ICELAND: Beowulf & Grendel. 2005

Director: Sturla Gunnarsson
Stars: Bryjar Ágústsson, Steindór Andersen, Helgi Björnsson, Gerard Butler, Benedikt Clausen, Tony Curran.
Release date: Sweden - Jan 2006
Length: 103 mins
Yeaaaahhhh! There aren't enough films made about Viking times & this one is long overdue. It's a massive undertaking that cost the Icelandic/Canadian/UK co-production $US14.5 million. Even though it comes from an Anglo-Saxon background via a Christian Monk who finally recorded it into print, it's an historical poem from between 8AD & 10AD that told of a a Germanic tribe member from the south of Sweden travelling to Denmark to defeat a monster. Even though it was a fictional tale, it incorporated true historical events & still proves to be one of the best of it's kind. It must be stated that there seems to be constant debate over it's origins, dates, players & well basically everything surrounding it's existence. If you don't agree then just check out the longest message board debate I've ever seen on IMDb. Click here.
If we don't get this at the Sydney Film Festival I'm going to think they are seriously prejudiced or just ignorant. It has everything you want in a medieval adventure & it'd be a refreshing change than the usual po-faced films that they show. Here's me a regular attendee who saw 35 films there last year. Ha ha. I love it, I just wish for more diversity in genres to be shown in future.

I wish it wasn't an English language film. I wish it was at least a realistic mish mash of languages. Takes away from the effectiveness for me when the American audience influences this angle. Too wussy to read subtitles. Deary me. I just like films to be as authentic as they possibly can. And forget Lambert's science fiction version from 1999 & totally avoid Robert Zemecki's animated romp that is due the year after. And why isn't this film like 2 1/2 hrs long. 103 mins seems inadequate for such an epic sounding flick.

The purple & black poster that is online makes it look like a cheap straihght to video flick. Hope they piss that one off soon.



Synopsis
Adapted from the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf, BEOWULF & GRENDEL is a medieval adventure that tells the blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. Heads will roll in this provocative take on the first major work of English literature. Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster. The monster, Grendel, is not a creature of mythic powers, but one of flesh and blood - immense flesh and raging blood, driven by a vengeance from being wronged, while Beowulf, a victorious soldier in his own right, has become increasingly troubled by the hero-myth rising up around his exploits. Beowulf's willingness to kill on behalf of Hrothgar wavers when it becomes clear that the King is more responsible for the troll's rampages than was first apparent. As a soldier, Beowulf is unaccustomed to hesitating. His relationship with the mesmerizing witch, Selma, creates deeper confusion. Swinging his sword at a great, stinking beast is no longer such a simple act. The story is set in barbarous Northern Europe where the reign of the many-gods is giving way to one - the southern invader, Christ. Beowulf is a man caught between sides in this great shift, his simple code transforming and falling apart before his eyes. Building toward an inevitable and terrible battle, this is a tale where vengeance, loyalty and mercy powerfully entwine. A story of blood and beer and sweat, BEOWULF & GRENDEL strips away the mask of the hero-myth, leaving a raw and tangled tale that rings true through the centuries.

• Website
• Varmouries Makers of medieval armoury for films.
• Monsters & Critics Loads of images here.

BRAZIL: Redentor (Redeemer). 2004

Director: Cláudio Torres
Stars: Pedro Cardoso, Miguel Falabella, Fernanda Montenegro, Camila Pitanga, Fernando Torres.
Release date: Brazil - 10 Sept 2004
Length: 110 mins

Has been likened to a Terry Gillam type film, with a satirical fantasy aspect that includes a rare feature for Brasilian films, the inclusion of special effects. The Redentor refers to the iconic statue of Jesus that looms over Rio. Looks pretty damn crazy. Torres won 'Best Director' at the Brazilian Film Academy Awards in 2005.

Synopsis
The journalist Célio Rocha (Pedro Cardoso) has been living a serious problem in the breast of his family for years: his father used all his savings to buy an apartment from the father of his childhood friend Otávio Sabóia (Miguel Falabella), indeed a corrupt constructor who never delivered the building to the owners. When the father of Otávio commits suicide, Célio is assigned for an interview with Otávio, and is invited by Otávio to participate in a scheme in Cayman Islands, where he would receive five millions dollars. However, Célio has a breakdown when his father dies, and believed God assigned him to make Otávio give away all the money he has on behalf of the homeless.

• Website

FRANCE: J'ai vu tuer Ben Barka (I Saw the Killing of Ben Barka) 2005

Director: Serge Le Péron
Stars: Charles Berling, Simon Abkarian, Josiane Balasko, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Fabienne Babe.
Release date: France - 2 Nov 2005
Length: 101 mins

The dissapearance of Morrocan politician Medhi Ben Barka (played by french Armenian actor Abkarian) in Paris in 1965 is the catalyst for this political thriller. All sorts of people like the CIA were linked to this affair so it was inevitable that a similiarly themed version was filmed in 1972, "L'attentat" by Yves Boisset, though it deals with different circumstances.

Synopsis
Early 1965, the journalist Georges Figon, riddled with debt, is offered a strange assignment: a crime organisation offers him to produce a documentary about decolonisation. Marguerite Duras would write the commentary and Georges Franju would direct. A certain Mehdi Ben Barka would be hired as historical consultant. But the film turns out to be a trap: Ben Barka is arrested. The affair gains amplitude and becomes a political scandal.

No website available

CANADA: C.R.A.Z.Y. 2005

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Stars: Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Jean-Marc Vallée
Release date: Quebec - 27 May 2005
Length: 127 mins


The other day I was wondering to myself, 'where are all the Canadian films?'. Is their industry as crap as ours? Do they make stupid low budget comedies that aren't funny, so therefore no-one goes to see them, therefore less films get made, therefore we end up with a rather pathetic state of affairs. Surely not. I think I saw only one last year & just like this it was also French-Canadian. I can't get the friggin trailer to run.. Aaargh! You try.

Synopsis
It's a story of two love affairs. A father's love for his five sons. And one son's love for his father, a love so strong it compels him to live a lie. That son is Zac Beaulieu, born on the 25th of December 1960, different from all his brothers, but desperate to fit in. During the next 20 years, life takes Zac on a surprising and unexpected journey that ultimately leads him to accept his true nature and, even more importantly, leads his father to love him for who he really is. A mystical fable about a modern-day Christ-like figure, "C.R.A.Z.Y" exudes the beauty, the poetry and the madness of the human spirit in all its contradictions.

• Website
• Trailer

ARGENTINA: Iluminados por el fuego (Enlightened by the Fire). 2005

Director: Tristán Bauer
Stars: César Albarracín, José Luis Alfonzo, Arturo Bonín, Hugo Carrizo, Julio Chávez.
Release date: Argentina - 5 Sept 2005
Length: 100 mins

The film, directed and co-written by Tristán Bauer (Después de la tormenta / After the Storm) and starring the excellent Gastón Pauls (Nueve reinas / Nine Queens), is based on a book by Edgardo Esteban, who was one of the underarmed and underfed conscripts sent to fight the much better equipped British army in the inhospitable archipelago. "When you are 18, you don't think about death," says Esteban, currently a TV journalist. "But ever since this war, death has been with us constantly. Two things help me close this chapter - the book and now the movie."

Synopsis
Iluminados por el fuego narrates the memories of 40-year-old Esteban Leguizamón, who went to fight in the Falklands in 1982 at the age of only 18. An ex-companion?s suicide throws him back into the memories of a war in which he fought with another two young recruits: Vargas, the one who committed suicide, and Juan, killed in combat. There he finds not only the horrors of the war and suffering from the cold, but also tales of friendship and comradeship. Esteban?s thoughts convey the slow and gradual descent of their fragile lives into the claws of death itself. 20 years after the war, Esteban decides to return to the Islands to face his past and close old wounds.

• Website
• Trailer

ARGENTINA/CHILE: Mi mejor enemigo (My Best Enemy). 2005

Director: Alex Bowen
Stars: Erto Pantoja, Nicolás Saavedra, Felipe Braun, Miguel Dedovich, Juan Pablo Miranda.
Release date: Argentina - 5 Jan 2006
Length: 100mins

The trailer for this Chilean/Argentine co-production looks magnificent. Let's hope it gets inclusion into this years Spanish Film Festival (yes, they show films that are Spanish language, not necessarily from Spain itself). They also show too many damn films that deal with sexually frustrated 40yr old women in disfunctional relationships..maybe not tata exactly, but far too many relationship type films taht appeal to over 40 arty types. Kinda gets a bit samey after awhile. Seems to me that the South American countries are now starting to make films about their military skirmishes. See above.

Synopsis
A profound indictment of war’s cruel futility from first-time writer-director-producer Alex Bowen. Set in 1978, during “the war that never was” (a border dispute between Chile and Argentina), a Chilean border patrol unit gets lost in the Argentine pampas, then locked down in a trench with Argentine troops. Stalemate gives way to a truce, but when fighter planes and tanks arrive, the friends are forced once again to fight.

• Website
• Trailer

TURKEY: Kurtlar Vadisi - Irak (Valley of the Wolves - Iraq). 2005

Director: Serdar Akar
Stars: Necati Şaşmaz, Billy Zane, Ghassan Massoud, Bergüzar Korel, Gürkan Uygun, Gary Busey.
Release date: Turkey- 9 Feb 2006
Length: 125 mins

This is Turkey's biggest ever mega-budget film ever at $10million US & is a spin-off from a highly successful TV show. To be released simultaneously in 120 European cinemas including Australia. Consider me there. Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud was last seen in Kingdom of Heaven.

Synopsis
The story of the movie begins with a tribute to the “Sack Incident”, which is a true case...

On July 4th, 2003, the ally American squads arrive at the unofficial, semi-confidential headquarters of eleven members of the special Turkish forces deployed in Northern Iraq. The Turkish squad assumes it to be a usual visit of their allies...But this time, it is different. With the changing conjuncture, the USA aims to be the only power “to have the last word” in the region. To them, no Turks are needed in the region... That day, eleven soldiers are deported with sacks on their heads and with their military pride disregarded before the eyes of the public...

Until this point, everything in the movie tells a true story...

Süleyman Aslan is one of those eleven people in our story based on facts. Unable to stomach being scorned and hauling down his flag, First Lieutenant Süleyman commits suicide, leaving a letter behind... The letter is written to Polat Alemdar, a privately and well trained Turkish intelligencer. He took part in countless operations both within the country and abroad for an intelligence agency working for the state... Always lived for the sake of duty, Polat Alemdar cannot be indifferent to the will of his friend who commits suicide for the pride of his duty...

He is now in Northern Iraq with his men, even to die if necessary..

• Website

JAPAN: Taki 183. 2005

Director: ?
Stars: Shugo Oshinari, Mitsuru Murata, Takashi Tsukamoto.
Release date: 28 Jan 2006
Length: ?

Naming the film after the legendary initial graffiti writer of New York is a weird idea. Homage or another Japanese appropriation? We haven't seen many films, well in fact none, on the hip hop scene in Japan so it'll be an interesting viewpoint on the culture. Recently there was Hip Hop TKO, which opened up late last year in Japan. It's hard to tell from the trailer if it's a comedy or a drama, but it seems to look decent, cinematically at least.

Synopsis
About some graffiti kids in Shibuya.
Here's the google translation.
Tommy of the graffiti * artist (Tsukamoto high history) the fact that in the wall of Shibuya town message is drawn with the spray was reason to live. He the can of the companion (patience forming learning/repairing our) and the ハッタ (窪 mound 俊 mediating/helping) and others with keeps making the work one after another, but.......

• Website

IRAN: Jazire Ahani (Iron Island). 2005

Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Stars: Ali Nasirian, Hossein Farzi-Zadeh, Neda Pakdaman, Abdolkarim Ghani-Koovei, Aref Zakeri.
Release date: France - 5 Oct 2005.
Length: 90 min

This seems to have been a festival favourite worldwide. It showed at last years Melbourne's International Film Festival, but not Sydneys. Strange how Iranian cinema is always so lively & interesting, with this one seeming even more fascinating than many others. Most likely because it is set on a ship instead of in a dusty rural village. Makes a nice visual change. I've seen the trailer & it looks how it sounds. Wonderfully uplifting considering the circumstances that are depicted.

Synopsis
In this fast-paced tale about poor people in the Persian Gulf living aboard a sinking oil tanker, this amazing film is a sharp allegory about Iran and a galloping fable full of offbeat characters and entertaining moments. The gigantic, crumbling barge is occupied by unemployable social outcasts and homeless people, united by their passionate Muslim faith. Captain Nemat, an elderly, yet highly charismatic patriarch, dominates this strange community; despite the fact the owners of the ship and the authorities have ordered them to leave. His contradictory leadership style--alternating compassion with ferocious brutality--mirrors that of recent regimes in Iran. When his young assistant wants to marry a girl against her father’s wishes, the aftermath exposes all of Captain Nemat’s contradictions and strengths.

No website available

DENMARK: Mørke (Murk). 2005

Director: Jannik Johansen
Stars: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Nicolas Bro, Lærke Winther Andersen, Laura Drasbæk, Lotte Bergstrøm
Release date: Denmark - 7 Oct 2005
Length: 124 mins

An amazingly acclaimed thriller that delves into the pain of a sisters death. What I find absolutely fascinating is that not only had the director's sister committed suicide, but that the main actor Nikolaj has also experienced it within in his family. Twice!!! First his mother & then his father apparently drowned in what seemed like suicide circumstances. So to undertake a film such as this would either be cathartic or an emotional rollercoaster. The trailer looks fantastic & the title is very befitting. Though don''t watch the trailer if you want to see the film unravel. It's a shame how some distributors show too much in their previews for thrillers. The whodunnit aspect is usually weakend by them. See, I'm all about the Scandos these days.

Synopsis
Jacob has only just managed to come to terms with his sister Julie's attempted suicide (an incident which has left her seriously disabled), when she announces her marriage to Anker, whom she apparently met on the internet. But then, on her wedding night, Julie successfully takes her own life. Months later, Jacob remains disturbed by the oddness her death, and tracks down her former fiancée, now living in the eerie rural village of Mørke - and about to marry another disabled woman... Co-scripted by acclaimed screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen (responsible for many of the Dogme titles), this gripping, glossy thriller is ripe for a Hollywood remake.

• Trailer

THAILAND: Chai Lai (Dangerous Flowers). 2005

Director: Poj Arnon
Stars: Bongkot Kongmalai, Supaksorn Chaimongkol, Krit Sripoomserth.
Release date: Thailand - 26 Jan 2006
Length:

Bloody hell. If this is anything like the poster then it could be totally off the wall & superfruity. In a good way. Or it could be dull, clumsy & pointless. I'm hoping for the goods, but I guess it is a Thai version of Charlies Angels, but with 5 of them. Let's hope it's plot driven action & less meandering useless dialogue. Reminds me of the exploitation days of Philipino cinema in the 70s, except there are no US b-grade actors included.

Synopsis
Five women secret agents that are as beautiful as flowers get into an incredible mission when horrible terrorists are rampaging around the town. No matter what it takes, the five dangerous flowers are ready to fight with their talents, charms, and a little bit naughty tricks.



• Website
• Trailer Downloadable WMV file. 16MB

EGYPT: Harb Atalia (Italian War). 2005

Director: Ahmed Saleh
Stars: Ahmed el-Sakka, Khaled Abol Naga, Nelly Karim, Khaled Saleh, Razan Maghraby.
Release date: Egypt - 27 July 2005
Length: 110 mins

El Sakka returns again with another action film, though this one contains comedy & romance. The Egyptians seemed to have loved it, because it managed to earn 2 million EGP over it's 10 million budget after only 2 months. Then it will be seen in the other Arabic speaking countries. It was released in Australia for a limited timelast year, but if you aren't scanning the papers or in the Arabic community, it would've been easily missed. Good to see Arabic cinema creating it's own multiplex type films. Loving it.

Synopsis
Ahmed El-Sakka (Tito) plays the role of an honest and idealistic man who struggles against a corrupt world — a theme popularized in the 1980s by actors such as Adel Imam, Nour El-Sherif and Ahmed Zaki.

Yasine (El-Sakka) is a recent law graduate who interns at a firm in Cairo. He discovers that his boss Kamal (Saleh) and his partner Bakr (Kamel) are involved with the mob. When Yasine advises them to stay on the right side of the law, his boss fires him and makes sure that he can’t land another job in the field. Desperate, Yasine devises a scheme to get back at them. He discovers the whereabouts of Kamal and Bakr’s new transaction, and manages to flee with a bag full of money and stolen antiquities. Matters become complicated when Yasine’s boss and his accomplice move to Italy, where the protagonist and his girlfriend (Nelly Karim) face new adventures.

No website available

EGYPT: Tito. 2004

Director: Tarek El'eryan
Stars: Ahmed el-Sakka, Hanan Turk, Amr Waked, Khaled Saleh.
Release date: Egypt - 23 June 2004
Length: 120 mins

Friggin annoyed about the screening time for this last year. It was shown at the exact same 2 weeks that the Sydney Film Festival was on. I had seen an ad for it on a train station for upcoming films on cable channel World Movies & it looked pretty amazing for an Arabic film. All Hollywood action style ala car chases, etc... Was crazy. So I missed it at the cinema & I don't have cable at home.

Synopsis
This Egyptian action film is about Tito (Ahmad Al Saqa), who was sentenced to 16 years in jail after a burglary when he was a kid. After he gets out, he goes back to crime with a corrupt police officer, but also befriends Fares (Amr Waked), and the two open up a unique restaurant. Fares introduces Tito to Nour (Hanan Turk), a physician, and they fall in love, and Tito is trying to leave his life of crime.

• Website might be a dead link

HUNGARY: Kútfejek. 2005

Director: Iván Kapitány
Stars: Csaba Debreczeny, György Dörner, Iván Fenyö, Károly Gesztesi, László Görög.
Release date: Hungary: 28 Feb 2006
Length: 105 mins

Looks like a bit of bumbling comedy with some cops, bad dudes, Americans & some more bad dudes. From the trailer I gather it is about 2 escaped prisoners who take hostages at a service station & then, well, stuff happens. Struggled to locate any English commentary. I just fell over the website & had a gander.

• Website

SWEDEN:165 Hässelby (Suburban Songs). 2004

Director: Mia Engberg
Featuress: Francesco ”Frazze” Gabrielli, Ayesha Quraishi, Julio Olea, ”Dino” The graffiti writer.
Release date: Sweden: 3 March 2005
Length: 77 mins
Documentary

Tage Erlander is probably most well known to the world as the only leader of a western nation to preside over a country for more than 20 years. 1946-69 to be exact. One of his visions was to create harmonious new suburbs that interacted closely with nature. Hässelby Gård was one of those such places. We get a glimpse into the reality of this suburb 50 years later with profiles on 4 of its residents. Sounds liek a side of Sweden we don't hear about very much.

'The director is also known for her ”female-porn” project and for playing bass in the feminist ska-band Vagina Grande'. Um, okay then.

Synopsis
A film about Ayesha, Frazze, Julio and the graffiti writer. They all live in the concrete houses around Hässelby Gård far away from the villa suburbs and the dream about an integrated society.

• Website

SOUTH KOREA/USA: D-War. 2005

Director: Hyung-rae Shim
Stars: Jason Behr, Amanda Brooks, Robert Forster, Aimee Garcia
Release date: October 2005...?
Length: ?

Obviously this director has a penchant for kaiju type films. His last one was the atrocious Yongarry (Reptillian), but judging from the trailer for his new flick, it looks 100% more convincing. D-War stands for Dragon Wars, hence all the giant reptiles running amok. The only Koreans I can see involved with this are the director & the producers.

Synopsis
Five hundred years ago, in a small Korean village, a young girl named Narin was born carrying the Yeouijoo inside her. To protect her and to ensure that she is consummated with the rightful, preordained Imoogi, Haram and his master, Bochun, were sent by the Heavens. Bochun trained Haram as a knight, to be prepared for the eventual day when Narin will be delivered to the Good Imoogi. When the Dark Imoogi, Buraki, and his army of followers come to destroy Narin's village and capture the Yeouijoo inside her, Bochun instructs Haram to take Narin to the Good Imoogi and give it the power to save the world. Haram and Narin, however, have been taken by their mortal desires and fallen in love. Unable to sacrifice his love to the benevolent Imoogi, Haram fails to end the conflict between the Good and Dark Imoogis. Instead, Haram and Narin take their own lives by leaping from a precipice.

Five hundred years later in present day Los Angeles, the quest of the Imoogis is reborn. Haram and Narin have been re-incarnated as Ethan Kendrick and Sarah Daniels, whose bond of love remained unsevered throughout the centuries.

• Website

INDIA: Zinda. 2005

Director: Sanjay Gupta
Stars: John Abraham, Lara Dutta, Sanjay Dutt, Balajeet Roy, Celina Jaitley.
Release date: India - 12 Jan 2006
Length: 116

Pulled from Rediff.com
"Hindi films too are increasingly being 'inspired' by the brute-force bandwagon. Hence, The Eye and Dark Water became Naina; Acacia; Ju-On: The Grudge became Vaastu Shastra. And Old Boy becomes Zinda".

At least the Indians beat the Americans to the punch. Rumours abound with names like Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson starring & even David Lynch helming the revisioning of Park Chan-Wook's masterpiece. All crock. A Taiwanese director who lives in California is shooting the new film, so in the meantime, let's look out for this Hindi version. Naturally it will come with modern dance routines & poppy song interludes between the hardcore violence. We wouldn't have it any other way. In the last few years my 'hit & miss' targets have been severely on the 'miss' part after seeing the Bollywood films that have been getting a local release. Yet still I persist, but with some films only get one weeks viewing it can be hard to see everything.

Synopsis
For fourteen years of his life, Balajeet Roy (Sanjay Dutt) was imprisoned without knowing what his crime was nor where he was. One day, he is suddenly set free and has four days to find out why he was imprisoned and why he was kept alive. So begins his quest for answers and revenge.

• Website

FRANCE: Secret Agents (Agents Secrets). 2004

Director: Frédéric Schoendoerffer
Stars: Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, André Dussollier, Ludovic Schoendoerffer.
Release date: France - March 2004
Length: 109 mins

Real life married couple Cassel & Belluci star in a big action flick about spies. Like duh! Why this never had a release here with the 2 names attached is anybodies guess. It looks to be entertaining enough in the trailer, but maybe it's big multiplex look was it's downfall. Hell, I watch Hollywood flicks as much as the next person, every country should at least be able to compete with those types of films by making thier own. France has been making these type of flicks for years. Thanks in part to Luc Besson. Cinema for the masses is not a bad thing. As long as they are well crafted, competent & entertaining. Room for everyone.

Still no DVD release with English Subs. I'm looking forward to his next flick that just finished shooting last month, Truands (Gangsters). It sounds pretty full on. Paris, organised crime, hitmen, corpses, narcotics, prison. Sounds like it has it all, Gallic style.

Synopsis
From his offices in Switzerland, Russian Igor Lipovsky is engaged in a vast and profitable gunrunning operation with Africa. The French government wants to hinder the activities of the arms dealer and sends a team to sink one of his ships heading for Angola with a load of illegal weaponry. Lisa, Brisseau, Loïc, Tony and Raymond are professionals: they carefully set up their cover, plan all their moves meticulously, and carry out orders without asking questions. Perhaps they should. The code-name of the mission is "Janus"; and just like with the ancient deity, there are two opposite faces for every aspect of the operation: the objective of the French government, the role of each team member, the presumed friend and the assumed foe...

• Website

FRANCE: L'enfer. 2005

Director: Danis Tanovic
Stars: Emmanuelle Béart, Karin Viard, Marie Gillain, Carole Bouquet, Guillaume Canet.
Release date: France - 30 Nov 2005.
Length: 95 mins

Bosnian born director Tanovic made the much debated about film, No Man's Land. It had some great moments, but one of the most interesting things to come out of it was discussion about the stupidity of war driven by ancient ethnic rivalry. He seems like a director who wants to say many things with his films, though with this new film he appears to get more personal with realtionship issues than his more politically toned previous film. This new film was written by the late Polish director Krzystof Kieslowski (Three Colours:Red, White, Blue) & is the 2nd of an eventual (?) trilogy. The 1st film Heaven was by German director Tom Twyker (Run Lola Run) & starred Cate Blanchett. Want to know what's wierd? Emanuelle Beart was previously in another film with the same name in 1994.

I seriously thought this film would be a shoe-in for this years French Film Festival. I can't see it on the list as yet.

Synopsis
In Paris, during the eighties, a man freed from prison is rejected by his wife. At the end of his rope, he beats her up and then throws himself out the window in front of his three daughters. Sophie, Céline and Anne, the three sisters, are now adult, each pursuing their own life. Family ties have been severed. Sophie, the eldest, is married to Pierre, a photographer with whom she’s had two children. The couple is going through a rocky patch. Céline, single, is the only one who takes care of their feeble mother who is in a retirement home. Anne, an architecture student, is having a passionate love affair with Frédéric, one of her teachers. A young man enters Céline’s life. Attractive Sébastien seems determined to charm her. What he reveals to Céline brings the three sisters together again, allows them to accept their past and to perhaps at last dare to truly live.

• Website

TURKEY: Hababam Sinifi - The Class Of Chaos 3.5. 2005

Director: Ferdi Egilmez
Stars: Mali Erbil, Safak Sezer, Seda Sayan, Kabariye
Release date: Turkey - 6 Jan 2006
Length: 101 mins

This is showing at Hoyts Merryland at the moment. I probably won't get to see it, though from the looks of it it might be one of those comedies that doesn't culturally translate as well as some. It's always a risk with humour based films. What's funny to them, might not be funny to you. This film seems to have scored just average on the sites I visited, so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. I posted it because the 1975 original, has been celebrated as one of the funniest Turkish comedies ever made.

Synopsis
In this sequel of the most successful legendary comedy of the Turkish cinema, the school master Crazy Bedri decides to get married. His new wife Crazy Bedriye and her son start living in the school with him. Although the lovable and chaotic students of the Hababam Class think that Bedriye would be a new accomplice against their eccentric school master, soon they discover that she is a far more dangerous rival than the emotional Deli (Crazy) Bedri… Now with the support of his newly wed bride, who is not a bit less crazy than he is, Deli Bedri starts his new assaults against the members of the Class of Chaos, with the hope that he can finally get rid of these lazy students.

Guess who wins at the end…

• Website

NORWAY: Izzat. 2005

Director: Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen
Stars: Emil Marwa, Ove Andreassen, Leon Israr Bashir, Danish Kahn, Shaheen Khan.
Release date: Norway - 7 Oct 2005
Length: 107 mins

I'm all about Scandinavian films these days. Some of the best world cinema is coming from those countries, but you'd probably not know it...because it never gets much of a look in. If only I didn't have to end up buying them on DVD. Thank the stars for film festivals. This tough looking film seems to follow on from the recent flick Uno. It was also set in Oslo, had young protaganists & featured Pakistanis as gangsters. The word is that the young Norwegians seem proud that they are making some more visceral type of films that indirectly address the new social climate in their country. Or at least making films that are bolder & more interesting than the safe ones they reckon they make.

Synopsis
Wasim grows up as a normal Pakistani boy in Oslo in the eighties. Together with his two best buddies at the same age - Riaz and Munawar - he is dreaming of becmoing just as tough and successful as the Indian Bollywood stars. This dream does not remotely resemble Wasim's everyday reality. At home, Daddy is absent because of work almost around the clock, and his mother, who has never learnt Norwegian, is easily deceived. Consequently, Wasim and his two friends drop ouot of school, and when they meet the leaders of the criminal gang East Side Crew, they finally find justice, respect and success within this brotherhood. But will it last…

• Website

FINLAND: Jade Warrior (Jadesoturi) 2006

Director: Antti-Jussi Annila
Stars: Taisheng Chen , Tommi Eronen, Krista Kosonen, Elle Kull, Markku Peltola, Jingchu Zhang
Release date: Finland - 13 October 2006
Length: 110 mins

I've been following this film's progress for almost 3 years. I even emailed the produccer at one stage to ask him if it really was happening. He replied straight away & told me that it was a funding issue, combined with seasonal practicality. I guess that damn snow can delay a film by a whole year if everything isn't ready in time. From the begining when they created the website, it had a very distinctive & professional look. The storyboards are quite exquiste & it promises to be quite spectacular. If they pull it off. They also had a short trailer that was simple, yet extremely well shot & intriguing. Film locations included Finland, Estonia & in the Hengdian World Studios of China's Zhejiang Province.

What's not to be intrigued about.

Synopsis
Thousands of years ago in ancient China, a love struck sword hero fights against his destiny. He wants another chance to be reunited with his loved one and he gets that chance, in a far away place and a far away time, in the cold north, in modern Finland. Jade Warrior is set in ancient China early iron age and present day Finland. The past is feeding the story in present day, slowly revealing our warrior his real origin, his superior skills and his destiny. Jade Warrior - the first Finnish Kung Fu film - combines Finnish and Chinese mythologies into one film. Jade Warrior is an homage to Kung Fu genre strongly spiced with a truly original approach to Finnish national epic Kalevala. Like Kalevala Jade Warrior is a pure melodrama. A story of Kalevala´s greatest hero.

• Website
• Trailer 9MB QT file

KAZAKHSTAN: Nomad (Kochevnik). 2004

Director: Sergei Bodrov, Ivan Passer.
Stars: Kuno Becker, Jay Hernandez, Jason Scott Lee, Mark Dacascos, Doskhan Zholzhaksynov, Ayana Yesmagambetova.
Release date: ???
Length: ???




Where is this film? Its had a troubled life with bad weather during filming & financial difficulties. This resulted in the original director unable to finish the film, due to the lengthy break between the extended shoot & prior commitments. They rushed a copy to screen at the Cannes Film Festival last year, then no more word. Was it really that bad that it sunk? The Weinsteins aka Miramax bought the US rights & are probably still butchering up an American friendly edit. They were going to spend 20million on publicity. Still can't even find a review for it online.

The Kazakhstani president Nursultan Nazarbayev apparently wasn't impressed with the film. Though that may be due to political or historical reasons. It stars A-grade Kazakh actors, but B-grade US ones. It shoud've been filled with just Kazakhstani talent, so I am getting the impression that it will be in English due to the inclusion of US actors.
Lets wait & see.

This US$40 million adventure film is based on the life of Ablai Khan, a descendant of Ghenghis Khan and a famous historical Kazakhstan figure who united the three Kazakh hordes: Ulu Zhuz, Orta Zhuz and Kichi Zhuz (the Great Hundred, the Middle Hundred and the Small Hundred).

Synopsis
18th century Kazakhstan, a vast, pitiless region of austere and terrible beauty, bordered by China, Russia and Tibet. Here the proud and warlike Kazakh tribes have survived and fought for centuries - against invaders, against their formidable Jungar enemies and amongst themselves. Oraz, a mystic and warrior possessed of great powers, foretells the birth of a new star, a hero. This boy -Mansur - is destined to unite the Kazakhs, and lead them to glorious victory against their enemies. Fearful of Oraz' prediction, the Jungar ruler Galdan orders his General, Sharish, to find the child and slay him. However, Oraz saves Mansur and delivers him to his father, Sultan Wali.

• Trailer

HK: Moonlight in Tokyo (Ching yi ngor sum gi)

Director: Felix Chong, Siu Fai Mak
Stars: Leon Lai, Chapman To, Kuei-Mei Y
Release date: HK- Dec 9th 2005.
Length: Way too long...

AVOID
Saw this in Chinatown & thought it was a load of cobblers. The basic premise of the story is that Leon Lai's character is retarded, disposed of by his family in Japan, meets Chapman To's obnoxious character, who then pimps Lai disguised as a Korean gigolo so that he can earn enough cash to pay back his debts to angry Yakuza. Inept screenplay, unlikeable characters, terrible plotting with a cracked narrative, stupid finale, dumbness, pointless violence towards the disabled. Everything that is classically bad with contemporary HK films is in this one. Maybe my western viewpoint didn't find the idea all that amusing.

I think i'm going to stick with martial art & gangster films from now on.

• Website

USA: Popaganda: The Art and Crimes of Ron English 2004

Director: Pedro Carvajal
Features: Ron English, Shepard Fairey, Slash, Morgan Spurlock.
Release date: USA 2004
Length: 78 mins
Documentary

Still yet to be released on DVD. All reports is that it isn't even a 1/4 as interesting as his artwork & that it fails to deliver what it promises. I just needed an excuse to post up his fantastic Homer Simpson painting.

Taken from Fantasiafestival.com.
"While English’s name might not be instantly recognizable to everyone, you’re almost certainly familiar with his imagery. One example of many: English designed the morbidly obese Ronald McDonald art so memorably featured in Super Size Me. Shot, fittingly, guerilla-style over a span of nearly 10 years, Pedro Carvajal’s documentary covers all phases of English’s eccentric, ongoing career, including his early 8mm films, music work and brilliant experimental photography, and features appearances by Robert Williams, the Billboard Liberation Front, Morgan Spurlock, Daniel Johnston, the Dandy Warhols and Slash. Popaganda is an important look at corporate-imposed limitations of free speech, an inspiration to guerilla artists of all stripes and a memorable portrait of a genuine American revolutionary."

• Website

JAPAN: Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari) 2004

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Stars: Kyôko Fukada, Momoko Ryugasaki, Anna Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Ryoko Shinohara
Release date: May 2004
Length: 102 mins

SYNOPSIS from film bio.
Momoko is an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life. Ordinary, that is, if you define ordinary as wearing elaborate lolita dresses from the Rococo period in 18th Century France. A complete fish out of water in her rural and sleepy Japanese town, where everyone buys their clothes (and everything else) at the same store and no one understands her, Momoko's life is one of sugared sweets and frilly treats. Desperate to make some money to pay for her expensive indulgence, Momoko tries selling bootleg Ver*ace and Uni*ersal Studios clothes left over from her Dad's yakuza (gangster) days. However, when punk girl and self-styled 'Yanki' Ichiko comes calling, her days as 'ordinary' are most certainly numbered... Road movie, buddy comedy, deeply insightful and surprisingly touching, the surreal world only further highlights the all too real friendship that brings these two unlikely girls together.

It's only the 3rd film from this 47 yr old director & it couldn't be anything more different than what one would expect from someone that age, but then again, it is a Japanese film & they do controlled insanity better than anyone. While the Japanese version has been around for a few years (w/o English subtitles), it has just been released on DVD this month in Korea & the USA with subs. Looks delicious.

• Website
• DVD@Amazon USA
• DVD@YesAsia Korean version