This time, my (relatively) concise thoughts on Hong Kong flicks: Written by, ICAC, The Shootout, My Life As McDull, Koma, and Eye In the Sky.
Written by
Directed by Wai Ka-fai, starring Lau Ching-wan, Kelly Lin, Mia Yam, and Jo Koo.
The latest from Wai Ka-fai, which stars the always great Lau Ching-wan, is an excellent film with an ethereal feel. One of the best films of 2009.
ICAC
aka I Corrupt All Cops
Directed by Wong Jing, starring Eason Chan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Anthony Wong, Alex Fong, Bowie Lam, Wong Jing, Liu Yang, Natalie Meng, and Kate Tsui.
Wong Jing manages a decent film due to an engaging, if underdeveloped, story of the formation of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption. Chan and Leung lead a top-notch cast of HK actors and actresses, including the woefully underused Kate Tsui.
The Shootout
Directed by Michael Mak, starring Aaron Kwok, Lau Ching-wan, Leung Ka-yan, Fennie Yeun, Ngai Suet, Tsui Kam-Kong.
More comedy than the title would imply, Mak's The Shootout features a wacky story that entertains, mostly thanks to stars Kwok and Lau. An enjoyable time-waster.
My Life As McDull
Directed by Toe Yeun, voiced by Jan Lam, Sandra Ng, and Anthony Wong.
A delightful animated film from Hong Kong about a dim piglet named McDull, and his pushy yet hopeful mother. A thoughtful, fun flick, for kids and adults.
Koma
Directed by Bruce Law, starring Karena Lam, Angelica Lee, Andy Hui, Liu Kai-chi, Annie Mann, and Raymond Wong.
A gripping, intense thriller from dependable HK Director Bruce Law. Lead Actress Lam provides a perfect performance. The quality of the direction and acting highlight an intelligent script.
Eye In the Sky
Directed by Yau Nai-hoi, starring Tony Leung Ka-fai, Simon Yam, Kate Tsui, Maggie Siu, Lam Suet, Eddie Cheung, Ng Ting-yip, and Lai Yiu-cheung.
Hong Kong's Milky Way Image production company is known the world over for its stellar crime flicks. Eye In the Sky is no exception. Yau's film about an HK Police SU (Surveillance Unit) tracking a group of deadly robbers is tense and engaging. With an exciting plot and terrific acting from HK veterans Leung and Yam, as well as (then) newcomer Tsui, Eye In the Sky is a great addition to the HK Crime Genre.
Next time, Drag Me to Hell, and Overheard.
31 October, 2009
23 October, 2009
Daily Dealings
This time, Russia and South Korea take center stage, with Grigori Chukhrai's Ballad of a Soldier, and Park Dae-min's Private Eye.
Ballad of a Soldier
Directed by Grigori Chukhrai, starring Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko, Antonina Maksimova, and Yevgeni Urbansky.
After single-handedly defeating two tanks, young Russian soldier Alyosha (Ivashov) is given leave to visit his mother (Maksimova) and help fix his family's roof. On his long train trip home, he encounters battle hardened soldier Vasya (Urbansky), himself returning home; and falls in love with beautiful stowaway Shura (Prokhorenko). Both encounters show Alyosha the damage of war, and the hope of a better future.
Ballad of a Soldier is an exceptional film. With a simple story and unexperienced lead actors in Ivashov and Prokhorenko, Churkhrai's World War II film has an honest feel. Though very little warfare occurs onscreen, the horrors of war are felt through the characters situations and outlook on life. More than a love story or just another film about World War II, Ballad of a Soldier is a great example of Soviet Cinema, and one of the finest films I've seen.
Private Eye
Directed by Park Dae-min, starring Hwang Jung-min, Ryu Deok-hwan, and Um Ji-won.
Detective Hong Jin-ho (Hwang) is widely known as a top-notch P.I. When medical student Kwang Su (Ryu) accidentally becomes involved in a murder investigation, he hires Hong to help him find the murderer. With help from his scientist friend Soon-deok (Um), Hong uncovers a series of grisly murders related to a ring of governmental corruption.
Private Eye is a period film, set in 1920, in Seoul, South Korea. The story has a nice build-up of suspense and intrigue, followed by a shocking finale. In addition to good plotting, Park's period-noir has a good supporting cast built around the superbly cast Hwang Jung-min. Hwang's portrayal of Hong as an everyman detective, as well as the peroid setting, helps to set the film apart from contemporary neo-noir. With action, thrills, and a healthy dose of humor, Private Eye is an engaging detective film, and one of the better films of 2009.
Next time, Written by, ICAC, The Shootout, My Life As McDull, Koma, and Eye In the Sky.
Ballad of a Soldier
Directed by Grigori Chukhrai, starring Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko, Antonina Maksimova, and Yevgeni Urbansky.
After single-handedly defeating two tanks, young Russian soldier Alyosha (Ivashov) is given leave to visit his mother (Maksimova) and help fix his family's roof. On his long train trip home, he encounters battle hardened soldier Vasya (Urbansky), himself returning home; and falls in love with beautiful stowaway Shura (Prokhorenko). Both encounters show Alyosha the damage of war, and the hope of a better future.
Ballad of a Soldier is an exceptional film. With a simple story and unexperienced lead actors in Ivashov and Prokhorenko, Churkhrai's World War II film has an honest feel. Though very little warfare occurs onscreen, the horrors of war are felt through the characters situations and outlook on life. More than a love story or just another film about World War II, Ballad of a Soldier is a great example of Soviet Cinema, and one of the finest films I've seen.
Private Eye
Directed by Park Dae-min, starring Hwang Jung-min, Ryu Deok-hwan, and Um Ji-won.
Detective Hong Jin-ho (Hwang) is widely known as a top-notch P.I. When medical student Kwang Su (Ryu) accidentally becomes involved in a murder investigation, he hires Hong to help him find the murderer. With help from his scientist friend Soon-deok (Um), Hong uncovers a series of grisly murders related to a ring of governmental corruption.
Private Eye is a period film, set in 1920, in Seoul, South Korea. The story has a nice build-up of suspense and intrigue, followed by a shocking finale. In addition to good plotting, Park's period-noir has a good supporting cast built around the superbly cast Hwang Jung-min. Hwang's portrayal of Hong as an everyman detective, as well as the peroid setting, helps to set the film apart from contemporary neo-noir. With action, thrills, and a healthy dose of humor, Private Eye is an engaging detective film, and one of the better films of 2009.
Next time, Written by, ICAC, The Shootout, My Life As McDull, Koma, and Eye In the Sky.
11 October, 2009
Down On the Earth
This time, it's a trio of Danish films, with Just Another Love Story, Häxan, and Vampyr.
Just Another Love Story
Directed by Ole Bornedal, starring Anders W. Berthelsen, Rebecka Hemse, Dejan Cukic, Charlotte Fich, and Nikolaj Lie Kaas.
Jonas (Berthelsen) is an average family man. He has a wife, Mette (Fich); two kids (one boy, one girl), and is bored with his very existence. However, his boredom is left behind when a car accident he witnesses offers him a way out.
Following the accident, Jonas decides to visit the driver, Julia (Hemse) in the hospital. Since he is not a relative, the hospital admissions staff turns him away. An undeterred Jonas goes to the floor Julia's room is on, and pretends to be her boyfriend, Sebastian (Kaas). Jonas/Sebastion is quickly accepted as such by the hospital's staff, Julia's family, and Julia herself, who has gone temporarily blind and suffered memory loss.
Julia and her family soon welcome Jonas/Sebastion into their fold, providing Jonas a reprieve from, and possibly a way out of, his tedious life. Unfortunately, things turn unpleasant, as his detective friend Frank (Cukic) tries to persuade Jonas to stop the affair, and Mette begins to suspect the infidelity. Things become further complicated when Frank tells Jonas that the real Sebastion was reportedly shot dead prior to Julia's accident. Jonas must choose whether he wants to risk it all to be with the mysterious Julia.
Just Another Love Story is an excellent neo-noir. The acting and direction highlight the story of the morally conflicted Jonas and his struggle to keep his footing in a world that is spiraling out of his control. Directed Bornedal has crafted a fine thriller, that stands out as more than just another noir.
Häxan
Directed by Benjamin Christensen.
Häxan chronicles the history of witchcraft. Through a series of vignettes, it demonstrates the attempts of the misinformed and uneducated in their quests to eradicate what was perceived as witchcraft. Christensen's film is part documentary, part horror, and part morality play. While fictional, the film is presented as fact, which allows Christensen himself to narrate the film in documentary style.
Though Häxan is a work of fiction, Christensen's use of psychology to explain away the thought of witchcraft as an affliction is, for a non-academic film on the subject of witchcraft, intriguing. Häxan is an interesting film that manages to be entertaining and thought provoking; while also possessing darkly intelligent humor.
Vampyr
Directed by Carl Th. Dryer, starring Julian West (Nicolas de Gunzburg), Rena Mandel, Jan Hieronimko, Albert Bras, Sybille Schmitz, Henriette Gerard, and Maurice Schutz.
If you've read Bram Stoker's Dracula, seen Nosferatu, or seen one of the hundreds of adaptations of either, then you know the basic story of Carl Th. Dryer's Vampyr. What sets Vampyr apart from those other films is not the well-known story, but Dryer's direction.
With editing techniques and camera tricks, Dryer's vampyric tale rises above the horror norm. Instead of relying on the overused staples of the horror genre, Dryer created a film whose terror comes from a muddled, dream-like state. The result is a film stylistically more akin to the works of Welles or the La Nouvelle Vague, than the horror films of the time.
Next time, Grigori Chukhrai's Ballad of a Soldier, and Park Dae-min's Private Eye.
Just Another Love Story
Directed by Ole Bornedal, starring Anders W. Berthelsen, Rebecka Hemse, Dejan Cukic, Charlotte Fich, and Nikolaj Lie Kaas.
Jonas (Berthelsen) is an average family man. He has a wife, Mette (Fich); two kids (one boy, one girl), and is bored with his very existence. However, his boredom is left behind when a car accident he witnesses offers him a way out.
Following the accident, Jonas decides to visit the driver, Julia (Hemse) in the hospital. Since he is not a relative, the hospital admissions staff turns him away. An undeterred Jonas goes to the floor Julia's room is on, and pretends to be her boyfriend, Sebastian (Kaas). Jonas/Sebastion is quickly accepted as such by the hospital's staff, Julia's family, and Julia herself, who has gone temporarily blind and suffered memory loss.
Julia and her family soon welcome Jonas/Sebastion into their fold, providing Jonas a reprieve from, and possibly a way out of, his tedious life. Unfortunately, things turn unpleasant, as his detective friend Frank (Cukic) tries to persuade Jonas to stop the affair, and Mette begins to suspect the infidelity. Things become further complicated when Frank tells Jonas that the real Sebastion was reportedly shot dead prior to Julia's accident. Jonas must choose whether he wants to risk it all to be with the mysterious Julia.
Just Another Love Story is an excellent neo-noir. The acting and direction highlight the story of the morally conflicted Jonas and his struggle to keep his footing in a world that is spiraling out of his control. Directed Bornedal has crafted a fine thriller, that stands out as more than just another noir.
Häxan
Directed by Benjamin Christensen.
Häxan chronicles the history of witchcraft. Through a series of vignettes, it demonstrates the attempts of the misinformed and uneducated in their quests to eradicate what was perceived as witchcraft. Christensen's film is part documentary, part horror, and part morality play. While fictional, the film is presented as fact, which allows Christensen himself to narrate the film in documentary style.
Though Häxan is a work of fiction, Christensen's use of psychology to explain away the thought of witchcraft as an affliction is, for a non-academic film on the subject of witchcraft, intriguing. Häxan is an interesting film that manages to be entertaining and thought provoking; while also possessing darkly intelligent humor.
Vampyr
Directed by Carl Th. Dryer, starring Julian West (Nicolas de Gunzburg), Rena Mandel, Jan Hieronimko, Albert Bras, Sybille Schmitz, Henriette Gerard, and Maurice Schutz.
If you've read Bram Stoker's Dracula, seen Nosferatu, or seen one of the hundreds of adaptations of either, then you know the basic story of Carl Th. Dryer's Vampyr. What sets Vampyr apart from those other films is not the well-known story, but Dryer's direction.
With editing techniques and camera tricks, Dryer's vampyric tale rises above the horror norm. Instead of relying on the overused staples of the horror genre, Dryer created a film whose terror comes from a muddled, dream-like state. The result is a film stylistically more akin to the works of Welles or the La Nouvelle Vague, than the horror films of the time.
Next time, Grigori Chukhrai's Ballad of a Soldier, and Park Dae-min's Private Eye.
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