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)

Comments (0) Aug 27 2008

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)

Comments (0) Aug 27 2008

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)

Comments (0) Aug 27 2008