Lee Kang-Sheng's HELP ME EROS

Lee Kang-Sheng is not your average actor. He has become the face of Tsai Ming-Liang's laconic films, and as a result the emblem of Taiwan's alienated youth now grown into adults. Tsai has placed Lee in compromising situations that few other actors would be willing (not to mention able) to do for over 15 years. The collaboration between the two of them has obviously been mutually beneficial, with Tsai feeding off Lee's odd presence and Lee reveling in Tsai's abnormal dramas. Although Lee has acted in other's films, Tsai has gone on record to say that he would never make a film without Lee Kang-Sheng. Even if Tsai mentioned this off-the-cuff, it is a pretty strong affirmation of the bond between the two of them.

The similarities and differences between the two of them became noticeable when Lee decided to take the director's chair with his first feature film The Missing. Originally The Missing was to be a one-hour companion piece to Goodbye Dragon Inn, but once Goodbye Dragon Inn evolved into a longer film, so did The Missing. Although the two films are connected at the hip, The Missing is a work that stood on its own under Lee's name, receiving awards at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Pusan International Film Festival.

Despite what might seem as an international success with The Missing, Lee came up with no offers for his next feature. After three years of trying to sell the script, it was a filmmaking grant from the Taiwanese government that got the ball rolling for Help Me Eros. The reality of trying to get a film made is not something Lee took lightly. Participating as writer, director and actor was not so much a choice, but simply a more economical way to get the film made. Tsai Ming-Liang lent a helping hand as producer and production design, and, inevitably, as the silent influence on Lee's style. Portions of the film seem like misplaced Tsai Ming-Liang scenes, but overall, and perhaps to its demise, this film is 100% Lee Kang-Sheng.

Lee Kang-Sheng plays Ah Jie who is clearly down on his luck: his girlfriend has left him; he has lost a bundle, maybe even everything; he is not gainfully employed; and only finds solace in smoking weed and calling a suicide helpline. Ah Jie's connections to the outside world are Chyi, the case worker at the helpline, and Shin, a Betelnut salesgirl where Ah Jie buys cigarettes. Chyi is in an unhappy marriage, and pours her depression into the absurd amounts of food her chef husbands cooks for her. Chyi longs for someone to need her, and in lieu of her husband, it is Ah Jie. Shin has newly arrived to city to work in the Betelnut stand but is burdened with aimlessness. All seem complacent with their situation while silently yearning for more. The connected stories are driven more by coincidence that plot, with a pace not unlike a stoner's dream.

On a superficial level, Help Me Eros is a film about fetishes, with food and sex at the top of the list. On a more serious level, it's about the bigger issues of life and how we find a purpose to keep going. In the long run, those two don't gel so well and you are left with something that is much less poetic than it is intended to be. Lee has said that he tapped into some personal experiences for the film, and there is no doubt that some aspects seem very personal, where others have a self conscious distance. The opening scene does not mince words with a cruel analogy of Ah Jie's desperation that most will find totally inappropriate. When these poor lonely souls do get a reprieve, the morphs into some sort of male fantasy of weed smoking and endless three-ways. (If it is not obvious thus far, the film has a fair amount of sex.)

But Help Me Eros is anything but literal. As a matter of fact it is pleasantly abstract. Whether it is two men playing pool without their pants on or a woman taking a bath with a tub full of eels, Lee is keen on setting things slightly askew. When the narrative slides into a dreamy music video it is actually quite beautiful. As a director, Lee has a great eye for film and does an incredible job in setting up some of the shots, but the emotional inconsistencies left me cold. Outside of a joy-filled moment hanging out a sun roof of a stolen car, Help Me Eros implodes on itself with its apathy.

Senses of Cinema interview with Lee Kang-Sheng here.
Twitch interview with Lee Kang-Sheng here.

More ASHES OF TIME REDUX

Posting about Ashes of Time is my own helpless attempt to get this film in a theater near me. Soon. Please. The Sony Pictures Classic website has yet to have any real content, but I ran across this page at the New York Times where they have a new trailer and an old trailer and the comparison is pretty interesting. The new trailer features Mr. Movie Man voice over, which I could do without, but a picture that looks very very nice. Both trailers have brief scenes of when Yin and Yang (Brigette Lin) are fighting in the water, and the difference is amazing. The old trailer leaves a lot to be desired (I love the "with a hot Hong Kong cast"- I wish Mr. Movie Man was saying that), but I'm going to have to say that I think the images provided in the old trailer give a better representation of the film overall, and I don't think the film has change that much. Also, I have yet to be sold on the new soundtrack; I just love the old soundtrack with its weird synthesizer sound so much, its hard for me to let go.

As if my own illogical anticipation for Redux isn't enough, reports from Cannes are nothing but encouraging. Amy Taubin's report in Film Comment calmed my fears: "With its gloriously souped-up digital re-colorization and new soundtrack with solos by Yo-Yo Ma, what had been the most abstract and difficult to follow of Wong's films is now wildly even more so."

DVD releases for July 29

More than a few releases worth mentioning:


Privilege (1967) directed by Peter Watkins
It is amazing that Watkins made this film over 40 years ago. When I saw it a few years ago at a particularly well-programed the Sound Unseen in town, I was blown away by the relevance of this prince puppet parable. The film follows mega pop star Steven Shorter who has the masses hooked like a messiah. Needless to say Shorter is no more than a well-marketed icon. Privilege is done in Watkin's documentary style, and compared to his other films, with limited effect on the believability factor. Fortunately, it doesn't really matter. The power of Privilege is its overall analysis of power structures and the manipulation of the naïves, a structure that is very much in place right here and now. Peter Watkins may have been voicing his concern about his home country, but there was never a better analogy for what is going on right in front of our eyes, whether it be with George W. Bush or Britney Spears.

Doomsday (2008) directed by Neil Marshall
Neil Marshall took his success with The Descent and made a film where he simply lowered the bar to the most base level of entertainment. I'm tempted to say Doomsday is so bad its good, but the conditions in which someone would actually enjoy this film are pretty limited. If you are willing to accept that Marshall is doing nothing more than simply having a row, it's a pretty fun ride.

Tai Chi Master (1993) directed by Yuen Wo Ping
An emblem of 90s Hong Kong action movies, Tai Chi Master contains the perfect combination of Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li and director Yuen Wo Ping. The action is cleverly kinetic and endlessly enjoyable. Once again, Dragon Dynasty is doing its best to repair the Weinstein's reputation by re-releasing this under its original title (instead of Twin Warriors under the Dimension label) and offering improved picture and soundtrack with a fair amount of extras.

Hair Extensions (2007) directed by Sion Sono
I'm more than aware of how stupid this movie sounds, and it probably does little to explain that, although serious in it's intentions, Hair Extensions uses irony to its benefit. Yes, it is the curse of the dead girl's hair that reeks havoc in this bizarre movie. Sion Sono is no ordinary director or writer.

Surfwise (2007) directed by Doug Pray
This documentary seemed fascinating when I saw the trailer, but that doesn't mean I caught it when it was in the theater. If you think your childhood was strange, the Paskowitz family with two parents and nine children were livin' the alternative life to the extreme.


The Deal (2003) directed by Stephen Frears
Originally broadcast on BBC Channel 4, The Deal dramatizes Tony Blair's rise to power. Starring Michael Sheen, who reprised his role in Frears' The Queen.

Young and Restless in China (2008) directed by Sue Williams
What is this? I don't know, but it might be interesting viewing before the 2008 Summer Mega Media Olympics. Reportedly about "the lives of nine Chinese Gen X'ers over four years as they scramble to keep pace with a society changing faster than any in history."

Challenge of the Masters (1978) directed by Lau Kar Leung
Yet another Shaw Brothers release to hit the US streets starring the perpetually cool Gordon Liu as the perpetual hero Wong Fei Hung.

The Band's Visit (2007) directed by Eran Kolirin
Popular arthouse comedy that may be just as predictable as it is heartfelt and sharp-witted.

Shine a Light (2008) directed by Martin Scorsese
I guess if you can't afford the $150 tickets to a Stones concert and you are really dying to see this guys pretend they are still rock stars, this is the way to go. Now maybe I'm being too harsh giving the fact that I haven't seen this concert movie, and I feel that at the very least the DVD is worth noting, but I really have no idea what Scorsese is doing.

Masters of Horror: Season 2 box set
Check out that packaging!

David Moreau and Xavier Palud's THEM

Finding films that exceed my expectations is something I live for. In the case of Them, it was had an easier task since I had no expectations. Although I had read a glowing review, I have a hard time not being skeptical when it come to the horror genre, perhaps making Them all the more rewarding. Recently released on DVD in the US, I am surprised that it wasn't given more of a chance in theaters as a film (albeit with subtitles) that is equal if not better than The Strangers. As a matter of fact Them is so closely related to The Strangers, they may have negated each other market-wise if they played too close together. Comparisons between the two are inevitable, not only because of similar storylines but they both make good use of an ambiance built with clever framing, editing and sound design.

(For those interested in the film, stop reading here and and take my whole-hearted recommendation and rent the DVD. Minor spoilers follow.)

Them was released in France over two years ago and was the first feature by the duo David Moreau and Xavier Palud who took on the US remake of The Eye. And while the offer to direct The Eye was probably a compliment to Them, The Eye lacks almost everything interesting in Them. Boasting a story based on true events (that should sound familiar to anyone who saw The Strangers), Them takes place in Romania where a young French couple have recently moved to work and live. Their large country home is as idyllic as the couple's relationship. When strange things start to happen in the middle of the night, their emotions run from anger to confusion to all-out fear. The set-up is simple enough and is classic horror film stuff regardless of true story or not.

The movie had no trouble pulling me in from the very beginning. The opening scene, a standalone introduction showing an event that may or may not be related to the couple's future ordeal, had my the hair on the back of my neck standing up. With the most simple of tactics, Them launches you into the film with an adrenaline rush. From that point, you savor the peaceful moments with the knowledge of what is to come. Perhaps I'm loosing my youthful nothing-can-scare-me attitude, but Them had me locking the doors. The fear factor was powerful enough that I was thankful for living in the city and ling in a small house. (The affordable house is not a house that creepy things or people can hide in!)

It would be easy to overstate the merits of Them simply because of its unknown status here in the US. And although I am annoyed by the "true story" prologue and epilogue, this is one of the best films of its genre that I have seen in some time. Scenes and plot devises are impressively subtle and sharp in their effect on the viewer. Both The Strangers and Them offer thrills and chills without being completely blood soaked, something I appreciate from a genre that has suffered lately from a philosophy of quantity over quality.

Youssef Chahine R.I.P.

Youssef Chahine, on of Egypt's most well respected director's, died yesterday. Four weeks ago Chahine fell into a coma from a brain hemorrhage. I'm not even going to begin to think I can eulogize this man, simply because I know too little about him and have seen very few of his films (two to be exact.) So I will barrow what Nick Bradshaw from the Guardian said about Chahine: "He took on imperialism and fundamentalism alike, celebrated the liberty of body and soul, and offered himself warts and all as an emblem of his nation. Egypt's modern history is etched in his life's work."

His last film was Chaos which screened at the 2007 Venice Film Festival.

His US website has been put in state of memorial where people can post a message.

Twin Cities Film Calendar

First the disclaimer: this is very much a work in progress. The limitations are frustrating, but I have the best intentions of providing something much more user friendly, nicer to look at and with more information. Until then, welcome to the Twin Cities Film Calendar.

There are two components to the calender: Film events (one-time, or short run screenings) and Film openings (openings specific to the Twin Cities). Each of these 'collections' within the calendar are separate and you will either have to subscribe to each one or follow the separate links to view. The calendar is hosted by Chandler, an open source "Note-to-Self Organizer." I would agree that it is not the best design and is limiting for what I would like to do, but I chose this option that more people would have access to than something like iCal.

Once you follow the link to either Film events or Film openings, you have the options of looking at the items either in a list form or calendar form (two buttons at the top, just to the left of the sidebar.) The calendar is presented in a weekly view. (If you don't see any film events, be sure to scroll down to evening hours.) You can search to a specific date in the sidebar or navigate by week with the arrows at the top right hand side of the screen. When you click on an event or tile, more info comes up in the right sidebar. You can subscribe with Chandler Desktop (available for free at Chandler), iCal, Feed Reader or CalDAV. All of these options show up in the left sidebar. I have not tried any of these options, so let me know how they work!

Obviously the biggest component to this is the information. If you know of something going on, please let me know either by e-mailing me or replying to this post. I will do my best to keep the information up to date and correct, but I would also ask for your help if you notice any errors.
The Twin Cities Film Calendar icon will permanently be in the sidebar of my blog. I will put links to both the Film events and Film openings, but the icon will always link to the Film events.

Please let me know what you think.

DVD releases for July 22

Let's not muddy the waters with last week's hum-drum releases and focus on this week with what may turn out to be two of the best DVDs of the year and one of the most interesting releases to hit the US market:

Satantango (1994) directed by Bela Tarr
After a very long gestation period, Facets has finally released Bela Tarr's Satantango. And while I don't have this DVD set in my hands yet, other people do and it really exists. Access to this has dogged me for over five years. I became somewhat obsessed with finding a copy when rumors started floating around that, despite the fact that the film did not have a distributor, Tarr himself was willing to sell copies. (This rumor seems absolutely absurd at this point, given what I now know about Bela Tarr.) Since this rumor was just that, I forgot about it, until a couple years later a friend said he knew a guy who had a copy and he could probably get a copy. (He has been reduce from friend to smack-talker, who obviously never produced a copy.) Once again, I threw in the towel assuming I would never see this film. (Ironically, bootlegs were popping up around this time, and I am glad I was distracted.) Then Facets announce in 2006 that they would be releasing the film on DVD with a release date that kept moving until finally the title just came off the release calendar. Once again, a dead end, but at least there was some hope. Then 2007 became the year of Bela Tarr in Minneapolis. Not only did Satantango get two screenings early in the year, but then got a third in the form of a retrospective and a visit by the man himself! Who needs a damn DVD! Well, I have subsequently been wanting to revisit the film, and it may as well be on DVD because I don't think it is coming back in theatrical form.

This release, two years in the waiting, is not without controversy, the most obvious being the reason for the wait itself. It seems that Tarr was relatively unforgiving regarding the quality of the transfer and obviously had a deal with Facets that it would not be released without his blessing. More power to him. Despite the grumblers, this release seems hard to pass up. Tarr's involvement seems to mostly stem from setting the greyscale to where he wants it, as this seems to be the marked difference between the Facet release and the UK Artifical Eye release last year. Not only that, the Facets DVD has a host of extras, including the two-shot made-for-TV Macbeth (1982), his short Prologue (2004) and Journey on the Plain (1995), in which actor-composer Mihaly Vig revisits the Satantango locations. At $50 at Deep Discount, this DVD is a steal, and I am really excited to own it. (Just looking at the screen shots again, I realize that I have no idea how to process this film.) Of course, being committed to this seven-and-a-half hour epic on DVD in one sitting would be hard (although I am planning a pot luck at my house for willing revelers this winter for just such a marathon.)

(If you have some time on your hands and are interested, check out the detailed comparison between the Artificial Eye release and the Facet release on DVD Beaver, and check out the epic release saga (which started in 2005) and its many facets (no pun intended) on the Criterion message board. Check out the amazing opening sequence on You Tube.)


Vampyr (1932) directed by Carl Theodore Dreyer
Just when you thought you got rid of those pesky black bars on the top and bottom of your favorite widescreen films with your new HD TV, get ready to go retro with the black bars on the side and beautiful digital mono sound. Vampyr has been available in the US for some time in the form of terrible VHS and a marginal DVD from Image Entertainment, but with an incorrect aspect ratio of 1.33. Criterion's new 2 disc set of Vampyr does everything it possible can to not only restore the quality of the original work, but make it available to just about as many people as possible. (If I were a rich person, a really rich person, I would be collecting prints, not DVDs, but this print would no doubt be out of reach.) The DVD set contains a new digital transfer in the correct aspect ratio of 1.19 from the German original, a 1966 documentary by Jørgen Roos chronicling Dreyer's career, commentary by Tony Rayns (who I could listen to all day), a "visual essay" by scholar Casper Tybjerg on Dreyer's influences in creating Vampyr, a radio broadcast from 1958 of Dreyer reading an essay about filmmaking (also good for the new HD TV), and a booklet full of stuff to read. A very very similar version will be released in the UK in August. It is with implied sarcasm that I note that this release is not anamorphic.

Help Me Eros (2007) directed by Lee Kang-sheng
Lowering the bar abit from Bela Tarr and Carl Dreyer comes this titillating surprise. Given how long it took for Wayward Cloud to surface in the US, I am surprised to see this released so soon. Lee Kang-sheng is better know as an actor who has a permanent place in Tsai Ming-liang's film. Help Me Eros is his second film as director and shows that he is no less modest or audacious than the platforms that Tsai sets up for him. Help Me Eros got mixed reviews, to say the least, and, if it isn't obvious, this film is not for everyone. However, anyone interested in Tsai Ming-liang would not want to miss at least the opportunity to check this film out.

High and Low (1963) directed by Akira Kurosawa
Like some kind of mean trick, Criterion releases High and Low, one of my favorite Kurosawa films, for a second time. If you were thinking about buying High and Low, now is the time. Criterion has added a bucket full of special features and a new transfer to what was a pretty bare-bone early release. And for those monitoring the spine numbers, this retains the #24 spine of the original release.

The Last Winter (2006) directed by Larry Fessenden
For those looking for an interesting horror film, The Last Winter is worth checking out. From the director of the equally interesting Wendingo (2001), Fessbenden creates a modern day folk tale in the heart of the Northern Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The ending may be somewhat overt, but the path there is pretty engaging.

Hideo Nakata's KAIDAN

It is really no wonder that the absolute saturation of J-horror, even here in the US, can create eye-rolling in the best of us and out-in-out laughter in everyone else. In many ways Hideo Nakata started the entire avalanche in 1998 with Ring. Since then there have been so many similar films come down the pipe that it is hard to separate the worthwhile nuggets from the useless chaff. Although I have done my best to embrace the genre, I find myself getting tired of no-faced women with long hair (although Sion Sono's silly-sounding Exte: Hair Extensions is a very worthy diversion.) So it was a great relief to hear that Nakata himself was planning a period horror film in the tradition of Nobuo Nakagawa. I wrote about my excitement (here) last August when the film opened in Japan. I was immediately seduced by the beautiful production stills and equally as stunning trailer. (I would still encourage anyone with some time to check out the official website; just click on the circle at the center of the screen.) The DVD came out with English subs a couple months ago in Hong Kong, and a snatched it up. I finally got a chance to sit down and check this film out, and I was not disappointed.

The characters in Kaidan are all burdened with a tragic connection to fate and a curse that is more powerful than human will. When a humble but enterprising moneylender is murdered by a callous samurai who refuses to pay his debt, a curse, uttered in the throws of death, set the course for the film. Fast forward 20 years to the next generation, innocent to their parents connection, Shinkichi and Toyoshiga feel drawn to each other despite a difference in age and what might be seen as an inappropriate relationship. The more involved the two get, the more possessive Toyoshiga gets over the young and handsome Shinkichi who has many young admirers. Passions run high between the two of them with a chemistry that the viewer understands is powered by the curse of their parents. Things unravel in a manner that is neither surprising nor horrific, but undeniably compelling.

Kaidan is at the very least a grand homage, not only to the origins of Japanese horror but also to classic Japanese cinema, referencing the austere and precise aesthetic not only of Nakagawa, but also masters like Kenji Mizoguchi and Masaki Kobayashi. Nakata pays tribute without parody creating an overall visually stunning experience with every frame, something that is evident with the screenshots. Although the most memorable elements of Kaidan may be the aesthetic, the remaining components render nothing less than an absorbing film. Kikunosuke Onoe and Hitomi Kuroki as the two leads are taught with emotion yet graceful in their expressions of these emotions. Kaidan may not break any new ground, dolling out the mainstay fog over the lake and bewitching ghosts that float to the surface, but provides a certain amount of comfort without being lazy.

It's rewarding to watch Nakata confidently work outside what has so far been a niche comfort zone and succeed with such a strong film. (Nakata has subsequently sprung back into the realm of fanboy fodder with a sequel to the very popular Death Note series, L: Change the World.) Unfortunately, Kaidan has nowhere near the cult marketing potential of his previous films and it remains to be seen whether or not it will get a US release on DVD.

Where did the week go?

I have returned from my journey to the west, but have yet to be visibly productive. But. I am here promising that I am busy working on things, some that will appear on this very blog and some that won't. Mostly I'm just trying to catch up with everything that has happened since I was gone. Just for starters:

• Tony Leung and Carina Lau really did get married! After years (19 to be exact) and multiple rumors that these two long term companions have tied the knot, it seems they have really done it. The wedding took place in Bhutan, and for those who just can't believe it, check out this wedding photo and news story here.
• The Lagoon, part of the "nation's largest theatre chain dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent film," is using three of their five screens for mainstream releases, two for Batman and one for Mama Mia. (And for those who think Landmark is simply making smart choices for quality large releases, read this hilarious review of Mama Mia in the NYT here.) And while I totally under why they might do this (it's not like there is a shortage of people in Uptown), but it makes me sad. It also makes me wonder what the Lagoon is not showing in the place of Batman and Mama Mia. Mad Detective? The Exiles? The Roman Polanski documentary? I'm still torqued that the Herzog film Encounters at the End of the World only played one week - the week I was out of town! (I skipped this at MSPIFF thinking I would catch it when it was released....not!)
  
• The Chinese continue to battle the running dogs looking to sabotage the Olympics. If its not those darn protesters or that nasty pollution its the bumper crop of locusts.
  
• Speaking of Batman, people seemed to have lost their minds about the winged one, or at least the movie he's in. Don't try to go to a evening showing of The Dark Knight at the multiplex without movie phone, because it will probably sell out. The Dark Knight is a good movie, but is it really that good? I also picture the suits thrilled that they picked Heath Ledger for the Joker (admittedly a standout performance amongst average showings from the rest of the cast), and were able to cash in on this man's tragic fate. I am just surprised how The Dark Knight has turned into a sort of film event where sold out theaters are filled with a collective energy of anticipation.
• While people were going gaga for Batman here in the US, South Korea was distracted by Kim Ji-Woon's highly anticipated 'Kimchi Western' The Good, The Bad, and the Weird and China was busy romancing with the Three Kingdoms in the form of John Woo's Red Cliff and Japan was getting giddy with Hayao Miyazaki's new animated feature Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Who knows what was going on across the Atlantic....
  
• How can it be that the one movie I miss in Loring Park is Duck Soup? A travesty.
• And lastly, I am awash with edible green things. Why did I plant so much kale?

Vacationing

Yes, I get a vacation. Not only from Minneapolis, but from the computer. The blog will be dormant and I will come back in a week with Twin Cities film culture vigor!