STOP - a plea to Kim Ki Duk

Not his greatest film by a long shot but still a very inspirational director.
Stop is Kim Ki Duk's plea to stop the insanity around the use of nuclear energy, even if it mean stopping the use of electricity? A rather drastic message but within the film we witness the more insipid dangers of nuclear accidents and radiation exposure. This is about the humans that survive but are exposed and what mutations/deformities will be received in the next generation. The film shows the results of two pregnant women after exposure to radiation, both are unfortunate but one is grizzly.
The major short coming of this film is that Kim Ki Duk made it by himself.
Well he had actors but no crew!

STOP - director and cast, who probably were also crew at times

I had the pleasure of hearing him and the actors speak at BIFF 2015 and one of the things he says is that he realises that there are short comings in the production values that hurt the film.
And it's true. What a difficult undertaking, it's hard enough making a low budget feature with a stripped back crew but as a one man band!!!! Wow.

Kim Ki Duk and fan doing a selfie

Australian director Ivan Seng is the only filmmaker that springs to mind that has successfully pulled this off and that was in 20012 with Toomelah which is a brilliant in it's seamless roughness.
But Stop doesn't quite cut it. Good idea, good to great acting but locations, props and even sometimes the coverage let the film down more than once or twice.
I still admire this director and I'll go along and see what he does next because when he hits it is in the big time but like all genius he is fallible and this is a case in point.

Tsubasa Nakae, principle actor post Q&A

To kim Ki Duk, STOP preaching from your soapbox and making films as a one man band and to the rest of the world STOP freezing him out of financing his films properly like a filmmaker of his standing deserves.

You can read my review for Filmed in Ether here

Videos that are a Gas #14

I love a vid that bends your expectations and this one is a beauty.
Watch it until at least the halfway point if you can't make the end.
Things aren't always as they seem!

A little bit of history - An Ode To My Father & Taklub

For Filmed in Ether, two Reviews From Biff.
One from the Philippines and the other from Korea.
Two very different films but both are dealing with major events in their respective countries.
Actually in style and how they deal with history they are poles apart.
Taklub from Brillante Mendoza is gritty realism dealing with the aftermath of the super typhoon Haiyan. It is a empathetic observation of life after a disaster where the psychological scares are greater than the physical wreckage. The setting is Tacloban which was literally leveled through wind, rain and waves and the film follows a handful of survivors. It is a far from sensational observation of the heartbreak involved with picking up the pieces.

This is the life of a devastated community waiting to be relocated, waiting for life to be returned to normal, waiting in vain for promised relief beyond daily rations and a canvas roof over their heads. They live with the guilt of a survivor, the fear of the next storm bringing a new tsunami and the want of life’s basics and wanting a place that they can call home.

 read the full review here

Brillante Mendoza

 













Ode To My Father from Yoon Je-kyoon differs greatly in that it spans Korean history from the end of the civil war, or at least when there was a truce on the fighting, right up to the present. It's epic in scale, in production value and in box office takings. The treatment of the history is a lot more stylised and sentimental. This is a tear jerker of a film.

Ode to My Father is the story of one man, Yoon Deok-soo (Hwang Jung-min) who dedicates his life to the service of his family and the nation after his father gets left behind in the mass evacuation from the northern Korean port of Hungnam toward the end of the war. His life is hard and his tales are epic but some say that it is a romanticised and sycophantic rewriting of history. Certainly right wing elements of this society have hijacked the film for their own purposes. When it was released earlier this year, the director in fact stopped doing interviews because the focus was solely on this subject.

 read the full review here

Yoon Je-kyoon

Both are fine films but in very different ways and they both come from very fine filmmakers.

Brillante does the Possessed - SAPI

A little look back having freshly seen his latest film Taklub, a tribute to the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan.
He's the poster boy of the Filipino Indy Film scene, the man who has marched on Cannes, the darling of the Festival circuit, he's the man who launched Mercedes Cabral onto the world stage.
Brillante Mendoza!!!

....he's so more than any of this and I apologise for such a shit opening.

Wanna watch a great director, with an illustrious filmography, who has consistency, is prolific and tells a cracker of a tale? Look no further!
Thy Womb (and here) didn't make MIFF but was screened in Brisbane and I think ACMI screened it as a one off.
Well this one, Sapi, his first horror may make it to Australia but probably won't!
but it did make it to Busan in 2013.

SAPI

I'm a bit partial to a possession film and Sapi appeases in spades.
But this is not just your ordinary fright fest. The parallel narrative that drives the film is a great insight into the machinations of Network TV news alla Manila. In fact this is the true horror in this film. The lengths and means to get ratings, the demands placed on employees, whether real or perceived, the boardroom meetings and the Network damage control all send a chill down the spine.
Are these the ones who a truly possessed?
You find these things out as you watch two rival news teams scramble for the story of a mass possession. They uncover and witness some pretty frightening stuff on the ground and then digest and package it for nightly consumption. You want to be pretty careful when dealing with the spirit world and those with less scruples slowly become affected or infected. The impact of exploitation is great and the consequences are dramatic.

  

Snakes, vaginas and demons always make a pretty frightening mix and this film certainly has its moments but the thing I love the most is the very brave ending. There are more questions than answers, not every thread can be neatly sewn up and the film finishes abruptly, but that's OK. Actually it's more than OK, I kinda loved it but I couldn't really gauge the reaction of the others in the cinema. I think we were all a bit shocked.

For a first foray into horror, this film holds its own, it's not your average possesion flick but that comes as no surprise because it is made from not your average director.
Look out next time the storm and heavy rains come visiting your town, you never  now what lies within the tempest.

Veteran

Fighting the corruption within South Korea's chaebols 재벌 (family run corporations).
This is a take down film, lopping of the tall poppy and championing the under dog.
The latest film from Ryoo Seung-Wan , the man who bought us The Berlin File
The action is great and a bit of fun too, though there are some truly grueling moments of cruelty.
But for me, the performances are the standout.

Hwang Jung-Min	Yoo Ah-In	Yu Hae-Jin	Oh Dal-Su	Jang Yoon-Ju
Det. Seo Do-Cheol	Jo Tae-Oh	Director Choi	Team Leader Oh	Miss Bong

 http://asianwiki.com/Veteran_-_Korean_Movie

 These are just a few of the cast, its a very fine ensemble

"Yoo Ah-in, playing the character of Jo Tae-oh — the uber rich, spoilt son of a chaebol — is the counterpoint and he certainly excels himself in the way that Willem Dafoe or Dennis Hopper would be proud. As the untouchable son, he takes to the portrayal of mean, cruel, amoral asshole like a duck to water and he makes you squirm with discomfort. Often it is too much but this is the director’s call and the actor obeys with relish, all with a wickedly delicious grin. Women, men, dogs, and his deputy are all treated like shit when it takes his fancy. His father is the only person that he fears and possibly respects. Some very uncomfortable viewing but brilliant acting it certainly is."

You can read more of my review for Filmed in Ether here
It's run in Korea is at an end, though it was shown at BIFF 2015 and it is currently showing in Australia. Well worth a visit!

BIFF 2015 - Up Close & Personal

The thing I love the most about BIFF, apart from the great programming, is the GV's or guest visits. They work hard to make it a filmmakers festival and invite lots of directors, producers and actors to attend the festival. It's a great chance to hear it straight from the horses mouth and to meet and greet if you are in the right place at the right time. My festival program revolved around GV's and pretty much every film I wanted to see had a GV. The glaring exception was Sion Sono but I have heard from him at past festivals and hey I got to meet him at BIFAN earlier this year. The other which was a bit more disappointing was Hong Sang Soo (his one GV was booked out very early on) and Brillante Mendoza (not in attendance) but I got to see Taklub, his latest film.

Ode to my Father - Yoon Je-kyoon

This film spans the history of South Korea from the civil war up to today and is a classic example of how to play the audiences emotions. I wept on at least six different occasions and on some I couldn't keep watching. This man is a meastro of sadness, melancholy and nostalgia and he played me like a violin. 
Zubaan - Mozez Singh
This was a world premiere and it is a debut feature plus it opened the festival, a lot of firsts!
A great movie about destiny and music is central to the plot. The music is hybrid Bollywood/modern along with some traditional spiritual Punjabi. A beautiful visual feast.

Director Mozez Singh

Sarah Jane Dias

Manish Chaudhari & 설화

Lav Diaz & Hazel Orencia (Filipino Royalty)

 Not showing any films this year but he was over to talk about work in progress of the latest film Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis and show a few clips. Having reviewed a couple of his films and conversed via email it was a real treat to meet him in person and have a bit of a chin wag.

Stop - Kim Ki duk

Hiromitsu Takeda

Kim Ki duk & fan pose for selfie

Tsubasa Nakae

The gang at the Q&A

Not his best and it did suffer from the production values, a result of shooting it on location in Japan with only him as the crew! But the acting is good and the message is right.

Office - Hong Won chan

Sungwoong Park 박성웅, Hyunkyung Ryu 류현경,Asung Ko 고아성 & Hong Wonchan 홍원찬

What a cracker this was. Tight and compelling with at least five 'jump out of your seat' moments. A thrilling story of how fucked up the office politics can get and the pressures the workers face on a daily basis.

Asung Ko 고아성

She may look cute but she is a mad, cold killer though the circumstance that compel her to such behavior are not in her control and a product of the system. She gets away with it all to apply for another intern position in a different company. She also had a role in Hong Sangsoo's film Right Now Wrong Then. Her diversity and range is very inspirational.














Highway to Hellas - Aron Lehmann
A very funny German comedy set in Greece about banking. Ironic but true!

Aron Lehmann & Producer

A Korean in Paris - Jeon Soo-il A surreal searching for movie that has many open ended questions.

Mi Kwan Lock, one of the stars from A Korean in Paris

What a absolute treat of a festival and this year I was only there for five days. Looking forward to the next already.

Busan - a view from a bus

Exiting Busan rather than catching the subway to the KTX station advantage was taken with free tickets on the Busan City Tour Bus. Sitting on the open top deck afforded some sights of the city until now unseen. And what a delight, perfect weather matched a very scenic tour. As South Korea's second largest, it's not quite the megacity of Seoul but set on the ocean it's a beautiful, big visual feast. This here the home of BIFF, I love this city!

The commute

ever building

bridges

elevated transport

more bridges

The Docks

and more docks

natural headlands

and unnatural headlands

Harbour Views

spanning the harbour

The Cinema Centre

The Fish Markets

The River

The Apartments

The sun sets on this glorious city

This was my third visit to this city and I will return, still so much to see and do. Maybe one day without the distraction of that little annual film festival they hold? We shall see.