Sitges 2007: the aftermath; Noir and epic movies. (volume 2 of 4)

In addition to the first volume of my visual (and reading XD) experiences in Sitges 2007, I will show you all the second volume, more quiet and not so violent films: the noir films, together with the epic ones.

Buddy movies, police and thieves, triads, yakuzas, pursuits, shooting scenes... all is permitted in noir cinema.

And the epic movie collection sine frew years rose from Corea and Japan was featured in Sitges too. Concretely I saw a south-corean movie, plenty of fantasy, and an incredible chinese/southcorean/japanese co-production based on intelligence and strategy in decisive battles.


* Chapter 1. Lé cinèma noir by Hong-Kong: the Milkyway domain.

Talking about noir cinema in Sitges Festival of Cinema is talking about Milkyway, cofundated by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai. Breaking News, Exiled , or the movie saga about chinese triads, Election, are a clear example of this kind of movies, always placed in Hong-Kong, the harbor of smells... And this year is not an exception!!! At this show, I could see Eye in the Sky, Mad Detective, and the hit of the year: Triangle . There were other movies, like Confession of Pain, from the creators of Infernal Affaius (the movie in which Martin Scorsese based his great Departed movie), but I wasn't able to see them, because of incompatible schedule :(


Well, let's explain the movies I did see indeed. The first one, Eye in the Sky, is the first direction chance of Yau Nai-hoi, usual writer and screenplayer of Milkyway. In his first movie, the action is seen from the sight of the police unit of criminal surveillance , unit named as the movie. Simon Yam, in an incredible interpretation, is the captain of this unit and the instructor of a new rookie, while a cat-and-mouse game is developed during all the 90 minutes of the movie, trying to catch a band of jewelry thieves. Trepidant and curious, a movie that I recommend: it has the typical Milkyways handicap (maybe the peculiar humour of Johhnie To is not present, but the other factors do are there), and Simon Yam does an excellent intepretation. Excellent rookie Yau Nai-hoi!!!

The second movie, Mad Detective, is a curious experiment made by the always brilliant Johnnie To . With his already classical serious gags, he are introducing us in the world of a retired detective with a strange ability: he can see the internal mind of the people , reflected in the movie with a real person walking in place of the person itself. A unsolved crime is still live, and the actual investigation leader goes to this man to get help. Like an autenthic paranoia, as long as movie walks we can observe the sickness that surrounds this Mad Detective, who can see 7 different personalities in the main suspect, a corrupt policeman. Mixing real vision and Mad Detective vision, this film is a little poor in the argument, but if the investigation was a little complicated, this film will be absolutely surrealist. Really, this film evoques the sickness of the detective in front of the investigation, rather poor. A curious film, in fact. And really a good movie, if you don't take care of the real argument :)

And the last one... the highly expected Triangle, the cocktail of Milkyway!!! A single mobie directed by three of most great directors in Hong-Kong: Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam and Johnnie To himself, are signing this peculiar movie. Every director was the only and unique author of a single part of the movie (beginning, middle and final, respectively in the order of directors' previous listing).

It's not a great movie in terms of argument, but it's incredible the amazing coherence in the film (really I thought the coherence was the main problem...), and the final scene is really superb: great Johnnie To!!! Good movie, but not a masterpiece... what a pity, it could have been an important factor for Hong Kong industry to Occident.


* Chapter 2. Benny Chan and the impossible coreographies, and the Shanghai 30's...

For those who don't know Benny Chan, he is Jackie Chan's brother (oooh, do you really know Jackie, eh? :P), and the director of almost all the movies Jackie did in Hong Kong (well, director of the movies didn't directed by Jackie himself ---he has directed a lot of movies---) including New Police Story, the new movie after Jackie's standing in USA. So, with this feature, you can imagine that every movie Benny Chan does, it includes a lot of coreographies, pursuits, impossible jumps, and multiple and agonic furniture destruction... an authentic festival of acrobacies and broken crystals XD And Invisible Target, of course, is not an exception.

An assault to a bank's armored wagon is the main case that faces off the criminal band responsible of the attack with three policemen very dispare: one lost his girlfriend in the cited assault; another one has been humilliated and wants to recover his prestige; and the last one wants to know about his disappeared brother (an anecdothic affair with this last policeman is that the character is really interpreted by Jaycee Chan, son of Jackie Chan).

Invisible Target is really a very good movie, it deserves mounts and mounts of praises: all the film is plenty of action, and not normal action but mastodonthic action: every piece of furniture will be broken; every building will be punished with explosions; all the characters will receive enormous beatings... and humoristic gags will also make appearance. All of these factors provoque that the movie results very very nice. It's not a great movie, but indeed it's one of the most happy movies of the festival. Benny Chan rules!!!!

Although, I cannot say the same for the next movie: Blood Brothers; charged of good intentions and original presence, this Shanghai 30's drama of two brothers and a friend, three all friends since they were children, that will be lead from their little village to Shanghai to improve their economy and live quality, doesn't connect with the audience. They will be soon driven to dark affairs, obeying the capo of the criminal domain of Shanghai. Interesting argument, but the movie, produced by John Woo, is quiet engaging missing. At least, I didn't connect with the movie, I found it very... artificial :S However, the movie deserves a special mention for the ambientation, and the atmosphere of the 30's is very well featured.


* Chapter 3. The Epic movies surrounding Asia

Changing totally the subject, now I will talk about two epic movies I saw in this festival: Battle of Witts and The Restless. I also saw Dororo but I have already reviewed this movie in the previous post of "day one" of the festival :P So, I will only write about the other two movies.

The Restless is a south-corean epic movie, that drunks directly (in terms of epic atmosphere) over another epic movie made in south-corea, Musa the Warrior. In The Restless there is a history about Yi Kwak, who after losing his girlfriend (she was executed as suspicious of witchcraft), enters at the Order of the Chuhyongdae, the royal demon slayers.

But this order was betrayed and annihilated by the villagers of realm, and Yi Kwak is the only who is still life. But in the beginning of the movie is murdered. When it awakes, he appears in the purgatory, the zone between heaven and hell. Then, he will discover a complot executed by the spirits of the Chuhyongdae, that pretend using the purgatory as a passenger for invading the mortal world and domain it as the King Spirits.

This is the first film by Cho Dong-oh, an authentic visual show (the battles are very beautiful and spectacular) and a good epic movie. Maybe a bad thing is the final of the movie itself... too much romantic and maybe too much Dragon-Ball-stylistic :P But, if this Son Goku spirit doesn't matter to you, you will enjoy this film.

And for the last, Battle of Witts. A coproduction of the three most influent asiatic countries (with permission of India): Japan, China and South-Corea. Ambiented during the same epoch than Zhang Yimou transported us in his movie Hero, the movie is about Ge Li, a mozi, a historic group of war strategues, whose mission was defend the poor people in front of the major armies with the intention of establishing peace again.

Great battle scenes, with the spectacular coreographies of Dororo or The Restless (or the movie collection of Zhang Yimou, like Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon or Hero or The House of Flying Daggers). Here the battles remember the old peplum movies of Dino de Laurentiis in Hollywood (but with the actual resources of course), more cruent and realistic. The betrayal, the drama, the love story... also have their wn place in this movie.

A highly recommended movie in all of aspects and factors: serious, rigurous, it tells a piece history not known in Occident, and Andy Lau gives us a splendid performance in his role of Ge Li, the mozi.

Pay attention also in the great soundtrack composed by Kenji Kawai (composer of the two Ghost in the Shell movies, Avalon, the two movies of Death Note ---commented in the first volume of Sitges 2007 chronicles---, Seven Swords, Ringu movie series, and even the videogame music for Nobunaga Online). If you enjoyed Avalon and Seven Swords orchestral pieces, you will enjoy this Battle of Witts score.


And no more for this moment; there are only 2 volume left!!! I will try to write in a minor scale, or it will be too much tedious for reading :$ I apologize for the large texts, but 27 films cannot be reviewed with 2 lines per movie :S

See you in the Lair of Fire and Tears, poor mortals!!