October 26th, 2010
The Golden Rock - 2010 HKAFF Day 4 Edition
After a packed weekend, only two films for night 4 of the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival
Asian Shorts 1 - This program consists of 6 short films, totaling about 75 minutes:
Now - A 2-minute short film made by friend Edmund Yeo for Prada is short, nice-looking, and to the point. Not much else to say about that.
The Artist and His Magic - 8-minute short film is shot with 3d animation and still photography. Looked ok, but abstract “story” didn’t do anything for me.
Heaven and Hell - Risky Liu returns from his previous bad publicity incident for this strong one-take film based on the Liu Yi Shang story. The camerawork could be a little better, but it’s still quite well-made for what it is.
Shinda Gaijin - This short from Waseda University starts off with some good dark humor, but ends kind of flat. Wonder what the family of Lindsey Hawker would think about this film (look her up).
Kids in the Dark - This short film from Mainland China simply shows two people sitting in an apartment writing notes to each other. The director obviously forgot content.
Crimson Jade - KJ director Cheung King Wai’s first foray into dramatic narrative is beautifully shot some powerful images. Half an hour works fine for his quiet, minimalist style, but would not sustain feature length. Anti-drug message feels a little insincere, but otherwise a strong short film.
Paprika(2006, Japan, directed by Satoshi Kon) - Satoshi Kon’s final film is light on story, but heavy on imagination. Some really strong images and great ideas keep this entertaining sci-fi mystery immensely entertaining. Animation format feels fully utilized, and great pacing for a wild ride. Wish I had caught this earlier.
Tomorrow: Tadanobu Asano in VENGEANCE CAN WAIT