YNOT at the Movies

In 1975, when Michael Bennett brought audionees' personal stories into a Broadway musical "A Chorus Line," it won nine Tony Awards and became one of the longest running musicals on Broadway.

Three decades later, "A Chorus Line" is revived on Broadway. The audition process not only once again echoes the musical's story, it also produces a touching and endearing documentary "Every Little Step" (USA 2008 | 96 min.). The film pays tributes to artists of many generations.

The casting team consists of A Chorus Line's original co-choreographer Bob Avian and original cast members Donna McKechnie and Baayork Lee. Their task is to select 19 actors out of over 3000 auditionees. The film captures auditionees' heartfelt journeys and explores A Chorus Line's legacy.

The filmmakers bring us inside the audition studio and also those actors' lives through their observant and affectionate lenses. The film turns the harsh audition process into a suspensive dramatic tale about the dedication and struggle from these talented artists. Even we might have our own picks after each audition, all actors, especially those who do not get the parts, earn our respect and admiration.

During a scene in A Chorus Line, a gay youth character Paul gives a monologue describing the moment when his parents come to see his performance. When Jason Tam auditions for Paul, his powerful deliverance not only brings me into tears, it also breaks down the casting team captured by the film, even they have heard the same lines for thousands of times. If anybody is not moved by Jason Tam's monologue, I will refund your ticket myself.

Regardless whether you like musical or not and whether you have seen A Chorus Line or not, this terrific documentary will inspire you as well as entertain you.

"Every Little Step" will be shown at the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival on Sunday, Apr 26, 9:30pm at Castro Theater.

"Every Little Step" opens on Friday, May 8th at Bay Area Theater.

• Speaking in Tongues (USA 2008 | in English/Mandarin/Spanish/Cantonese | 60 min.)

  While there are 112 languages spoken in San Francisco metropolitan area, the notion of "English Only" (in 31 states already) seems absurd. The intriguing documentary "Speaking in Tongues" follows four youngsters and their families in a San Francisco public school for a year to study the fascinating impact of bilingual education. Can't speak in another tongue yet? Not to worry, the film will be subtitled at the screenings before you get back to school to learn another language.

  

• Tongzhi in Love (彼岸浮生 | China 2008 | in Mandarin | 30 min.)

  Academy Award winning director Ruby Yang's (杨紫烨) new documentary "Tongzhi in Love," perhaps the first documentary about gays in China, examines gay men's double lives in modern China — the freer city gay life versus the closet life being the only child who is responsible for producing an heir for the family.

  My full review.

  

• Home (Switzerland/France/Belgium 2008 | 97 min.)

  The still images from "Home" (starring Isabelle Huppert) reminds me European films such as "Adam's Apples" (SFiFF49). I feel that if I were going to see only one European film during this festival, "Home" would be the one. The story about a happy-go-lucky family dealing with a highway built on their front yard interests me. Don't we all deal with similar situations even it might not be a highway?

  

• Claustrophobia (親密 | Hong Kong/China 2008 | 100 min.)

  Award winning screenwriter Ivy Ho's (岸西) directorial debut "Claustrophobia" is a drama about office romance set in modern time. Although personally I never think office romance is a good idea — for the obvious reasons — I am eager to see how protagonists in this film sort things out in their cubicles.

  

• Departures (おくりびと | Japan 2008 | in Japanese | 131 min.)

  This just in: the winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009, "Departures" will be shown at the fesitval on Saturday May 2 at 11:00 am at the Clay Theatre! Enough said.

  

• Easy Virtue (UK/USA 2008 | 93 min.)

  Director Stephan Elliott ("The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,") blends brilliant performance, fantastic cinematography, lavish art design and costumes, funky music, and mischievous humor into an entertaining "Easy Virtue" (UK/USA 2008 | 93 mins.). The movie is the second adaptation of Noel Coward's classic play, and the first adaptation is a silent film by Alfred Hitchcock eighty years ago. Even though this film is no "Gosford Park," it has its own charm when telling a story about a newly wed American wife tries to escape a suffocating upper class British family.

  

• The Beast Stalker (證人 | Hong Kong 2008 | in Cantonese | 110 min.)

  Just won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Awards few days ago at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards, director Dante Lam's (林超賢) action packed thriller "The Beast Stalker" (證人) will have its U.S. premiere at the festival. Go and see it before the Hollywood remakes it.

  

• River People (水上人家 | China 2008 | in Chinese/Yan Cheng dialect | 88 min.)

  Worked with directors Zhang Yimou (张艺谋) and Chen Kaige (陈凯歌), director He Jianjun (何建军) is considered to be a leading voice of the sixth generation Chinese filmmakers. His new docudrama "River People" tells a story about two teenager boys living on the Yellow River bank, one wants to leave for the city, and the other one wants to stay.

  

• The Window (La ventana | Argentina/Spain 2008 | in Spanish | 85 min.)

  It appears to be a very simple story — a bedridden 80-year-old man gets ready for his estranged son's visit. He looks out his window at the Patagonian landscape and sees light and life, the past and the present, while sensing the future. When the story is told by renowned director Carlos Sor’n in his new film "The Window," it becomes a must see at the festival.

  

With more than 150 films from more than 50 countries, the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival (SFiFF52) will take place April 23 - May 7 at Sundance Kabuki Theater, Castro Theater, Landmark's Clay Theater, and other venues.

As always, this year's program is full of excitements. It contains a wide spectrum of recent world cinema as well as a few retrospective programs. Regardless one's taste in films, everybody should be able to find something that is familiar and delightful. In addition, people have plenty to choose from at the festival if in the mood of experiencing something new and challenging.

Here is a list of films that I am looking forward to at SFiFF52.

• Still Walking (歩いても 歩いても | Japan 2008 | in Japanese | 114 min.)

  Director Hirokazu Kore-eda's (是枝裕和) "Nobody Knows" (誰も知らない) is one of my all time favorites, and I also enjoy his period drama "Hana" (花よりもなほ, SFiFF50). Now I am thrilled that his highly anticipated new film "Still Walking" (歩いても 歩いても) comes to the festival. "Still Walking" tells a story about grown children visiting their elderly parents on one summer day. It shows how a family is bonded by love as well as resentments and secrets. A must see.

  

• Artemisia (艾草 | Taiwan 2008 | in Mandarin | 85 min.)

  Chiang Hsiu Chiung's (姜秀瓊) feature directorial debut "Artemisia" (艾草) is nothing short of excellence. The film is an affectional and beautiful portrait of a loving mother Ai-chao who struggles to cope with her family's affairs that reflect the changing society in Taiwan.

  My full review.

  

• Every Little Step (USA 2008 | 96 min.)

  Based on the audition process of the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, documentary "Every Little Step" is a touching and endearing film that pays tributes to artists of many generations. It captures auditionees' heartfelt journeys and explores A Chorus Line's legacy.

  

• Good Cats (好猫 | China 2008 | in Chinese/Sichuan dialect | 103 min.)

  After director Ying Liang's (应亮) feature debut "Taking Father Home" (背鸭子的男孩) won the SFiFF49's SKKY Prize, all of his feature films have been selected by the SFiFF since. His second film "The Other Half" (另一半) was shown at last year's SFiFF. His latest film "Good Cats" (好猫) will be shown at this year's SFiFF. It's a story about greed and corruption beneath the current rapid modernization in China. I have seen this film frame by frame numerous times because I donated my time and talent to translate the entire film. I hope the countless hours I spent on revising and editing its English subtitles will pay off when the translation conveys the story to the audience.

  

28-year-old Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) sells high-end Swedish mattress while pursing his "lifelong" dream — adopting a Chinese baby. After art collector Al Lolly (John Goodman) comes to the store to buy a mattress for his back problem, Brian meets Al's daughter Harriet Lolly, or Happy. While Brian is romantically involved with Happy, he has to constantly fight off a mysterious homeless guy who tries to kill him.

Actually the film's plot is not important. The most entertaining aspect about this film is the witty and humorous dialogue, and these verbal exchanges reveal the fascinating relationships among these characters. This is a film one must watch several times in order to catch all the lines, because many of the conversations will not be heard due to the giggling in the audience, especially both Brian and Happy always speak softly in the film.

The uniformly strong performances from an ensemble cast deliver many funny lines brilliantly. Paul Dano completely vanishes into a quiet Brian from the charismatic priest in "There Will Be Blood." Edward Asner hilariously steals many scenes in the film playing Brian's 80-year-old father.

However, I am not very fond of the subplot of the crazy homeless character — not because of its relevance to the main story, but because he didn't say a word in the film. After all, the dialogue is the gem of the film that is worth of listening and that is funny. Of course not all of the characters have to speak in order to be funny. For example, those masseuses do not say a word either, but how can anybody keep a straight face while watching them working?

"Gigantic" opens on Friday, April 10 at Landmark's Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco, Landmark's Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley, and Camera 12 in San Jose.

FILMMAKER IN PERSON: Director and co-writer Matt Aselton will speak at Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco on Friday, April 10 at 7:00pm & 9:40pm shows, and Saturday, April 11 at Shattuck in Berkeley at 5:00pm & 7:25pm shows.