2006 Toronto Film Festival review

[Gaijin84]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/movies/14fest.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1158354117-EpxGf5ItDClW7xlx+aHHaA

[Brian Thibodeau]

I just got back from SUMMER PALACE about an hour ago. Director Lou Ye was actually there, but only intro'd the film, then split. I'll probably post some longer thoughts here later (or maybe in the blog), but my initial post-film reaction was mixed. Definitely a tale that needs to be told, but also a tale that doesn't need 140 minutes to tell. Lou Ye could easily have chopped out half and hour and still maintained all the subtext, anger, despair and sex (set to a depressing, ominous piano and squealy violin score, cut with some great Chinese pop songs). Clearly he's got a lot of anger at the mediocre state of existence of many Chinese influenced by the Tianemen situation, and it's palpable on screen, but after about the 100 minute mark, it becomes oppressively and repetititve. Maybe ten walkouts at the screening, largely due to the length and NOT because of the sex scenes, which were quite raw and beautifully handled (although even they became repetitive after awhile!). I'm pretty sure this was the uncut version, as I simply can't imagine a longer version saying anything deeper!



Also saw Johnnie To's EXILED last night (just noticed its not inthe DB yet, either!!!). Now THAT was friggin' COOL. Every bit the companion piece to THE MISSION, probably better in many ways. Several sequences, including three of the film's big gun battles, are indeed, as described in the festival materials, akin to watching Carravaggio paintings in motion. Remarkable how he pulled that off, really. It's gonna be nice just to freeze-frame some of those scenes when the DVD comes out. Nice to see Roy Cheung rescued from the DTV doldrums, too. Awesome music score, too! Hope there's a soundtrack! To and Josie Ho (who's amazing in this) were at the screening, but no Q&A afterwords.


Saw the Korean flicks THE HOST and FAMILY TIES last weekend. Both excellent in their own ways and OH so Korean! As FAMILY TIES is the less hyped of the two, I'd have to say it's definitely worth seeking out on DVD as it's extremely well written and performed.

[dleedlee]

Thanks for your impressions. Did you, by chance, manage to catch The Missing Star?

[Brian Thibodeau]

No MISSING STAR, unfortunately. I don't think it ended up playing on a day I was in town, so had to find alternatives. My Asian picks are all done now. Just a couple of horror flicks (PRINCESS and SEVERANCE) to see tomorrow afternoon, and a U.S.-Indian comedy called OUTSOURCED, to see tomorrow night. All in all, though, I've been generally impressed by everything I'e seen so far.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Don't know why I just thought of this, but I should also point out that EXILED features the same kind of blood-explosions that Ringo Lam used in UNDECLARED WAR (as far as I know, the only other HK film where I've seen it). I know some here might be tempted to cry foul because blood doesn't poof out in a mist around someone when they get shot, but I think it was an excellent choice on To's part and works quite well with the overall Heroic Bloodshed feel.