July 7, 2005
It's been about a year since my last round-up of the foreign films you should be looking forward to. More than half of that list either never got made, are still in production or has never been released here -- I should really just reprint the same column. But in the intervening year some juicy prospects have popped up and the more prolific filmmakers (anyone from Hong Kong, Takashi Miike) have churned out several good prospects.
Yet with more and more directors coming to Hollywood, it was hard finding anyone still making movies in their native countries, nevermind their native languages. Japanese horror masters Nakata and Takashi Shimizu have been safely secured in Hollywood. Breakthrough Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles (City of God) is directing a John Le Carre adaptation. The list goes on and on.
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Coming this Summer/Fall....In Their Native Country
INITIAL D was recently released in Hong Kong and outgrossed all the the Hollywood summer blockbusters it had as competition. It's an adaptation of the popular Japanese manga and stars pop star Jay Chou (in his film debut), Anthony Wong (he's in everything), Edison Chen (INFERNAL AFFAIRS), Shawn Yue (INFERNAL AFFAIRS) and Anne Suzuki (RETURNER). Directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak (INFERNAL AFFAIRS), this is easily my most anticipated film of the year. It was very well reviewed in Hong Kong and even in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. It's been out there a few weeks so should be on DVD in a couple months. You can check on the trailer on the official website.
SEVEN SWORDS recently had it's premiere in China. It's another attempt to capitalize on the growing Mainland market. But the real story is that it's hopefully a return to form for Tsui Hark (ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA) who is returning to the wuxia genre he pioneered. The film stars Leon Lai, Donnie Yen, Charlie Yeung and a bunch of Chinese actors I am unfamiliar with. The trailer recently hit online and is causing quite a stir. The film will be released July 29th in Asia.
SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE is the third in a loose revenge trilogy from Chan Wook Park of Korea. The first film, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE should actually be receiving a theatrical release this year in the U.S. from Tartan. The second film, OLDBOY was released earlier this year in American theaters. LADY VENGEANCE is being released in Korea on Friday. It stars Lee Young-ae, who is most well known for the good girl she plays on the hit Korean drama DAE JANG GEUM (transl. JEWEL IN THE PALACE). The show is currently playing in the U.S. on the AZN Cable Network if your service provides it. But her role in this revenge flick will certainly be quite different. With each one of Chan Wook Park's films, he improves himself three times over. And his last film, OLDBOY, was so good, it's hard to believe he could top it. But who knows?
APRIL SNOW is the new romance from director Jin-ho Hur (CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST). The Korean film industry has really pioneered the Romance genre bringing it life that it no longer has in the U.S. But more noteably, this film stars heartthrob Bae Yong-jun. He starred in the popular TV drama WINTER SONATA and has caused a veritable frenzy throughout East Asia. But what is most notable about this film is it's release pattern -- it will be released in 10 East Asian countries simultaneously. This pattern has only been seen before for the biggest US releases. But Bae Yong-jun is such a bankable star all over Asia that this is possible. He's particularly big in Japan where he's known as Yon-sama. The distribution rights in Japan were sold for the highest amount of money for a non-US film. in May, 20,000 tickets had already been sold in Japan over a period of two weeks -- for a movie that isn't released until September. And the first day of shooting was greeted by 350 journalists. It doesn't get bigger than Bae.
THE MYTH is the newest Jackie Chan film which re-teams him with director Stanley Tong (RUMBLE IN THE BRONX). Another film on the Pan-Asian bandwagon, it also stars Hee Sun-kim (BICHUNMOO) from Korea and Mallika Sherawat (MURDER) from India. Monkeypeaches tells us: Jackie plays takes on two roles, a modern day archeologist and a Qin Dynasty warrior over two millenniums ago. Jackie is keeping up on his promise to make one Hollywood than one Hong Kong movie.
TOM YUN GOONG is the new film from director Prachya Pinkaew and star Tony Jaa -- the team behind ONG BAK. It's being released August 11th in Thailand and Hong Kong. The story, as if it matters, is about a young fighter named Kham who must go to Australia to retrieve his stolen elephant. With the help of a Thai-born Australian detective, Kham must take on all comers, including a gang led by an evil woman and her two deadly bodyguards. I'm sure there will be ass-kicking in it.
THE BIG SPOOK WAR is the newest from cult filmmaker Takashi Miike. It's being released on August 6th. I know very little about it, except that it's based on manga, but it's Miike -- how bad could it be? He seems to be slowing down -- he usually releases a handful of films a year -- but this is his first and possibly only for the year if you can believe it.
REVOLVER is the new film from Guy Ritchie. With his regular producer Matthew Vaughn leaving him to direct films, Ritchie hooked up with Luc Besson to produce. The film stars Jason Statham (of course), Ray Liotta, Andre 3000 and Vinnie Pastore. There's a trailer available and it looks like we can expect what we always expect from Guy Ritchie.
Coming Soon To A Theater Near You
NIGHTWATCH, which I have covered twice now so if you don't know what it is -- check the archives, it was supposed to come out next week but has been pushed to later in the year. It will be followed by the sequel DAYWATCH and a third installment in the trilogy which is being filmed in English. You can probably decide pretty easily from the trailer whether it's your sort of thing or not.
THE PROMISE is my other most anticipated film of the year. Directed by Chen Kaige (FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE) who I think it the best (much better than Zhang Yimou!) when he's on game, tackles martial arts for the first time. The film has a top notch pan-Asian cast that includes Nicholas Tse, Cecilia Cheung, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jang Dong-kun, Chen Hong and Liu Ye. The film is scheduled to be released in the US on December 16th, the day after it is released in China. I can only hope this is true as I can't wait to see it.
2046 Is being released in the US on August 5th. The latest from Wong Kar Wai is more or less a sequel to his art house hit IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. It stars Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Tony Leung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung and Faye Wong. Check the International Intrigue archives for a review of this perplexing film that takes place both in the present (often in room 2046) and in the future (year 2046) of a book the main character is writing.
And for whoever is interested, THE TRANSPORTER 2 will be released on September 2nd in the U.S. Jason Statham returns as do screenwriter/producer Luc Besson and director Louis Leterrier. The first one was pretty good, but really was more a rent than a must see. Unless some outstanding trailer comes along to tell me different, I will assume the same of this film.
And on September 23, you can get your ex-dogme fix with Thomas Vinterburg's (THE CELEBRATION) DEAR WENDY. Written by dogme founder Lars Von Trier this film is evidently about a young boy in a nameless, timeless American town establishes a gang of youthful misfits united in their love of guns and their code of honor. It's in English and strangely enough Bill Pullman's in it. I really can't wait to see another look at middle America brought to us by Von Trier who has never been here.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE is almost a foreign film -- Cronenberg is Canadian and shoots there and gets a lot of his money from there. Despite how easy border travel is, Canada is in fact a foreign country. This film starring Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris will be release on September 30th. The film has gotten pretty good reviews and has an intriguing trailer. There was debate amongst critics at Cannes about whether Cronenberg is selling out and whether or not this film is supposed to be taken seriously. Either way, I haven't been this intrigued about a movie in a long time.
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It's Been Released There....Will It Ever Be Released Here?
GODZILLA:FINAL WARS was released in Japan last December and to be honest I haven't heard a thing about it. Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (VERSUS) and starring Godzilla and friends, the film has been shown at a few select US festivals. But I don't believe it has a distributor so i guess those of us who want to see it will have to import it. It's being released on DVD on July 29th and is $50 American. The special edition is over $80. Yea.
PRINCESS RACCOON is this fascinating-sounding Japanese musical. It's directed by veteran Seijin Suzuki (TOKYO DRIFTER) and stars Zhang Ziyi. It was released in Japan on May 28th to pretty positive reviews. But it just sounds too fascinating to miss. Yet, I don't know when, if ever, it's coming to the U.S.
KEKEXILI is a mainland Chinese film I've reviewed before. It was talked about quite a lot in its festival appearances. China hopes that it has a chance for an Academy Award this year. And supposedly it's going to be released in US theaters by the end of the year, but we'll have to wait and see. It's the story of a group of men out in the middle of nowhere in China that attempt to stop poachers at great expense.
THREE...EXTREMES is an anthology film showcasing popular auteurs Chan Wook Park, Takashi Miike and Fruit Chan. It is available for import on DVD but is possibly getting a theatrical release this year.
WOLF CREEK is the Australian horror movie that got bought even before showing at Cannes. It was the talk of the town during the festival and should be released in the US in November. I'm curious to see what all the talk was about.
In Production
HUO YUANJIA is a biopic currently being shot in China and starring Jet Li. The real Huo Yuanjia was a national hero and pioneered wushu, the martial art Jet Li is a master of. But the big news is, the 42 year old actor has recently announced that this will be his last martial arts picture. Whether that's true is yet to be seen, but the threat alone makes this film a highly anticipated one.
PAN'S LABYRINTH is the new film from Guillermo Del Toro (HELLBOY). While a lot of foreign directors are running to Hollywood, Del Toro's been there and has gone back to make a film at home before returning for HELLBOY 2. IMDB provides a summary: In this fairy tale, a small family in Spain moves into an old house in 1943 after the rise of Fascism. Their eldest daughter, at age 12, falls in love with a fawn that lives in the old ruined labyrinth which resides behind their new decrepit home. Sounds good to me.
PARIS, JE T'AIME is an anthology film that is set to contain 20 short films about love in the city of love. The shorts will be directed by prominent directors but who exactly they are seems to be constantly changing so I won't attempt to say. But we'll find out for sure when it's released in France at the end of next year.
RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES is the literal translation of Zhang Yimou's next film. A small film after the epic pictures HERO and HOUSE OF FLLYING DAGGERS that features well respected Japanese actor Ken Takakura. This is the story of a father and son who bond over opera. Or something. But it seems to have 'film festival' written all over it.
Annnounced
These films have been announce by I in no way guarantee they will ever be made:
John Woo has announced that he will be working on so many projects that never come to fruition that most of us have stopped paying attention to him. But it looks like he might actually be making something this time. In China. And it sounds kind of cool. It's called THE BATTLE OF RED CLIFF and the announced cast includes Tony Leung, Ken Watanabe, Andy Lau and Chow Yun Fat, who would be reuniting with Woo after 13 years. I'm not sure he's entirely confirmed for this film, but his name has been out there. Chow Yun Fat will be returning to Hong Kong anyway to make a film with Ann Hui.
Wong Kar Wai's next artistic opus is a film with the same name as a Welles classic, although not a remake evidently. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI will star screen siren Nicole Kidman. One would assume it will be shot by WKW's regular collaborator Christopher Doyle. But the world's best living cinematographer recently revealed in a Guardian interview that he may be breaking up with the auteur so it's unclear if he'll be working on this film or not. What will a WKW film be without Doyle? I guess we'll just have to find out.
THE NIGHT BANQUET is the next film for Mainland Chinese director Feng Xiaogang who is currently in pre-production on this loose adaptation of HAMLET. The annouced cast includes Zhang Ziyi, Daniel Wu, Ge You and Zhou Xun. This was announced like two weeks ago so I got nothing else to tell you at present.
DRUNKEN MASTER 3 is only a vague possibility at this point, but it would pair the legend Jackie Chan with up and coming Thai boxer Tony Jaa. If that's not worth getting excited about -- I don't know what is.
For the artsy crowd, Almodovar is re-teaming with Penelope Cruz for his newest looking into feminine wiles called VOLVER.
And supposedly Beat Takeshi is working on ZATOICHI 2. I heard these rumors a while back when he was seen out in public with his ZATOICHI hairdo once again but haven't heard anything since.
Foreign Movies....In English?
Tom Tykwer (RUN LOLA RUN) has a new interesting project on the horizon -- being filmed in Germany but also in English it's called PERFUME:THE STORY OF A MURDERER. IMDB says: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with no smell, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent. Hmm.... But Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman are in it.
Lars Von Trier has not only MANDERLAY, the second in his trilogy that began with DOGVILLE, but also is making a movie about slavery starring Danny Glover. This man is crazy, but I can't help be interested.
Christophe Gans (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) is evidently in post-production on his adaptation of SILENT HILL. Written by Roger Avary, it stars Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden and Sean Bean. Filmed in France but in English, it's due out next year.
Luc Besson has become a producer extraordinaire -- but will he ever direct again? Yes and no. Due out next year is ARTHUR AND THE MINIMOYS and animated film he's directed based on his own children's book. It will showcase the voice talent of Bowie, Snoop and Madonna. This is so strange I don't know where to begin.
Well, you can't say you haven't been updated. If you didn't have anything to look forward to in your life, I'm sure there's something on here worthwhile.
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