By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly “The World of Kanako” begins with a Christmas celebration or, to be more precise, several Christmas celebrations. Snow falls slowly. Bright lights twinkle in the night. And young people, at least, dance together in a club, done up in their immaculate fashions. Intercut with this, though, is cursing, hissing, […]
“Jellyfish Eyes”
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly The poster and publicity for “Jellyfish Eyes,” the debut film from Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, left me wondering if the film might be an anime. It isn’t, but it features a cornucopia of fantastic creatures interacting with what we loosely call the real world. The action starts with figures […]
Revisiting Taiwanese New Wave — Northwest Film Forum features retrospective of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Hou Hsiao-hsien, who’s been directing films since 1980, is considered one of the most prominent directors in the Taiwanese New Wave cinema movement. The Northwest Film Forum, in collaboration with the Grand Illusion Cinema, presents a retrospective of the director’s work. Northwest Film Forum programmer Courtney Sheehan took some […]
“Short Peace” — Three little films in one
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly In 1995, anime director Katsuhiro Otomo masterminded an omnibus film called “Memories,” consisting of three unrelated segments from three directors, including Otomo himself. His master plan was to showcase emerging talent in anime. The other two directors were Tensai Okamura and Koji Morimoto, both of whom have gone on […]
“Beyond Outrage”
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Takeshi Kitano’s film “Outrage” began with the writer/director/actor, also known as Beat Takeshi, waiting outside a bigwig yakuza meeting. His character, Otomo, was a low-level flunky, obliged to put his own feelings and aspirations aside as he waited for orders. The new film “Beyond Outrage” follows the first film […]
“Space Battleship Yamato”
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly “We’re oooooooooff in out-ter space/We’re leeaaving Moth-er Earth/To saaaaaaave the hum-an raaaace/Our Star Bla-zers!” This theme rang out, starting in 1979, in my friend Tom’s bedroom, my friend Sam’s den room, and through American televisions all over the country. “Star Blazers” was the first anime to be shown in […]
“In Another Country”
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Up until now, it’s been safe to say that South Korean director Sang-soo Hong has had a knack for crisp photography, deftly-drawn interperonsal struggles, and strong characters. I think it’s also safe to say that he’s been making the same film over and over. The men lust after the […]
Telling a “Tokyo Story”
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly When the British Film Institute’s prestigious monthly magazine Sight & Sound published the new results of its once-a-decade poll for the title of greatest movie ever, the big news was that Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” had dethroned Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” in the poll of film critics — the first […]
New “Full Metal Alchemist” installment bold in story and design
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly “All is of one, and one is in all.” So says an alchemist — a fancy term for magician — at the beginning of “Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos,” the second feature derived from the popular Japanese manga and TV anime “Fullmetal Alchemist.” Over the course of […]
Ip Man: a legend shamefully overlooked
By Andrew Hamlin Northwest Asian Weekly Ip Man (1893–1972) was a legendary Chinese marital artist whose students included a young Bruce Lee. Several films have been based on his amazing life. This newest one, “The Legend is Born: Ip Man,” is the first to offer an account — fictionalized, but derived loosely from real […]