Archive for the ‘Japan’ Category
March 11, 2010
24 hours, over a hundred films, and that’s just our bloody preview. The madness finally comes to end with this perky sidebar that celebrates SXSW’s onnection with Austin’s other great film festival, September’s Fantastic Fest. The line-up might seem more selective than past years, but the program promises a “special event TBA.” So there’s always that. In the meantime, sate your mind-bending with a honorable assortment of Japanese vampires, porno actors and the usual head-fuckery.
Read our SXSW Headliners preview.
Read the first part of our SXSW Spotlight Premieres preview.
Read the second part of our SXSW Spotlight Premieres preview.
Read our SXSW Narrative Features Competition preview.
Read our SXSW Documentary Features Competition preview.
Read the first part our SXSW Emerging Visions preview.
Read the second part our SXSW Emerging Visions preview.
Read our SXSW Lone Star States preview.
Read our SXSW 24 Beats Per Second preview.
Read our SXSW SW Global preview.
Read the first part of our SXSW Festival Favorites preview.
Read the second part of our SXSW Festival Favorites preview.
Read the third part of our SXSW Festival Favorites preview.
Read our SXSW Midnighters preview.
Higanjima
Akira’s life has been marked by the prolonged absence of his brother. Then he learns that the boy has been seen on Higanjima Island. There’s a few catches. The island is said to be inhabited by vampires and no one has ever returned from its shores. Of course, that’s never stopped anybody in a Japanese horror film. South Korean filmmaker Tae-gyun Kim (Volcano High) orchestrates this manga adaptation.
Monsters
Sometime in the future, Mexico has been completely quarantined after the crash landing of an infected probe. While the military wage war with the creatures that fell to earth, a journalist and a tourist try to jump the border into the Infected Zone. Writer-director Gareth Edwards’ sci-fi film revisits District 9 territory to make some smart points about immigration amid the flying tentacles.
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Tags:Colm McCarthy, Gareth Edwards, Higanjima, Monsters, Serbian Film, Sergei Trifunovic, Srdjan Spasojevic, Srpski Film, SXSW Film Festival, Tae-gyun Kim, Volcano High
Posted in 2010, Festivals, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Serbia | Leave a Comment »
February 11, 2010
“Before we made this film, we actually bought an air doll, filled it up, and put it in a conference room. We tested putting its air out. When she’s full, she was just plastic. But when the air went out of her, there’s something about the way her knees bent that felt very erotic to all the males in the room. For me, it’s a portrait of the difference in how men and women approach sex: she wants to be fulfilled; he wants to unfill her.”
— Hirokazu Kore-eda on pre-production for Air Doll (via Time Out Hong Kong)
Tags:Air Doll, Hirokazu Kore-eda
Posted in Japan, Western Union | Leave a Comment »
February 11, 2010
Yeah, so the Berlin Film Festival has probably started already. This may still be of use to somebody. The Forum section is traditionally populated by newbies and experimental filmmakers. This year, several themes have emerged, among them the importance of labor and the plight of women in the modern economic system. The third part of our Forum preview has a particularly feminist bent, with documentary filmmakers tackling life in both ultra-Orthodox Israel and ultra-crazy North Korea. After it all, though, we end with a zippy Taiwanese comedy about a guy who just wants to visit his Parisian girlfriend. Click on the titles to watch trailers.
Click here to read the first part of our Forum preview.
Click here to read the second part of our Forum preview.
Pus (Haze)
A handgun and a photograph lead a young DVD pirate to become involved in a troubled couple’s lives. Director Tayfun Pirselimoglu situates this noir threesome in the industrial outskirts of Istanbul, where the atmosphere is as potent as Eraserhead’s distillation of Philadelphia.
Putty Hill
American filmmaker Matt Porterfield uses the day before a junkie’s funeral to scrutinize the rest of the family. In a faux documentary style, Porterfield creates deft sketches of put-upon skate punks and their impressively inked parents.
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Tags:Aljoscha Weskott, Anat Yuta Zuria, Artur Smolyaninov, Arvin Chen, Au revoir Taipei, Black Bus, Crab Trap, Daniel Woodrell, Dear Pyongyang, Debra Granik, Der Tag des Spatzen, El recuento de los daños, El Vuelco del Cangrejo, Eva Bianco, Gamma Bak, Haze, Head Cold, I am, Igor Voloshin, Inés de Oliveira Cézar, Jack Yao., Marietta Kesting, Matt Porterfield, Oscar Ruiz Navia, Philip Scheffner, Pus, Putty Hill, Santiago Gobernori, Schnupfen im Kopf, Sona mo hitori no watashi, Sona The Other Myself, Soreret, Sunny Land, Tayfun Pirselimoglu, The Counting of the Damages, The Day of the Sparrow, Winter’s Bone, Ya, Yang Yonghi, Yi yè Tái bei
Posted in 2010, Argentina, Colombia, Festivals, Germany, Israel, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey | Leave a Comment »
February 11, 2010
Forum is the section where Berlineastes seek out the freshest filmmakers doing their bit to push back the form’s parameters. The second part of our Forum preview kicks off with a conventional gangster story, but there’s wilder stuff in store. How about a musical version of a 1928 Communist classic from Japan, for instance? Or maybe a mad romance from Goa? Other highlights include the new film from Laura Poiras and more from the Japan, South Korea and Taiwan vanguard. Click on the titles to watch trailers.
Click here to read the first part of our Forum preview.
Indigène d’Eurasie (Eastern Drift)
Career criminal Gena has gone from extorting protection fees to dealing drugs. Now he wants out. His decision means going on the run. In a race across Europe reminiscent of Wim Wenders’s glory years, Gena reflects on his life. Through his frantic character, Lithuanian director and star Sharunas Bartas’s film sketches a criminal history of the continent.
Kanikōsen (The Crab Cannery Ship)
Takiji Kobayashi’s 1929 agitprop novel has come back into fashion thanks to discontent with the Japanese economic system. Director Sabu (Drive) adapts the time-honored story of a ship divided between downtrodden workers and vicious bosses, throwing in some singing and dancing along the way. With Nightmare Detective’s Ryuhei Matsuda.
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Tags:A Crowd of Three, Angela Schanelec, Bo-eun Choi, Bruno Todeschini, Constantin Popescu, Drive, Eastern Drift, Fish Story, Gavrilă-Ogoranu., Hikari Mitsushima, Hou Chi-Jan, I’m in Trouble!, Ikigami, Indigène d’Eurasie, Ishii Yuya, Kanikōsen, Kawa no soko kara konnichi wa, Kenta to Jun to Kayo chan no kuni, Kora Kengo, Laura Poitras, Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, Love Exposure, Maren Eggert, Matsuda Shota, Min Sung-wook, Na-neun gon-kyeong-e cheo-haet-da!, Natacha Regnier, Neo-wa na-eui i-shib-il-seki, Nightmare Detective, Nikki Hsin-Ying Hsieh, Omori Tatsushi, One Day, Orly, Osama bin Laden, Our Fantastic 21st Century, Paltadacho Munis, Portrait of the Fighter as a Young Man, Portretul luptatorului la tinerete, Ryu Hyung-ki, Ryuhei Matsuda, Sabu, Sawako Decides, Sharunas Bartas, So Sang-min, Takiji Kobayashi, The Crab Cannery Ship, The Man Beyond the Bridge, The Oath, You yi tian
Posted in 2010, Festivals, France, India, Japan, Lithuania, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan | 1 Comment »
February 10, 2010
It may be true that all you need to make a film is a girl and a gun, but children have been an integral element since the Lumieres photographed a baby’s luncheon in 1895. Berlin’s Generations sidebar continues the tradition with over 50 features and shorts for and about those unknowable little buggers we like to call “the kids.” In the final installment of our preview, their stories range from life on the Georgia streets to South Korean orphanages to Michael Cera’s overactive imagination. Click on the titles to watch trailers.
Read the first part of our Berlin: Generations preview.
Read the second part of our Berlin: Generations preview.
Susa
Susa is a 12-year-old whose job delivering bootleg vodka takes him to some of the grimier corners of Georgia. He’s threatened by the police on one side and street gangs on the other. This grim existence is alleviated only by the promise that Susa’s father will one day return. Rusudan Pirveli’s feature debut also screened in the Bright Future sidebar at the 2010 Rotterdam Film Festival.
Te extraño (I Miss You)
Director Fabian Hofman’s film is set among Argentine exiles living in Mexico. The teenager Javier is haunted by the memory of his older brother, who was killed by the military junta. Everybody wants to Javier to be the leader Adrian was. But all Javier wants is to be himself—whoever that is.
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Tags:A Brand New Life, Berlin Film Festival, C.D. Payne, Fabian Hofman, Hippolyte Girardot, Hors la vie, I Miss You, Kim Sae-ron, Koji Masunari, Michael Cera Portia Doubleday, Nobuhiro Suwa, Ounie Lecomte, OVA, Peter Karena, Rotterdam Film Festival, Rusudan Pirveli, Susa, Te extraño, The Well, This Way of Life, Thomas Burstyn, Uchu Show e Yokoso, Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, Vihir, Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW, Yeo-haeng-ja, Youth in Revolt, Yuki & Nina
Posted in 2010, Argentina, Festivals, France, Georgia, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea | Leave a Comment »
February 10, 2010
While adults geek out on the latest from Scorsese and Polanski at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, the kids get their very own Generations sidebar. With films ranging from hard-hitting documentaries like Neukölln Unlimited to the sci-fi romance of SUMMER WARS, it’s a menu that caters to a very varied group of tastes. Some things remain constant, though, like bullying, pain-in-the-neck siblings, road trips and parents who just don’t seem to understand. Click on the titles to watch trailers.
Read the first part of our Berlin 2010 Film Festival: Generations preview.
Les Nuits de Sister Welsh (Sister Welsh’s Nights)
Emma (Naissance des pieuvres’s Louise Blachere) escapes from the pressures of teenage life by creating a fantasy world. It’s populated by her overbearing mother and the swooning heroine Sister Welsh, who yearns to escape her convent school for the hunky arms of Capt. Grant. Emma happily lives in her imaginative universe until a boy takes an interest. Directed by Jean-Claude Janer.
Neukölln Unlimited
A Lebanese family of hip-hop dancers living in Berlin’s Neukölln district is threatened with deportation. Lial and Hassan Akkouch raise money so their brother Maradona can stay in the country, but the youngster falls in with a bad crowd. Agostino Imondi and Dietmar Ratsch’s documentary is like Save the Last Dance if it were real. And good.
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Tags:Abhay Deol, Agostino Imondi, Alex Law, Anastasia Lapsui, Babak Najafi, Berlin Film Festival, Birger Larsen, Carlos Gaviria, Chou tin dik tong wah, Dev Benegal, Dietmar Ratsch, Echoes of the Rainbow, English August, Jean-Claude Janer, Les Nuits de Sister Welsh, Louise Blachere, Mamoru Hosoda, Markku Lehmuskallio, Naissance des pieuvres, Neukölln Unlimited, Paola Baldion, Portraits in a Sea of Lies, Pudana - Last of the Line, Retratos en un mar de mentiras, Road Movie, Samâ wôzu, Save the Last Dance, Sebbe, Shui Yuet Sun Tau, Sister Welsh’s Nights, Sitges Film Festival, Skal vi vaere kaerester?, Sukunsa viimeinen, Summer Wars, Superbror, Superbrother
Posted in 2010, Colombia, Festivals, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Sweden | 1 Comment »
February 6, 2010
Starting with a Sapphic rock ‘n’ roll band and ending with an elegy for the Bolivian aristocracy, the final part of our Panorama preview contains a broad range of viewpoints. Of note is an Aki Kaurismaki-endorsed story of incest, stories of seclusion from Russia and Israel, a no holds barred biopic about Ian Dury and a charming collection of South Korean actresses. Click on the titles to watch trailers.
Read the first part of our Berlin Panorama preview.
Read the second part of our Berlin Panorama preview.
Read the first part of our Berlin Competition preview.
Read the second part of our Berlin Competition preview.
The Owls
An aging ex-members of a lesbian rock band get a kick up the behind by the appearance of a 20-year-old newcomer. Twisted passions lead to both rebirth and revenge. The ninth film from Liberian-born lesbian director Cheryl Dunye (My Baby’s Daddy) stars Guinevere Turner, best known for writing the screenplays to American Psycho and I Shot Andy Warhol.
Paha perhe (Bad Family)
Produced by Aki Kaurismaki, this deadpan comedy features an obsessive single dad (Ville Virtanen) who will do anything to keep his son from hooking up with the love of his life—who happens to be the boy’s sister. The icky topic is perfect fodder for that very special brand of Finnish humor. Directed by Aleksi Salmenperä (A Man’s Work).
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Tags:A Man’s Work, Aki Kaurismaki, Aleksi Salmenpera, American Psycho, Anahi Berneri, Andrey Filippack, Andy Serkis, Anna Fencheniko, Bad Family, Berlin Film Festival, Cheryl Dunye, Choi Ji-woo, Doron Paz, E J-Yong, Encarnacion, Erica Rivas, Father of Invention, Felix Mikhailov, Going South, Guinevere Turner, High Noon, I Shot Andy Warhol, Ian Dury, Isao Yukisada, It's Your Fault, Jake Scott, James Gandolfini, Jolly Fellows, Juan Carlos Valdivia, Kim Ok-vin, Ko Hyun-jung, Kristen Stewart, La Cienaga, Lea Seydoux, Mat Whitecross, Missing Man, Mohamed al Daradji, My Baby’s Daddy, Nes en 68, Ofer Shechter, Paha perhe, Parade, Passions, Patrick Hughes, Phobidilia, Plein Sud, Por tu culpa, Propavshyi bez vesty, Red Hill, Renata Litvinova, Ryan Kwanten, Sebastien Lifshitz, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Son of Babylon, Southern District, Sundance Film Festival, The Actresses, The Last Mistress, The Lord of the Rings, The Owls, Thirst, True Blood, Veselchaki, Ville Virtanen, Welcome to the Rileys, Woman on the Beach, Yannick Renier, Yeobaewoodle, Yoav Paz, Zona Sur
Posted in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Festivals, Finland, France, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Russia, South Korea, United Kingdom | Leave a Comment »
February 5, 2010
The Panorama section takes in a wide swathe of both independent and international productions which deserve a few more eyeballs cast in their direction. There’s plenty in this year’s line-up to merit attention. A Japanese courier goes on the run after a bomb blast, a miracle-working vagabond raises some hell, Dostoevsky goes Moroccan and families across Europe suffer the fallout of secrets and lies. For afters, there’s even a hermaphrodite road movie. What’s German for “fasten your seatbelts”?
Read the first part of our Berlin Panorama preview.
Read the first part of our Berlin Competition preview.
Read the second part of our Berlin Competition preview.
Fucking Different São Paulo
In the fourth installment of the LGBT-friendly series, male directors take on lesbian stories and female directors tell of gay lives in Brazil’s largest city. Like all portmanteau films, it’s literally a grab-bag. Through a variety of genres that includes animation, the directors tackle all-girl rock bands, long-term relationships, and friends turned lovers.
Goruden Suramba (Golden Slumber)
Director Yoshihiro Nakamura and author Kotaro Isaka have enjoyed a fruitful collaboration that includes 2009’s Fish Story. The Japanese team’s latest is about a courier who goes on the run after he becomes a prime suspect in a political assassination. Put-upon star Masato Sakai won a Blue Ribbon for his role in 2008’s Climber’s High.
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Tags:Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Bela Tarr, Berlin Film Festival, Born To Suffer, Boudu Saved by Drowning, Climber’s High, Costa-Garvas, Daniela Kolarova, Doze Niu Chen-Zer, Eden a l’Ouest, Empties, Family Tree, Ferzan Ozpetek, Fish Story, Fucking Different São Paulo, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Golden Slumber, Goruden Suramba, Guy Marchand, Hamam, Imad Noury, Jacques Martineau, Jake Yuzna, Jan Hrebejk, Kawasaki's Rose, Kawasakiho ruze, Kosmos, Kotaro Isaka, L'arbre et la forêt, Loose Cannons, Masato Sakai, Miguel Albalaedjo, Mine vaganti, Mongo, Nacidas para sufrir, Olivier Ducastel, Open, Rehem Erdem, Riccardo Scamarcio, Swel Noury, The Man Who Sold the World, Yoshihiro Nakamura
Posted in 2010, Brazil, Czech Republic, Festivals, France, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey | 1 Comment »