2001-2010

A documentary was made during the production process of Bright Future, called Aimai Na Mirai (Ambivalent Future). It was released in theaters in Japan and it’s available on the Japanese DVD release of Bright Future. The documentary was not so much a making-of as an interpretation of your work, with Bright Future functioning as a case study. What did you think when you saw it?

I didn’t watch it so attentively, because I felt a bit embarrassed about watching myself. I kept thinking “What a liar this director is!” (laughs). And I understood the difference between documentary filmmakers and fiction filmmakers. Documentarists shoot elements of reality, and after that in post-production they try to turn it into a lie as much as possible. Directors like me who make fiction – and I’ve never made a documentary – we deal with fictional elements such as the script, but after that we try to make them as close to reality as possible, and try not to lie as much possible. It’s the complete opposite.

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Cult director Koji Wakamatsu (famous abroad for titles such as “Go, Go Second Time Virgin”) returns to helm the sixth in this perversely entertaining series. A Kabukicho gigolo with a gambling debt Mikio Osawa agrees to bump off a rich wife’s husband for a bundle of cash, but botches the hit. On the run in the snow-covered hills of northern Japan, he holes up in a shuttered, deserted house. But the house is not empty: a timid, traumatized girl Mika Ito lives there, in the thrall of a sick, hot-tempered trucker Shiro Sano who has kept her there since she was a tiny girl. Osawa tries hard but looks out of his depth here, as veteran Sano and 23-year-old ingenue Ito build an all-too-believable, monstrous relationship as sadistic paternal pervert and terrified tremulous child. File under guilty pleasure.Read More »

Synopsis
A mother’s last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad’s acclaimed play, “Incendies” tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults’ voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love….Read More »

The 9th Century tale of a young boy whose destiny is to complete the legendary Book of Kells, the Cartoon Saloon film Brendan and the Secret of Kells looks to be a marvelous display of creativity in animation, both in terms of compelling visuals and articulate storytelling.
Nominated for Oscar.Read More »

Two legal crusaders from Kumba, Cameroon, determined to see that justice is served and make a difference from within the system, are the focus of this documentary from filmmakers Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi. Vera Ngassa is a prosecutor unafraid to take on unpopular causes, and Beatrice Ntuba is a judge who doesn’t hide her outrage when a case rubs her the wrong way. Unlike many legal workers, Ngassa and Ntuba vow to actively include themselves in the lives of those who seek justice. From the caring consideration shown to a young girl who has obviously suffered abuse at the hands of her parents to the noble support shown to a battered Muslim woman brave enough to take her husband to court for spousal abuse, the support shown by Ntuba and Ngassa to their clients is unparalleled, and offers a ray of hope to those who may feel that all is lost.Read More »

PLOT – short version

A Thai tale of the legendary Krasue (also known as the ‘P’ Graseau, or the Penanggalan in Chinese), a Southeast Asian Ghost, composed of a disembodied witch with a flying head and entrails dangling beneath. Political intrigue, black magic, unrequited love and disembowlment all fit together perfectly for an evening of family fun with the witch with the flying head. Written by J.W. CaseRead More »

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This sixth edition improves upon the fifth edition, primarily by updating many examples to reflect more recent films. Especially interesting is the array of color plates at the center of the book, which helps to make related examples even more vivid.
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From VILLAGE VOICE:
A shuddering, flickering tribute to two lost compatriots, Ken Jacobs’s Two Wrenching Departures took its original form in 1989 as one of Jacobs’s live “Nervous System” cine-improvisations on dual 16mm projectors. Earlier that year, his former collaborators Bob Fleischner and Jack Smith died within a week of one another—an ironic conjunction, as the pair had been at odds for years, long after Jacobs, Fleischner, and Smith had chaotically joined talents in the late ’50s to create Blonde Cobra, a grimly glamorous rummage through trash-pile transvestism that was one of the most celebrated titles of the pre-Warhol underground scene.Read More »

Jamal, a 10-year-old Pakistani Muslim, mistakenly crosses the border between India and Pakistan and finds an unusual ally in a Hindu Brahmin, Bhola. Indian soldiers descend on Bhola’s village searching for the so-called terrorist who crossed over. Bhola’s neice, Rani, insists they can’t let a Muslim into their Hindu home. With Bhola and Rani grappling with the consequences of harboring a Pakistani and their deep-set prejudice against Muslims, Jamal’s only hope is the humanity shared by a people separated by artificial boundaries a long time ago.Read More »