YNOT at the Movies

A Tibetan Lama passed away at the age of 84 in 2001. His disciple Tenzin Zopa goes on a quest that lasts over four years to search for the "unmistaken" child to be his master's reincarnation. The film documents the search process and reveals the human aspects behind the religion believes and faith. It allows the audience to come to their own conclusions if the little boy is indeed the unmistaken reborn of the deceased monk.

There is no doubt shown by the film that Tenzin Zopa is a devoted monk. He has been at his master's service since the age of seven. For over 20 years, he doesn't think but simply always follows his master—he told us in very good English, wearing a Northface jacket. After his master's death, he needs to fill the void by completing his reincarnation. Based on the Tibetan tradition, the master's reincarnation should be a new born between the age of one to two. Would you want to be chosen as the unmistaken child?

Whether the child is the unmistaken child depends on who you ask. To non-believers of reincarnation, it's an incredible sad to witness that a child is lured away by toys and balloons from his parents. To believers of reincarnation, it's a delightful celebration of the reborn of their master and a remarkable achievement of finding the boy.

However, one thing is surely unmistaken is that the boy's fate is sealed and his life is forever changed, and he doesn't even know yet. He is no longer living in poverty condition and he drinks American brand orange juice even in a remote mountain area. He wears clean clothes, although not a Northface jacket, yet. He is preoccupied by many toys that he has never seen before and sleeps soundly in a sea of teddy bears.

I hope he will feel a little comfort in the future when he sees his parents speaking to the camera in this film, with profound sadness in their eyes: "If it's not for this (reincarnation), who is going to give up his child?"

"Unmistaken Child" opens on Friday, June 26, at Landmark's Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco and Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley.

With 96 programs, including 80 feature films and 139 shorts from 32 countries, Frameline 33 will take place June 18-28, 2009 at Castro Theater, Roxie Theater, Victoria Theater, and Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley.

Despite the fact that we are still in recession and most film festivals increase the admission fees, Frameline 33's ticket prices remain unchanged. However, the number of screenings seems reduced, and many films are only get to shown once at a venue other than Castro Theater which has the more seats. How does this matter? Well, that means if one waits till the last minute, the tickets might be all gone for that movie, leaving only one option—standing in a rush line to score a ticket.

Besides the always entertaining "Fun in Boys' Shorts" and "Fun In Girls' Shorts" (no pun intended), this year's festival provides a wide range of films that will make us laugh, make us cry, make us think, make us angry, and make us feel to be part of the community and the history.

However, I have to say that I am a little disappointed by weak presence of Asian films at this year's festival. I have heard a lot about "Permanent Residence" (永久居留 | Hong Kong 2009) and I bet all my money that this film would be included in this year's festival. I lost. Let's hope next year's festival will be different and have more Asian films or films about queer Asian.

Here are a few feature films that are worth seeing.

• Born in '68 (Nés en 68 | France 2008 | in French | 173 min.)

  Spanning over almost four decades, Born in '68 (Nés en 68 | France 2008 | in French | 173 min.) is a beautiful epic film that tells a story about idealism, passion, politics, and love. Although it's a quite a long film, the audience won't look at their watches because the story is captivating and the characters are fascinating. The film starts with the student riots of 1968 in France during the hippie era, and the film chronicles all the way to the current struggle with the AIDS epidemic, and the issues the world is facing in a time of post 9/11.

  This film is particularly fitting to be screened in San Francisco, because the city has the culture, history, and spirit that remarkably resemble the story lines in this film.

  

  This is by far the best film I have seen at this year's Frameline, and it just might be your best three hours at the festival.

  
  

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• Soundless Wind Chime (无声风铃 | Hong Kong/Switzerland 2009 | in Cantonese/Mandarin/German/English | 110 min.)

  One of the few Asian films at this year's festival is Hong Kong director Kit Hung's (洪榮傑) "Soundless Wind Chime" (无声风铃 | Hong Kong/Switzerland 2009 | in Cantonese/Mandarin/German/English | 110 min.). Loosely based on his real life experience, Hung stylishly tells a personal story about love between two lonely souls coming from foreign lands and struggling to survive in Hong Kong.

  Despite the weak story and unlikable characters, the exquisite cinematography and touching music scores are unforgettable and will stick with you long after the film.

  

  Gorgeous Lu Yulai (吕玉来) ("Peacock (孔雀)") gives a terrific performance as the immigrant young man from Beijing who falls in love with a street bum from Switzerland (why?). If the Swiss guy were a local Hong Kong boy, the story would have been more interesting. But, that would be a different movie as well.

  
  
  

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• Boy (Philippines 2009 | in Tagalog | 80 min.)

  Auraeus Solito, the director of charming "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" and the delightful "Tuli," brings to the festival his new film "Boy" (Philippines 2009 | in Tagalog | 80 min.). It tells a story about a teenager poet who falls in love with a macho dancer, tenderly, when he is not obsessing with his fish tanks.

  This film continues the tradition in Solito's films that a young boy occupies the center stage as the protagonist who pursues his love innocently, or the lack of it in this film by buying the other one.

  

  I wish the casting of the film would have been different to make the characters more convincing and to act better.
  
  

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• Prodigal Sons (USA 2008 | 86 min.)

  If you think your life is tough and full of drama, wait until you see Kimberly Reed 's feature debut documentary "Prodigal Sons" (USA 2008 | 86 min.). It tells director's personal mind-boggling story about the relationship among her family members including her adopted first brother Marc who becomes mentally ill after traumatic brain injury, her gay brother, and her supportive loving mother; and of course, about their reactions on her transition from a star quarterback in high school into a woman.

  It's courageous for the director to tell this incredible story to the world. It's a remarkable process to make peace and reconcile with her family members, and mostly importantly, a second coming out process to herself.

  
  
  

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• The Country Teacher (Venkovský ucitel | Czech Republic 2008 | in Czech | 113 min.)

  One sure thing about Czech drama "The Country Teachers" (Venkovský ucitel | Czech Republic 2008 | in Czech | 113 min.) is that it's not a happy film to watch because almost all of their characters are coping with unrequited love. I am sure many people can identify with these characters, because we might all have similar experiences at some points in our lives. And, those experiences are pure torture.

  Pavel Liska brilliantly portraits a country teacher who leaves his boyfriend and escapes to a village. He stays at a ranch to tutor a teenager boy. While he cannot return the attention from the boy's mom, he also cannot suppress the urge toward the boy.

  

  The emotional struggle among these characters is absolutely unforgettable.

Based on Eric Schlosser's book "Fast Food Nation", director Robert Kenner's new documentary "Food, Inc." (USA 2008 | 94 min.) paints a grim picture about what Americans are putting in their mouths. It reveals lots information that food industry definitely does not want consumers to know. In fact, many people probably prefer not to know, because they might go to bed hungry after watching this film.

The film peels away the layers of packaging wrapped around the foods we put on the table. It traces back to the root where the foods are coming from. It illustrates how the foods reach the shelves in grocery stores. It criticizes how the food industry puts profit ahead of public health, environmental impact, and workers' wellbeing. It shows how vulnerable our food resources have become. It predicts disastrous health consequences in the generations to come.

Apparently, the fast moving life style in our modern society has transformed how we eat and what we eat. Not only animals grow faster, consumers also spend less time on preparing food, if they cook at all. When most Americans are not eating at fast food joints, they are probably eating processed food controlled by very few giant multi-national corporations.

If you are familiar with the information presented in this documentary, the film makes you more disturbed and terrified.

If you have not given much thought about what are in the food you put into your mouth everyday, this film is an entertaining and informative eye opener.

If you are on the other side of the fence rooting with the food industry, it is unlikely this film makes you change your mind.

It's pretty clear that the film tells one-sided story, because the filmmakers simply cannot get any interview from major food industry players.

However, even the film is not as balanced as it wants to be, it tells a story that needs to be known by the American public.

We need to buy local and buy organic. We need to eat less meat and more food in their original forms versus processed versions.

We simply need to cook more—food not only will taste better, but also might save our lives instead of killing us.

"Food, Inc." opens on Friday, June 12 at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco.

Special Appearance: Eric Schlosser, co-producer of the film and the author of "Fast Food Nation" will be in person on Saturday, June 13 at 4:50 & 7:30pm screenings.