Gran Torino

I really liked the movie (Gran Torino) we watched yesterday. Listen to the ending song "Tribute Gran Torino Music" by Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens on youtube. Unfortunatly I can not embed the video from that song here, but the version without Clint Eastwood can be listened to.

Gran Torino by Jamie Cullum:

Lucky Day!

I still haven´t managed to find the time to report about the great last week I had but today I just had to post quickly. I´ve been lucky.
At Starbucks I won two movie tickets for The Reader. Then later on my way to get my daughter from school I won two more tickets for another preview "He´s just not that into you" in another store. For the same day!
Let´s see whether I manage to see both of them.
When I returned home today evening there was a letter with 2 tickets for a reading (Ben Becker - Die Bibel).

Am I lucky? Yes I am.

Official End of the Asia Filmfest

The last day of the Asia Filmfest fell on my Birthday. Great! I asked my husband to take care of the kids and I could spend the whole day at the festival. Well, I spent the half day there and watched 4 movies in a row. I was surprised that it wasn´t too much.
The Red Spot was sold out and the director, the actors and crew were present. It was cool to watch the movie, as most of it was shot near the place I used to live and where my mom still lives. And I always enjoy listening to the director and actors talk about the movie after watching it.

Drifting Flowers

The Red Spot

Paco and the magical book

Tokyo Gore Police

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

65 Tickets for the Asia Filmfest (Nov 1)

I still can´t believe how many tickets I received with the festival pass. I won´t be able to watch all of them, but I will manage to find time for about half of the movies.

Dachimawa Lee

Lovedeath

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

CAUTION SICK SHIT

Today the Asia Filmfest started. This year I have luckily got a little more time than usual, so I talked Benjamin into giving me a festival pass for my Birthday, which lets me see all the movies from the filmfest.
So this is what we received: a package with the festival pass, the tickets for all of the shows and they let you choose a free dvd. Even though I will be only able to watch the half of the 60 movies, I was happy to hold such a treasure in my hands.
(Specially after having such a stressful day with hurrying around from one place to the other, cutting off one fingertip with a scalpel, standing in front of a closed (!!) hospital with my hand and two towels drenched in blood, finding another taxi to drive me to another hospital, having to organize a Halloween party for today, etc.)
I´m glad they showed only one movie on the opening day of the Filmfest. I´m dead tired now, and so I didn´t join the others who went to the party after the movie. I guess I missed some drinks and Tom Novy at the match club.

ASHES OF TIME REDUX

The film is Mr Wong's most abstract endeavor, a bold excursion into the realm of pure cinema." (New York Times)

A star-studded cast includes both Tony Leungs, Leslie Cheung and Maggie Cheung, and masterful camera work by Chris Doyle. In ancient China, a vagabond swordsman earns his living by hiring others
as assassins. His heart was long ago hardened by the betrayal of a woman, but his encounters make him reflect on his lost love. Cut together by director Wong Kar Wai from a variety of prints of the original, this is the definitive version of his rarely seen martial arts film. Digitally tweaked and tightened, ASHES OF TIME REDUX remains pure Wong - a visually bold film that centres on unrequited longing and emotional frustration, rather than the sword fights of wuxia cinema. (Melbourne International Film Festival)

Watch the trailer.

Rooster´s Breakfast / Petelinji Zajtrk

After watching Johnny 316 on Monday, I went to see Rooster´s Breakfast at the filmfest. Rooster´s Breakfast is the most successful Slovenian movie of all time and premiered yesterday in Germany. Both the director Marko Naberšnik and main character Vlado Novak attended the premiere. They had a short talk with the audience and seem to be two very nice and humerous guys. If you have the chance, you should go and see the movie.

Watch the trailer and a wonderful song by Severina Vučković.

Are You The Favorite Person Of Anybody?

We have a list of movies I want to rent online. And we never know which dvds the rental company will send us next. It was such a coincidence when on the same day the dvd of "Me and You and Everyone We Know" arrived along with the yellow book "No one belongs here more than you" both by Miranda July. Add then I also found this short movie at YouTube. Did anybody say "There are no coincidences"?



This is a simple short film, shot on a budget of $150. A man with a survey stops passersby and asks them, "Are you anybody's favorite person?" That can be heartbreaking for somebody who doesn´t come first in somebody else's heart!

Introduction To Literature By Franz Dobler

© by Franz Dobler

Franz Dobler is a German author, journalist and DJ. Check out his website (German!) and blog for more information about him and his work.
I have been reading books ever since I can remember, but I owe him my love for special books and authors. About 15 years ago I would receive a book every Christmas from him and usually the book or author would be new to me. 1996 I received "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote. This little book and Franz Doblers´own work started my love for reading books by Capote and lead to authors like Charles Bukowksi, William S. Burroughs and many others.
I´ve got about five of Doblers´ books and I´m very fond of his style too. But I have to admit I started appreciating/enjoying his writing only when I was about twenty years old. And I still have to read his biography about Johnny Cash: "The Beast in me. Johnny Cash. Und die seltsame und schöne Welt der Countrymusik.". It´s waiting for me in my book shelf.
A few weeks ago I found out that he also starred in a movie project. I´m curious to see it and haven´t even managed to visit one of his recent readings and dj-events either but I do hope to catch up with that soon.

And where is the portrait I drew of him???? That was actually the reason for this post! I´ll scan and post it later.

Machine Girl

© by azsiafilm

This is the next movie I´ll have to see.



A Japanese High School girl seeks revenge on the ninja yakuza family who killed her brother and cut off her left arm which has been replaced with a machine gun. (from Director Noburo Igushi)
(via otomano)

Rashomon - Papillon D'Amour

My husband posted about Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa today. That reminded me of this video "Papillon D'Amour" by Nicolas Provost which I had seen some months ago.

"By subjecting fragments from the Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon to a mirror effect, Provost creates a hallucinatory scene of a woman's reverse chrysalis into an imploding butterfly. This physical audiovisual experience produces skewed reflections upon Love, its lyrical monstrosities, and a wounded act of disappearance. " (via wikipedia.com)

In July 2006, a Japanese court ruled that all Japanese films produced before 1953 are part of the Public Domain. So you can watch the whole movie (1h27m) here or here. The movie "Rashomon" is Akira Kurosawa's adaptation of Ryunosuke Akutagawa's short story dealing with the subjectivity of eyewitness evidence in the solving of a crime.

Asia Filmfest - Soo

After the two movies yesterday afternoon we went to get the kids from friends. Back home they were put to bed and off we went again. My mom and I went to watch the last blood-splattered movie of the Asia Filmfest: Soo.

About the movie:
"It's bloody and brutal, and harrowingly so. Japanese-born Korean director Choi Yang-il (Yoichi Sai) brings the Korean audience a hardboiled vengeance film with a slightly different flavor. When you think of blood-splattered retaliation, Park Chan-wook’s vengeance trilogy or Quentin Tarantino’s "Kill Bill" series may come to mind. But imagine such a film stripped of fancy cinematographic techniques and devoid of stylishly choreographed action sequences. Every gesture and grimace is meticulously planned, according to the director. But Choi keeps the camera at a certain distance to portray the no cut skirmishes. The product is heightened realism, and you believe in the brutal violence and the raw human instinct for survival." (The Korea Times)

Asia Filmfest - Dasepo Naughty Girls

Right after "Breath" we saw this crazy movie: Dasepo Naughty Girls, based on the popular Internet novel, "Multi-Cell Girl".

"Fun, sex and lunacy. All hell's been let loose at No Use High School! Director E. J-yong puts a whole new curriculum together for his brilliant adaptation of an internet comic. Whilst the couple that run this somewhat unusual boarding school indulge their sado-masochistic longings, their multi-confessional pupils are busy educating themselves primarily in all kinds of sexual practices. Just as unorthodox as the love life of this crew of bright young things is the colourful look of this bizarre teenage comedy, that takes the audience on a high-speed romp through a highly unpedagogical realm." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Berlinale)

"Shot with a candy coated color scheme and leaping from a song and dance number featuring a fetching swarm of pink clad go-go dancers to a mass exodus for the doctor's office on news that a teacher has tested positive for syphilis to clandestine video game prostitution to ... well, you get the picture. "Dasepo Naughty Girls" begins as a rapid fire candy fluff spin on high school life that is every bit as absurd, high energy and sketch oriented as Cromartie High School, only this film boasts much higher production values." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Twitchfilm.net)

Asia Filmfest - Breath

What a wonderful movie. This was the first one we (Benjamin, my mom and myself) enjoyed today. Right after that we watched a second one.

"Removing any pretence of reality for yet another of his existentialist essays on human nature, Kim Ki-duk’s bare-boned new film pairs a married woman with a man on death row, for an impossible love affair. But as this is, after all, Kim Ki-duk territory, the affair does materialise in a manner of speaking, even offering a deserved relief to two tormented souls, before it drops the curtains. Kim’s followers will embrace this and festivals couldn’t possibly miss exposing such a bemusing item. Kim, whose international reputation was based for many years on the excesses he indulged in films like "The Isle" or "Bad Guy", doesn't quite achieve the same heights he climbed in "Spring, Summer…", but he doesn't need to shock anymore and works wonders within the minimalist conditions he imposes on himself. Visually, this is as eye-catching as any of Kim's films, from the muted pastels of Yeon's home, to the stark realism of the prison cell, and down to the brilliantly sharp universe created by Yeon's vivid imagination inside a the prison room. Finally, there is effective use of incidental music, like the mechanical-sounding version of "Moonlight Sonata" played by Yeon's husband, or the ironically utilised "Tombe la Neige" which wraps up the entire picture." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Screen Daily )

Be With Me by Eric Khoo

"Be with me, my beloved love. So my smile may never fade."

Yesterday night I saw Eric Khoo's latest feature film in a tiny, tiny movie theater around the corner (in the basement). (Click on the images to see a larger version. I specially like the one of the old guy.)

The 3 stories in “Be With Me” are intertwined around the themes of love, hope and destiny. The characters lead separate lives but all desire to be with their loved one. The autobiographical life of Theresa Chan, who became blind and deaf, inspired the movie.

An elderly shopkeeper living the twilight of his years in loneliness. A timid security guard pining for unattainable love. A teenager experiencing love, and love lost.
The initial passionate stage that lovers experience with each other, the insecurities that creep in, the fear of losing the other. As fast as love is established through a flurry of SMS messages and online chat sessions, as fast as love is lost through the cessation of communication.

Each character is faced with communication challenges, and each is without physical handicap. Except for Theresa Chan. "Be With Me" is essentially a silent film, and the use of subtitles to narrate the story of Theresa brings close to home an example of how silent and dark Theresa's physical world is. Still that doesn't stop the strong lady's indomitable will to live life to the fullest, and to help others along the way.

The movie is a wonderful journey of life, love, loss and inspiration to us.

Genre: Drama
Director: Eric Khoo
Starring: Theresa Chan, Ezann Lee, Seet Keng Yew, Chiew Sung Ching, Samantha Tan, Lynn Poh
Rating: M-18 (Mature Content)

Dita Von Teese: Blooming Dahlia (movie)

Dita von Teese is THE burlesque star. She´s a very fascinating artist and you should check out her website. She (who is the ex-wife of Marilyn Manson) is a constant source of discussion.
She starred (as Gala) in a movie called "The Death of Salvador Dali". I´m dying to see the movie, but it is not available in Germany. If you live in the States you can download the movie at iTunes for $2. The others can at least watch the trailer here!

I guess "The Death of Salvador Dali" cannot be compared with "Blooming Dahlia". But at least this strange short film is available for us Europeans too.



"Elizabeth Curt is going to a typical photoshoot for the dangerously sadistic artist Fritz Enoch, only to find there is nothing typical about it. Enoch's demanding oddities leave Elizabeth questioning her safety. But like so many Hollywood starlets, the hope of fame and money dance loudly in her head, drowning out any sense of reality." (Film description from www.ifilm.com)

Release Year: 2004
Credits:
- Star: Dita Von Teese
- Actor: Heath Russell
- Actor: Vincent Chase
- Filmmaker: Kyle Kleefeld
- Director: Kyle Kleefeld
- Cinematographer: Sean McCall
- Producer: Sean McCall
- Sound Recordist: Jersey Black
- Sound Design: Tony Agapiou

My Kids´ Words 3

K: In welcher Sprache wollt Ihr den Film anschauen?
A: Ich verstehe nur Deutsch.
K: Ich kann auch English.
D: Ich verstehe alle Sprachen. Nur den Gott nicht.
K: Wieso nicht?
D: Der Gott redet zwar, aber ich höre ihn nicht.

K: In which language do you want to watch the movie?
A: I can understand only German.
K: I can understand English as well.
D: I can understand all languages, but I do not understand god.
K: Why not?
D: He does talk, but I can´t hear him.

I´m always amazed at the strong presence god has in our childrens´ lives (3 and 4 years old). I can´t imagine that he had the same importance for me at that age.



This is another atc I did for a friend. The original is "The Magician"
by Marie White.

Little Red Riding Hood (1997)

Little Red Riding Hood (1997)

By chance I found this short movie of my favorite actress. Christina Ricci plays Little Red Riding Hood in this offbeat version of the classic fairy tale. The movie is odd but wonderful.

Pan's Labyrinth - 1

This week I watched El Laberinto Del Fauno with one of my best friends. The movie was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro.
It is one of the few movies where I had to look away for some seconds, due to its brutality. Nevertheless a great movie, which I can recommend watching.

"Innocence has a power evil cannot imagine."



I don´t know why, but somehow I´m fascinated by dark and mysterious creatures with horns. So there will be more to come.