ACF 1245: ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU at MoMA tomorrow

  All About Lily  Chou-CHou

Written and directed by Shunji Iwai

With Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Ayumi Ito

Japan, 2001, 146 minutes
When: Sunday, November 20, 2011, 2:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Where: MoMA, 11 West 53rd Street, NYC 

In Japanese; English subtitles

Beginning as an interactive novel Iwai wrote and posted on the Internet, All About Lily Chou Chou perfectly captures the absurdities of growing up in Japan’s pervasive pop/cyber culture, in which Internet chat rooms, pop-idol worship, and harrowing school bullying are just part of a teenager’s daily life. Iwai’s poetic, gorgeously shot coming-of-age tale provides a disturbing look at the violence, terror, and isolation that characterize growing up in Japan today. Courtesy Fortissimo Films.

This screening is part of the series In Focus: Fortissimo Films.

ACF 1240: DOCUMENTARY OF AKB48 – TO BE CONTINUED on DVD and digital on December 1st

New Music Biopic TracesThe Rise To International

Fame Of Japan’s Most Popular  Pop Idol Group;

Special DVD Online PromotionOffers A Second

NEW PEOPLE Film Title With Any Pre-Order Purchase 

NEW PEOPLE Entertainment, a filmdivision of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. that focuses on the licensing and distribution ofJapanese films and media, has announced the release of DOCUMENTARY of AKB48 to be continued onDVD on Thursday. December 1st The new music biopic follows the unstoppable all-female Japanese pop idolgroup, AKB48, on their incredible rise to fame, and will be sold exclusivelyonline for $19.99 through the NEW PEOPLE store at: store.newpeopleworld.com.

DVD pre-orders will begin today. For alimited time, NEW PEOPLE is offering a FREE bonus DVD title from its catalog toall pre-order purchasers. Select from a list of available titles. DOCUMENTARY of AKB48 to be continued willalso be available to stream online at newpeoplechannel.comfor $4.99 (for a 48 hour rental) beginning December 1st. The DVDwill be available from Amazon by mid-December.Follow NEW PEOPLE Entertainment on Facebook and Twitter for updates. 

AKB48 was conceived in 2005 by Yasushi Akimoto, one of Japan’smost respected music producers. Beginning as a small all-girl singing group basedin the Akihabara district of Tokyo – the city’s bustling electronics andanime/pop culture shopping Mecca – AKB48 has grown to 60 members and toppedJapan’s Oricon music charts with the two best-selling pop singles in 2010 aswell as another two singles ranking in the Top 10. 

“AKB48 created an entirely new format for pop groups and theirfame has spread internationally,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEOof NEW PEOPLE, Inc. “This insightful documentary captures AKB48 on-stage andbehind the scenes and offers a candid look into the member’s lives and thephenomenal notoriety that surrounds the group. We invite J-Pop and music fansto visit the NEW PEOPLE store online to get the new DVD and to take advantageof a special offer to receive a second DVD title from the NEW PEOPLE filmcatalog!” 

With acomplicated balance of competition and friendship among its members, thegroup’s bond is extremely strong. DOCUMENTARY of AKB48 to be continued traces AKB48’s historywith scenes from concerts and rehearsals, member general elections, and fanactivities both in Japan and abroad. The film also includes personal interviewswith select members that reveal each of the girls’ personal struggles, joys,path to growth, and dreams.

One uniqueaspect of AKB48 is that the group is divided into “Teams.” When AKB48 debutedin 2005, originally there were only 24 girls. Now there are 16 girls each onTeam A, Team K, and Team B, who are the core members of the group. In addition,there are trainees who are aspiring members. Members total to around 60 girlsas some graduate and some new members come in. In the recent years AKB48 hasbegun holding elections to determine the members who will participate in therecording of upcoming singles. Fans vote for their favorites and the girlranked Number 1 performs at the center of the group.

ACF 1226: Japanese rock group L’arc~en~Ciel’s 20th anniversary concert film coming to 9 U.S. cities

Viewing Japan, a distribution companyfocused on bringing Japanese entertainment media to an international audience,has announced a spectacular one-night-only music event for L'Arc~en~Ciel taking place simultaneously in nine major U.S. citieson Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 at 7:00pm localtime:

The Best of L'Arc~en~Ciel 2 Days Live at Tokyo AjinomotoStadium is presented in partnership with Maverick DC Group and celebrates the legendary rock band’s 20th Anniversary, traces theircolorful history, and captures the group in action at a 2011 concert performedfor more than 100,000 people.  More information about thisexclusive one-night-only event is available at: http://bit.ly/larcenciel. (Note - please select the “English” languageoption on the Live Viewing Japan web page)

The citiesthat will host the Best of L'Arc~en~Ciel event include:

                                   

Baltimore, MD                                  

Boston, MA              

Chicago, IL                                       

Houston, TX                                     

Los Angeles, CA

Orange, CA                                                              

New York, NY – Two locations                                                                 

San Francisco/Bay Area, CA         

Seattle, WA                                      

Tickets tothe event will be available through the on-line link only. No pre-sale ticketswill be sold at theatre box offices.

“L'Arc~en~Ciel isone of the biggest rock groups to ever come out of Japan and they enjoy a majorglobal following,” says Live Viewing Japan Executive Director Hiroki Kotani. “This is a very special opportunity towitness the energy of their live concert performance on the big screen and hearthe on-stage power of this band with digital theatrical sound. We look forwardto helping celebrate L'Arc~en~Ciel’s 20th anniversary and their new world tour anddelighting fans with this special event!”

L'Arc~en~Ciel (meaning “Rainbow”) formed in Osaka, Japan in 1991and became widely known for their glam-influenced stage fashions, frenetic liveshows, and punk/new wave inspired music. The group has achieved legendary status at home and abroad, selling over13 million albums, 16 million singles, and they remain a major force andinfluence on the Japanese music scene.

To further celebrate their two decades together, L'Arc~en~Ciel puton a "20th L'AnniversaryLIVE"at Tokyo’s Ajinomoto Stadium on May 28th and 29th, 2011 with each day dedicated to one-half of their storied career. Theconcert will be presented by Live Viewing Japan at the exclusive one-night-onlyevent on November 29th.

Thegroup recently announced the " L'Arc~en~Ciel WORLDTOUR 2012” to celebrate their 20th anniversary and willplay New York City’s Madison Square Garden on March 23rd, 2012. L'Arc-en-Ciel releasedits newest single, “X X X,” on October 12th and it shot to ^#1 on the JapaneseOricon music charts, which is the country’s equivalent to Billboard and tracksmusic sales.

Live Viewing Japan looks to bring The Best of L'Arc~en~Ciel 2 Days Live at Tokyo AjinomotoStadiumto a global audience and has plans to screen the performance in several morecountries including the U.K., France, Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore andThailand.

About Live Viewing Japan:

Live Viewing Japan is a Japanese-based media distribution companyfocused on bringing a variety of entertainment properties to a globaltheatre-going audience. More information on the company and its projects isavailable at: www.liveviewing.jp.

ACF 1187: The Woman with Red Hair

Junko Miyashita (left) and Renji Ishibashi

 The Woman with Red Hair / Akai kami no onna

Directed by Tatssumi Kumashiro

Japan, 1979, 73 minutes

Velvet Bullets and Steel Kisses: Celebrating the Nikkatsu Centennial, a NY Film Festival Masterworks series of 37 films from Japan's oldest studio continues through this Sunday, October 16th. The Woman with Red Hair will play tomorrow, Friday, October 14th  at 9:00 pm (tickets here) and on Sunday evening at 6:20 pm (tickets here).

Synopsis: Seventies icon Junko Miyashita plays a redheaded woman who is picked up by the side of the road by Kozo (Renji Ishibashi), a driver for a construction company, in this dark, celebrated erotic drama. Dubbed “one of the very best Nikkatsu pink films,” The Woman with Red Hair becomes a marathon session of obsessive desire and unsatisfied dreams, acted out in a down-and-out working-class milieu. One of the best works by a major director in the genre.

ACF Review: The quote cited above is from Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films by Thomas Weisser, my former editor/publisher at Asian Cult Cinema magazine, and Yuko Mihara Weisser, his wife. Jasper Sharp also has a positive take on it in his book Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. (Both are very fine books, by the way.)

I wasn't that impressed after watching the film at a press screening before the NY Film Festival began. While the Weissers are probably correct in their assessment, being the best of Nikkatsu's Roman Porn (for "Romantic Pornography") isn't really the highest praise for a film in general.

I'll grant you that the film has a good bit more of a story to it than most films of its ilk (at least those at that time). There are a few nice comic touches, such as when Kozo wakes up in his bed, senses something amiss, and lifts the covers to reveal "The Woman" asleep between his legs with her head nestled in his crotch! And occasionally there's a striking cinematic composition, such as an overhead shot of the couple walking along a pier.

For me there was just too much sex shenanigans. Don't get me wrong: I'm no prude, far from it. It wasn't for nothing that my column in Asian Cult Cinema was named (by T. Weisser, himself) Trash Taken Seriously: Scholarly Reviews of Exploitation, Guilty Pleasures & Junk. But there wasn't enough going on aside from the sex to interest me, and let's face it, simulated sex can get old after awhile, at least when you're watching it in public.

When the film had ended, and paraphrasing the title of Nagisa Oshima's most notorious film, I retitled it "In the Realm of the Boring." (I'll admit that this initial reaction was a good bit on the harsh side.) Discussing this in the lobby with Charles Meyer, contributing editor at Cinespect.com, he retorted with "In the Realm of the Senseless," though to be honest he did have a higher regard for The Woman with Red Hair than I did.

Bottom line? The Woman with Red Hair is not a great film, but it's definitely one of the best in its genre, certainly for its time. And it does hold an important place in the history of pinku eiga (pink films). ACF Rating: 3 out of 4 stars, a decent enough film that's surely worth seeing.

ACF 1185: Sion Sono's NORIKO'S DINNER TABLE at MAD on Friday

Noriko's Dinner Table / Noriko No Shokutaku

Directed by Sion Sono

With Kazue Fukiishi, Tsugumi and Yuriko Yoshitaka
Japan, 2005, 159 minutes, Digital Projection

When: Friday, October 14, 2011 - 7:00 pm

Where: The Museum of Arts and Design ("MAD")

2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

Admission: $10 general / $7 members and students 

The Museum of Arts and Design's film program Sion Sono: The New Poet continues this Friday with Noriko's Dinner Table.

Synopsis: Both prequel and sequel to Sono's Suicide Club, this narrative takes up both before and after the events depicted in Suicide Club, by focusing on a family that is profoundly affected by the mass suicides portrayed in the film.  A young girl seeks emotional connection through a website that provides her with a manufactured family that fulfills her immediate desire for love. As the story unfolds, the girls' new life turns morbid and dark as mass-suicides begin infiltrating the Japanese populace. This film should not be seen as merely an addition to Suicide Club but instead as a stand-alone cinematic narrative following contemporary family dynamics and commentary on society.

Click here to purchase tickets, or call 1.800.838.3006.

ACF 1103: Japan Society NY screens "Wandering Home" tonight at 9 PM

Wandering Home (a.k.a. Walking Home, at least at IMDb) joins a number of outstanding movies concerned with substance addiction, such as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955, drug addiction) and The Lost Weekend (1945, alcoholism). Sensitively directed by Yoichi Higashi (who wrote the screenplay based on a novel by Reiko Saibara), it tells the tale of Yasuyuki Tsukahara (Tadanobu Asano, looking nothing like Kakihara, the character he played in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer), a man in his late thirties, perhaps early forties, who is drinking himself into an early grave.

The film opens in a restaurant where a large group of young people are enjoying food, drink, and one another's company. A bit away from this group sits a solitary man whose attention is on one of the lovely young women facing in his direction. Using his thumbs and forefingers, he frames her in a rectangle, as a photographer or movie director might. After a moment, he passes out and tumbles on to the floor. Some of the staff, obviously familiar with this routine, come to help get him upright. Assisting them are the man's family, his wife and children, a son about eight or nine and a daughter a few years younger. Except the family is not really there; he's imagining their presence through his alcoholic stupor. Thus we meet Mr. Tsukahara.

We learn that at one time he was indeed a photojournalist, and his experiences documenting death and suffering were contributing factors to his alcohol addiction, as was his own father's alcoholism. Tsukahara did once have a family: a wife Yuki (Hiromi Nagasaku) and two children, his son Hiroshi and daughter Kaoru. But he verbally and physically abused his wife, who divorced him, and now he lives with his widowed mother, who teaches flower arrangement.

Returning to his mother's home from the restaurant, he proceeds to the bathroom where he spews up a great deal of blood, not for the first time as we subsequently learn. He's taken by ambulance to a hospital where he is visited by his wife, who clearly still loves the part of him that is not an alcoholic, and his children, who love him unconditionally but wish he would stop drinking. Repeatedly he's told by various doctors that his "numbers are so bad" that it's a wonder he's still alive.

After getting discharged, he tries to conquer his addiction as an out-patient but fails, and ultimately winds up in the alcoholism ward of a psychiatric hospital for treatment. While the film does address the medical issues and treatment involved, it is primarily devoted to the effects of the disease on the addict and those close to him (or her). The story is perhaps somewhat atypical in that Yasuyuki has remarkably supportive people in his ex-wife, his children, and his mother, all of whom want desperately for him to overcome his affliction. Also, both he and Yuki are particularly handsome individuals with winning smiles. Nonetheless, the story is entirely believable, and one cannot help but long for a positive outcome.

I'm not about to give away what ultimately happens, but I will say that near the end there's a scene that takes place at the shore. As the film cuts from a group of individuals near the water to a person on a low rise, probably a dune, the effect is disorienting, since at first it isn't clear how that person could have gotten there. With some shot/reverse shot cuts and a cut back to the shoreline, it suddenly becomes clear what's going on. It "got a bit dusty" in my apartment as I watched this scene play out on a DVD screener, and it has gotten dusty every time I've thought about it, including now as I write this. It's an honestly earned emotional response to a film that addresses it's subject with clarity, caring and concern.

Wandering Home is a touching, heartfelt adult drama, filled with love and humanity. It will be shown tonight, Thursday, July 21st at 9:00 PM at Japan Society, NYC. This screening, part of Japan Cuts 2011: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema, will mark the film's North American Premiere. For tickets, click here.

This review was initially posted in slightly different form at VCinema.

ACF 1098: Three ☆ Points at Japan Society tomorrow night followed by After Party!

Miho Fujima (left) and Sora Aoi
Three☆Points © Three☆Points Syndicate 2011

Three Points / Suri Pointo
Directed by Masashi Yamamoto
Starring Sora Aoi and Jun Murakami
Japan, 2011, 117 minutes
When: Friday, July 15, 2011 at 8:30 PM
Where: Japan Society
333 East 47th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, NYC
International Premiere / Centerpiece Presentation
Introduction and Q&A with Yamamoto and actress Sora Aoi
"1, 2...3 Points After Party following screening.

Three ☆ Points is somewhat of a hybrid movie.The title refers to three locals reflecting different aspects of Japanese Society: Kyoto, Okinawa and Tokyo. In Kyoto the focus is on several Japanese rappers. Apollo has been released after serving five years, and berates his long-suffering girlfriend Jun. Shoot recently got out of jail and is met by his friend and former rap partner Jey. Snorting coke in Jey's car results in a blackmail situation, but was it all really just a set-up? Finally there's Mention, who will be "leaving" for three years and whose cranky mouthed girlfriend Risa announces she will not be there waiting for him when he gets out.

The segments set in Okinawa, which are interspersed between those in Kyoto, are more like a documentary travelogue. The director and film crew visit and interview various personages. Tetchan recently moved to Onna ("Woman") Village from Kadena. In an out-door segment marked with somewhat jerky hand-held camera movement, he demonstrates his ability to dig for crabs. Higa-san shows a "Uganjo," a place that is visited to perform a ceremony to wish for a good crop. There are also interviews with an old timer who recalls the heyday of U.S. presence on the island during the Vietnam war and with several U.S. military personnel currently stationed there. While native sentiment against the U.S. military is evident, these interviews generally approach the young Americans as human beings, not monsters.

The finale segment, which is uninterrupted and basically constitutes the last half of the film. Saki Kuwashima (actress Sora Aoi, whose first name is sometimes spelled "Sola") is a lovely, young female office worker and quite a free spirit. We first meet her when she is out with an older, married man, and the two are accosted by a group of punks. A good-looking street-drifter named Iga (Jun Murakami) comes to their rescue. After her "date" leaves, Saki returns to find the man bleeding from a knife wound. He refuses her offer to call for an ambulance, but agrees to go to her apartment and allow her to clean his wound. Once settled in there, he decides to stay, even passing himself off as her "uncle" to one of her dates, a young man who works at a grocery/convenience store she frequents.

A strange and uneasy relationship develops between Saki, who claims that her promiscuity may stem from her mother's many husbands and lovers, and Iga, who reveals that he was married, but that his wife and daughter died in an accident. Saki begins to role play as Iga's wife, and a sensual and psychological drama begins to unfold that brings into question the things they have told one another.

For me, the Tokyo Chapter was easily the finest of the three "points" of the film. It was well developed and intriguing, and both Murakami and Aoi were very good in their roles. Aoi is a former A.V. (adult video) actress who has been moving into more legitimate film fare. Billed as "Sola" Aoi, she previously starred in Yamamoto's man woman and the Wall (2006), in which she played the new neighbor of a young man who, not surprisingly, listens through their adjoining wall to what goes on in her apartment. That film, a surprisingly smart consideration of audio "voyeurism" is available from Ricochet Releasing in fine DVD that includes a quite good Making-Of Featurette. Aoi (again billed as "Sola"0 also starred in Big Tits Zombie (a.k.a. The Big Tits Dragon, 2010), a delightful cult film with a terrible and misleading English title. While she is amply endowed up top, Aoi plays an exotic dancer and zombie killer, not a zombie.

While in her portion of Three ☆ Points, as well as in the two other films I've mentioned, Aoi does spend some time displaying her physical charms, it's clear that she is well-suited for the transition she's begun. She's charming and unaffected, a real natural. While she certainly isn't ready for heavy drama -- at least not yet -- she is much more than capable of handling the age-appropriate roles she has begun undertaking. Nowhere is this more evident than in Three Points, a fragmented film worth seeing on the whole, but particularly for the Tokyo-based segment.

Tickets for Three ☆ Points here.

ACF 1095: The Food of Rinco's Restaurant

Rinco's Restaurant will be shown at Japan Society tonight as part of Japan Cuts: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema. Here are some screenshots to whet your appetite.

ACF 1093: Japan Cuts presents Rinco's Restaurant on July 13th at 6:30 PM

Rinco's Restaurant © 2010 MICOTT & BASARA/ TOHO/ AMUSE/ KING RECORDS/
TOKYO BRODCASTING SYSTEM/ HAKUHODO DY MEDIA PARTNERS/
POPLAR PUBLISHING/ SME Records/ NIPPON SHUPPAN HANBAI/
Mainichi Broadcasting System/ DAIKO ADVERTISING/
CHUBU-NIPPON BROADCASTING/ RKB MAINICHI BROADCASTING/
TSUTAYA Group/ Yahoo! Japan

Rinco's Restaurant / Shokudo Katatsumuri
Directed by Mai Tominaga
Japan, 2010, 118 minutes
When: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 6:30 PM
Where: Japan Society
333 East 47th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, NYC
U.S. Premiere

Director Tominaga's second feature is a charming and delightful film, a sumptuous fairy tale with some David Lynchian touches. It's the story of Rinco (Kou Shibasaki), a young girl who grows up in a village in Nako Mountain. Actually it's nestled at the base of two mountains shaped like full firm breasts ("Twin Peaks" anyone?) rising like a pair of mounds from the earth. The villagers say that her unmarried mother, Ryuriko, "likes men," which is to say that she's morally loose.

After graduating from high school, Rinco goes to the big city to live with her grandmother,from whom she learns how to prepare many magically delicious dishes. Rinco decides to open a restaurant, but her Indian boyfriend abandons her, taking her love and her money, thus destroying her restaurant dream.

Rinco's voice disappears and she returns to her village to live with her mother, who loves her darling pig Herumesu more than her own daughter. Rinco's desire for a restaurant of her own returns, and with the aid of her friend Aosu, she transforms a small cabin set among some trees on a small rise near her mother's house into The Snail Restaurant, a small affair with only one-table, albeit a fair-sized one. Her dishes are quickly recognized for their ability to make the diners' wishes come true.

Within this tale one encounters a claim of a virgin mother and a "water gun baby" (that is, conceived by artificial insemination), a talking pig, and the remarkable transformation of a customer called Aunty. And there's also a touching message about a mother's true love.

I must say that the subtitles of my screener DVD often left a fair amount to be desired. Why, for example, do characters say "I've eaten" as they sit down to begin their meal? There were a number of grammatical and spelling errors ("adter" for "after"), and mistakes of genre pronouns ("him" for "her"). It's possible that the subtitles at the screening will be better. The bottom line is that, if they're not, be prepared to accept these mistakes, don't dwell on them, and definitely don't let them dissuade you from seeing the movie.

Finally, let me say that the images of the food that Rinco prepares are mouth-watering. I wanted to crawl into the LCD screen of my iMac and feast upon them. Since Wednesday's showtime is 6:30, eat something light to tide you over. After watching Rinco's Restaurant, you'll definitely want to engage in some fine dining, preferably at a Japanese restaurant.

And if you should see the film somewhere else, bear the above advice in mind also. Your taste buds and tummy will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Japan Society's screening of Rinco's Restaurant is part of Japan Cuts 2011: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema.

To order tickets for Rinco's Restaurant, click here.

Form information about Japan Cuts, click here.

ACF 1081: The "7 Courtesans of Tenzakuro" in Milocrorze: A Love Story

Tenzakuro is the largest licensed quarters in Taisho City.
While there are about 200 ladies in the establishment,
these are la creme de la creme.

At 9:00 tonight, Milocrorze: A Love Story will be the Opening Night Presentation at the 10th Annual New York Asian Film Festival, which runs July 1-14. Milocrorze will also screen at the Japan Society on July 10 at 8:00 pm as part of the Japan Cuts film festival.

My original review ran this past Monday at the VCinema blog website. In it I mentioned that the film sports "plenty of female pulchritude eye-candy." I thought it would be fun to provide some examples taken from screen captures, focusing on the descriptions provided by Yukine, the brothel's guide, of the 7 Courtesans of Tenzakuro. So enjoy!

Yukine, the guide to the pleasures of Tenzakuro, provides
detailed descriptions of the seven most exquisite courtesans.

Shiroku has a talented throat.
Men can’t last more than a minute with her.

Hanafusa has powerful hips.
She must be on top.

Kirie is dangerous.
Be ready to die if you chose her.

Yumeka is kind and pampering.

Manami has a supple body, with
a centipede tattoo on her back but a cute face.

Sachiu is reputed to have the best skills in bed.

Mu is indescribable but really popular.
She's good for something different.

ACF 1062: Japan Cuts tickets avialable online

“Arguably North America’s premiere showcase for Japanese film”
- Firefox News

AsianCineFest couldn't agree more. Below is some information about this upcoming festival, including a link so you can order tickets online and a schedule of both what's playing when and special events.

JAPAN CUTS has become the world’s largest showcase of contemporary Japanese film, showing the diversity and vitality of one of the most exciting world cinemas, and ranging from refined, high-concept art house titles to popular and grindhouse genre movies.

Now in its fifth consecutive year, JAPAN CUTS 2011 includes 32 new titles—the biggest line-up in the festival’s history with (almost) nothing but premieres and one-day only shows—screening from July 7 to 22, including 10 co-presentations with the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF).

Profound and/or pervy, frivolous and/or momentous, all the films selected have a brand of unyielding artistry and out-of-control eccentricity, offering you the hard, the rough, the sharp, the smooth and the soft edge of today’s film scene from Nippon!

SPECIAL OFFER
Purchase more than 5 tickets for at least 5 different films and receive $2 off of each ticket! Special offer available only at Japan Society Box Office or by telephone at (212) 715-1258. Offer not available online.

For descriptions of the films and to order Japan Cuts tickets online, click here.

SCHEDULE
Thursday, July 7
Buddha 6:45 PM
Ringing in their Ears 9 PM

Friday, July 8
Love & Loathing & Lulu & Ayano 7 PM
Battle Royale 9:15 PM

Saturday, July 9
Gantz: The Movie, Part 1 12:30 PM
Gantz, Part II: Perfect Answer 3 PM
Ninja Kids!!! 6 PM
Yakuza Weapon 8:15 PM
+ After Party!

Sunday, July 10
Buddha 12:30 PM
Heaven’s Story 2:45 PM
Milocrorze: A Love Story 8 PM
+ Q&A with Yoshimasa Ishibashi (director)

Tuesday, July 12
Sword of Desperation 6:30 PM
The Last Ronin 9 PM

Wednesday, July 13
Rinco’s Restaurant 6:30 PM
Birthright (a.k.a. Umbilical Cord) 9 PM

Thursday, July 14
Rail Truck 6:30 PM
Yuki and Nina 9 PM

Friday, July 15
Toilet 6:15 PM
Three☆Points 8:30 PM*
+ Q&A with Masashi Yamamoto (director) and Sora Aoi (actress) After Party!

Saturday, July 16
Love Addiction 2:30 PM
The Seaside Motel 4:30 PM
+ Q&A with Kentaro Moriya (director)
A Liar and a Broken Girl 7:15 PM
+ Q&A with Natsuki Seta (director)
Love and Treachery 10:30 PM

Sunday, July 17
The Knot 2 PM
Torso 4 PM
Strangers in the City 6:15 PM
A Night in Nude: Salvation 9 PM

Tuesday, July 19
Sketches of Kaitan City 6:30 PM
Control Tower 9:30 PM

Wednesday, July 20
Haru’s Journey 7 PM
+ Q&A with Masahiro Kobayashi (director) and Reception

Thursday, July 21
Vengeance Can Wait 7 PM
Wandering Home 9 PM

Friday, July 22
Into the White Night 7 PM
+ Closing Party

ACF 1058: Girl band flick "Linda Linda Linda" to kick off New People's summer series of monthly benefits for Japan relief

NEW PEOPLE CONTINUES JAPANESE DISASTER
RECOVERY FUNDRAISING EFFORTS
WITH SPECIAL NEW FILM SERIES

Rock-n-Roll Drama LINDA LINDA LINDA Kicks Off
A New Series Of Monthly Film Screenings
To Benefit Reconstruction And Recovery Efforts

NEW PEOPLE, the nation’s only entertainment complex dedicated to Japanese popular culture, continues to drive Bay Area fundraising efforts for ongoing Japanese disaster relief and reconstruction. The venue has just announced the kick-off off a summer-long series of monthly benefit film screenings that launches on Friday, June 24th at 7:00pm with the critically acclaimed teenage rock-and-roll drama, LINDA LINDA LINDA.

(For my review of this most enjoyable film, way back in ACF 025 just before it originally came out on DVD in the U.S., click here.)

Come sing, come dance, and come help Japan! Suggested donation is $10.00. Tickets and more information are available here. NEW PEOPLE is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown at 1746 Post St.

100% of net proceeds will be donated to EARTH DAY TOKYO TOWER of Japan. Earth Day Tokyo Tower Volunteer Center began its activities in response to tremendous tsunami and earthquake devastation that ravaged Northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The group sends organized groups of volunteers into devastated areas to assist with clean-up, make food, hold events for children, sets up food courts, and more.

LINDA LINDA LINDA was directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita and follows an all-girl high school rock band after an untimely break-up. Only three days before their high school festival, guitarist Kei (Yu Kashii), drummer Kyoto (Aki Maeda of Battle Royale), and bassist Nozumi (Shiori Sekine) must recruit a new lead vocalist for their band. They choose an unlikely Korean exchange student Son (Doona Bae of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), even though her comprehension of Japanese is a bit rough!

It’s a race against time as the group struggles to learn three tunes for the festival’s rock concert — including a classic '80s punk-pop song by the famous Japanese group The Blue Hearts called “Linda Linda.” The film notably offers a soundtrack by ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and a cameo by punk rock legends The Ramones. LINDA LINDA LINDA is also available on DVD from NEW PEOPLE Entertainment.

ACf 1034: NY Asian Film Festival set to delight Asian Film fans first 2 Weeks in July

At Lincoln Center (July 1 - 14) and Japan Society (July 7 - 10)

Below is complete, up-to date information from the wonderful folk at Subway Cinema about the 2011 New York Asian Film Festival. Not surprisingly, it looks like a fantastic fest is again in the offing.

The New York Asian Film Festival is ten years old! And we have presents for you! A Takashi Miike World Premiere! The long-awaited animated epic based on Osamu Tezuka’s life of Buddha! The International Premiere of the new movie from Johnnie To! Rare Filipino exploitation! An avalanche of retro screenings to celebrate our tenth birthday! And special guests Tsui Hark, Ryoo Seung-Wan, Su Chao-pin, Takayuki Yamada, Tak Sakaguchi and many more!

The New York Asian Film Festival is presented in association with the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film.

We’re deeply grateful for the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office New York, the Korean Cultural Service New York and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York.

Keep up with the latest festival news at the Subway Cinema News blog.

The Line-Up!!!!

Official Opening Night Film
MILOCRORZE: A LOVE STORY (Japan, 2011, North American Premiere, 90 minutes)
Truly trippy, this bizarro musical/variety/samurai/love story from Japan is one solid slab of psychedelia from Yoshimasa Ishibashi, the mad genius behind the Fuccon Family.
***The movie’s director, Yoshimasa Ishibashi, and star, Takayuki Yamada,
will be at the screenings
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

Centerpiece Presentation
SHAOLIN (Hong Kong, 2011, North American Premiere, 131 minutes)
- It doesn’t get any bigger than this. Superstar Andy Lau, Nic Tse and Jackie Chan all star in this swank, blockbuster retelling of the primal martial arts story: the destruction of Shaolin Temple, which is the birthplace of martial arts. It’s a movie that’s been made many times (hence the alternate title NEW SHAOLIN TEMPLE) but never before has it been this massive, this lavish and this chock full o’action.
***The movie’s director, Benny Chan, will be at the screening

Centerpiece Presentation
NINJA KIDS!!! (Japan, 2011, World Premiere, 100 minutes)

- Takashi Miike has been impressing critics with 13 ASSASSINS and his 3D remake of HARA KIRI that just played Cannes. Whatever. We’ve got the World Premiere of his insane new kid’s flick about feuding ninja schools. People wonder where all the craziness went from Miike’s two new films? He put it all in here. Your jaw will drop like an elevator with a snapped cable. We love you, Takashi Miike!!!
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

Official Closing Night Film
THE YELLOW SEA (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 156 minutes)

- From the director of THE CHASER, and fresh out of Cannes, this is the Korean action movie in excelsis. A North Korean immigrant is sent to Seoul to perform a hit. Soon the Chinese mafia, the Korean mafia and the cops, are after him and hatchets are deployed, trucks are flipped and all hell breaks loose. ***The movie’s director, Na Hong-Jin will be at the screening

The 2011 Star Asia Awards will go to:

Star Asia Rising Star Award
Takayuki Yamada - Japan’s most versatile young actor has gone from being a TV heartthrob to a TRAIN MAN (his breakthrough role) to one of Takashi Miike’s 13 ASSASSINS. And in this year’s Opening Night selection, MILOCRORZE: A LOVE STORY, he plays every single male part.

Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award
Tsui Hark - One of our first events was a retrospective of Hong Kong’s veteran filmmaker and award-winning director, Tsui Hark, way back in 2001. We figured it was time to bring him to the festival and recognize his extraordinary, lifelong contributions to Hong Kong cinema, especially after his latest film, DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME, was a huge box office hit and won “Best Director” at the Hong Kong Film Awards 2011.

Three special focuses:
WU XIA: HONG KONG’S FLYING SWORDSMEN
Presented with the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office New York of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, this special focus is on Hong Kong’s wu xia (literally “martial arts”) films. It’s a genre that’s unique to Hong Kong and while it’s all about showcasing the Chinese martial arts tradition it’s come to refer specifically to that brain-expanding genre of Hong Kong movies that use the cutting edge of cinematography and the best special effects of the time to paint a world full of flying swordsmen, deadly female warriors, legendary blades and more than a touch of fantasy.

This line-up will include:
DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (Hong Kong, 2010, 122 minutes)
- Tsui Hark’s return to greatness is a Holmes-ian fantasia about spontaneous combustion and kung fu deer. An exiled detective is returned to favor in the Imperial court to solve a series of mysterious deaths that delay the inauguration of the Empress Wu, played by Carina Lau, who won “Best Actress” at the Hong Kong Film Awards 2011 for her performance. The movie also won top prizes in Art Direction, Costume and Make-up Design as well as in Sound Design and Visual Effects.
***The movie’s director, Tsui Hark, will be at the screening

THE BLADE (Hong Kong, 1995, 100 minutes)
- A rare screening of Tsui Hark’s martial masterpiece, this is one of the towering achievements of Chinese cinema. In a rare 35mm print.
***The movie’s director, Tsui Hark, will be at the screening

DUEL TO THE DEATH (Hong Kong, 1983, 83 minutes)
- Ching Siu-tung’s directorial debut deploys ninjas, poisoned blades and some of the world’s most innovative choreography to create a movie that’s one part martial arts film, one part exploitation shocker and one part ballet. Screening on a rare 35mm print!

DRAGON INN (Hong Kong, 1992, 109 minutes) - two of Hong Kong’s greatest actresses, Maggie Cheung and Brigitte Lin, take on Donnie Yen’s bloodless eunuch in this Tsui Hark-produced swordplay romance. Directed by Raymond Lee, it’s a remake of King Hu’s 1967 masterpiece. A brand new print of this classic film, struck specially for the New York Asian Film Festival.
***The movie’s producer, Tsui Hark, will be at the screening

ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (Hong Kong, 1983, 94 minutes)
- The movie that launched a thousand wu xia, Tsui Hark’s surreal phantasmagoria will blow your mind. Recruiting Hollywood special effects technicians just off Star Wars and Star Trek the Motion Picture, Tsui Hark’s film reinvented a genre and kickstarted Hong Kong’s entire special effects industry. This is a rare chance to see a 35mm print of this movie in all its big screen glory.
***The movie’s director, Tsui Hark, will be at the screening

Special focus 2:
SEA OF REVENGE: NEW KOREAN THRILLERS
In 2008, when the Korean film industry was at its lowest point, Na Hong-Jin released the word-of-mouth hit, THE CHASER, launching a wave of twisty thrillers focused on intense action and ace performances. In this special focus, presented in association with the Korean Cultural Service New York, we show you the best of what THE CHASER has wrought.

This line-up will include:
THE YELLOW SEA (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 156 minutes)
- Na Hong-Jin reunites with his stars from THE CHASER to make this big, relentless follow-up. We’ve got it fresh from its Cannes screening as part of Un Certain Regard
***The movie’s director, Na Hong-Jin, will be at the screening

THE UNJUST (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 119 minutes)
- Longtime festival favorite, action director Ryoo Seung-Wan, turns in this epic, sprawling corruption saga that recalls Sidney Lumet back in his PRINCE OF THE CITY days.
***The movie’s director, Ryoo Seung-Wan, will be at the screening

BEDEVILLED (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 115 minutes)
- This time, the ladies are doing it. An all-female version of DELIVERANCE, where a city slicker goes to an insular rural community where she’s not wanted. Possibly the greatest women vs. men movie ever made, lead actress Seo Young-Hee took home six “Best Actress” awards for her performance here.

THE CHASER (Korea, 2008, 125 minutes)
- The thriller that saved the Korean film industry, this mega-hit is what you’d get if you cross-bred Alfred Hitchcock with a pit bull.
***The movie’s director, Na Hong-Jin, will be at the screening

HAUNTERS (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 114 minutes)
- 50% superhero movie, 50% horror movie and 100% Korean thriller, this bigtime commercial hit is about a troubled kid who can control minds and the simple guy, immune to his ability, who’s out to stop him.

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (Korea, 2010, 119 minutes)
- One part Batman, one part Bourne, Korean mega-star, Won Bin, revamped his image as a hard man of action with this movie about a spy coming out of retirement to take on a ring of organ harvesters. The number one movie at the Korean box office in 2010 (beating INCEPTION and IRON MAN 2), it took home SIXTEEN film awards!

TROUBLESHOOTER (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 99 minutes)
- Produced by Ryoo Seung-Wan, this is a classic “wrong man” movie, only this time the wrong man is a hardcore ex-cop (Sol Kyung-Gu from the highly successful PUBLIC ENEMY series) and it’s got the black, bleak sense of absurdist humor most thrillers lack.
***The movie’s producer, Ryoo Seung-Wan, and director, Kwok Hyeok-Jae, will be at the screening

Special focus 3:
SU CHAO-PIN: TAIWAN’S KING OF ENTERTAINMENT
In the US, we think of Taiwanese movies as an endless stream of art films. But with the support of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, makes blockbuster hits that actual real live people go to see: Su Chao-pin!

This line-up will include:
REIGN OF ASSASSINS (Hong Kong/Taiwan/China, 2010, 117 minutes, New York Premiere)
- co-directed with John Woo, starring Michelle Yeoh and Korean star Jung Woo-Sung, this massive martial arts hit gives the genre a beating, bleeding, romantic heart.
***The movie’s director and writer, Su Chao-pin, will be at the screening

THE CABBIE (Taiwan, 2000, 94 minutes)
- Su’s first movie set new trends in Taiwan for actually being entertaining. He wrote this flick based on his experiences driving a cab, and it’s a fast-paced black comedy about a cabbie in love with a traffic cop.
***The movie’s writer, Su Chao-pin, will be at the screening

BTS: BETTER THAN SEX (Taiwan, 2002, 92 minutes)
- One of the most hyperactive, funniest movies about sex you’ll ever see. Pity this poor teenage porn-addict who just wants to find a real girl. Way ahead of its time, this movie manages to be all about sex without feeling pervy.
***The movie’s director and writer, Su Chao-pin, will be at the screening

Below is the full line-up!

CHINA
BUDDHA MOUNTAIN (China, 2010, North American Premiere, 105 minutes)
- Gobbling up festival awards around the world, Sylvia Chang stars as a suicidal landlady who rents an apartment to three irritating young hipsters in this transcendent drama from Li Yu (LOST IN BEIJING) one of the only female directors working in China. Popular actress, Fan Bingbing (SHAOLIN), stars as one of the hipsters, but it’s Sylvia Chang, the most important woman in Chinese show business in the 70’s and 80’s, who owns this movie.

OCEAN HEAVEN (China/Hong Kong, 2010, New York Premiere, 96 minutes)
- Directed by another female director, this movie sees Jet Li team up with cinematographer Christopher Doyle and composer Joe Hisaishi to make a restrained, heartbreaking movie about a dad (Jet Li) trying to teach his autistic son how to live on his own. Beautifully shot, scored, acted and observed, it’s got no action, all heartbreak.

HONG KONG
THE BLADE (Hong Kong, 1995, 100 minutes)
- Part of Wu Xia focus.
***The movie’s director, Tsui Hark, will be at the screening

DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (Hong Kong, 2010, 122 minutes)
- Part of Wu Xia focus.
***The movie’s director, Tsui Hark, will be at the screening

DRAGON INN (Hong Kong, 1992, 109 minutes)
- Part of Wu Xia focus. Brand new print!
***The movie’s producer, Tsui Hark, will be at the screening

DUEL TO THE DEATH (Hong Kong, 1983, 83 minutes)
- Part of Wu Xia focus.

PUNISHED (Hong Kong, 2011, International Premiere, 94 minutes) - the latest movie produced by Johnnie To, this is a hardcore revenge drama featuring a powerhouse turn by Anthony Wong as a real estate billonaire whose wild child daughter has been kidnapped. Bullet-to-the-head action the way Hong Kong used to do it.

SHAOLIN (Hong Kong/China, 2011, North American Premiere, 131 minutes)
- Centerpiece Presentation
***The movie’s director, Benny Chan, will be at the screening

RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY (Hong Kong, 1991, 91 minutes)
- The classic Hong Kong midnight action movie about prison privatization and monsters who strangle you with their guts. Rarely seen on the big screen, this is a full-on, ridiculously crazy mind-melter full of crucifixion, flaying, classic kung fu combat and prison wardens who keep breath mints in their glass eyeballs.

ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN (Hong Kong, 1983 94 minutes)
- Part of Wu Xia focus.
***The movie’s director, Tsui Hark, will be at the screening

JAPAN
13 ASSASSINS: DIRECTOR'S CUT (Japan, 2010, 141 minutes, New York Premiere)
- the complete UNCUT version of Takashi Miike’s samurai masterpiece. With 17 minutes of original footage restored.
***One of the movie’s stars, Takayuki Yamada, will be at the screening

ABRAXAS (Japan, 2010, New York Premiere, 113 minutes) - straight outta Sundance comes this movie about a punk rocker turned Buddhist monk who still
yearns to rock out.

BATTLE ROYALE (Japan, 2000, 114 minutes) - a celebratory screening of Kinji Fukasaku’s masterpiece now that it finally - after 10 years!!!! - has a new distributor who wants people to actually see it.
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

A BOY AND HIS SAMURAI (Japan, 2010, North American Premiere, 109 minutes)
- the director of FISH STORY and GOLDEN SLUMBER returns to the festival with this family film about a samurai who winds up in the modern era. Surprisingly, it then becomes an exceptional food movie! This is the father-son movie you’ve been looking for.

DARK ON DARK (Japan, 2011, International Premiere, 17 minutes)
- This short film is the directorial debut from Makoto Ohtake, a well-known Japanese comedian and actor since the 80’s (he’s worked extensively with Takeshi Kitano and the popular City Boys troupe). It’s all about a two-bit talent manager and his outrageously endowed adult video talent bringing peace into the world via their various “gifts.” Screens with HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR.

GANTZ and GANTZ: PERFECT ANSWER (Japan, 2011, 130 minutes & 150 minutes)
- presented back-to-back it’s the uncut, subtitled, live action movies based on Japan’s existential sci fi action manga. It’s the New York Premiere of the subtitled GANTZ and the North American Premiere of the subtitled GANTZ: PERFECT ANSWER.
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

HEAVENS STORY (Japan, 2010, North American Premiere, 278 minutes)
- “King of Pink Films” Takahisa Zeze spent almost two years shooting this 4 hour movie about two random murders and the heartbreak, trauma and healing that spills out from them over the next two decades. Monumental and strange, passionate and philosophical, this is an epic in every sense of the word and a towering achievement in film.
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR (Japan, 2010, North American Premiere, 75 minutes)
¬ Japan does the violent porno horror thing better than anyone else and this oddity features butt-walls, wiener-eating and demon hookers. This is the directorial debut from the writer of MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD, and it’s firmly in the vein of that film and ROBO GEISHA. Only, you know, set in a horny house that’s full of horror.
Preceded by: DARK ON DARK (see above, 17 minutes)

KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR (Japan, 2011, New York Premiere, 106 minutes)
¬ Noboru Iguchi (Robo Geisha) makes his best film yet. Not just that, but this is the best-looking flick from label, Sushi Typhoon, yet. Slick, big budget and almost family friendly, it’s based on an obscure TV show from the 70’s about a young, bright-eyed police officer and his karate robot (who transforms into a motorcycle) fighting crime. But in Iguchi’s version, the two split up and have to reunite years later after middle-age has taken its toll.

THE LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD (Japan, 2011, World Premiere, 96 minutes)
- A return to the trippy, socially-engaged, blackly comic, ridiculously violent revolutionary movies of Japan’s 60’s. A high school student has a vision that the world is ending and so, faced with no consequences, he abducts a fellow student and goes on a crime spree.

LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO (Japan, 2010, North American Premiere, 105 minutes)
- Based on a book of interviews with porn film dayworkers, this exuberant, anime-influenced movie about life on the bottom rungs of the adult film business treats life in the porno business as a chance for some actors to escape their humdrum, everyday existences.
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

MILOCRORZE: A LOVE STORY (Japan, 2011, North American Premiere, 90 minutes)
- Opening Night Movie
***The movie’s director, Yoshimasa Ishibashi, and star, Takayuki Yamada, will be at the screenings
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

NINJA KIDS!!! (Japan, 2011, World Premiere, 100 minutes)
- Centerpiece Presentation
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

OSAMU TEZUKA'S BUDDHA: THE GREAT DEPARTURE (Japan, 2011, North American Premiere, 111 minutes) - the much-anticipated animated epic based on Osamu Tezuka’s landmark life of the Buddha.
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film

RINGING IN THEIR EARS (Japan, 2011, International Premiere, 89 minutes)
- Yu Irie (8000 MILES 1 & 2) returns with this ambitious flick about an upcoming concert by a reclusive rock group and the managers, obsessed fans, shut-ins, single moms and kindergarten teachers who are affected by it. A true tribute to the healing power of rock and roll.
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

VERSUS (Japan, 2000, 120 minutes)
- A tenth-anniversary celebration of the Japanese zombie action film that launched a thousand horror/splatter/action flicks.
***Star and action choreographer, Tak Sakaguchi, and writer, Yudai Yamaguchi, will be at the screening.

YAKUZA WEAPON (Japan, 2011, New York Premiere, 105 minutes)
- Stuntman-turned-director, Tak Sakaguchi, turns in a high calibre, action-heavy riff on Robocop all about a robot yakuza out to put his fist through the skulls of the bad guys. From Sushi Typhoon, purveyor of movies like Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl.
***The movie’s director and star, Tak Sakaguchi, and co-director and writer, Yudai Yamaguchi, will be at the screening
Presented with Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

KOREA
BATTLEFIELD HEROES (Korea, 2011, New York Premiere, 118 minutes)
- An absurdist satire about war, this movie from Lee Joon-Ik (director of KING AND CLOWN, the highest-grossing Korean film of all time) is like a Terry Gilliam movie gone Korean as a farmer too poor to even have a name gets drafted into one of medieval Korea’s eternal wars.
***The movie’s director, Lee Joon-Ik, will be at the screening.

BEDEVILLED (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 115 minutes)
- Part of Sea of Revenge focus.

THE CHASER (Korean, 2008, 125 minutes)
- Part of Sea of Revenge focus.

CITY OF VIOLENCE (Korea, 2006, 92 minutes)
- An encore presentation of the best all-out action film from Ryoo Seung-Wan (THE UNJUST). Like a less ironic version of KILL BILL.
***The movie’s director, Ryoo Seung-Wan, will be at the screening

FOXY FESTIVAL (Korea, 2010, North American Premiere, 110 minutes)
- A “Making Our Neighborhoods Safe & Happy” festival has the vice cops working overtime in this multi-character comedy that’s like a Robert Altman flick about fetishes. Love - and handcuffs, and nipple clamps - all conspire to save the day from the forces of conformity.

HAUNTERS (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 114 minutes)
- Part of Sea of Revenge focus.

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (Korea, 2010, 119 minutes)
- Part of Sea of Revenge focus.

MSFF SHORTS (Korea, 2010)
- Korea’s best directors assemble two selections of that country’s best short horror, action and comedy movies just for you.

THE RECIPE (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 107 minutes)
- a serial killer escapes from prison but is recaptured when he stops to eat a bowl of stew that’s so good he loses track of time. What is the secret behind the stew? Korea finally delivers its best food film with this kitchen romance.

TROUBLESHOOTER (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 99 minutes)
- Part of Sea of Revenge focus.
***The movie’s producer, Ryoo Seung-Wan, and director, Kwok Hyeok-Jae, will be at the screening

THE UNJUST (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 119 minutes)
- Part of Sea of Vengeance focus.
***The movie’s director, Ryoo Seung-Wan, will be at the screening

THE YELLOW SEA (Korea, 2010, New York Premiere, 156 minutes)
- Closing Night Movie
- Part of Sea of Revenge focus.
***The movie’s director, Na Hong-Jin, will be at the screening

MALAYSIA
SELL OUT (Malaysia, 2008, New York Premiere, 110 minutes) - one of the best, smartest and funniest movies ever made in Malaysia finally escapes from the clutches of its evil distributor and it was worth the wait. A musical about money, creativity and a reality show focusing on those who are about to die, this is like nothing else in our line-up except (maybe) MILOCRORZE.

PHILIPPINES
MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED (Australia, 2010, New York Premiere, 84 minutes) - from the people who made Not Quite Hollywood, comes this definitive documentary about the Filipino exploitation film bonanza that erupted in the 70’s and 80’s.

RAW FORCE (Philippines/USA, 1982, 86 minutes) - one of the strangest Filipino/US co-productions from the 80’s, this rarely-screened exploitation fever dream is better known by its other title Kung Fu Cannibals. With zombies, ninjas, samurai, kung fu, and evil monks, this is the entire 1980’s exploitation industry fired into your eyes via firehose.

TAIWAN
BETTER THAN SEX (Taiwan, 2002, 92 minutes)
- Part of Su Chao-pin focus.
***The movie’s director, Su Chao-pin, will be at the screening

THE CABBIE (Taiwan, 2000, 94 minutes)
- Part of Su Chao-pin focus
***The movie’s writer, Su Chao-pin, will be at the screening

REIGN OF ASSASSINS (Hong Kong/Taiwan/China, 2010, 117 minutes)
- Part of Su Chao-pin focus.
***The movie’s co-director and writer, Su Chao-pin, will be at the screening

THAILAND
BKO: BANGKOK KNOCKOUT (Thailand, 2010, New York Premiere, 105 minutes) - Tony Jaa’s mentor, Panna Rittikrai, will school you now. This exploitation stunt-tacular features all his best stuntmen and women unleashing muay thai, capoeira, dirt bike fu, shovel beatdowns, fights on fire, fights in the water, fights under trucks, fights in mid-air, and two back-to-back climactic smackdowns that have to be seen to be believed.

Prepare yourselves for the best New York Asian Film Festival yet!!!