ACF 2102: IT'S ME, IT'S ME opens today in select U.S. theaters

Pictures Dept.

Presents

The U.S. Theatrical Release Of

The Japanese Sci-Fi Sensation

It's Me, It's Me / Ore Ore

Written and directed by Satoshi Miki
Based on a prize-winning novel by Hoshino Tomoyuki

Japan, 2012, 119 minutes

Satoshi Miki's unique fantasy It's Me, It's Me is opening in select US theaters - including NYC's Cinema Village - today, Friday, November 8th. The movie had its North American premiere at Japan Society on July 13, 2013, as a joint presentation of the New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema. (Yet another example of why -- as I've repeatedly written -- reading about these two festivals is a great way to gain an early heads-up on many upcoming theatrical and DVD releases of Asian films.)

Hitoshi Nagano (Kazuya Kamenashi) at work (This image is a cropped screen capture)

Hitoshi Nagano (played by Kazuya Kamenashi of the pop band KAT-TUN, in one of several roles in the film) is a seemingly average twenty-eight year old. Though talented, he's given up on being a professional photographer and works in a huge appliance store selling the kinds of equipment he once used. While eating at a fast food restaurant, the cell phone of a young man named Daiki, who's sitting to his right, slides unnoticed by Daiki onto Hitoshi's tray. Hitoshi surreptitiously walks off with it and uses it in a phone scam to bilk Daiki's mother out of 900,000 yen.

Three "Hitoshi's"

This sets off a truly bizarre train of events that leads to Hitoshi's encountering not one but two other "Hitoshi's." As they say to one another, "We're all me." Soon many more "me's" are found in a surrealistic and seemingly endless proliferation of doppelgangers. But duplications lead to "bad copies" who suffer from "generation loss" and these bad copies must be "deleted."

Sayaka (Yuki Uchida)

There's also an incredibly sexy married woman named Sayaka (Yuki Uchida) who lives in a huge white loft  and who hires the original Hitoshi to take photographs of the front and back of a house. When Hitoshi asks her if she's in real estate, she replies, "Kind of." She's enigmatic, to say the least.

Who is who? Which "me" is the real "me"? And who will survive and who will be deleted? These are the kinds of questions relating to individual identity that arise in this one-of-a-kind film.

If straightforward narrative is your thing, you may not enjoy this movie.

But if an unreal, surreal, and absurdest black comedy appeals to you, It's Me, It's Me will satisfy you in spades.

ACF 1976: NYAFF Awards Announced

12th NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL announces

HENTAI KAMEN: FORBIDDEN SUPERHERO as the Audience Award Winner

and IP MAN: THE FINAL FIGHT as recipient of the inaugural

Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema

Here's what I consider a "must share" item from the the fantastic people at Subway Cinema who, in con-junction with Film Society of Lincoln Center and Japan Society, brought us the 2013 NYAFF:

The New York Asian Film Festival 2013 ended Monday night with the sold-out North American Premiere of Jay Chou’s THE ROOFTOP, but there is still news to report.

Every year the New York Asian Film Festival gives an Audience Award. This is voted on by the audience who fill out ballots after each eligible screening. Then our team of top scientists go to work and use complicated math to figure out the most popular movies at the festival.

HENTAI KAMEN: FORBIDDEN SUPERHERO

The audience has spoken and the winner of the NYAFF 2013 Audience Award is...HENTAI KAMEN: FORBIDDEN SUPERHERO (Japan, 2013)!

Based on a popular manga series, and directed by Yuichi Fukuda, this motion picture about a young man born to a dominatrix and a masochist, who uses perversion to fight evil while wearing panties over his head and a mankini was originally intended to be a direct-to-DVD release in Japan. Accidentally unleashed in theaters by a hentai-liberation group, it became a box office hit and turned out to be the most popular film of this year’s festival.

Previous Audience Award winners include: ACE ATTORNEY (NYAFF 2012), A BOY AND HIS SAMURAI (NYAFF 2011), CASTAWAY ON THE MOON and GALLANTS (NYAFF 2010), THE MAGIC HOUR (NYAFF 2009), FINE, TOTALLY FINE (NYAFF 2008), MEMORIES OF MATSUKO (NYAFF 2007), ALWAYS: SUNSET ON THIRD STREET (NYAFF 2006), THE TASTE OF TEA (NYAFF 2005), PLEASE TEACH ME ENGLISH (NYAFF 2004), PING PONG (NYAFF 2003), and MY SASSY GIRL (NYAFF 2002).

The runners-up for this year’s audience award were:
HOW TO USE GUYS WITH SECRET TIPS (South Korea, 2013)
THERMAE ROMAE (Japan, 2012)
COMRADE KIM GOES FLYING (UK/Belgium/North Korea, 2012)
THE LEGEND IS BORN: IP MAN (China, 2010)
RUROUNI KENSHI (Japan, 2012)
EUNGYO (South Korea, 2012)

In addition, this year the New York Asian Film Festival has initiated another award. The Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema is designed to celebrate the memory of longtime Subway Cinema member, Daniel Craft, who passed away this January, and to celebrate kick ass action movies, a genre too often dismissed or looked down on by the kind of people who usually give out movie awards.

IP MAN: THE FINAL FIGHT

This year, the inaugural Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema goes to Herman Yau’s IP MAN: THE FINAL FIGHT, written by Erica Li and choreographed by Nicky Li Chung-Chi and Checkley Sin Kwok-Lam.

This is the third film Checkley Sin Kwok-Lam has choreographed, the other two being Herman Yau’s THE LEGEND IS BORN: IP MAN and THE WOMAN KNIGHT OF MIRROR LAKE. Nicky Li Chung-Chi was a longtime member of the Jackie Chan Stuntman Association and he was the action choreographer on 50 films including SHAOLIN (2011), LET THE BULLETS FLY (2010), NEW POLICE STORY (2004), GEN-X COPS (1999), RAPED BY AN ANGEL (1993), and PROJECT A II (1987).

And that’s it for 2013! This year saw us take on a double-barreled blast of movie madness with the “Jackie Chan Experience” event right before the New York Asian Film Festival, which was probably unwise from a logistical point of view, but we’ve always wanted to bring Jackie to NYC and give him an award. As things turned out, tons of people showed up, nothing caught on fire, and no one lost any major body parts. In other words, it was an outrageous success.

So sit back and enjoy spending the rest of the summer melting and we’ll see you next year for the New York Asian Film Festival 2014!!! (and possibly for another edition of the Old School Kung Fu Fest next April).

ABOUT NYAFF & SUBWAY CINEMA
The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is North America’s leading Festival of popular Asian cinema, which the New York Times has called "...one of the city's most valuable events..." Launched in 2002 by Subway Cinema, the Festival selects only the best, strangest, and most entertaining movies to screen for New York audiences, ranging from mainstream blockbusters and art-house eccentricities to genre and cult classics. It was the first North American film festival to champion the works of Johnnie To, Bong Joon-Ho, Park Chan-Wook, Takashi Miike, and other masters of contemporary Asian cinema. The Festival has been produced in collaboration with the Film Society of Lincoln Center since 2010.

ACF 1956: Subway Cinema's New York Asian Film Festival YouTube Channel

The wonderful fans of Asian films at Subway Cinema began presenting the annual New York Asian Film Festival twelve years ago. They have been co-presenting it with Film Society Lincoln Center since 2010.

This year's iteration runs through July 15th, with most screenings taking place at FSLC's Walter Reade Theater, some co-presentations at Japan Society, and the final film, The Rooftop, being shown at Asia Society.

For access to their 2013 trailers, including the one above, check out the Subway Cinema Channel at YouTube.

Complete information about the NYAFF 2013, including film descriptions, showtimes and ordering tickets, is available here.

Likewise, information about JAPAN CUTS: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema, which runs July 11-21, 2013, can be found here.

ACF 1941: Korean Actor Ryoo Seung-Beom to be subject of special focus side-bar at NYAFF

Actor Ryoo Seung-Boem

The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is an annual highlight for Asian film fans in the metropolitan area. It’s certainly one of the best such festivals in the U.S. and most probably in the world. Now in its twelfth year, the NYAFF will present over sixty feature films, and numerous filmmakers and celebrity guests will also be present. One of these will be the South Korean actor Ryoo Seung-Beom (sometimes spelled Ryu Seung-Beom), the focus of a four film side-bar within the festival.

Born August 9, 1980 in Seoul, he is the younger brother of actor and director Ryoo Seung-Wan, and has appeared in several films his older sibling directed. In fact, of the four films in the festival focus, which are listed below, only Bloody Ties was not directed by his brother.

While primarily known for action dramas, he is actually quite versatile. He provided the voice for Aachi in the wonderful and hilarious animation Aachi and Ssipak (2006; the film screened at the 2007 NYAFF and my review of it is here). Ryoo Seung-Beom played the chilling and cunning leader of an environmental group in Kim Hyoung-Jun’s No Mercy (2010; my review here). In 2011 he starred in the comedy The Suicide Forecast as Byeong-wu, a successful insurance salesman. When one of his clients dies under suspicious circumstances, he desperately — and hilariously — tracks down and tries to talk three “high risk” clients into converting their life-insurance policies That  way, if they do themselves in, the company won’t have to pay and Byeong-wu’s career won’t be ruined.

The NYAFF focus on Ryoo Seung-Beom will consist of  four films:

Ryoo Seung-Boem in The Berlin File

The Berlin File (2013), Saturday, June 29 @ 3:35PM. North and SouthKorean intelligence operatives go at one another in the city that symbolized the Cold War. (My review, which posted at VCinema earlier this year, is available here.)

Arahan (2004), Sunday June 30 @ 3:45PM. A martial arts movie set in contemporary Seoul.

The Unjust (2011), Monday, July 1 @ 3:20 PM. A tale about rape, murder and corruption.
 
Bloody Tie (2012), Monday, July 1 @ 6:15PM. A crime thriller about a detective and a meth dealer who join forces against a drug kingpin.

Ryoo will be present for Q&As for three of these screenings, the exception being The Unjust.

Information about the entire 2013 NYAFF schedule, including film descriptions, showtimes and ordering tickets, is available here.

Note: This article, in slightly different form, is also being posted at VCinema.

ACF 1936: Jackie Chan Retrospective - SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW

Pai Cheng-Tien (Hsiao-Tien Yuan) and Chien Fu (Jackie Chan)

Went to see The Snake in Eagle's Shadow (1978) this afternoon. It was the first film playing in the Jackie Chan retrospective at the Munroe Film Center of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. It's about the deadly rivalry between the Snake and Eagle schools of Kung Fu.

The 35mm print was pretty faded with a yellowish-tan look overall, and had a fair number of scratches. So it was a bit of a grindhouse experience visually. But the reel(s) with the climactic fight at the end was in much better shape, which was very nice.

And, hey, it's Jackie in a great comic kung fu performance, the kind that would pretty much define his style for years to come, so I didn't really care all that much about these visual flaws. Plus it was directed by Yuen Wo-ping, probably best known to non-aficionados as the action director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

All-in-all, it was a terrific experience, shared with a decent-sized and very enthusiastic, into it audience.

Complete information about the remaining films, showtimes, and ordering tickets for the thirteen film Jackie Chan retrospecte, which runs through Thursday, June 27th is available here.

ACF 1934: The Jackie Chan Experience film retrospective begins tomorrow

Just a quick reminder that "The Jackie Chan Experience," a five-day, thirteen-film retrospective of great films starring, and in some cases directed by, Jackie Chan begins tomorrow at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The films will be shown in 35 mm prints, except for the two Armour of God films and Miracles; these three will be shown as digital projections.

I'll be at the 12:30 screening of Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978) tomorrow and at several other screenings during the retro.

Complete information about the films, showtimes, and ordering tickets here.

"The Jackie Chan Experience" is dedicated to the memory of Daniel Anderson Craft, a film fan and director of Subway Cinema who died earlier this year. The retrospective is a co-presentation of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the New York Asian Film Festival and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.

ACF 1920: Fantastic Asian Film Trifecta coming to NY in June and July

Around this time of year I start experiencing two things. One is excitement in anticipation of the annual New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) and the JAPAN CUTS Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema. The other is a slight feeling of guilt because I get to cover and enjoy these outstanding events and many others, who would like to, can't. This year the situation is compounded by the addition of a thirteen film Jackie Chan retrospective that will run from June 23-27. Oh, and as Steve Jobs would say, just one more thing:

JACKIE CHAN IS COMING TO NEW YORK!!!!!

That's right, the great Jackie Chan will be in New York for two very, very special events. On Monday, June 10th, there will be "An Evening with Jackie Chan" at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which will also be the site of the retrospective and once again of the NYAFF. Jackie will receive the NY Asian Film Festival's Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award and there will be an onstage Q&A that will precede a premiere screening of Chinese Zodiac (2012), Jackie's 101st movie. The following evening, Asia Society will present "A Night with Jackie Chan." Another onstage Q&A will precede a screening of Drunken Master 2 (1994).

Not surprisingly, the initially available tickets for both of these events sold out almost immediately, although some additional tickets did later became available.

Fortunately, yours truly is set to attend both of these events, as well as to participate in a Chinese and English language press conference with Jackie that will take place late in the morning on the 11th. Needless to say, I'll be  coveraging these events as much as I can both here and at the VCinema website.

As far as the Jackie Chan Retrospective goes, ten of the films will be shown as 35 mm prints; only Armour of God (1986) , Armour of God 2: Operation Condor (1991), and Miracles (a.k.a. Mr. Canton & Lady Rose, 1989) will be digital projections. Synopses all the films that will be shown, as well as ticket and showtime information, can be found here; for a direct link to the schedule alone, click here.

The 12th New York Asian Film Festival will run from June 28th, the day after the Jackie Chan Retrospective ends, through July 15th. Sixty-three films are scheduled to be shown (59 features and 4 shorts). There will be 3 world premieres, 5 international premieres, 21 North American premiers, 4 U.S. premieres, and 13 other films making their NY City debuts! Awards will be presented, directors, actors, and actresses are sure to be in attendance, and there will be five areas of special focus: Korean actor Ryoo Seung-Beom; Manilla Chronicles: The New Filipino Cinema; Hong Kong Cinema Now & Beyond; Taiwan Pulp: Tales of Gangsters, Female Avengers, and Ninjas!; and a spotlight on Asian film distributor Well Go USA. Read more about the 2013 NYAFF offerings and events here.

As this time there isn't a great deal of information about this year's JAPAN CUTS film festival. I have been informed that it is scheduled to run from July 11-21. As has been the case in the past, JAPAN CUTS and NYAFF will co-present some films, and the two series will overlap from July 11-14. Japan Society's Samuel Jamier (who also is on the Subway Cinema team that puts together NYAFF) will again curate JAPAN CUTS. He expects there to be about twenty-five films altogether for this series. I'll be providing further information about JAPAN CUTS after it becomes available.

As was the case last year, Colleen Wanglund and I will be providing the lion's share of VCinema's onsite coverage of NYAFF and JAPAN CUTS, though other staff writers will also be contributing some reviews. Many of the films that will be screened will subsequently be shown at other festivals, get theatrical releases, and/or come out on DVD (maybe even Blu-ray!). This, in part, is why these festivals are so important.

So look forward to pretty extensive coverage both here at AsianCineFest and at VCinema. What with the Jackie Chan Retrospective as well, it's going to be an intense 29 or 30 days coming up for all us Asian film fans.