Black Hair (1964)

Black Hair (1964)

March 1st, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)

This crime drama from the prolific Director Lee Man Hee paints a picture of the underworld in the mid 1960’s. Black Hair is a stylish tale of a young woman who betrays and is betrayed, finally ending up scarred and along. When she finally has found a degree of redemption her past returns with a vengeance.

With a career somewhat similar in tone to Samuel Fuller in that he specialized in war and crime films, Lee Man Hee operated in a period of South Korean cinema now little known today. Over the last few years his profile has steadily increased with retrospectives in Korea and the West. This particular entry is an ideal introduction to a director might make many rethink early South Korean cinema.

South Korea, Director Lee Man Hee, Cast Moon Jeong-Suk, Lee Dae-Yeob, DokKo Seong, Lee Hae-Ryong, 108 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles.

What on Earth Have I Done Wrong?! (2007)

What on Earth Have I Done Wrong?! (2007)


February 23rd, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)



Taiwan, Director Doze Niu Cheng-Tse, Cast Doze Niu Cheng-Tse, Janine Chang Chun-Ning, Christine Ke Huan-Ju and Chan Hei-Sing, 95 minutes, in Mandarin with English subtitles.

Centre Forward (1978)

Centre Forward (1978)


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

One of the first things an experienced viewer of North Korean cinema notices when watching a Pak Chong Song film is the technical skill of the director. North Korean cinema was shaped by the Soviet social realist cinema. This was due to the Soviet film advisers and a practice of sending film makers to the USSR to learn about film production. This created a straightforward style with a minimalist approach to cinematography.
Centre Forward is a sports film less about the competition of sport, and more the battle with oneself in a struggle against their own endurance in a story that transcends nationality.
North Korea, Directors Pak Chang Song, Kim Kil In, Cast Kim Chol, Choi Chang Su, Pak Tae Su, 75 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles

The Heavenly Kings (2006)

The Heavenly Kings (2006)


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

Blurring the lines between reality and satire, four Hong Kong B-list celebrities decided to comment on the absurdities of the then recent boy band craze by creating their own fiction band Alive. This film is that story, told in the style of a mockumentary/behind the scenes video.
The band sold tickets, toured around East Asia and created elaborate fan groups to promote their band with at its hart is an amalgamation of all of the excesses of the boy band model. They are joined by a wide range of other major and minor celebrities playing themselves. But not just playing themselves, they are playing to their media image, typically in an exaggerated and self deprecating manor that further blurs fantasy and reality.
The tittle is a reference to a group of four individuals who were known as the Heavenly Kings of Cantopop back in the 1980's and early 90's including Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai, with the term itself taken from Chinese mythology. And like mythology, the lines between fantasy and reality are tenuous at best.
Hong Kong, Director Daniel Wu Yin-Cho, Cast Daniel Wu Yin-Cho, Terence Yin Chi-Wai, Andrew Lin Hoi and Conroy Chan Chi-Chung, 83 minutes

February Schedule

-February 2nd

The Heavenly Kings (2006)
In Cantonese with English subtitles

A group of Hong Kong minor celebrities came together to make a documentary style comedy about boy bands. To do so they form their own, Alive. The Heavenly Kings is a biting comedy dealing with celebrity and the creation of pop culture. Various other celebrities make appearances as themselves in exaggerated performances referencing their own pop image including Karen Mok, Nicholas Tse and Jacky Cheung.

Hong Kong, Director Daniel Wu Yin-Cho, Cast Daniel Wu Yin-Cho, Terence Yin Chi-Wai, Andrew Lin Hoi and Conroy Chan Chi-Chung, 83 minutes



-February 9th

Japan Sinks aka The Sinking of Japan (1973)
In Japanese with English subtitles

Based upon the Sakyo Komatsu novel, Japan sinks is a disaster film that became one of the major hits of the 1970's. The story involves the emanate collapse of the Japanese islands into the continental trench. Similar in concept to the American big budget, effects heavy films of the same era especially 1974's Earthquake.

Japan, Director Shiro Moritani, Cast Keiju Kobayashi, Ayumi Ishida and Hiroshi Fujioka, 143 minutes



-February 16th

Centre Forward (1978)
In Korean with English subtitles

There are few North Korean directors who have been noticed internationally, Pak Chong Song is one of them. This sports film follows a soccer team as they push themselves in a struggle against their own endurance in a story that transcends nationality.

North Korea, Directors Pak Chang Song, Kim Kil In, Cast Kim Chol, Choi Chang Su, Pak Tae Su, 75 minutes



-February 23rd

What on Earth Have I Done Wrong?! (2007)
In Mandarin with English subtitles

As something of a philosophical companion piece to The Heavenly Kings (2006), this Taiwanese comedy is a mockumentary in which director Doze plays a comic version of himself as he encounters scandal and the darker side of celebrity.

Taiwan, Director Doze Niu Cheng-Tse, Cast Doze Niu Cheng-Tse, Janine Chang Chun-Ning, Christine Ke Huan-Ju and Chan Hei-Sing, 95 minutes