Yeon’s (Yoon Jin-seo) and Jin-ho (Yoo Ji-tae) get caught up in complex family affair in SECRET LOVE
KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: SECRET LOVE (Kwon Ji-yeon & Ryoo Hoon-I, 2010)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, July 10, free, 7:00
212-759-9550
www.koreanculture.org
www.subwaycinema.com
A soap-opera melodrama that morphs into an erotic thriller, Secret Love tells the intense story of a complex and dangerous love triangle in modern-day Korea. Shortly after a whirlwind courtship, Yeon’s (Yoon Jin-seo) new husband, Jin-woo (Yoo Ji-tae), lapses into a coma that he might never awake from. Yeon is soon shocked to meet Jin-woo’s twin brother, Jin-ho (also played by Yoo Ji-tae), who recently emerged from a coma himself. As Yeon and Jin-ho grow closer, their relationship threatens to go to the next level — but when Jin-woo suddenly and unexpectedly arises from his coma, the love triangle becomes overwhelmed by betrayal, uncontrollable passion, and mistaken identity. Directed by Kwon Ji-yeon and cowriter Ryoo Hoon-I (who penned the screenplay with Park Hyun-soo), Secret Love, which is also known as The Secret River, uses water as an underlying motif, with many scenes taking place over a river, in the shower or bath, or at an aquarium. Although it begins slowly and sappy, the film picks up speed as hidden passions explode and danger lurks at every twist and turn. Secret Love is screening for free July 10 at Tribeca Cinemas as part of the ongoing Korean Movie Night series as well as the New York Asian Film Festival, which continues through July 12 at Lincoln Center and July 15 at Japan Society in conjunction with Japan Cuts. As an added bonus, Yoon Jin-seo, who has also appeared in such films as Oldboy, Chihwaseon, and A Good Day to Have an Affair, will participate in a Q&A following the screening. She had to cancel an earlier appearance at a screening of Oldboy because she was rushed to the emergency room less than two weeks ago after an overdose of cold medication that was initially — and apparently falsely — reported to be a suicide attempt, so it should make for a lively discussion on July 10.
When they were junior high school students in South Central Los Angeles in 1979, Angelo Moore and Norwood Fisher formed the core of Fishbone, what would soon become one of the most exciting live bands on the planet. Chris Metzler and Lev Anderson document the band’s rise and fall — and rise and fall, and rise and fall, etc. — in the stirring Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone. Using archival footage, old and new interviews, and playful animation, Metzler and Anderson follow the group — Moore and Fisher along with fellow founding members Chris Dowd, Walter “Dirty Walt” Kibby II, and Kendall Jones — through its many personal and financial struggles as it tries to deal with such socioeconomic issues as racism, violence, and the anti-liberal bias taking hold of the nation in Ronald Reagan’s 1980s. Fishbone held nothing back on such albums as In Your Face (1986), Truth and Soul (1988), The Reality of My Surroundings (1991), Give a Monkey a Brain and He’ll Swear He’s the Center of the Universe (1993), and Chim Chim’s Badass Revenge (1996), mixing in pop, punk, funk, ska, reggae, R&B, soul, jazz, and hardcore, prancing about the stage without shirts, diving into the crowd, and always speaking their mind, and they hold nothing back in Everyday Sunshine as well. Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, the film really picks up speed when it delves into the Rodney King beating and the mysterious circumstances involving Jones’s religious transformation and the band’s attempt at an intervention. The decidedly unusual tale also features an impressive lineup of talking heads offering their views on the history of Fishbone, including Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction, fIREHOSE’s Mike Watt, No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal, the Roots’ ?uestlove, Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz, Parliament-Funkadelic’s George Clinton, Primus’s Les Clayool, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, Circle Jerk Keith Morris, Ice-T, and, perhaps most informatively, Columbia Records executive David Kahne, who lends fascinating insight into what made Fishbone great — and what kept them from greater success. While you definitely don’t have to know a thing about Fishbone to enjoy this very intimate documentary, longtime fans should eat it up. Everyday Sunshine is screening July 6 at 5:45 at Anthology Film Archives as part of the inaugural CBGB Festival and will be followed by a Q&A with Metzler. The festival runs July 5-8 at venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn and includes a bevy of concerts, film screenings, panel discussions, and other special events being held in honor of the classic Bowery club that hosted cutting-edge, alternative, punk, and indie bands from 1973 to 2006. Among the other films being shown are Michael Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People, Keirda Bahruth’s Bob and the Monster, Sara Sugarman’s Vinyl, and Gorman Bechard’s Color Me Obsessed.
Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s second Infernal Affairs film is reminiscent of The Godfather Part II, as the story moves back and forth through several pasts as we learn more about Ming (Edison Chen), Yan (Shawn Yue), Wong (Anthony Wong), and Sam (Eric Tsang). Some roles are played by the same actors as in the first film, and some are not, so pay close attention. As Hong Kong approaches the hand-over to Chinese rule, the Triad war is threatening to explode, with Ming and Yan caught in the middle. Infernal Affairs 2 is an unforgettable film, gorgeously shot by Lau (who cut his teeth as cinematographer on such films as Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express and Ringo Lam’s City on Fire) and Ng Man Ching (Once Upon a Time in China). Much like the second Godfather film, even though you know what becomes of many of these characters, finding out about what got them there is absolutely thrilling. We love every glorious second of this movie. Don’t miss it.