Jan Dara (2001)

Jan Dara (2001)


April 21st, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

In 1930's Thailand a young boy lives with his rich father. The boy is the films title character and what he experiences in his formative years is a world of hatred, intrigue and sexual tension. Blamed for the death of his mother, Jan is hated by his father and has to struggle to develop his own identity in an oppressive atmosphere of family dysfunction.

Applause Pictures, founded by Hong Kong director Peter Chan had a stated goal of developing pan-Asian productions. Jan Dara was the first of many high profile efforts. Other notable entries include The Eye (2002) and Golden Chicken (2002). Hong Kong actress Christie Chung was cast in an attempt to market the film throughout Asia. The film is based upon an iconic 1965 novel by Utsana Phleungtham which was a breakthrough work of eroticism and drama in contemporary Thai literature.

The film is notable for testing the waters of acceptability for Thai censors with its heavy use of eroticism. Its production also highlights the technical capabilities of Thai cinema at the start of what would become a boom decade for the industry. Its visuals and art design bring to vivid life a moody 1930's Bangkok.

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Thailand, Director Nonzee Nimibutr, Cast Christy Chung Lai-Tai, Santisuk Promsiri, Eakarat Sarsukh and Wipawee Charoenpura, 108 minutes, in Thai with English subtitles

Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987)

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For this week only the Asian Film Series will be presented at an alternate time and location. The date is still the same, but the film will be shown at 7:35PM in Bolton B52. For location information please see this link http://www4.uwm.edu/map/vt-cent.cfm Bolton is the building behind Lubar Hall on N. Maryland ave. The room is located in the basement and includes a theater style set up with a DVD projector.

Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987)

April 14th, 7:35PM in Bolton B52


The Dirty Pair is the nickname of a duo of secret agent/investigators that appeared in a series of light SciFi novels written by Haruka Takachiho in the 1980's. Set over a century in the future, the two women look into problems usually having to do with the widespread human colonization of the Galaxy. Through their travels they become the equivalent of an albatross. Bad luck, destruction and death are always in their wake. This takes the form of an irreverent style of humor whereby they might be indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions, but the important thing is they have fun doing it and that is the appeal of the Dirty Pair, it is a love affair with the absurd.

The novels along with their illustrations of the two scantily clad protagonists spawned a TV series and a string of Original Video Animations (OVA’s). The Dirty Pair came from an era of Japanese animation very different from that of the 1990's or today. An era where it was less self conscious and painfully hip, and that having fun went hand in hand with an originality of spirit if not subject matter.

For their cinematic debut the Duo faces strange animal attacks on a far flung colony. The story is basically a mixture of Alien (1979) and the novel Dune, but this becomes irrelevant as the antics of the two protagonists are the only thing that really maters to the film. The joy of the material is in a celebration of cheesy excess. If you think tuxedo space suits are the height of fashion and that battle armor should be transparent and skin tight, then the Dirty Pair might be for you.

Japan, Director Koichi Mashimo, Cast Kyoko Tongu, Saeko Shimazu, Katsuji Mori and Chikao Otsuka, 81 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles

Pulgasari (1985)-

Pulgasari (1985)


April 7th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)


Anything originating from North Korea tends to take on a surrealistic, otherworldly quality. When Kim Jong-Il decided to produce a uplifting giant monster movie this trend went into overdrive. The plot is simple enough, and set in olden times. An evil ruler abuses his the people by forcing them to work at slave labor and denying them basic necessities. So through the tears and prayers of a beaten old man a doll is imbued with life and then slowly becomes a giant, metal eating monster who kills the peoples oppressive ruler.

The story is a metaphor for the South, America and capitalism, but likely only a North Korean would view it as such. For such a project Kim Jong-Il needed an experienced director and so he had him kidnaped and taken to the North. The man was Shin Sang-ok who was lured to Hong Kong while searching for his actress ex-wife who had also been kidnaped. Eventually Shin along with his wife whom he had reconciled with during the ordeal managed to escape. They encountered a mixed reaction in the South and he eventually relocated to the United States where he continued to work as a producer creating the 3 Ninjas series of films.

One of the strangest twists to this story is the involvement of Teruyoshi Nakano and Kenpachiro Satsuma of the Toho Studio in the film. This is counterintuitive on many levels. Firstly hatred of the Japanese and their colonialist abuses is a major tenant of North Korean political life, even more so in the 1980's. Secondly, why the major Japanese movie studio would work on a North Korean film in the era when Japanese civilians were being kidnaped to the North is anyone’s guess. In the end it all comes back to the strange nature of the North in which applying any kind of logic to its doings is a haphazard endeavor.

North Korea, Directors Shin Sang-ok, Chong Gon Jo, Producer by Kim Jong-il, Cast Chang Son Hui, Ham Gi Sop, Jong-uk Ri and Gwon Ri, 95 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles

The Private Eyes (1976)

The Private Eyes (1976)


March 17th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)



The 1970's saw a transformation in all levels of Hong Kong cinema. This had to do with the shifting of the Mandarin dialect cinema which evolved through the 1950's and possessed great sense of connection to the pre-Civil War Mainland cinema to a domestic Cantonese dialect industry that fully embraced Hong Kong and its people. A major player in this change are the Huo brothers whose English names are Michael, Sam and Ricky. They found great fame in a TV variety program that they headlined which in tone and impact can be compared to the Smothers Brothers in the United States. In it they looked at aspects of everyday Hong Kong life including its hypocrisies with an eye towards irony.

Michael was the first to move into cinema, starring in four films at the Shaw Brothers studio under director Li Han Hsiang. They were major hits and allowed all three brothers to have creative freedom in producing their own film, this time under the Golden Harvest studio. The films they made were tremendous hits, becoming some of the most popular productions of the decade and making them the preeminent force in Hong Kong comedy.

Co-directed by Michael Hui and John Woo, The Private Eyes has becomes one of the most popular comedies rating number thirteen on the Hong Kong film awards list of the 103 greatest Chinese films. Woo, who had been working for the Shaw Brothers moved to Golden Harvest in the 1970's and became known as a successful comedic director years before his pioneering work in the Heroic Bloodshed film. The story deals with two everyman played by Ricky and Sam Hui who come to work for an abusive boss, played by Michael at a detective agency. The ideas that it deals with include the viewpoint of the average person who aspires to great wealth and power but also wishes to avoid any kind of honest labor.

Hong Kong, Directors Michael Hui and John Woo, Cast Michael Hui, Sam Hui, Ricky Hui, Richard Ng and Sek Kin, 94 minutes, in Cantonese with English subtitles

No Screning this Wednesday

No screening this Wednesday (March 24). The series will return next week with the classic Hong Kong comedy The Private Eyes.

Virgins From Hell (1987)

Virgins From Hell (1987)


March 17th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)



The late 1970's opened up a golden age for Indonesian cinema, as government grants helped local producers make films for their domestic market. But instead of more conventional fair, they wisely choose to create a cinema filled with all types of strangeness. From vampiric flying heads that stalk the countryside at night to mythological super-heroes, super villains and mounds of gore.

In the 1980's the age of the home video market further expanded this trend, sending waves of strange genre mixing films out into the Western world. This resulted in some very odd hybrids such as 1988's Lady Terminator which mixed the Western original with folk tales leading to an insane spectacle of one over the top set piece after another.

Virgins From Hell is one of the strangest of these Indonesian exploitation films. It appears that it was produced principally for its domestic market given the absence of Western actors, a common device to allow for ease of international video sales.

Its story is a mix of women in prison, mercenary jungle action and biker gang elements and in all cases these are taken to excess. While Indonesian exploitation cinema is not for everyone, it is virtually unbeatable when it comes to those who like their cinema on the wild side.

Indonesia, Director Ackyl Anwari, Cast Enny Beatrice, Yenny Farida, Nina Anwar and Dicky Zulkarnaen, 93 minutes, in English

Pulgasari (1985)

This screening has been postponed owing to scheduling issues.


Pulgasari (1985)


March 10th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

North Korea, Directors Shin Sang-ok, Chong Gon Jo, Producer by Kim Jong-il, Cast Chang Son Hui, Ham Gi Sop, Jong-uk Ri and Gwon Ri, 95 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles