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APR. 1/2/3

KIP AOKI / KAOKI@STARBULLETIN.COM

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The 8th Annual Hawaii International Film Festival returns with its Spring Showcase featuring 28 films to choose from.

Among the pics is "Kung Fu Hustle," winner of six awards, including best picture, at the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards this past weekend. "Kung Fu Hustle" was the No. 1 box office hit of all time in Hong Kong and a big hit at the Sundance Film Festival, said Chuck Boller, HIFF executive director. The slapstick action comedy starring Stephen Chow will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Most films will be shown at the Dole Cannery Stadium 18 theaters, except where noted. The festival runs through April 7. Program guides and flyers are available at all Starbucks locations.

Tickets are $9 general; $8 students, seniors, military and children; and $7 festival ohana members. They are available at the HIFF ticket desk in the theater lobby, or fax orders to 528-1410 or go online at www.hiff.org.

Following is the schedule for the film festival, and synopses and reviews of some of the movies.

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"A Moment to Remember"
» Su-jin (Son Ye-jin) and her carpenter fiance Chol-su (Jeong Woo-seong) marry, buy a house and start a family. However, Su-jin is diagnosed with familial Alzheimer's disease, a disease that ravages its victims at an accelerated rate. Bring plenty of tissues. U.S. premiere.

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HIFF "A Talking Picture" makes its Hawaii premiere, 4 p.m. Saturday.

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"A Talking Picture"
» History professor Rosa and her daughter are on an idyllic Mediterranean cruise when a strange menace threatens the passengers. Hawaii premiere.

"Apres Vous"
» This romantic comedy stars Daniel Auteuil as Antoine, a maitre d' at an upscale Paris brasserie. One night, he saves a stranger named Louis from suicide, but Louis is furious. Antoine does what he can to make things right. He finds Louis a job and friendship develops. Despite Antoine's efforts, Louis remains gripped by his obsession with Blanche, who drove him to despair. Antoine finds her but finds she isn't single and, to make things more complicated, she's gorgeous and attracted to him. Hawaii premiere.

"Bread and Roses"
» True story chronicles New Zealand politician Sonja Davies' impoverished youth to her rise in politics. Hawaii premiere at the Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Arts.

"Chinese Restaurants: Three Continents"
» Documentary focuses on Chinese restaurants in Madagascar, Norway and Canada, presenting their owners' histories and how they tie into the community of Chinese expatriates worldwide. Hawaii premiere.

"Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World"
» The fiancŽe of a failing salaryman leaves him and heads to Shikoku, where they both grew up. Following her, he reminisces about the past, and the film jumps back to 1986, when they fell in love. But why are they not yet married? A hit in Japan last year, the film is based on the award-winning romance novel by Katayama Kyoichi, drawing on 1960s Japanese romance films. International premiere.

"Gloomy Sunday"
» When a melancholy pianist arrives late to his audition at a restaurant in 1930s Budapest, he locks eyes with a waitress and their fate is sealed, even though the restaurant proprietor is her lover. This sweeping love story spans World War II and the Nazi occupation. A sleeper hit, this film has been running four years straight in the same New Zealand theater, and more than 60 weeks in Los Angeles.

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SONY PICTURES Leung Siu Lung as The Beast in "Kung Fu Hustle."

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"Kung Fu Hustle"
» Actor Stephen Chow made a splash in America directing "Shaolin Soccer." Here, he delivers an entertaining package of comedy, melodrama and high-octane fighting. The story is set in 1940s Canton, and follows Sing, a wannabe gangster who wants to join the Axe Gang. One day, Sing and a dorky cohort recklessly pose as Axes, drawing the real Axes into a skirmish of epic proportions. Chow's comedic narrative includes homages to Western showdowns, grand tuxedoed dance numbers, and Matrix-style effects and action sequences. Hawaii premiere.

"Layer Cake"
» Matthew Vaughn produced Guy Ritchie's stylized British crime genre hits "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch," but shifts into the director's chair with this tale about a London drug dealer looking to go straight, only to find himself pulled deeper into the underworld. Hawaii premiere.

"Lost in Time"
» Siu Wai, a penniless widow, takes over her late husband's bus route to care for her young son. But her family, long opposed to her marriage, pressure her to put her son into an orphanage, give up her route and return home. Star Cecilia Chung was named Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Hawaii premiere.

"The Massie Affair"
» With "Tama Tu": Excerpted from an episode of PBS' "The American Experience," to screen later, the first film tells of the case that exposed Hawaii's 1930s racial tensions after the wife of a Navy lieutenant is raped, resulting in multiple trials and vigilante justice. "Tama Tu" is about Maori battalion soldiers who use laughter to forget the war around them. World and Hawaii premieres, respectively.

"Millions"
» In Danny Boyle's ("Trainspotting" and "28 Days Later") new film, two young Liverpool brothers find a bag of cash. The younger lad has innocent visions of saints who guide his actions. Consequently, he tries to persuade his skeptical brother to donate the money to the poor. Hawaii premiere.

"Mondovino"
» Even if you can't distinguish a sauvignon blanc from a super Tuscan, Jonathan Nossiter's documentary provides an entertaining examination of globalization on the wine industry, which has led to increasingly homogenized wines. Hawaii premiere.

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HIFF In "My Mother the Mermaid," Na-young travels back in time to see her mother and father before life's hardships took a toll on them.

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"My Mother the Mermaid"
» Na-young works at a post office and is tired of her unyielding mother and pushover father. The one thing she looks forward to is a trip abroad. But when her father leaves home without notice, Na-young gives up her trip to search for her him, in spite of her mother's ambivalence. On arriving at her parents' hometown, Na-young is shocked to meet Yeon-soon, her mother, at age 20! Yeon-soon befriends her future daughter, who is shocked by her mother's innocence and youth, exhibited in Yeon-soon's unrequited love for a young postman, who turns out to be Na-young's father. U.S. premiere.

"One Missed Call"
» Director Takashi Miike is back with his latest thriller. College kids are out for a night on the town when Yoko's cell rings. She checks it to find the readout "one missed call" -- from her own phone, three days in the future. More disturbing is the message: the sound of her screams! Three days later, at the exact time of the call, Yoko plunges to her death from a bridge. When other friends come to similar creepy ends, Yumi investigates the terrifying mystery. Hawaii premiere.

"Throw Down"
» Johnnie To's poignant drama concerns Sze-To (Louis Koo), a judo champion who unexpectedly abandons the sport. Now an alcoholic pub manager, he finds potential redemption through an aspiring pop singer, Mona (Cherrie Ying), and the obstinate Tony (Aaron Kwok), who challenges him to a fight. Hawaii premiere.

"Veer-Zaara"
» This Bollywood spectacle, a hit in India, examines the strife between Hindus and Muslims through an unlikely love story. Veer Pratap Singh (Sharukh Khan) is an Indian air force rescue pilot who, while on patrol, meets a Pakistani woman named Zaara, who is in India to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish. She is injured in a bus accident and Veer saves her life, changing his forever. Twenty-two years later, Pakistani lawyer Saamiya Siddiqui meets an aging Singh, who has languished in prison. Saamiya's mission is to discover the truth about Veer. The movie has won five Zee Cine awards, including best film, best director, best producer, best actor and best supporting actress. The Zee Cine awards was held Saturday in London and honors the best in the Indian film industry. Hawaii premiere.

"Windstruck"
» Director Kwak Jae-yong reunites with actress Jun Ji-hyun, and their winning formula of headstrong heroines entangled in the absurd romantic comedy continues with this latest hit. When a bad-tempered police officer spots a guy running down the street holding a purse, she gives chase and beats him to a pulp. The culprit claims that he is innocent and that he was chasing the real culprit. A few days later, he returns to the police station to do his "community service" by riding with a police officer, only to find himself paired with "Dirty Harriet." U.S. premiere.

"Woman of Breakwater"
» In a Manila Bay breakwater community, residents assemble shanties from flotsam and survive by fishing, begging and whoring. Basilio arrives and meets Paquita, a young prostitute. The two bond but their happiness is constantly threatened by Bosing, a former policeman crippled by a shooting that ended his career. With his gang, he holds the breakwater area in his cruel grip. Presented at the Tokyo International Film Festival last fall, this film is considered one of the most critically acclaimed Filipino films in years. U.S. premiere.

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HIFF "The World" will be shown at 6:45 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Sunday.

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"The World"
» China's rush to modernize is fraught with problems and contradictions. Jia Zhang-ke addresses that gap in this feature, set in a theme park containing replicas of the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, Tower Bridge, the Taj Mahal and other attractions. Hawaii premiere.

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Following is the schedule for the film festival.

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