December 1, 2005
The Remakes
In the past few years, American production companies have been snatching up the remake rights to all kinds of Asian product -- but very few of these remakes have reached American theaters or even started production due to the slow mechanism of Hollywood. But now, it seems that several are coming our way and now is your chance to see the originals before you are inundated with the Hollywood versions.
And I’m not talking about rumored remakes that may never come to pass. Like the horrid rumor that Justin Lin is to remake OLDBOY. He’s filming FAST AND THE FURIOUS right now, so even if it is to happen, it’s pretty far off.
There is an OLDBOY remake coming to theaters, just not in this country. Kaiju Shakedown reported that there is Bollywood remake called ZINDA and notes that “ZINDA isn't just inspired by OLDBOY but is a frame-for-frame copy with worse wigs and more musical numbers.” Fantastic.
Or like CHAOS, a remake of the Nakata film starring Robert De Niro that was announced in 2002 to be directed by Jonathan Glazer. Now it’s been pushed to 2006. Well, don’t hold your breath.
Gurinder Chadha has been attached to remakes of both MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER and MY SASSY GIRL with nothing to show for it. The latter is ‘announced’ to go into production in 2006 but that means nothing.
I don’t want to sound upset that these remakes are not being made -- all the better that they are not. But you hear about them and hear about them and then nothing. Oh, the slow mechanism of Hollywood.
In the early aughts it was really a fad to snatch up Korean hits and Japanese horror flicks. So now, some of them are getting made and others are dropping to the wayside. Anyway, here are the remakes you can’t wait to see next year.
PULSE/KAIRO
Original (2001):
Starring Koyuki (THE LAST SAMURAI), Kumiko Aso (CASSHERN), and Haruhiko Kato.
Written and Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (CURE, SEANCE).
Remake (2006):
Starring Kristen Bell (VERONICA MARS), Ian Somerhalder (LOST) and Christina Millian (She sings that ‘pop that thang’ song).
Written by....well, IMDB lists 5 screenwriters (always a good thing) including the guy who wrote The Grudge remake, some guy who was a grip on ANGEL, Vince Gilligan formerly of the X-Files and Wes Craven.
Directed by some guy I’ve never heard of named Jim Sonzero.
Status: Completed. There’s even a trailer.
Release Date: March 3rd.
Synopsis: A dead companion tries to contact his living friends through technology.
Blabber:
Kiyoshi Kurosawa is something of an auteur. So the thought of remaking his film based on premise alone is a bit odd. The way his story is told is how you might actually experience it in real life -- you may never know the answers. The trailer for the remake indicates that his style will probably translate badly as five screenwriters have seemingly Hollywood-ized it beyond recognition.
I reviewed this film in a column on Kiyoshi Kurosawa, so feel free to check out the archives if you are particularly interested. But the audiences for the original and the remake I think are quite different. If you like art films, watch Kurosawa’s KAIRO, if you like mainstream Hollywood B-movies starring B-level TV actors then the PULSE remake is for you. Although VERONICA MARS and LOST are two of my favorite TV shows (tragically they are in the same time period), there seems to be little to recommend this movie. And given that the last horror remake with two B-level TV stars (that would be THE FOG starring Tom Welling (SMALLVILLE) and Maggie Grace (LOST)) didn’t do all that well, my hopes are low.
INFERNAL AFFAIRS/ THE DEPARTED
Original (2002):
Starring Andy Lau (HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS), Tony Leung (HERO), Anthony Wong (INITIAL D), Eric Tsang (GEN-X COPS), Kelly Chen (BREAKING NEWS) and Sammi Cheng (NEEDING YOU).
Written by Alan Mak (A WAR NAMED DESIRE) and Felix Chong (TOKYO RAIDERS).
Directed by Andrew Lau (STORM RIDERS) and Alan Mak (INITIAL D).
Remake (2006):
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Walhberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen and Jack Nicholson.
Written by William Monahan (KINGDOM OF HEAVEN).
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Status: Post-Production.
Release Date: August 2006.
Synopsis: An undercover cop in the mob and a mob informant in the police force are attempting to track each other down.
Blabber:
Well, this has the cast and the director now don’t it? I’d be excited about this film if it wasn’t a remake of a really great movie. Scorsese says he hasn’t seen the original and with his auteurism, this film will certainly be his own. It might be one of the few cases in cinema history where the original and remake are good in their own rights. I can only hope it’s a modern MAGNIFICENT SEVEN or something of the sort.
Now, a bit of a digression. A lot of people rightly think this should have starred Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise -- since they are the best correlation between the personas of Tony Leung and Andy Lau (and Brad Pitt is producing the film). These people might be right. Although the script is reportedly different. But if it were a direct correlation, I always felt that Scorsese alums Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci were the perfect choices for the Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang roles. He couldn’t have helped Pesci out? He’s perfect for that role (and roles that Pesci is perfect for are few and far between). But with Nicholson playing it, it’s clearly a different character.
I am an enormous fan of the original INFERNAL AFFAIRS, check the archives of this very column for ample evidence of this. And a lot of times when films I adore are remade I ignore their release. But I’d be hard pressed to ignore this remake. I can only hope it’ll introduce people to the original. At the very least it has done something for Andrew Lau’s career I think, as he’s now directing his first Hollywood picture.
THE EYE
Original (2002):
Starring Anjelica Lee.
Directed by The Pang Brothers.
Remake (2006):
Starring Renee Zellweger.
Written by Sebastian Gutierrez (SNAKES ON A PLANE, GOTHIKA), Hillary Seitz (INSOMNIA) and Ryne Douglas Pearson (the novel SIMPLE SIMON on which MERCURY RISING was based).
Directed by Hideo Nakata.
Status: Announced. Supposed to start filming early 2006.
Synopsis: A blind woman’s cornea transplant allows her to see, but also to see ghosts.
Blabber:
I’m breaking my own rules here talking about this alleged remake that hasn’t started shooting yet, but that’s because it looks like a done deal. But you will notice I’m not talking about the separate, unrelated remake of THE EYE 2 which has been announced. It is to be called IN-UTERO and directed by a guy no one knows names Todd Stein.
But we won’t talk about that since it’s status is so dubious. Except that the reason the two films can be split up is that while they were both made by the Pang Brothers, they are sequel in concept alone.
I was never that fascinated with this movie. It’s a weird little film, a J-Horror homage made in Hong Kong by Thai filmmakers. And at the time of it’s release there were several similar films in the Hong Kong marketplace making it all kind of a blur to me.
But since I have never reviewed it, I’ll do a quickie now. All seems well in Mun’s (Anjelica Lee) life when her cornea transplant allows her to see. She also falls in love with her Doctor (Lawrence Chou). But the frightening realization that she can see ghosts is of a particular horror and so her and her doctor friend attempt to seek out where the corneas came from.
This film is particularly introspective and Anjelica Lee does a rather good job portraying inner feelings and fears. She is not helpless but not a superheroine either. The slow J-horror-esque pace of the bulk of the film leads up to a Hong Kong blow out ending in the Pang Brother’s native Thailand.
The thing that raises this film from the ever growing crop of Asian horror is it’s look at vision. Vision is thought to be absolute, but this film implies that blurry vision can blur the lines between reality and the supernatural. And this has the post-modern aspect of her eyes being the camera. Our vision -- whether we can believe what they are showing us. There is much to ruminate on if you care to.
It’s too early to say whether this remake will be worthwhile. Nakata’s first foray in Hollywood filmmaking was not terribly impressive, but I’ve always enjoyed his Japanese work. I’m neither here not there on Zellweger. What’s most interesting to me about this project is this: Hideo Nakata’s Japanese films have been remade three times now, most recently by a Brazilian, and once by himself, and now he’s remaking a Hong Kong film made by two Thai directors. Globalization has truly struck Hollywood.
IL MARE/THE LAKE HOUSE
Original (2000):
Starring Jung-Jae Lee (OVER THE RAINBOW) and Ji-hyun Jun (MY SASSY GIRL).
Directed by Hyun-seong Lee (SUNSET ON THE NEON LIGHTS).
Remake (2006):
Or as I like to call it -- SPEED 3.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Shohreh Aghdashloo (24) and Christopher Plummer.
Written by David Auburn (PROOF).
Directed by Alejandro Agresti (VALENTIN).
Status: Post-Production.
Release Date: February 3.
Synopsis: Two young people, who live in the same house at different times, fall in love by leaving letters in the houses’ mailbox. They soon find out though, they exist in two different time periods.
Blabber:
IL MARE is another film that I have never really reviewed (although I do briefly describe it in my Intro to Korean film columns). It’s a tender little love story, in the romance genre the Koreans have perfected, about two young potential lovers who live in the same house at different times. The mailbox serves as -- how you say -- a magical time traveling portal which allows their letters to reach one another.
Il Mare, which means ‘the sea’, is the name of the house where they both live at seperate times. He is an architect and she’s a voice actress. More than a sweet romance, we get a look at two young people living in and outside of the city. They are in their 20s, trying to figure out what to do with their lives and their love.
This film was not a hit in Korea, but has gained a dedicated fan base. It’s not the only time travel romance (DITTO) or romance where the two characters are never together (FAILAN) that Korea has put out. But it’s simplicity and truthfulness has endeared it to audiences.
That being said, I don’t think this is the most endearing romance to come out of Korea, but it is buoyed not only by it’s female star but also by how beautiful is. The house ‘Il Mare’ is goregous, the sea shore is gorgeous, it’s all shot beautifully. It really adds a lot to the spirit of falling in love.
The two lead characters are only two years apart in time which tantalizes the audience with their eventual meeting. The whole time you are watching the movie you can’t help but wonder what will happen.
As for the remake, the casting of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock is a bit giggle-inducing but PROOF was just about my favorite film of the year so I’m quite tempted by Auburn’s screenplay.
I believe that an American remake of a Korean romance will never be as good. I can’t say it enough that they have perfected the genre and they treat the genre with a respect that Hollywood would never consider. But the premise is one that Hollywood could probably do something decent with.
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