Montreal based Vietnamese author Kim Thuy‘s award winning novel Ru has been adapted into a feature length French language film that is currently screening in Montreal. It stars Chloé Djandji in what I believe is her first film role.
Tag: Vietnam
The Roundup – film review – Fantasia 2022
The Roundup / 범죄도시2 (2022)
Director: Lee Sang-yong
Writer: Kim Min-seong
Cast: Don Lee / Ma Dong-seok, Choi Gwi-hwa, Son Sukku
This will have one screening on Monday, July 18.
This is a sequel to The Outlaws but you don’t need to have watched it to as this movie has a new unrelated story although some characters do reappear from the first movie. That of course includes Detective Ma (Don Lee). This time he and the captain (Choi Gwi-hwa) go to Vietnam to retrieve a Korean criminal who has inexplicably turned himself in. It’s soon discovered that his act is related to the disappearance of Korean tourists.
Festival du Nouveau Cinema – Oct 6-17, 2021 (in person screenings) & Oct 6-31 (online screenings)
The 50th edition of the Nouveau cinéma festival will have both in person screenings (October 6-17, 2021) and virtual online screenings (October 6-31, 2021). Some films are only available at in-person screenings. The venues are Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma du Musée, Cinéma Impérial and Cinémathèque Québécoise.
There’s an interesting selection of East Asian films. Here are some that caught my notice but these are certainly not all of them.
Continue reading “Festival du Nouveau Cinema – Oct 6-17, 2021 (in person screenings) & Oct 6-31 (online screenings)”Such a Lovely Little War + Saigon Calling by Marcelino Truong
Such a Lovely Little War (2012 / 2016) and Saigon Calling (2015 / 2017) are two separate autobiographical graphic novels by Marcelino Truong. But they are really companions to each other as the first covers Truong’s childhood in the USA and Vietnam while the second book covers his teenage and young adult years in England and France. I think they are both worth reading although you’ll certainly want to start with the first book. I think it’s also a good way to learn about the Vietnam War. The historical facts seemed to be well researched although I did not double check any of them. Truong himself inevitably does have some opinions which are expressed in these books but it’s not something that I thought was an imposing element.
Drowsy City – film review – Nouveau cinema 2020
Drowsy City / Thanh Pho Ngu Gat (2019)
Director & Screenplay: Dung Luong Dinh
Producers: Thanh Ngo Thi Phuong, Diep Vu Thi Ngoc
Cast: Hien Le Thuy, Toan Nguyen Quoc, Tue Ta Xuan, Tri Vu Minh
This is available to rent and watch online until October 31, 2020.
A chicken slaughterman in Hanoi has a run-in with some small time gangsters. That’s pretty much my synopsis for this because it’s as simple as that on the surface but to say more would perhaps spoil the rather unique experience.
The movie starts with a disclaimer about how post-production effects were used for the simulation of chicken and duck slaughter scenes. There’s nothing particularly graphic about these scenes and they don’t happen often but I guess the director felt the need to warn people. It’s funny how he puts it at the end saying that this is a drama about humans and not a drama about chickens and ducks.
Continue reading “Drowsy City – film review – Nouveau cinema 2020”Fantasia International Film Festival (virtual edition), August 20 – September 2, 2020
Due to the COVID-19 situation, this year’s Fantasia festival will be online only. Movies will be available via VOD. The exact details are not known but the full film screening schedule and ticket purchase will be available on August 10. Anybody in Canada will be able to watch the movie streams.
What has been revealed are some of the films that will be screening in their first wave, second wave, and third wave announcements.
I’ve posted trailers of some of the East Asian films below that seem the most intriguing.
Hand Washing Songs
Coronavirus and COVID-19 should make everyone hyper aware of hand washing. But for those who need that extra something to drill it into their heads, there are now earworm worthy songs and hand waving dances.
Perhaps the most popular hand washing song at the moment is this Vietnamese one.
But others have followed suit:
Furie – movie review
Furie / Hai Phượng (2019)
dir: Lê Văn Kiệt
cast: Veronica Ngo (Ngô Thanh Vân), Phan Thanh Nhiê, Cát Vy
FURIE will be released on June 25 (digital and dvd/blu-ray combo) by Well Go Home Entertainment.
Synopsis
Hai Phuong (Veronica Ngo), an ex-gangster, is a single mother working as a debt collector in a remote village with her daughter, Mai (Cat Vy). When her daughter gets kidnapped, she searches for her in the city where she encounters a detective (Phan Thanh Nhiê) who has been investigating numerous kidnappings. They team up to track down the kidnappers and rescue Mai before it’s too late.
Review
The movie takes some time to show the relationship between mother and daughter. It doesn’t need to do much to establish the bond between the two. Their scenes together are all quite good even if they are predictable. There are some flashbacks to Hai Phuong’s past but they don’t add anything to the story. There’s a scene with a family member that was completely inconsequential. It tries to push some theme of redemption and being brave in moments of fear but it feels tacked on and isn’t really backed up by events in the plot.
Film Beats (from the East) 