After months reading about Richard Raaphorst’s Nazi era found footage zombie movie, I was rather underwhlemed by the whole experience. The central conceit, in which a young Russian soldier is ordered to document the mission of his squad, which happens upon a remote lab where the deranged Dr. Frankenstein’s journal is being used as a […] Read more »
Hardly a jolly romp, Lu Chuan’s gorgeously shot drama remains to my mind the “best” film to tackle the Nanking Massacre. Most interesting is the decision to depict sympathetic Japanese characters as well as negative ones, rather than tarring them all with the same brush that is seen all too-often. Some have called this China’s […] Read more »
I’m a sucker for restored classics at a film festival. What better way to catch up on an unearthed masterpiece from yesteryear than in a boffed up print on the big screen in a crowded auditorium of like-minded cineastes. I knew nothing about Usmar Ismail’s 1953 film other than what the HKIFF programme told me: […] Read more »
Roger Livesey gives the best performance of his career as career officer Clive Wynn-Candy in Powell & Pressburger's epic wartime satire. Read more »
Until now the only time I had seen this film was at university, where our Film Studies lecturer insisted that we included it during the opening semester programme of the newly-resurrected film club. Despite our initial protests (I don’t think any of us had heard of it) we sat through it and begrudgingly admitted that […] Read more »
When a South Korean soldier (Lee Byung-hun) stationed with the garrison that guards the 38th Parallel on the North/South border staggers back across from the other side with a bullet in his leg, it sparks a military investigation into why he was there and how he was involved in a shootout that left two North […] Read more »
Screening at the Hong Kong Film Archive as part of mini retrospective showcasing the collaborations between Billy Wilder and Marlene Dietrich, I went into this with no other information and had a complete blast. Set and filmed in Berlin immediately after WWII, the film follows uptight congresswoman Jean Arthur on an observational mission to study […] Read more »
I’ve had this Criterion DVD kicking around for a number of years and have repeatedly put off watching it. Now I finally have gotten around to seeing it, I’m kicking myself it took me so long. I’m a big fan of director Suzuki Seijun’s films, but this has to rank very highly. On the surface, […] Read more »
In the midst of World War II, Alfred Hitchcock directed this high-concept chamber piece for 20th Century Fox, based on a specially-commissioned treatment from John Steinbeck. After their cruise ship is torpedoed by a German U-boat (which is promptly sunk itself), eight civilians and one German sailor scramble aboard a single lifeboat. As they bicker […] Read more »
Lu Chuan follows up his powerful City of Life and Death with this big-budget retelling of one of China’s many pivotal power struggles. Liu Ye, Daniel Wu and Chang Chen square off for control of the nation, but those unfamiliar with the historical facts will have a hard time following the numerous intertwining narratives. Multiple […] Read more »
Without a prominent blocbuster opening this week, distributors scrabble to release whatever they have left in their slate before the onslaught of summer behemoths arrives. As a result it is an extremely mixed back of films hitting Hong Kong’s screens, but certainly not devoid of recommendations. Movie of the Week: WUTHERING HEIGHTS Directed by Andrea […] Read more »
As one of the territories deemed lucky enough to get THE AVENGERS last week, today sees a number of second tier titles open ahead of the summer madness. But the lack of blockbusters certainly doesn’t mean there’s a lack of quality on offer, quite the contrary in fact! All these films open today: Movie of […] Read more »