R-flux: Some Other Stuff

page: 1 / 2

FILMS: 12.31.02

Running in revenge:

"Maboroshi No Mizuumi" ( English title: Lake of Illusions ) is by far the strangest film I've seen so far. By that I mean not about the creator's incredible originality, but about the complete mystery of the director's intention.

This 1982 Japanese film was written, produced and directed by Shinobu Hashimoto, one of the biggest Japanese screenwriter whose work includes Rashomon and The Seven Samurai.

It was made for the 50th Anniversary of Toho studio with a big budget and anticipations; when opened, it became a record flop to be closed after one week of screening.

Though it never got a video release either, it became a legendary cult film. Occasional screenings in repertoire theatres has attracted crowds eager to experience the legend. (I myself finally had a chance to see it this year.)

The story frame is: The heroine is a young prostitute who is serious about marathon running. One day, her dearest dog gets killed and she literally starts running after the dog killer for the revenge.

And who can predict this turns out to be a grandiose epic film that spreads from ancient tragic love story to NASA space shuttle to the moon?

And giving out this much is only a tip of an iceberg. Every aspect about this film -storyline, tempo, voice over etc.- is so bizarre and "off" that it can only make you laugh like crazy, but apparently, the director was not joking.

It's a big mystery... A masterpiece in a sense.

After 20 years of its theatrical release and the mystical cult status, Toho has finally released it on DVD! I've read the novel version but it still made no sense. (2.24.04)

FILMS: 12.31.02

Aish for the Bond Girl

Ever since I first saw her in the mega-hit film "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" two years ago, the idea of the Indian actress Aishwarya Rai as the next Bond Girl stuck in my head.

While the third biggest film industry Hong Kong exports many of their best talent to the West, cross-over seems to be limited only to a few middle-age actors (such as Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah) in the world's biggest film industry, India, or more specifically, Bollywood, the Hindi film industry.

It's not that I am a big fan of either 007 series or Aish. I just think it makes sense... she will make a perfect Bond girl, and will guarantee a commercial success.

I can even imagine the plot and some shots and costumes: she's gotta seduce Bond with her usual stunning Hindi Goddess look in sari and all, but I am dying to see her in some kick-ass femme fatale style too.

There must be some big secret why we hardly see a top Bollywood stars in a Hollywood films. To see her crossing over to the West, maybe it's easier to hope some French director falling in love with her and cast her in his sophisticated obscure film, like what happened to Maggie Cheung with the film "Irma Vep", directed by Olivier Assayas (who later married to the Hong Kong actress.)

( The image on the right is originally from her fan site... which has been heavily retouched...)

Some month after publishing this article, the news sources indicated Aishwarya Rai indeed was contacted by 007 producer. The datails are yet to be revealed, but it is more likely she'll be the Bond Girl 21.
Maggie Cheung is no longer with Assayas. (2.24.04)

OTHER: 12.31.02

FILMS: 12.31.02

Top 10 is Fun...

Going through the September 2002 issue of British film magazine Sight & Sound that featured "The Ten Greatest Films of All Time", I couldn't resist the temptation of coming up with one myself... Oh, I know, it's a complete guilty pleasure.

So here is the list of my intuitive selection of 10 films out of a long list of darest films out of limited #s of films I've seen so far...

(in random order)
• El Sur (Victor Erice, Spain '82)
• Hedgehog in the Fog (animation, Yuri Norstein, Soviet Union '75)
• A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang, Taiwan '91)
• Ashik Kerib (Sergei Paradjanov, Soviet Union '88)
• Andrei Rublyov (Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union '69)
• The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel, Spain '62)
• Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Karan Johar, India '98)
• The Double Life of Veronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski, France, Poland '91)
• Closely Observed Trains (Jiri Menzel, Czechoslovakia '66)
• A Moment of Innocence (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran '96)

page: 1 / 2

<< Back / Next >>