RIVER'S EDGE (Directed by Isao Yukisada) ***

                                                                            

On the outskirts of Tokyo, teens have a ton of skeletons hanging in their private psyche. Each character has a burden to bear.  Heroine-like Haruna seems to feel little; she's a cool cat, but everyone turns to her for strength, especially Yamada who gets bullied and beaten up; he’s gay. His chatter-box girl friend has no idea he is - despite how cruelly he treats her. Finally and fatally, jealousy fires her up (hinting here at her ending); she can’t take it any more. Kozue is the bad boy bully in all this and a sex maniac. His sex toy gal  - there are two - one who meets a gory-girl ending; (I won’t give away the who-done-it spoiler). It’s a sad depressing  pseudo-melodramatic take on teen angst in Tokyo taken to its fullest. (Screened at new York Asian Film Festival)

BUFFALO BOYS (Directed by Mike Wiluan) *****

In 1860, the Dutch committed a brutal genocide. Led by Captain Van Trach, there was no peace for the oppressed Indonesians. The father of two brothers  - the family is from a royal line - is killed. The brothers, Arana, Jamar and their uncle flee in exile. They seek to free their people and decimate Trach and his horrid men. There are many excellent scenes that show the brutality of the Dutch; tragedy and terror reign. But the two brothers are triumphant at the end. This film is superbly executed and entertaining, with much action and suspense that is totally believable. (Sreened at New York Film Festival)

NEOMANILA (Directed by Mikhail Red)***

                                       

Toto, a young teen, is taken in by Irma and Raul, two very poor people caught in gang warfare who murder in order to get meth. They both like Toto, but things become heated and complicated for poor Toto. 

He can’t find money to get his brother out    of prison nor anyone who will confess to the crime he is in jail for.  Irma teaches Toto how to shoot, and Raul teaches Toto that suspect and victim are one and the same in Manila. This gritty, bare-bones dark film is raw     and realistic. Violence and ominous threats 

  are ever-present. (Screened at New York Asian Film fFstival)

INUYASHIKI (DIRECTED BY Shimsuka Sato ***

  

Based on a Japanese manga series, Inuyashiki garnered the honours of being in Fantasia’s Cheval Noir Competition. This is a supernatural-based film that pits good against evil. One night the ageing Inuyshiki is hit by a strange explosion as is a young man and both become mechanical super-powered android, much in the vein of Robocop. However, Inuyashiki uses his powers to heal people; the other uses his powers like a psychopath to kill indiscriminately. Inuyashiki is almost bullied by his wife and teen daughter. It could well be a case of elder abuse. AS his daughter gets caught in the evil one’s destruction, her own father comes to her rescue. It seems to be Japan's remake of Superman in many ways, this Hollywood type film deftly pits these two compelling nemeses against one another in original ways that rely on excellent special effects and our own suspension of disbelief.(Screened at new York Asian Film Festival)

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WHAT A MAN WANTS (Directed by Lee Byeong-heon)***

Totally funny without being over the top. South Korean attitudes a la New York where the director lives this romantic comedy is about over and covert cheating on wives – even though one knows about it – and about the downside of marriage. One woman in particular has both brother-in-law and brother vying for her. Adultery has never been so playful, and we don’t scorn what we see, but laugh with all the characters – including  those unlucky wives. But here’s the thing: is food more important than love? They seem to be happy bedfellows. Seok-geun and Bong-soo steal the acting kudos! (Screened at New York Asian Film Fest and Fantasia)

                       

KAMAKAZE TAXI (Directed by Masuto Harada) ***

Tatsuo, a brazen young gangster and a pimp tries to avenge his girl friend's brutal murder ordered by a Senator of Tokyo's  criminal world. He escapes the clutches of the senator's henchmen inside a taxi driven by a calm, honest driver with a past as frightening as Tatsuo's present world.  His name is Kanatake, and he's spent his young years in Peru living with Indians with his doctor father. his good father met a gruesome end.Tatsuo develops a relationship with him as the meter keeps ticking as they cover 100s of miles trying to escape being caught. He's stolen the Senator's money and done some killing himself. But Tatsuo's fate is not a happy one, and Kanatake takes up with the revenge started by his passenger. Their paths cross with a strong coincidence that urges them both on. made in 1995, the film combines typical Japanese deadpan lines and moments of absurd character humour with a permanent darkness that stains the criminal world they all Festival)

AFTER MY DEATH (directed Kim Ui-Seok)**

Boring and long – a shame as it’s about teenage suicide along with bullying and repentance. Police and school heads try to discover why the young student committed suicide. Everyone seems to be lying about what transpired.

Sadly, we don’t feel much for the dead girl or her friend whose misery is fodder for her own suicide attempt. The acting is not bad, but what could have been a riventing mystery turns into a dark doldrum on a very serious subject far too prevalent in South Korea. (Screened at New York Asian Film Festival)