My Asian Film Odyssey

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I get this question a lot: what’s a nice girl like you doing watching a film like this?  Meaning, how in the world did you get into Asian film?

This is what I can piece together.  I have two brothers, and as a result it was obligatory for our family to go see Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury.  Yes, I was barely born (don’t do that math!), but I distinctly remember being in a theater watching that scene where Chen Zhen finds out about those guys who poisoned his teacher!  In addition, there was a steady stream of samurai movies and Saturday kung fu theater in my house.

Fast forward to me, child prodigy slightly older with a job and disposable income. Probably as a result of those brothers, I continue to like those “boy” movies, so of course Jet Li and Jackie Chan came across my radar, and some guy named Chow Yun Fat.  However, I kept hearing rumors that their Hong Kong stuff was infinitely better.  And to my surprise, I found such treasures in my local video rental place, and later, on Netflix.  So I started my contemporary interest in Asian film by watching every Hong Kong  Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Chow Yun Fat film I could get my hands on.  See, when you watch Bullet In The Head, you wonder why The Corruptor was ever committed to celluloid.  Watching these films then  hipped me to other actors, like Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Leon Lai, Ekin Cheng, Aaron Kwok, Louis Koo, Nicholas Tse, Donnie Yen (DONNIE!) Tony Leung Ka Fai, Brigette Lin, Maggie Cheung, Lau Chin Wan, Takeshi Kaneshiro, etc, and directors like Johnnie To, Andrew Lau, Peter Chan, Dante Lam, Tsui Hark, etc.

Needless to say, traid and wuxia films are in heavy rotation, but I watch other stuff too.  Not crazy about mo lau tai comedies.  Love a good drama, thriller (not scary), like Memories of Murder (that was the bomb!). Contemporary Japanese stuff like Nana (I LOVE this movie), Densha Otoko, Honey and Clover, Hana and Alice, Kamikaze Girls, Linda Linda Linda, Samurai Fiction, Old School Japanese stuff like Street Fighter, Zatoichi, etc.  And then a friend of mine asked, “Have you seen Oldboy?” And then the world changed….

That began the Korean part of my journey:  Chan Wook-Park’s vengeance trilogy taught me a recurrent lesson: the Koreans are hardcore!  But I also like the quirky stuff like Attack the Gas Station, The Quiet Family, Marrying the Mafia, etc.

Now, except for horror and crazy, supercalafragilistic violence (I parted ways with Takeshi Miike a while ago), I’ll watch pretty much anything.  I watch stuff that people consider mediocre, and while I may not always watch stuff considered important (yes, Wong Kar Wai, this is only you), I do know why it’s important and eventually make my way to it.

What would I tell people who want to get into watching Asian film?  That’s hard, I know my tastes are all over the place.  I would say start with Hong Kong film, it’s more accessible than say, the Korean movie Save the Green Planet or the Japanese movie The Taste of Tea.  Something like Infernal Affairs (since Scorcese jacked it for The Departed, it may seem familiar.  Yes, I can’t let it go), or a romantic comedy like Needing You.  If you like a particular genre, there are lots to choose from.

That’s where I’ve been.  Who knows where I’m going?

Iljimae (2008): “Wait and See What I Steal Next”

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SPOILFEST AHEAD!

I’m always excited to see a wuxia drama from Korea; we get so few.  They got the historical drama on lockdown, tho!  Like a lot of Korean popular culture, Iljimae can be a little brutal. Many wuxia stories require the elimination of the parents, sometimes the entire family, but the WAY the drama introduces you to the brutal world of the Joseon Dynasty is ridiculous!  It’s one thing to have your father killed, it’s another to have to watch it go down. It’s one thing to have to not acknowledge your mother in the street, it’s another to have to throw a rock at her head! No wonder dude has a nervous breakdown.

Continue reading “Iljimae (2008): “Wait and See What I Steal Next”” →

Taking it Back!: Dragon Inn (1992)

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It’s been a while….let’s watch a film together!

So Tsui Hark, in true George Lucas style, has decided to revisit something he’s already done, fairly well.  While we wait for the “New and Improved Dragon Inn,” let’s see what’s up with the 1992 movie.  He’s cast Jet Li and Xun Zhou (she was in the 2003 version of Legend of the Condor Heroes playing Huang Rong, this might not be a bad thing), but they got BIG shoes to fill.  Let’s see!  Comments are welcome all month long!!!!

Boys Over Flowers: The Aestheticization of the Korean Male? Or THEY’RE SO PRETTY!!!!!!

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Dedicated to my Kdrama Kousin, Emily!

Welcome to the inaugural post for the new category on High Yellow, the Kdrama Kafe! Spoilers ahead (like you haven’t seen it!)

Now, Boys Over Flowers is not my first kdrama, but I can see why it is much beloved.  And like many, I like it for the Boys! But let’s dispense with the girls first.  I can’t figure out if I’m not enamored with the actress who plays Jan Di, or Jan Di herself.  She starts out great: fiesty, sassy, and violent.  But as the series wears on, I can’t believe how passive-passive she gets.  Even her sidekick-friend Ga Eul has more character growth than she does.  But to her credit, she still wants to make her own way.  She could be nicer to Gu Jun Pyo.

Speaking of the men…..I know that this is based on a Japanese manga, Hana Yori Dango, which spawned a Japanese drama and a Taiwanese drama, but the Koreans showed why they OWN the drama.  Just for my own edification, I decided to watch the first episode of the other two, particularly the introduction of F4, to test a theory.  In Hana Yori Dango, the female progatonist seems more anti-F4, but F4 themselves do not strike me as particularly enviable.  In Meteor Shower, the Taiwanese version, the creators do a slightly better job of making you think these are privelged sons of industry (or in Woo Bin’s case, illegitimate industry). But the introduction of F4 in Boys Over Flowers convinced me that F4 was every bit as priveleged and snotty  as they are supposed to be, at least in the beginning.  They roll into school with that halo of light behind them with expressions that imply, “What?”

So why do I like them?  Because whoever styled them deserves a medal, hence the theme of this post!  These guys are dressed, I mean DRESSED.  Who sports white suits, canes and fur to go to school?  They are pimptastic! For real, it takes a special man to rock eyelet (yes, I’m talking to you Kim Bum!).  Now, some may argue that I am objectifying these young men, not allow them to be fully realized human beings with thoughts and feelings. Hey, I’m all ears to hear whatever they got to say. Hit me up on the blog! 🙂

But I think there is another way to read this.  Way back in the day, intentional clothes mattered. They were emblems of personal style and expression. When people dressed for dinner. You know you’ve caught yourself watching some old movie from Hollywood’s glamour period.  I can remember my mom talking about how they looked forward to dressing up on the weekend to go dancing (not even trying to put my mom in Hollywood’s golden age; she would kill me for putting her age on blast on the internet).  You don’t even have to go back that far. F4 reminds me of the New Romantics of the 80s. Clothes may not give us world peace, but there is a tradition of intentional dressing, significant to communities the world over.  It means something. And that’s what I like about the Boys in Boys Over Flowers.  THEY’RE SO PRETTY! And I say that with much love and affection!

So to close out the post in an appropriate manner, here’s a little video!  Gentlemen of the world, remember, women love a well dressed man! Shout out to SS501, who make that sneaky cameo in Boys Over Flowers! Oh, and one question: where does one find a Lincoln Continental in Korea?

Anticipation!

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It’s times like these where I want to pack it up and move to the other side of the planet.  This week sees the release of two films I want to see, as well as my discovery of a trailer of a third upcoming release!

So, who wouldn’t want a sequel to Fist of Fury, even forty-odd years after the fact? Bring on Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen!

The genius, the brilliance of this, is the pimp-slap to the impending Green Hornet movie with the mask.  I’ve been waiting for Chen Zhen to come back for years!  You know my luv for Donnie, and I’m satisfied that he’s doing the action direction, and Andrew Lau is directing.  Color me happy!

While searching for that, I had heard tell of this other movie, starring Andy Lau, Nic Tse and Wu Jing. IMDB had been keeping it under wraps, but that’s what the ‘net is for!  Bring on Shaolin!

See, that’s all you had to say: Andy Lau, Nic Tse, Benny Chan directing and Corey Yuen choreographing.  Did I mention the cameo by Jackie Chan, whom I’m being more nice to these days?  This isn’t due in theaters until January 2011, so longer anticipation!

Speaking of Andy Lau, eagerly awaiting the release of Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee and the Mysterious Flame.

That’s right, I don’t speak Chinese, but I know I’m going to see it anyway! It’s like CSI waaaaaaaaaay back in the day. In my opinion, Hark can be uneven with his work, but this is his thing!  And, I’ve long been of the opinion that anyone gets better looking in a goatee (go Andy! call me!).

So, I sit in anticipation.  Sure, they look good. All these movies may suck, but I’m no professional critic.  The only standard that counts is mine: do I like it? And I like a lot of stuff.  Then there’s the academic part: is it significant for various reasons? Again, this covers a lot of stuff. For example, last week I didn’t like The Good, The Bad and the Weird, but I think it is significant in its translation of the Western to Korean culture via a film set in Manchuria.  You know I’ll watch it regardless and report back.

Until then, me……anticipating!

One of These Things Just Doesn’t Belong: The Good, The Bad and the Weird (2008)

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Let me preface this by declaring my love of the quirky, dark Korean movie.  I loved the dysfunction of The Quiet Family (1998), and the domestic hitman vibe of Guns and Talks (2001). So I’m thinking I’m going to like The Good, The Bad and The Weird.  It’s seems to have so much going for it. C’mon, gunslinging Koreans in Manchuria!  Byung-hun Lee AND Kang-ho Song from Joint Security Area!  A bounty hunter and a treasure map!

And yet, it’s missing something, some Korean goodness that makes a quirky Korean film…..well, quirky.  Quite frankly, I was bored. YES, bored watching a Korean movie!!!!  Is that even possible?  It had high production value; it’s a well-made movie technically -speaking. But I just couldn’t care less about the plot or the characters. I stopped this thing twice before getting through it.  Now, I know all Korean films are not quirky, dark comedies or tense dramas or crazy action.  This isn’t any of those, but it’s not much of anything else. I just can’t put my finger on it, but I can sum it up:  not good, just bad and weird!

Let’s Do It Again

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I love a good remake.  Let me say this again: I love a GOOD remake.  I’m not down for “reimagining” somebody else’s film just because you think you can do it better (yeah, Scorsese, I’m talkin’ to you).

So I’m intrigued when hearing about some interesting Asian film remakes on the horizon.

Donnie Yen is supposed to be revising the angry young man theme in his remake of Fist of Fury. I like Donnie, so I’m looking forward to this and I’m particularly intrigued by what he plans to do with all that anti-Japanese sentiment from the original.  When Jet Li when this route, you practically forgot the Japanese were even in this movie.

Then there’s the Dragon Inn remake.  Yes, it’s supposed to star Jet Li but what I’m really interested in is who is going to reprise the roles that made me want to be Bridgette Lin and Maggie Cheung when I grow up.  Any suggestions?  Michelle Yeoh seems like an obvious choice, but I guess we’ll see.  What did Tsui Hark forget to do the first time around?  I hope this is better than his Seven Swords soiree.

But this is the most trippy of all:  the Korean version of John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow.  I found this trailer, and I don’t understand Korean, but I immediately could tell that this was A Better Tomorrow:

Now, just cause you put on a white suit and some shades and roll with a couple of guns doesn’t automatically make you Mark.  But given my penchant for Korean film, I’m willing to give it a shot. And given the tendency for Korean films to be crazy good, this may be one of those remakes I love.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

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So no writing on women on wuxia yet, but I’ve been thinking that I’m going to eliminate Project A from the article.  Both The Young Warriors and Eagle Shooting Heroes are period wuxia stories, whereas Project A is turn of the century.  Plus, The Young Warriors has Mama Yang, which allows me to talk about motherhood and the relationship between mothers and kung fu like I was with Project A.

On a related note, I remember reading an article maybe by King-kok Cheung a long time ago on how writers like Frank Chin focused on the warrior Chinese legend as a reflection of Chinese masculinity, and completely ignored the scholar.  In my umpteenth watching of Red Cliff and reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I’m thinking of maybe writing something on masculinity and the strategist.  I polled my class, and while their favorite brother is Guan Yu, their favorite character is Zhuge Liang (mine too! it has nothing to do with the fact that Takeshi Kaneshiro playing him in the movie).  They like him because he is clever and I just wonder if this is the model of a different mode of Chinese masculinity, whereas one is a great man because you are smart.  Hmmmm.   Reminds me of a line from Paul Beatty’s The White Boy Shuffle, “You ain’t hard. Calculus is hard!”

Haeundae (2009): We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat!

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I confess, I love disaster movies (actual disasters, not so much).  But disaster movies are not all about the big spectacle.  Sure, we expect to see buildings fall and cars get swept away, but the only way we care about the big spectacle is because of the small spectacle.  I’m talking about the dysfunctional personal relationships that accompany any good disaster movie.  And Haeundae has them aplenty!

Haeundae puts some tragedy up front, but Korean movie fans know to expect that the small spectacle that is the family dynamic, and Haeundae does not disappoint.  I know Koreans have very loving family relationships, but if films like Haeundae, The Host, and The Quiet Family are any indication, those relationships can also be pretty off the chain!  And yet Haeundae works its magic, because you care about the alcoholic brother wracked with guilt, the workaholic scientist whose warnings go unheeded (another must in the disaster film), the hapless lifeguard who gets swept up in the bizarre beach drama among college students.  Otherwise, when the big wave comes, they’d just be a bunch of folk who can’t swim.

Women and Wuxia

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Ok, I’ve put it off long enough.  It’s about time I started my women and wuxia article.

This is what I have so far:

At the end of Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, the novel posits a reimagining (?) of the woman warrior narrative, suggesting that the way of peace is ultimately better.  That may be true, but it seems to play down the huge legacy of woman warriors in the wuxia tradition. Beyond Mulan, wuxia is crowded with women who can (and often do) beat you down.  Yet in many of the wuxia films, these women are placed in oppositional roles related to men.  The implication of Kingston’s book seems to be that it’s too hard to be a woman warrior, or at best, being a woman and being a warrior are antithetical.

This notion is challenged, not so much by wuxia films, but by wuxia dramas.  I intend to examine three to show how this dichotomy is negotiated in ways that allow women to be women and warriors.  I’ll be looking at three figures:

The Kung Fu Couple:  The most recent incarnation of Eagle Shooting Heroes (2008) continues to represent the relationship between Huang Rong and Guo Jing as one that is more egalitarian than one might expect.  Not only is Huang Rong trained in kung fu by her father, for a good deal of the series, her ability surpasses Guo Jing’s. And yet, they remain a couple.  Hmmmmm.

Mothers and Sons: We’ve seen mothers teach their sons kung fu in movies such as Fong Sai Yuk, and this tradition extends to the wuxia series as well in Project A.

Kung Fu Matriarch: Probably one of the most intriguing examples of women and wuxia is in the series,The Young Warriors.  You’ve heard me wax poetic about Mama Yang, but what is really interesting is that she is a kung fu mama AND a regular mama.  She’ll correct your form, but also give you dating advice.  All while sporting those red robes, well-coiffed hairdo and perfectly manicured hands.

So this is where I am. Updates to follow!

Election (2005), Dir. Johnnie To

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With the crazy popularity of Hong Kong director Johnnie To, it seems that the hip, cool thing to do is to poo-poo his films, almost like people are tired of him making good films. You know who you are…….

Which is why I’m going global with this declaration: I love a Johnnie To film! That’s right, I’ve said it. And one of my favorites is Election. I just showed it in a class recently, and I realized that, like any good film I like, it’s better subsequent times around!

If you’ve gone through the Young and Dangerous series, every John Woo film he made before skipping town for Hollywood, and nearly every permutation of triad-mob story-Chinese gangster movie, your expectations for seeing something new in a triad film may be low.  Even if you’ve seen Johnnie To’s other triad movies (shout out to The Mission), Election gives you what you expect in a Johnnie To movie (appropriate music (yes, I’m still referencing The Mission), domestic scenes with men, mood lighting).  What I think is keen about Election is the tribute it pays to old-school gangsterism.  Before you had semi-automatic weapons, you had to use what was at hand.  And Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Simon Yam use WHATEVER is at hand!  Back when people had, to borrow a sentiment from Miller’s Crossing, “ethics.”

That’s right, I love a Johnnie To film, and I don’t care who knows it!

Who Do You Want to Meet?: Actresses

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Remember me telling you that while the actors were extremely difficult, the actresses would be easy?  Here we go……..

This barely merits deep thought:  Brigette Lin!  Booyah!

Don’t get me wrong, I like other actresses and even some of the starlets (i.e. who were those naked people in those pictures), but I will stop what I’m doing to watch Brigette Lin.  Here’s how deep it is: I will watch a Wong Kar Wai movie with Brigette Lin in it!

She just captures the screen like nobody, and nobody does the androgynous thing like Brigette. She not only makes you believe that women can be swordswomen, but they can be cool in the process.  There are just a few rules you have to remember.  Don’t lie to her (Bride with White Hair).  Don’t be a man and lie to her (Bride with White Hair 2).  Don’t mess with her musical instruments (Deadful Melody).  Keep it to the city (Dragon Inn).  Hands off her kung fu manual (Swordsman 2).

And it pains me that I have not seen Peking Opera Blues. Sniff.

She may not be the most prolific, but she is magic when she’s on the screen.

When I grow up, I want to be just…….like…….her.

Rock the Bells: Ding Dong Suckers!

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So I’m finishing The Master of Tai Chi, and noticed just a passing shot that featured a large bell, which got me to thinking how prominently bells are featured in wuxia dramas. Surely there is something to this.

Need to stash your super secret kung fu manual? Carve it on the inside of a bell.  Not only is this the case in The Patriotic Knights, I also think this trick is used in the old school Return of the Condor Heroes ’83.

Wanna deliver some old school justice?  Put your adversary in a bell and set a fire like in  The Legendary Warrior. This move is particularly satisfying, but you gotta commit to watching the whole thing to find out why. Schnacky!

However much I may like the large bells, my favorite use of bells are small bells.  While our ninja friends may value stealth and secrecy, nothing beats the sheer coolness of wearing a bell, or several.  Romance of the Red Dust is NOT my favorite series, but I’ll watch that for dude with bells on his belt.  Which he rings just before he kills you.  Or chickie in…..you guessed it….The Patriotic Knights, whose staff has bells.  She can’t be more than a teenager, but I’ve seen her mess people twice her age up with that staff!

What do bells say?  They say, “I’m so bad, I don’t care if  you know I’m coming!”  Now, all I need to do is find some……..

Who Do You Want To Meet?: Actors

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Recently, the New York Asian Film Festival announced that it would give a lifetime achievement award to, among others, Sammo Hung. I contemplated long and hard making the trek just to see the kung fu godfather, but alas, my plans would not allow.  But it got me thinking: who would I jump in a car, drive all night just to see, in the flesh?  The answers may surprise you. (This is actors; actresses and directors to follow).

First, let’s just get the biggies out the way.  If Andy Lau, either of the Tony Leungs, Anthony Wong, Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Leon Lai, Lau Ching Wan, Donnie Yen, Jet Li , Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chow Yun Fat, or Jackie Chan came knocking, I’m not going to protest.  So with the usual suspects out of the way, let’s get started.

Roy Cheung!   This man is one of the most underrated Hong Kong actor.  He takes those small parts he has, and turns them into GOLD!  The Mission? YES!  And how could I forget he was in Storm Riders (musta been blinded by the reflection off of Ekin Cheng’s hair).  The epitome of evil in one of those Young and Dangerouses (I lose count).  He’s one of my favorite people to see in a film.

Lam Suet!  Mostly because he is a chameleon, and I want to know what kind of Faustian bargain he’s made with Johnnie To to star in nearly every film he does.

Stephen Fung! He intrigues me.  While I know he has multiple careers going on, he takes on interesting roles.  I liked his character in All About Women.  He seems like an accessible guy. (Stephen, call me!)

Let’s be clear: I’m not turning down ANY opportunity to meet any of my Asian celluloid heroes, but these particular guys strike me as different.  The actors are difficult to narrow down. The actresses are remarkably easier.

So, who do you want to meet?

There Must Be Some Mistake….

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This happened to me, and it may happen to you too.  I ordered this movie called The Storm Warriors, and there is clearly a mistake, because I don’t know what movie they put in my DVD case.  It vaguely looks like The Storm Warriors….it’s got the same characters from The Storm Riders, but what the heck is this?  Who let the Pang Brothers loose on this story?  Way to kill a franchise!

I suppose I should say something nice.  It is a visually interesting film, I will give it that.  Lots of the wind and flying hair we’ve come to love about Wind and Cloud. Interesting use of different techniques, especially in the battlefield scenes. But it’s dark…not dark in tone, but DARK, like you can’t see a whole lot dark.  What’s the use of action sequences when you can’t see the action?

I think my biggest complaint is with the LACK OF PLOT.  I mean, I know we are supposed to know Wind and Cloud, and I love Wind and Cloud (from Storm Riders), but I don’t care about Wind and Cloud in this film. C’mon, if you are going to jack the film (Pang Bros., I’m talkin to you), then at least give us something new.  Anyone with a modicum of film-watching experience  could have seen this coming a mile away.  Wow, Cloud is moody and Wind is sensitive.  Really?

And what is up with Heart?  You know Nicholas Tse is my boo (and you can tell him), but his character is completely wasted here. Don’t get me started on Simon Yam.

And can we please dispense with the naive female swordswoman who gets knocked down even though she’s hanging out with legendary swordsmen or is the daughter of a legend?  Please?  PLEASE!?!?!?!??!