This year, we will also be joined by Across the Universe, a locally owned import company. Across the Universe will be on hand with uniquely chic, boutique-quality, handmade accessories created by women in different parts of the world, including Asia, from local, indigenous materials. All priced at only $3-$35. 20% of Across the Universe sales go to AFFD!

AFFD will be showing SITA SINGS THE BLUES on the tv screen at Natsumi, hosting a membership drive, giving away goodies, and enjoying gelato, snacks, and shopping all day long with the rest of you. See you there!

Where: Natsumi Gelato – Map
When: Noon to 10pm.

Don’t forget to Share Film Love, and take advantage of our couple’s membership discount this month.

If you are feeling like snuggling up to your special someone today, AFFD also recommends the following romance-themed Asian films.

The Lovers (1994) – Tsui Hark’s version of a classic Chinese Romeo and Juliet tale is AFFD founder Stephen Carlton’s favorite romance of all time.

Chungking Expressand In the Mood for Love - No one evokes passion on the screen like Wong Kar Wai

My Sassy Girl – Hilarious and touching Korean romantic comedy about a boy’s love for a girl who seems to do nothing but torment him

If you’re not feeling the charms of love today, we suggest Audition to help cut the sweetness and remind everyone that relationships sometimes don’t work out too well.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

From now until the end of the month, we’re offering a discounted dual membership rate for all you lovely couples out there.

Share Film Love.

Avid Netflix users should be impressed by the abundance of Asian cinema available both on DVD and streaming.  Listed below are some current releases that I recommend, whether your tastes go toward flaming martial arts death matches or out-of-work cellists facing life lessons.

 Departures (2008)

This award-winning drama comes from director Yojiro Takita (Onmyoji), and is the story of an out-of-work cellist who returns home and begins training as a nakanshi (one who prepares the dead for burial).  (Buy DEPARTURES on DVD; streaming on Netflix soon)

 24 City (2008)

Zhang Ke Jia’s drama about the impacts of a state-run factory being shut down so that it can be replaced by a luxury apartment building.  (Buy 24 CITY on DVD; streaming now)

 Still Walking (2008)

Hirokazu Koreeda’s overlooked drama about a family re-grouping 15 years after the death of a loved one.  A richly-detailed, powerful film that deserves a second chance.  (Currently available on DVD and streaming)

 Lost In Beijing (2007)

Yu Li directed this story of five people caught up in the perceptions and realities of a sexual assault and its aftermath.  A brilliant film, it surprisingly and flawlessly combines dramatic and comedic elements, and gives each character plenty of depth.   (Buy LOST IN BEIJING on DVD ; streaming now)

 Fireball (2009)

Thanakorn Pongsuwan’s martial arts hybrid is best summed up thusly:  “Determined to find out who put his beloved twin brother in a coma, ex-con Tai infiltrates a criminal world dominated by the brutal underground sport of fireball — a hyperviolent mash-up of basketball, martial-arts and street fighting. Now part of a fireball team, Tai soon learns that getting his revenge may cost him his own life.”  Yeah, that pretty much says it all.  (Available on DVD  1/26/10; Pre-order FIREBALL)

 Thirst (2009)

Park Chan-wook’s perverse, cheeky tale of a priest turned sort-of vampire is a fan favorite: dark, comical, bloody and lovingly made.  If you’re only familiar with Park’s Vengeance Trilogy, give it a try.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised.  (Buy THIRST on DVD)

by Steve Norwood

One of the nice things about writing for a group like the AFFD is that you have access to a lot of cinematic goods that you might never find on your own.  My interest in Asian film probably goes all the way back to the first time I saw Akira Kurosawa’s films in college (this was the early Eighties, and until then my tastes in film were varied, but perhaps not terribly deep); it resurfaced when I saw the animated classic AKIRA later that decade, when the early wave of anime features hit the U.S. shores.  But looking back, these were easy discoveries.  The AFFD has offered films that I found more potent and memorable than a good percentage of American movies, and they were frequently films I had never heard of.

One of the nice things about being vocal, opinionated but not a member of the board of directors is that you feel like a sort of preferred vendor.  You get a lot of assignments and you can throw out ideas and make programming suggestions, but ultimately you’re someone who gets to watch a lot of movies.  For me, that’s a terrific burden.  The only people who have it better are the ones who get paid to do it.  The AFFD can’t afford to do that, but it’s okay.  It’s a labor of love.

At the end of a very powerful decade for cinema, one which encompassed the first nine years of the AFFD’s existence, everyone has a list of best films.  What follows are my own personal choices of the best Asian cinema from 2000 to 2009, The Aughts.  Powerful, beautiful, fun and exciting, all of these films should be sought out and savored.

20 – ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK (2004), dir. Derek Yee

A tense, brilliantly-acted crime drama focusing on an inexperienced hitman teamed up with a prostitute as he evades the police in the seedy underbelly of an unfamiliar city. 

19 – THE VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN (2000), dir. Anh Hung Tran

Luxuriously filmed Vietnamese tale of three sisters who share with each other their inner-most secrets on the eve of a dinner honoring their departed parents. 

18 – PONYO ON THE CLIFF (2008), dir. Hayao Miyazaki

Sweetly executed and lovingly drawn, Miyazaki’s most recent film is really his best.  It makes all the usual statements about the environment and responsibility , yet also paints a careful portrait of family and friendship.  And one of the few films on this list you can take children to without fear of psychological damage.

17 – PARANOIA AGENT (2004, series), dir. Satoshi Kon

The PERFECT BLUE director has created a masterful series that follows two police detectives who investigate a string of beatings and murders seemingly acted out by a young boy on roller-skates,  but what they find is darker and more wide-spread.  A biting examination of media hype and consumption.

16 – NOBODY KNOWS (2005), dir. Koreeda Hirokazu

Perhaps the most grim and daunting drama of the decade, a tale of children left to fend for themselves is achingly realistic and painful to watch, but powerfully acted and directed. 

15 – ICHI THE KILLER (2001), dir. Takashi Miike

Not for the young.  Not for the easily upset.  But for those with a strong heart and stronger stomach, this wild, insanely graphic crime-drama is a once-in-a-lifetime film. 

14 – SHAOLIN SOCCER (2001), dir. Stephen Chow

Hilarious, fast-paced parody of the return-of-the-underdog sports film.  A classic action-comedy and Chow’s best effort in front of and behind the camera.

13 – TONY TAKITANI (2005), dir. Jun Ichikawa

Lyrical, gorgeously stark meditation on the unnerving space between impulse and loss.

12 – LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE (2003), dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

A deceptively sweet film about two very dissimilar people discovering friendship and romance.

11 – LOVE EXPOSURE (2009), dir. Sion Sono

Four hours of tightly-knit disparate elements: religion, pornography, teen romance, sexual identity, brainwashing and rebellion.  That may not sound possible, but this is a perfectly coherent, engaging and very challenging film.  The director’s finest work yet.

10 – A SNAKE OF JUNE (2002), dir. Shinya Tsukamoto

Possibly the closest thing to David Lynch I’ve seen in modern Japanese cinema (save for Miike’s GOZU), this tale of blackmail, redemption and sexual exploration is an incredible film.  Shot in blue-tinted monochrome, it is also one of the most starkly beautiful.

9 – THE PRESIDENT’S LAST BANG (2005), dir. Im Sang-soo

This dark comedy about the true events surrounding the assassination of Korean President Park Chun-hee is a gleefully satiric film that is hard to find, but worth seeking out.

8 – KAIRO (2001), dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa

One of the most dread-filled, unsettling pieces of original horror to come down the pike since NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.

7 – BREATHLESS (2009), dir. Yang Ik-joon

Powerful portrayal of a harsh debt collector who befriends a teenage girl and how both deal with intense, painful family matters.  A staggering film.

6 – HERO (2002), dir. Zhang Yimou

A sumptuous, beautiful palette adorns each scene in this art-house wuxia tale of how honor and love are sacrificed when a nation is at stake.

5 – (tie) OLDBOY (2004) / SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (2006), dir. Park Chan-wook

The second and third entries into the director’s “Vengeance Trilogy” are the smarter ones; stylish, dark, engaging stories about driven individuals who will not be deterred.  Grim, powerful and visually stunning.

4 – BATTLE ROYALE (2000), dir. Kinji Fukasaku

Perhaps the most subversive and taboo-breaking film in ages that also provides giddy, black-hearted humor and thrills.  This is a not-too-distant-future tale of extreme corporal punishment and social Darwinism.

3 – TOKYO SONATA (2009), dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa

This quiet look at a family unraveling is one of 2009’s best films.

2 – PTU (2003), dir. Johnnie To

A direct, powerful look at police procedure and gray morality, all thanks to a stolen gun and a misplaced cell phone.  Lam Suet and Simon Yam are terrific.

1 – IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000), dir. Wong Kar-Wai

A lovingly-photographed meditation on companionship, forbidden romance and missed opportunity.  One of the decade’s best in any examination of cinema.

Other Notables:

Kim Ki-duk’s  3-IRON (2004), Choi Ho’s  BLOODY TIES (2006), Im Kwon-taek’s  CHIHWASEON (2002), Johnnie To’s  ELECTION (2005), Bong Joon-ho’s  THE HOST (2006), Andrew Lau’s  INFERNAL AFFAIRS II (2003), Takashi Miike’s  IZO (2004), Gen Sekiguchi’s  SURVIVE STYLE 5+ (2004), Katsuhito Ishii’s  A TASTE OF TEA (2004), Tsui Hark’s  TIME AND TIDE (2000), Heeraz Marfatia’s  BIRJU (2002), Kang Woo-suk’s  SILMIDO (2003)

I discovered John Woo’s work watching THE KILLER and A BULLET IN THE HEAD one afternoon in 1991, though he had been making films for almost twenty years before.  I was immediately taken in by the balletic flow of action scenes, the sly humor, and a strangely assured combination of bloody violence and tender, human connections that drove his stories.  Like Scorsese, Herzog, and a small circle of favorite directors, he became a name attached to anticipation: what would the next John Woo film be?

After a spate of “American” films, English language endeavors with Hollywood bankrolls and accommodating stars, Woo’s flourishes seemed to become more like badges of notoriety.  The slow-motion doves, whirling moves of gun-slinging adversaries, and a knack for clever stand-offs – the gimmicks of his moviemaking - became the driving force, while the strength of characters and relationships declined. 

Woo wanted to make a Chinese historical epic with Hollywood blockbuster juice that would be interesting to Asian and non-Asian audiences.  Opting to depict a story as powerful to Chinese viewers as World War 2 is to Americans, he chose The Battle of Red Cliff, which took place in 208 A.D. and was first detailed in the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.  With RED CLIFF, Woo provides an interesting film with flashes of brilliance, but one that fails, like the northern armies, due to bad luck and poor tactics.

Prime Minister/General Cao Cao has gained approval from the Han Emperor to subjugate two warlords’ followers, in an effort to gain control of all of China.  To the south, Liu Bei and Sun Quan join military forces to combat Cao Cao, though the odds seem overwhelmingly against them.  Cao Cao’s entire naval fleet and accompanying armies make camp across the Yangtze River from that of Sun Quan’s most trusted general, Zhou Yu, at Red Cliff.  Liu Bei’s tactician Kong Ming works with Zhou Yu and the combined generals of both armies to defend themselves against Cao Cao. 

The film specializes in the art of war; displays of tactical moves and counter-moves and the intricate choreography of fight scenes are the most engaging and successful parts of the film.  The “Tortoise Battle” sequence is one example of how RED CLIFF has moments of perfection, as a double-cross turns into a trap set by the defending armies, which in turn is discovered to be merely a test of their strengths by the invading forces.  It is a cleverly-written, sharply defined and highly entertaining sequence, but those strengths are not found together often enough in RED CLIFF.

208 A.D.: Pour one for my homies...

Woo does manage to create some engaging characters, though thanks to the scope of the film and the reduced run-time (a five -and-one-half hour pair of films has been edited down to a two-and-a-half hour final product), many do not get sufficient screen time to be viewed as more than a face and a few heroic action scenes.   The editing hurts more powerful parts of the film while prolonging the problem areas.  An early fight scene where General Guan Yu of Liu Bei’s army fends off large numbers of Cao Cao’s forces, is taken captive, objects to Liu Bei’s flag being tread upon by a horse, threatens Cao Cao, takes back the flag and escapes unscathed is abbreviated to a few seconds of fight-flag-escape, which may not make sense to anyone who hasn’t seen the longer version.  Alternately, a lengthy and tiresome musical duet between a general and a tactician and a panning shot of a dove flying from one camp to the other are unnecessary and elicit an unintended comical response. 

When Woo decides to add his trademark flourishes, they feel jarring and are ill-suited to the story being told.  Slow motion doves and battle action can be overlooked, but a last-minute stand-off with multiple warriors holding swords at each others’ throats (like the more iconic scenes of gunplay in THE KILLER and HARD-BOILED) just doesn’t work.  Aside from the editing, the most glaring problem with the film is its uneven use of CG effects.  A film like RED CLIFF would have been far too massive and dangerous to shoot were it not for the use of CG.  False panoramas of scenery are beautifully done, while overhead images of Cao Cao’s fleet and armies are less believable.  Fire effects in the crucial final act are magnificent, thrilling, but occasionally amateurish in execution.   For a film that relies so heavily on these effects, it’s a shame they couldn’t have worked with production houses that managed far more believable work on less honorable films (I’m looking at you, 2012).

Even the hardcore John Woo follower may find his patience tested watching RED CLIFF.  Perhaps the director simply bit off more than he could chew, but I want to believe that refined effects work and a different, somewhere-in-the-middle edit would make the film more palatable.  While I hate to pigeonhole any artist, part of me simply wants John Woo to find Anthony Wong and Chow Yun-Fat, give them a large supply of guns and conflict, and start shooting.

It’s hard not to be touched at some point by TAKE OFF, the heartfelt South Korean equivalent of any Hollywood sports drama where a team of underdogs train for a Big Event, overcoming adversity and low expectations.  The film gets extra points for being inspired by True Big Events.

A year before the 1998 Winter Olympics, in an effort to gain more attention for their bid to have the 2002 games held in Seoul,  the Korean Olympic committee created a new ski jumping team.   With a Korean-American adoptee as their captain (and the only member with any professional sports experience), no one seemed to have much faith in the rag-tag group of former alpine skiers (who had never jumped before). 

When the film isn’t delving into their growing (though somewhat begrudging) camaraderie, finding moments of humor between training montages, it hints at the troublesome parts of their lives that perhaps a gold medal might eradicate.  Bob, the captain, is actively searching for his birth mother after living most of his life in the United States; Heung is a former junkie and club waiter who falls for the coach’s daughter, who appears to be small-time con artist when not leeching off her father; Jae works in his oppressive father’s restaurant and is in love with a (taboo) Chinese waitress; Chil hopes that success will allow him to better take care of his deaf grandmother and retarded younger brother Bong, who acts as a reserve member of the team and a sort of good luck charm/cheerleader/plot driving force.  It’s only a matter of time before bonds strengthen between the young men, and just when the team’s opportunity seems to be lost, they find themselves going to the Olympics.

If only the film focused on just the team’s creation and the games, as that would be enough for a solid, rousing drama.   But TAKE OFF makes a habit of allowing no subplot to go unaddressed.  There are too many drawn-out moments of Bob’s emotional attempts to make a connection with the woman he thinks is his mother, and a silly scene of gangsters threatening the team after the coach’s daughter has bilked them out of their money is just unnecessary. 

But on the whole, this is a very likable – if familiar – tale, told in a very engaging fashion.  When the disaster flick HAEUNDAE was recently screened at the AMC Grapevine Mills (where a program of current Korean box-office hits is being shown), it broke attendance records (compared to domestic releases) with little publicity and no awareness other than a sturdy word-of-mouth campaign.  TAKE OFF has gotten off to a much slower start, but is an equally enjoyable film that deserves that kind of attention.

(TAKE OFF is now showing at the AMC Grapevine Mills for a limited run)

In the 70’s and 80’s, martial arts films went through their heyday, the glory of Bruce Lee trailing off into doldrums epitomized by the age of Michael Dudikoff.  Many of these films contained stories of internship and revenge, one often leading to the other.  While the acting and production values varied greatly, the action sequences often made many of the experiences worthwhile.  Martial arts became the hook for grander, more powerfully-acted arthouse dramas in the 90’s and 00’s, a subgenre almost completely owned by Zhang Yimou.  But the straight-up genre version of the martial arts film has pretty much gone the way of subpar straight-to-DVD entries not worth mentioning.  Director James McTeigue (V FOR VENDETTA) decided that the old, forgotten genre film needed a new coat of paint, and has created a thrilling update in NINJA ASSASSIN. 

Perhaps the best thing about the film is that it was clearly made with the intention of showing the audience a rousing good time.  The film moves so quickly that its flaws (and there are several) do not hamper the fun; there is no socially relevant message deep within the story, while depth of character and plotting are cut short with every action set-piece.  It’s a film made to showcase fast, violent action, first and foremost, and in this it succeeds quite handily.

Raizo (Korean pop star Rain) was trained from early childhood under the brutal and exacting tutelage of the Master of the Ozunu Clan, an organization that has created ninja assassins for centuries in complete secrecy.  Raizo rebelled against the clan near the end of his training, and has since made it his duty to wipe out the Ozunu ninja, including his former Master (played by veteran martial arts icon Sho Kosugi).  Meanwhile, plucky Europol agent Mika (Naomie Harris) makes a connection between a string of political assassinations and a mythical band of killers dating as far back as feudal Japan.  In widening her investigation, Mika makes herself (and most of Europol) a target for the silent, shadowy agents.   It’s only a matter of time before wide-eyed Mika ends up with a very determined and able protector.

Bad day at the dojo...

NINJA ASSASSIN’s strengths are polar opposites: action sequences are tightly paced and thrilling, while flashbacks to Raizo’s training are more methodical and dramatic.  But make no mistake, both are brutal and violent;  why use a light sprinkling of gore when severed body parts and great gouts of blood are available?  And if your tolerance for violence falters when it comes to children, let’s just say you’ll have some uncomfortable moments during those training scenes.

Though one might question the wisdom of shooting many scenes of shadow-traversing ninja in utter darkness, creating an occasionally muddled image on screen, McTeigue has made a very polished and effective film.  After V FOR VENDETTA’s similarly good-looking take on more daunting socio-political themes and NINJA ASSASSIN’s lightning-fast thrills, McTeigue should be in a good position to handle any job Hollywood sees fit to offer (it’s been announced that he will co-direct the 2011 production of X-MEN ORIGINS: MAGNETO).

And let’s face it, not every film can be TOKYO SONATA.  There is a time for lofty drama, and a time for the well-crafted rollercoaster ride.  NINJA ASSASSIN is a solid effort that balances all those important films with something fun.

(Ninja Assassin releases nationwide on November 25th)

When I was very young, one of the coolest films was a meeting of creatures from two separate worlds: FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN.  At the time, this was a crazy idea: take two of the best classic creatures and have them face off; who wouldn’t want to watch that?  As it turned out, they actually didn’t meet up until very late in the film.  But at that age, it was a thrill to see it happen.

Team Nishimura has specialized in Things You Never Thought You’d See.  They have practically created a cottage industry of spewing blood, shredded flesh and body modification, all immersed in a silly, almost childish sense of humor.  But don’t mistake their films for family events.  The makers of such memorable titles as TOKYO GORE POLICE and the upcoming ROBOGEISHA do not truck in safe entertainments, and  VAMPIRE GIRL VS. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL arrives with little that anyone but a diehard fan could appreciate…or stomach.   And this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Essentially a love story at its core, VGVFG takes on the guise of a high school musical that removes song and dance and adds power drills, gory Valentine’s Day treats, and various sharp implements.  The kids and the mayhem they get involved in are nothing like you would expect, even if you are versed in horror films.  The first thing you realize is that the school is divided into many cliques: the Ganguro club, for example, is made up of a group of girls in varying states of blackface; not out of any mean-spirited racism, but thanks to a nearly devout sense of black pride they can never realize in their own skin.  There is also the local division of wrist cutters who practice their slicing skills with great fervor, as if a chess team gone anemic.  These social groups are shocking at first, but you actually find them rather sweet after a while.  They know what they want, they are committed to attaining it, and they take their causes seriously but have no ill-will towards others.

A quiet moment in VGVFG

Amidst the many factions are Mizushima, a good looking and much sought-after young man, and Monami, a transfer student with a little secret: she’s a vampire, and she wants Mizushima to be one, too.  But Keiko, who leads the Frilly Girls Club (I don’t know…they all had lacy clothes so I’m just guessing), has already laid claim to Mizushima, and with a deranged Vice Principal for a father and a very bad temper she sets out to reclaim her man and get rid of the new girl.  But nothing’s very easy in high school, especially when your new hunchbacked janitor is a servant of the local vampire.

VGVFG gets off to a wild start, with a battle that has Monami tearing apart three creatures, leaving only a stack of skulls.  In these first moments VGVFG gives you most of what you need to know about the techniques to follow: enough prolonged rending of limbs and excessive blood spray (camera lenses frequently are awash in blood), but it only hints at the film’s ultimate flaws.  For as sharp as its humor can be, and as outrageous as the violence becomes, VGVFG does get bogged down in its own excesses.  If you can stomach what you’re seeing, you may still find the overlong sequences at any given moment a bit boring, despite the action.  The filmmakers’ editing style does not help either, with several scenes coming across as amateurishly repetitive .  Flaws are far more obvious on the big screen, so perhaps the film will benefit from DVD viewing. 

Still, the very spirit of the film is so agreeable that you if you can handle the exceeding gruesomeness, you have a hard time not getting caught up in the sheer giddiness of it all.  Team Nishimura has indeed created their own film genre: Japanese Splatter Slapstick.

The Mo Brothers grabbed the attention of horror aficionados and the Indonesian ratings board with their short film DARA, an excellent, grisly and very sly film about a woman who runs a restaurant and has men over to dinner at her home, only to mete out sinister plans upon the would-be suitors.  The film garnered so much notice that the directing team (they aren’t really brothers) decided to expand the experience into a feature-length horror film that maintains the high scare quotient of the short, even if its overall theme seems rather familiar to American horror audiences.  Thus MACABRE was born.

A quiet moment in MACABRE

With a fresh-faced, likeable group of actors and a casually believable opening scene, the film quickly gets under way as a group of friends help a young woman on a stormy night and end up at a house in the country.  The woman’s mother, the wide-eyed and dubiously prim Dara, welcomes the group to rest and eat a special feast she has prepared.  When the friends find themselves drugged and bound in a room that more closely resembles an abattoir, any audience member with a shred of familiarity for the genre knows terror and mayhem will quickly follow. 

MACABRE specializes in a time-honored cycle of scare routines: quiet and creepy moments, frantic chases and blunt, gory attacks.  But it feels very fresh here, perhaps because it does not have the cruel glaze of most current American horror attempts, despite the horrific goings-on in Dara’s home.   With their polished style and ability to dish out effective mood and thrills, the Mo Brothers are definitely a team to watch.