June 21 begins with an adaptation of a manga to live action. NYAFF brought the popular Death Note saga to the U.S. and now it's trying repeat that success with 20th Century Boys. The 22 volume manga by Naoki Urasawa won multiple awards. There's a trilogy of films planned, and NYAFF will screen the first two. Part three debuts later this summer. The story involves a book of prophecies, a secret society, giant robots, killer viruses, and becoming a hero late in life. This is pop entertainment at its best. Next up on June 21 is Dachimawa Lee, a frivolous diversion by Korea's inspired action director, Ryu Seung-Wan (City of Violence). The film is both a send up of James Bond (Korea took offense at the Bond franchise showing Korea as poor peasant country in Tomorrow Never Dies) and a spoof of Korean anti-Communist action movies of the 70s and early 80s. The tone, style, and clever action also recall early Jackie Chan.
On June 22, Donnie Yen shines in the bio-pic Ip Man, about Bruce Lee’s master. The film opens in 1935 with Ip Man (played by Yen) enjoying a prosperous life. Then a nasty competitor moves in, followed by the Japanese invasion. There's a bit of history as Ip Man is asked to teach the Japanese his style of wing chun, and then some fabrication as Yen takes on an army of Japanese fighters. The film has the classy elegance of Fearless, and it boasts great hand to hand combat choreographed by Sammo Hung.
On June 23 you can find a wacky explosion of genres and eye-popping colors in India's Quick Gun Murugan about a vegetarian cowboy who goes up against a carnivorous gang of bad guys. The film recalls the visual style of Tears of the Black Tiger but rejects that film's lush melodrama for a more delirious Bollywood sense of fun.
Then the Korean film industry comes under attack in the film-within-a-film action drama Rough Cut. Produced and written by Kim Ki-duk, Rough Cut was a surprise hit at the Korean box office. The story involves smug star Su-Tae (Kang Ji-Hwan) who's best known for his gangster roles and his off-screen antics. When he's shown up by a mere supporting player, he beats the guy up and then finds himself unable to get a co-star for his action film. Then in walks Gang-Pae (So Ji-Seob), a real life gangster who happens to be a fan. So Su-Tae convinces the gangster to be in his film and that sets the two up for a series of showdowns. There's some savage humor about the Korean film industry, an assault on genre conventions, and a whole lot of action.
On June 24 I highly recommend checking out China's If You Are the One with the lovely Shu Qi. The film is directed by the always sharp and often satirical Feng Xiaogang. Also on the 24th is Crush and Blush by first-time female director, Lee Kyeong-Mi, who according to the film notes, "splices thriller, satire and, yes, chick flick DNA to create a gorgeous monster." It doesn't hurt to have Oldboy's Park Chan Wook as your producer and co-writer.
On June 27 you can catch Simon Yam again in Exodus. This film has an amazingly surreal open. The camera lingers on a portrait of Queen Elizabeth and then slowly pulls out to reveal a group of men in bathing suits, flippers, and facemasks beating some guy up. It's a long, lovely shot with a perverse sense of violence. Then we move to an interrogation room where a man who's been arrested for peeping tries to convince the officer that he was actually spying on the women to see if they had plans to kill all men. Yam, as the officer in charge, dismisses the man as silly. But then the man returns to make a retraction and that stirs Yam's curiosity. Gorgeously shot, this is a dry comedy with a lethal sense of fun.
On June 30, Go Go 70s opens with old black and white propaganda films and then bursts into color and song. The film focuses on a Korean rock band that had its start in American G.I. bars, made a few albums, ran into censorship trouble, and refused to just fade away. This one begins and ends with groovy fun but in the middle there's some grit and drama.
And let me end with the July 3 film Love Exposure. This has to be one of the most audacious and offbeat epics of all time. Director Sion Sono will be in attendance in case you have any questions and you most definitely will. NYAFF screened Sono's Exte a few years back and he's also responsible for the cult favorite Suicide Club. But this four-hour epic about faith, religion, porn, and the Virgin Mary outdoes anything he's ever attempted before. The main character is the son of a Catholic priest. The lad's innocence and good clean living seem an affront to his father who has lost his faith. So in an odd attempt to please him, the boy sets off on a life of determined sinfulness. And that's only the beginning.
So that's just a sampling of the films available at this year's New York Asian Film Festival. Many have no U.S. distributor so this may be your only chance to catch them on the big screen.
