Favorite Film Series [Wk:6]

It's been a long hiatus, but finally decided to write something here again. And what better way for the first post to be about the "Favorite Film Series" here on Refine Films blog.

This week's film is a film that is indeed one of my favorites. Unfortunately, it is also a film that is quite difficult to find, which is rather surprising considering how well-received it was. I know I said I'd only put up films with decent distribution and accessibility, but that went out the window when [Wk:5] was City of Sadness. So, what the hey, I'll put this one up; maybe someday down the road, it will cross your path and you'll remember this.

A Stranger of Mine (2005) Dir. Kenji Uchida

Why this film: There are comedy films aplenty, but good comedy films? Now that is difficult. Comedy films are hard to do, any experienced filmmaker or cinephile knows this. When a good comedy film comes along, it deserves a closer look and deeper appreciation, which is why I've chosen this film. This film cuts against the grain because it isn't slapstick, but rather a "structural" comedy. In other words, it's humor is found in the film's structure and that should be evident for anyone who has a chance to watch this film. It was certainly evident enough to do quite well at Cannes a couple years ago, for whatever that is worth.

When I first saw this film at the San Diego Asian Film Festival a couple of years ago, like many commentators and reviewers, I was led to believe this was a romance film, about a nerdy, down-on-his-luck Takeshi (Yasuhi Nakamura) who falls in love with Maki (Reiki Kirishima), aided by Takeshi's best friend Yusuke (So Yamanaka). Well, let's just say, along with everybody else who watches the film for the first time, I was quite wrong. I won't delve into what the film is really about, because I'm hoping someday you'll get a chance to watch this.
What I can say is that I think this film, in a sea of today's slapstick, low-brow comedy, really stands out as brilliant, if only because Dir. Uchida stuck to his guns on this one. I don't know enough about Japanese culture to know what is considered funny, and comedy films often have difficulty translating overseas, but it certainly worked really well for an international audience. Be on the lookout for this film and I hope everyone gets a chance to watch it down the road.

Languages: Japanese

Availability (included additional sources)
Netflix: N/A
Amazon: N/A
UCSD: Available (Limited)
SDSU: N/A
SD Public Library: N/A
Play-Asia.com: Available (here)

Favorite Film Series [Wk:5]

The 2011 12th Annual San Diego Film Festival just ended this past weekend and of all the films that the festival had in its line-up, I was really only excited about one. Lost in all the hubbub of all the latest and best in Asian-American cinema, was a retrospective screening of a film considered one of the greatest and most important Asian films ever created and it also happens to be one of my favorite films.

The problem with this film is that it's very difficult to find a copy, much less a copy with English subtitles. Up to this point, I've only put films on this series that are relatively available for you to find. But watching this film on the big screen, with a new 35mm print, was such a treat at the SDAFF, that I'm willing to include this film in the series. If you're fortunate enough to come across another film festival doing a retrospective and playing the new print (apparently, there are a few out there circulating the circuit), and if you're really want to be considered an even moderate cinephile, do yourself a favor and at least sit through this film.

Alright, that's enough of the gushing pretense and let's talk about it.

City of Sadness (1989). Dir. Hsiao-hsien Hou

Why this film: If you look at the film from a textual perspective, City of Sadness is set in one of the most pivotal and emotionally charged moments of Taiwanese-Chinese history; that is, the transition period where one colonizer (Japan) is exchanged with another colonizer (Chinese Nationalist) and the "228 incident". Many viewers who hold City of Sadness in high regard often do so because of the film's contextual importance, as Dir. Hou's film was the first in post-martial law Taiwan to address this period of the island's history.
Not to diminish the contextual importance, but as a filmmaker, the film is also superb in other ways. Firstly, the fact that the "228 incident" is viewed only in its periphery, not the actual massacre/clashes between native Taiwanese and Chinese Nationalist or the struggle in political arenas, already sets this historical period piece in contrast to others of the genre. While most historical period pieces nowadays are all about center-of-conflict action and accuracy, Dir. Hou's approach seems courageous by comparison. We don't see anything of the incident or massacre itself, we see none of the politicians involved, but what we do see is the affect of those central events and individuals on the lives of families and friendships. The drama of the incident is seen in how relationships are impacted and changed. In a sense, this emphasis opens the audience to learn more about the incident by watching its affects rather than the incident itself.
Finally, while being feted around the world as a bona-fide auteur, Dir. Hou has been known as a filmmaker of necessity, characterized by long takes, methodical, lingering camera, penchance for wide-shots, and all those characteristics combine to play out beautifully in this film. For example, the long takes allow real acting to take place, for actors to shine as they embody their characters, and the entire cast does so well in capturing the complex emotions as things spillover, out of their control. A young Tony Leung is brilliant playing the deaf brother Wen-ching, who, in typical Dir. Hou fashion, is deaf out of necessity (Leung couldn't speak Mandarin/Taiwanese effectively). Two side bits about the actors: 1) the best actor award goes to 3rd brother, who had to first play a crazy, shell-shocked war veteran, then a Shanghai-like gangster, and finally, a brain-dead brother. 2) My favorite actor goes to the grandfather, who is just adorably endearing and also plain hilarious the way he rides various people in the story.
A lot more can be said about this film, and there I'm certain there have been many articles and treatments have been written, but I'll stop here and hope you get a chance to watch this wonderful film.

Languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese, Cantonese, Japanese (amongst others)

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

(Check your local research-oriented, liberal-arts university library, they may have a copy)