Month: July 2015

By Joe Bendel. These puppets can kick the snot out of the Muppets and those annoying Spitting Image tools.  They have mad martial arts skills and they are not even as dramatically wooden as a lot of flesh and blood actors. Creations of the Huangs, Taiwan’s leading puppetry family, they are the undeniable stars of Huang Wen Chang’s fantastical wuxia steampunk epic, Arti: the Adventure Begins, which had its North American premiere at the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Sometime during the height of the Silk Road’s geopolitical importance, the wise Zhang Meng invented a wooden mechanical robot known as ARTI-C. Unfortunately, his promethean creation was used to stoke fear and paranoia. In a resulting riot, Zhang was killed, but his son Zhang Mo and his daughter Zhang Tong survived to preserve his legacy: ARTI-C.

However, ARTI-C is powered by a dwindling reserve of a mystic energy called the Origin. It is sort of like the “Force,” but more colorful and tangible. To keep ARTI-C in proper fighting condition, they must find a way to recharge his Origin cell. That quest will take them to the Nouveau Riche city of Loulan, which is currently locked in a cold war with the Lop Tribe and the Dune-like sandworms that apparently do their bidding. Unfortunately, when Zhang Tong is spirited away by the Elvish Lop people, she quickly surmises the shadowy Loulan regent has badly misrepresented the nature of the conflict to her gullible brother.

The mind-blowing truth is some of the best cinematic martial arts produced this year is performed by puppets. Some of their moves are just awesome. Yet, it is important to remember the greater artistry they represent. There is nothing campy about the figures Huang and his team bring to life on screen. Dispel any thoughts of Gerry Anderson’s marionettes. Aside from the occasional comic relief provided by Cheeky Ducky, the film’s only wholly animated character, Huang’s characters are entirely serious and their wuxia business is pretty darned spectacular and suitably tragic.

Granted, the story is just sort of okay, but the sets and backdrops are richly detailed and utterly lifelike. If ever a film with puppets deserved to win awards for best costuming, it would be Arti, hands down. This is incredible world building—literally built to scale.

It is gratifying to know Chinese puppetry traditions not only continue but move forward in Taiwan, thanks to artists like the Huangs. Reportedly, Arti is the most expensive pure puppetry film ever produced—and it is easy to believe it based on what is up there on the screen. Very highly recommended for fans of wuxia and puppet theater, Arti: the Adventure Begins is such an accomplished work of craftsmanship it must be destined for a long festival life and a devoted cult following, after its recent Fantasia premiere. Look for it, hope for it.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 21st, 2015 at 9:15pm.

By Joe Bendel. This might just be the dark fantasy pest control film we have all been waiting for. Woo-ryong is an itinerant musician who gets side-tracked in a suspicious village with a pronounced rat infestation problem. If you are picking up shades of Hamelin, hold that thought. Kim Gwang-tae will make good on them with his feature debut, The Piper, which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Soon after the Korean War armistice, Woo-ryong sets out with his son Young-nam on a cross-country trek to Seoul, where the U.S. Army hospital will treat his ailing lungs. Unfortunately, they stumble across a formerly hidden hamlet tightly controlled by their village headman. It is the sort of tightly knit community that could easily hold an annual stoning lottery. In exchange for food and a night’s lodging, the civic strongman makes Woo-ryong promise to keep the end of the war secret. He agrees, even though it gives him bad vibes.

Still, he cannot help noticing the village has rat issues. Evidently, they started showing up one fateful night. Nobody will talk about it, but it must have been pretty bad. However, Woo-ryong can do something about the here-and-now. All manner of beasts respond to his pipe. Unfortunately, when Mi-sook, the newly revealed village shaman develops feelings for Woo-ryong and Young-nam, the headman considers them threats to his well-structured order and starts plotting against them accordingly.

Piper goes to some murky, sinister places. Let’s just say it is not kidding around about its Hamelin references. When it comes time for payback, things get downright Biblical. Not to be spoilery, but viewers who are afraid of rats will be profoundly creeped out by the third act. In all honesty, The Piper wears its archetypes so conspicuously on its sleeve, we largely know where it is going after about twenty minutes. Yet, Kim’s execution is so tight and taut, he keeps the audience focused-in and perched on their seat’s edge nonetheless.

Although he frequently plays heavies, Ryoo Seung-ryong’s haggard everyman look and intense aura of pathos are perfect for Woo-ryong. Young Goo Seung-hyun also deserves tons of credit for his convincing work as the bespectacled Young-nam, belying his precious appearance. Portraying a master manipulator beyond his years, Lee Sung-min’s headman supplies the film’s dark, malicious heart. It is a great piece of big screen villainy. Chun Woo-hee’s slow burning presence also grabs eyeballs, but her character, Mi-sook, is not adequately established.

The Piper taps into some deep primal themes, reaching back to Medieval Saxony while evoking the dysfunctional dynamics of charismatic leaders and their cult-like followers. It is a remarkably well-put-together production that might just be the “feel bad” film of the summer. Recommended rather highly for those who enjoy dark, slightly fantastical thrillers, The Piper opens this Friday (7/24) in Los Angeles, at the CGV Cinemas.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on July 21st, 2015 at 9:14pm.

By Joe Bendel. Ever wondered how Cher and Dionne first met, before the events of Clueless (marking its 20 year anniversary this year)? If Amy Heckerling made an animated prequel, she could still use the voices of Stacey Dash and Alicia Silverstone. She would be following the example of Shunji Iwai, who revisited the characters of his more impressionistic indie Hana and Alice (going on eleven years) in anime form. Junior high is a strange place, but when the two girls join forces they just might make some sense of it all in Iwai’s The Case of Hana & Alice, which screens today during the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Thanks to divorce and family drama, Tetsuko “Alice” Arisugawa has a new home, a new name, and a new school. She now attends Ishinomori Middle School, but the strange hikikomorish girl across the street does not, even though they are roughly the same age. Of course, that would be Hana Arai.

Initially, Arisugawa faces some attempted bullying, but she puts a stop to that pretty quick. Bizarrely, some of it comes from where she sits in class. According to the school legend, a senior named Judas sat there the previous year, but he was murdered by his four “wives.” It makes little sense to her. Nevertheless, her classmates shun her desk like the Amityville Horror house. Eventually, Arisugawa learns she is also living in the previous home of Yuda (a.k.a. Judas). Creeped out by her proximity to so much presumed tragedy, she confronts Arai for information.

For a coming of age drama, Case has considerably more genre elements than you would ever expect, but that is a good thing for Fantasia audiences. The explanation behind the Judas legend is quite clever and darned satisfying. Along the way, Iwai creates some wonderfully compassionate moments, especially Arisugawa’s scenes with the elderly man she mistakes for Yuda’s father. There is indeed a good deal of heart in the film.

The downside is the CGI and roto-scoped animated is just okay, but it never distracts from the elegantly mysterious narrative. Fans of the original Hana and Alice will be delighted to hear Yu Aoi and Anne Suzuki giving voice to their beloved characters. Aoi is particularly expressive and energizing as Arisugawa, while the introverted Arai mostly requires husky mumbling from Suzuki.

Case is thoroughly enjoyable, even for viewers who have not seen the first live action film. In terms of pacing and tone, they are apples and oranges, but both remind you of what it was like to be a kid in school. Great fun throughout, with a sly sense of irony, The Case of Hana and Alice is highly recommended for animation fans and anyone who enjoys a good student drama when it screens today (7/19) as part of this year’s Fantasia.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 19th, 2015 at 6:25pm.

By Joe Bendel. When Franco was around there wasn’t any demonic possession in Spain. The Generalissimo simply wouldn’t stand for it. Things are different now. Everyone soul is vulnerable to infernal forces during these godless times, even the son of the country’s favorite matador and flamenco dancer. His name is Damien, by the way. You can watch his head spin around and projectile-vomit in Claymation courtesy of Sam [Samuel Ortí Martí]’s Possessed, which screens tonight during the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Trini was once the greatest dancer Spain had ever seen, but she retired from public performance after her husband’s untimely death. While grief-stricken, she also believed her son Damien needed more attention. He is a bit of a strange kid, who is prone to disruptive behavior at school. She has had him examined by child psychologists, but they are never around long enough to do much good. Her mother-in-law is convinced the boy is possessed, but her obtuse manager remains skeptical.

Eventually, Trini accepts the wild supernatural bedlam going on around them and seeks the Church’s assistance. Unfortunately, the corrupt Bishop will not be much help in a fight of good against evil. She needs the righteous, but disillusioned Father Lenin, the black sheep son of 1930s Communists.

If ever there was a Claymation movie unsuitable for kids it would be Possessed. In addition to the demonic horror, there is what you might call graphic cartoon violence. Plenty of mature subject matter is also referenced, but that is small potatoes compared to the faces that get lopped off. Call it a double standard, but if Possessed were a live action film it would be rather disturbing, yet it is all pretty funny in an animated film. Think of it as Wallace & Gromit torturing Mr. Bill in Hell.

Yes, “Sam” and co-screenwriter Rubén Ontiveros’s anti-Catholic attitudes get tiresome, but they are stuck with the fundamental High Church world view inherent in the demonic horror genre. They also dig their flamenco, which counts for something. Ultimately, you just can’t nitpick such gory and scatological humor.

Trust me, you have never seen clay like this. While the craftsmanship is not quite at the level of the Aardman Studios, it is certainly impressive in its own way. Recommended for fans of The Exorcist films and Team America: World Police, Possessed screens today (7/19) and Friday (7/24) as part of this year’s Fantasia.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on July 19th, 2015 at 6:25pm.

By Joe Bendel. The greatest victims of Japanese wartime propaganda were the Japanese people themselves. When the militarist government disseminated apocalyptic warnings that the conquering Allies would rape all women and sterilize all men, the average citizenry largely believed it, so they resolved to fight to the end, because there was no other choice. Yet, in early 1945, just about everyone could tell how the winds were blowing. The home front is an inescapably depressing place for nineteen year-old Satoko, but she will still blossom into a woman right on schedule in Haruhiko Arai’s This Country’s Sky (a.k.a. When I was Most Beautiful), which screened as a selection of this year’s Japan Cuts, the Festival of New Japanese Film in New York.

Today, Tokyo’s Suginami is sort of like the Japanese Upper Westside, but in 1945 it was practically a ghost town. The government imposed rigid restrictions on internal migration, but those who are allowed relocate to the countryside, even though there are reports that life is just as hard there. Living with her widowed mother, Satoko gets by almost okay working as a civil defense office clerk. Unfortunately, making ends meet becomes even tougher when Satoko convinces her reluctant mother to take in her bombed out aunt. Despite her promises, Auntie is mostly dead weight around the house, but Satoko gets some help here and there from their neighbor, Mr. Ichikawa.

The thirty-eight year-old banker just might make it through the war undrafted. He had the good fortune of taking his military physical in a district full of brawny farm lads, where he looked sickly in comparison. He also happens to be married, but his wife was assigned to a government agricultural coop in the countryside, allowing his eye to rove towards Satoko. Her mother recognizes his intentions, but she allows Satoko to continue spending time with him, because different rules apply during war, especially the waning days for the losing side. However, she probably does not realize how much Satoko reciprocates his interest.

While reasonably prolific as a screenwriter, Sky is the first film Arai has helmed since 1997. His sense of visual composition remains undiminished, instilling a vivid sense of Tokyo as a veritable wartime ghost town. Without question, Arai is more interested in exploring the tenor of the times than digging into the melodramatic details of Satoko’s problematic romance. The vibe is not unlike Yoji Yamada’s Kabei: Our Mother, but it does not have the same degree of tragic elegance.

Clearly, Fumi Nikaido works a heck of a lot. Here, she shrewdly plays Satoko with the reserve and maturity of someone who came of age during wartime privation. It is a smart performance that pulls us in, rather than indulging in a lot of melodramatic excess. Still, Hiroki Hasegawa’s Ichikawa seems so conspicuously oily, it is hard to fathom her attraction. However, Youki Kudoh is wonderfully down-to-earth (and even surprisingly sensual) as Satoko’s mother. Frankly, the inter-family relationships between mother, daughter, and aunt are just as important as the simmering attraction shared by Satoko and her neighbor—and Kudoh is the key to their dynamics.

In a way, Sky is something of a revisionist war film that consciously tries to remind the world of the very real suffering of the Japanese people during the war. However, unlike Yamada’s under-valued film, it never explores the domestic dissent to the Imperial war policies. Regardless, it is well worth seeing for the remarkable work of Nikaido, Kudoh, and the design team that recreated bomb-scarred Tokyo in such detail. Recommended for mature viewers who understand the events of the Pacific Theater in their full context, This Country’s Sky screened today (7/18) at the Japan Society, as part of the 2015 Japan Cuts.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on July 18th, 2015 at 10:00pm.