such as Brothers Five (1970), The Golden Knight (1970) and The Lady Hermit (1971). In 1971, Lam Ching Ying moved to Golden Harvest Studios, working mainly on Bruce Lee movies such as Fist Of Fury, The Big Boss and Enter The Dragon (Also appearing in the finished 1978 Bruce Lee film Game Of Death). Other movies you can see Lam Ching Ying appear in around this time are HapKiDo (1972), A Man Called Tiger (1973), The Skyhawk (1974), The Man from Hong Kong (1975) and more. But it wasn’t until The Magnificent Butcher (1979), where we got to see Lam showcase his Acting and Martial Arts skills on screen in a big role. The showcase fight in this movie is between Lam Ching Ying and Yuen Biao, amazing timing and skill which could never be re-filmed in today’s movie industry.

In 1980, Lam Ching Ying went on to appear in a Sammo Hung Horror/Kung Fu movie titled “Encounters of the Spooky Kind“. But in 1981 something special happened, when Lam went on to play the role of Leung Yee Tai in the Kung Fu classic The Prodigal Son. For those who don’t know, Leung Yee-tai is a famous Wing Chun master and sifu of Leung Jan (Played by Yuen Biao). The Prodigal Son won the Best Action at the Hong Kong Films Awards, which Lam Ching Ying took to the stage and accepted.

The following years would see Lam Ching Ying appear in movies such as The Dead and the Deadly, Hocus Pocus, My Lucky Stars, Those Merry Souls and the classic Mr.Vampire. Mr.Vampire was a big hit in Asia making HK$20,092,129 at the box office and spurned a few sequels and spin offs like Mr.Vampire 2-3, Magic Cop, Vampire Vs Vampire, The Ultimate Vampire, Exorcist Master to name but a few.

Here is a list of Lam Ching Ying movies throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s to look out for:
The Millionaires’ Express, Heroes Shed No Tears, Eastern Condors, School On Fire, Painted faces, Spooky Encounters, Red And Black, An Eternal Combat, The Tantana, Spiritual Trinity, Legend of Wong Tai Sin, Pom Pom and Hot Hot, Mr. Vampire 1992, Mad Mad Ghost, Martial Arts Master Wong Fei Hung, The Green Hornet, Shaolin Avengers, Chinese Ghostbuster.

Lam Ching Ying is not only a legend of Hong Kong Cinema, but a legend of World Cinema. Behind the screen or infront of it, Lam Ching Ying dazzled audiences around the world for over 40 years and I hope the future generations to come will not forget people like Lam Ching Ying and those around him, who gave us the best years of cinema we will ever witness. I thank Lam Ching Ying for instantly making me a fan for life in the mid 1990’s and i hope others out there get to see his movies and watch him shine on screen.

RIP Lam Ching Ying – 27th December 1952 – 8th November 1997.

Last year I (once again) faced my prejudice towards Kim Ki-duk and watched “The Net”. I found it formulaic, empty and calculative. At least, not many actresses were harmed during the filming. This year, I decided to repeat the experiment with “Grass” by Hong Sang-soo. And yes, I am equally fond of him as I am of Kim Ki-duk. I respect his early work and what it meant for New Korean Film, his soft spot for importance of banalities in everyday life, yet I am anything of a fan of Hong’s films made after “Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors”. I just find them unbearably heavy-handed and pretentious. But I also know people can change, plus, well, “Grass” only goes a little over one hour and Kim Min-hee has never been less than amazing. So, what could go wrong, right?

Grass is screening at Art Film Fest Kosice 

“Grass” takes on the coffee shop matrix, with locating the narration in a well-hidden coffee place where people meet, have whatever drink and talk, while a young women, Areum (Kim Min-hee) sits in a corner, eavesdropping on them, writing down their little stories. They talk about deceased friends, love, misery, accuse each other of bringing misery and destruction into other peoples’ lives. Basically, things they must have been holding on their chest for some time already.

It is not difficult to recognize Hong’s handwriting in the series of two-way to three-way conversations, shot sometimes from the point of view that turns out to belong to Areum, and sometimes it substitutes for that of a third viewer – us. Yet, of course, it is not us who decide when and where to look, and for a while it is actually amusing to follow the lead. The whole film is built as a series of single takes of the conversations with intercuts being replaced by camera movements and re-focuses. In a way, it could be a little game of focalisation: do we watch the “real” conversations, or are these a result of Areum’s notes and insights? The same way the choice of classical music to play alongside the talks, that would be a great fit for a wide lavish narrative or wild country, is in the end attributed to the coffee place owner’s taste in music.

Yet, “Grass” lacks sense of timing and manages to feel much longer than it actually is (with a friend critic we agreed that it felt somewhere between 3 and 5 hours). What to blame? The dialogues that are actually pointless without pointlessness being the point? That the directorial attitude, perhaps motivated by many cheers for the former films, is once again heavy handed, and so very aware that the film “should” have these and those attributes that it becomes shallow and pretentious? The fact that you actually envy the immediate availability of soju (or whatever local with alcohol) with the same intensity you might normally be craving the food while watching Korean films? Somehow, in the end, the only set of dialogues I could rely to are the exchange between Areum’s brother and his fiancée about having a drink when to her “It’s still afternoon,” he replies “The sun’s almost down;” and the odes to drinking soju.

“A home country is a paradise.”

Oralman is the official term for ethnic Kazakhs who have returned to their home country after it became independent in 1991. Under Soviet rule in the 1930s, individuals and families had to leave Kazakhstan for the neighboring states. The combination of repression as well as unbearable conditions such as famines made life difficult in the country and many people had to face the choice of leaving their homes. According to author Almaz Kumenov the Kazakh state officially asked its former citizens to return due to the “demographic collapse” of the country, but also because the number of ethnic Kazakhs still living there was so low.

Consequently, many former refugees returned to Kazakhstan, hoping to regain their roots and their home. According to statistics from 2015, almost one millions oralman have immigrated to Kazakhstan defining a small, but growing part of the population. However, their return was not necessarily met with enthusiasm or support by the local population. Current studies and essays, for example by Baurzhan Bokayev, state the number of problems has made life hard for many returnees. From a considerable number in unemployment, language barriers and a general lack of governmental assistance, the unanimous consensus seems to suggest returnees often are unable to integrate into the country they – or their ancestors – have called home. A bitter conclusion for many of them.

“Returnee” is screening at Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival

In his fourth film, Kazakh director Sabit Kurmanbekov has chosen these returnees and their issues as its focus. While issues of identity and home are not uncommon in Kurmanbekov’s body of work, for example, in “Seker” (2009), concentrating on a group of people must have been an interesting change of pace.

Saparkul (Dulyga Akmolda) has decided to return to Kazakhstan, the home country of his grandfather (Esim Segizbayev). Because his father is old, he has chosen to give up his position as muezzin in the local mosque and has already received all the necessary documents by the Kazakh authorities. Together with his wife Zeinep (Bayan Kazhnabieva) and his daughter Mariam (Dinara Dairova) the two men start the long journey from Afghanistan to Kazakhstan.

However, apart from the difficulties of the journey, the country of Kazakhstan has changed since Saparkul’s father left. And as his health slowly deteriorates, the family is forced to make a living in a place whose people mostly avoid them and with very little support.

The movie opens in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan with the camera following Saparkul on his routine of calling for the morning prayer from the roof of the local mosque. Mars Oumarov’s camera introduces a repeated visual pattern in the film, the equilibrium between man and environment. In a film which relies mostly on the image rather than the spoken word, these kinds of visual metaphors are crucial for its narration and characters. More precisely, Kurmanbekov and his cinematographer create an emotional landscape. fitting to the themes of belonging, identity and home the story deals with.

Fittingly, the image is later on repeated, in a different context as well as country. But then there is always a sense of dislocation, of a precarious balance in the air since the concept of home itself has been suspended. More significantly, one has to focus on the shots showing a sense of disconnect between landscape and character, especially in the sections taking place in Kazakhstan in the second half of the film.

Considering the characters are guided by their grandfather’s promise of a “paradise”, there is also an increasing sense of disconnect between them. As the film reaches its first tragic turning point, the biblical concept of the “promised land” has become a state of mind instead of being bound by geographical matter. Similar to the characters in the works of Abbas Kiarostami or the Brothers Taviani, Saparkul, Mariam and Zeinep have to to adapt to the new home, find a new home in their mind as well. In other words, they will have to regain the sense of harmony from the beginning.

Besides its visuals and narration, “Refugee”  relies heavily on its cast. Dulyga Akmolda plays Saparkul as a thoughtful man, a character, whose emotional isolation due to his service as mujahideen has left deep wounds. In the barren Kazakh landscape, providing little solace, he is forced to leave these memories of his old home behind, in order to be able to move on. Akmolda’s intense performance highlights the inner turmoil of this man finding the right balance between being a son, a father and separating himself from the soldier he once was.

Additionally, Dinara Dairova as a young woman may just be the biggest asset of this film. Mute ever since she stepped on a mine, she seems to go through the same kind of struggle as her father communicated only through the smallest of gestures. Branded as an outsider, just like the rest of the family, her fight also consists of finding a connection to the world around her. In the end, her struggle is one of so many, speaks so clearly without the act of talking, and possibly leaves the biggest impression long after the credits have finished rolling.

“Returnee”, or “Oralman”, is an impressive, a moving film with a great cast, good direction and beautiful cinematography. In times of global waves of immigrants, Kurmanbekov has succeeded in making a pointed statement of the struggles of integration and regaining a sense of home in a foreign country. In the end, home may be a state of mind, but reaching this individual “promised land” may just be the longest journey one will ever undertake.

Sources:

1) Kumenov, Almaz (2018) Kazakhstan’s returnees frustrated by cold shoulders
https://eurasianet.org/s/kazakhstans-returnees-frustrated-by-cold-shoulders, last accessed on: 06/09/2018

2) Nearly 1 Million Kazakhs Have Resettled in Kazakhstan Since 1991 (2015)
https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-ethnic-kazakhs-oralman-return-uzbekistan-turkmenistan-china/26796879.html, last accessed on: 06/09/2018

3) Bokayev, Baurzhan “Invisible” Problem of Ethnic Migrants in Kazakhstan: Legal regulations and issues of human rights
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/ILJ/upload/Bokayev-Invisible-Problems.pdf, last accessed on: 06/09/2018

4) Status of Oralman in Kazakhstan – overview (2006)
http://www.kz.undp.org/content/dam/kazakhstan/docs/InclusiveDevelopment/
Status%20of%20Oralmans%20in%20Kazakhstan.%20Overview.pdf?download, last accessed on: 06/09/2018

Winner of the Best Documentary of 2017 by Kinema Junpo and produced by Nagoya based Tokai TV, “Life is Fruity” is a quite interesting and very Japanese documentary (if you will allow me the term).

Life is Fruity is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Through Kirin Kiki’s very fitting narration, we are introduced to the story of 90-years-old architect Shuichi Tsubata and his wife Hideko, who live in Aichi prefecture, in a house surrounded by an enormous garden “featuring” 70 types of vegetables and 50 types of fruits. The documentary takes a very close look at their everyday life, which revolves around caring for the garden, but also highlights the story of both their 65-year-long relationship and Tsubata’s career.

In that fashion, and through photos, videos and interviews, we learn about the time Tsubata was a star of architecture, who was tasked with heading a team that was to build the Kojori new town, after the tidal waves almost a century ago destroyed the previous establishments. Tsubata came with a daring plan of houses that would coexist with the natural environment, but his proposal was rejected, for a faster and more cost-efficient solution. This decision led him to abandon the public service he worked for and to buy the piece land he lives now, where he built a house based on the design of his favorite architect, Czech-American architect Antonin Raymond. Since then, he cultivated the land, along with his wife and now moved-out children (who state that he involved them in all his projects, almost forcefully) in order to leave a legacy for the next generation, which, according to him, is soil worthy of cultivating.

At one point in the story, Tsubata dies, and the documentary shifts its interest completely, towards the life of Hideko without her husband, in a rather dramatic turn.

Kenshi Furihara’s approach to his subject is subtle and gentle, but also quite thorough, as he explores almost every aspect of their lives. Their relationship is great to look at, as she still considers him very handsome and he does all those little things for her, like painting these adorable signs Hideko has placed all over the garden. His story about the disappointment he experiences is quite sad, but as his legacy remains, through his works in Taipei New City and a psychiatric asylum he designed just before he died, among others, makes his a rather happy and successful life.

On the other hand, Hideko’s life after his death is filled with a distinct sadness, as we watch her continuing to prepare his meals every day, and living a life without the man who used to be its center. Furihara, however, does not let the film become a melodrama, both through the use of the relatively cheerful and always fitting music, and by avoiding any kind of tear-jerking scenes, which are bound to have been there. Shigeru Okada has a done a very nice job on the editing of the different footage, retaining a speed and a succession of events in the past and the present that make the film a rather entertaining experience, despite the relatively “slowness” that permeates it.

“Life is Fruity” is a very sensitive and thorough documentary that presents an alternative, but also very Japanese way of life of two people, whose lives are more than worthy of taking a look at.

Rituparno Ghosh (1961-2013) emerged on the Bengali film world in early nineties after the death of Satyajit Ray. He worked for an advertisement agency before making two documentaries for Doordarshan ( India’s National Television)  and moved into filmmaking with the movie “Hirer Angti” (Diamond Ring) (1992).  But despite getting critical applause, the movie was never released commercially. But Rituparno’s next movie “Unishe April” ( 19^th April) won National Award for best film and changed the face of Bengali cinema with a touch of freshness and aesthetic story-telling approach.

Tagore has been a big influence for Rituparno Ghosh and its reflected on his style of film making which brings in the aura of  poetry  many times. And the use of poetries in his movie has been unique and always blended beautifully with the narrative. Sangeeta Gupta’s documentary on this eminent director is like a beautifully crafted rhythmical composition, floating like a bird – the “Bird of Dusk”.

“Bird of Dusk” runs as part of the 9th edition of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, that runs at 15 cinemas, across London, Birmingham and Manchester, from 21st June to 1st July, with 27 films, including features and short films, in competition. It is the largest South Asian film festival in Europe. Buy your tickets via this website, at respective cinema box offices: http://londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/

The documentary takes us through the filmography of Rituparno Ghosh with a narrative where different close aids of Ghosh express their thoughts about him and his style of film making. The director decides to interview people who have worked with Rituparno for long or knew him personally. The narrative touches the thoughts of Aparna Sen, Sharmila Tagore, Soumitra Chatterjee, Prosenjeet Chatterjee, Arjun Rampal, Konkona Sen Sharma, Nandita Das and Mir, who depict  their relationship with Rituporno – personal and professional.

Aprana Sen has been a close friend of Ghosh and also guided him to enter the world of celluloid as Ghosh was working in the field of advertising. In the narrative, she also depicts his inner turmoil about his sexual orientation.

Bengali cinema world went through a huge void for meaningful cinema after the death of Satyajit Ray in early 90s. One of the biggest contribution of Rituparno is to bring back the urban, middle class cinema lovers to movie theatres again. The narrative highlights it through the interviews of Soumitra Chatterjee, Prosenjit and Arijit Dutta, the owner of Priya Thratre, Kolkata.

“Kolkata”- the city has been a big influence for Ghosh and director Sangeeta Dutta has exploited this aesthetically in the film. The director perfectly blends the role of Ranjan Ghosh ( a theatre actor) who plays the character of Rituparno in the movie, as a silent protagonist who follows the inner stream of the film. It allows the director to bring the glimpses of the city with the narration by Mir and Soumitra Chatterjee  from the book “First Person” written by Rituparno, in the narrative beautifully.

Rituparno Ghosh’s sudden and untimely death ended his amazing journey abruptly. Director Sangeeta Datta allows the audience to look back into his magnificent era of creativity through an aesthetically crafted poetic journey of 90 minutes called “Bird of Dusk” – which is undoubtedly one of the best documentaries of recent times.

Embrace a world of magical action and adventure from the pages of Japan’s iconic Weekly Shonen Jump with the summoning of anime favourite “Black Clover Season One Part One”, available from August 6 as a DVD and Blu-ray combo pack, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Based on the manga series by Yūki Tabata, “Black Clover” invites viewers to a world where magic is commonplace and almost anyone can conjure spells, except for young orphan Asta. Mocked for his inability to use magic and living in the shadow of his genius rival Yuno, Asta was disheartened when the annual grimoire ceremony appeared to leave him without a tome of his own. While defending Yuno from a thief however, Asta is gifted the legendary five-leaf clover grimoire, with its power of Anti-Magic giving him the strength he needs to charge towards his dream of becoming the most powerful mage in the land, the Wizard King!

Produced by teen action powerhouse Studio Pierrot (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Tokyo Ghoul), Black Clover is overseen by director Tatsuya Yoshihara (“Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls”), with series composition by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (“Girl’s Last Tour”).

Gakuto Kajiwara (“You Don’t Know Gunma Yet”) stars as the feisty Asta, alongside Nobunaga Shimazaki (“Free! Eternal Summer”) and Yuki Kana (“Recovery of an MMO Junkie”). Dallas Reid (“Hyouk”) leads the cast of the included English-language dub, with Micah Solusod (“Soul Eater”) and Jill Harris (“In Another World With My Smartphone”).

Synopsis:

Asta and Yuno are two orphans who want the same thing: to become the Wizard King. Locked in a friendly rivalry, they work hard towards their goal. While Yuno excels at magic, Asta has a problem uncommon in this world: he has no powers! But, on the day they receive their grimoires, they surprise everyone. To reach their goal, they’ll each find their own path to greatness—with or without magic.

Blu-ray Bonus Features:

• Black Clover: Inside Studio J
• Inside the Episode
• Episode 4 Commentary
• Episode 7 Commentary
• Clover Clips Special Edition
• Trailers

“Black Clover Season One Part One” contains 10 episodes with an approximate run time of 25 minutes each and is not yet rated.

Have you ever seen a trailer for a film and thought, “what did I just watch?” Or, “why is this clown fighting monsters on the subway?” Or even, “what is Michael Douglas doing here?” Welcome to “Animal World”, the bonkers new vision from Han Yan, the promotional trailers for which have been leaving viewers equal parts confused and excited. The film is based on the manga series “Ultimate Survivor Kaiji”.

Animal World will be available in cinemas across the UK starting June 29, courtesy of Cine Asia

Zheng Kaisi works in a gaming arcade. Money is hard to come by and what little he earns, he spends after the hospitalisation of his comatose mother. He also has a “condition” where, whenever he feels overtly emotional, he imagines himself as Super Clown, his favourite childhood cartoon character, a sword-wielding crime-fighting vigilante wrecking havoc on the “monster humans.” His girlfriend Liu Qing is a nurse who lends him some money when she can and helps care for his mother at her hospital. When his childhood friend Li Jun comes to him with a real estate scheme that seems like it could make him a lot of money, he mortgages his mother’s apartment and hands over its deed to Li Jun. Inevitably, the deal goes south and Zheng Kaisi finds himself indebted to Anderson, a mysterious businessman who loans money to people without collateral at a very high interest rate.

Anderson informs him that the only way he can erase his debt is by joining his game aboard the cruise ship Destiny. Zheng immediately agrees and is taken to the ship with many other debtors where they are inducted into the game. The rules of the game are simple: each player is given 12 cards- 4 Rocks, 4 Papers and 4 Scissors- and 3 stars. The players must play each other and the winner gets one star from the loser per game played. At the end of the allocated 4 hours, the players must have used up all 12 cards and must retain all 3 of their stars in order to be marked safe. What happens if they’re not safe? Well, you don’t want to know. 

Clowns have been used in films often, mostly for their scary element, but director Han Yan is here to tell you that they can be absolute badasses too! it is safe to say that “Animal World” is, well, worlds away from his previous works, the Angelababy-starrer melodrama “First Time” and the cancer rom-com “Go Away, Mr. Tumor”. The film succeeds in preserving the kinetic action and the hyper-stylistic look of its source material manga. It begins with an off-the-chains action set-piece involving Super Clown and the aforementioned monsters inside a subway carriage and rarely gives up its pace since. However, one can’t help but think that the promotional trailers may have sold us a different film than what’s on offer here. The bits with Super Clown are spread too thin throughout the film and most of the film is taken up by the game on Destiny and the battle of wits waged to win it. Which is not to say that that part of the film doesn’t work or is boring; on the contrary, that is when the film is at its most interesting and exciting. 

Interestingly enough, the Super Clown parts of the story are not from the manga and are the only element that feel out of place in the story, particularly as Zheng’s “ablilites” as Super Clown never really come in handy in the narrative. But one can hope that could change and be explored further in the inevitable sequel, which is alluded to in the mid-credits scene. After all, there are three more gambling games apart from Rock, Paper, Scissors in the first series itself and five more over the course of six series of the manga. The motive for Anderson to having the debtors play this game are also hinted at, but never really mentioned clearly, and that’s something the sequel could improve upon, specially since the mid-credit scene gives us a little look into the pasts of the characters.

While this is a film that doesn’t give the actors involved a lot of scope to show off their talent, Li Yifeng is earnest and believable as the charismatic Zheng Kaisi. Liu Qing doesn’t have a lot of screentime, but the adorable Zhou Dongyu leaves an impression. One could be forgiven for thinking that Michael Douglas may have been in this for the fat paycheck, but he has a lot of fun as Anderson and lights up the proceedings every time he’s on screen. Cao Bingkun is equally likeable as the loyal but irresponsible Li Jun.

Though the logic and the card-counting behind Zheng’s actions through the game could possibly have been confusing to some, they’re easily explained via on-screen graphics that form a big part of the stylised look of the film. The CGI, by WETA and Rising Sun Pictures, is top-drawer! The monsters are familiar-looking but wonderfully realised. Together with Max Wang Da-Yung’s cinematography, the CGI gives the film a shiny, stylised neon look. Action scenes are briskly edited to give a kinetic feel to the proceedings. Neil Acree and Michael Tuller’s rock-based background score compliments the look of the film well.

If there is one Chinese action film starring Michael Douglas and featuring a clown as a central character that you see this year, make it this one! “Animal World” is stylish, fast-paced, exciting and a hell of a lot of fun.

“Vampire Doll” was released in 1970 at the height of the European Horror boom and on the surface appears to have all the trappings of the Gothic Horror that had been so successful over the proceeding decade by the likes of Hammer. With the movies gaining an audience at the time in Japan, it was perhaps inevitable that this style would be adapted. It was the first of a loose trilogy by Michio Yamamoto who was to follow it up with “Lake of Dracula” in 1971 and “Evil of Dracula” in 1974.

Buy This Title

The prologue begins with a raging storm as Sagawa makes his way to the Mansion to meet his fiancé Yuko. Upon arrival, lightning crashes around and the door is answered by the deaf mute Genzo. Greeted by Yuko’s mother, he learns that Yuko has died two weeks ago in a car accident. Staying the night at the mansion, Sagawa finds that not all is as it appears. When he doesn’t return, his sister Keiko and her boyfriend Akira set off to investigate. As sightings of Yuko occur and the tragic back history of the Nonomura family is revealed, events take a darker turn and not everything is as it appears.

“Vampire Doll” is a fascinating movie to watch in retrospect as it offers glimpses into the direction of what would eventually become the J-Horror movement whilst also offering something more than the standard Gothic Horror trappings. The opening sequence could almost have been transposed from any European movie of the time. Yet, once we have the cutaway from the apparently undead Yuko to the awakening Keiko, it moves to a more modern setting. Something that Hammer itself would not do for a couple more years with “Dracula AD1972”.

When the undead Yuko appears on screen she is lit beautifully, making her standout as an ethereal presence. The tragic dimensions of the character appear early, pleading with the confused Sagawa to kill her. Aware of her actions and guild ridden, she is more than just a typical merchant of death. The notion  that she was born under an unlucky star gives an air of inevitable tragedy.

What makes the film even more interesting is the appearance of Dr Yamaguchi. Initially, he can almost be read as a Van Helsing figure, being both Doctor and believer in the occult. The tale he relates of his military past reflects on the trauma of the 2nd World War generation. The idea that “Until I see the sea that goes home I won’t die” gives it a more eastern flavour and brought to mind “Journey to the Shore” by Kiyoshi Kurosawa which follows a similar thread. Here, as in that movie, whist people may be physically dead, their spirits are not at rest until they have performed one last act and can move on. This gives the movie more depth and makes more sense once the climactic scenes are done. The movie is able to blend elements of eastern and western horror. Taking the traditional doomed family and given it a more localalised feel as here they are “Cursed by the God of Death”.

The movie also doesn’t quite go in the way you would expect it to, which is pleasantly surprising given the relatively short 71 minute running time. When Akira and Keiko go to leave the Mansion and the car won’t start, then we have a standard Horror movie cliche. Yet it transpires that Akira intentionally caused it to allow them to investigate. Mrs Nonomura appears to be the villainess of the piece but is in fact probably the most tragic character and Dr Yamaguchi also is not what we initially presume. By playing with our expectations, it manages to keep our engagement as whilst we have an inkling of where we are going we can never quite be sure.

The characterization was always going to be slight given the need to keep things moving at a fair pace. Hiroshi Takagi as Akira consequently struggles as a result due to his character switching from sceptic to believer and back again. He feels more a plot device rather than an actual character. Kayo Matsuo is a perfectly adequate scream queen as Keiko and Atsuo Nakamura gets to be suitably earnest as Sagawa in the opening scenes. It’s left to Yukiko Kobayashi and Yoko Minakaze as Yuko and Mrs Nonomura respectively to provide the moments of depth.

Any horror stands and falls by its scares. Michio Yamamoto succeeds in creating a sense of otherworldliness. There is a consistent atmosphere to the setting and several scenes are very effective in building up the tension. Yuko’s first appearance is especially well done and the finale is startlingly bloody, given what has gone before. It’s the little touches that mark this movie out. The Scar on the side of Mrs Nonomura face,  The dreamlike quality of Yuko’s appearances and an almost “Psycho” like reveal at the end when Keiko enters Yuko’s room.

Whilst there is nothing in this movie that will unsettle a modern watcher, as a historical reference point in the evolution of the Japanese Horror Film it is definitely worth a glance as it contains plenty of atmosphere and creates a true sense of tragedy that is surprisingly effective. Never truly a Gothic Horror despite wearing it’s influences, it is an example of how a movie can combine it’s cultural influences to create it’s own identity.

Winner of the Best Director Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival, Edmund Yeo’s second feature is a truly strong film that deals with the trouble of the Rohingya, a stateless Indo-Aryan people from Rakhine State, Myanmar.

“Aqerat” is screening at Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival

According to Human Rights Watch, the 1982 laws “effectively deny to the Rohingya the possibility of acquiring a nationality. Despite being able to trace Rohingya history to the 8th century, Myanmar law does not recognize the ethnic minority as one of the eight “national indigenous races.” They are also restricted from freedom of movement, state education and civil service jobs. The legal conditions faced by the Rohingya in Myanmar have been widely compared to apartheid, by many international academics, analysts and political figures, including Desmond Tutu, a famous South African anti-apartheid activist. UN officials and HRW have described Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing.

Based on the successful internet novel, Passing From Your World by Zhang Jiajia, “I Belonged to You” is a quirky romantic comedy directed by Zhang Yibai.  The movie topped the Chinese box office the first week it was released and won Best Film at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival Golden Crane Awards in 2017.

Watch This Film 

Chen Mo is the host of the Number 1 late night radio program with his long time love, Xiao Rong, until a lonely caller unknowingly sparks Xiao to end her relationship with Chen.  This sends the show and its host into a downward spiral culminating in a seemingly ridiculous bet between Chen and Xiao.  If Chen and his new and inept intern, Yao Ji, can rise to number 1 in the ratings, Xiao must marry him.  If the show fails to garner the top spot, Chen must parade around the town carrying a sign that reads “I am an idiot”.

Chen’s “little brothers” Mo Shi Ba and Zhu Tou are also not fairing well in the relationship department. Mo Shi Ba is an eccentric inventor living off his cousin Chen and is chased daily by local female police officer Li Zhi. Zhu Tou has been in an 8 year relationship with his college sweetheart, Yan Zi. Unfortunately, the couple has spent most of their relationship apart as Yan Zi has been traveling the world, funded by the money Zhu Tou sends her consistently.

Zhang Yibai directs and Zhang Jiajia writes a thought provoking yet fun and sometimes sad look into how couples fall in and out of love. They reveal to the audience through stories told by the characters of how their relationships developed and dissolve as each one journies on their very different paths of life.

Deng Chao’s portrayal of Chen Mo is brilliant.  Deng is able to express the many emotions of Mo, who doesn’t handle the dissolving of his relationship well, which leads him to lose the compassion and warmth that made him relate to his radio audience.  His bitterness blinds him about what is meaningful in life, being present in the moment. Chen is also blinded to the fact the love he once had for Xiao Rong can be perfected with the least likely person, Yao Ji.  Du Juan as Xiao Rong and Zhang Tianai as Yao Ji have excellent onscreen chemistry with Deng.

Innocent Mo Shi Ba, played by Yang Yang, is so preoccupied with developing new technology in order to become successful that he doesn’t realize that independent Li Zhi chasing him every day is her quirky way of flirting with him. Bai Bai He is delightful as Li Zhi.

Yue Yun Peng’s performance as Zhu Tou is endearing and emotional as he transforms from a gullible and kind hearted man who just wants to make his girlfriend happy by giving her everything, into a lost soul who begins to travel the world.  He saves money for an apartment by living with Chen as he prepares for an ill fated marriage proposal.

The cinematography of the movie is just as importatnt to the film as the actors and the script due to the emotional weight it delivers in each scene. The nighttime and rainy scenes wrap the aucience in sadness and lonliness, while the outside daytime scenes are light and airy.  The daytime scenes full of fun, joy and life.

“I Belonged to You” is a tear-jerking yet funny analysis of the love lives of a group of young people that could be set anywhere in the world. The audience can empathize with their losses and celebrate in their happiness. Everyone personally knows or could be any one of these vibrant characters, which makes the film heartwarming and enjoyable.

Probably one of the most anticipated Japanese films of the year, “Sekigahara” deals with the homonymous battle that took place in 1600, and ended the Warring States era, establishing the Tokugawa shogunate.

Sekigahara is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The movie is split in two parts. The first one narrates the events that brought the Western and the Eastern Army facing each other, and established the two main opponents on a personal level, Mitsunari Ishida, who defended the rights of Hideyori, son of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who wanted the shogunate for himself. Through a number of political movements, treacheries and cunningness, we watch the desperate efforts of the two men to secure as many allies as possible, since the inevitable civil war was looming over the country.

The second part deals with the battle itself, examining the various stages that occurred and the constant change of allies for both sides that decided the war in the end.

The script stays quite close to the facts, but also includes some events of folklore, like the way Mitsunari and Toyotomi met, and the presence of ninjas, which has not been established properly in history (at least to my knowledge). Furthermore, some notions of romance are also instilled in the story, again including two female ninjas, Hatsumi and the White Snake.

Masato Harada directs a film that tries to utilize the newly established tactic we saw in films like “Godzilla Resurgence” with the fast cuts that change settings and characters almost constantly, in order to present as many characters and events as possible. However, this tactic does not have the success it had on the aforementioned film, since the abundance of characters makes the film somewhat confusing, at least to those who do not know the events by heart. This factor seems to extend to the whole of the movie, which demands much knowledge of the events for someone to truly appreciate it.

On the other hand, I found the use of humor in the film quite well-placed, as it provides a well-wished break from the torrent of events. The same does not apply to the romantic aspects, which I found somewhat misplaced, although I have to admit that it adds depth to the main character, Mitsunari.

If the narrative is somewhat faulty, the same cannot be said about the production values of the film. Takahide Shibanushi has done a great job in the cinematography, highlighting both the political and the battle scenes with realism and gusto, with the film being “embroidered” with a number of images of extreme beauty, particularly regarding the valley and the forests the battle takes place in. His framing is also exceptional and benefits the most by the lighting direction of Takaaki Miyanishi, which finds its highlight in the various indoors scenes, which have quite an ominous feel, particularly through the use of shadows. The same elaborateness applies to the costumes and the set design, all of which is exceptional and highlight the rather big budget the production had.

The acting is a bit difficult to comment upon, since the story features an abundance of characters, most of which do not get much time on screen to perform. Three however, are the ones that stand out. Junichi Okada as Mitsunari gives a very convincing performance as a man fighting against a force much bigger than him, while the scenes that he is in agony (either for the events of for love) are the highlights of his performance. Koji Yakusho as Ieyasu performs with much theatricality, occasionally as a caricature, and is quite good in this presentation, as much as the main source of comedy in the film. Takehiro Hira as Sakon Shima, Mitsunari’s right hand is exceptional as the embodiment of the samurai spirit.

“Sekigahara” is an impressive film, that could have been a masterpiece if Harada had more time in his hands (I think the material could be easily adapted into a trilogy), in order to present the characters and events more thoroughly. Nevertheless, I do not think anyone would be disappointed by everything that goes on in the film.

Khavn De La Cruz is a poet, pianist, visual artist, and Father of Philippine Digital Filmmaking—has made 52 features and 115 short films. His films have screened at the MoMA, Guggenheim, Tate, Venice Architecture Biennale. He has presented retrospectives of his films, curated programs on Lino Brocka and the Philippine New Wave for Viennale, CPH:DOX, Sharjah Biennale, and Edinburgh; and lectured in various international film festivals. He is the president of the film, music, & publishing label Kamias Overground and festival director of .MOV, the first digital film festival in the Philippines.

Here are his top ten Philippine films, in chronological order. (I have to apologize, for some of the films I could not even find a synopsis)

1. Prinsesa Naranja [Princess Naranja] (1960) — Nemesio E. Caravana

Three Romantic Stories in a great epic as colorful as it is magnificent.

2. Elias, Basilio, & Sisa (1972) — Jun Aristorenas

3. Si Popeye, Atbp. [Popeye, Etc.] (1973) — Ishmael Bernal, Joey Gosiengfiao, Elwood Perez

Si Popeye, atbp (Popeye etc.) is an unofficial Popeye film released in the Philippines in 1973. A live-action film, it consists of three stories: Episode 1: “Popeye”, Episode 2: “Dracula” and Episode 3: “Dyango”. Popular Filipino personality Ariel Ureta stars as a mustachioed Popeye (and as the protagonist in the other two segments) while former Miss International Aurora McKenny Pijuan portrays Olive Oyl. The Popeye segment was directed by renowned Filipino filmmaker Ishmael Bernal.

4. Isprakenhayt [Sprakenheit] (1973) — Poch Bautista

5. Supergirl (1973) — Howard Petersen

Supergirl is a 1973 Filipino film directed by Howard Petersen. The film stars Pinky Montilla as the titular superhero.

6. Mang Kepweng [Mister Kepweng] (1979) — FH Constantino

Mang Kepweng, based on the comic strip by Al Magat and serialized in Tagalog Klasiks, is a popular quack village doctor who prescribed laughter, herbs and potions to cure illnesses. It was adapted into a movie in 1979 with comedian Chiquito in the title role. The popular trio of Tito, Vic and Joey debuted as the Tres Dwendes.

7. Mag-toning Muna Tayo [Let’s Do Toning First] (1981) — Mike Relon Makiling

Due to over booked reservations, Mando, who is going to have a second honeymoon with his nagging wife accidentally ended up in a haunted house in Baguio. He then crossed paths with Evita, a gay stage director and Rene Soriano, a famous TV personality who is investigating the disappearance of the former owners of the mentioned house. Together, they experienced series of haunting experiences that escalated to series of murders caused by an unknown assailant. It is now up to them to uncover the mysteries behind it and to discover the true identity of the killer.

8. A Man Called Tolongges (1981) — Angel Labra

Tolongges is well-known for his expertise in handling guns and his heroism as the people consider it brought him bags of money. Tolongges together with Zapatatem and Arizona Gid had their biggest project when they were hired by Don Miguel Ala Suerte to get his wife, Estella from the hands of her kidnapper con ex-fiance Ala Tigre.

9. Johnny Tango (1982) — Ricky Santiago

10. Ang Alamat Ni Leon Guerrero [The Legend Of Leon Guerrero] (1982) — Eddie Nicart

Alamat ni Leon Guerrero is a movie starring Lito Lapid, Marissa Del Mar, and Paquito Diaz. Leon Guerrero, the Pinoy “Lone Ranger” symbolizes the fight of good over evil and the triumph of right over wrong. Lito Lapid plays the legendary crime-fighting gunslinger who champions the oppressed and punish the oppressor and tyrants.

Starring professional baseball players from the Hong Kong professional league. “City of Baseball” follows the team as they struggle with personal and professional struggles in order to bring legitimacy to the sport.

Watch This Title

The main conflict arises between the main starter pitcher Ron and relief pitcher Chung after Ron injures his arm in a bar fight and the team has to turn to Chung. On top of the team not having much faith in the young pitcher’s skill, they dislike his personality. With Chung being more sensitive, reserved and a romantic, he clashes with the more gruff and hardened teammates. In an attempt to save the team, Ron reaches out to Chung and tries to close the distance. However, Ron’s interest in Chung’s girlfriend soon sees the pair fighting again. The two still push forward through the chaos, in an attempt to bring the team together before the nationals.

“City Without Baseball” has many curious and outlandish creative choices, which, although the execution in all artistic aspects falls pretty flat, they still create an odd appeal within those choices. With the choice of using actual baseball players in, what seems, like an attempt to get more legitimacy and recognition, the acting in the film feels very forced and awkward. A good example is in the lead Yu Chung Leung, whose entire performance is so jilted and hammy that any attempts to make him into a romantic lead are squashed by his limited skills as an actor. Building on top of these awkward performances, the music also seems utilized in such a way that it removes you from the film and instead of bringing a stronger connection, the overly romanticized lyrics more showcase how the film is failing in the genre. Each track also includes birth dates and an end date, which gives the impression of paying tribute to dead musicians, which does not fit in well with the theme or the tone of the production.

On the back of these strange choices, and others not mentioned here, perhaps the oddest choice is in the ending itself. The story builds up to a major tournament and the film cuts, awkwardly, to actual TV footage, so the tournament is not a re-enactment but the actual televised playoffs. Given the outcome of the game not really fitting the narrative of the film, it gives the impression everything was written and shot except for the closing act, and the film completed after tournament results. Perhaps budget restraints lead them deciding not to stage a tournament, but how they chose to film it is very perplexing.

One of the major struggles that most viewers will face comes with the film’s underlying homoerotic themes. Although I would put this movie within the “gay” genre it has a lot of conflicting themes which make it difficult to pin down. Firstly, all the men live a heterosexual lifestyle which exists in stark contrast to their actions and words amongst each other. The use of actual baseball players seems more like a calculated move to get more homo-erotic content in, as a notable amount of conflict takes place while naked in the change room. I also find the prospect of an entire sports team consenting to star in a film which seems aimed at a gay audience rather unlikely and I imagine they were given a different impression into what the film would be. So, although the film’s underlying theme seems apparent to my sensibilities, it also seems a lot of work was done to subvert those themes. This makes the whole production, both frustrating and fascinating at the same time.

“City Without Baseball” is one of the hardest films I have had to review. Granted that the target audience seems extremely niche and I am far removed from said audience. With this in mind, the movie was a very fascinating watch for me and opened up some deeper questions about homo-sexual culture in Chinese film, and in particular how censorship can create a film like this whose underlying message of repressed homosexuality seems painfully obvious. For me, this restriction gives the film and its characters an interesting sense of tragedy based on their desires going unrealized because of social pressure.

In trying to view the film in a more direct approach as a dramatic production with romantic elements, it comes across as poorly written, awkwardly performed, visually unappealing and full of questionable creative decisions. All these elements make “City Without Baseball” a rather tedious film on a technical level. However, the production is transformed by the underscored sexual tension between male characters and the attempt to subvert those desires by using masculine culture as a guise to convey certain themes. This results in creating, what almost feels unintentional, an engaging drama which can lead to deeper discussion. So for those outside the intended audience, I can still see that the film could appeal to those looking for unfamiliar and interesting content.

June 22, 2018 – The 17th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF, 29 June to 15 July 2018) will award Hong Kong’s Stephy Tang its Screen International Rising Star Asia Award on July 7th before a screening of her film The Empty Hands.Tang, a former volleyball star and model, started out in the entertainment business as the lead singer of the phenomenally popular girls’ band The Cookies before launching her successful solo career. In addition to concerts, albums and television appearances, she started her own fashion label and wrote a romance novel. In film, she is best known for her pairing with Alex Fong in a series of popular rom-coms directed by Patrick Kong from 2006-2015.

NYAFF is celebrating Tang for her recent shift in career direction, taking on a series of more challenging roles. In Cheung Wing-kai’s “Somewhere Beyond the Mist”, she plays a pregnant policewoman investigating a morbid murder case; in Chapman To’s “The Empty Hands“, she plays a young woman who reaches self-actualization by stepping back into the ring after the death of her estranged father, a karate master. She trained for six months for the latter role.

Tang recently told the South China Morning Post that she hopes The Empty Hands represents a new era of “more female-oriented films in Hong Kong”. She said, “In the last few years, I have been hoping that people would recognize me as an actress rather than as a singer. Of course I still do concerts but, in the past, I made movies as a singer, and now I hope I’m more an actress doing music. I’m determined to make this happen.”

Samuel Jamier, NYAFF’s executive director says, “At a time when Hong Kong cinema is reinventing itself and finding a new maturity, we’re excited to award an actress who has also reinvented herself. We believe that Stephy Tang has the talent, determination and charisma to become one of Hong Kong’s leading actors in the years to come.”

The previous recipients of the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award were Japan’s Fumi Nikaido in 2014; Japan’s Shota Sometani in 2015; Japan’s Go Ayano, China’s Jelly Lin, and the Philippines’ Teri Malvar in 2016; and Thailand’s Chutimon “Aokbab” Chuengcharoensukying in 2017.

NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (NYAFF)

Now in its 17th year, the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is North America’s leading festival of popular Asian cinema, which The Village Voice has called “the best film festival in New York,” and The New York Times has called “one of the city’s most valuable events.” Launched in 2002 by Subway Cinema, the festival selects only the best, strangest, and most entertaining movies to screen for New York audiences, ranging from mainstream blockbusters and art-house eccentricities to genre and cult classics. It was the first North American film festival to champion the works of Johnnie To, Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike, and other auteurs of contemporary Asian cinema. Since 2010, it has been produced in collaboration with the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a composer and conductor who has scored several well-known films, including “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983), “The Last Emperor” (1987) and most recently “The Revenant” (2015). His career began with a pioneering electronic music group in the late 1970’s and he has always maintained a unique aesthetic. Director Stephen Nomura Schible, who has also directed one of Sakamoto’s concerts, gives us an inside look into the life of this maestro.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The film begins with Sakamoto examining a piano that was recently recovered from the site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The piano was hit by the tsunami and floated away, with evidence of tide marks showing its journey. Sakamoto looks over the salvaged instrument that he is still able to play. This leads us into the two major concerns of his life: music and his anti-nuclear activism. Following the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear reactor and the deaths and displacement of many people, the concern about nuclear energy in Japan has grown. We see Sakamoto on demonstrations outside government offices and giving a performance for those sheltering those who have lost their homes. This tragic event will not soon be forgotten in Japan and the film shows the importance of it on the lives of everyone it affected.

“Ryuichi Sakamoto: CODA” also spends time discussing the composer’s own struggles with cancer. He stoically accepts his condition and it would be hard to say that his has been a wasted life. As he explains, all he can do is attempt to stave off the inevitable for as long as he can. He is helped in this by his complete devotion to his art. We see, throughout the film, a man whose restless creativity drives him forward. Whether it is recording noises in the woods, or other natural sounds, to incorporate into his music; or experimenting with various instruments, sounds, or techniques, he seems to have a boundless sense of childlike wonder and limitless imagination. He is also a man with a great appreciation for what he does. His love of the work of Andrei Tarkovsky and recent collaborator Alejandro González Iñárritu, shows that he is a connoisseur of films and of great art as well as a producer of it.

The director Stephen Nomura Schible does little to distract from his subject, letting the scenes play out naturally. The intimate nature of the documentary, as it follows Sakamoto in his studio, during his performances, or strolling through the woods, really allows you a look inside his world. Schible effortlessly picks up on details that highlight the composers interests and ideals. For example, the stack of DVD cases, or the numerous instruments in his studio, let you see Sakamoto’s world rather than hearing about it from others. In fact, there are no cutaways to talking heads, and the whole documentary is narrated by Sakamoto himself. He tells anecdotes about his career, looks back on his various successes, and shares his thoughts on life and music.

The finale of the film features an emotional sequence as he discusses his favourite quotation from the film “The Sheltering Sky” (1990), which he composed the music for. In this scene, Paul Bowles (author of the novel) delivers a monologue on the brevity of life and the seemingly limitless possibilities of the living. It is the perfect way to round off this celebration of a man whose talents ensure that he will live on through his music long after he is gone. A highly recommended watch both for fans of Sakamoto or anyone with an appreciation for music and creativity.

Kabir Singh Chowdhry is a multi-disciplinary artist and film director. In 2007, he won the ‘Passion for Cinema’ award for his one-minute film, Dolly. His 42-minute film Good Morning received the grand Jury Award for Best Narrative short at the South Asian International Film Festival 2011, in New York. He was awarded the HT Youth Icon Award for young achievers in North India. In December 2012 he participated in India’s first collaborative feature film The Lavst Act.

On the occasion of his film, “Mehsampur” running as part of the 9th edition of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, we speak with him about the nature of the film, its aesthetics, the cast, the cinematographers, and many other topics

The first question has to be this. How would you describe Mehsampur to someone who has not watched it yet? 

“Meshampur” is a film that would be difficult for me to define or position. It is a documentary, or a fictionalized version of a reality that already existed but was filtered through my imagination in the process of its filming.  It could be seen as a film within a film within a film. Many approaches have been used: from the experimental to the documentary to the using of archival material, along with the mixing of real characters with fictional characters

In an attempt to rekindle a traumatic memory, a filmmaker pushes a fading musician and a disturbed actress to the edge- this is the simplest way I can describe the film

I would refrain from using words like hybrid to describe the film and would rather use the term cinematic non-fiction

Where did the idea for such a film came from and why was the assassination of Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur the base? Was your purpose from the beginning to shoot such an unusual film?

The journey of the film started while I was researching about Chamkila and Amarjot,  legendary singers from Punjab who were either assassinated by Militants during the insurgency in the 80’s in Punjab, or by rival singers, jealous of their escalating popularity. Both theories are contested and are to date mired in uncertainty.

The research was for a film titled ‘Lal Pari or ‘Red Angel’, and during my travels in Punjab, I met many families who knew the singer duo and were  familiar with the militancy during that period. They  shared  with me their ‘reading ‘of the situation and the fear and uncertainty that existed .

During that process, I recorded a series of interviews and also visited many akhadas ( performances spaces) where the couple performed. Going to the homes of families who had been savaged by the atrocities of the police or knew the singer couple, I recognized how we, as artists, crassly barge into people’s homes, make them relive their dark memories, encourage them to reconstruct brutal moments, to get the material required for the film. This made me ponder over the role of an artist and his intrusiveness in search of  information.

I wanted to capture these  aspects of violation in “Meshampur”, stripping away romantic  notions of what it means to be a film maker. My starting premise was; a basic idea of a story with some emotional beats, an imagined atmosphere, and a couple of  images.  I wanted to cast real people whom I had met during the research for’ Lal Pari’ ‘Red Angel’. I wanted them to play themselves as I had perceived or interpreted them with my writer.

Can you elaborate about which parts are documentary and which fiction? For example, what about the meeting with the old singer in her house? And the interaction with the manager and Lal Chand? 

It became for me a philosophical question as the lines between the real and the fictional overlapped and blurred and what emerged was an alternative reality, part fictional and part real.

Every  character in the film is playing a fictionalized version of themselves, and seems to shift between the real and the imagined. The characters of the old singer and the manager are ‘real’ but are invited to ‘perform’, adding bit and pieces to heighten the dramatic impact.

Most of the characters in the film, the ‘real’ and ‘the created were non professionals.  The film’s protagonist is a film director filming his research with his handycam-filming his own film within our film – there was another layer of someone filming us filming the film, which we eventually scrapped- because even though the possibilities in this process may have been endless, it may have complicated the narrative further.  While making the film, I started reflecting on my own actions as a film director in a way that I had not introspected before. To evaluate the moral muscle of ‘what it means to be a film maker’ imagining lives, far removed from ours, entering  into terrain that we do not belong to, of appropriation, became ethical questions that I had to confront and question.  This film digs deep into the complexity of the human condition and the nature and value of compassion.

Can you give us some more details about the casting process? How did you guided the actors and how the non actors for the film? How did Devrath Joshi and  Navjot Randhawa react to the sex scene, which seems quite graphic?

Everyone in the film is a non actor, they are playing version of themselves –except the singer at the Bar, who plays multiple roles.

I did this because my film was inspired by these real people I met during my own research and somehow it seemed appropriate to cast them to play fictionalised version of themselves.

In order to guide them, I had to give them an essence of the scene and then wait for those beats to emerge. With non actors you are working with someone who is not performing and that allows me and the entire crew not to perform either – we just assimilate.

I can’t really isolate the  sex scene  from the rest of the film, because my method for filming followed the same pattern and was not particularly different or special during that one scene.

 Can you give us some details about the live performances featuring in the film?

Jagjeet Sandhu, the singer at the bar is perhaps the only trained actor in the film. As an actor from the regional cinema and theatre, he was not comfortable with the English language. But in Punjabi his singing with a Punjabi accent would be considered very acceptable locally.

What is the general situation in the Punjab now? How did the locals react to your movie? In general, how was the shooting of the film like? Any memorable episodes, good or bad?

The situation  at the moment is very volatile and the space for dissent and debate is shrinking all over the country. Punjab has had a  brutalised history, which I have referenced, indirectly.  The film has not been showcased in Punjab, so it’s difficult to answer this question.

Can you elaborate on your cooperation with the cinematographers?

During my research for my film Lal Pari (Red Angel), I was mainly using sound recording devices as my method of data collection. The recorder  became latent and hidden but always present. This was not a thought-through strategy, but a device to capture sounds that could later be used or erased.  This I thought of as a more immersive, free flowing method of data collection and my subjects could speak freely as the sound recording devices was present but not intrusive.

The camera work in Mehsampur was used more to  serve an idea rather than for any aesthetic beauty.

When it came to my cooperation with the cinematographers i.e Rahat Mahajan, Devrath the character in the film, and myself – there are certain ideas I wanted to project – I wanted to make the camera a prosthetic limb that they had, and let the ideas of the film and its subject dictate everything. The camera was a character and the cinematographers had to be performers. Rather than construct a mise en scene or freeze a moment, it was the performer (the cinematographer) moving his prosthetic limb (the camera) as they reacted to the real situations with real people. Being part of this process , I wanted all of us to do this very dispassionately, as we dug deeper in an attempt to reach the core of the  unconscious, with the camera as the interpreter.

Are there any new projects you are working on?

Yes I am prepping for the original film I set out to make – “Lal Pari” (Red Angel) and there is this other body horror of a serial killer in Jail titled “Sector Skeleton”.

Cult director Teruo Ishii (Shogun’s Joy of Torture, Blind Woman’s Curse) presents a nightmarish, hallucinogenic tale drawn from the fevered imagination of Japan’s celebrated pioneer ofero-guro (“erotic grotesque”) literature, Edogawa Rampo.

Buy This Title

Medical student Hirosuke Hitomi slips out of the asylum in which he has been wrongfully confined and stealthily assumes the identity of a recently deceased nobleman with whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Hirosuke eases his way into the nobleman’s household and his dead double’s marital bed. But as long-repressed memories begin to bubble to the surface, he soon finds himself drawn to a remote isle where he is confronted by a mad scientist and his malformed men, and discovers the key that will unlock some long-suppressed mysteries of his own.

A dark labyrinth of the monstrous and perverse that fuses mystery and horror while incorporating motifs from a myriad of Rampo’s tales, Horrors of Malformed Men boasts astonishing carnivalesque art design and haunting performances. Withdrawn from cinemas by its own studio after its original scandalous release nearly fifty years ago, the film is among the very best screen interpretations of the author’s macabre brand of horror-fantasy fiction, and a unique oddity of Japanese cult cinema.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restoration of the film presented on High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray
• Uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio
• Newly translated optional English subtitles
• Two audio commentaries by Japanese cinema experts Tom Mes and Mark Schilling
• Malformed Movies: a new video interview with Toei exploitation movie screenwriter Masahiro Kakefuda
• Malformed Memories: Filmmakers Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo the Iron Man) and Minoru Kawasaki (The Calamari Wrestler) on the career of director Teruo Ishii
• Ishii in Italia: Ishii and Mark Schilling visit the Far East Film Festival
• Poster Gallery
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford

FIRST PRESSING ONLY:

Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Jasper Sharp, Tom Mes and Grady Hendrix

DETAILS

Director: Teruo Ishii
Cast: Teruo Yoshida, Yukie Kagawa, Teruko Yumi

BD RRP: £24.99
Region: B
Rating: TBC
Genre: Horror
Duration: 102 mins
Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: 1.0 Mono
Colour: Colour
Discs: 1

EstAsia – Cinema d’Oriente Festival 2018 came to a close on Monday 18th of June at the Rosebud Cinema of Reggio Emilia with an Award Ceremony the winner of Best Film of the event has been announced.

The Festival has been praised for the high quality of all the selected movies and in a week of running time has attracted a large number of enthusiasts.

The jury, composed of Maico Morellini (writer and critic), Mirca Lazzaretti (videomaker and photographer) and Marcello Casarini (videomaker and documentarian), agreed to appoint the top prize for the Best Film to the Chinese film “Silent Mist” by Miaoyan Zhang. The festival prize for the winner is the Golden Kaiju, a unique, hand-made work by the resident artist Hu-Be.

The Audience Award, however, was given to the suspenseful Taiwanese thriller by Nattawut Poonpiriya, “Bad Genius” that has been scooping prizes in many fersivals since its release.

The staff of EstAsia are already at work, selecting the films for the next edition and organising a better festival every year, always growing in quality and audience.