ASIAN SENSATIONS
Asia
has had a profound impact on pop culture, maybe even more so than we
realize. Whether through spectacularly staged martial arts
extravaganzas, gritty crime dramas and action thrillers, supernatural
tales of terror, or giant monster mashes, Asia has given us plenty to
absorb and to learn from. Here’s a quick rundown of some quintessential
viewing from a region of the world that rivals Hollywood in terms of
powerful entertainment. — Bryan Reesman
 COPS, ROBBERS, AND PSYCHOS
The
most well known of the recent Asian crime dramas is Wai Keung Lau and
Siu Fai Mak’s Infernal Affairs (Hong Kong, 2002), the first of a
trilogy, which inspired The Departed, Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning
remake. In this tense thriller, a yakuza (a member of the Japanese
mafia) is a police mole, and an undercover cop is a mafia informant,
and their bosses entrust them with the task of uncovering and ratting
each other out. It’s a highly effective film with a moral core.
The
hyperviolent crime dramas of John Woo made an action star of Chow
Yun-Fat and brought both men to Hollywood. Two of the team’s most
acclaimed efforts are the gangster thrillers Hard-Boiled (1992) and The
Killer (1989). Both feature high body counts, so be prepared for some
super-intense action.
Oldboy (South Korea, 2003) is a grisly
movie in which a man imprisoned in a strange building for 15 years
seeks revenge on his captor as well as the reasons for his
imprisonment. There are plenty of odd twists, not to mention a frazzled
climax. This is the first of three similarly themed movies from
director Chan-wook Park.
On the lighter side of things, Jackie
Chan’s Police Story (Hong Kong, 1985) shows him playing a cop who will
do anything to bring down a corrupt mob boss. The role allows Chan to
indulge in both his incredible stunt work and his flair for physical
comedy. The impressive stuntmen fly through so much shattered glass
that it’s amazing real blood wasn’t spilled.
Speaking of blood,
Takashi Miike’s infamous Audition (Japan, 1999) has hardly any, yet its
torturous final images will make you think you’ve seen plenty. It’s a
tale of a widower who pretends to be a television producer in order to
meet a beautiful woman, but when the woman discovers his deceit, he
learns about her psychotic nature. Audition makes Fatal Attraction look
like a family picnic.
If you’re looking for character-driven
political intrigue rather than loads of violence, check out Purple
Butterfly (China, 2003), a 1930s period piece in which a Manchurian
freedom fighter (Ziyi Zhang) battling Japan’s occupation must seduce
her former Japanese lover in order to set up an assassination.
 TALES OF TERROR
While
Japanese horror has found incredible international success, thanks to
movies like Ringu (1998, remade as The Ring in 2002) and Ju-On: The
Grudge (2000, remade as The Grudge in 2004), other Asian countries also
offer plenty of creepy, long-haired women; spooky children; and
frightful visions to go around.
Brothers Danny Pang and Oxide
Pang Chun (The Messengers) brought us The Eye (Hong Kong, 2002), an
unnerving tale of a violinist, blind since childhood, who regains her
sight through corneal transplants but then also starts seeing spirits
wandering the earth. It’s one of the scariest Asian horror flicks yet.
Other
recent efforts take familiar themes but make them nerve rattling and
fear inducing, including Cello (South Korea, 2005), which finds a music
teacher’s family stalked by a malevolent spirit; Shutter (Thailand,
2004), wherein a photographer and his girlfriend are plagued by an
angry female spirit after they flee the scene of an accident; and
Premonition (Japan, 2004), about a sinister daily newspaper that
foretells the death of one man’s loved ones. Each movie has its own
original moments and may have you keeping the lights on that night.
And
we can’t forget the roots of this current horror wave. The
Cannes-honored, four-story anthology Kaidan (Japan, 1964) is a supreme
example of how fantastic set design, intense performances, and
unnerving sound effects can be much creepier than musical bombast.
Empire of Passion (Japan, 1978), from controversial director Nagisa
Oshima, tells the story of a woman and her lover who are haunted by the
ghost of her former husband after they kill him. Both of these classic
films are romantic and poetic and prove that a film does not have to be
outright horrifying to get under your skin.
 POUNDING FISTS AND
STINGING, SINGING SWORDS
Asia
has produced some stunning action films on a variety of topics, and the
physical prowess of the performers certainly puts many Western action
heroes and villains to shame.
A seminal entry in this area is Enter
the Dragon (U.S., 1973), Bruce Lee’s first and only major American
film, which was shot in Hong Kong. Playing a hired spy who infiltrates
the karate tournament of an island-bound crime lord, Lee blends his
fist-pumping fury with emotional chords for stronger-than-standard
action fare.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Taiwan, 2000) takes
martial arts to a higher plane. It’s a powerful period piece about the
quest for love, a stolen sword, and the untamable power of a young
warrior and her conflicts with the world. The surreal flying and
fighting sequences (by Yuen Woo Ping, the fight choreographer of The
Matrix) have now become standard in both Asian martial arts movies and
Hollywood superhero flicks.
Two stunning period pieces that
succeed in the Crouching Tiger way are Hero (China, 2002), in which Jet
Li plays a potential assassin to old China’s ultimately unifying
emperor; and Curse of the Golden Flower (China, 2006), about the deadly
power struggles of a ruling Chinese family in the Tang dynasty,
starring Chow Yun-fat and Li Gong. Both movies are rich in character
and have dazzling scenery and cinematography. Of course, the granddaddy
of them all is Akira Kurosawa’s Oscar-nominated Seven Samurai (Japan,
1954), in which the titular characters defend poor villagers from
marauding bandits. It’s a masterful film on all levels.
If you’re
looking for a more humorous side to martial arts, check out Jackie
Chan’s goofy Drunken Master (Hong Kong, 1979). He plays a reckless kung
fu fighter who gets schooled in the power of the Eight Drunk Gods by an
alcoholic master. It’s not at all politically correct, but it is funny,
and it offers a chance to see a young Chan strut his stuff.
The
semihumorous homage Tears of the Black Tiger (2001), set in Thailand,
takes the form of a classic Western and is a weird blend of
tear-jerking romance, heart-pumping action, and off-the-wall parody
telling a wrong-side-of-the-tracks love story between a gun for hire
and a wealthy heiress. Unintentionally humorous but totally a product
of the ’80s, Legend of the Eight Samurai (Japan, 1984) finds
once-ferocious Sonny Chiba (of Street Fighter fame) among the titular
cast that help a princess vanquish the resurrected enemies of her
family. Part of the Samurai Collection on DVD, which also includes
Ninja Wars and G.I. Samurai, Legend comes complete with big fight
sequences, flying rubber monsters, and massive foam-rock sets. It’s
charming in its earnestness.
 ALL MONSTERS, GREAT AND SMALL
Japan
has most famously produced the mean, green Godzilla, who has stormed
his way through 29 films, frequently destroying Tokyo, battling other
giant monsters, and teaching us not to wreak atomic havoc on Mother
Nature. A competitor to Godzilla’s kaiju throne was Gamera, the giant
flying turtle-like creature who arrived in the ’60s, first to attack
mankind and then to challenge earth’s enemies in a kid-friendly way.
The original series got a major face-lift in the mid-1990s with three
films — the first being Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (Japan, 1995)
— that made him edgier. Mothra (Japan, 1961) started as a kind
creature, became a friend and a rival of Godzilla, and then returned
decades later as an earth savior in The Rebirth of Mothra trilogy
(Japan, 1996–1998).
Not all monsters are flesh and blood. Take
Daimajin (Japan, 1966), in which a stone warrior statue comes to life
to end the reign of a brutal tyrant after a helpless villager begs for
his aid. It’s a pretty basic story line (in fact, that’s the plot), but
the buildup to the moment of the statue’s insurrection and its massive
rampage pay off. It was followed by Wrath of Daimajin and The Return of
Daimajin. All three movies were filmed together and released within a
year.
But it’s not just massive monsters that can take hold of your
mind and warp it. Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People (Japan, 1963),
also an effective chiller, is about seven well-heeled seafarers who are
stranded on a remote Japanese island after surviving a storm while at
sea. One of their only sources of sustenance is delectable mushrooms
that transform them into strange creatures, so you know there’s trouble.
And be on the lookout for the new South Korean film The Host, about a monster that emerges from a river and goes on a frenzy.
THE ASIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Also
worth noting are recent movies chronicling the trials and tribulations
of Asian-Americans. In Red Doors (2005), three Chinese-American sisters
embark on a soul-searching quest for their missing father that proves
to be personally enriching. American Pastime (2007) peers into the
lives of people at a Japanese-American internment camp during World War
II, showing how they used baseball to cope with their hardships. And
let’s not forget The Joy Luck Club (1993), which explores the cultural
clash between a Chinese-American woman and her immigrant parents, whose
values are more traditional.
The films herein scratch only the
surface of what Asian cinema has to offer, not even touching on
Japanese anime and the massive Bollywood industry of India. But they
make a good place to start.
For more on these movies, visit IMDb.com, Amazon.com, HKFlix.com, and Asian-DVDs.com.
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