JOIN USFantasia 2022 round-up
The 26th edition of The Fantasia International Film Festival, held in Montreal, Canada, witnessed a broad audience attending the in-person event. Over 130 features and 200 shorts were screened.
One of the event's major highlights was felicitating John Woo, the Hong Kong-based filmmaker, with the Career Achievement Award. The masterclass session with Woo is a great watch. The full coverage is available on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJVGHG7EDt8.
I had an opportunity to watch some exciting films online from the festival catalogue. I chose many films from the Asian region, predominantly South Korean films.
Next Sohee (South Korea)
July Hung, who made the critically acclaimed film ‘A Girl at My Door’, comes back after a long gap of eight years with her sophomore feature. ‘Next Sohee’ was the closing film of Fantasia this year. Earlier this year, the film premiered at Cannes, and honored with a seven-minute-long standing ovation.
The film is about a detailed look at the body shopping startups which offer technology services through telecall centers. The narrative explores the corporates luring young graduates. The exploitation of the country's youth by offering them less but quick money and giving them a chance to dream of a better lifestyle comes with pressure, and humiliation.
Based on a valid account, July divides the film into two halves, where the dreams of the college externs (in India, we call them interns) and their horrible experience in the corporate sector become the core of the first half. The second half focuses more on investigating what leads to the suicides of the workers and how corporates make use of loopholes in the law and continue exploiting laborers.
India has corporates that comprise this kind of work environment, and this film could be quite an essential watch for our audience.
The Roundup (South Korea)
This is a sequel to the ‘Outlaws’ released in the year 2017. We have Ma Seok-do on an assignment to extradite a suspect in a foreign country (Vietnam), accidentally discovers murder cases, and learns about a killer who has been committing these crimes against tourists for several years.
The film is strong on police procedurals with great action and a good share of comical sequences. Ma Dong-Seok is perfect as a badass cop. Usually, we see actors who are more athletic as tTough cops. Ma dong being on the heavier side, brings in a different flavor, and it is really fun to watch him in action sequences. Another important aspect of this film is that if you haven't seen the prequel, this sequel is an enjoyable stand-alone. The film was awarded the first best feature in the Asian film category.
Next Door (South Korea)
Directed by debutant Yeom Ji-ho, the film plays as a comedy thriller, reminding us of the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Hangover’. The protagonist Chan-woo aims to get into the police academy. One night, after heavy drinking with his friends, he wakes up in his adjacent neighbor’s apartment with her dead body lying in a pool of blood. Chan has to remember what happened last night and fit in the pieces of the puzzle to make himself clean.
The narrative brings in many plot twists, which sometimes feel a bit off and spoil the experience. The film neither ends up being an enjoyable comedy nor an engaging thriller. One significant characteristic of the film is the whole story happens in a single room, and the claustrophobic effect can be easily felt. It is never easy when there is a murder mystery to be solved, and the twists add to the confusion.
Confession (South Korea)
A remake of the Spanish popular mystery thriller ‘Contratiempo’ (English title "The Invisible Guest") and in a rare case, it is as good as the original or even better.
The atmosphere created amidst the snow-filled forest could not be more perfect. The screenplay does follow the original, but the climax is a bit changed. The Hindi remake "Badla" was a faithful remake whereas the Telugu remake "Yevaru" turned out to be messy, mainly regarding how the character placement was done. However, the Korean remake is an excellent complement to the original. One can only say that Spanish films make the best thrillers in the west, whereas Koreans do it in the east.
Fast and Feel Love (Thailand)
I haven't seen many Thai films but I am aware of the creativity the new generation of filmmakers are showcasing through their features. Watching the latest film of Nawapol gave me a feel of the quality writing with a theme that is quite simple and universal.
It reminded me of Ranbir Kapoor's films where he is being helped by his female co-stars in growing up and getting to know the world. The film works as a great family entertainer with memorable moments filled with humor and bittersweet emotions.
The references to earlier works of Nawapol and many other popular cult films are used interestingly. The poster has a striking resemblance to Fast and Furious as the film's central theme is about a cup stacking game, and the fast and furious guy doing it wins the championship. The film is now streaming on Netflix with English subtitles.
Popran (Japan)
This was the most expected one as I am a big fan of Shinichiro Ueda for his pathbreaking film ‘One Cut of the dead’. Comparatively, this film carried a polished look in terms of screenplay and technical aspects. The film is about people who have lost their genitals which appear as flying objects. One has six days to find and catch the flying genitals.
It is very hard to balance out such an obscure yet a sensitive topic. It is commendable to see the film never goes into vulgarity but opts out of exploring the issue with deep emotions, reminding me of the brutal take on a similar subject by Kim Kiduk with his film ‘Moebius’.
Moshari (Bangladesh)
Directed by Hymayun Nuhash, this short film is about a very simple setting where a mosquito net is the only way to protect yourself from vampires, pushing the sense of horror to the limit. Conflict and tension between two sisters who lost their mom add extra fear.
The fight against vampires in a narrow hallway and the epic twists that betray your expectations are perfect elements of a horror movie. The clever directing is a bonus. Kept me hooked till the end credits, and all I had was great appreciation. It’s not an easy task to have it so crisp and engaging. The cinematography, sound, and background score are of quality. This was awarded the best short in the Asian short film section. Can't wait for the filmmaker's first feature film.
The Astronaut and his Parrot
A short film directed by Arati Kadav, it won the silver prize in the Asian Shorts section. It is science fiction and is about a man falling to his death in space, contacting the mission control, only to find himself reporting to a parrot on the other end of the line. Kadav earlier had made ‘Cargo’, again a science fiction with a blend of humor.
Two other fantastic action films that I got to watch were ‘Killer’ (South Korea), something similar along the lines of ‘Leon, the professional’, a film that was total fun. The choreography of the action sequences was one of the best that I have seen in any film industry in recent times.
‘Special delivery’ (South Korea), is a fast-paced thriller where a lady driver is responsible for saving a kid and fighting unknown enemies. The film showcases some breathtaking car chase sequences.
Another Indian film featured in Fantasia was Tapsee Pannu starter ‘Dobara’. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, this film is an adaptation of the famous Spanish time travel mystery film "Mirage"
List of award winners in this edition of Fantasia.
Best International Feature
Gold: THE ARTIFICE GIRL (USA, d. Franklin Ritch)
Silver: LA PIETÀ (Spain, d. Eduardo Casanova)
Bronze: DEADSTREAM (USA, d. Joseph Winter, Vanessa Winter)
Best Asian Feature
Gold: THE ROUNDUP (South Korea, d. Lee Sang-Yong)
Silver: NEXT SOHEE (South Korea, d. July Jung)
Bronze: ONE FOR THE ROAD (Hong Kong/Thailand, d. Baz Poonpiriya)
Best Animated Feature
Gold: PRINCESSE DRAGON (France, d. Anthony Roux, Jean-Jacques Denis)
Silver: INU-OH (Japan, d. Masaaki Yuasa)
Bronze: CHUN TAE-IL: A FLAME THAT LIVES ON (South Korea, d. Hong Jungpyo)
Best International Short
Gold: GUMBALL FACTORY (Germany, d. Lindsay Robinson)
Silver: FIELDTRIP (UK, d. Paul Arion, Soren Bendt)
Bronze: SPAGHETTER GETTER (USA, d. Jared Lapidus)
Best Asian Short
Gold: MOSHARI (Bangladesh, d. Nuhash Humayun)
Silver: THE ASTRONAUT AND HIS PARROT (India, d. Arati Kadav)
Bronze: ANIMA POSSESSION (Hong Kong, d. Wai Mo Chan)
Best Animated Short
Gold: SUMMER GHOST (Japan, d. Loundraw)
Silver: PERSONA (South Korea, d. Moon Sujin)
Bronze: NEW MOON (USA, d. Jeremie Balais, Jeff LeBars)
Best Canadian Feature
Gold: THE FIGHT MACHINE (Canada, d. Andrew Thomas Hunt)
Silver: CULT HERO (Canada, d. Jesse T. Cook)
Bronze: RELAX, I’M FROM THE FUTURE (Canada, d. Luke Higginson)
Best Canadian Short
Gold: BUMP (Canada, d. Maziyar Khatam)
Silver: OLDTIMERS (Canada, d. Brian Quintero)
Bronze: ONE OF THOSE GOOD LIVES (Canada, d. Joseph Carney)
Best Quebec Feature
Gold: LES PAS D'ALLURE (Canada, d. Alexandre Leblanc)
Silver: TIMESCAPE (Canada, d. Aristomenis Tsirbas)
Bronze: THE DIABETIC (Canada, d. Mitchell Stafiej)
Best Quebec Short
Gold: DANS L’OMBRE (IN THE SHADOWS) (Canada, d. David Émond-Ferrat)
Silver: BRIGHTSTAR(Canada, d. Raphaël Hébert)
Bronze: LA GUÊPE (Canada, d. Marc Beaupré)
Best Documentary
Gold: THE PEZ OUTLAW (USA, d. Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel)
Silver: QUE LE FAN SOIT AVEC TOI (Canada, d. Marc Joly-Corcoran)
Bronze: OUT IN THE RING (Canada, d. Ry Levey)