Scene from the Korean film Ode To My Father, also known as International Market.
On Sunday, July 19, the Dollar Cinema in Montreal will show the Korean film Ode to My Father (국제시장 in Korean and also known as International Market, and Gukje Market in English) at 7 p.m.
Admission is free, thanks to the Korean Embassy to Canada, in Ottawa.
The film is the fictional story of Deok-su, and the time frame is the 1950s to 1980s. Locations include Hungnam, North Korea, Busan, South Korea, Germany and Vietnam. The hardships and poverty endured by Deok-su and his family are representative of things that many Koreans experienced during those difficult years. The film was probably a revelation for many younger Koreans and for foreigners, too.
German scene from the Korean film Ode To My Father, also known as International Market.
Hwang Jung-min plays Deok-su; Kim Yunjin plays his wife, and Oh Dal-su provides some comic relief. Ode to My Father is directed by Yoon Je-kyun.
The Dollar Cinema: 6900 Décarie Square
Across from the Namur Metro, or via bus lines 17, 160, 161, and 166.
Scene from the Korean film Ode To My Father, also known as International Market.
Karl Fischer as Dr. Sigmund Freud, Tobias Moretti as Count Geza von Kozsnom in the Austrian film Therapy For a Vampire.
Therapy for a Vampire is a little confection from Austria, something to while away 87 minutes early on Friday afternoon.
The conceit is that a vampire consults Sigmund Freud in his Vienna office, in 1932. In the evening, of course. Count Geza von Kozsnom says that his life has lost its bite, that he has seen it all, that his blood runs cold, that he is tired of this endless night. Naturally, the good doctor assumes that his new patient is using the language of metaphor. Ha!
The Count no longer loves his wife, Elsa, and he’s had it with her constant questioning: “How do I look?” It’s that old problem with the mirrors, you know.
In a parallel situation, sort of, are Lucy and Viktor. Their relationship is rocky. He’s a painter who lives in the requisite garret and Lucy is his model and girlfriend. He never paints her as she really is, a bruntte with a bun, he paints a fantasy blonde, instead. Lucy is very hurt and insulted by this. (She doesn’t visit Freud, though.)
One day, who knows why, Lucy arrives at Viktor’s place in a bright orange dress, with her hair curled and dyed blonde. All the neighbourhood men are sending her chocolates and flowers and Viktor doesn’t like that one bit. Lucy’s new look reminds the Count of his long-lost true love, Nadila, who promised him that she’d be reincarnated some day.
The Count sends Elsa to Viktor to get her portrait painted; when it’s finished, she will know what she looks like; in the meantime, he will be freeto spend time with Lucy, telling her about her past life.
Viktor is quite happy to meet the mysterious Countess, and seems willing to forget about Lucy, but changing partners is not going to be as simple as all that.
Therapy for a Vampire, Horror/Comedy, Austria, (2014) 87 min., DCP, German, with English subtitles
Director: David Rühm
Screenplay: David Rühm
Cast: Tobias Moretti, Jeanette Hain, Cornelia Ivancan, Dominic Oley
Company: Picture Tree International
Therapy for a Vampire
Friday, July 17, 2015, 12:45 p.m.
J.A. de Sève Theatre, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14-Aug. 4, 2015. Read more about the festival at fantasiafestival.com
Go Soo, left, and Han Suk-kyu in the Korean film The Royal Tailor, one of 12 feature flms from South Korea being shown at the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. The Royal Tailor is a period film with beautiful costumes and court intrigue.
The Fantasia International Film Festival (July 14- August 4, 2015) is showing 12 feature films from South Korea this year. Two of them, A Hard Day and Socialphobia, will be shown twice, the rest get one screening only. There are two animated films, Crimson Whale and On the White Planet, palace politics in The Royal Tailor, larger world politics in Assassination, tragedy at sea in Haemoo, gangsters and real estate in Gangnam Blues, gangsters and gambling in Tazza: The Hidden Card. A man is manipulated into playing a deadly game in Big Match. Read below for more information about the films. To see more photos from these films, check out a post I wrote for the Korea-Canada blog.
South Korean films at The Fantasia International Film Festival, by date:
Thursday, July 16, 21:30: OFFICE
Saturday, July 18, 14:15: CRIMSON WHALE
Monday, July 20, 17:15: A HARD DAY
Monday, July 20, 21:40 GANGNAM BLUES
Wednesday, July 22, 17:15: THE ROYAL TAILOR
Friday, July 24, 16:00 ON THE WHITE PLANET
Sunday, July 26, 11:45 TAZZA: THE HIDDEN CARD
Monday, July 27, 21:50 HAEMOO
Wednesday, July 29, 18:45: BIG MATCH
Saturday, August 1, 21:45: SOCIALPHOBIA
Monday, August 3, 12:30: A HARD DAY
Tuesday, August 4, 12:30: SOCIALPHOBIA
Tuesday, August 4, 18:36: ASSASSINATION
South Korean films at The Fantasia International Film Festival are listed below, in alphabetical order, with plot details, stars, directors and dates and theatres. Click on a film’s title for more information; that will take you its page on the Fantasia web site.
ASSASSINATION
A political thriller set in 1933, when Korea was under Japanese occupation. Directed by Choi Dong-hoon, with Gianna Jun, Lee Jung-jae, Ha Jung-woo, Oh Dal-soo, Cho Jin-woong.
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015, at 18:35, Concordia Hall Theatre
BIG MATCH
Lee Jeong-jae plays a mixed-martial artist suspected of murder in this thriller-action-comedy directed by Choi Ho. Other stars include Shin Ha-kyun, singer BoA, Lee Seong-min, Kim Eui-sung.
Wednesday, July 29, at 18:45, Concordia Hall Theatre
CRIMSON WHALE
Science-fantasy set in a devastated future, directed by Park Hye-mi, with voices from Lee Ji-sook, Kim Sung-in, Lee Young-gi, Kim Ji-hyung
Saturday, July 18, 14:15, J.A. de Sève Theatre
GANGNAM BLUES
Set in the 1970s when the now ritzy neighbourhood was just farmland and violent and unscrupulous types with dreams of riches made a killing, in more ways than one. Directed by Yoo Ha, with Lee Min-ho, Kim Rae-won, Jung Jin-young, Kim Ji-soo, Kim Seol-hyun
Monday, July 20, 2015, 21:40, Concordia Hall Theatre
HAEMOO (SEA FOG)
Greed and fear lead to horrific events at sea. Haemoo is based on a real-life tragedy. Directed by: Shim Sung-bo, with Kim Yun-seok, Park Yu-chun, Han Ye-ri, Moon Sung-keun, Kim Sang-ho.
Monday, July 27, 21:50, Concordia Hall Theatre
A HARD DAY
A crooked cop with lots to hide gets calls from someone who knows way too much about his illegal activities. Directed by Kim Seong-hun, with Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Jin-woong, Shin Jung-geun, Jung Man-sik.
Monday, July 20, 2015, 17:15, Concordia Hall Theatre
Monday, Aug. 3 • 12:30, J.A. de Sève Theatre
OFFICE
A murderer is on the loose in an office building. Directed by Hong Won-chan, with Ko A-sung, Park Sung-woong, Bae Seong-woo, Kim Eui-sung, Ryu Hyun-kyung.
Thursday, July 16, 21:30, Concordia Hall Theatre
ON THE WHITE PLANET
“A brooding existential nightmare unfolding within a densely detailed landscape of surreal biological monstrosity, animator Hur Bum-wook’s award-winning debut feature is an intense and troubling tale of violence and vulnerability, hope and despair. Canadian premiere.” Directed by Hur Bum-wook, voices from Hong Bum-ki, Cho Min-su, Seo Yoon-sun, Son Chong-hwan.
Friday, July 24, 16:00, J.A. de Sève Theatre
THE ROYAL TAILOR
Beautiful costumes and palace intrigue in a period drama.
Directed by Lee Won-suk, with Han Seok-kyu, Ko Soo, Park Shin-hye, Yoo Yeon-seok, Ma Dong-seok.
Wednesday, July 22, 17:15, Concordia Hall Theatre
SOCIALPHOBIA
“Social media has scary consequences for two police-tech students and an Internet troll in this masterfully executed first feature film by Hong Seok-jae. Filled with stunning twists and keenly constructed characters . . Winner of the NETPAC and DGK Awards at the Busan Film Festival.” Directed by Hong Seok-jae, with Byun Yo-han, Lee Ju-seung.
Saturday, August 1, 21:45, J.A. de Sève Theatre
Tuesday, August 4, 12:30, J.A. de Sève Theatre
TAZZA: THE HIDDEN CARD
The violent, dirty double-crossing world of gambling. Sequel to Tazza: The High Rollers, with Kim Yun-seok as the baddest of the many bad guys and Choi Seung-hyun, (T.O.P. of boy band Big Bang) as the sort-of hero.
Directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, with Choi Seung-hyun, Shin Sae-kyeong, Yoo Hae-jin, Kwak Do-won, Kim Yun-seok
Sunday, July 26, 11:45, Concordia Hall Theatre
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14-Aug. 4, 2015. Read more about the festival at fantasiafestival.com
The Hall Theatre is in the Hall Building of Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
The J.A. de Sève Theatre is in the J.W. McConnell Building of Concordia University, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Photo opportunity! From left, Fantasia Market & Industry Director Lindsay Peters, Fantasia Marketing Director Marc Lamothe, SODEC President Monique Simard, Fantasia Festival President Pierre Corbeil, Fantastique Week-End du Cinema Quebecoise Director Isabelle Gauvreau pose for a picture before the sold-out screening of Miss Hokusai, on the first day of the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, on Tuesday July 14, 2015. Photo by Liz Ferguson
The first day of the Fantasia International Film Festival got off to a roaring start on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. Every word from the stage in H-110 of the Hall Building was greeted with cheers, applause, whoops of joy, or some combination of all three.
People listened patiently when Marc Lamothe recited a long list of government and private-industry sponsors. Of course they did, because those sponsors allowed a small festival to become the big deal that it is today. Yay, for the sponsors!
All four films shown on Tuesday were sold out: Miss Hokusai, Ant-Man 3D, Therapy for a Vampire and Tangerine.
Miss Hokusai will be shown again at Fantasia on Saturday, July 25, at noon, in the Hall Theatre. Therapy For A Vampire will be shown again on Friday, July 17 at 12:45 p.m. at the J.A. De Sève Theatre. (Maybe nine-to-fivers could ask the boss for a long lunch hour? The film is only 87 minutes long.)
Ant-Man goes into general release in Montreal on Friday, July 17.
I saw Miss Hokusai and Ant-Man 3D, and while they are quite different, I found both quite entertaining.
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14-Aug. 4, 2015. Most screenings take place in two theatres at Concordia University, near the Guy metro. Read more about the festival at fantasiafestival.com
Tickets to the Quebec film Turbo Kid were all snapped up minutes after the box office opened at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Munro Chambers, left, plays the Kid, and Laurence Leboeuf plays Apple.
When it comes to buying tickets for the Fantasia International Film Festival, sooner is much better than later. You might be lucky enough to buy a ticket a few minutes before a film starts, but don’t count on it. Fantasia veterans know this, which is why there is always a very long line outside Concordia University’s Hall Building the first day that tickets go on sale.
Reports on Facebook say that a few hardy souls arrived at 5 a.m. on Saturday, July 11, though the box office would not be opening until 1 p.m.
Tickets for the Japanese film Attack on Titan were in high demand as well. Haruma Miura, above, plays Eren.
Once ticket sales began, two films sold out within minutes, and by the end of the day, six films were sold out.
The two super popular selections were Attack On Titan (Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015 at 21:30) a Japanese film based on a manga and an anime TV series, and Turbo Kid (Thursday, July 23, 2015 at 19:00), a Quebec film that’s been winning praise and prizes at film festivals in the U.S., U.K., Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. It will be heading to South Korea and New Zealand soon. An extra screening of Turbo Kid has been added, at 23: 55 on Friday, July 31.
John DeFore of the Hollywood Reporter calls Turbo Kid: “An endearingly sincere romp through ’80s popcorn-flick tropes” and “a pitch-perfect pastiche that never mocks its inspirations.”
Jordan Crucchiola of Wired writes: “Nothing we saw at Sundance was as much fun as Turbo Kid and the enthusiasm of the filmmakers poured through every frame, infectious enough to turn a room full of indie film fans into kids again.” Ard Vijn of TwitchFilm says: “its creators and co-directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell have infused the film with a mix of homage, parody and kick-assery that is very infectious. . .In every single part of filmmaking, Turbo Kid manages to rise above its expected level of quality.”
The other sold out films (in alphabetical order) are: Cooties (Friday, July 17, 22:00) a U.S. horror-comedy in which elementary school children turn into flesh-hungry little monsters. From the people who brought us Glee and the Saw movies. Very interesting combination, there!
Cop Car(Tuesday, July 28, 19:15) Two young boys steal a car belonging to an evil sheriff, who’s played by Kevin Bacon. Bacon will be here to present the films and answer questions.
Synchronicity(Wednesday, July 22, 19:15) a U.S. time travel film.
A scene from the Austrian film Therapy for a Vampire (Der Vampir auf der Couch) which will be shown twice at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Are those carpets gorgeous, or what?
Therapy For A Vampire (Tuesday, July 14, 19:00) an Austrian comedy which sees a vampire consult pioneering psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. (As I write this, there are still tickets available for a 12:45 p.m. screening on Friday, July 17, 2015.)
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14-Aug. 4, 2015. Read more about the festival at fantasiafestival.com
The Arti-C, centre, a wood-and-metal mechanical man, is the title character of The Arti: The Adventure Begins, an animated film from Taiwan that’s being shown at the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival. On the left is Mo, on the right is his sister Tong. The Arti-C was invented by their late father.
Martial-arts fighters with lightning moves, the clang of swords, the whoosh of garments, special effects and. . . puppets?
Does that ring a bell? Fantasia International Film Festival veterans might remember a wonderful gem from Taiwan called The Legend of the Sacred Stone. For me, it was one of the most impressive films at Fantasia in 2000. Well, the organization behind that film, the Huang family’s Pili Puppetry, is back at Fantasia with The Arti: The Adventure Begins. (奇人密碼－古羅布之謎)
The Arti of the title is actually Arti-C, a wood and metal mechanical man with movable eyebrows and Astroboy ankles. He is like a sibling and a servant for brother-sister orphans Zhang Mo and Zhang Tong, and he’s controlled by a sort of wearable console on Mo’s arm.
Zhang Mo wears the controls for wood-and-metal mechanical man The Arti-C on his left arm.
The film is set in ancient China and contains many familiar themes, in addition to the orphan one. For example: being outcasts/misunderstood while carrying on a father’s work, a desire to restore the family honour and that father’s reputation, going on an adventure to unfamiliar and dangerous lands. The younger sister, Tong, is the “feisty female character” who is quite handy with weapons herself. Mo looks a bit like a manga character, with his hair falling fashionably in his face.
The Arti-C runs on a mysterious power called The Origin, which seems to be petering out. So Mo, Tong and the Arti-C go searching for The Origin’s source. While they are still at the local market, which seems like quite a multinational sort of place, a red-haired woman named Kameedia just blatantly invites herself along on their adventure.
Mechanical musicians in The Arti: The Adventure Begins, an animated film from Taiwan thats on the program of the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival.
In the course of that adventure, they will cross a desert, ride giants camels and insects, get caught in a sandstorm, visit the luxurious palace of the King of Loulan, enter the Arti-C in a martial-arts tournament against many impressive foes, and meet several scary creatures, human and otherwise.
There’s an environmental message, and a “why can’t we all get along” one, too. Before I read any background material about the film, I could tell that Avatar was one of its inspirations.
Stick around when the credits start to roll and you’ll see the creation of the puppets, the sets (some with green-screen backdrops), scenes being shot, and some of the many, many people involved in making the film. The Arti: The Adventure Begins seems to indicate the possibilities of sequels if this first film is popular enough.
The elaborate details of The Arti: The Adventure Begins are quite amazing. Here is a close-up look at a sword.
BTW and FYI: I was curious about the history of mechanical men. While researching that, I came across an interesting article on a Stanford University web site. The title is Man-machine and Artificial Intelligence and it’s written by Bruce Mazlish. It’s adapted from Mazlish’s own book, The Fourth Discontinuity: The Co-evolution of Humans and Machines, Yale University Press, 1993.
Here’s a paragraph from that article: “The wealth of mechanical toys cited in ancient China is awesome. In addition to the flying machine mentioned earlier, mechanized doves and angels, fish, and dragons abounded; automated cup-bearers and wine-pourers were prominent; and hydraulically-moved boats, carrying figures of singing girls, animals, and men in motion are said to have amused the emperors. Of particular interest are the chariots that moved of themselves-auto-mobiles-attributed by legend to the scientist Mo Ti in the fourth century BC. Were they actually wheelbarrows, or “pedicarts”? A mechanical man of jade is reported, as well as all kinds of wooden dolls, gold Buddhist statues, and puppet orchestras.”
Is the Mo Ti mentioned here the same Mo of the film? Maybe not, but maybe the name was inspired by him?
The Arti: The Adventure Begins, will be shown once, on Sunday, July 19, 2015, at 13:00 (1 p.m.) in the Hall Theatre, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., in downtown Montreal. The monsters aren’t so scary that you couldn’t take your children!
The Arti: The Adventure Begins
Sci-Fi / Fantasy/ Animation, Taiwan, 2015,102 min, DCP, Mandarin, with English subtitles
Director: Huang Wen Chang
Screenplay: Huang Liang Hsun
Voice cast: Huang Wen Tze, Ricky Hsiao, A-Lin
Company: Golden Network
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14-Aug. 4, 2015. Read more about the festival at fantasiafestival.com/2015/
Musicians and fans at the music-and-more event called ShazamFest. Photo by Claude Dufresne from the ShazamFest web page.
ShazamFest is a family-friendly, music-and-lots-more festival that will present its tenth edition from July 9-12, 2015, on an organic farm in Barnston West, in the Eastern Townships.
My first reaction to the locale was “Too far, no car,” but after attending a press conference and meeting some of the incredibly friendly, dedicated, passionate people involved in ShazamFest, including its founder, Ziv Przytyk, I’m hoping I can convince one of my friends with a car to take me there, even if only for one day.
Since we’re talking about “one day,” this is a good time to mention that admission to the festival is free on Sunday, July 12.
Musical acts at ShazamFest include Buck 65, Socalled, Bob Log III, The Damn Truth and the Lemon Bucket Orkestra. (In an interview with La Tribune last year, ShazamFest founder Ziv Przytyk said that the vocalist for The Damn Truth has a voice like Janis Joplin’s. Sounds good!) The band Kyriaki will present the Greek music known as Rebetika. See the full lineup and ShazamFest schedule here.
Wrestling demonstration at ShazamFest. Needless to say, this is not wrestling as seen at the Olympics, or the Pan-Am Games. Photo from the ShazamFest web page.
In addition to music, there will be wrestlers and wrestling workshops, circus workshops, a tie-dye workshop, forging with knife maker and blacksmith David MacDonald, yoga on the beach, skateboarding and the Canadian Extreme Laughter Championship. The “ShazamFest Olympics” will include a tug-of-war and stone skipping. People are urged to wear costumes. There will be prizes for the best ones.
Skateboarders at ShazamFest. Photo from ShazamFest web page.
Two kitchens will sell tasty, locally sourced meals, with choices suitable for vegans and carnivores; a third kitchen will sell delicious desserts.
The Blue Mushroom Sirkus Psyshow, which has revived the concept of the circus sideshow, will present, among many things, a strongman, sword-swallowing, fire-eating and a burlesque performance by Miss BonBon Bombay that involves flames in, um, surprising and unexpected ways. This was a big hit at the press conference, let me tell you.
Miss BonBon Bombay explained that her fire act was a tribute to veteran burlesque performer Satan’s Angel (The Devil’s Own Mistress, Queen of the Fire Tassels), and that it’s done with her permission and blessing.
Strongman The Mighty Leviticus, of The Blue Mushroom Sirkus Psyshow performs at an earlier edition of ShazamFest. I do believe that he is bending steel rebar with his teeth. (Does his dentist know about this? Photo, by Claude Dufresne, from ShazamFest web site.
So, what about those people I met? The first one was Ziv Przytyk, the founder of ShazamFest. He was as enthusiastic as all get out, and wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit that he had made himself! Talented guy! He explained that he sees the festival, and its rural location, as a “space to bring people together, to create a community.” The first year 400 people came; these days attendance is around 2,000 people. Those people make networks and build friendships there. The festival is now old enough that sometimes three generations of a family will come. There has never been any kind of trouble at ShazamFest. Ziv has a theory that people behave well at the festival because children are there; they are a civilizing influence.
I talked to Miss BonBon Bombay, as mentioned above, and to her colleagues, strongman The Mighty Leviticus, and powerful vocalist Angela Solo. I listened to the singing-and-guitar playing duo Les Deuxluxes, and watched some antics from the Eastern Townships Wrestling Association, who challenged Ziv Przytyk to a showdown at the festival.
As for ShazamFest tickets, there are many options. Children who are 12 years old or younger get in free. A full weekend pass, for one person, which includes camping and parking, will be $90 at the gate, but it was available back in February for only $55. Keep this in mind for next year! The price for Friday is $45, Saturday is $50. A family pass (two adults and two teens) will be $200 at the gate. (As I write this, that pass is available for $175 if bought online.)
People who buy a day pass can stay untill the following morning. In keeping with ShazamFest’s environmentally conscious ethos, people who arrive on a bicycle will get a 20-per-cent discount on their tickets.
Mitch Davis, one of the general directors of the Fantasia International Film Festival, in his usual mood, which is very animated and highly enthusiastic! Davis has been known to knock over plants and other such stage props, which is probably one reason why there aren’t any plants on that stage. Photo by Liz Ferguson
On Tuesday, July 7, 2015, more than 200 people came to Cinéma de Sève at Concordia University to get the latest lowdown on the films, guests, venues and assorted events that make up the 19th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival.
The festival will show comedies, dramas, horror, thrillers, action films, animated films and documentaries. There will be spirits, vampires, martial artists, good cops and bad, adorable characters and despicable ones.
There were enthusiastic speeches from the usual suspects, and some trailers, too. I appreciate those trailers immensely – a description from someone who likes a film is nice, but there’s nothing like seeing for yourself!
I saw many intriguing snippets; some of the Japanese films look really quirky, and I mean that in a GOOD way! And I want to see most, probably all, of the 12 Korean films that will be shown at the fest.
Some films are probably too gory for me, because I’m a big scaredy-cat, but that’s OK, I know that others like them. It’s difficult enough to see all the films that I want to see, so being able to rule some out is almost a blessing.
This year, the festival will show 135 feature films from 36 countries; obviously only a few could be mentioned at the press conference. That’s where the Fantasia catalogue and/or web site come in. I do like having a printed catalogue and a printed schedule, but I also appreciate the Fantasia International Film Festival web site, where I can find films by name, country, genre, or director. That’s great for those who want to read about all the documentaries or all the films from a particular country.
In venue news, there will be outdoor screenings on Concordia grounds; the McCord Museum will show films suitable for children (Fantasia shows more of those than you might think!); some films will be shown in the lovely auditorium of the Grand Bibliothèque, near the Berri-UQAM métro.
Among the revelations – Fantasia will show Roar, a rarely-seen film from 1981 that’s been given a new lease on life through Drafthouse Films. I’ve read many articles about it in the past few months, so I’m really eager to see it.
Roar features more than 150 wild cats who were being kept as pets by writer/director Noah Marshall and his family. That family included actressTippi Hedren (from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds) her daughter, actress Melanie Griffith, and two sons. They all act in the film. From what I’ve read, they were lucky to come out of the experience alive. Few people escaped unmauled, or unscratched, though. The film is being marketed with a catchphrase along the lines of: “No animals were harmed in the making of this film, but 70 people were.” Cinematographer Jan de Bont had his scalp torn off, and it took 120 stitches to sew it back onto his head.
Fantasia will also show Haemoo, a Korean film based on a tragic, real-life life incident. Kim Yun-seok is the star, it was produced and co-written by Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer, The Host, Memories of Murder, etc., etc), and directed by Shim Sung-bo, who was one of Bong’s co-writers for Memories of Murder.
Maybe this was announced earlier and I didn’t see it, but Kevin Bacon will come to present the film, Cop Car. Bacon plays a very bad sheriff hot on the trail of two young boys who have stolen his cruiser. There will be a Q&A after the film, and Mitch Davis encouraged everyone to come and ask Bacon lots of questions. He was chortling, in an infectious way, at the possibilities.
For me, the Fantasia press conference, and the festival itself, is like an ideal version of a high-school reunion – fun, friendly, all smiles, no bullies.
There is so much to say about the Fantasia International Film Festival; I guess the best thing is to write several posts, and not to go on and on with this one!
But I would like to say “thank you” to Fantasia organizers for holding their press conference in a place that had enough seats for the invitees. I wish that every organization would do that! Standing up for more than one hour, while also trying to take notes – it isn’t fun at all!
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14 to Aug. 4, 2015.
Tickets can be bought online from Admission and at the box office. Many films sell out amazingly quickly and many will only be shown once, so if something sounds good to you, avoid disappointment and buy tickets sooner rather than later.
Derek Tsang, left, and J. Arie in a scene from the Hong Kong film Robbery. They play convenience-store employees whose lives are in danger when they are help hostage in the store. Robbery will be shown at the 2015 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.
The Hong Kong film Robbery will make you think more than twice about a late-night visits to the dep (or convenience store, for you non-Montrealers).
Robbery is a very black comedy, that’s to say, many parts are hilarious, but several people do end up dead. I was expecting the laughs, but not the deaths. Surprise!
In an early scene, Robbery’s main character, Lau Kin Ping, (played by Derek Tsang, 曾國祥) seems like a slacker, and a stoned one at that, but you can’t blame him much; he’s just one more poor guy in the cutthroat world of Hong Kong. After watching Bruce Lee’s advice to “Be like water, my friend,” Lau remarks that he’s 32, the same age the martial-arts actor was when he died, and adds: “I’m just a joke.”
Late one aimless night, Ping impulsively applies for a job in a 24-hour convenience store; he’s hired right away. The store is called Exceed. You know, as in “excessive.” This name is no accident, my friends.
The storeowner is played by Lam Suet (林雪). Anyone who’s seen more than a handful of HK films will probably know his face. He usually plays gangsters, and he often plays them for director Johnnie To. As the boss he’s quite cranky and insists that his employees push sell that night’s special, a $5 package of Pop Rocks. (Don’t freak out, one Hong Kong dollar is only worth 82 Canadian cents. Pretty good deal, actually!)
Ping’s co-worker, Mabel, is played by pop singer J. Arie. Ping is embarrassed because she’s better than he is at scanning etc., and she’s kind of smug about it, too, despite this, they soon establish a rapport.
Ping barely has time to settle in before his first customer arrives. One thing leads to another, very smoothly too, and before you know it, there are three unstable, unpredictable criminals, with assorted weapons, in the store. They are NOT working together, either. Far from it. Ping, Mabel, their boss and one unlucky customer are trapped in the store with these dangerous loons. Hmmmm, I wonder if they use the expression “Murphys’s Law: in Hong Kong?
Every time a new customer walks in, crooks and hostages try to act perfectly, excruciatingly, normal until that customer buys something and leaves. Lots of laughs and tension in those episodes. The film could have ended after the arrival of several police officers – but then it would have been a short, not a feature.
Derek Tsang, left, as a newly hired convenience-store clerk and Lam Suet as his cranky boss in a scene from the Hong Kong film Robbery. Robbery will be shown at the 2015 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.
There’s lots to like in Robbery – writer/director Fire Lee (aka LEE Ka Wing, or Ka Wing LEE) has fun with film clichés like macho posturing, super-observant people: training montages; walking in slow-motion, defusing a bomb, while seconds tick by on a conveniently large display; people pretending to be someone they’re not, and/or being perceived as someone they’re not; the old Mexican standoff (people standing in a circle pointing guns at each other), etc. Several flashbacks put a whole new light on the characters. And then there are the platitudes like this one: “Pain is good. . . pain is a feeling, it lets humans know they are alive.” Not to mention: “But you have ME!”
Quibbles: One female star has to wear a skimpy outfit in her scenes at the store, and perform an amateur strip tease, along with other humiliations. In regard to the outfit, writer/director Fire Lee might claim that he was showing: 1) how people judge a book by its cover; 2) the person who forced her to do these things is a very evil dude; 3) that he was mocking a cliché. Maybe, but to me this is just pandering to a segment of the male audience. Before anyone asks if sex is bad while deaths are OK, I’d say that the film could have been quite funny without either.
Somewhat random info and thoughts connected to Robbery: Fire Lee wrote the script for revenge flick Sasori, which was shown at Fantasia in 2008.
Actor/director Derek Tsang is the son of actor Eric Tsang. Derek Tsang is 35 now, and might have been 34 when Robbery was made, though he looks much younger. Derek Tsang went to the University of Toronto; he used to live in Vancouver.
J. Arie’s real name is Rachel Lui. She’s an accomplished piano player who also has a degree in law (to make her traditional parents happy.)
The berets that the Hong Kong police wear look quite dashing. Are their shirts really so form-fitting?
Robbery will be shown at the Fantasia International Film Festival, which runs from July 14 until Aug. 4, 2015.
Robbery: Written and directed by Fire Lee ( Ka Wing Lee)
Starring: Derek Tsang, J.Arie, Lam Suet, Feng Tsui Fan, Philip Keung, Anita Chui, Eric Kwok, Aaron Chow, Edward Ma
In Cantonese with English subtitles
90 minutes long
Saturday, July 18, 2015 at 18:45, and Tuesday, July 28, 2015, at 15:10, in the J.A. de Sève Theatre, 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Wyrmwood has been described as “Mad Max meets Dawn of the Dead.”
I think RIDM started it, with its Docville series, but now many Montreal film festivals are treating us to films outside their official festival periods. Lucky us!
This week (Thursday, June 18, 2015) we can watch Wyrmwood, an Australian zombie film. Think of it as a pre-Fantasia event, or a Fantasia appetizer. Then again, perhaps not – do food and the lurching, snarling undead really belong in the same thought? Not for the queasy among us. (And that would be me, in case you’re wondering.)
Synopsis: “Zombies invade the Australian Outback in this brain-splattered, Mad Max-meets-the-undead thrill ride. When an apocalyptic event turns everyone around him—including his wife and daughter—into marauding zombies, everyman mechanic Barry arms himself to the teeth, soups up his car, and hits the road in order to rescue his sister from a deranged, disco-dancing mad doctor. Bursting with high-octane car chases, crazy-cool homemade weaponry, and enough blood-and-guts gore to satisfy hardcore horror fans, Wyrmwood – Road Of The Dead takes the zombie flick to bone-crunchingly berserk new heights.”
Wyrmwood’s mad doctor (played by Berynn Schwerdt) likes to listen to disco music while he experiments on his captives.
There are some laughs in the trailer for Wyrmwood but there’s lots more gore and splatter. Yeah, yeah, I know, for many of you, there’s no such thing as “too much gore and splatter.” You can’t even imagine that concept, can you?
(For instance, Rodrigo Suarez made a comment on the trailer. He says: “I’m gonna see this one! Looks great! I hope they don´t do too much comedy though.” Jason Harris asks a sensible question: “Wearing armor among flesh seeking zombies. Why don’t any of the characters from other zombie shows/films do this?” Yeah, why don’t they?)
I have read quite a few reviews of Wyrmwood, perhaps more than absolutely necessary, and excerpts below only represent a few of the reviews I read. (For me, film reviews can be more addictive than potato chips.)
When, Where and How Much might be all that hard-core zombie fans need to know. For you: Wyrmwood, Thursday, June 18, 2015, 9 p.m., Cinema Excentris, 3536 St-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2V1
Tickets can be bought online, at $12.57 for adults and $10/57 for students and those over 65. Prices include taxes.
Tickets will be available at the foor, too, as long as the event does not sell out. Buying online might be the prudent thing to do.
What do the critics say about Wyrmwood? Let’s see. . .
Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times has no problem mentioning zombies and eating in the same sentence. “. . .the deal breaker, as always with these films, lies in the cut of one’s giblets, and the Roache-Turners prove to have the right mix of micro-budget filmmaking ingenuity, action sass and undead splatter to make “Wyrmwood” a tastier than usual exploitation nosh.”
Peter Martin of Twitch says: “Wildly apocalyptic with dollops of silliness, Wyrmwood proves to be a splendidly gritty affair, a tale that feels like it’s being told from the back of a jeep as it races away from doomsday on a very bumpy road in Australia.”
Ambush Bug (also known as Mark L. Miller) writes: “Rarely do I see a movie which is entertaining from the very beginning up until the very end, but I saw just that with WYRMWOOD, a new zombie film from Australia. . . There is not a second of WYRMWOOD that isn’t in your face and running on all cylinders. . . it hits the ground running and never, ever stops for a breath until the end.” “Full of action that’ll make your heart flip and gore that’ll do the same to your stomach, WYRMWOOD is the next great thing in zombies.”
Rob Staeger of the Village Voice says: “Australian filmmakers Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner remind us why we love these bloody movies in the first place, evincing Raimi-esque glee at twisting the rules of zombiehood like so much taffy.”
Brian Tallerico at rogerebert.com likes Wyrmwood a lot! “There’s a streamlined simplicity to Wyrmwood that’s admirable in an era when too many horror movies get cluttered with subplots and characters who wander into frame merely to be turned into goo. . .Horror is a genre in which homage can be more easily forgiven as a product of relatable love for the same movies. . .We like it when our horror movies don’t feel like merchandise as much as the result of a passion for the genre to which we can easily relate.” “Wyrmwood is not about narrative. It’s about in-your-face style, the kind where every punch, shot, and kick comes with an accompanying zoom, canted angle, and quick cut.”
Frank Scheck of the Hollywood Reporter: “That zombie breath makes for a viable alternative fuel source is but one of the many revelations of Wyrmwood, the latest example of the horror genre that shows no signs of fading away. Kiah Roache-Turner’s zombie movie set in the Australian outback displays enough gonzo elements to please genre fans, with its resemblance to the Mad Max series clearly not coincidental.” Scheck liked the “wildly staged vehicular chase sequences and genuinely witty deadpan dialogue.” Visit this Facebook event page for more info about the screening.
Wyrmwood, directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, with Jay Gallagher, Bianca Bradey
92 min., In English
Thursday, June 18, 2015, 9 p.m., Cinema Excentris, 3536 St-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2V1
Mostlymovies.ca 