Asian Films at 2011 Tribeca Film Festival by Stephen Rakower

Asian Films Showcased at the Tribeca Film Fesival

By Stephen Rakower

Tribeca Film Festival, New York
April 20 - May 1, 2011

There is a strong Asian influence in the films being featured at the 10^th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, taking place from April 20-May 1.   From documentaries and historical dialogue, to musicals, mysteries and comedies, filmmakers from East and West have infused Asian culture into their stories at this year’s Festival.

Rich with Asian themes, these films include the stories of a puzzling murder on the night when the first empress will be brought in to power; a North Korean rebel trying to make a new life in a much different capitalistic South Korea; and, the impressive skill and savvy business-sense behind the success of master sushi chef Jiro Ono.

Full details on all of the films with Asian influence are included below and attached:

• Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (Di Renjie), Directed by Tsui Hark

In a fantastical steampunk version of ancient China, legendary sleuth Detective Dee returns from exile to help solve a series of suspicious murders on the eve of the coronation of the country’s first empress. A period epic from genre master Tsui Hark, Detective Dee is an action-packed, visually breathtaking Sherlock Holmes-style mystery featuring stars Andy Lau, Li Bingbing, Carina Lau, and Tony Leung Ka-fai. In Mandarin with English subtitles. An Indomina Releasing release. (Hong Kong, China- 122 minutes)

• Give Up Tomorrow, Directed by Michael Collins

In 1997, Paco Larrañaga was arrested for the murder of two teenage sisters on a provincial island in the Philippines. Over the next 13 years, his case became the highest profile in the nation’s history, and the focal point in a far-reaching exposé of gross miscarriage of justice. At once an engrossing murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and a stunning indictment of national corruption, Give Up Tomorrow is an enraging true crime chronicle. In English, Spanish, Tagalog with English subtitles. . (USA, UK-90 minutes)

• Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Directed by David Gelb

An appetizing documentary in every sense, Jiro Dreams of Sushi follows 85-year-old master sushi chef Jiro Ono, paying lushly photographed homage to the process of preparing the artisan sushi that earned Ono’s esteemed Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant three Michelin stars. From the complicated relationship between Jiro and his sons to the ins and outs of the tuna auction, this spirited film profiles all aspects of Jiro’s craft in tantalizing style and detail. In Japanese with English subtitles. (USA-81 minutes)

• The Journals of Musan (Musan Il-gi), Directed by Park Jungbum.

Park Jungbum’s stunning and much-lauded debut is the story of a North Korean defector forging a life in capitalist South Korea. As both director and actor, Park (assistant director of Lee Chang-dong’s stirring Poetry) fully realizes a disarmingly beautiful vision of loneliness, disconnect, and ethical ambiguity in this story of a lost soul’s struggle to connect. In Korean with English subtitles. (South Korea- 127minutes)

• Let the Bullets Fly, Directed by Jiang Wen

Set during the Age of the Warlords in the 1920s, this comic western is the highest grossing Chinese film ever. When circumstances force an outlaw (actor/director Jiang Wen) to impersonate a county governor and clean up a corrupt town, the Robin Hood figure finds himself in a showdown with the local ―godfather‖ (Chow Yun-Fat). Full of surprises and grounded with a smart, humorous script, Let the Bullets Fly’s battles are fought with guns and wit. In Mandarin with English subtitles. (Hong Kong, China- 132 minutes)

• Underwater Love: A Pink Musical (Onna no kappa)

Directed by Shinji Imaoka, written by Shinji Imaoka and Fumio Moriya

A spectacle of songs and sex that is at once zany and erotic, Underwater Love puts an unforgettable new spin on the Japanese tradition of softcore ―pink‖ films. Asuka has an easy life with her doting fiancé—but everything’s about to change when she discovers her childhood friend has been reborn as a folkloric water sprite, and she decides to take him home…. With music by Stereo Total and cinematography by frequent Wong Kar-wai DP Christopher Doyle. In Japanese with English subtitles (Japan-87 minutes) 

Shorts Program

• Braid, Directed and written by Chun-Yi Hsieh · Taiwan R.O.C. · World Premiere.

Ting misses her mom, Jie misses his wife, and a kitten becomes a catalyst in Braid. (Taiwan R.O.C. – 15 minutes)

• Each Moment is the Universe, Directed by Bruce Thierry Cheung, written by Jeremy Cheung · Thailand · North American Premiere.

In Each Moment Is the Universe a boy is reborn with memories of his previous lives and tries to fix the mistakes of the past. (Thailand – 7 minutes)