The gallery below lists the prominent Window on Asia stream's key films that I am particularly eager to see, there is a little spillage from Venice and Toronto, but these quality titles remain exciting nevertheless.
The Coffin in the Mountain
Playing as part of the Venice Critic Week currently, this black comedy neo-noir continues the mainland China weirdness of mixing art-house and genre. In the vein of recent festival darling Black Coal, Thin Ice, Coffin follows a murder mystery and the questionable characters involved in an uncanny time and place; a village funeral procession!
A young man accidentally kills a local thug, a battered woman plotting the murder of her husband and a village chief stopped from retiring by an unexpected event are just some of the sordid characters in this cryptic noir thriller.
Margarita, With a Straw
A coming of age film with a difference, Indian film Margarita, With a Straw is an effortlessly Gen Y production that moves from Delhi to New York. Further to this it is a glorious feminist statement, whirlwind lesbian rebel romance and careful look at a rarely narrated illness; what an amazing package, nothing but excited for this one.
Undeterred by cerebral palsy, feisty 19-year-old Laila embarks on a journey of sexual discovery after enrolling at NYU. She meets Khanum, a woman that will drive a wedge between Laila and her mother, challenge her beliefs and help her find the strength to be herself.
Red Amnesia
Another Venezia title, this time a competition work, Red Amnesia from master Wang Xiao (Beijing Bicycle) critiques old and new China through socio-political drama and thriller genre conventions. The title alone is intriguing enough, but all credit goes to the lead actress who shines as Deng, a powerful matriarch dragon-lady who tries so hard to control her family despite their resentments. Things takes a sinister turn when she begins to receive mysterious and threatening phone calls.
China's relaxed censorship and ties to genre in the festival circuit have produced some exciting and bold films in the last half decade. Red Amnesia seems to be yet another example of this contemporary narrative and entrancing trend across the mainland.
Second Life of Thieves
Lament, love, loathes and bitter secrets haunt this Malaysian drama. Second Life of Thieves presents a languid murder mystery that works both in the past and present as memories take their toll on the protagonist.
Village chief Tan is busy. His wife and best friend Lai have mysteriously disappeared and an undocumented worker is dead. While awaiting their return, Tan and Lai’s daughter, Sandy, develop an unlikely friendship that opens old wounds and examines the nature of love and regret.
Fires on the Plain
Another Venice competition title, this time from maverick Shinya Tsukamoto presenting his second tortured World War Two narrative, remaking Kon Ichikawa's classic opus of the same name.
Based on Ooka Shohei's novel, Fires on the Plain is a grotesque and poetic depiction of a Japanese soldier’s ordeal in the Philippines at the end of World War II. As he struggles to maintain his humanity, he edges ever closer to madness and moral collapse.
W
An epic world premiere from Thailand, W is a film about uncertainty futures and the education system as told through the interweaving narratives of a trio of best friends.
Director Chonlasit’s graduation project taps into the anxieties of contemporary twenty something and best friends struggling with choices they didn’t always want to make.
Partners In Crime
Very excited for this one. Partners in Crime is a Taiwanese mystery thriller from Chang Jun-Chi, responsible for the excellent Touch of the Light. The director handles high school narratives expertly and this disturbing mystery sounds to be his best yet, and one of the best films to come from Taiwan in some time. with shades of Edward Yang and Hitchcock this new work is something I am counting down the days for, just check the ambitious synopsis below!
When Lin, Yeh and Huang witness their classmate Hsia’s suicide, the act that connects them more closely than they could imagine. Launching their own amateur investigation into the girl’s death, the trio unearths a digital network of secrets and lies that challenges our perception of reality.
Over your Dead Body
I speculated that Miike's latest foray into returning to his horror roots would play at Busan; I am exhilarated that it is!
Life imitates art in the latest from Japan’s premiere iconoclast when a theater troupe staging the classic ghostly mystery Yotsuya Kaidan finds their characters’ loves, obsessions and grudges playing out in real life and building to a nightmarish finale as only Miike could realize.
Our main man Todd Brown saw the film, premiering at Toronto and had nothing but great things to say, further fueling my excitement for it!
Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere
A bizarre abortion drama centered on desperation and psychological implication, this Hanoi based film is from first-time director Diep Nguyen Hoang. Her meticulous eye for metaphor and mise en scene permeate each frame as this tender yet frank and odd tale comes to grisly life. Ashamedly this will be my first Vietnamese film experience.
When young Hanoi couple, Tung and Huyen, discovers they’re going to have a baby. It inspires two desperate quests to raise money for an abortion. While Tung looks to illegal cockfighting, Huyen resorts to prostitution with a client that results in some surprising personal realizations.
The World of Kanako
The World of Kanoko is technically playing in the Midnight Passion stream, but its equally as gonzo as Sono and Miike's new work that I have just included it here.
Master stylist Tetsuya Nakashima (Confessions) returns with an adapted missing child narrative filled with pulp, blood and intrigue and driven by screen legend Koji Yakusho (Cure). With homages to exploitation titles aplenty this film does not hold back with its extremely disturbing content that challenges and provokes. Cannot wait.
Kanako, one of the best students at school, goes missing with all the belongings left behind. Her father Akikazu is now asked by his ex-wife to look for their daughter. He starts a desperate search of Kanako using any means, in the hope of getting his “ideal” family back in place.