REVIEWS HKIFF IN BRIEF


Madame X International Premiere/Midnight Heat. Dir: Lucky Kuswandi. Indonesia. 2010. 102mins


The delightfully colourful Madame X is a trans- vestite action comedy, starring Amink as both hairstylist Adam and as Madame X — wearing a blonde wig and Catwoman outfight — who battles the ultra-conservative group BOGEM with camp zeal. With its clumsy fight scenes and cheesy CGI, the film succeeds as a wacky niche effort, but it is made with such energy and exuberance that it should feature promi- nently on the festival circuit.


Mark Adams


INT’L SALES KALYANA SHIRA FILMS, www. kalyanashira.com


Lumpinee Asian Premiere/Humanitarian Awards for Documentaries. Dir: ChiraWichaisuthikul. Thai. 2010. 95mins


A fascinating journey into the lives of the young boys and girls who live and train in Muay Thai — or Thai kickboxing — at Saknirunrak camp in Trang, watched over by chief trainer Uncle Sak (“tough but kind”, as one youngster describes him). They dream of the fame and — more importantly — fortune to be gained should they reach Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Chira Wichaisuth- ikul’s impressively shot film — partly funded by the IDFA documentary festival — is a thoughtful and powerful story of how impov- erished youngsters chase their dreams. Mark Adams


SALES CONTACT BANPHOT WUDHIPRECHA, banphot@me.com


Sacrifice Gala Premiere. Dir/scr: Chen Kaige. Chi. 2010. 127mins


Chinese cinema’s elder statesman Chen Kaige casts an eye back in time to his country’s Yuan period — prior to the Warring States era so beloved of mainland directors — for a tradi- tional revenge drama distinguished by strong performances from leads Ge You and Wang Xueqi. Tightly plotted despite its 127-minute running time, this tale of infanticide and revenge is low on the action demanded by fol- lowers of the genre, but Sacrifice could win over regional audiences thanks to its compelling leads and engrossing script. The first half-hour alone, involving a masterfully staged assassina- tion plot, is a return to form for Chen, though theatrical action outside Asia seems a long shot. Fionnuala Halligan


INT’L SALESARCLIGHT/EASTERNLIGHT, www.arclightfilms.com


Hi, Fidelity REVIEW BYEDMUND LEE


Desperate housewives go on pleasure-seeking trips which spiral hopelessly out of control in this stylis- tic throwback to early 1990s Hong Kong B-movies. With its neurotic characters’ fluid sexuality, kitsch score and melodramatic plot developments, Hi, Fidelity plays like a low-rent Almodovar picture which has forgotten the need for an emotional core amid its sensationalistic overdrive. Marking the screen return of 1980s movie


actress Pat Ha (An Amorous Woman Of Tang Dynasty) this directorial effort by Calvin Poon — a Cantopop lyricist, football commentator, screen- writer and one-time film director (1986’s Kiss Me Goodbye) — starts out as a character drama centred


Edited by Mark Adams mark.adams@emap.com


around three unhappily married middle-aged Hong Kong women, but gradually turns into full- on B-movie mode. While limited theatrical release in Asian coun-


tries (especially those in which Hong Kong cinema was a box-office draw in the 1990s) is possible, fes- tival play will likely only arise at those with a spe- cial affinity to Chinese-language films. On learning at a women’s association meeting of


her husband’s infidelity, disenchanted housewife Mrs Man (Ha) is whisked away to the city of Shen- zhen by three of her peers, Mrs Ma (Michelle Ye), Mrs Ho (Carrie Ng) and a 20-something beauty (Bonnie Xian). While starting out as a drama on married women asserting their sexuality, any illu- sion of female empowerment goes out of the win- dow as the protagonists grow increasingly obsessed with Bill (pop idol William Chan), a gig- olo at the club they visit. Under the script by Poon and Yeeshan Yang, Hi,


Fidelity supports its unusual premise with some intriguing performances in its first half. In what might at first be misunderstood as a hint


to the film’s experimental edge, the earlier sections of Hi, Fidelity are punctuated by grainy mono- chrome shots which are eventually revealed to be part of a plot twist that barely registers: these shots are supposed to be footage taken by detectives as part of an investigation by Mrs Man’s husband into his wife’s private life. The casting of semi-retired pop singer George Lam as the husband is one of the many subtle nods to the film’s retro aesthetics, which also include a Cantonese ballad on the soundtrack late in the film, complete with Chinese-only subtitles for its lyrics — a common practice of early 1990s Hong Kong cinema.


Milocrorze — A Love Story WORLD PREMIERE


Jap. 2011. 90mins Director-screenplay Yoshimasa Ishibashi Production company Ishibashi Production, d-rights, KAZUMO International sales Sochiku Films, www. shochikufilms.com Producers Masataka Izumi, Toshiharu Ozawa, Hiroaki Saito Cinematography Katsuharu Oyamada Music Yuko Ikoma, Kosuke Shimizu, Osamu Kubota Main cast Takayuki Yamada, Maiko, Anna Ishibashi, Seijun Suzuki, Mieko Harada


REVIEWED BY MARKADAMS


Milocrorze — A Love Story is a wacky feast of surreal storylines, vibrant colours, outlandish perform- ances and shimmering sexuality. Almost impossi- ble to define — it has samurai fights, oddball fantasies and retro dance scenes — it delivers with such energy that it is also impossible to take your eyes off it for fear of missing a beat. Certainly a challenge for distributors, it could


appeal to those niche outlets which have taken chances on films from Tetsuya Nakashima (Kami- kaze Girls, Memories Of Matsuko) or Hitoshi Mat- sumoto (Big Man Japan, Symbol), but likely falls outside the mainstream outlets. Festivals could find it an easy fit for late-night slots. The film opens in vibrant fantasy style as an


orange-haired boy named Ovreneli Vreneligare (with a taste for lime-green sweaters and red- check trousers) falls in love with a strange and beautiful woman named Milocrorze… he is about seven and she is at least four times his age. She takes up with a sleazy gent named Saramandala Quorenzolich, leaving Ovreneli so distraught that he covers the resulting hole in his heart with a saucepan lid. The film then cuts to the antics of youth counsel-


lor Beeson Kumagai (impressive Takayuki Yamada, who starred in 13 Assassins), who shouts out “sound advice to wimps” when young teens call him for advice about love. Dressed in a tight


n 6 Screen International at Filmart/HAF/HKIFF March 22, 2011


WORLD PREMIERE


HK. 2011. 91mins Director Calvin Poon Production companies Wide China Creation Ltd, Mei Ah Films Production Co Ltd, Local Production Ltd International sales Mei Ah Entertainment, www. meiah.com Producers Maria Wu, Lee Kwok-hing, Ng Kin-hung Executive producers Tong Hing-chi, Charley Zhuo Wu Screenplay Calvin Poon, Yeeshan Yang Cinematography Ardy Lam, Derek Wan Editors Chung Wai-chiu, Hui Wai-kit Music Da Jamz Main cast Pat Ha, Michelle Ye, Carrie Ng, William Chan, Chapman To, Bonnie Xian


white disco suit and stacked shoes, he punctuates his advice sessions with dance scenes featuring two bikini-clad beauties. His story segues into that of a one-eyed wander-


ing Samurai named Tamon (also Yamada) search- ing for his kidnapped love Yuri, eventually finding her in a brothel, where he proceeds to fight his way through a gang of warriors to reach her. The film then returns to the now grown-up


Ovreneli (Yamada again) running into Milocrorze once again. At its heart this is simply a film about falling in


love, but it is presented in a funny post-punk fan- tasy fashion — as if Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino had teamed to make an action-comedy- romance. In the strange world of Milocrorze — A Love Story, virtually anything can happen.


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