ACF 509: Akira Kurosawa Centennial

Akira Kurosawa

March 23, 1910 - September 6, 1998

Today marks the centenary of Akira Kurasawa's birth in Tokyo. Unquestionably the most famous Japanese film director in the West, he is revered not only for so many fine films, an incredible number of which are masterpieces or near-masterpieces, but also for putting Japanese cinema on the world stage. This occurred when Rashomon, which had been released in 1950, won the Golden Lion Award at the 1951 Venice Film Festival. Kurosawa himself was also awarded the Italian Film Critics Award at that same festival.

Still, I believe that the single film with which his name is most closely associated is Seven Samurai (1954). For me it is a work of cinematic perfection: there's not the single, slightest thing about it that could be improved upon.

During his lifetime Kurosawa directed some 31 films, all of which are now available on DVD. For me his towering presence in world cinema is most succinctly embodied in the fact that he has more films in the Criterion Collection than any other director. The Criterion offerings include the recent, massive release AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa. If you don't already own many of his films on DVD, this might be a perfect purchase. It includes four of his earliest films: Sanshiro Sugata (1943), The Most Beautiful (1944), Sanshiro Sugata Part Two (1945), and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail ((1945). Right now the deluxe box set is the only way to obtain Region 1 copies of these four films. Hopefully Criterion will soon release them in an Eclipse Series box set, as it did with Eclipse Series 7: Postwar Kurosawa, a collection of five "lesser" films spanning 1946 - 1955.

Though he never received an Oscar as a director, in 1990 he received an honorary Oscar for his achievements in film, both in terms of the audiences he reached and the filmmakers he influenced. Two of his films Dersu Uzala (1975) and Ran (1985) were awarded Oscars as best foreign films. All told he won 61 award and was nominated for another 17.

All praise and thanks to one of the world's greatest movie directors. His contributions will last in the memories of filmlovers forever.

ACF 107: Lee Chang-dong: A Retrospective

A fantasy sequence from Lee Chang-dong's Oasis

New Yorkers rejoice! Soon we'll be treated to the four film retrospective of this brilliant South Korean director that was part of the still ongoing Korean Film Festival DC 2008 in our nation's capital.

Oasis will be the first film shown. It happens to have been the first of his films that I saw. Sol Kyung-gu stars as Jong-du, a young man of limited mental abilities who's just been released from prison for vehicular manslaughter. After re-uniting with his family, he goes to visit the victim's family, where he meets Gong-ju, played with incredible intensity by Moon So-ri.

Both are shunned or exploited by their respective families, depending on circumstances. The relationship that develops between them is remarkable, and the acting is fabulous.

I've seen the film at least two or three times, and each time I've been haunted by it for days afterward. "Haunted" in a good sense, a wonderful sense, as in unable to stop thinking about the story and the performances. This is the mark of truly great cinema.

Sol Kyung-gu (l) and Moon So-ri

Oasis garnered 11 of the 13 awards for which it was nominated at various festivals, and deservedly so. Lee won eight awards and was nominated for two others. Moon So-ri won two, and Sol Kyung-gu, one. (For complete awards information at imdb, click here.) Although his first two films each won several festival awards, for me Oasis marks Lee's true arrival as a master director on the international film scene, a position he has further solidified with last year's Secret Sunshine.

The four films in the retrospective will be shown at Asia Society, 725 Park Ave (at 70th Street), Manhattan. All showtimes are 7:00 pm.

The complete schedule is:

Oasis
2002, 133 min
Monday, May 5, 2008
- This screening is co-sponsored by The Korea Society
- Director Lee and Ms Moon are scheduled to attend and participate in a Q&A after the screening

Secret Sunshine
2007, 142 min
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
- This screening is co-sponsored by The School of Visual Arts
- Director Lee is scheduled to be present

Peppermint Candy
2000, 127 min
Thursday, May 8, 2008

Green Fish
1997, 111 min
Monday, May 12, 2008

For more information or to order tickets, click here.