Fantastic Fest 2008

Among the first all-color pink films, Kan Mukai's BLUE FILM WOMAN looks like it is making up for lost time, exploding into its super-saturated hues from the very first frame, as the credits appear over a score dominated by bongos and sitars and the screen is crammed with distorted 8mm images taken from a mock blue film, flooded with prismatic blotches of primary reds and blues and silhouettes of naked female bodies - not unlike a more lysergically-inspired version of a Bond movie credit sequence. The plot of BLUE FILM WOMAN is an equally delirious mishmash of horror, sexploitation and trippy nightclub sequences, centered around the family of a stockbroker whose unexpected financial crash results in him offering up his wife to his sleazy, saurian creditor Uchiyama. After prodding and pawing over her in the standard fashion for films of this genre, Uchiyama then locks her up in the garden shed inhabited by his mutant son Hiroshi, who arrives from the reafters clad in carnationi-colored robes. She manages to escape from his clutches in the nick of time, only to be mowed down by a passing car. With her father now reduced to a gibbering wreck, it is left to the daughter Mariko to seek revenge for her mother's untimely demise. Rising from her job as a nightclub go-go dancer, Mariko winds up as a high-class call-girl catering for a group of prosperous businessmen, whom she blackmails to help her bring down Uchiyama after their nocturnal dalliances are captured on camera. (Jasper Sharp, Midnight Eye) Jasper Sharp, pink film scholar and author of the new Fab Press book "Behind The Pink Curtain - The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema" will be in attendance to introduce the film. Expect to learn a lot about this shadow world of Japanese film culture. Very special thanks to Marc Walkow of Outcast Cinema for crucial programming and logistical assistance.

Brief Summary: Acclaimed Russian director Aleksei Balabanov interweaves stories of cowardice, corruption and horror set against the backdrop of the birth of perestroika in the Soviet Union. Full Description: The title of Russian director Aleksei Balabanov's twelfth film is a military term for the coffins transporting dead soldiers back home during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The effects of that decade-long conflict provide a unifying theme for this ugly, highly controversial noir that recalls the work of Gaspar Noe and Michael Haneke but with a distinctly Russian point-of-view. CARGO 200 begins in 1984 with the introduction of two brothers: a Soviet Army colonel, and the head of the Faculty of Scientific Communism at Leningrad University. The university professor travels to visit his mother in a remote town. When his car falters, he stops at a rural farmhouse occupied by a husband, wife and their Vietnamese farm hand. The professor engages in a philosophical argument about the existence of God with the family patriarch, whose heated criticisms of official atheism are fueled by Utopian dreams and vodka distilled in the family barn. Meanwhile, a young man and the daughter of a Soviet bureaucrat meet at a party. The couple decides to take a drive, and their destination is the rural farmhouse. Lurking in the shadows of the farmhouse is Zhurov, a character vaguely based on Russian serial killer Gennady Mikhasevich. Although Mikhasevich was simply a depraved lunatic, Balabanov presents Zhurov as an emblem of both human perversion and the manifest corruption of the Soviet government. Zhurov’s appearance signals a series of loathsome events that form the rest of the film's narrative, and culminates in an outrageous but fitting ending that ignores all boundaries of restraint. Balabanov’s portrayal of human misery in mid-80s U.S.S.R. is complemented by a dank visual palette that is rife with rotting apartments and offices, rustic grotesquenesses and bleak industrial landscapes. His choice of music, including 80s-era Russian pop and the prominent use of Mozambique singer Afric Simone’s song Hafanana, adds a layer of perverse irony to the film. In a 2007 Wall Street Journal interview, Alekesi Balabanov spoke of CARGO 200 in the following terms: "I show what filth we lived in. Society was sick from 1917 onwards." In light of Balabanov's remarks, CARGO 200 might best be summarized as a grim epitaph for the death of the former Soviet Union. (Rodney Perkins)

Brief Summary: A serial killer is preying on call-girls from various escort agencies. In the midst of police indifference and incompetence, Jung-Ho (Yun-Seok Kim), an ex-cop-turned-pimp must dust off his old flatfoot skills to find the killer and save the life of one of his girls who has gone missing. Full Description: I sat on the Asian Features Jury at the Puncheon International Fantasy Film Festival this year. Of the 32 films in competition, our jury unanimously decided THE CHASER to be the grand prize winner. This is a return to form for the Korean crime film after a string of fairly disappointing efforts. The story is gritty and intense, the pacing taut, and the performance of lead actor Yun-seok Kim is phenomenal. Korean genre films sometimes manage to pack in a much wider array of emotional notes and complex character interaction than their American counterparts. In much the same way that THE HOST was a dysfunctional family drama that happened to have a monster running a muck, THE CHASER is a tender portrait of a jaded, hard-boiled ex-cop who realizes that he still has deep pathos and compassion beneath his stony veneer. And there's bloody rampage serial killer on the loose. THE CHASER was a box-office hit in Korea this year, topping the charts until the blockbuster THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE WEIRD took top honors. Look for the American remake, by the same production team behind Scorcese's award winning film THE DEPARTED, to begin production soon. (Tim League) Plot Summary The debut feature from award winning short film director Na Jong-Jin, THE CHASER, tells the story of Jung-Ho, a former cop turned pimp. Think for a moment about what sort of cop would choose to become a pimp in his post-law enforcement career and you have an immediate grasp of Jung-Ho. He is a surly, foul tempered, hard talking man driven by the pursuit of easy profits. And Jung-Ho is in a bad mood because a number of his girls - girls who he effectively owns, having bought out their bad debts - have recently gone missing. Jun-Ho believes a rival pimp is simply stealing his girls and reselling them for profit but the truth is far worse. There is a serial killer on the prowl, one that has not been detected because he preys exclusively on call girls hired from a variety of escort agencies. When the call comes in for a girl one night, Jung-Ho realizes too late that the client's phone number matches the number used to book sessions with a pair of his missing girls, and he rushes off to protect his investment. The rival must be captured and taken out of the picture. But while a chance encounter leads Jung-Ho to the correct man, his girl Mi-Jin is nowhere to be found, and the client - Young Min - is spouting nonsenses about having killed a dozen women. It's enough to bring Young-Min to the police but the killer is smart enough to give them only enough to taunt but not enough to actually charge him or even hold him for an extended period of time. And so the chase is on. It is not a chase to find the killer - he has already been found - it is a chase to find the girl. If they can't find her - or other significant evidence - within twelve hours, Young-Min must be set free. (Todd Brown)

Full Description: Two strangers (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan) become the pawns of a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to know their every move. Realizing they are being used to further her evil plans, they must work together to outwit the woman before she either has them killed or executes her dastardly plan. I've only seen 20 minutes of the beginning of EAGLE EYE, but from that glimpse, packed full of innovative action sequences, I'm hooked. When you've got an apparently omniscient villainess monitoring the every move of a couple of ordinary schlubs who have been coerced and terrorized into following every sexy-voiced command, each of which leads them deeper and deeper into what can only be a very dangerous anarchic plot, it's a very good start. It's going to be a game of explosive battle-chess, played at 100 miles an hour. (Karrie League) EAGLE EYE SCAVENGER HUNT: Shia Lebeouf and Michelle Monaghan are pawns in a deadly game in the new Paramount film EAGLE EYE. Fantastic Fest invites you to be our pawns in a far less-deadly game, the EAGLE EYE SCAVENGER HUNT. Teams can sign up at www.fantasticfest.com in groups of 1 to 6. You will need a text-enabled cell phone, a map of Austin, a vehicle, a phone book, a notepad, a pen and about $20 cash per team. It's free to sign up, but space is limited, so don't wait until the last minute! At 2:00PM on Friday, September 19, a member of your team will receive a text message that will set the game in motion. you will find your way around town, solving problems and picking up clues. Teams will meet back at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar at 6:00PM. All teams will be treated to a free screening of EAGLE EYE with director D.J. Caruso live in person, and one lucky team will win the grand prize (to be announced, check website for details). Director D.J. Caruso (DISTURBIA) live in person!

Brief Description: Love, sex, jealousy, food and murder in the streets and prisons of Brazil. Full Description: Fantastic Fest co-founder Tim League is fond of saying that the fantastic part of this festival doesn't simply apply to films with fantastic elements, but also to films that are simply fantastic, films that are as cool as hell and that you want to show off to everyone to help spread the word about a movie that's going to impress the hell out of everyone. And have we got one of those films this year in ESTÔMAGO. Remember that scene in GOODFELLAS where we see that even prison can't stop a group of mobsters from enjoying a great meal? ESTÔMAGO takes this even further, recounting how Nonato (Joao Miguel), a simple-minded prisoner with a talent for cooking, moves his way up the jail cell ranks (and bunk beds) through his culinary gifts. But just how Nonato ended up there, and how he got to hone his skills in the kitchen, is the real meat (as it were) of this sensational new film from writer/director Marcos Jorge. ESTÔMAGO is a recipe of all of the primal elements of life - love, sex, jealousy, food and death - that deftly juxtaposes alternate story lines of Nonato's life in and out of prison to show that no matter who or where you are, these basic needs are essential ingredients to everyone's existence. Added to the mix is some wicked black humor, a touch of tragedy, a nice, big juicy helping of murder, and a lot of great food, even if it is found in Brazil's toughest prison. It simply wouldn't be Fantastic Fest without good food and murder, now would it? ESTÔMAGO might not be on your movie radar, but once Fantastic Fest is over, everybody's going to want some. Make your reservations for this one ASAP and don't forget to tip your hard-working wait staff. (Matt Kiernan) Fantastic Fest is also offering an opportunity to enjoy the Estômago Feast, a four-course meal with wine pairings prepared by Alamo executive chef John Bullington. The feast is inspired by the actual dishes from the film and will be delivered to your seat as they appear on screen. This feast is available for an additional charge, but if you plan to order it, we recommend purchasing in advance, as quantities will be prepped and we expect this option to sell out. Complete menu details will be posted online on the ESTÔMAGO show page. This film is sponsored by Dark Sky Films.

Brief Description: Three low-life handicapped losers recruit an arrogant and abusive author to play drums in their punk band. Layered with brutality, surrealism and bloody violence, Ex Drummer is like no music film you’ve ever seen. Full Description: A blast of pure adrenaline and a hard kick to the nuts, EX DRUMMER is the most exhilarating and most grueling debut film released in recent memory, a film that immediately establishes Belgium’s Koen Mortier as a fierce, visionary talent with the potential to become one of the world’s true greats. Do we love this film around here? Hell, yes. But your mother will probably hate it.” (Todd Brown, Twitchfilm) Koen Mortier's EX-DRUMMER introduces the audience to a deaf guitar player, a stiff-armed bassist and a psychopath guitarist-vocalist with a lisp, all of whom form a rock band for a one-off performance. The trio lacks a drummer so they seek the services of a celebrity author, who also has a reputation as a drummer, to fill the role. The author joins the band so he can exploit the band for source material and his own sadistic pleasure. Out of this mess is born The Feminists, a quasi-disabled punk rock band (Flemish band Millionaire provide the music) whose journey towards its only gig drags almost everybody involved down a black hole of abuse, exploitation and death. EX-DRUMMER is adapted from a novel of the same name by Herman Brusselmans, and the film has drawn comparisons to TRAINSPOTTING. Such analogies do not really capture what is going on in EX-DRUMMER. The film's non-stop barrage of clever visuals, vulgar humor, random violence, and high energy music (The Feminists tackle a solid cover of Devo's Mongoloid and tracks from Lightning Bolt, Isis, Mogwai and others also appear on the soundtrack) places EX-DRUMMER in an entirely different cultural and aesthetic space than any possibly comparable film. EX-DRUMMER seems to take a stab at offending every possible segment of society: men, women, majorities, minorities, homosexuals, kids, punks, politicians, the abused, the aged and the infirm are all the subjects of the film's ridicule. EX-DRUMMER is angry, funny and entertainingly foul from beginning to end. (Rodney Perkins)

Brief Summary: A Danish (?!!) kung fu coming-of-age drama choreographed by and featuring a supporting role by action master Xian Gao (CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, FONG SAI YUK) Full Description: With global martial arts fans all worked into a lather over Prachya Pinkaew’s upcoming female starring fight flick CHOCOLATE, very little attention has been paid to other parts of the world. Case in point: Natasha Arthy’s Danish kung fu oriented drama FIGHTER. And the lack of attention is truly a shame because this is one film that truly deserves it. While CHOCOLATE may win more points for sheer spectacle, FIGHTER is clearly superior in terms of story, character, direction and is itself loaded with hugely impressive – and all the more so for how naturally they are shot – fight scenes. Were you to put FIGHTER’s Semra Turan – a national level kung fu martial artist - into a fair fight with CHOCOLATE’s female star there’s a better than average chance Turan would come out on top. Turan stars as Aicha, a hot blooded Turko-Danish teenaged girl whose one great passion is the martial arts. She watches kung fu films constantly, mimicking the moves of the stars she idolizes as the films play, and trains in martial arts in a casual, girls only after school club. Or, at least she trains there until her hot temper gets her kicked off the club. Her school coach, recognizing Aicha’s natural talent, suggests that she enlist in a local, elite level club – where the Iron Monkey himself, Xian Gao, is the sifu – to further her skills but there is one problem: the club is mixed gender and Aicha’s very conservative Turkish parents will never consent to their daughter training in a space shared with boys. The script is rich and detailed, filled with the complexities of clashing cultures and warring parental instincts, doing justice to the complicated subject matter and resisting ever slipping into easy cliché. This feels like a real family dealing with real issues and that is something seen too seldom. The acting is very strong across the board, particularly from Turan in the lead and her young peers. The fighting? Very impressive thanks to choreography and, reportedly, three months of intensive training supervised by Xian Gao prior to shooting. The choreography is inventive, realistic, very athletic – showcasing the impressive real life skills of Turan to great effect – and flawlessly shot in dominantly wide, long shots designed to let you appreciate the skill on screen. While there is wire work evident in a handful of fantasy tinged sequences the kung fu is generally unassisted with any gadgetry and is very impressive. FIGHTER is simply a hugely impressive piece of work, one that functions simultaneously on a handful of levels and handles each element note-perfectly. (Todd Brown)

Brief Summary: Jean-Claude Van Damme portrays an aging action star whose career in Hollywood is all but washed up. Returning to his homeland in Brussels, he lands in the middle of a bank heist and may have to actually save the day. Full Description: In JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme portrays a washed-up, aging action star. His career is a joke, he loses all of even the meager straight-to-video roles to his nemesis Stephen Segal and he's in a custody battle for his daughter who is too embarrassed of her father to consider living with him. Returning to Brussels, he pops into a post office to send a money order to his divorce lawyer in Los Angeles only to find the facility held siege by robbers. The absurdity of the situation gradually escalates, and our action hero star must decide – cooperate or save the day in true hero fashion! In a word, this role choice for Jean Claude Van Damme is BOLD. He’s faced ninjas, wild animals, space aliens and multiple arenas of death, but in JCVD he’s confronted with the naked truth of his own career: z-grade roles, worldwide ridicule, drug addiction, bad haircuts and some truly inspired wacko TV interviews, many of which are replayed in the film. The wickedly crisp script realistically captures the comedy inherent in the day-to-day life of a superstar: autograph and picture hounds, mocking haters and delusional überfans. Through it all Jean Claude Van Damme delivers with a sly wit and assured demeanor that for much of the film, I forgot I was watching a work of fiction, but was lost in what surely had to be a Jean Claude Van Damme reality show. He understands the humor associated with his career, acknowledges it, pokes more than gentle fun at himself and even waxes philosophic on his past and his future. What emerges is a sophisticated, intelligent and wildly comedic performance. This is the stuff of true career renaissance. Forget about Pam Greer’s potential resurgence after Jackie Brown. After this performance, Jean Claude Van Damme deserves a shot at the best roles in Hollywood! I watched JCVD at this year’s Cannes Market and the excitement in the crowd was palpable. Market screenings are for the industry worker-bees, you can’t gauge an audience because they are either asleep from exhaustion or texting on multiple blackberries trying to seal the next deal. Not so with JCVD. The crowd laughed and cheered and actually stood to applaud at the end. And when the man himself popped up from a seat in the back of the theater, clearly proud of the chops he had just shown on screen, the audience went absolutely nuts. Van Damme? God Damn! This movie is AWESOME! Support this film, write about this film, and most importantly watch this film when it comes out in theaters. If for no other reason, I personally want to see more comedic drama out of, who woulda thunk it, one of the most underrated thespians working in cinema today! (Tim League) JCVD screenings are sponsored by Best Buy.

Brief Summary: In Gô Shibata’s controversial film, Masakiyo Sumida, a severely disabled mute, is driven to madness and violence by his loneliness and isolation. Full Description: Gô Shibata’s controversial 2004 film LATE BLOOMER (Osoi Hito) appeared on the international festival circuit a few years ago to much acclaim but soon fell off the map. Now, this poignant story of a disabled man driven to madness by isolation and loneliness is ready to be discovered by a brand new audience. Similarly themed films have both preceded (Chang-dong Lee’s OASIS) and followed (Crispin Glover’s IT IS FINE! EVERYTHING IS FINE!) Shibata’s work but there is no adequate cinematic frame of reference for the way LATE BLOOMER explores disability and the frailty of the human body. In this fictional tale, Masakiyo Sumida, a severely disabled mute, portrays himself. Sumida is surrounded by friends but his handicap cuts off his ability to fully interact with them. He falls in love with Nobuku, who becomes Sumida's helper for her college thesis project. Nobuku exploits Sumida and becomes involved with his friend, Takei. Sumida finds refuge in alcohol, and the resulting hallucinations drive him to acts of violence. LATE BLOOMER begins as a story of a disabled man working his way through life with the help of friends. However, his smile is an immovable mask that covers his heartache and pain. The link that LATE BLOOMER draws between this internal suffering, which is rooted in helplessness, and violence is both disturbing and moving. The film’s black-and-white photography is well-suited for such stark content. The hallucination sequences, which are full of quick cuts and sputtering electronic music, recall the video work of Chris Cunningham; one can also detect hints of Sogo Ishii’s ELECTRIC DRAGON 60000V, and Shinya Tsukamoto’s TETSUO: THE IRON MAN throughout. LATE BLOOMER is, at times, difficult to watch but the film is never exploitative. Those who open up to the film will be subject to an emotionally powerful experience. (Rodney Perkins)