So Long PIFF
Alas, tonight was my final night at PIFF. The official closing ceremony will take place tomorrow, but I'll give it a miss, since I'm doing a comedy gig in the wilds of Suncheon. That's fine, really, since the film is at the giant outdoor cinema, and I really hate seeing movies outside. I always feel removed from a film when viewed in the open air; to me, movies should be viewed indoors. Seeing a film outside is like eating a hotdog at a sushi joint. It's absolutley incongruent.
I invited my friend and long time partner in crime, EJ, along or the adventure. When I arrived in Nampo-dong - the old harbor part of town where PIFF originated and still shows films - we were greeted by a fireworks show. The last days of the PIFF also coincide with the Jagalchi Seafood Festival, which is essentially a huge feed and piss up at the massive fish market that is the real heart and soul of Busan. Jagalchi is located just across the street from "PIFF Square," so instead of trolling for parties in Haeundae, we vowed to go and dig into so fresh seafood after the film.
We saw "Air Doll," a Japanese flick featuring the lovely, Bae Du Na, one of Korea's coolest and uniquely hot actresses. This whimsical film is about a blow-up sex doll that comes to life and wanders the streets of Tokyo, searching for understanding and companionship. Ms. Bae is either scantily-clad or butt-nekkid for much of the film, so the perv factor is definitely there. The story is slow-moving and features lots of shots of the beautiful Du Na looking doll like - gorgeously emtpy and confused. It doesn't succeed on all counts, but it is a smart film, and her performance is pretty much brilliant, so I give it a nod.
After the credits EJ and I headed to Jagalchi, where we settled in a couple of plates of raw fish and grilled eel, washed down by soju and beer. The market was packed with revelers eating and drinking, singing and dancing, and I ended the evening by joining in with a "gag sori" crew (traditional Korean street clowning), much to the delight of the local liquored-up Jagalchi "ajimae."
As tomorrow is the closing, I suspect that there will be one or two big parties, stacked with A-listers of of note. I'll leave the crashing to someone else, though. I got other, if not bigger, fish to fry.
As for this year's PIFF? Phenomenal. I saw 8 films in all, and was impressed by one, and fully blown-away by another. The rest settled in the middle or worse, but that is the nature of a film fest, no? I hit some good parties, got drunk far too often, and am currently running on low reserve tanks. It's my 4th year of doing the fest, and will no doubt go down as my most memorable so far.
I'd like to thank Bobby and Mike from Busan Haps for hooking me up this time around. This opportunity came out of the blue, and I'm really grateful.
And thanks to all of you who've kept up. Many people have commented to me in person about these posts, and that's the reason I keep doing it. I am a showbizzy actor-type at the end of the day, so to know that my writing is being viewed by any kind of an audience is a chief motivation.
Let's do it again next year and take it up another notch!
Posted 10/16 7:34PM
Back to Top
Movies Non-conducive to Joke Writing
Oh man.
I have a couple of comedy shows coming up this weekend and am trying to write new jokes. So I said to myself, "tonight, after the PIFF film, you gotta open up the notebook and get your funny on."
Sounds reasonable, right? The only catch is that I elected to see a film about THE RAPE OF NANKING.
For those of you in the dark, what the above refers to is the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Chinese (the capital) city of Nanjing during the early days of the Second World War. The victorious Japanese went on an orgy of killing and sexual assualt, resulting in the deaths of some 300,000 Chinese. It was a mini-holocaust, one of the worst examples of horrible human behavior in our short, but illustrious history.
This film is graphic and intense. It is well-shot and accurate to the history as I've learned it (I've read up on the event and watched a documentary, for what it's worth...). I found myself chewing my lip out of rage for much of the movie. It is tragic and sad, but mostly it made me very, very angry.
The Japanese were WELL OUT OF POCKET. The depths of depravity and madness they descended into cannot be overemphasized WWII was a state of collective of insanity for mankind - all sides were guilty of sickening excesses - but the Japanese win for pure sadism.
They were so bad that Nanjing's lone Nazi appealed to them for reason. You know you're out of line when the Nazis are telling you to chill out.
THE NAZIS.
I've been to Hiroshima and remember reading the guest book at the museum, full of Westerners condemning the bombing of the city. And at the time, I agreed... but Nanjing wasn't a unique event: the Japanese acted similiarly all over Asia. They tried to sell their war as an act of liberation against Western Imperialism - fair enough - but they behaved like complete depraved savages wherever they went, raping and slaughtering their way across the continent.
They were straight up evil, and despite the tragedy of so many civilians dying in the atomic attacks, they really had it coming, and it's sad that it took America to stop them in their tracks.
But we did what had to be done.
I've been to Japan several times and can't deny that it's a brilliant country. They got their shit dialed in. Everything's clean and nice and super quality. The people are all polite (to your face). But they have yet to own up to their history. They colonized and brutalized much of Asia (especially this country), and they have NEVER apologized. At least the Germans have done much to atone for their sins, but the Japanese still live in blissful ignorance. They whitewash their history books and often deny their past. The time is well overdue.
To this film's credit, it does not portray the Japanese soldiers as a pack of monsters. Sure, they commit unforgivable acts, but they are shown as human beings caught up in the schizophrenia of war. Some Asians object to this film because of it, but it is the truth.
GO SEE THIS ONE, and I dare anyone to come up with three good dick jokes afterwards.
Posted 10/15 7:44AM
Back to Top
A Recurring Theme: Desperate Gays
So tonight I decided to see some raw, Filipino cinema.
Last year I saw a few films from the said archipelago, and they were all rocking, bracing, and had something to say. Films from the Philippines figured prominently in this year’s PIFF, and I am convinced that there is a proper “scene” happening there: Gritty, full-on, bright-spotlight films featuring the most desperate of their society coping with day to day life.
Homosexuality seems to be a big theme, as almost every features someone blowing some old cat or getting blown by some young cat in a movie theater. The gays are presented as either pathetic or predatory, but are BIG force nonetheless. One would think the Philippines is rife with malevolent chicken hawks.
The film tonight, “Squalor,” hit softer than last year’s “Service,” – which featured real blowjobs and yeast-y cottage cheese straight sex. But it was still nasty.
After the film I circulated, but was informed by the Gods of PIFF that Tuesday night is “No Party Night,” so I instead f***** off to PNU to get drunk and listen to a series of amateurs slap their instruments and buy me drinks, under the guise of an “open mike.”
I got a weekend of performance coming up. Will PIFF figure prominently, or just fade, as I pretend to be more important than some aloof filmmaker who bored the tits off me?
Posted 10/14 7:27AM
Back to Top
Sapporo Night
I started the evening in a studio at Dong-Seo University, where I took part in a round table discussion about PIFF as part of Brian Meyer's talk show on E-FM, the new English-launguage station in town. It think it airs on Sunday night. I'll post the exact time later. I actually had fun talking about the fest and the highlights over the last few years. The other folks at the table were much bigger PIFF veterans than myself - Sarah Hansen, Matt Sydgreaves, and Tim Burke.
Tharp and Kim Gi Hoon
After the interview I jumped on my 125 and hauled ass to Haeundae, in order to join my friend, local independent filmmaker Kim Gi Hoon, at a fest party sponsored by the city of Sapporo, Japan's most northern major city, located on the island of Hokkaido. Gi Hoon is probably the most promising young director in Busan right now. He's finishing up editing on a new full-length feature, a romantic drama titled, "The Boy from Ipanema." He shot half of it last winter in Hokkaido, and shot the other half over the summer here in Busan and on Sangju beach in Namhae, an island about two hours away from here. He told me that he hopes to have a rough cut by the end of the month, and is looking to get the film into festivals and movie theaters soon.
Kim Gi Hoon has directed a number of shorts and documentaries, most notably 2005's "The Mode of Disappearance," which was shown at over 20 major festivals worldwide. I originally met him a year and a half ago, when he recruited me to do voice over for a short he shot in Sapporo called "Blink." Since then we've been in regular contact and it was good to drink with him tonight and catch up.
The Busan Film and Sapporo Film Commissions have established a reciprocal agreement, funding and aiding independent films that are shot in either city. Gi Hoon is heavily involved in this relationship, and explained it like this:
"Sapporo and Busan have the same problem. In Sapporo, most all of the production comes from Tokyo, and in Busan, most of it come out of Seoul. Our goal is to combine forces to foster quality film production in both cities, so they can grow on their own."
Gi Hoon chatted my ear off, describing the difficulty that went into shooting "The Boy from Ipanema," from bugetary woes to an exceptionally rainy summer (most of it was shot outdoors, on the beach). But he got a lot of help along the way, and is close to being finished.
The Sapporo Party PIFF'ers
The main Sapporo party folded quickly, and after a bit of sake, we joined the Japanese hosts for some traditional Korean fare (galbi jjim, dongnae pajeon), accompanied by copious amounts of makoli (rice wine). At our table was the deputy mayor of Sapporo, along with several members of the film commission. We communicated in a cocktail of Korean, English, and Japanese, but in the end Kim Gi Hoon was the man of the hour. And his Japanese sponsors drank to his future success, with me clinking along.
As for his next step? He has two more features lined up, and hopes to remain in Busan, though Seoul is calling.
"I love Busan," he said. "It's my hometown, and I want to make films that feature it. But I am a filmmaker, and if a good opportunity comes along..."
Look out for this guy. I'm convinced that he'll be big - not just in Korea - but internationally.
Posted 10/13 7:26AM
Back to Top
Canada Day/Night
It's 5:59 in the morning and every cell in my body is screeching for sleep. But a missive was promised, and delivered it shall be. It ain't like I gotta WORK in the morning. I only must wake up, see a couple of movies, and then go to a party or two.
It's a tough gig. Please lend me a shotgun, so I can erase half of my head... (he kids, he kids)
I woke up with a shame blanket thicker than a Special Olympian's tongue. A bad night at the casino will do that to the best of us. But after some rehydration, noodles and dumplings, I headed to the theater to live the dream of the fest.
The first film I saw was a Canadian/Irish co-production called "Cairo Time," a stoic romance set in the the aforementioned city. The acting is flat and the circumstance contrived, but I have to to give the movie credit, in that it brought Cairo alive. That's why I picked it. I like films that are set in real places and make a character of the location. Sometimes film is like travelling for me: I want to be utterly transported. And this particular piece of film - despite its faults - does this. I always thought that I kind of knew what the city looks like - crowded, dirty, smoggy, uber-Arab-y - but now I have a much better idea. I give the nod for evocation of locale, even if the emotions are about as tepid as three day-old tea.
I then went Haeudae and wandered through the PIFF village, drinking innumerable cups of coffee -provided gratis - one of the perks of holding a badge. I was twitchy and all-tourettes-like, but at least it kept me awake through the collossal bore of the second film, "God Lives in the Himalayas." This was a joint Indian/Nepali film concerning a young boy who hikes to the top of a mountain after his mother is burned to death during a Hindu religious ritual. Saris are evidently emminently flammable. He makes it to the top and meets God, who is a kindly oldish man dressed in white (white hair, as well, of course). The acting is pretty awful and the story trite, but since it involves a cast of children, it is I who is the ass for mentioning the obvious. But everything in this film is obvious, so forgive me my redundancy.
After the second film I found myself at the Grand Hotel, yet again. I walked down the red carpet in front of hundreds of screaming Korean girls. I am white, viciously handsome, and had a rock star pass dangling from my neck, so naturally I am considered a famous film sort. It's not so different that walking the streets of Busan during the other 51 weeks of the year. I shared the elevator with some Korean movie stars whose names don't escape me, since I'd have to know who they were in the first place. Perhaps they all look alike. And Korean movie stars are almost TOO good looking. The men are all chiseled and aloof, and the women obscenely beautiful, with big, frightened eyes. I don't know what it is, but all of the hot Korean actresses I've come across this PIFF look horrified, as if they are just about to be herded into a train to Auschwitz. I can smell the terror through the inches of makeup and priceless perfume...
I ended up joining
Bobby and Mike (the minds behind Busan Haps) at the Paradise Hotel (the scene of the previous night's casino slaughter). We crashed an awards banquet and ended up at the CANADIAN EMBASSY PARTY. Canada always delivers many films to PIFF, and the embassy throws a party to celebrate it. I drank a load of wine and ate my ass off. You can complain about us Americans being fat folks - which we are - but Canadians give us a run for our money. The upshot is that when they throw an official government-funded film party, the feed is something fierce: halibut cheeks, shrimp, salmon, pork, noodles, fried rice, eel, bread, fruit, salad, veggies, sushi...
I done got my eat on.
I schmoozed and glandhanded and drank the shit out of the free gargle. The Canucks were friendly and gracious and I even got a photo with "His Excellency" the ambassador HIMself. The Canadians still use all of that grandiose Brit royal-ese when describing their dignitaries. As I am American and don't believe in titles, so I just addressed him as "Mr. Ambassador," which must suffice. No need for flowery royal-speak. I ain't havin' it.
The Canadian party was good. I met a couple of Canuck film makers and traded business cards like lunchroom snacks, shaking hands and promising to call them the next time I'm in Montreal, Vancouver, or Nunnavit... Everybody was polite and the hospitality mighty... but... in the end... it was all a bit....
... boring.
Nobody made a scene. No one got their tits out.
Go figure.
Keep posted: Tomorrow I see MORE movies and then hit the FRENCH EMBASSY PARTY, which should provide me with even more fodder...
Posted 10/10 6AM
Back to Top
I went to the opening tonight, which was titled "Good Morning Mr. President." This was an awful film, a real embarrassment of a kickoff, but it had enough Korean stars in it to qualify as a banner event.
But it was terrible. Really.
The film concerns itself with the tenure of three different ficticious presidents - one old dude (seemingly an almagem of both the late Kim Dae Jung and No Mu Hyung), as well as a handsome young dynamic prez (that wide-eyed actor who you will immediately recognize, since he looks as Korean as my shoe...), and some old woman who is evidently famous from soap operas. There is no narrative to speak of, and the most amusing bits are a series of fart jokes.
Seriously, Korean cinema should shudder in shame.
After the film I attempted to get into the movie star party at the Grand Hotel, but was most vehemently denied admittance. It seems that our little mag has yet to register on the radar; we got press passes, but proper party invites have been non-forthcoming. This presents me with a bit of a conudrum, as I am the designated PIFF "party guy" for Busan Haps. It's hard to write about the party when the won't let me into the f****** things to begin with. I should hope to be admitted to one or two. But the example set tonight tells me that I'll have to sneak, schmooze, or bumrush my way into any soiree.
I = persona non grata.
Fair enough. I'm not sure If I'd let myself into my own gig, but I am up to the challenge.
In the end I f***** off to the
Sunset, where I drank with the few people there who know me, and flashed my press badge about so as to garner envy and respect, though the dart board seemed to hold more interest. After that I went to the Casino, which was a very very very bad move.
I'll leave it at that.
I hope to give you a better report tomorrow. But so far I've been shut the f*** out.
Posted 9/9 6:00AM
Back to Top
