Louisville Asian Film Festival (1 Viewer)

[Steve Hauben]

from http://www.louisvillescene.com/movie...0909asian.html (there's more at the link)
quote: Here's a closer look at this year's festival:
"The Vertical Ray of the Sun" (opens at 1 p.m. Friday and continues through Sept. 20) -- "Ravishingly beautiful" is what Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan called this Cannes Film Festival entry about the romances of three sisters in present-day Hanoi.
Director Tran Anh Hung, whose previous film "The Scent of Green Papaya" was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category, employs sensual photography and the music of Lou Reed to create an intoxicating film. Rated PG-13. In Vietnamese with English subtitles. (1:52)
A discussion of the film will be held following the 7 p.m. show Friday.
"Madadayo" (opens at 1 p.m. Friday and continues through Sept. 20) -- Akira Kurosawa's last movie, made in 1993, doesn't offer the dramatic spectacle of his better-known films, "Ran," "The Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon." It's an intimate story of a beloved old teacher and his former students in Japan in the early 1940s. The title is Japanese for "not yet" and refers to the professor's love of life and good-natured refusal to accept death. Not rated. In Japanese with English subtitles. (2:14)
A discussion will follow the 7 p.m. show on Sept. 19.
"Suzhou River" (opens at 4 p.m. Friday and runs through Sept. 20) -- Inspired by "Vertigo," this Chinese thriller shot in Shanghai in a quasi-documentary style follows the exploits of a motorcycle messenger and the mystery of a beautiful woman who plunges into a polluted river. Not rated. In Mandarin with English subtitles. (1:23)
A discussion will follow the 1 p.m. show next Sunday.
"Pavilion of Women" (opens at 7 p.m. Friday and runs through Sept. 20) -- This adaptation of a Pearl S. Buck novel was filmed in China and involves a wealthy Chinese woman who selects a concubine for her demanding husband so that she can free herself from marital responsibilities. Rated R. In English. (1:40)
Producer Luo Yan will talk about the film following the 7 and 10 p.m. showings on Saturday.
"Yi Yi" (opens at 1 p.m. Sept. 21 and runs through Sept. 23) -- Director Edward Yang won the best director award at Cannes for this family drama but lost the best picture prize to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which also represented Taiwan in the Academy Awards' best foreign film category and won. Some critics might argue that "Yi Yi" is a more moving film. It was chosen best picture last year by the National Society of Film Critics. Not rated. In Taiwanese with English subtitles. (2:53)
"Himalaya" (opens at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 21 and runs through Sept. 23) -- This 1999 Oscar nominee for best foreign language film tells the story of an aging Tibetan chief who clashes with a young, pragmatic leader. The movie, directed by National Geographic photographer Eric Valli, takes place in the remote, snow-covered mountains of Nepal. Not rated. In Tibetan with English subtitles. (1:44)[/quote]
Thought some might be interested.
-Steve
[Edited last by Steve Hauben on September 12, 2001 at 05:52 PM]

 

[Pascal A]

Since most people are already familiar with Madadayo and Yi Yi, I'll just put in a few words for the others, except Himalaya, which I haven't seen:
The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Tran Anh Hung) - Tran returns to the exquisite and sublime images of his first feature, The Scent of Green Papaya, but unfortunately, forgoes the visceral impact of his previous feature, Cyclo. The resulting effect tends to be similar to Hou Hsiao Hsien's The Flowers of Shanghai in the fragmented glimpse of the lives of the sisters, where emotions seem to reside just below the surface, but are never completely revealed. A sensuous and beautifully photographed film.
Suzhou River (Lou Ye) – Although inspired by Vertigo in that the "mermaid" performer, Mei-Mei, looks identical to the young, kidnapped woman, Moudan, the film is not a "rip off" on the scale of Brian de Palma's [cough] homage film [cough], Obsession. Rather, it shares the same sentiment of missed connection as Wong Kar Wai's films, including the dispassionate narrator, and is more about the elusiveness of love. Occasionally flawed (in narrative), but well done film.
Pavilion of Women (Yim Ho) - Incredibly disappointing adaptation of a Pearl S. Buck novel. Unfortunately, its designation of an "Asian film" is deceptive, since the director's vision seemed to second guess what a Western audience would expect of an Asian film and consequently, looks terribly artificial, manufactured, and above all, maudlin.
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Strictly Film School