October 20 - 27, 2005
COMING SOON

KENJI MIZOGUCHI RETROSPECTIVE (Oct. 31 - Nov. 22)
Japans often-unseen master gets a full retro (well, pretty full) out at BAM.

PULSE (Nov. 9) Coming out in the fall, this is Kiyoshi Kurosawa's most accessible flick, and one of the best Japanese horror movies ever made. If you're tired of dead wet girls with long black hair then this one's for you.
read a review:
http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/kairo.shtml

NOW PLAYING
Cinema Village
THE PRESIDENT'S LAST BANG (2005, Korea)
Kino trots out this super-controversial Korean flick about the assassination of President Park back in the early 80's - starring the always-incredible Han Suk-Gyu and Baek Yoon-Sik (the CEO in SAVE THE GREEN PLANET). Totally scatological, funnier than a film about presidential assassination has any right to be, and so well-made and intense that it puts American political thrillers to shame.
read a review:
http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm05.html#lastbang

Film Forum
Naruse: THE UNKNOWN JAPANESE MASTER
October 21 - November 17
The director fired from Shochiku when the owner of the studio said, "The last thing I need is two Ozus," Mikio Naruse is practically unknown all over the world, and mostly unseen. Now, in a massive gamble, Film Forum is bringing a large retrospective of his movies to town and hoping enough people want to see this most restrained, delicate and heartbreaking of Japanese directors to make it worthwhile. Do your thing, and give them some love.
More info:
http://www.filmforum.org/films/naruse.html
A great essay on Naruse:
http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0542,stephens,68959,20.html

ImaginAsian Theater
(239 East 59th Street, btwn 2nd and 3rd Ave)
THE PRESIDENT'S LAST BANG (2005, Korea)
read a review:
http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm05.html#lastbang

2046 (2005, Hong Kong)
Wong Kar-wai's latest features Tony Leung Chiu-wai flirting with and seducing Faye Wong, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau and, most memorably, Zhang Ziyi. A spiritual successor to IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, this WKW movie represents the end of the road for the DAYS OF BEING WILD crowd.
read reviews:
http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/2046

Japan Society
AFTER THE WAR: September 27 - October 23
A screening series looking at postwar Japan.
Go here for full details:
http://www.japansociety.org/events/category.cfm?id_category=1

A MAN'S FACE IS HIS RESUME (1966, Japan, 89 minutes)
Sunday, October 23 @ 2PM
Tai Kato, one of Japan's most undervalued and stylish directors, offers up a brutal, noir look at simmering racial tensions in postwar Japan.
more details:
http://www.japansociety.org/events/event_detail.cfm?id_event=374869285&id_performance=749416326

Korean Cultural Service
The Korean Cultural Service presents monthly video projections of independent and mainstream movies.

ORIGINAL FILM NIGHT
Thursday, October 21 @ 6:30PM
Three short documentary movies by Yi June-Yup, Kim Min-Hyoung and Park Won-Young: AFTER THE CHAIN IS BROKEN, SELF-PORTRAIT and two by Yi, TWO WEEKS AGO I GOT A TATTOO and I AM DRIVING IN MY CAR, I AM WALKING UP THE HILL
more info:
http://www.koreanculture.org/11cine/night.htm

THE BOW (2005, Korea)
Thursday, November 10 @ 6:30PM
Kim Ki-Duk's latest movie which played at this year's Cannes.
read a review:
http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm05.html#bow

A BITTERSWEET LIFE (2005, Korea)
Thursday, November 30 @ 6:30PM
Kim Ji-Won's first movie since A TALE OF TWO SISTERS is a hardboiled, eyeball ravaging flick about gangsters with problems.
read a review:
http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm05.html#bittersweet

INNOCENT STEPS (2005, Korea)
Thursday, December 15 @ 6:30pm
A Chinese-Korean ballet dancer with no experience competes in Seoul!
more info:
http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1004031708/code-k/section-videos/

A TALE OF CINEMA (2005, Korea)
Thursday, December 29 @ 6:30PM
Hong Sang-Soo's art film has gotten good reviews all over the place. If you're a fan, you'll be there.
Read a review:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001221699

Landmark Sunshine
2046 (2005, Hong Kong)
read reviews:
http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/2046

Loew's State Theater
SALAAM NAMASTE (India, 2005)
The latest movie from India's Walt Disney, Yash Raj, is family-friendly entertainment (though it takes on the subject of abortion) with an urban romantic edge. It's making tons of money in the USA already and it's an "I hate you, I love you" romance between a chef played by Saif Ali Khan and a radio host played by Preity Zinta both living in Australia.
read a review:
http://planetbollywood.com/Film/SalaamNamaste/

Museum of Modern Art
Early Autumn: Masterworks of Japanese Cinema from the National Film Center, Tokyo
September 14 - January, 2006
Japan's National Film Center opens its archives and releases 53 prints of some of Japan's classic must-see films.
For the historically-minded, there's rare, early classics on hand like MR. THANK YOU, RICKSHAW MAN, WHERE CHIMNEYS ARE SEEN and INO AND MON.
If you're looking for early work by major directors, there's Mizoguchi's SISTERS OF THE GION and Kurosawa's SUGATA SANSHIRO.
And if you like your movies pulpy, don't miss MATANGO (ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE), GHOST STORY OF YOTSUYA and the first ZATOICHI movie, here called: THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF MASSEUR ICHI.
Full listings: http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/film_media/2005/japanese_cinema.html

Walter Reade
A CENTENARY OF CHINESE CINEMA (Oct. 21 - Nov. 10)
A huge (well, 32 movie) retrospective celebrating the 100 years of film in China. It includes modern classics like YELLOW EARTH (where the Fifth Generation got their start - sort of); China's biggest diva, Ruan Lingyu (played by Maggie Cheung in CENTRE STAGE) in GODDESS (and they've got a buy one ticket get another ticket to GODDESS for free deal good for this Friday night only: just show your print-out for one ticket at the box office and get the other for free); PLATFORM; both versions of SPRINGTIME IN A SMALL TOWN (the 2002 remake and the 1948 original); and Ruan Lingyu's last movie, NEW WOMAN, released just a few weeks before she killed herself.