nominations from the other side
This goes out to anyone who likes a little hot Asian action...
This week's Oscar nominations included two Asian entries: House Of Flying Daggers received a nod for Cinematography (and runs a tight race against aforementioned The Aviator as well as A Very Long Engagement and The Passion Of The Christ, which, despite your opinions of those films, are all unquestionably gorgeous works), and The Story Of The Weeping Camel, a German-Mongolian production, garnered a nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
Across the waves, the 11th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards were presented, and the animated sad-pig sequel McDull, Prince de la Bun was named Best Picture. Tony Leung and Ziyi Zhang were named Best Actor and Actress for their very effective portrayals in Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046 (which were the best parts of an otherwise overlong, overly-dreamlike film that felt more like a task than a pleasure to watch). Derek Yee received Best Director for his thriller One Nite In Mongkok, and Best Screenplay went to A-1 Headline’s writers, Gordon Chan and Rico Chung. The HKFCS also provides a list of recommended films which, in addition to the above, included: Johnnie To’s Breaking News and Throwdown (and if you haven't seen a To film, start with The Mission, probably his best...then see PTU and Running On Karma...then for grins, watch The Heroic Trio); Yon Fan’s Colour Blossoms; the “Dumplings” episode of Three: Extremes, directed by Fruit Chan (you may recall I found this particularly nasty...I give it credit for at least being different and well-acted); Stephen Chow’s latest blockbuster and follow-up to the instant-classic Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle; Soi Cheang’s tense action-drama Love Battlefield, which looks like an awesome film.
Naturally, unless you have access to a specialized film festival or a retail outlet that deals in foreign goods, you'll probably never see these films. So search them out and give them a try (some can be found on Netflix, the preferred DVD-by-mail service of Controlled Burning).
This week's Oscar nominations included two Asian entries: House Of Flying Daggers received a nod for Cinematography (and runs a tight race against aforementioned The Aviator as well as A Very Long Engagement and The Passion Of The Christ, which, despite your opinions of those films, are all unquestionably gorgeous works), and The Story Of The Weeping Camel, a German-Mongolian production, garnered a nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
Across the waves, the 11th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards were presented, and the animated sad-pig sequel McDull, Prince de la Bun was named Best Picture. Tony Leung and Ziyi Zhang were named Best Actor and Actress for their very effective portrayals in Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046 (which were the best parts of an otherwise overlong, overly-dreamlike film that felt more like a task than a pleasure to watch). Derek Yee received Best Director for his thriller One Nite In Mongkok, and Best Screenplay went to A-1 Headline’s writers, Gordon Chan and Rico Chung. The HKFCS also provides a list of recommended films which, in addition to the above, included: Johnnie To’s Breaking News and Throwdown (and if you haven't seen a To film, start with The Mission, probably his best...then see PTU and Running On Karma...then for grins, watch The Heroic Trio); Yon Fan’s Colour Blossoms; the “Dumplings” episode of Three: Extremes, directed by Fruit Chan (you may recall I found this particularly nasty...I give it credit for at least being different and well-acted); Stephen Chow’s latest blockbuster and follow-up to the instant-classic Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle; Soi Cheang’s tense action-drama Love Battlefield, which looks like an awesome film.
Naturally, unless you have access to a specialized film festival or a retail outlet that deals in foreign goods, you'll probably never see these films. So search them out and give them a try (some can be found on Netflix, the preferred DVD-by-mail service of Controlled Burning).
posted by scn at 6:10 AM
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