Asiafan.org

This page is under construction :)  I’m too busy writing in Hungarian…
Also check out the fansite a made about a Korean movie director.

The Tai-Chi Master (aka Twin Warriors) soundtrack is a rare gem, and it’s quite surprising that it’s still available at yesasia (or at least it was recently), since this classic kung fu flick starring Jet Li was made in 1993. The composer is Wu Wai-lap (William Wu). A video:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/media-277310/OST-The-Master-of-Tai-Chi.html

The CD has 28 songs, most of them are about 1.5 minutes long, the album has 55 minutes of music on it. The mood takes us back to the kung fu films of the 90’s, and it’s one of the best soundtrack of the era. It uses traditional Chinese melodies and instruments as well, and is a nice album to listen even without the movie. The songs are nice, calm and the sound is of high standard. I saw the movie years ago, somehow I didn’t notice the music back then and I’m glad I got back to it now. Recommended.

Kuro Obi (2007), Japan

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084019
http://kuro-obi.cinemacafe.net/ (official site)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2uDBttbuGg (trailer)
http://peevee.tv/v?1pil3 (making of)
http://blog.livedoor.jp/kuro_obi (blog)

The movie tagline: “Real Fight, Real Karate, Real Japan” just says it all. Nothing to add, so my review can only be a variation of the same statement. I waited much to see this. There is no English subtitled edition yet, but finally they released the DVD in German (with original audio too, check Amazon), so I watched it. The movie lived up to my expections, which were based on the trailer and the fact that the main “actors” are real karate masters of 1st, 5th and 6th dan.

The story takes place in the 30’s, the country is about to go to war. A military troop arrives at a dojo where 3 guys practice karate with an old master and they soon engage in a fight. The soldiers want to take the building but finally they take the karate pupils, after they demonstrated their strength. The old master soon dies and leaves the black belt - representing their dojo - behind so that the most worthy of them can get it. But they have a lot to learn before.. Giryu (Akihito Yagi) is very naive and gets hurt soon on the way, while Taikan (Tatsuya Naka) is the opposite of him, so they take different routes of growth until they find the golden mean in the middle of a fight. The story, the acting, the movie itself could stand on it’s own without any karate show-off, so we get something even more convincing. The scenery is nice, the drama, the characters are well built, the directing is very simple, yet powerful, honest. The music is also worth mentioning, it was composed by Naoki Sato (who won an award for Alway - Sunset on Third Street).

So, what’s so special about this movie? There are lots of amazing fight scenes to watch on screen these days, there are talented and real fighters, there are good movies. This is more. It has talented, real, authentic fighters, who are good actors, amazing fights, a nice movie, a meaningful story, a respectful message and representation of karate - a martial arts style which we rarely see on screen this way. Compared to hundreds of movies about flying swordsmen or vengeful kung fu masters, karate - one of the main martial art traditions of Japan - is just not so popular in movies. Maybe that’s because it’s not about showing off, so it doesn’t look that cool. I hardly remember ever being amazed by watching it as much as other styles on film - or in real life. But now I can understand and see the power of karate - thanks to this great movie and its great cast.

Don’t expect any wire-work, any stuntmen falling ten meters or special effects to exaggerate anything. There is nothing to exaggerate here, because even the simplest, shortest moves look so perfect and powerful that it needs no explanation. This movie makes a lot of things more clear about karate, and gives meaning to it. Reading about the movie on the net I found several karate forums where people praised the actors for being great masters and also great, nice, humble persons after knowing them. The fact that the movie was also advertised in these circles and appeared on the JKA website made it clear that it’s not an average action flick. Naka sensei, who plays Taikan in the movie is an instructor (ranked 6th dan) of the Japan Karate Association and Akihito Yagi (5th dan) is also an instructor and the president of IMGKA (International Meibukan Gojyu-Ryu Karate Association). I hope it wasn’t the last movie they appeared in, their charm and talent would be a great addition to Japanese cinema and could further exhibit the true power and meaning of karate traditions.

———————-

About the DVD: It’s good the movie got released in Europe, a German edition is available in shops and from Amazon.de (I bought mine in Zürich for 21 CHF…). It has that nice, blue picture from the poster as the front cover and seeing it’s a DVD9 made me think it’ll have great quality. The picture is average IMO, but I was dissappointed when watching it on my laptop, it looks a lot worse there (maybe due to the heavy copy protection??) than on a standalone. Another letdown is that the disc which I bought starts with a stupid antipiracy brainwashing clip and then movie ads come. But there’s one thing to make me forgive them: the extras. There are more than one hour of making of documentary on the DVD, lots of interviews with the cast, behind the scenes karate practicing with commentary by the actors. It’s really worth it.

(Hungarian review here)

check what others say:

Midnighteye.com (Tom Mes)
Variety.com (Eddie Cockrell)
Kung Fu Cinema (Mark Pollard)
Seisen Karate blog
Montreal Gasette
Budo Spirit
Ganbarou
German review

I know it’s silly.. Find out which Asian movies I though of

A couple of weeks ago I found and interesting Bhutanase blog on the Internet and sent them some questions about the movie industry. Norbu from the site “Kuzu” (Bhutan Weblog: www.kuzuzangpo.com) was kind enough to answer them, so here’s an interview with him about Bhutanese cinema:

asiafan: - Imdb lists 10 movies from Bhutan, are there more?

There are lots more movies than 10. The number should be close to 100 or even more.

- Are people interested in local movies? Are they released on DVD?

Local movies are very popular now with their qualities improving. People know about every local movie shown through advertisement and word-of-mouth. Most of the movies produced have DVD releases.

- How many movie theaters do you have?

There are 3 formal cinemas. One in the capital city, Thimphu – it is called Lugar Theatre. Two are in the southern city, Phuentsholing, called Norgay Cinema Hall and Mig Hall respectively. In other parts of the country, movies are shown in rented halls e.g. auditorium.

- Are people more interested in hollywood movies?

Generally or majority of the people prefer local movies with good qualities. However, more educated people still prefer Hollywood movies over local productions.

- Does the country have any kind of principle in choosing what to show on screen?

There is no principle like it. There is only a censorship board.

- Can you tell me some recent movie hits in the country?

Kushi Thara, Sangwai Chharo, Zhepchu-Zhegu (49 days), Sergyel, Tshering Meto, Baak Chha, Laywang Hingi Meto, are  some of the recent hit movies.

- Are movies dubbed in local language?

All local movies are in local language. Few movies which are shown outside carry subtitles.

- Do new things like television, movies and internet have an impact on life in Bhutan?

The impact of tv, movies and Internet have been tremendous. While they have been good in terms of learning about the outside world, Bhutan is loosing our closed-knit social and community life. People are more glued to themselves now than with society and community. So, the impacts of these on our tradition and culture are kind of negative.

- What kind of popular music do people listen to? Are there any rock bands?

People listen to pop music. It is very hard to tell whether local, English or Indian music is the most popular in Bhutan.
I have read on our weblog, one of our writers – ‘TheReaper’ has his band. For sample of his band’s music, please check out the following.

You may like to check out
www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7763
[it’s a good article about the movie industry]

thanks to www.kuzuzangpo.com and Norbu!

more links: Bhutan’s fledgling cinema influenced by Hollywood and Bollywood
a Bhutanese film blog: http://bhutanfilms.blogspot.com

http://www.milarepafilm.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499238

Bhutanese movie from 2006 in Tibetan language. Premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. Director: Neten Chokling Rinpoche. Lead actor: Gimyan Lodro.

The Bhutanese film industry seems to bloom, I already need both of my hands to count the movies made in the Himalayan kingdom. I found this movie because of a false record at imdb, I though my “favourite Bhutanese director”, Khyentse Norbu made a new movie, but it’s not his. Although it has many relations with his first film The Cup aka Phorpa (which was recently released  in the US, with a new, digital transfer and more extras). Neten Chokling played one of the monks (Lodo) in that 1999 buddhist soccer comedy, and the cinematographer is also the same. We can see another actor from that movie, too: Orgyen Tobgyal  who played Geko in The Cup playes a sorcerer in this one. One of the great things in the previous Bhutanese movies I’ve seen was that the cast consisted of real monks, hence amateur actors, including Neten Chokling. So it’s a long way from there to become a movie director, and it’s very admirable.

The story revolves around a 11th century Tibetan yogi, Milarepa, who was a real person and is quite famous in Buddhism. He left several great writings but also had a legendary life including romantic elements like magic, sorcery, love and even murder. The validity of his biography can be questioned but it’s very insightful and a great story anyway. He was born as Thöpaga and had a rough life until enlightment - which will only be the story of the second film planned for release in 2009. As a child he loses his father and his greedy aunt and uncle take away their property, and refuse to give back any of his inheritance later on. His mother sends him away to learn sorcery to take revenge and she even threatens to kill herself if he doesn’t succeed soon. Quite a troubled family compared to what I’ve seen before in movies taking place in these beautiful mountains where everyone seems to lead a simple, modest life. The scenery is still haunting, the sky is vivid blue, the Himalayas are just so beutiful that it’s impossible to shoot a bad movie there

Compared to similar movies I think the budget was a little low, we won’t see CGI magic and special effects and I’m not really satisfied with the cast either. It’s still a good movie with lots of goodwill and enthusiasm, and a great accomplishment from a country which only lists 10 movies altogether on imdb. I’ve had a chance to see two of those movies before (directed by Khyentse Norbu Rinpoche) and instantly gave them a 10/10 rating, so my expectations became high and they’re still are. I’m looking forward to see the next part and I hope Bhutanese monks keep making movies

trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=y1fSE4spGDs
behind the scenes: http://youtube.com/watch?v=j-XO0UAlwsw
rendező a kőomlásról: http://youtube.com/watch?v=GUKvrOT5wIs

The soundtrack of the Hong Kong blockbuster Infernal Affairs I-III. movies were all written by Chan Kwong-Wing (aka Comfort Chan), and they have been released separately in 2002-2003 (some of them are OOP) and later as a “Trilogy” 3 CD pack, which can be purchased here.

Chan was born in 1967 in HK, and has a very distinguished and unique style, his soundtracks are easily recognizable. He was many times nominated to the best original score prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards, which he won in 1998 for The Storm Riders. Some of his other OST’s:

- Young And Dangerous V.
- Storm Riders (Viharlovasok)
- A Man Called Hero (A bosszú harcos)
- Naked Weapon (Meztelen fegyver)
- Infernal Affairs I-II-III. (Szigorúan Piszkos Ügyek)
- Initial D,
- S.P.L. (SPL A bosszúhadjárat)
- Confessions of Pain
- Flash Point

Unfortunately not all of them are released, e.g. the two Donnie Yen movie (SPL and Flash Point) had great tunes but are still not on CD. According to imdb he’s now working on a movie called Magazine Gap Road.

All movies of the Infernal Affairs trilogy were nominated for best originals film score award, but only the second won a prize for the best song which was played by Beyond, a Hong Kong rock band.

The movie itself is one of my favourites and had an over the top cast, great picture and directing, clever story and an amazing soundtrack, so its final perfection is made of many important details. Still I think the music part has great importance in it because what made the film so unique at its time was mainly the style and the mood it had. Chan’s soundtrack is not only a proper accompaniment but also a great music album that can stand on its own. It’s enjoyable without the movies, even many years after watching the scenes.

What I like the most is how atmospheric it is and how clever. There are countless different elements, styles, sounds mixed into one poweful, original piece of music. It’s all in great harmony and still provides a lot of surprises, new tones and rhythms to keep it interesting till the end. The sound is rich, especially the acoustic instruments make it very nice. Classical music, symphonic orchestras and choirs add the drama element, modern rock riffs, drums, electronic sounds make it cool, and we get some Chinese flavour on the top. There are some sad melodies perfectly fitting to the movie, the whole music is very passionate, original and still full of catchy tunes. My favourites are the first two albums. The Infernal Affairs I. soundtrack has a little commercial feel just like to movie but it would be my fav if I hadn’t listened to it waay too much. The second one is a bit more special for me, because it has Hungarian lyrics in 3 songs. It’s also more dramatic. I’d give 10 out of 10 points to them, and maybe 7 to the third one which I found less interesting.

All three movies have themes songs besides the score. One particular song that appears in all of them is Lost Time from taiwanese singer Tsai Chin, who is popular since the 70’s. Her song is what the main characters listened to in the hifi shop. This song is also included in the trilogy soundtrack release. Then, the first movie has a song written by Ronald Ng and sung by the main leads, Andy Lau and Tony Leung. The second movie has the Beyond song which won a prize, and there’s a song composed by Andy Lau, Jacky Chan, Marco Wan for the third movie and it is sung by Hacken Lee. These songs can be heard in the Music Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNUSpfr7Y7M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jqdsMNrGM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI9Wu6Ltd7s

I just found a real rarity, that I didn’t even know it existed. I think movie soundtracks are less likely to get released in Hong Kong compared to Korea or Japan, many of them never get on a CD. That’s why I was surprised to see that a movie from the 90’s, the only one that Donnie Yen directed had its soundtrack released (in Japan). The Ballistic Kiss OST was available for a short time, now it’s OOP but sometimes can be found on ebay. The composer of this 1998 action movie was Yukie Nishimura. She (now 40) is a Japanese pianist and has many of her own albums out in Japan. She was also the producer of this soundtrack CD, and besides being the composer she plays the piano tracks. There are 11 instrumental songs on the album, mostly classical, symphonic music, with piano being the solo instrument in most of them. These nice melodies are important part of the movie, giving it a special, romantic mood. Sometimes the songs are a little dark and sad (like The Theme of Cat), but it just makes Donnie Yen look more cool and passionate on screen. I think piano tracks are more unique on this album while “usual” soundtrack pieces are average. I like the drifting melodies of The Chase and the angelic (sic!) sounds of Angel (Music Box Version) the most.

Gackt’s 23rd single, Redemption was released in January. The two songs on it are from the PS2 game, Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. Tracklist:

1. Redemption
2. Longing
3. Redemption instru.
4. Longing instru.

The album consists of two song, Redemption, Longin and their instrumental / karaoke versions. Thefirst, Redemption is a simple, catchy rock song which is mainly sounds good because of Gackt’s nice voice. The second song, Longing is slower but more interesting. Has a darker, more emotional mood and it’s also more heavy, fits well the game (trailer).

Redemption MV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHRu5LnScXs and its lyrics

Artist: Gackt
Media type: CD Single
Released: 2006
Label: Nippon Crown
Rating: 8