It’s not movies, but that’s okay. If you love genre then you know that some of the most fascinating takes on typical tropes come from other countries. The Rubin Museum is putting on a panel discussion called “From Urdu Epic and Tibetan Sorcerers to Today: Fantasy in Tibetan and World Literature” as an introduction to Tibetan fantasy, which will bring together novelist Elizabeth Hand, novelist John Crowley (whose Little, Big was called “a neglected masterpiece” by no less than Harold Bloom), novelist Paul Witcover, and professors Andrew Quintman (Yale) and Hamid Dabashi (Columbia). They’re going to be talking about…well, it’s right there in the title.
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Tickets are a bit steep at $12.00 but that includes admission to, and a tour of, the tie-in exhibit at the Rubin, “Once Upon Many Times: Legends and Myths in Himalayan Art.” Which makes it more than worthwhile since museum admission is $10 anyways, which means the panel is a super-affordable $2.
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The panel takes place Wednesday October 26, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
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Myths are the backbone of any country’s fiction, films and music and if you needed some introductory immersion into the genre traditions of Tibet, this is the best chance you’ll ever get.
If you want to see a side of China you haven’t seen before, this is the documentary for you. SUPER GIRLS is the biggest, baddest, most totally humoungous version of American Idol in the world, and it happens in China, sucking in 250 million – 400 million viewers. It was canceled in 2011 because the government was worried that it was having a toxic effect on the youth, but this documentary was shot during the 2007 season when SUPER GIRLS fury was at its highest. Winners and runners-up from the show have gone on to star in movies, (Li Yuchun, who plays Simon Yam’s badass daughter in BODYGUARDS & ASSASSINS) and others have gone on to star in the popular Japanese TV show, Morning Musume (Li Chun was in the 2006 contest and then performed as a Morning Musume cast member under the name Junjun). But director Jian Yi gets behind the scenes and all up in these girls’ lives as they enter one of the most intense experiences of their lives. It’s also, fascinatingly enough, one of the years when the “boy-girl” look was popular, so almost all of the contestants maintain carefully androgynous looks that make all the young girls look a bit like young boys.
Kang Woo-Suk has made more blockbusters than any other Korean director (PUBLIC ENEMY, SILMIDO, HANBANDO) and this movie, stuffed with stars, was yet another massive critical and commercial hit for him. A disgraced cop travels to the remote village where his estranged father has just died of “natural causes” and rapidly uncovers a conspiracy that reaches back decades and encompasses hundreds of people. An epic thriller, this unrelenting flick grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go.
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All seating is first come, first served. Doors open at 6:30pm.
Velvet Bullets and Steel Kisses continues its run of classic Japanese films at Film Society of Lincoln Center. Many famous titles are included, but all are certified classics and deserve to be seen in a theater. Don’t miss this chance to see them as they were intended.
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Oct 17 2011
