YNOT at the Movies

In fact, one of the four regional film focus at the 31st Mill Valley Film Festival is Asian Focus. The festival presents new works from Taiwan, South Korea, Laos and China.

• The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

  Taking more than 23 years to complete, "The Betrayal" (Nerakhoon, USA/Laos 2008, 87 min.) tells an extraordinary story about refugees from Laos. After the Vietnam War, many Laos who helped the US became refugees. Phrasavath escaped Laos with his family and started a new life in the rough side of the Brooklyn, NY. His new journey is nothing close to a smooth sailing or safe heaven.

  

• Hello, Stranger (처음 만난 사람들)

  Culture shock, language barrier, and human drama are all mixed together in a South Korean film "Hello, Stranger" (처음 만난 사람들, South Korea 2007, 113 min.). Jin-wook is a North Korean defector to the South. On the first night of his placement, he is lost and gets help from a cab driver who is also a fellow North Korean defector. Then on his way to meet his friends, Jin-wook helps out a Vietnamese illegal worker who does not speak Korean at all. The film makes gives these characters kind hearts like sticking price tags on goods at a supermarket. Despite the ludicrous writing, there are moments in the film that makes me want to go out my way to find a North Korean defector, and then bring him to Chinatown to help out those folks who speaks little English.

  

• What on Earth Have I Done Wrong? (情非得已生存之道)

  Mockumentary "What on Earth Have I Done Wrong?" (情非得已生存之道, Taiwan 2007, 96 min.) is a comedy about the show business in Taiwan that blurs the line between fiction and reality. Director Doze Niu plays himself who raises money to make a, well, mockumentary. His sources seem quite diverse ranging from politicians to gangsters. Not surprisingly, he burns the money at all fronts as well, including hookers.

  

• Fujian Blue (金碧辉煌)

  Director Robin Weng's debut feature "Fujian Blue" (金碧辉煌, China 2007, 90 min.) tells stories set in Fujian province in China, where most the human trafficking are originated. It follows a group of gangsters who make money by blackmailing adulterers, including a gang member's own mother. Meanwhile, another gang member is trying to pay off the debt in order to send her sister overseas.

  

• God Man Dog (流浪神狗人)

  From the writer of "Spider Lilies" (刺青), Chen Singing's second feature "God Man Dog" (流浪神狗人, Taiwan 2008, 119 min.) blends three seemingly unrelated stories together through religion, fate, coincident, or even an accident. It involves many people from all walks of lives, such as a one leg truck driver saves money to fix his leg, an alcoholic couple trying to mend the relationship with their daughter, and a depressed mother dealing with the fragile marriage. None of them are happy. However, to connect the dots among these characters will require multiple viewings. So, let them be.

  

This year is no exception. For eleven days starting from October 2, the 31st Mill Valley Film Festival will bring more than 200 films from about 50 countries to Bay area film lovers.

Although I have only seen very limited number of films in this year's program, I am already impressed by many of them. Some of them easily have become the top films I have seen this year.

• Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's (Maman est chez le coiffeur)

  Set in the 60s in a small town in Canada, beautifully photographed in a summer tone, "Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's" (Maman est chez le coiffeur, Canada 2008, 97 min.) terrifically captures three children's emotional turmoil after their mom left home due to their dad's external marital affairs, with a man. With innocent humor, sincere affection, and strong performance from the cast, this film is easily become one of the top ten best films of this year I have seen so far.

  

• Wendy and Lucy

  With impressive performances, "Wendy and Lucy" (USA 2008, 80 min.) tells a moving story about young woman Wendy's heartbreaking tale dealing with her hardship. She is on her way to Alaska with her dog Lucy, but she is stuck in Oregon when her car is broken down, when she must make some hard decisions. I am deeply touched by those characters in the film and want to extend my sympathy and generosity to them as much as they express to each other.

  

• Happy-Go-Lucky

  Oscar nominated director Mike Leigh's immensely entertaining and optimistic comedy "Happy-Go-Lucky" (UK 2008, 117 min.) will leave the audience giggling for a long time even after the film is over. The film's protagonist is a school teacher Poppy (Sally Hawkins). She is a genuinely happy and looks at almost everything in a positive way. The story simply follows her daily life, including her driving lessons from a grouchy angry driving couch Scott (Eddie Marsan), and it makes me feel like happy-go-lucky just like Poppy does. Both Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan deserves an Oscar nominations for their incredible performance in this film.

  

• Lemon Tree ((עץ לימון)

  Filled with light humor and diligent sensitivity, "Lemon Tree" (עץ לימון, Israel/Germany/France 2008, 106 min.) unfolds a Palestinian widow's courageous fight to save her family's lemon grove. After the Israel's Defense Minister move in as her next door neighbor, her lemon trees become a national security threat. Without infusing any political view upon Israel-Palestine conflict, the film brilliantly leaves the judgment to the audience and focuses on the human stories. It's one of the closing night films at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

  

• American Violet

  Based on a true story, "American Violet" (USA 2008, 102 min.) reveals the injustice in this country's criminal justice system because of racism and politics. Living in a housing project in a small town in Texas, a single mom Dee Roberts is wrongfully accused on drug charges. Instead of pleating guilty like most accused black people, she takes on a fight against the District Attorney and the racism in the society. This is the other closing night film at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

  

• Children of the Amazon

  After she took photos of children of Amazon, Brazilian filmmaker Denise Zmekhol goes back to the forests and makes a film "Children of the Amazon" (US/Brazil 2008, 72 min.). This politically charged documentary examines the cultural and environmental impact from the "development" and native tribes' struggle on preservation of their culture and living hood.

  

• Flash of Genius

  Based on inventor Robert Kearns's life and his legal battle against the U.S. automobile industry, "Flash of Genius" (USA 2008, 119 min.) is a satisfying "Erin Brockovich" turning into courtroom drama with a strong performance by Greg Kinnear.

  

• Synching Blue

  Without any dialogue, except couple SprintPCS's voice recording messages, "Synching Blue" (USA 2008, 108 min.) tells an intriguing story about a lonely seclusive young man who indulges himself in watching porn, masturbation, sleeping, cleaning, and longing the love from a girl who works as a lifeguard.

  

• Katyń

  Acclaimed Polish director and Academy Honorary Award recipient Andrzej Wajda revisits the World War II in his new film "Katyń" (Poland 2007, 115 min.). After captured as Polish POWs in 1940, about 22,000 of them are killed by the Soviet Union in Katyń. The Soviet Union covered up the crime, and finally admitted to the killing in 1990. The film tells the personal story from one family who is the victim of this massacre.

  

Slacker Christopher "C-dub" Wang (Jimmy Tsai) has a hoop dream but is a few inches short and stuck in a suburban Asian family that devotes to ping pong: his mom teaches ping pong in a community center, his dad runs a ping pong supply store, and his doctor brother (Roger Fan) is a ping pong champion.

After a serious mishaps causing by C-dub, he ends up teaching a ping pong class of misfit kids, then he goes on to use the class to make more cash by gambling on ping pong games. However, a challenge from a non-Asian rival for the National Golden Cock Tournament title makes C-dub finally to take the game seriously, although he still dreams to be a pro-basketball player.

I am usually skeptical when I see a film is labeled as comedy, because many of them hardly funny. However, this film makes me laugh out so loud that I thought I was screaming, and I were only giggling when I was watching "Juno." I hope writer/director Jessica Yu will make more comedies like this. Jimmy Tsai's acting debut proves that his great talent not only lives behind the camera, but also shines in front of it.

Many comic moments come from daily lives, which make me wonder if they might be lifted out from filmmaker's real life. For example, C-dub turns on the TV with his toes so he can play video game the first thing after waking up in the morning. This must have come from real life observation, rather than pure imagination. Although the ping pong tournament plot is a little formulaic, the film works due to its sarcastic satire and its overall quality, and mostly because it's extremely funny.

The Asian hip-hop sound track also makes the film more cheerful and refreshing. I don't normally eat cereal, but the sound track "I Love Cereal" wants me to have a bowl of cereal, especially after watching how much C-dub enjoys it. However, I will stay away from Ping Pong though so I don't have to wear those tight shorts C-dub was wearing in the film.

Finally, I agree C-dub's dad: the Chinese invented Ping Pong besides the "Four Great Inventions of ancient China." Disagree? Go watch this movie.

After a successful tour among prestigious film festivals, including the 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), "Ping Pong Playa" opens in theaters on Friday, September 5.