Out of Tune? – Karaoke

Hot on the heels of ‘At the End of Daybreak’ comes ‘Karaoke’. Like ‘Daybreak’, it was well-recognised on the international film festival circuit, being the first Malaysian feature film to be selected for the Cannes festival in a long time. Also like ‘Daybreak’, I have somewhat followed the career of Chris Chong, given the limited opportunities I have found for myself. His ‘Block B’, a short film made out of several very long takes set in a Brickfields flat was incredibly creative and, simply put, a brilliant work of art. I was piqued from start to finish, and I find myself wondering how he managed to do what he did.

But that’s the tricky deal with long takes. You either get it or you don’t. The first film I saw that exclusively employed this was ‘Russian Ark’, which boasted so much about its technical achievement. Unfortunately, it bored me to submission before I even reached the halfway point, though I did manage to appreciate it. The film following that, ‘Magicians’, by Song Il-gon, proved to be more fruitful; I was to be inspired to the point where I would make my own single-take short film in ‘Bound’, which stands as arguably the most satisfying work I have done so far.

New Beginning – At the End of Daybreak

“Oh, man, I feel so stupid.”

We stepped outside into the light, emerging from the darkness of the cave that had been the screening theater for Ho Yuhang’s latest film, ‘At the End of Daybreak’. It was the first film I saw in Pusan this year, one that was as a result of my shoot. That, in itself, was a lesson of a different kind. Yuhang’s ‘Daybreak’ was a lesson as well.

Lesson in what, exactly? Generally speaking, filmmaking and directing. I can’t quite put my finger on it at the time, but I will try to explain further down below.

“He didn’t even study film,” my friend continued. “How on Earth can we get that far, Fikri? How can we reach that level? Genius lah, that guy.”

****

Weapon of Choice – KILL

Omnibus films appears to be one of the latest in things in world cinema. By omnibus, I mean a collection of films, however short or long, patched together into one package and released all together at once as one product. It can make for an interesting bit of collaboration, as can be witnessed by the popular incarnations of the Love omnibus series, like ‘Paris, je t’aime’ and the upcoming ‘New York, I Love You’. Coming a little closer to home, we’ve seen the likes of ‘15 Malaysia’ doing its bit, while Japan has the triumvirate of Bong Joon-ho, Michel Gondry and taking over the reins for the Tokyo omnibus project called…err, ‘Tokyo!’. Not to be outdone, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and his buddies got together, and decided to say hello to ‘Sawasdee, Bangkok’.

Not that it’s the only trend around, of course. Much like Philippino films being in demand pretty much in film festivals across the world (not unlike the Romanians a few years back), I think it won’t be too long before it passes over sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, it does present an exciting alternative.

Manilla in it’s Moment – Pinoy Indies

Manila newspaper headlines over-enthusiastically screamed that a Filipino director had won the Cannes film festival this year, beating Quentin Tarantino in the process. Actually the Palme d’Or went elsewhere, but Cannes jury president Isabelle Huppert is understood to have fought a massive, though ultimately unsuccessful, campaign to give the top prize to ‘Kinatay’ (‘Butchered’). Instead, its filmmaker, Brillante “Dante” Mendoza, took home the prize for best director and, in the process, stirred up a publicity frenzy for Filipino cinema that refuses to die down.

The thriller, which was shot in near real time on hand-held cameras, was too much to stomach for many commentators. But other critics who ignored his previous Cannes competition film ‘Serbis’ heralded the film a piece of stylish, gritty cinema verite and hailed Mendoza as a major new talent in world cinema. Mendoza, a youthful 48, was quickly feted as a juror at Locarno and had his next movie ‘Lola’ pulled out of the hat as a surprise film at Venice. Fast, furious and in your face seems to be the way for Mendoza, but his is far from being a lone voice. The Philippines is currently a hotbed of talent.

Fazil’s Top 100 – 90 to 81

Here’s the next installment of Fazil’s Top 100 Must Watch Movies of the Decade, following on from the previous ten from 100 to 91.

90) G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA

Why is it on the list?
Haha! You can’t expect me to leave this one out, can you? This made it on the list because it’s the best mindless action-packed popcorn flick of the decade. It doesn’t get any better than this. It’s a nice little blend of cheesiness and fun, with a little sprinkle of hotness, courtesy of Rachel Nichols and Sienna Miller. What you get is the perfect recipe for a perfect summer flick. As i have stated in my review, its a cheesy film based on a cheesy 80s cartoon, so you cant complain much. This is one of those movies that will make you feel like you’re 7 years old again. So if you’re a fan of the cartoon or was a kid before, this film can be nostalgic as you will be blasted back to the past.

For Sale – I Sell The Dead

For the ‘Midnight Screening’ session, the director himself, Glenn McQuaid, made a somewhat surprising appearance. Director’s appearances are not uncommon at festivals, but this being the nocturnal gathering of film lovers rather than a premiere slot for film screening, it was somewhat unexpected. What was certainly unexpected was the director’s reaction and enthusiasm for the crowd. He appeared on stage, a handheld camera tacked to his right hand, and he waved back to the crowd as he was being introduced by the Korean translator (invariably ladies, as it turns out. Makes you think, doesn’t it? No? Moving on…). “I’m recording this for all the people back home,” he said, addressing the crowd through his camera. “So on the count of three, everyone wave to this camera, OK? Right! One, two…THREE!” Everyone, already enjoying being at the center of attention for the camera, wave enthusiastically.

Why did I write so lovingly of the above exchange? Simple. It’s very nice to see a director being enthusiastic about his own work. Not to promote, to sell, but to simply let it be and enjoy the moment. A nice lesson worth reminding.

New Wave? – Malaysians in Pusan 2009

Timing, as ever, is almost everything. I say almost, because of course there are many other factors that should be considered. Nevertheless, sometimes it is just something that the powers that be have determined. Thus, this year, I will have to give the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) a rather big miss, because it conflicted with the schedule that has been given to me for my graduation film shoot.

Nevertheless, that does not mean that I won’t be there in spirit, even if my spirit should actually be on location with me in Toechon rather than Pusan. Nevertheless, here’s a quick look at the films that I definitely would have been watching had I the chance and opportunity to do so.

Timely – Some Day In The Future

It is an interesting title, I thought. ‘Some Day In The Future’, to me, suggests a wistful sort of existence, one that hints at the hope for a better future. As in, “We’re in a tough situation now, but some day in the future, things will be OK.” You can, of course, flip it the other way around (“We’re OK now, but some day in the future, things will be tough”), but this feels somewhat unnatural, somewhat lacking in a poetic sense. After watching the film, I can surmise that somehow, the director, Dharmasena Pathiraja, is a person who hopes for things to be better in the future.

A part of this is to do with the stylings of the film. The film itself has a certain graininess, a certain scratch here and there that made me think it was a film made in the 80s, early 90s if you really want to push it. You know how a film looks when you watch it years after it was made? An old film shown on TV or in the cinema betrays its age, and you get a sense of watching something that was kept exclusively in a vault for long years before being brought out again for a screening.

Fazil’s Top 100 – 100 to 91

Welcome to Fazil’s 100 Must Watch Movies of the Decade. You see, I came across a lot of this sort of listing all over the Internet from time to time. Thing is, I never liked them because it always has really old movies that I have not seen; new movies, particularly from the action genre, are always omitted. So I say screw them and let me come up with my own list.

I have chosen movies of the last decade, i.e. released from the year 2000 till now, because prior to 2000, I wasn’t a movie buff and I have not seen that many films (though I am slowly catching up on them now!). Thus, I wouldn’t be the best person to provide you guys with such a listing if that be the case. Also, you will notice omissions of truly great movies released this decade as well, such as ‘Moulin Rouge!’, ‘Catch Me If You Can’, ‘Traffic’, ‘Blow’, ‘Million Dollar Baby’, ‘Chicago’ and ‘Mystic River’ just to name a few. Believe it or not, I have not actually seen these movies!

Oink! – School Days With A Pig

One of these days, I may well have a mind to go down the Japanese embassy and charge its filmmakers for pedophilia; following ‘Yoshino’s Barber Shop’ after watching ‘School Days with a Pig’, I am convinced that the Japanese have an innate tendency to rely on cute kids in order to make the audience go, “Aww…” That is, of course, in place of having an actual story, a compelling issue, an intelligent script, and competent editing and directing to go along with the kids so cute you wouldn’t want to stop pinching their cheeks even after they start screaming for their mothers. The Japanese have latched on to something here, and I have decided to latch on to what it is that they have latched on.

Of course, that isn’t quite the case here in ‘School Days’. The things I said earlier about the story, script, and what not? Well, they are all present here in spades of pig poo.