Favorite Film Series [Wk:3]

This week's film is a documentary, one that I watched at the San Diego Film Festival in 2009. I found it very, very well done and also incredibly engaging.

Prince of Broadway (2008) Dir. Sean Baker

Why this film: Set in an urban, immigrant community in New York City, the film centers around Lucky (Prince Adu) and Prince (Aiden Noesi), the "son" Lucky wants nothing to do with. As a barely-aware infant, Prince's "performance" is both touching and heartbreaking, so much so that it is almost unbelievable that this film is fictional drama and not a documentary. Getting an infant like that to behave and perform in that way speaks of a director's ability to get it right and also speaks to the director's ability to be patient with his vision.
The relationships between characters in this film can probably be only characterized as brash and tolerating, but it is the relationship between Lucky and Prince that is probably the most engaging. It's a gut-wrenching story of hope and humanity, where the question about "What will happen to the child?" always looms in the audience's mind. But the film is also humorous in the painful kind of way, things that shouldn't be funny but it is.
If nothing else, I commend Dir. Baker on his approach to the film, rejecting the delineation between fiction and documentary. It is a difficult approach and I think he executes it very well. (With a little luck on his side, I'm sure)

Availability

Netflix: Available
Amazon.com Instant Video: Not Available
SDSU: Not Available
UCSD: Not Available
San Diego Public Library: Not Available

(Note: According to Amazon.com, this film is being released in October 2011. No idea why it is being released 3 years later. Anyway, I imagine with the pre-order pub for the film that it will eventually be available at the very least on Amazon Instant Video)

Favorite Film Series [Wk:2]

Last week's Still Life by Dir. Zhang jia-ke might have been too slow or too subtle for some filmgoers and for others, social commentaries with narratives just don't tickle their fancy.

For this week's Favorite Film Series, we'll be going in a slightly different direction.

(Note: I'll try to post films that are available. Some favorite films of mine, I realize, are not as accessible, which obviously makes it hard to watch.)

In the Mood for Love (2000) Dir. Kar Wai Wong

Why this film: Dir. Kar Wai Wong has been around a long time and a number of his films have done well internationally. Besides the themes of love and loyalty, the film is crafted with very sensuous overtones. Heavy orchestral arrangement, drawn out scenes with slow motion, very dramatic photography all combine to give a seemingly overly romantic film. I don't think that is a problem actually, and I find the film very enjoyable at that level. Tony Leung (Chow Mo-wan) and Maggie Cheung (Mrs. Chan) both have exceptional performances. Maggie Cheung, in my opinion, not only has a great performance but the way she looks is also exceptional.
Some people might say the film drags, but I think considering the push-pull affair within the text, the film's pace is appropriate. And, for what it is worth, I think this is a perfect date film.

Language: Cantonese, with English subtitles

Availability:
Netflix: Available
UCSD: Available (Limited)
SDSU: Available
San Diego Public Library: Available

Favorite Film Series

People always ask me what my favorite film is. I generally dislike that question because 1) there are too many films to just pick one and 2) if I tell them what my favorite films are, they will stare at me blankly because they've never heard of the film, since most of them are foreign films.

Then, recently, I had this brilliant idea to use this blog to talk about my favorite films and give people reasons to watch them. I don't know why I didn't think about this before, but I tend to be late on a lot of things. Oh well.

So, I will begin a blog series, My Favorite Films Series. Most of these films are films that you've probably never heard of, which is all fine and good. It's always good to watch something different and unique, unlike most mainstream films that are mostly all the same.

Hopefully, I will be able to open you guys up to new films. And, if you do watch them, please let me know what you thought.

Okay, enough pretense. Here is the first film (in no particular order):

Still Life (2006) Dir. Zhang Ke Jia



Why this film: In my humble opinion, since I am no expert on foreign cinema, I believe that Director Zhang is the best and most important filmmaker out of China. A number of his films could probably be a part of this series. This film is essentially social commentary on modern China and the country's conflict of past and present. If you know anything about China, it's that things are changing very rapidly and Director Zhang film comments on its human impact. The danger of this approach, however, is that the film can become an overt, preachy, talking heads piece that takes the typical Western-model of Big Bad China vs. The Poor People. Rather, Director Zhang works in irony and subtlety with both the narrative and the images. Watching his films does take some patience for the Hollywood-raised audience, but if you're paying attention, you yourself may feel the conflict that is going on for both country and individual.
Both Tao Zhao (Shen Hong) and Zhou Lan (Huang Mao), who play two of the film's main protagonist, have great performances in working with the film's style and theme. If you have any interest in China, at all, "Still Life" is a must-watch.

(I'll limit my reviews, so I don't spoil it or talk it up too much and let the film speak for itself)

Language: Mandarin, with English subtitles

Availability (San Diego)
Netflix: Available
UCSD: Available
SDSU: Not Available
San Diego Circuit: Available (Limited)
San Diego Public Library: Available