Spring fling The spring version of The Hawai'i International Film Festival the past three years has always been just the teaser to the main festival held every November. Not anymore.
Much more ‘spring’
By Gary C.W. Chun
in seasonal film festival
Star-BulletinThe fourth edition that starts tonight with critically acclaimed Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai's newest film, "I'm in the Mood for Love," starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, leads an expanded collection of international features and shorts, 21 in all compared to last year's nine.
The festival's film and education coordinator Anderson Le said that there was an "opportunity to rent one of Consolidated's Waikiki Twin theaters for an entire week, which was more affordable than just using a theater for a weekend's time as we did last year."
As a member of the festival's programming committee (which includes executive director Chuck Boller and committee chair Dwight Damon), Le said they were able to schedule a diverse crop of new movies from around the globe.
"Better Than Sex," a popular entry in last year's Sydney, Australia, film festival, is one film Le said they were lucky to get; its only American showing has been at the Telluride, Colo., festival and is embargoed from further screenings.Le said the festival tries to book films that will appeal to specific niche audiences, and befitting his younger "hipper" tastes, he's particularly proud of the three choices he made for the spring festival, "Battle Royale," "Juliet in Love" and "Secret Society."
"Battle Royale," directed by Kinji Fukasaku and the festival's closing film next Thursday night, is one that Le said had the committee in unanimous agreement. (see review, Page X).
" 'Juliet in Love' tells of a love against all odds," Le said. It's a Hong Kong film about the unlikely relationship between a Triad member and a breast cancer survivor. "It was nominated for several Hong Kong film awards and it stars such well-known actors as Francis Ng and Simon Yam." Screens at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Le feels the HK film industry is on the rebound, with a new infusion of directorial and acting talent venturing into more artsy fare. He mentioned that with the immense popularity of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (the festival's resounding opening night success last November), Western money is pouring into the island country's industry; in particular, Miramax is financing Tsui Hark's remake, "The Legend of Zu."
Another of Le's choices, "Secret Society," is a movie "in the spirit of 'The Full Monty.' It's about a young British couple where the husband's a bit of a dreamer and conspiracy theorist and his young and pretty (if a bit overweight) wife who brings home the bacon by working at a factory. She then finds out that other big women at work secretly practice sumo. They even have a doiyo!"
The group's honor gets tainted, however, when their strange passion is discovered. In order to regain their lost honor, the women stage a real tournament against a group of male Japanese sumo wrestlers. Screens at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow.
Besides the much anticipated showing of this year's breakout United States independent hit "Memento," other noteworthy festival entries :
>> "The Circle" (Iran): A crucial breakthrough film for Iran, this critically-acclaimed film chronicles the lives of three Iranian women who are expelled from society for vague crimes and whose paths eventually cross. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
>> "The Heart of the World" (Canada): Cult Canadian director Guy Maddin's tribute to Russian cinema pioneers Eisenstein and Vertov, all in a compact 5 minutes. The short will precede the screenings of "Last Resort," 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and "The Convent," 10:15 p.m. tomorrow.
>> "Innocence" (Australia): From one of the country's finest directors Paul Cox, this explores the rekindling of a torrid affair fifty years after the couple first met. Screens at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow.
>> "Fiasco" (Iceland): Part of the new wave of that country's cinema, this cleverly constructed black comedy is set in contemporary Reykjavik, where a dead stripper in a preacher's jacuzzi sets off bizarre doings during one 24-hour period. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
"This festival is a precursor of things to come," Le said. "We're planning a special director's retrospective and, of course, the festival's main thrust to feature Asian films will continue."
Screening: Today through Thursday HIFF Spring Festival
Place: Waikiki Twins theater, 333 Seaside Ave.
Call: 528-FILM (3456) or visit www.hiff.org
Cost: $7 general; $6 for HIFF member
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