this week in film and television

NYAFF 2011: THE CHASER

The chase is on in South Korean thriller loosely based on the exploits of a real-life serial killer

THE CHASER (CHUGYEOGJA) (Na Hong-jin, 2008)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Thursday, July 14, $13, 3:15
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com
www.subwaycinemanews.com

A huge hit in South Korea, Na Hong-jin’s The Chaser is a tense, gripping thriller that is both extremely violent and deeply emotional. Kim Yun-suk stars as Jung-ho, a disgraced former cop now working as a pimp. Angry that several of his high-class prostitutes have left him, he demands that Kim Min-ji (Seo Young-hee) take on a client even though she is feeling ill. Soon after, he uncovers evidence that leads him to believe that the client he just sent Min-ji to is selling off his girls, so he sets out to find her, but he winds up caught in the middle of what could be a gruesome serial-killer case as he is continually thwarted by the mysterious john and would-be killer, Young-min (Ha Jung-woo). With Min-ji missing, Jung-ho tries to use his policing skills — he gets little help from the local cops, a group of lazy bunglers more interested in protecting the mayor of Seoul from another feces attack — to track her down while also suddenly feeling responsible for the young daughter (Kim Yoo-jeong) he didn’t know she had. Loosely based on the exploits of real-life serial killer Yoo Young-cheol, The Chaser, which is being remade in English by Warner Bros., does a good job of getting inside the head of a troubled man whose world is unraveling before his eyes and might not be able to stop it. The film is screening July 14 at 3:15 as part of the Sea of Revenge Focus at the New York Asian Film Festival at Lincoln Center, with director Na in attendance.

NYAFF 2011: REIGN OF ASSASSINS

Michelle Yeoh is resplendent as the star of Su Chao-pin’s awesome REIGN OF ASSASSINS

REIGN OF ASSASSINS (JIANYU JIANGHU) (Su Chao-pin, 2010)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Sunday, July 10, $13, 1:00
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com
www.subwaycinemanews.com

A hit at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, Reign of Assassins is a tense, exciting, and deeply romantic wuxia film from Taiwanese writer-director Su Chao-pin and Hong Kong codirector John Woo. During the Ming Dynasty, a secret gang of assassins known as the Dark Stone is trying to capture both halves of the remains of the enlightened monk Bodhi, which are thought will bring the owner great power when reunited. But after a bloody attack on a minister’s residence, Drizzle (Kelly Lin) takes off with half of the desiccated skeleton, leaving her cohorts, including Lei Bin (Shawn Yue), the Magician (Leon Dai ), and their leader, the Wheel King (Wang Xueqi), dead set on finding her. But Drizzle, whose sword specialty is the water-shedding technique that can bend her blade around a person’s body before stabbing them, decides to change her life, getting a new face (and new portrayer, the great Michelle Yeoh) and name, Zeng Jing, and moving to a Nanjing village where she sells cloth at an outdoor market and falls for a local courier, Jiang Ah-sheng (Jung Woo-sung). But her past is always close behind, and after she is forced to display her remarkable martial arts skills during a supposed bank robbery — actually an attempt to capture the other half of the monk’s remains, believed to belong to banker Zhang Dajing (You Liping), the Dark Stone, with new member Turquoise (Barbie Hsu), who has a penchant for using her body to get what she wants, head for Nanjing for a final showdown. Heavily influenced by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Su’s Reign of Assassins is more than just a successful genre exercise; his excellent script features well-drawn characters, intriguing back stories, and, at its heart, a beautiful romance. There are plenty of bloody swordfights, courtesy of action director Stephen Tung, and humor supplied by Zeng Jing and Ah-sheng’s matchmaking landlord, Auntie Cai (Paw Hee-ching). The Malaysian-born Yeoh, the glamorous star of such action films as Butterfly and Sword, Once a Cop, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is resplendent as Zeng Jing, lighting up the screen whether flirting with Ah-sheng or battling an army of evildoers. Su does a marvelous job of keeping the narrative strong and tight despite having to deal with a multitude of languages on the set, from Korean and Mandarin to English and Cantonese. The amiable Su, who previously directed the ghost story Silk (2006) and the comedy Better than Sex (2003) and whose next venture is an alien sci-fi film, is being honored at the 2011 New York Asian Film Festival with showings of BTS as well as several movies that he wrote; he will participate in a Q&A following the July 10 screening of the awesome Reign of Assassins.

CHEERFULLY PERVERSE — FIVE YEARS OF SEVERIN FILMS: THE HAIRDRESSER’S HUSBAND

Jean Rochefort and Anna Gallena have a hair-raising romance in Patrice Leconte film

THE HAIRDRESSER’S HUSBAND (Patrice Leconte, 1990)
reRun Gastropub Theater
149 Front St., Brooklyn
Monday, July 11, $7, 7:00
www.reruntheater.com

In French auteur Patrice Leconte’s charming, offbeat tale, a young boy has a thing for the local hairdresser; he is simply mesmerized by her and what she does. When he grows up, his obsession for hairdressers continues as he meets and falls in love with a young woman who owns a small salon. Their love story, filled with crazy dancing, is fun to watch, although, this being a Leconte film, not all is so wonderful, of course. Jean Rochefort is a blast as Antoine, who can’t get enough of Mathilde the hairdresser (Anna Gallena). The Hairdresser’s Husband is screening July 11 at 7:00 as part of the reRun Gastropub Theater series Cheerfully Perverse: Five Years of Severin Films, a celebration of the studio that has rescued, restored, and rereleased such films as Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man (July 13, 10:00), Ted Post’s The Baby and Vidal Raski’s The Sinful Dwarf (double feature July 12, 7:00), and Enzo G. Castellari’s The Inglorious Bastards and Lucio Fulci’s The Psychic (double feature July 14, 7:00).

CHAPLIN: CITY LIGHTS

CITY LIGHTS kicks off Symphony Space series of Chaplin classics shown for the first time ever in high-definition

Symphony Space Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
Sunday, July 10, 3:00; Sunday, August 7, 5:45; Sunday, August 21, 6:00
Series continues through August 28
212-864-5400
www.symphonyspace.org

A genuine American treasure, City Lights is one of Charlie Chaplin’s most thoroughly entertaining masterpieces. Serving as writer, director, editor, producer, and composer, Chaplin also stars as the Little Tramp, a destitute man who instantly falls in love upon seeing a blind Flower Girl (Virginia Cherrill). When she mistakes him for a millionaire with a fancy car, he decides to pretend to be rich so she might like him, but when he actually becomes pals with the business tycoon (Harry Myers), he thinks he might eventually be able to get the money for her to get a new operation that could restore her eyesight. The only problem is that the millionaire, who parties wildly with the Little Tramp every evening, taking him to ritzy nightclubs and even giving him his car at one point, remembers nothing the next morning, and doesn’t want anything to do with him. It all leads to an unforgettable conclusion that pulls at the heartstrings. Despite the availability of sound, Chaplin chose to make City Lights a silent picture, although he did incorporate sound effects and, in one section, distorted speech. Although the film features several hysterical slapstick bits, including the opening, when the Little Tramp is sleeping on a statue entitled “Peace and Prosperity” as it is unveiled, and a scene in which he saves the millionaire from a suicide attempt, virtually every minute comments on the social reality of depression-era America and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Metaphors abound as the Little Tramp tries his best to maintain a smile and search out love during the bleakest of times. City Lights is screening July 10 and August 7 & 21 at Symphony Space, kicking off its Chaplin series, consisting of eight programs showing Chaplin films in high-definition for the first time ever on the big screen; the weekend series also includes multiple screenings of Monsieur Verdoux, Limelight, Modern Times, The Great Dictator, and other classics.

WEEKEND CLASSICS — KUROSAWA: THE LOWER DEPTHS

THE LOWER DEPTHS is another masterful tour de force from Akira Kurosawa

THE LOWER DEPTHS (DONZOKO) (Akira Kurosawa, 1957)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
July 8-10, $13, 11:00 am
Series continues through September 11
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com

Loosely adapted from Maxim Gorky’s social realist play, The Lower Depths is yet another masterpiece from Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa. Set in an immensely dark and dingy ramshackle skid-row tenement during the Edo period, the claustrophobic film examines the rich and the poor, gambling and prostitution, life and death, and everything in between through the eyes of impoverished characters who have nothing. The motley crew includes the suspicious landlord, Rokubei (Ganjiro Nakamura), and his much younger wife, Osugi (Isuzu Yamada); Osugi’s sister, Okayo (Kyôko Kagawa); the thief Sutekichi (Toshirō Mifune), who gets involved in a love triangle with a noir murder angle; and Kahei (Bokuzen Hidari), an elderly newcomer who might be more than just a grandfatherly observer. Despite the brutal conditions they live in, the inhabitants soldier on, some dreaming of their better past, others still hoping for a promising future. Kurosawa infuses the gripping film with a wry sense of humor, not allowing anyone to wallow away in self-pity. A staggering achievement, The Lower Depths is screening July 8-10 at 11:00 am as part of the IFC Center’s Weekend Classics: Kurosawa series, which continues July 15-17 with Dersu Uzala and July 22-24 with Ran.

PLANET OF THE APES

Dr. Zaius, Taylor, and Nova search for man’s destiny in original PLANET OF THE APES, screening July 8-14 at Film Forum

PLANET OF THE APES (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1968)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
July 8-14
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org

With Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franco, Frieda Pinto, Andy Serkis, and John Lithgow, scheduled to hit theaters August 5, Film Forum is bringing back the first and, by far, the best of all the Apes movies, as well as one of the best sci-fi films ever made. Based on the 1963 novel by Pierre Boulle (and with an early script by Rod Serling), Planet of the Apes offers up the nightmare scenario of a world where caged mute humans are ruled over by well-dressed speaking gorillas, monkeys, chimpanzees, and orangutans. But when astronaut George Taylor (a never better Charlton Heston) suddenly shows up — and can not only talk but is ready to fight to the death for his freedom (although he never does cry out, “Let my people go!”) — the balance of power is threatened and a final showdown is imminent. Taylor is quick to land himself a mate, the savagely beautiful Nova (Linda Harrison), and is soon befriended by an extremely intelligent and socially advanced chimpanzee couple, Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) and Zira (Kim Hunter), who take more than just a scientific interest in him. Meanwhile, Dr. Zaius (Maurice Evans) knows more than he’s letting on, and he’ll do just about anything to protect the precious, and very dangerous, secrets he is guarding. “There’s got to be an answer,” Taylor says to Dr. Zaius, who replies, “Don’t look for it, Taylor. You may not like what you find.” Indeed, Taylor and Nova head out toward one of the grandest surprise endings in the history of film. Planet of the Apes was nominated for two Oscars — Best Costume Design (Morton Haack) and Best Original Score (Jerry Goldsmith) — and John Chambers earned an honorary Academy Award for his marvelous makeup, which included turning James Whitmore into the president of the assembly. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, who went on to make Patton, Papillon, and Yes, Giorgio, the still fresh and original Planet of the Apes is being screened at Film Forum in a new 35mm print July 8-14, where it’s sure to be a madhouse.

NYAFF 2011: DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME

Andy Lau stars as Di Renjie in Tsui Hark's impressive DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME

DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (DI RENJIE) (Tsui Hark, 2010)
Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. at Amsterdam Ave.
Monday, July 11, $13, 9:00
Series runs through July 14
212-875-5601
www.filmlinc.com
www.subwaycinemanews.com

During the early Tang Dynasty in the late seventh century, Wu Zetian (Carina Lau sporting some great hairdos) is about to become the first empress of China. In preparation for her ascendance to the throne, architect Shatuo (Tony Leung Ka Fai) is leading the construction of a two-hundred-foot Buddha statue with her face, a massive structure that is like its own city inside. But when people start spontaneously combusting after a pair of amulets in the statue are moved, Wu calls in Detective Dee (Andy Lau sporting some great facial hair), who has been in prison for eight years for previously opposing her, to find out who is behind the horrific deaths. Dee is teamed up with Wu’s right-hand woman, Shangguan Jing’er (Li Bingbing), and albino warrior Donglai Pei (Deng Chao) to get to the bottom of the killings, which many believe is a curse not being perpetrated by humans. As the unlikely threesome gets closer to the answers, they become enmeshed in a series of battles featuring unusual weapons and unexpected twists and turns, not knowing whom they can trust, their lives in constant danger. Nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2010 Venice Film Festival and winner of six Hong Kong Film Awards (including Tsui Hark for Best Director, Carina Lau for Best Actress, and Phil Jones for Best Visual Effects), Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame is a fun and exciting old-fashioned wuxia tale, with exciting if repetitive action scenes directed by Sammo Hung and sumptuous production design by James Chiu. The inner workings of the enormous statue is a thing of beauty that has to be seen to be believed. A mix of actual and invented characters — there really was a Judge Dee (Di Renjie), who was turned into a detective hero in a series of novels by Dutch author Robert van Gulik — the film is a thrilling historical mystery epic that could have used a little more back story but is still a return to form for Hark. Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame will be screening July 11 at 9:00 as part of the Wu Xia Focus at the New York Asian Film Festival at Lincoln Center, and as a special bonus director Tsui Hark will be on hand to talk about the film and receive the Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award (at 8:30, with all ticket holders welcome).