GENRE MOVIES - the really smart ones are no longer in English…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A blue cheese hamburger in one hand, a microbrew ale in the other, a comfortable seat, and a big screen in front of me…does Cinema get any better than that? After my week of Fantastic Fest at the Alamo Drafthouse, my local multiplex pales by comparison.

Today’s post will conclude my observations on America’s biggest and best genre festival, but fond memories will linger; not just because I got to present a couple of my old films to appreciative audiences, but because the Alamo Drafthouse staff so obviously cared about proper presentation - like in focus with good sound all the time! - and quality food, quickly and unobtrusively served. I am used to film crews going that extra mile for quality during production, but I rarely see that same enthusiasm in exhibition, that all important retail end of the process. The major theatre circuits could learn a lot from Alamo Drafthouse. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At last, all over the world, indigenous film industries are embracing GENRE, and spicing up familiar tropes with their own cultural ingredients. What particularly distinguishes foreign language genre from its English language counterparts is the attention paid to the quirkiness of character. Take a look at this trailer for THE SUBSTITUTE, a Danish riff on MY STEPMOTHER IS AN ALIEN. There are no subtitles, but you get the idea.

The sweetly demented Paprika Steen is brilliant in the title role. Hollywood will come calling soon if they haven’t already. Matching her are some outstanding child actors playing a bunch of slackers and whiners, who cannot convince their parents that the substitute teacher is in fact the vanguard of an alien invasion. The movie is enormous fun, frequently laugh-out-loud funny, though you may not want to eat chicken for a few days. However, the US trailer chooses to play down the laughs in favor of a more traditional Sci-Fi horror approach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The US trailer chooses to expose a key surprise VFX shot, the first and more startling of the two VFX shots in a particular sequence. The Danish trailer only uses the second shot, the reverse angle. Its effect is thus more oblique. Those that see this trailer are less likely to anticipate the money shot when that sequence starts.  Please compare and contrast both trailers if you wish to comment. I’m interested in your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also from Denmark, is FIGHTER, a riff on THE NEW KARATE KID, which gave Hilary Swank her start. Here’s an extract. This movie will certainly put a spotlight on Semra Turan, a Danish martial arts champion, totally convincing in her first acting role. Where FIGHTER differs from other Kung Fu Girl Wants To Be Champion flics is the nature of the obstacles in her path. She is a Turko-Danish teenage Muslim with very conservative parents who forbid her to train alongside men, and want her to consent to an arranged marriage. The complexities of culture clash and family politics are powerfully realized, resulting in the social drama being as compelling as the many fight sequences.

The Karate Hellcat movie that everyone is waiting for is ONG BAK director Prachya Pinkaew’s latest - CHOCOLATE, for which his protégé Jeeja Vismistananda trained for five years. And it shows.

In Jackie Chan movies they run the painful accidents of the shoot in the end credits. Here the Thai trailer showcases them as an incentive to customers. The plot is borderline incomprehensible, particularly the first 20 minutes, and its use of autism as a gimmick is tasteless, but in a Muay Thai action picture, who cares? The final jaw dropping, bone breaking 20 minutes are worth the price of admission alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s great when a first time director really hits it out of the park. After award winning shorts, Na Hong-Jin demonstrates he is a major talent with THE CHASER, his riff on the chase the serial killer when nobody believes you genre. The trailer certainly covers its visceral thrills. But the movie offers much more depth of character as a hard boiled ex-cop rediscovers his humanity. It was the last of five movies I saw that day. It was utterly riveting for its entire 123 minutes.

Also from Korea was a spectacular nod to the Westerns of Sergio Leone entitled THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WEIRD that reworks Leone’s Civil War piece into 1940 war torn Manchuria. It’s a veritable banquet of Leone set pieces from all of his work. Even a bit of the Hong Kong-Leone derivative DRAGON INN is thrown in. But that dark quirky sense of humor that has distinguished so many recent Korean films elevates the picture way beyond mere homage to A Great One. Song Kang Ho - I loved him in THE HOST - does play Weird/Ugly the original Eli Wallach character with more layers and such gusto that he drives the movie. You can’t wait for him to be back on the screen. The trailer gives you some idea of the scale of the top notch action. No doubt you winced at the horse stunts. As did I. But I was pleased to find out in the end credits, they used animatronic horses for those shots.

 

 

If you like your GENRE a little more sophisticated/exotically flavored than the standard English language variety, then you will probably have as much fun at these movies as I did. In GENRE, as in life, character counts.