YNOT at the Movies

Thanks Wataru-san, today, I went to a screening of a Hong Kong film "Perhaps Love" (如果 爱), which will be the opening night film at the 49th San Francisco International Film Festival next month.

This is a splendid film about the lost of love, the memory of love, the pursuit of love, and the truth of love. It tells a triangle love story. What I like about this film is not how touching the triangle love is, but how touching this story is told.

It's directed by a famous Hong Kong's director Peter Chan, and staring by the handsome Takeshi Kaneshiro ("House of Flying Daggers," "Turn Left Turn Right"), the talented Zhou Xun ("The Little Chinese Seamstress," "Beijing Bicycle"), the remarkable singer and actor Jacky Cheung, and the Korean heartthrob Ji Jin-hee.

Ten years ago, in Beijing, a Hong Kong film student Lin Jian-dong (Takeshi Kaneshiro) fell in love with an energetic girl Sun Na (Zhou Xun). Sun Na left Jian-dong to pursue her dream to be a movie star, leaving Jian-dong devastated. Ten years later, both of them become big movie stars and their paths cross again when they co-star in a musical. However, the musical's director Nie Wen (Jacky Cheung) also loves Sun Na. Will the old love prevail or will it simply break more hearts?

At the beginning, when the music and dancing started, I thought this film is another Hollywood style cheesy musical. I am not a big musical fan, so I got a little worried. That concern quickly disappeared because the heart wrenching story and the marvelous performance settled inside me, deeply. The music and the songs actually move me profoundly. The film brilliantly blends together the musical which two lead characters are filming and the movie itself. The characters are enacting their love affairs through the musical they are playing.

I am glad that Takeshi Kaneshiro speaks perfect Chinese in the film, not like how Zhang Ziyi speaks English in "Memoirs of a Geisha." Heck, even Ji Jin-hee speaks darn good Chinese (perhaps dubbed).

I shed so many tears together with those characters during the screening of this film. I wonder why. Perhaps, love?

My rating: 9 out of 10.

It seems that the short films I have seen are fading away from my memory. So before further ado, here is a recap of those shorts I have not blogged.

Shorts Program: Lost and Bound

• Public Bath: A cute animation about this little boy going to public bath with his dad. Too bad that they all have to grow older.

• Sons of Tu: Well-made and very good looking film about a bunch soldiers goofing around to escape the brutality of the war.

• Sister: An adopted Asian boy got bullied on a school bus but what does that have to do with his sister? There are moments in this short, but the plot needs to go back to the drawing board.

• Tears in the Rain: It's bizarre, weird, and pointless about conjoined twins undergoing a surgery of separation. Then one is wandering on the streets, and the other is on life support. Yeah right!

• 5 x 90: The Wake: It's an interesting idea to have five stories told by one frame, and each story is played in a "do-loop." It might worth to explore if any of the story were interesting. But none of them is, and it's repeating five times. Too long.

• Passage: Delight short in amazing looking black and white, about this little girl finds out that her soon-to-be sister-in-law is not what she would hope to be. Well done.

• Her Love/Life: Richard (the actor of this short) looks really hot in real life, band he is so energetic and fun to hang out. But the guy he played in this short is totally opposite, which shows his acting skill. But I think the script is a little weak in this short, although I really adore the lighting and cinematography. I don't even remember what the actress looks like, shouldn't it be called "His Love/Life?"

• Wake: Very deliciously disturbing, like many Korean films. Great film making on manipulating audience's emotion and terrific performance too.

Shorts Program: Punchcards and Preoccupations

• The Women's Kingdom: A fascinating story about the tradition in Mosuo region in China. I actually saw this short documentary before in Fontline on PBS a while back despite its claim of "World Premiere."

• Los Coyotes: It's alright, I have seen features with better acting before about a bunch young kids smuggle a young boy to the US from Mexico.

• What remains Good characters and acting in this short about two brothers with complete different personalities and nothing in common. Blood is always thicker than water.

• Super Power Blues: A boring short about this girl who has super power, and she saves everybody else so she has no time to be with her boyfriend. And? Why should I care?

• Seibutsu (Still: Life): I missed most of this short because I was in another screening. No comment.

• Stationary: Interesting animation about this woman who is obsessed with the use of paperclips as the norm of the report. The animation is pretty good and the character is well written.

• Uptown/Downtown: A story about this thief in New York subway met a Japanese girl after he stole her wallet and broke her bike. It could have been a better short if the film focused on either the thief's stealing or the romance. It's kinda drifting about what the real story the film is trying to tell.

Shorts Program: Mystery Arcade

• High Winds: Utterly boring and you don't want to know what it's about, ok, about nothing.

• Astronaut: A very original and hilarious short that blurs the line between fiction and documentary about three guys who are searching for this same girl Jane. That video game player character is so well-written and brilliantly acted. This is a great entertaining short.

• My Break Ups Into a Million Pieces: A woman went back to Philippines to be with her family and search for her root, but a little too personal to make the connection with the audience (i.e. me).

• Missing: A guy realizes what he has been missing only after his girlfriend went missing. Well, if he quits smoking, his girlfriend might have stayed. It's an interesting short with some refreshing ideas, but not quite satisfying.

• Hiro: A scientist rescued a girl while trying to smuggling a rare insect specie. Nothing is interesting or original about this film.

Shorts Program: 3rd i South Asian Shorts 2006

• 6 ft. in 7 min. A very funny and entertaining short about this India American boy's new discovery on his 18th birthday. This kind of short is what we need. Extremely well done, in a very short time. (We are not talking about steak.)

• Viva Liberty!: A cliché political short about terrorist, prison camp, and racial profiling. Very comical and typical Saturday Night Live stuff, which means that it's not funny.

• Grinding Machine: Beautifully shot in a poor neighborhood in India, a boy's life is totally turned upside down after his mom got a grinding machine at home to make a living. Very well made and acted.

• In Whose Name?: A personal view of the changing politics in India. Not quite engaging.

• Time and the Hour Run: I have no idea what the hell this film is trying to say or what's going on in it. Bore me to death.

• Lucky: An AIDS orphan met an Indian lady living next door, and they began to get to relax their guards against each other after they helped out each other. Not really new idea, but the boy acted well.

Shorts Program in "Grassroots Rising"

• Dastaar: Defending Sikh Identity: It's a very informative and insightful short documentary looking at the prejudice toward Sikh men who wear dastaar. I used to wonder myself why they have to wear dastaar even in the locker room in my gym. I saw one guy went to the shower with only a dastaar and towel, so I was asking myself, do they ever wash their hair? Now I understand what dastaar means and they only put it on each morning. Oh god, I thought they never take it off. Very interesting short indeed.

• Whose Children are These?: This short documentary tells a touching story about how the kids deal with their father's deportation due to the new unfair immigration law. Very powerful.

Shorts Program: The Life Quixotic

• The Light: Boring and pointless about this guy gets a red light if he follows the same routine every morning. Whatever.

• Blue: A woman returns to her hometown to have a fair with her old flirt, even he has a wife and kid. Not bad even a little slow.

• Bunny & Clydo: This is an incredibly good looking film (with a budget for over $100,000 compared to other shorts for almost nothing). It blends reality and comic characters together in an action orgy. Pretty cool stuff when you have money to play with.

• Not A Fucking Blonde: Brilliantly written script to explore a relationship that goes bad, but not bad enough to break up. Very insightful and in-depth characters. The dialogue is precisely crafted. Awesome film.

• Spy Moms: Corny (in a funny way), entertaining, crowd pleaser about a bunch moms to take action to make sure that the Asian boy will be on the "right" track to have a successful career in the future. Fun short.

• My Prince, My Angel: It tells a story about a playful romance between a suicide hotline volunteer and her pursuer. It's interesting to see how their relationship develops while we laugh at the most corny pickup lines.

• Slip of the Tongue: Charming, funny, witty, sharp, and original. It's hard to believe that it only costs $5 to make this energetic short. Good stuff.

Finally, here is the complete list of the films I saw during the The 24th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

Feature length films:

1. Chinese Restaurants: Latin Passions 4
2. Grassroots Rising 6
3. China Blue 7
4. American Fusion 4
5. ABDUCTION The Megumi Yokota Story 9
6. Gaijin 2: Love Me As I Am (Gaijin - Ama-me Como Sou) 7
7. The Achievers 8
8. Be with Me 9
9. Sentenced Home 8
10. Eve and the Fire Horse 9
11. Citizen Dog 8
12. Sobhraj 6
13. Red Doors 7
14. Water 7
15. Café Lumière (珈琲时光) 7
16. Linda Linda Linda (リンダリンダリンダ) 5
17. Grain In Ear (芒种) 7
18. Rules of Dating (연애의 목적) 8

1. Public Bath 6
2. Sons of Tu 7
3. Sister 5
4. Tears in the Rain 3
5. 5 x 90: The Wake 6
6. Passage 8
7. Her Love/Life 7
8. Wake 9
9. The Women's Kingdom 8
10. Los Coyotes 6
11. What remains 6
12. Super Power Blues 4
13. Stationary 7
14. Uptown/Downtown 6
15. High Winds 1
16. Astronaut 9
17. My Break Ups Into a Million Pieces 4
18. Missing 6
19. Hiro 5
20. 6 ft. in 7 min. 9
21. Viva Liberty! 6
22. Grinding Machine 8
23. In Whose Name? 6
24. Time and the Hour Run 2
25. Lucky 6
26. Dastaar: Defending Sikh Identity 8
27. Whose Children are These? 8
28. The Light 3
29. Blue 5
30. Bunny & Clydo 7
31. Not A Fucking Blonde 9
32. Spy Moms 8
33. My Prince, My Angel 7
34. Slip of the Tongue 8
35. Still 7
36. Falling Stars 7
37. A Girl Named Kai 8
38. Sweater People 6
39. And I Knew 8
40. Porcelain 5
41. Long Distance 6
42. Balikbayan Confessions 7
43. Aunty G's 7
44. Dick Ho: Asian Male Porn Star 1
45. Void 6
46. All About Tada 2
47. Rolling Longaniza 3
48. Blue Bird of Happiness 4
49. A Little Bit Different 4
50. How To Be A Hong Kong Superstar 7
51. Seibutsu (Still: Life)
52. Take It Or Leave It? 5
53. Press or Say '2' 0
54. The Coldest War - Part I 1

My rating: 4 out of 10.

Now I need to get ready for the course I will give on Sunday. I was told that there are about 80 people registered my course already. But why do they have to schedule the course so damn early on a Sunday!!!???

Imagine that suddenly your loved ones disappeared without a trace, only many years later you find out that they were abducted by North Korea spies, and you have no idea if they are still alive. That's a story this powerful documentary "ABDUCTION The Megumi Yokota Story" presents. Thirteen-year-old Megumi Yokota didn't return home from school in November 1977. Years later, her family found out that she was abducted by the North Korea. Her parents went on a crusade to bring her back to Japan, along with other family members of 13 Japanese who were abducted by North Korea.

The film masterfully crafts footages and interviews and it tells us a heartbroken story. I cried, many times, like so many people in the sold out theatre. It still brings tears to my eyes when I recall the image of the weak Japanese lady tearful pled for her abducted son's return. She has been sick in bed for years after her son was abducted.

We probably simply shake our heads if we read the news about the abduction in a newspaper, thinking how crazy North Korea is. But watching this film, it puts human faces on those news reports. Everything becomes so real and so close to heart, because we can all related to our own families with those victims. Our families all have parents, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters, just like those 13 abducted Japanese.

We live in a very sad world. Japanese invaded China and Korea, among many other countries during (and before) World War II. They did similar things as the North Korea did to these families, only perhaps not that secretly. Now, North Korea is doing the same thing to Japanese. When will all this come to an end? Can we just live together peacefully?

After the screening, the directors answered a few more questions which should have been explained in the film, and had more insightful discussion with the audience. This is a terrific documentary.

My rating: 9 out of 10.

"Gaijin" means foreigners in Japanese. "Gaijin 2: Love Me As I Am" tells an unforgettable story about Japanese immigrants in Brazil, covering several decades and four generations.

In 1908, Titoe came to Brazil from Japan, but she never thought that she would not return to Japan until she already has her great grand children. Over the years, they struggled to survive the war and the environment, to gain acceptance, to hold on to the community and Japanese heritage, to cope with the culture clash, and to overcome the prejudice toward "Gaijin." By the third generation, Titoe 's granddaughter Maria crossed the racial line and married to a Brazilian man Gabriel. The landscape begins to change because now Gabriel becomes the one who is trying to gain acceptance by the Japanese family and becomes a "gaijin."

What makes this film's theme is so universal is that the story is not just about Japanese immigrants in Brazil, every ethnic group of immigrants can relate to those character's experiences with their own journey in a foreign land. I really enjoy Titoe's character and the performance of that 83 years old actress who is incredibly funny and moving.

My rating: 8 out of 10.

So, how much you paid for your last pair of jeans? And do we ever think about how much the workers get paid for making these jeans if there is a label saying "Made in China?" This documentary "China Blue" brings us inside a jeans factory in Guangdong, China. The surprising great level of access to these workers and the factory owner give us a chilling first hand look at what the label "Made in China" really means. The film follows a 16-years old girl Jasmine who began to work in the Lifeng Factory to make jeans for foreign countries like USA and UK, and for companies like Wal-Mart. She lives in a dorm room in the factory (not for free) with another 11 workers. Some of these workers are as young as 14 years old (with a fake ID to come to work). She kept a diary to express how much she misses her family and how horrible the working condition is. Sometimes, they have to work 16 hours (even over 20 hours one time) without overtime pay. They only get paid about $50 to $60 a month after all these long hours of working. And this is still better than going back to countryside villages where they will make even less. It makes me furious when I see the factory owner drives his Mercedes to fancy restaurants to meet foreign customers, while he delays paying the workers after more than a month's work.

It's a really depressing film to watch and it makes me feel guilty to buy any clothes with "Made in China" on it in the future. But without the trade, Jasmine and her co-workers will make less and working even longer hours in the field as farmers. I feel hopeless and I am torn.

Although the film is quite effective, somehow I get the impression that Jasmine is staged for the documentary. After worked for 16 some hours, how could she still have the urge to write her diary under the dim light, while all the others are sleeping? It looks like she is doing that for the camera crews in the dorm room to get a beautiful close-up shot. How come they never interviewed any male worker? I was going to ask the director that question at the Q&A after the film. But I was tired. So Jordan and I left to catch the bus.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

They have done everything to bless the best fortune for the family, including the red door at the front gate. But things don't seem always go the way they have hoped for.

This film does a great job on examining the conflicts and confusions in these characters' minds with superb performance from the cast. But I simple can't get over with the fact that there is no Asian man in this film except the dad. All three daughters date Caucasians, even Julie dates a white chick! If the story were set in Kansas or Alabama, it would have been understandable because Asian men don't want to live there. But New York? I can't help but to feel unsettling with this "arrangement." Other than that, it's not a bad film.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Another documentary I watched last Sunday "Grassroots Rising" also tells the depressing story about working class people, mostly the new Asian immigrants, in the America. We actually have a lot sweatshops right here in the United States of America. These working class people speak little English. Some of them are forced to slave labor because their illegal immigration status. Some work at a restaurant for 13 hours a day without any overtime pay because they are paid by monthly. I even overheard the same story myself from two old people's conversation (in Chinese) on a bus heading to Chinatown. One difference from "China Blue" is that this film also shows those workers began to be educated and started to understand their rights and organize labor union. The grassroots are rising. It's a really a moving documentary and you probably will see it soon on a PBS station. But the film could have done a better job at editing, especially the first half of the film, the transitions between stories lack continuity sometimes.

My rating: 6 out of 10.

My rating: 8 out of 10.

This film stirs so much anger and protest from the Hindu fundamentalists, and the production was shut down completely. A few years later, the filmmakers were able to secretly shoot this film in Pakistan with a complete new cast. Speaking of the power of religion.

This performance of the 8 years old girl (who doesn't speak Hindu or English, she has to learn the lines for the film) is deeply moving. The scenes were beautifully shot. But that doesn't mean that this film is not under the influence of the Bollywood style. Despite a few memorable characters, the romance between Kalyani and Narayan is pure for the commercial value to me. Without the romance, there should have enough stories about these widows living like this for hundreds if not thousands of years. So if a widow is not as beautiful as Kalyani, then there won't have a Narayan to fall in love with her. Does that mean then her life is less tragic then? Yes, there will have Bollywood music in this film, perhaps because of this romance.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

My rating: 9 out of 10.

Although I do think I have a sense of humor, but I am just not fond of cheesy comedies. I like movies when they are actually funny because the characters say or do some humorous stuff, but not when one kicks another's crotch. You would not be laughing if somebody kicks your crotch, would you? Then why I should laugh at others when they got hick on the balls? That's the reason I don't feel the "crowd pleaser" "American Fusion" that funny at all. I hardly laughed during the entire film, while others giggled through out the film. Yvonne (am I the only one don't think that's a Chinese name?) is a divorced newspaper reporter with a grown-up son and a critical mother. She met a Mexican American dentist during an assignment and the ethnic stereotypes began to accelerate in this topsy-turvy family. Although most of the ethnic jokes are not that funny, I do like the grandma character who is so stubborn and energetic.

My rating: 4 out of 10.

My rating: 8 out of 10.