Reel Asian Film Festival

12th TORONTO REEL ASIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The 2008 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival will celebrate its 12th year as Canada’s longest-running showcase of contemporary cinema by East Asian moviemakers from around the world, including Canada! Reel Asian fosters the exchange of cultural and artistic ideals between East and West and is a community-based festival that attracts thousands of attendees to five frenetic days of screenings, industry panels, workshops, receptions and galas.

The official 2008 selection of Reel Asian will present a diverse selection of the best movies from 14 countries Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore/Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam, USA and Canada, and includes fifty-six premieres, (14 World premieres, 4 North American Premieres, 17 Canadian Premieres, 19 Toronto Premieres, 2 Mississauga Premieres). The highlights include: Opening Night Gala, Closing Night Gala, Canadian Spotlight, Centerpiece Presentation, Retrospective, Special Presentations, Industry series, Features, Documentaries, Shorts and Special Events.
For more information on schedule, tickets and prices of films, check the reel Asian web site at:
http://torontoreelasian.bside.com

To aid in your selection of films, capsule reviews are provided below for a few of the screened films.  Based on what I have seen, the selection of films is impressive.

ADRIFT IN TOKYO (Japan 2007) ***
Directed by Satoshi Miki

Unable to pay a huge debt, student loser Takemura (Heart throb Joe Odagiri) is forced to accompany tough collector with a heart, Fukuhara (Tomokazu Miura) on a walking tour of Tokyo.  More than a road trip than anything else, ADRIFT IN TOKYO is most interesting when it reveals the nuances of this huge city – such as the presence of speciality shops like the little one owned by ‘Shinjuku Mama’.  Director Miki’s keen observation of his characters, humour and attention to odd details keep his film interesting from start to finish.  But do not expect any logic otherwise.  What happened to Takemura’s schooling?  And the protagonists’ pasts?  ADRIFT is the closing film of the festival.

THE DRUMMER (HK, Taiwan, Germany 2007) ***
Directed by Kenneth Bi

A crowd-pleaser and winner of many international festival awards, Kenneth Bi’s (who graduated from Brock University in Canada) third feature could also be entitled SHAO LIN DRUMMERS.  Banished from Hong Kong to Taiwan by his gangster father (Tony Leung Ka Fai), hot headed Sid (Jaycee Chan, son of Jackie Chan) gets life lessons while learning how to drum in the mountains of Taiwan.  Bi’s film works better during its furious start but despite the excitement of the drums, his film meanders into clichéd territory that includes a love interest with a young drummer (Angelica Lee).  But the main attraction of the film is the performance of the Chinese Zen drummers.  Jackie Chan’s son, Jaycee shows promise as a rising star.

HANSEL AND GRETEL (South Korea 2007) ****
Directed by Yim Pil-Sung

One can tell something is wrong when Eun-su (Cheon Jeong Myeong) comes across a house in the middle of the woods that goes by the name ‘Home of the Happy Children’.  Stranded the second day without a means of escape, he is duty bound to look after the three kids left behind by their awkwardly behaving parents.  Director Yim keeps the audience guessing at what the story is all about in his strange tale told in ‘days’ the protagonist is held unknowingly captive.  The one similarity to the Grimm fairy tale is the book the children keep in hiding.  Yim plays his dark tale with bright colours creating a wickedly sinister atmosphere by the use of various techniques as repetitive movement of toys/ornaments, nursery rhyme tunes, sounds, lighting and mostly his odd but effective camera tracking.  When you think the film is about to run out of ideas, Yim ups the angst by adding weirder and weirder occurrences into the story like the introduction of new visitors (the Christian deacon pedophile and his child abusing kleptomaniac wife).  A brilliant script by Kim Min Suk turned into a deliciously wicked film with a surprising moving ending.

FLOWER IN THE POCKET (Malaysia 2007) ***1/2
Directed by Liew Sent Tat

This charming tale of two mischievous Chinese boys, Ma Li Ahh and Ma Li Ohm displays a slice of Malaysian life hardly known to the world.  The 2 brothers fight, share a puppy, attend school and to chores while dealing with a father who shows his love in the strangest way (like by teaching them how to swim without water).  Liew is fond of long takes and stationary camera with his actors performing within his frame.  Though the film is dead serious in its presentation, Liew’s charm is ever present and he also shows his talent for comedy as in one laugh-out loud segment involving the father’s visit to a doctor.  Filmed in 4 languages that are spoken by the actors, Malay, Mandarin, Hokkien and English, noticeable however is the missing Indian element.  Still, FLOWER IN THE POCKET is refreshing and especially nostalgic for audiences like myself who have emigrated from that part of the world.