33rd HKIFF picks 電影節心水推介

It's the time of the year when Hong Kong cineastes go nuts (or try to go nuts, thanks to the daily constraints that is our job). I'm relieved the programme still has a lot of arthouse and world cinema, and not dumped with heartwarming drudgery as announced previously in Mingpao 明報. Though smaller in scale this year (what happened to the outdoor screenings?), there's still plenty worth watching. As always, I'll give the same advice: try something you won't normally be able to see in the cinemas. I'm clocking at 23 films right now and somehow I feel a guilty urge to downsize a bit. Hmm...

Some disappointing absences in this year's programme: Theo Angelopoulos' The Dust of Time; The Dardenne Brothers' The Silence of Lorna; acclaimed Cannes animation Waltz With Bashir; Charlie Kaufman's first- and probably last- film Synecdoche New York; Kawase Naomi's 河瀨直美 Seven Nights (I've only seen one of her films but I was impressed with The Mourning Forest 殯の森); Swedish vampire-high school drama Let The Right One In; Argentine psychological horror The Headless Woman; and Yu Lik-wai's 余力為 Plastic City 蕩寇 (although it's rumoured to have a June release date- see 講。鏟。片's post).

One extremely annoying bit about the programme is the scheduling for the Film Workship 電影工作室 retrospective. Not all of us caught the films on the big screen, but rather on DVD or one those weekend afternoon filler slots on TV. If you genuinely want to pay tribute to this golden period and allow as many people (particularly the younger ones who aren't as film literate) to appreciate these classics, then why schedule them on weekday afternoons?!

Also, what's with the mascot, Baufa 爆花? There's the questionable case for a new logo for HKIFF Society, and now somehow we need an irrelevant mascot designed by one Jan Lamb 林海峰. Is HKIFF trying to be down with the kids- we're not dealing with the Summer Pops festival here- or to sell loads of 'limited edition' t-shirts? Duke of Aberdeen is ranting about it too.

Anyways, I'll stop ranting, and here's my picks:

• The Shinjuku Incident 新宿事件- Now I know I said right at the beginning that you should try something different (how much more Hong Kong can you get with Jackie Chan 成龍?), and I know very well this will be out in cinemas on April 2nd. But interestingly it's a Category III cut that's shown in HKIFF, compared with the IIB cut on general release. And according to this article, we might get the added bonus of dismembermant and disembowelment. If you're into this kind of stuff...

The Shinjuku Incident trailer:

• Other galas- Ann Hui's 許鞍華 followup to last year's The Way We Are 天水圍的日與夜, Night and Fog 天水圍的夜與霧, and Wong Kar Wai's 王家衛 reimagined masterpiece Ashes of Time Redux 東邪西毒終極版 are definitely must-see Hong Kong movies of 2009. Do note that all galas (with the possible exception of Yang Yang 陽陽 and Jia Zhangke's 賈樟柯 24 City 二十四城記 have general release dates, so don't worry if you miss out this time.

Ashes of Time Redux trailer:


24 City trailer:

• Documentaries- Burma VJ- Reporting From a Closed Country 緬甸起義－看不到的真相 gives an insightful look at 2007's 'Saffron Revolution'. Soda Kazuhiro 想田和弘 (whose hilarious Campaign 完全選舉手冊 was one of the highlights of last year's HKIFF) tackles a serious subject this time with Mental 完全精神手冊, observing a mental clinic and its patients Frederick Wiseman-style. Tammy Cheung's 張虹 Election 選舉 had a brief run at Broadway Cinematheque last year, and now we get to see the full 130 minutes director's cut. A must-see if you care about Hong Kong politics, and I dare say only 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok Hung 梁國雄 comes off decently in the film. The 215 minutes long Doctor Ma's Country Clinic 馬大夫的診所 is an engrossing look at China's countryside poverty. Michelangelo Antonioni's rarely seen 4 hour document of China during the Cultural Revolution 文革, Chung Kuo 中國 (commissioned by yet banned in China until 2004), and new accompanying documentary China is Far Away- Antonioni and China 中國已遠：安東尼奧尼與中國 are also highlights.

Burma VJ- Reporting From a Closed Country trailer:


Mental trailer:

• Gomorrah 我在娥摩拉的日子 and The Baader Meinhof Complex 赤色風暴- An ideal crime double-bill (sadly non-existent in Hong Kong) on April 5th: the first one, a multi-storyline thriller on the powerful Camorra mafia that won last year's Grand Prix at Cannes; the second one, an epic saga on the notorious leftist terrorist group that dominated the 70s.
  

Gomorrah trailer:


The Baader Meinhof Complex trailer:

• Che 捷古華拉- Another epic (it's 270 minutes long), this time on everyone's favourite leftist rebel. Don't expect any romanticism or acting showpieces in this though. Reviews have been mixed, but this is a major movie event in this year's HKIFF. Will we see Long Hair in the audience? (If my memory is correct, he was invited to The Motorcycle Diaries 哲古華拉少年日記 premiere but didn't stay for the film.)

Che trailer:

• Love Exposure 愛之剝脫- Another 4 hour film, but probably much more easy going. Sono Sion's 園子溫 previous films showed some promise (Noriko's Dinner Table 紀子之食桌, shown in 30th HKIFF), and this may cement his status as a cult maverick. Hell, balletic upskirt photography, references to past Japanese cult flicks, religious fervour, lesbian schoolgirls... On the other hand, this can go down badly, but reviews so far have been positive.
  

Love Exposure trailer:

• Other Japanese films- Highlights include Still Walking 橫山家之味, Kore-eda Hirokazu's 是枝裕和 (Nobody Knows 誰知赤子心, Hana 花之武者) latest film and one of the best of 2008; All Around Us 生有時死有時, a welcome return for Ryosuke Hashiguichi 橋口亮輔 (whose A Touch of Fever 20歲的微熱 was shown in last year's HKAFF); PIA Film Festival winner Naked of Defenses 無防備孕記; the experimental blend of documentary and drama in Deep in the Valley 谷中暮色; the intriguing but possibly risky Torso 性軀幹; and the Ichikawa Jun 市川準 retrospective (oddly, his most famous work, Tokyo Takitani 東尼瀧谷, is missing).
  

Still Walking trailer:


All Around Us trailer:


Deep in the Valley trailer

• The Good, The Bad, The Weird 風塵三俠決戰地獄門- Last year's HKIFF we had Miike Takeshi's 三池崇史 Spaghetti Western: Sukiyaki Western Django 日式牛仔一品鍋. Some liked it, but I felt it was an indulgent mess with plodding, heavily accented English dialogue. This time it's the Koreans' turn, and Kim Ji-woon 金知雲 (A Tale of Two Sisters 姊魅情深) makes a smart choice and goes for the all-out action thrill ride. Coupled with the amazing Song Kang-ho 宋康昊, this should be a fun to watch.
  

The Good, The Bad, The Weird trailer:

• Other Korean films- Highlights include My Dear Enemy 愛情回水一日遊starring Jeon Do-youn 全度妍 (the wonderful Secret Sunshine 密陽) and Ha Jung-woo 河政佑 (the thrillingly brutal The Chaser 追擊者) in a road movie; the surreal The Land of Scarecrows 稻草人國度 features some stunning imagery; Members of the Funeral 家有白事 is a black comedy; Rough Cut 酷大佬與串打星 (also known as A Movie is a Movie) tackles the issues of identity and violence in a mainstream way; and the autobiographical Treeless Mountain 儲不滿的錢罌 is a touching tale of lost childhood. There's also the Yu Hyun-mok 俞賢穆 retrospective.
  

My Dear Enemy trailer:


Rough Cut trailer:

• Tony Manero 周末殺人狂熱- Raul is a psychopathic fan of Saturday Night Fever 週末夜狂熱, and will do anything to give his best John Travolta impersonation. Acclaimed film has the potential to be a cult hit, a potent character study on fan fetishism, and as a allegory to life in Chile under Pinochet's dictatorship.
  

Tony Manero trailer:

• J.C.V.D. 玩殘尚格雲頓- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Belgian action star that never really made it big, mocks himself and his life in this farce. It could be another Last Action Hero 幻影英雄, but the promise of a tearful monologue by stone faced Van Damme sounds...just plain weird.
  

J.C.V.D. teaser:


J.C.V.D. trailer:

• Of Time and the City 城市流光 and The Beaches of Agnès 沙灘上的華妲- two essay films by two great directors: Terence Davies directs a lyrical documentary about his beloved city Liverpool (and perhaps would make a good comparison to last year's My Winnipeg 故城風雪行), and Agnès Varda ('Mother of the French New Wave') makes her autobiography joyful and whimsical.
  

Of Time and the City trailer:


The Beaches of Agnes trailer:

• Hunger 大絕食- this film debut by Young British Artists member Steve McQueen won the Camera D'Or at Cannes last year. Famous for his video installations, McQueen creates a spellbinding portrait of IRA member Bobby Sands, who uses his body as a weapon of protest.

Hunger trailer:

• Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni retrospectives- most of the films are readily avaliable on DVD, but Fanny and Alexander 芬妮與阿歷山大 and Scenes from a Marriage 婚姻暗流 are best appreciated in the cinema where you have full concentration on the big and beautiful screen. I guess the need for patience and observation is particularly the case for pretty much all of Antonioni's films. And it goes without saying that these two directors are real cinematic masters- if you haven't seen any of their movies, now's your chance.