CY's 2002 Sydney Film Festival Diary
ONE FINE SPRING DAY Folks, I've finally managed to catch something at this year's Sydney Film Festival and it's a good one.  Last night in the splendorous surroundings of the State Theatre, I sat there, quietly excited at the prospect of seeing my first festival flick after missing out on so many fantastic films on the weekend [I was interstate!] Among those that slipped through my fingers were the hotly anticipated second feature of Hideo Nakata's Dark Water (his predecessor of Ring) and Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World.
However, Hur Jin-Ho's One Fine Spring Day made up for my disappointment in spades. Seemingly an uninteresting film about a love affair over a year, it is fiercely compelling - the audience in the theatre seemed happy to be lulled from the opening scene - Sang Woo chasing his dementia-ridden grandmother on bicycle[!]. Gentle, calm and directed with such confidence, the whole film had brilliant scenes back to back - no mediocre filler scenes in this one!  Sang Woo [Yoo Ji-tae] is a sound engineer and his job throws him into the company Eun-Su. Pretty soon they are in a relationship and film charts this event over the course of a year. As I said, seemingly a nothing film but on the contrary One Fine Spring Day has more dramatic highs and lows than your average flick. The breathtaking Korean countryside certainly helped and the performances by Yoo Ji-tae and Lee Young-Ae [last seen in Joint Security Area] were spot on.  There's such a solidness about this film that nothing can sway it from it's objective. And seemingly, neither could I! Rating: 9 heartbroken affairs out of 10
THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS Sometimes a misjudged ideal, a bit of ill advice, combined with stubbornness can really lead you up to shit creek and that is exactly where Masao Katakuri ended up in Miike Takashi's The Happiness of the Katakuris.
Being led to believe that a dump in the middle of nowhere up in the mountains could be the next big tourist destination, Masao drags his whole family there and sets up a Swiss style chalet guesthouse, hoping to spend the rest of his retirement in alpine bliss. His family - father, wife, daughter, son and granddaughter are put to work at the guesthouse but with nary a soul wandering by, his vision of working and living with his family is fading fast.  Just when he thinks his luck is changing, the guesthouse's first customer falls dead.  Part musical, part rock video, part Japanese serial melodrama, The Happiness of The Katakuris is one of a kind. It's hellbent on defying any sort of convention, forgoing screen credits with a brilliant and dark animation short. The film has many eyepopping and funny musical numbers with bizarre fantasy sequences and Miike isn't afraid to reveal his love for cheesy 80s kitsch with a karaoke Eurovision-like number.  It's like The Sound of Music with its sugary coating replaced with wasabi and probably a whole lot of condiments thrown in as well.  The only criticism would be that the musical numbers got a little grating towards the end but you certainly couldn't criticise it for the lack of variety or the lack of trying. It made me laugh and I was entertained. Rating: 7 cheesy karaoke numbers out of 10
BEIJING ROCKS HK director Mabel Cheung has decided to turn her attention to the underground Beijing rock scene in which she captures the sweaty desperation, energy and frenzy of this movement with much success.  Or perhaps that was also the brilliance of Crouching Tiger cinematographer Peter Pau?
Michael [Daniel Wu], a troubled HK singer songwriter, tags along with Lu [Geng Le], the charismatic lead singer of a hard core Beijing band while awaiting trial for behaviour misdemeanour [he started a fight in a pub. Oo-er.] Michael experiences the bumpy life of a Beijing band on the run, finding inspiration for his shallow songs but things get complicated when he falls for Lu's girlfriend, Yang Yin [Shu Qi]  Subject- wise the underground rock scene provides fascinating insight and this is where it works best, the visceral energy and vibrancy is so undeniable that everything else comes off looking cheap and out of place [that includes the love triangle]. However, there's plenty going on and plenty to eyeball in the film - sweaty rock boys and rock girls, the night life, the HK/China cultural differences, the strip shows, the Beijing rocker's life on the road, running from the law. So much so that the film never reaches a climax. Or perhaps it's been traveling on a high from start to finish? You decide for yourself - I was engrossed for most of the film. Rating: 7 Mexican jumping beans out of 10
JULY RHAPSODY My last SFF outing was Ann Hui's July Rhapsody about a man who has a mid-life crisis. Lam [Jacky Cheung], a middle aged teacher, is a man who sees his existence as one life-long exam [oh dear!].  Living on the edge is not even a choice he will consider as he strives to be the best student, teacher, husband and father and for the last 40 odd years he has succeeded.
However that doesn't mean he doesn't wonder about the what-ifs. What if he had not married his childhood love Ching [Anita Mui], what if he hadn't become a teacher, what if, what if…. All these questions are simmering wildly underneath Lam's mild façade, shown with acute observation by Ann Hui and conveyed with aplomb by Jacky Cheung - his students lack of interest in Chinese poetry, a subject he adores, his youngest son obvious rebellion, his college friends' markedly different lifestyle. His steadfastness to the principles he has adhered to in the last few decades is sorely tested when one of his students Choi Nam [Karena Lam] is openly flirtatious. To add to his confusion, the return of his poetry teacher Sheng, brings back a family secret that threatens his already unstable marriage.  Lam's well controlled life begins to unravel. For a film where very little happens - this is an affecting and richly layered film. There's a very fragile tone to this film, as if every mannerism and action will cause the biggest upset. It does, but not in the sensationalist fashion that is typically seen in Hollywood films. Ann Hui keeps her characters very human and her observations so subtle that they threatened to disappear altogether. However, it's surprisingly engrossing and a rewarding experience. Like me you might not notice the film effects initially, but many moments still linger in my head and I also have a new respect for Chinese poetry! A worthy effort! Rating: 8 lush chinese poems out of 10   That's the wrap for 2002 SFF! What a great selection of films in the program - I'm lucky to have sampled the few films I did. Hope you all managed to catch something at the festival too. Here's to an even better festival next year! Reviewed by Ching Yee
ABOUT THE SYDNEY  FILM FESTIVAL : 7 - 21 June, 2002 Dendy Opera Quays Website www.sydneyfilmfestival.org Asian films screened in 2002: Bad Guy (d. Kim Ki-duk). [Korea] Beijing Rocks! (d. Mabel Cheung). [Hong Kong/China] Dark Water (d. Hideo Nakata). [Japan] The Happiness of the Katakuris (d. Miike Takashi). [Japan] July Rhapsody (d. Ann Hui). [Hong Kong/China] The Marriage Certificate (d. Huang Jianxin). [China] One Fine Spring Day (d. Hur Jin-ho). [Japan/South Korea] Take Care of my Cat (d. Jeong Jae-eun). [South Korea] Whispering Sands (d. Nan T. Achnas). [Indonesia/Japan]

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