The Contract (1978)

The Contract (1976)

September 16th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

Michael Hui plays a bumbling, rarely used actor/extra working under the yoke of an abusive long term contract that he has signed with a fictitious Hong Kong television network. Now he has been offered a more lucrative position with another network, but the catch is he hast to nullify his current contract before he can take the job. But in the dehumanized world of network politics a contract is a contract.

The Hui Brothers were the undisputed kings of Hong Kong comedy throughout the 1970's, and The Contract has all the elements that make for a great Hui film. A script penned by Michael Hui and loaded with bitting satire, a great opening comedy theme composed and preformed by Sam Hui and enjoyable performances all around. Like many Michel Hui scripted films, much of the comedic subject matter springs from real life social or economic problems that existed in Hong Kong at the time. In this case examining the network wars that were continually going on between TVB and ATV among others.

The brothers were and still are closely linked to television. They first came to prominence in the late 1960's with their Hui Brothers variety show. The show was similar in tone to American series such as The Smothers Brothers or Laugh In, in that it dealt with hot button issues of the day with an eye towards the common people.

Each of the brothers went on to make a considerable name for themselves. Michael Hui as a comic actor and director of bitting satire, Sam Hui as the eternally popular originator of modern Cantopop (Cantonese pop songs) and Ricky Hui as a solid character actor with a comic bent. But it is together that they reached the greatest of heights. This series has previously shown The Private Eyes (1976), which is frequently regarded as their most iconic work. This slightly later film is a comedic masterpiece in its own right and it sure to delight the tastes of many.

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Hong Kong, Director Michael Hui Koon-Man, Cast Michael Hui Koon-Man, Samuel Hui Koon-Kit, Ricky Hui Koon-Ying, Tiffany Bao, Ellen Lau, Yeung Wai, Cheng Fu Hung, 96 minutes, in Cantonese with English subtitles

Leave it to the Nurses (2002)

Leave it to the Nurses (2002)


September 9th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

Over the past three decades Japan has proven to be one of the premiere exporters of pop culture. But just as there are elements of American pop culture that do not lend themselves easily for export, Japan has a wide range of strictly domestic product. Leave it to the Nurses is a particularly good example of this.

The film is based upon a popular Japanese television series created by Fuji TV and featuring all of the same actors. The series focuses upon a group of young nurses at Wakabakai Hospital. In it, the nurses live their lives and are entangled in generous portions of comedy and melodrama. These factors have been greatly exaggerated for the film, which features both entangling romance and an eventual hostage crisis.

Many similar Japanese television series and films exist, although as previously stated they tend to remain invisible to the outside world. While their artistic quality is debatable, they do help to bring to light aspects of Japanese culture that are an education in and of themselves.

Japan, Director Kazuyuki Morosawa, Cast Arisa Mizuki, Yuki Matsushita, Uno Kanda, Naohito Fujiki and Yoshizumi Ishihara, 114 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles

Nowhere To Hide (1999)

Nowhere To Hide (1999)

September 2nd, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)



The film opens with a black and white shot of Detective Woo (Park Joong-Hoon) walking along what looks like a desolate industrial area only to come upon a series of gang members abusing an old man. At this point it flashes to a similar scene of his partner Detective Kim (Jang Dong-Kun) encountering a armed man on a train, from this point onward the scene keeps going back and forth between the two as they are each involved in there own respective fights using odd camera angles and slow motion. This opening really sets the mood and style for the rest of the film.

The plot revolves around the two detectives investigation into the murder of a crime boss by a mysterious man played by Ahn Sung-kee. They do this by setting out on a series of stakeouts which leads them eventually to a woman named Juyon (Choi Ji-Woo) who they believe has some connection to the murderer.

Few Korean films have generated as many mixed comments as this one. Its detractors claim gratuitous violence, style over substance and a week and pointless plot. Its supporters contend that it is filled with beautifully striking cinematography and has the style of a modern day film noire. The film itself has some degree of similarity with other South Korean black-comedies like Guns and Talks (2001) and Public Enemy (2002). But in other ways it is much closer to the Italian Poliziotteschi genre which also centers around cops who use fascist means to achieve there goal, the American film Dirty Harry (1971) is a good example of a non Italian film that falls into this genre. But again it only has some basic similarities, the film itself has a strange mix of these and many other elements.

Its main strength resides in its daring cinematography which is going a mile a minute throughout. Also the films soundtrack is equally as jarring, with the Bee Gees song Holiday used to great effect and a rock version of the classic Korean song Hae Ddeul Nal preformed by Cherry Filter.

The charge of style over substance is something that the film may in a way be guilty of but in a positive way. While many find there is much more substance here then some give it credit for, its style is so fresh, fast paced and enjoyable that even if that is all there was it could just about carry the film on that alone. There are also a series of scenes which some believe are subtle homages to a range of other films. They include elements from Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925) and The Third Man (1949).

South Korea, Director Lee Myung-Sae, Cast Park Joong-Hoon, Ahn Sung-Ki, Chang Dong-Gun and Park Sang-Myeon, 112 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles

Fall 2010 at the Asian Film Series

The Asian Film Series will soon return for the Fall 2010 season. Look for more information regarding the series in the near future.

The first screening, the South Korean detective film Nowhere to Hide (2000) will be held on September 2nd at 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

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)

***********PLEASE READ***************
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