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)

***********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.

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

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

The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)

The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)


March 3rd, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)


The films of Director Kazuo Hara typically elicit questions on the role and limits of documentary film making. They are shocking, strange and some say criminal, but are they also profound? For his first film Goodbye CP (1972) Hara documented the scorn and isolation that sufferers of cerebral palsy experience in conformist Japan. In other films he would look at the changing role of women and the totality of a great artist, but for his third directorial effort he shoots an arrow into the heart of Japanese society.

Kenzo Okuzaki is an angry World War II veteran of Japans Imperial Army. He suffered greatly and had a hard time reconciling his experiences in civilian life. Then after killing a man he discovered that he was a divine force of judgment on earth. Now he has pledged to uncover the truth about the execution of several Japanese soldiers at wars end.

Kenzo’s quest is documented including his interviews with witnesses and if they would stand against divine justice, then he has no choice but to use violence. Made over a five year period, Hara documents Kenzo’s activities, but never intervenes or expresses judgment of the man. This gives the film a stark and disturbing quality that most documentaries seem to shy away from.

Japan, Director Kazuo Hara, Featuring Kenzo Okuzaki, 122 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles

Guns & Talks (2001)

Guns & Talks (2001)


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

A group of four men, two of them brothers, live together in what seems like a pleasant middle-class household. They hang out together and also share an obsession with the attractive host of a morning show that they never miss. The twist is they are all professional assassins.

Jang Jin made his name as a playwright and later broke into the South Korean film industry as a writer-director. He has often been associated with quirky stories including authoring the play that became the basis for the hit film Welcome to Dongmakgol. So the blackly comedic tone of Guns & Talks should come as no surprise.

The story takes a mater of fact approach to the killing, giving the film a slightly disturbing atmosphere. The four men are never villainized and even with the presence of several police officers who are hunting them, they might just as well be bankers as far as the tone of the film goes.

South Korea, Director Jang Jin, Cast Shin Hyun-Joon, Won Bin, Shin Ha-Gyun and Jeong Jin-Young, 125 minutes, in Korean with English subtitles

The Criminals (1976)

The Criminals (1976)


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

The Criminals is an unusual film, both for the studio that produced it and its tone in relation to changing cultural standards of what is acceptable in the media. For the people of Hong Kong, television was late in coming compared to some other regions. While there had been limited ownership in the 1950's and 60's, it was not until the start of the 70's that a majority of the population had this convenience. This changed the way in which popular culture and the news was presented and there is perhaps no better example of this then the love affair with true crime dramatizations.

Television allowed many events to be broadcast live to a mass audience, this included several high profile crimes including a bank robbery. The interest in these events was so great that TV and film producers smelled a surefire profit and begun creating films and TV shows that to borrow a popular phrase, were ripped from the headlines.

This example was created by the Shaw Brothers Studio and offers an experience not at all like the majority of their previous films. Firstly, the film relied upon a series of hooks. Its three stories were each directed by a different prominent director and so varied in tone. Each story was based upon a real crime and was filmed largely on the actual locations. The Shaw Brothers had released a handful of seedy exploitation films, although they were frequently set in the past, such as many of their soft core erotica films known as fengyue.

What is unusual is the people and locations the film centers upon were rarely seen in previous Hong Kong films. The Shaw Brothers had a habit of focusing upon the affluent or a kind of idealized version of the poor whenever their films had a contemporary Hong Kong setting. The characters in The Criminals are a mixture from the middle of society instead of its two ends. One setting is a mine workings in the New Territories, one of the first times such a location is used in Hong Kong film. Then in a self reflexive act, the last of the stories is set in the Shaw studio itself and deals with criminal gangs among their stuntmen, which was a major problem of the era. The films popularity helped to spawn four sequels and more importantly would foreshadow certain directions that the Hong Kong new wave would take in films like Cops and Robbers (1979)

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Hong Kong, Directors Hua Shan, Cheng Kang and Ho Meng-Hua, Cast Chiang Yang, Terry Liu, Shih Szu, Szu Wei and Tanny Tien Ni, 92 minutes, in Cantonese with English subtitles

If You Were Young: RAGE (1970)

If You Were Young: RAGE (1970)

** Major Announcement **
The weekly screening has moved from Thursday to Wednesday


February 3rd, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)


Out of the chaos and destruction of the Second World War Japan emerged and began the long task of recovery. By the 1960's the economic situation had greatly improved, but for another segment of the population this had little meaning. An entire generation of young people had grown up in the ruins and shortages of Japans urban centers. Already thoroughly jaded, they then encounter a shortage of good jobs, old prejudices and a sense of utter hopelessness. This feeling was the subject of many dynamic films in the 1960's and 70's, If You Were Young: RAGE is one of these. Director Kinji Fukasaku had a varied career including his masterful anti war film Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972), the American-Japanese co-production Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) and perhaps most notably his Yakuza films of the 1970's including his five part Battles Without Honor or Humanity film series. Out of these RAGE has much in common with the Yakuza pictures in that they both portray a gritty, frequently depressing world of kinetic energy and bitter realities.

The plot of RAGE is simple, a group of young men decide to work for their future and pull together to save up enough for a large truck so that they can make a living as a subcontractor for a construction company. While the plot is simple, it is also virtually meaningless while viewing the film. The real substance is the inner feelings of the men as they try to create a life for themselves. The characters are not after wealth or fame, but escape from a hellish world that seems indifferent to their existence.

Japan, Director Kinji Fukasaku, Cast Tetsuo Ishidate, Gin Maeda, Choichiro Kawarazaki and Hideki Hayashi, 89 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles

Born to Fight (2004)

Born to Fight (2004)

** Major Announcement **
The weekly screening has moved from Thursday to Wednesday


January 27th, 7:00PM in Garland 104 (2441 E. Hartford)


Thai action cinema has become world famous through individuals such as Tony Jaa with Ong Bak (2003) and Tom Yum Goong (2005) and recently Jeeja Yanin playing the autistic action hero of Chocolate (2008). But Thai action has many more flavors then this.

While the aforementioned films are more or less unarmed combat films, Born to Fight is what if you were speaking of Hong Kong cinema, you might call Gun Fu. That is, a fast paced mixture of gunplay and martial arts with the occasional car chase or explosion thrown into the mix.

The plot revolves around a off duty police officer (Dan Chupong) who upon visiting a small village with his sisters class trip, runs afoul of a group of terrorists. His challenge is to rescue them without causing a bloodbath.

The films name is a reference to a 1984 film of the same name and also directed by Panna Rittikrai, which is regarded as one of the seminal works in the evolution of Thai action cinema. Added to this is a healthy dose of Thai nationalism that makes the film a rousing spectacle for its domestic audience and an enjoyable action film for everyone else.

Thailand, Director Panna Rittikrai, Cast Dan Chupong, Noppol Gomarachun, Suntisuk Phromsiri and Piyapong Pue-On, 96 minutes, in Thai with English subtitles