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Life Without Principle is a very different movie by Johnnie To. Namely, there are long stretches that showcase nothing but dialogue. Bankers, thugs, and cops talking about money. This is in stark contrast to the lengthy, wordless, and stylized tracking shots that the Hong Kong director is known for. Yes, there is the double-crossing, deception, and stealing that one might expect from the world’s best crime filmmaker, but it’s all done according to the rules of finance—and not the underworld.
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival just ended and now I’m wondering what to do. Sounds like a good time to share some pictures. Of course, my focus was on my pals from The Working Man enjoying a moment in the spotlight.
I spotted my good friends Tadashi Suzuki (the star) and Wing Ko (co-director) before the shorts program began, and had a good time hanging out with them, saying hi to friends, and looking forward to their artful skate video’s hometown premiere.
The legend goes that Mutant Girls Squad came about when friends Noboru Iguchi (The Machine Girl), Yoshihiro Nishimura (Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl), and Tak Sakaguchi (Versus) decided that since they like to drink together, they should direct a movie together–not an anthology but more like a jam where person takes a segment. But are the filmmakers violent drunks, funny drunks, or emotional ones? It turns out they’re all of the above in spades.
Tonight’s kickoff of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival featured a screening of Daniel Hsia’s Shanghai Calling. I thought the smart, stylish comedy produced by Janet Yang and starring Daniel Henney was a bold choice of an opener. Instead of dwelling on typical themes of Asian American cinema such as the diaspora or having to live up to the image of Bruce Lee, it presented Asians as being in a position of power in terms of commerce and culture. That one’s Asian connection is seen as empowering and beneficial in the modern world, rather than as one’s burdensome past, is exciting. It reflects the fest’s new international, extroverted direction, which is immediately likable and exciting.
Although I haven’t been active in the film festival circuit lately, I was happy to run into a lot of old friends right away. In the mens room, I intercepted the fest’s newly appointed artistic director Anderson Le. The veteran of the mighty Hawaiian International Film Festival loves movies to death, and has assembled an impressive balance of arty and commercial, serious and fun, Asian and American pieces. He has also expanded programming to Long Beach, and promises that next year will be even stronger.