Subway Cinema News

It’s about time someone validated the sheer awesomeness of Subway Cinema by hacking our site. If you head on over to the main page (helpful link!) you’ll see what I’m talking about. Let us all bow down to the incredible hacking abilities of Oaddah who has managed to take a site with absolutely zero security hostage. I know that people often criticize those of us who love Asian movies as nerds and anti-social dorks of the lowest order, but thanks to kindly Oaddah we now know that there is a level even beneath this one. A level of unwashed, poorly-socialized mouth-breathers  with bad skin, their bodies nothing more than thin-skinned meat balloons holding in enormous quantities of partially digested junk food. Oaddah, thank you for letting us into your own private world of warcraft. It is a beautiful place.

Also, as a quick note, Subway Cinema does not believe that Israelis are “Super Terrorists.” Because here at Subway, we know that THIS is the real Super Terrorist:

Welcome to this week’s Subway Cinema News. It’s the Asian movies playing in NYC that you want to see.

What’s up with the ImaginAsian theater? Their website hasn’t been updated with new movies since August 21, and according to the site, there’s nothing playing today. So don’t go there, I guess? Who knows….but it’d be sad if the best Bollywood theater in Manhattan was closed, even temporarily.

Indian-shot film about a pool cleaner in Goa, THE POOL, from the director of AMERICAN MOVIE, is still playing at Film Forum until September 16. (More info)

Takashi Miike’s gobsmacking SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO is still playing at the Landmark Sunshine. Yay! It was the number one indie film for its opening weekend so let’s all wish it a long, lucrative run. (Read a review)

At the Angelika, YEAR OF THE FISH is a Chinatown Cinderella story that slips between fantasy and reality, using animation to apply some magic to everyday grit as it tells the story of Ye Xian, a young girl working in a seedy massage parlor in NYC. (More info)

Big things happening at MOMA as well. The film exhibit “Looking at Music” is screening several flicks to pique the interest of Asian film fans.

THE STRANGE MUSIC OF NAM JUN PAIK, follows the titular video artist through their origins as a composer and classical pianist. You’ll see the influence of John Cage on Paik’s sprawling installations and Paik’s own musical passions are revealed. It’s screening September 6 @ 4:15pm and September 14 @ 2pm. (More info)

In NAM JUN PAIK - A TRIBUTE TO JOHN CAGE, Paik directs a documentary that cuts together interviews, performances and stories that reflect Cage’s influence on Paik’s work. (More info)

As part of the “Jazz Score” exhibit, Shohei Imamura’s DR AKAGI (KANZO SENSEI) will screen on September 6 @ 8:30pm and September 8 @ 6:15pm. This flick is set in a Japanese fishing village at the end of WW II. Japanese nationalism and Western admiration merge and clash while swing and jazz offsets the scenic Japanese coastline. (More info)

On November 25, TWO TIGERS will be released on DVD from Lionsgate.

And I have a passion for linguine! Beyond the obvious question of “Why?” Lionsgate has given us a new game to play!

Here’s their plot description of TWO TIGERS:

“In Shanghai, China, Gilda works as a professional killer.  A stunning blonde “femme Nikita,” she is a harmonious balance of bombshell beauty and martial arts expertise making her as skillful in the art of seduction as she is with a weapon.  When she is commissioned to take out an important Lebanese official, she goes undercover as the new manager of an information technology company, taking up residence in a beautiful condo.   In a fortuitous series of events, she becomes friends with a questionable neighbor, Lin, a beautiful Chinese girl who turns out to be a high-class call girl.  The dubious pair share many commonalities including a fierce independence, a guarded heart and dangerous careers which are perceived to be cold-blooded and materialistic.  The women’s lives are woven together in a fatal collision of love in the face of betrayal, and the ‘two tigers’ must struggle to overcome their individual obstacles in order to find their true happiness.”

This is like Mad Libs! Why don’t you try it?

“In (name of Chinese city), China, Gilda works as a (level of expertise) killer.  A stunning (hair color) “femme Nikita,” she is a (ancient Chinese adjective) balance of bombshell beauty and martial arts expertise making her as skillful in the art of (favorite hobby) as she is with a weapon.  When she is commissioned to take out an important (name of country found in recent issue of Newsweek) official, she goes undercover as the new manager of an (something the kids are doing on the internet you can’t understand) company, taking up residence in a beautiful condo.   In a (big word you don’t quite understand) series of events, she becomes friends with a questionable neighbor, Lin, a (”beautiful,” “free-spirited,” “slutty” - pick one) Chinese girl who turns out to be a high-class call girl.  The (another big word you don’t understand completely, preferably an adjective) pair share many commonalities including a (two words from the cover of this month’s Cosmo), a (something emo) and dangerous careers which are perceived to be cold-blooded and materialistic.  The women’s lives are woven together in a (your favorite kind of deadly vehicular accident) of love in the face of betrayal, and the two (favorite animal) must struggle to overcome their individual obstacles in order to find their true happiness.”

Johnnie To is an admirer of French crime film director Jean-Pierre Melville, and one of his long-awaited projects is a remake of Melville’s THE RED CIRCLE, an ultra-spare, ultra-stylized heist film from 1970. Although the project is now said to be delayed, you can get an idea of what he’s going to be doing with the current FRENCH CRIME WAVE series running at Film Forum, and soon to come to an end.

The most Johnnie To-esque movies still to come are the August 28 double feature of UN FLIC & SICILIAN CLAN. UN FLIC is Melville’s last completed movie, a heist film that feels like Johnnie To at his best, only everyone’s speaking French. And THE SICILIAN CLAN is an ultra-violent thriller that’s barely available on home video.

Also, don’t miss Henri-Georges Clouzot’s QUAI DES ORFEVRES. Clouzot is better know for directing DIABOLIQUE but QUAI is a better movie by far. A double-crossing, back-stabbing, love you/hate you, quasi-lesbionic, cuckold crazy, murder mystery it’s also, of all things, a Christmas movie. Sort of like a poisonous little antidote to IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE.

(Read more)

(Showtimes and schedule)

Welcome to Subway Cinema News, your weekly guide to Asian movie events in New York City.

NOW PLAYING

At the ImaginAsian, Siddarth Haseeno’s BACHNA AE HASEENO is the latest Bollywood flick from those fine purveyors of family entertainment, Yash Raj. It’s the story of Raj, a heart throb who’s chasing the skirts from the age of 18 to 30, falling for three different women. The reviews are mixed. You can read a good one here and a bad one here.

Also playing at the ImaginAsian is MUMBAI MERI JAN a sort of Indian version of CRASH about five characters’ intersecting lives in the run-up to, and aftermath of, the Mumbai Train Bombings of 2006. The characters differ in every way possible but all experience a dramatic shift in their lives after the tragedy. Kamath’s debut Hindi film is getting great review for the most part.

(read a review)

(Showtimes and more info)

Although it’s being reported in some places as playing at the Angelica, Takashi Miike’s SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO starts an exclusive engagement at the Landmark Sunshine on August 29. All we have to say is: Quentin Tarantino + Takashi Miike + Spaghetti Western = Eyeball Explosion.

(Read more)

(Official Website with links to tickets on sale)

This Friday at the Angelica Film Center, David Kaplan’s YEAR OF THE FISH is a Chinatown Cinderella story that eases in and out of fantasy and reality. Using animation effects to blend magic into the everyday grit of New York City, the film witnesses the innocent life of Ye Xian, a naive girl who comes to the city to earn extra money for her sick father in China. Instead she ends up as a cleaning lady at a Chinatown massage parlor after refusing the sexual exploits of her job as a masseuse. Things seem to turn around when she is given a fish by a hunchback who promises her luck and magic in its presence.

(More info and showtimes)

The New York Korean Film Festival continues until August 31. Complete info is here.

At Film Forum playing September 3 – September 16, Chris Smith’s THE POOL about Venkatesh, a poor kid who works at a high-class hotel in Panjim, Goa and is ever-so-curious about the privileged life of the wealthy. As he interacts with the wealthy owner of a mansion, he gains knowledge about the untouchable world while learning about his own future.

(More info and showtimes)

Finally, John Carpenter’s homage to Hong Kong films of the early 80’s, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, is screening at BAM on Monday, September 1 @ 2pm, 4:30pm, 6:50pm & 9:15pm.

(Buy tickets)

Kwon Chil-in’s HELLCATS stalks the life of three women, bound by familial bonds and their inability to fit into traditional female roles. The screenplay is based on the graphic novel 10, 20, and 30 by Kang Mo-Ri. There are three things that a woman needs to avoid: cheating on her lover, developing wrinkles, and showing her true feelings. A-mi(Kim Min-hee), the film’s narrator delineates her observations into clear lists and analogies. She wonders if life and love could be played like sports. We would receive warnings and yellow cards for screwing up and be given clear-cut rules to work with. Ami’s sharp musings keep flowing despite her lack of writing income. Even though Ami’s dramatic outbursts and addictive personality screw up her judgment, her allegiance to honesty has you rooting for her.

Life is not a game of soccer, but societal rules do exist — the binding, unsaid roles that women are forced to play. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that each of the three women cannot squeeze herself into the role that her age and gender dictates. The writer in her late twenties can’t stomach the man who wants to promise her marriage and stability. Young-mi (Lee Mi-sook), a middle-aged single mother, is in command of her career but as her body flirts with symptoms of menopause, she uses her lover as lifeline to youth. The teenage daughter Kang-ae (Ahn So-hee of the Wondergirls) should be playing the field with cute boys her age but is constantly drawn back to the practice kiss that she shared with her best friend.

Director Kwon invites you into the inner lives of these three women while keeping you waiting for their next coping mechanism. He does this from a distanced viewpoint, letting the audience watch the strands of their lives fray and at times erupt. Once in awhile he brings you closer, zooming in on symbolic details: odd and remarkable shots of a slowly shattering bottle of red wine or roses that wilt and fade with a woman’s hope for her youthful libido.

The characters have the same concerns that plague many modern women. As powerful and independent women how do we express our love and fragility to others without losing our sense of independence? The only definite answer offered by the film is the challenge of learning to live without regrets by choosing what feels right even if everyone else says it’s wrong. When forced to lie about her occupation and income in order to travel to America, Ami faces her unwillingness to pretend to be anyone but herself. This epiphany lands her right in front of her computer again with a new resolve to improve her “baby” – the screenplay. The parallel is clear — her lack of focus on her creative work spills over into her personal life just as her dedication to her writing will someday, hopefully, reward her with a winning lover.

There are aspects of each character that I think most people can relate to whether they want to not. We’ve all been in desperate scenarios that serve as a rude wake-up call to our own sorry narratives. Director Kwon Chil-In’s HELLCATS is a funny and unsettling film that leaves you with a sense of buoyant anticipation for the next chapter of each woman’s life. - SYL

(Playing on Thursday, August 28 at Cinema Village)

(Watch the trailer)

Welcome to Subway Cinema News – Asian flavor without the summer monsoons. Newsworthy Asian events in New York City, rounded up and linked with pretty pictures. Every week!

This Week

The New York Korean Film Festival kicks off with an opening reception on August 21 at the New York Times Building, 242 West 41st Street at 6 pm. The reception will include special guests: director Chang Youn-hyun and actor Yoo Ji-tae, the hunky leading male of the movie HWANG JIN-YI that will be screened that evening. It’ll continue from August 22 - 31 at Cinema Village and BAM. There’ll be an Ahn Sung-Ki retro (he’s the most iconic living Korean actor) and a bunch of other stuff.

(More info)

(Cinema Village screenings)

(BAM screenings)

Some of the titles to watch for:

Brother directors, Jeong Sik and Beom-sik’s EPITAPH is spine chilling and visually perfect collection of stories that take place at Ansaeng Hospital. The remains of the hospital are haunted by the tragedy that occurred there during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Dr. Jung Nam visits the site of his former internship and his memories supply the fodder for the interwoven tales to unfold. Despite the confusion that sometimes arises, this film is worth seeing for the technical and visual execution.

Kwon Chil-in’s HELLCATS revolves around the household of three compelling women, each of a different decade. The power of this film lies in its ability to dramatically portray the challenges each woman faces around her sexuality and potency while keeping it grounded in nitty gritty details. Beautifully written and acted without the typical gender stereotypes that one finds in an all female lead film.

Hwang Dong-hyuk’s MY FATHER stars Korean American actor Daniel Henney. An adopted Korean man decides to trace his parental roots when he is stationed in Korea. Shocked to find that his father is in prison and far from the ideal that he imagined. As they find their way together through language and cultural barriers, you become deeply invested in their limited amount of time together. This bold film gave Henney a chance to play a noteworthy character who struggles with racism and identity unlike the pretty boy roles he is usually assigned.

At Anthology Film Archives, Lee Myung-Se’s FIRST LOVE is playing on Thursday, August 21. A drama that espouses the painful virtue of facing reality through the one-sided love a student has for her drama teacher. Her idea of the perfect man burns to the ground while she discovers the truth can set her free or at least wake her up.

(More info)

Coming Thursday, August 22 to ImaginAsian, Siddarth Haseeno’s BACHNA AE HASEENO centered on the hot throb Raj who falls in love three times over. He is the man that friends and family warn you about but are unable to resist. With Cupid is his sidekick, Raj discovers lessons about himself and life through the women that fall prey to his charms. (More info)

HWANG JIN-YI premiers at the New York Korean Film Festival’s opening reception on Thursday, August 21 at the New York Times Building and will be screened again during the festival. Detailed schedule and locations here. 

Opening credits appear as luminescent folds of embroidered silk fill the screen. The rich fabric and gold threads are indicative of the handiwork that one finds on the highest quality hanbok (traditional Korean clothing). Like the complexity and craftsmanship of the hanbok that is still worn during holidays, this film integrates history and old world traditions with the benefits of modern filmography. Chang Yoon-Hyun’s HWANG JIN-YI is based on the life of renowned kisaeng who lived in the 16^th century. Kisaengs were high-class entertainers who had more sexual freedom than other women but were not prostitutes. She was accomplished in many art forms but she specialized in poetry and the use of her wit to point out the corruption among local officials.

Frequent flashbacks to childhood when she explored the town with Nomi, her close friend, border on becoming trite, yet they’re a vital prelude to the proud and defiant woman she becomes. After many years, Nomi returns to the village to guard the Hwang family estate. He comes back with long hair, broader shoulders and is now a badass fighter who protects his first love. Fist-flying action and Robin Hood-esque adventures unfold each time Nomi appears. The bad boy gone good is easy on the eyes and his noble intentions to dole out rice to the poor add to his charm.

The movie gains momentum and grit as Jin-Yi’s fate throws her from a life of sheltered privilege into testing out her own will and talents in the abrasive world outside her family’s gates. She is forced to become a kisaeng to survive and renames herself Myeongwol. In renaming herself, she finds conviction in living a life answering to no one. Myeongwol is mesmerizing with her pale (rice powder) beauty and stands bold as a rebel in silk and brocade. Despite her great success and prosperity, her dark tantrums surface behind closed doors. Haunted by childhood memories, it’s clear that she is worn down by the truth: Nomi can never be her true lover because of the life he leads.

As the cultural trends of modern Korea change, so do the historical fictions that are being remade into films and dramas. These feature films focus on women in Korean history who openly challenged gender roles and dynamics. Chang Yoon-Hyun’s HWANG JIN-YI translates the edgier aspects of the tale through the tainted lust between the young lovers as well as the use and misuse of sexual power and domination. Chang eases you into the glamour and cruelty of the Joseon Dynasty with an exquisite use of lighting. The precise lighting reveals the contradictory underworld of rebels against the opulence that surrounds the government officials and nobles. Despite some of the expected turns of the story, bring your hankie because the stellar performances of the lead roles by Yu, Ji-Tae (Nomi) and Song, Hye-Kyo (Hwang Jin-Yi) will move you. When I watched this film at the Pusan International Film Festival, the audience was sobbing and sniffling so loud that I missed some of the dialogue.

I bought this film before I left Korea because I love watching Jin-Yi’s disdain for haughty, righteous men who think they are above judgment. She lowers a man’s ego with one glance of her perfectly crafted eyebrows and full peach lips. An ancient Korean Wonder Woman, Hwang Jin-Yi was a famous kisaeng poet and philosopher who stood up for the underdogs and executed justice on her own sexy terms.

(Watch the trailer)

Welcome to Subway Cinema News – You can’t cook rice with good intentions.

THIS WEEK

At the Walter Reade, courtesy of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, don’t miss the tail end of the film series “In Honor of Madame Kawakita“ playing through August 14.

Anthology Film Archives and the Korean Cultural Service are presenting a super-rare, don’t-miss-it screening of Lee Myung-Se’s FIRST LOVE (Thursday, August 21).  A drama that espouses the painful virtue of facing reality versus living in a fantasy via the one-sided love a student has for her drama teacher. Her idea of the perfect man painfully burns to the ground while she discovers the truth can set her free or at least wake her up.This is the movie where critics really sat up and started taking notice of Director Lee, and it’s not available on home video. Considered to be a classic of Korean film.

The ImaginAsian is hosting Anees Bazme’s SINGH IS KINNG a hip shakin’ Bollywood comedy that’s so goofy it makes your teeth hurt.  An Indian comedy of misadventure and coincidence with a love story thrown in to thwart the big plans of the underworld ringleader.

The New York Korean Film Festival opens on August 21 at the New York Times Building (242 West 41st Street) with a cocktail reception at 6pm.  The reception will include special guests: director Chang Youn-hyun and actor Yoo Ji-tae, the leading male of the movie HWANG JIN-YI. The festival will continue until August 31.  For a full schedule of events and locations, go here.

Chang Youn-hyun’s HWANG JIN-YI is a classic Korean tale of forbidden love.  There have been many incarnations of this film, a romantic tale of Robin Hood meets Romeo and Juliet -Asian style.  This most recent version is a cut above the rest for its gorgeous use of costumes and barely-restrained lust.

Bong Joon-ho’s THE HOST is playing at sunset on Wednesday, July 30 at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens. (Here’s full info on the screening and on the park itself)

I used to live with Godzilla. He was three feet tall, made of gray/silver plastic, and sat at the foot of my son’s bed. Because of my son’s obsession, I sat through hours of Godzilla films and developed a fondness for the over grown lizard. But while watching THE HOST, a Korean monster flick, I felt no empathy for the amphibious villain. Complete with a long slick tongue and a bulimic approach to eating, the monster makes you cringe and shiver in all the right places. Using the stretch of the Han River, the director shot beautiful pans of the murky, swirling waters against the steel skyline of Seoul.

The loveliest aspects of the film are the peculiar characters that make up the Park family who own a concession stand by the Han River. The Parks come together to battle the monster and recover their lost daughter. Everyone has their favorite member of the Park family, mine being the young aunt who is an archer with a quiet mean streak and doe-like eyes played by Bae Doo-Na, best known to New York audiences as the Korean exchange student in LINDA, LINDA, LINDA and much-absent from Korean screens these days.

The creature’s ravenous rampage is a catalyst for the larger story of the family that is held together by their mutual love for the young girl. I found myself rooting for the father, Gang-du (Song Kang-Ho), whose clumsy miscalculations and narcoleptic tendencies lead to one tragedy after another. The Parks collectively band together and contribute their talents to her rescue: the uncle’s intelligence, the aunt’s archery skills, the grandfather’s devotion, and the father’s absolute love.

You find yourself laughing and crying at inappropriate times. After the monster’s first run for human takeout, people gather in a large hall to grieve the lost victims. Sounds of wailing and sobbing accompany the wall of images of the dead. I almost wet my pants during this somber moment as the family convenes over the sweet portrait of the little girl, they become hysterical, violent, and start wrestling each other to the ground. The director, Bong Joon-Ho (who’s currently working on another family genre film, this time about a mother trying to prove her son’s innocence) has a knack for doing this, taking the unsuspecting viewer to the extremities of bipolar emotions.

The bad guy in this movie isn’t the monster, it’s America personified here as a gang of benignly idiotic occupiers and military goons, and their sidekick is control (with a capital C) as they try to keep a city plagued by a monster under wraps. It’s eerily reminiscent of news footage from the Bird Flu scare showing the streets of Seoul filled with people wearing protective masks, fearful of each other and of possible contamination. The threat of the virus which the Americans claim the creature is spreading keeps the masses in check and distracted from the real danger of the monster chowing down citizens. Ironically enough, the only solution for the virus and the monster’s end is a chemical that is dubbed “Agent Yellow.” Yellow powder fills the screen with alarming toxic clouds that fall on masses of rioting citizens. As Gang-Du escapes the binds of the military enforced hospitals again and again to search for his daughter, you get the feeling that he is not only trying to save his daughter but himself. Called a loser and dismissed as a moron he has a need to redeem himself in her eyes and in the eyes of his family.

THE HOST is a heady, mind-bending blend of monster thriller, family narrative and social commentary that keeps you grossed out, queasy and thoroughly entertained. The director, Bong Joon-Ho, co-wrote the screenplay with Baek Chul-Hyun and his previous film, MEMORIES OF MURDER, won many accolades and was, until THE HOST came along, one of Korea’s top-grossing films. In South Korea, THE HOST played in a record number of theaters and broke box office numbers throughout its domestic run.

What better way to take it in than to sit outside in Long Island City and enjoy this al fresco screening? And if you see something swimming through the East River during the movie, and if it looks big and hungry, don’t stop to warn anyone and don’t stay through the end of the film. Just run. (-SYL)

(More reviews of THE HOST)