MUSA The Warrior (2001)

MUSA, The Warrior (2001)


May 19th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

In 2001 the South Korean film industry produced a period epic of a scale never attempted by a Korean film before. The result of this was MUSA, a film that would set the tone for the ascension of South Korea as both a regional and world cinematic power for the next decade.

The story is loosely based upon a historical incident in which a group of Korean diplomats was arrested on a visit to the court of the newly established Ming Dynasty in 1375. In previous years they had supported the Mongolian Yuen Dynasty, leading to a period of mistrust after its fall. In the film they find themselves freed, but stranded in the barren deserts of Northern China.

To help broaden the regional appeal of the film Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi was cast as a Ming Princess that happens to fall under the protection of the Koreans.

South Korea, Director Kim Sung-Su, Cast Jung Woo-Sung, Joo Jin-Mo, Ahn Sung-Gi, Zhang Ziyi, Park Jung-Hak and Park Yong-Woo, 130 minutes, in Korean and Mandarin with English subtitles

Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972)

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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.


Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972)

May 12th, 7:35PM in Bolton B52


For decades a war widow has been trying to overturn her husbands status as a deserter, under which charge he was executed days after the surrender. Convinced of a conspiracy by the top brass at covering up the true circumstances, she begins to track down and interview the few surviving soldiers that witnessed the events in the jungles of New Guinea. What emerges challenges concepts of the very notion of truth.

In 1945 a fire in a Japanese munitions factory would leave many of its workers dead. One of the survivors was future director Kinji Fukasaku. This experience in his teenage years would contribute to a deep mistrust of authority, especially those in power during the war. This colored many of his later films including a series of gangster or Yakuzza films known as Battles Without Honor or Humanity that communicated a gritty and critical portrayal of concepts of the value Japanese honor and tradition. Under the Flag of the Rising Sun is one of the few times in which he was able to directly comment on the war. His cinematic style mixes documentary like elements and the use of still images to create a compelling exploration of difficult subject matter.

In the three decades after the end of the war, very few Japanese films had been made regarding the military and of those an even smaller number were particularly critical. There was a slight trend towards exploring the life of average soldiers who were sometimes shown to have been abused by their commanding officers. The best known of these is Fires on the Plain (1959), which deals with desertion and acts of brutality and cannibalism. But this, along with depictions of Japanese war crimes remains a deeply taboo subject for Japanese film making every cinematic exploration of this subject particularly valuable.

Japan, Director Kinji Fukasaku, Cast Sachiko Hidari, Tetsuro Tamba, Noboru Mitani, Sanae Nakahara and Kanemon Nakamura, 96 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles

Gumnaam (1965)

Gumnaam (1965)


May 5th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

Seven people win a free vacation to a undisclosed location. That is the event that sets the film in motion. But the trip is not a smooth one and the plane makes an emergency landing at an isolated stretch of coast, that is except for the large mansion and servants that seem to be expecting them. Now murder and mystery are the name of the game.

Based upon the Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None, Gumnaam was in its day an A-Grade picture, showcasing superior production values then other contemporary Indian films. Despite the ravages of time something of this pedigree shines through, especially in the set design of the mansion.

In other ways the film is typical of Indian cinema in general. With frequent musical numbers, an absurd comic relief character and prodigious running time. But to those that appreciate the unique qualities of Indian cinema these are far from negative traits. To sweeten the concoction the famous singer Mohammed Rafi lends his voice to the film delivering an iconic opening number. Many call Gumnaam a classic, but it is without doubt a milestone in the creation of the Indian suspense film.

India, Director Raja Nawathe, Cast Nanda, Manoj Kumar, Pran, Madan Puri and Tarun Bose, 151 minutes, in Hindi with English subtitles

Swordsman and Enchantress (1978)

Swordsman and Enchantress (1978)

April 28th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)


Two men, each giants in the martial world seem destined for conflict. One leads a life of isolation while the other fame and fortune. Now mysterious forces are inducing them to finally discover who is the superior warrior.

Director Chor Yuen began in Hong Kong’s Cantonese dialect cinema where he developed a reputation for social realism as well as pulp actions films such as the iconic Black Rose (1965). The second half of his career was surprisingly centered in the Mandarin cinema, more specifically that of the Shaw Brothers Studio. He began by making a range of films, but in 1976 he directed two swordplay films for the studio, The Magic Blade and Killer Clans, both adaptations of the work of Taiwanese swordplay novelist Gu Long. They were so successful that he would ultimately more then sixteen adaptations of the writers work over the next decade.

The typical elements of a Gu Long novel and the film adaptations themselves included a complex, virtually convoluted story that may involve secret passages, vast conspiracies and double or even triple identities. Swordsman and Enchantress remains one of the best of these films, with an accessible plot full of the lavish set pieces that the Shaw Brothers studio routinely accomplished at the height of their power.

Hong Kong, Director Chor Yuen, Cast Ti Lung, Cheng Lee, Lily Li Li-Li, Lau Wing and Norman Chu, 86 minutes, in Mandarin with English subtitles

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