YNOT at the Movies

Same as last year, the festival only contains 40 feature-length films. The festival also includes 8 shorts programs, as well as a few musical and foodie events.

While several films from China made big headlines at last month's Berlinale by winning several top prizes, surprisingly, there is only one documentary comes from China at this year's festival—"The Road to Fame" (成名之路), which is terrific and you do not want to miss.

CAAMFest 2014 takes place March 13-23, 2014 in San Francisco at Sundance Kabuki, New People Cinema, Castro Theater, and Great Star Theater, in Berkeley at Pacific Film Archive, and other venues around the Bay Area.

Here are my picks in this year's program. As always, each film's title is linked to the festival program, where you can find the film's showtime and venue information. Each film's still image is linked to a film's official Web site if it's available. In random order :

• The Road to Fame (成名之路 | China 2013 | in Chinese | 80 min. | Documentary)
• Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast (總舖師 | Taiwan 2013 | in Chinese | 145 min.)
• Ilo Ilo (爸媽不在家 | Singapore 2013 | in Chinese/English | 99 min.)
• The Great Passage (舟を編む | Japan 2013 | in Japanese | 133 min.)
• Cold Eyes (감시자들 | South Korea 2013 | in Korean | 118 min.)
• Pee Mak (พี่มาก..พระโขนง | Thailand 2013 | in Thai | 115 min.)

• The Road to Fame (成名之路 | China 2013 | in Chinese | 80 min. | Documentary)

  Being part of the post '80s (80后) generation in China can hardly be a bragging point, partially because the one-child policy makes almost everyone in this generation the crown jewel adored by two parents and four grandparents. They grow up with the mindset that they can have everything they want and they are spoiled with the every resource available. Failure is never an option. If any of them from this generation is admitted into the prestigious Central Academy of Drama (中央戏剧学院), whose notable alumni include Gong Li (巩俐) and Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) and whose admission rate is less than 1%, the lucky one can be regarded as having a bright future and being almost half way to a stardom.

  But, in the rapid changing China, it turns out not to be true anymore. Even as students at the Central Academy of Drama, these impeccably selected ambitious and talented young men and women struggle everyday with their anxiety, doubt, disappointment, reality, and potential fading dreams.

  Once a Bay Area resident, the director Hao Wu's fascinating documentary "The Road to Fame" (成名之路) tells an engaging story about a musical production of a senior class at the Central Academy of Drama. The film provides an intimate snapshot of the mentality among the post-'80s generation through the experience of several in-depth characters.

  As a graduation project, a reproduction of a Broadway musical "Fame," collaborated with an American director, is underway in a senior class at the Central Academy of Drama. Over an eight month period, the film follows the production process from casting to rehearsal, and then to the final performance on stage. It introduces us a group of candid characters with strong personalities, tremendous talents, and high drama.

  The road to the fame seems quite bumpy, even for gifted young men and women inside a prominent institution. Being part of the post-'80s generation only makes matter worse.

  

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• Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast (總舖師 | Taiwan 2013 | in Chinese | 145 min.)

  After a successful run at last fall's Taiwan Film Days presented by San Francisco Film Society, Taiwanese director Chen Yu-hsun (陳玉勳) brings Taiwan street food back to San Francisco in his mouth-watering comedy "Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast." (總舖師) The film perfectly reflects one of the main themes of the festival—food, along with Ang Lee's (李安) "Eat Drink Man Woman" (飲食男女 | Taiwan/USA 1994).

  This foodie film blends comedy and melodrama into a giant pot and transcends the aroma through its visual and storytelling. Do not come to this film with an empty stomach.

  

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• Ilo Ilo (爸媽不在家 | Singapore 2013 | in Chinese/English | 99 min.)

  Winning this year's Golden Horse Award for Best Picture, Anthony Chen's (陳哲藝) impressive feature directorial debut "Ilo Ilo" (爸媽不在家) gently tells a story about a boy's unlikely bond with his family's Filipino nanny.

  The Asian recession in the late '90s causes tremendous hardship to the middle class, including 10-year-old boy Jiale's (Koh Jia Ler) modest family. Jiale is a trouble maker both at school and at home. Even the money is tight, Jiale's pregnant mom (Yann Yann Yeo) hires a Filipino nanny Terry (Angeli Bayani) to help out and to take care of Jiale. Jiale first resents Terry, but he and Terry gradually grow closer.

  The film realistically displays the culture and daily lives in Singapore and terrifically crafts a few memorable characters. The lead actors deliver a solid performance.

  

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• The Great Passage (舟を編む | Japan 2013 | in Japanese | 133 min.)

  Selected as Japan's submission to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film Award at this year's Oscar, Japanese director Yûya Ishii's (石井裕也) old-fashioned drama "The Great Passage" (舟を編む) quietly tells a story about the making of an old fashioned dictionary.

  The film's protagonist is a shy and nerdy linguist Majime (played by Ryûhei Matsuda 松田 龍平, the young boy in "Taboo" (御法度)) who is obviously lousy at selling books. But his opportunity arrives in 1995, when he is spotted by his extrovert coworker Nishioka (Jô Odagiri オダギリ ジョ). He begins to work on a grand new project—compiling a new contemporary dictionary called "The Great Passage" (大渡海) that contains even slangs used by young people. The painstaking dictionary-composing process lasts more than 13 years into 2008 when smart-phones and other portable electronic devices become available at finger tips. Despite being buried in endless words and mountains of papers, Majime's romance with a sushi chef Hayashi (Aoi Miyazaki 宮﨑 あおい) unexpectedly blossoms.

  While the film is satisfying with likable characters for the most part, it often gives a subdued feeling and cries for some excitement. If an omission of a word during the read proof process is considered a dramatic event, the plot might just sound as dull as a dictionary. The word collection process is more comical than convincing.

  

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• Cold Eyes (감시자들 | South Korea 2013 | in Korean | 118 min.)

  Although numerous films have been made about persistent cops chasing bank robberies, this type of films are continued to be told over and over again by changing locations, techniques, spectacles, choreographies, actions, and actors. Or just remake a previous film.

  That's exactly what Korean directors Jo Ui-seok (조의석) and Kim Byung-seo (김병서) did in their last year's South Korean blockbuster "Cold Eyes" (감시자들), a remake of the Hong Kong film "Eye in the Sky" (跟蹤 | Hong Kong 2007).

  It certainly feels incomplete at the festival without watching a dazzling action sequence on the streets of Seoul, and on the giant screen at Castro Theater, no less.

  

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• Pee Mak (พี่มาก..พระโขนง | Thailand 2013 | in Thai | 115 min.)

  Remember Mario Maurer (มาริโอ้ เมาเร่อ), a heartthrob who is the love interest of a teenage boy in "The Love of Siam" (รักแห่งสยาม | Thailand 2007)? With a stylish new hairdo and blacken teeth, he is returning to the festival in Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun's (บรรจง ปิสัญธนะกูล) hilarious smashing box-office hit "Pee Mak" (พี่มาก..พระโขนง) which tells a well-know Thai folk tale.

  In the middle 19th century, after fighting in a war, Pee Mak (Mario Maurer) returns home to his wife Nak (Davika Horne ดาวิก้า โฮร์เน) and his new born son. His four best friends Shin, Ter, Aey, and Puak come with him and try to alert Mak that his wife Nak may be a ghost, but Mak remains faithful and hopeful to his love.

  Although this tongue-in-cheek comedy doesn't spoof all the way like the "Scary Movie" (USA 2000) franchise, it never stops poking fun about pretty much everything. Yes, there is ghost in the film, but it only scares the film's characters and generates goofy laughter. The film's over-the-top performance works effectively on providing ample entertainment. However, the film seems running off steam while unfolding the story, in spite of the laugh-out-loud opening scenes.

  

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Bill Marks (Liam Neeson), a U.S. Air Marshal, doesn't look very good when he pours himself a drink in the parking lot before boarding a flight from New York to London. Obviously he bears more emotional baggage than his drinking problem. He holds a still face and hardly talks, until a talkative prying fellow passenger Jen (Julianne Moore) sits next to him.

After the plane is in the midair and his smoking break in a lavatory by tempering smoking detector (really?), he starts getting text messages on his secure pager. The text messages demand a transfer of $150 million into a provided bank account. Otherwise, for every 20 minutes, a passenger on the plane will be killed.

Bill realizes that this is a real threat when people indeed die one after another one. Even worse, Bill seems to be responsible to each death. With the help from Jen and a calm flight attendant Nancy (Michelle Dockery), he tries to figure out who is sending those messages. But that effort only makes everyone looked suspicious, creating a mysterious and fascinating scenario as in "Murder on the Oriental Express."

But the fun part of the film ends when the crisis escalates out of control. The script is no longer capable of providing reasonably plausible resolutions to its setup. Therefore, the film decides to go ahead and crash landing its story with the airplane, hoping for the best.

If the director Jamume Collet-Serra held up the pace as in the beginning of the film, with the help from Liam Neeson's action hero looking figure, the film would have survived the ordeal. Unfortunately, he switches his gear in his storytelling and turns a mysterious thriller into a typical airplane disaster movie. Even worse, he ignores the viewers' intelligence and ruthlessly proceeds with his flight plan, even when all alarms have been set off.

Why bother to scan an armed Air Marshal by using the body imagining machine at the airport? How come all the in-flight TV monitors are showing CNN live news feed while flight attendants who control the programming have no clue about what's on the news? How can it be possible that no one on the airplane smells Bill's smoking in a lavatory except the one who sends the text messages (especially when the air in a pressurized cabin is recycled)? How exactly can the $150 million be retrieved? How does everyone get decent cellular signal over the Atlantic Ocean?

One of the film's most surreal moments is when Bill confesses that he is an alcoholic while waving his gun and holding his AA meeting with the panic passengers who he is supposed to protect. Under the protection by Air Marshals like Bill, no American airliner has been hijacked after 9/11. Since we have been so lucky, maybe it's time to abolish the U.S. Air Marshal program to save some seats for the bumped off passengers to save some tax payers' money.

From the alcoholic Bill to window-seat-seeking Jen, from the ruthless terrorists to the distressed passengers, the film fails to convincingly explain the motives of their actions. Perhaps it's better that way, so that you all feel safer next time when you fly. It's almost impossible to believe that anything happened during this flight could have ever happened in real life. If you watch this movie during a flight, that impression from this film becomes more important.

I don't expect I can spot a U.S. Air Marshal in a flight any time soon after this movie is released, because the troubled ones resembling Liam Neeson might already have checked into rehab, and others remain invisible while taking up valuable passenger seats.

"Non-Stop," a Universal Pictures release, opens on Friday, February 28, 2014.

Apparently, Hayao Miyazaki is less concerned about the film's political impact and is more interested in telling a story in this last bow to his distinguished career. Like his protagonist, Hayao Miyazaki perhaps just wants to "make something beautiful." Although this Oscar-nominated film is not as exhilarating and captivating as some of Hayao Miyazaki's previous works, it certainly is a visual delight.

The film opens with Jiro Horikoshi's fascinating boyhood dream in which he flies high in his own fantasy world. As a young boy, he is inspired by an Italian aviation pioneer Giovanni Caproni, who frequently appears in his dreams throughout the film. He continues to explore his passion about aviation after he becomes a university student.

Following his childhood dream, Jiro joints Mitsubishi after his graduation and becomes an excellent engineer. With only a slider rule in hands, he is given a daunting task to design war fighters preparing for the upcoming World War II.

During a vacation, Jiro coincidently reunites with Naoko, who he first briefly met during the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake, and now she is battling with tuberculosis. Their romance quickly blossoms, but in no way it distracts Jiro's passion about his work on designing war fighters.

Although Jiro succeeds in the end, he doesn't appear to be exiting. He gloomily gazes at the fighters disappearing into the sky and mutters: "Not a single plane came back. That's what it means to lose a war."

As shown in Hayao Miyazaki's other films such as Academy Award-winning "Spirited Away" (千と千尋の神隠し 2001), the renowned writer/director/animator is singular in creating an enchanting fantasy world that involves children. There is no exception in this film when Jiro is a young boy. However, once the film gets to the later part, especially when it unfolds a typical romance subplot with Nahoko, the film's enjoyable high energy is subdued and the story becomes less engaging as if we are forced to read the numbers on Jiro's slider rule.

Jiro knew full well that his beautifully designed airplanes are to be used for the purpose of war. There is no question about it. Yet, that doesn't deter his passion a bit at work. The film is honest about it and doesn't portray him as somebody who is single-minded in creating something beautiful in the aviation world. Jiro understands the terrible consequences of his work yet proceeds passionately. Therefore, Jiro isn't just an innocent engineer. He significantly contributes to the devastation and suffering caused by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

But none of those factors seem to stop Hayao Miyazaki from telling Jiro's story as it is in his final project. In a certain way, he shares Jiro's passion in making something beautiful, disregard the consequences. He makes this film without sending a message about war like other films such as "Grave of the Fireflies" (火垂るの墓 1988). Unfortunately, that also undermines the power the film otherwise could have delivered.

The film's theatrical release in the US is dubbed in English by American actors, which is what I saw at a press screening. I wish I had a chance to see the original Japanese language version. When I hear the voices of familiar American actors such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Stanley Tucci on the screen, I feel those voices somewhat discredit the characters and keep them at arm's length from me, even their voices are perfect. I am told that each theater will decide in which language the film will be shown. Check your local theaters for more information.

"The Wind Rises," a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release, opens on Friday, February 21, 2014 in San Francisco Bay Area.

Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner), a C.I.A. agent, is the hero in the film who presents in pretty much every scene. At the opening of the film, he kills a room-full of terrorists who tried to buy a dirty bomb from a terrorist called The Wolf (Richard Sammel). But before The Wolf is killed, Ethan collapses and finds out that he has cancer. His future looks bleak because he has about only three months left to live. That prompts him to quit the C.I.A. and to spend more time with his teenage daughter Zooey (Hailee Steinfeld) and his separated wife Christine (Connie Nielsen), both resent Ethan's absence in their lives during the past.

Zooey and Christine live in Paris, for no other reason than the city's scenic view provides a fantastic backdrop in the film. When Ethan comes back to his apartment in Paris, he is surprised that it has been occupied by a refugee family from Africa. A bigger surprise is that the C.I.A. sends him a new boss Vivi Delay (Amber Heard), who dresses like a Barbie doll and kills mercilessly. Vivi offers Ethan an experiment drug that can prolong his life, under the condition that Ethan continues to work for her to kill The Wolf. Basically, Vivi acts like a drug dealer who controls Ethan's addiction. She shows up whenever Ethan needs a dose of the drug and becomes hallucinating, of course, often at very crucial moments when he is engaging with a target.

Does Ethan kill The Wolf under the influence of drug and dealing with his family's melodrama? Take a guess, but not need to think too hard.

The script (by Luc Besson and Adi Hasak) bares the most blame for the film's absurdity. Hardly any of the characters is credible. Change into different Barbie outfits, Vivi seems doing nothing else but blackmailing Ethan, an outstanding C.I.A. veteran with a life-threaten disease. Seriously?

Zooney is a teenager who doesn't know how to cook, dance, or ride a bicycle. Suddenly, Ethan drops into her life and to teach her all of these, in between his busy schedule of chasing, killing, and torturing his targets. Oh yes! That surely sounds like how efficient a C.I.A. agent should be!

The director McG cares more about eye-popping action sequences than building a convincing character or attending details. The plot and its execution are sloppy to say the least. Never mind how bizarre that African refugee family appeared in the story. When the family's pregnant woman gives birth, she appears to be having twins, because even when Ethan expresses his sentiment with the newborn in hands, the woman's stomach is still bloated.

Kevin Costner is a fine actor and director, and he is not bad given the script he has to play. He must be short in cash and needs this paycheck to play Ethan. How else to explain his decision on taking on this role? Or is he forced to play Ethan in exchange for some kind of experimental drug from the producer? That certainly sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

"3 Days to Kill," a Relativity Media release, opens on Friday, February 21, 2014.