New York, July 8 – During the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), I took hundreds digital photographs and several digital videos. I promised the Subway Cinema guys to post them, but my life got really busy. The images just sat on my hard drive for nearly a month until I could find the time to sort them. I compiled best ones for this photo essay post.
Except for the photographs attached to other blog posts, these are some of my favorite photos from NYAFF 2010: [Click Through Image for Higher Resolution]
NEW YORK, July 8 -- On the closing day of the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), they featured a retro-kung-fu flick named Gallants. It was a return to the original Hong Kong Kung-fu feature with tonue-in-cheek references to the old school classics.
Directed by three insanely talented Japanese filmmakers, the movie is an extremely violent picture with gallons of fake bloody. Essentially parodying American superhero comic book movies, a team of teenage mutant gravure idols takes over a local street mall. They proceed to kill everything that moves. I mean everything. It’s mostly a non-stop action gore fest with several outrageously funny moments.
8,000 miles is a musical comedy about a group of unknown rappers in the Saitama prefecture (a suburb of Tokyo). It tackles serious social issues in Japan including the Asian economic crisis, NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training), parasite singles, and unemployment. It might seem like a very didactic film, but it’s not. The narrative maintains a funny and light-hearted tone by couching the issues in several hilarious scenarios. The director does a wonderful job at balancing the social message with a great deal of humor.
The film is about Mr. Kim who is an unemployed office worker with a mountain of debt. He leaps off a bridge in an attempt to commit suicide. Instead of dying, he survives and is stranded on a deserted island located near Seoul. Despite being able to see the skyscrapers, he is completely cut-off from the rest of the world. Then Mr. Kim decides to go into survival mode and attempts to rebuild his life on the island. Ms. Kim, an agoraphobic blogger, spots the stranded office worker from her high-rise apartment, and she tries to communicate with him. It’s a hilarious romantic comedy about loneliness and modern love.
In the Q&A, filmmaker Lee Hey-Jun’s (이해준) discusses the movie’s themes such as urban alienation, technology, and the effects of the global recession in South Korea.
NEW YORK, July 2 – The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) and Pink Eiga hosted a pink film (ピンク映画) double feature at the IFC Center. It was a midnight screening that attracted a colorful crowd. This year’s pink film screening featured Groper Train: School Uniform Hunter and Japanese Wife Next Door Part 2.
It’s difficult to describe Japanese pink films because it has no analogous genre in western culture. It’s roughly a cross between exploitation films and soft core porn. Moreover, the genre was mainly developed as a response to strict censorship laws in Japan. All of the sex is simulated, and no genitalia are shown on screen. Most of the simulated sex scenes are awkwardly shot and hilariously bad.
Introduction to Groper Train: School Uniform Hunter
I get the feeling that the ridiculous sex scenes are purposefully crafted for comedic effect. It’s kinda hard to be serious when the audio cuts to cheesy music and the sound effects are canned.
Between the two feature films, Asami Sugiura (杉浦 亜紗美) (aka “Asami”) participated in a short Q&A with the folks at the NYAFF. Asami, who plays the female lead in Groper Train: School Uniform Hunter, discussed her career and the differences between pink films and Japanese Adult Video (AV).
NEW YORK, June 30 –Yumika Hayashi (林由美香) was a prolific Japanese actress in the genre of pink films (ピンク映画) and pornographic videos. She has appeared in nearly 400 adult oriented movies and is probably best known for her work in the critically-acclaimed pink film called Lunchbox (熟女・発情 タマしゃぶり).
As a young filmmaker, Tetsuaki Matsue had a very memorable meeting with Yumika. During the encounter, she critiqued his work and said, “You have a long way to go.” Her words stayed with him, and the two became good friends.
When Yumika died suddenly at the age of 35, it was a complete shock to her friends and fans. Matsue was filled with grief and had difficulty talking about it. He decided to channel his feelings into a documentary film titled Annyong Yumika (あんにょん由美香).
Director Tetsuaki Matsue
The documentary begins with the discovery of an obscure Korean pornographic video starring Yumika called Junko: Story of a Tokyo Housewife. It was an unusually joint Korean and Japanese production filled with bad dialogue and awkward sex scenes. Using the video as a guide, Matsue retraces Yumika’s steps trying to understand her enigmatic life. (Note: He uses many excerpts from the video in his documentary. If you’re offended by pornography, you might not want to watch it.)
Through candid interviews with Yumika’s lovers, the director attempts to piece together her strange and colorful life. They passionately describe their experiences with the porn actress, and some admit to still harboring strong feelings for her. In many respects, the movie is less of a documentary and more of a love letter to Yumika.
When one of Yumika's directors tried to convince her to leave the adult film industry, she declined. He argued that she will have a better life doing a more respectable job. She replied, “I will cease to be me.”
Eastern Condors is a particularly special film to my generation of Hong Kong film fanatics. I was first exposed to the film in the early 90s. I was probably a ‘tween at the time. I remembered watching the film on a poor grainy VHS tape with bad tracking. So the prospects of seeing it on the big screen were very exciting to me.
After the film, Sammo Hung (洪金寶) participated in a short Q&A with the folk at the NYAFF. They discussed a variety of topics concerning the making of the film. Hung appeared visibly tired, but he heroically powered through the appearance. The kung-fu legend even acted out some of the behind the scenes stories. He seemed both warm and gracious to his fans.
A real treat for the audience was the surprise appearance of Joyce Godenzi (高麗虹), who is Hung’s wife. She was the lead actress in Eastern Condors and several other kung-fu flicks. Godenzi initially gained public attention as a former Miss Hong Kong and fashion model. She parlayed her successful modeling career into a decade long Hong Kong film career. She starred in some memorable martial arts films such as She Shoots Straight and License to Steal. Despite her age, Godenzi is still stunningly beautiful (minus the short 80s hairdo). I was hoping that she would participate in the Q&A, but sadly she didn’t.
After the Sammo Hung Q&A, I stuck around the theater until the screening of Kung-fu Chefs. It’s another Sammo Hung film of a more recent vintage. While waiting for the screening to start, I unexpectedly ran into a bunch of friends from other blogs, podcasts, and local anime clubs. They were pretty chill.
Based on a manga by Shungiku Uchida (内田春菊), the film is centered on two supernatural high school girls. One is a vampire; the other one is a Frankenstein monster. Both engage in deadly battle for the affections of a single boy. Every scene is filled with lowbrow humor and gallons of fake blood.
The film is the brain child of two Japanese directors, Yoshihiro Nishimura (西村喜廣) and Noboru Iguchi (井口昇). They were at the screening to promote their movie in the United States. Their introduction was more of a two man stand-up comedy routine than a movie introduction. They had a great sense of humor and entertained the audience before the film. Nishimura called their film a “splatter high school comedy”.
After the film, they stayed for a “question and answer” session. Nishimura also did some make-up work during the film and displayed a female model sporting the Frankenstein make-up.
Vampire Girl Versus Frankenstein Girl is probably my favorite film from the entire festival. I had a blast! If you have a twisted sense of humor and an appetite for low-budget gore, you should definitely see this movie.
NEW YORK, June 26 – I was completely stoked about going to see Vampire Girl Versus Frankenstein Girl (吸血少女対少女フランケン) with some friends. I bought tickets online, but there was a bit of a mix-up at the IFC Center Box Office (323 Sixth Avenue). Apparently, if you purchase a “10-PACK” online for the New York Asian Film Festival, you have visit the box office and declare that you want tickets for a particular movie. Now under the online purchase page for Vampire Girl Versus Frankenstein Girl, you see these options:
There are no notes or warnings about requiring the customer to declare a ticket preference. I assumed that they were all for Vampire Girl Versus Frankenstein Girl. I checked the day prior to the screening about getting my tickets early, and the IFC Center employee said to wait until the day of the screening. I show up to the day of the screening, and I can’t get my tickets. They're sold out.
The employee behind the glass pointed at a black-and-white piece of paper that was taped to the glass. It states the fine print which requires 10-PACK customer to declare the particular movie and number of tickets desired.
Now, my receipt said “Vampire Girl Versus Frankenstein Girl” followed by the description “10-PACK”. The manager eventually offered a refund, and I was thoroughly pissed. I asked my friends Tim, Frank, and Jerette if they wanted to see the next movie, Yoroi: Samurai Zombie (鎧 サムライゾンビ). They agreed, and we decide to watch the next film.
Yoroi: Samurai Zombie is freakish Japanese horror film which is one part Benny Hill and one part Friday the 13th. Ghoulish looking monsters wearing samurai armor are chasing a couple of criminals and a family through a deserted village. Excessive gore, pools of blood, and slapstick comedy are the main ingredient to this film. It kinda reminds me of Takashi Miike’s (三池 崇史) films. It was bizarre and uncomfortably comedic.
Tak Sakaguchi (坂口拓), the director and stuntman, introduced the movie. He talked about his involvement and the use of his talented stunt team. He especially emphasized his unusual fondness for running people over with cars.
Crush and Blush is a Korean romantic comedy about a bizarre love pentagon between teachers at a Korean middle school / high school. Kong Hyo-Jin (공효진) plays Yang Mi-sook, a homely school teacher with an obsessive crush on Lee Jong-hyeok (이종혁). The movie is a hilarious comedy of errors with a heart warming story.
Kong Hyo-Jin, the lead actress, introduced the film and provided a short commentary. She spoke briefly about the qualities that attracted her to the role of Mi-sook. She talked about her desire to play the underdog and her efforts to make her character a more sympathetic and lovable figure.
