30-3-09: 100 YEARS AND COUNTING…

prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" / 

Calvin Logan takes aim at HK cinema

Hong Kong Filmart and festival still pulls a crowd.

Global meltdown notwithstanding, the 2009 prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /Hong Kong film week, consisting of a festival, an awards show and a market at which movie buyers and sellers meet, was as lively as ever. There weren’t that many hot ticket titles being snapped up by major distributors, but there didn’t seem to be any decrease in the number of regional productions shooting or shot. Of course, there are less Hong Kong movies than there were back in the glory days, but most major Chinese productions boast a disproportionate amount of our local talent, and it seems reports of the industry’s death have been premature, if not exaggerated.

Things kicked off with the opening night gala premiere, a double bill of Derek Yee’s Shinjuku Incident and Ann Hui’s Night and Fog. This was not an evening for the faint hearted. Shinjuku is, by a huge margin, the darkest Jackie Chan film to date (unless you count The Medallion, and that may just be my personal perception…). My old friend Simon Yam proves, yet again, that he is one of the finest screen actors in the world (let alone Hong Kong). Yes, he makes too many films, but, when he’s on his game, as he is in this grim tale of a family tragedy, there’s no-one better. Fortunately, audience members were fortified by the free Grey Goose vodka cocktails provided before hand. (And, now I’ve mentioned the brand, my supply will continue unabated…)

Far lighter fare was on display the following day, when my friend Nishi Fuyuhiko premiered his new film High Kick Girl. Nishi-san was previously trainer to Japanese star Kou Shibasaki when she made Shaolin Girl. That film was fun, but my biggest complaint was that, for a film with that title, they didn’t deliver enough ‘Shaolin’. Nishi-san’s new project lives up to its title, and its leading lady kicks high, fast and frequently. A few years back, I met Nishi in his Tokyo office, and suggested that he could only make a real impact by coming up with a new style of cinematic budo. His earlier film Black Belt (Kuro Obi) came close, and, with his latest project, he nails it. Osu!

I went backstage before the press conference for Teddy Chen’s Bodyguards and Assassins, the film formerly known as Dark October. (The title change occurred because, as we all know, the workers’ paradise that is the PRC was inaugurated in October, so that month is sacrosanct, and ‘Bright October’ doesn’t have the same ring.) This project has been around forever. I once worked with Teddy on the English version of the original script. He was all set to shoot when, the day before filming, his producer committed suicide. Finally, his persistence is rewarded, and he’s put an A list local cast together (Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Nicholas Tse, Simon Yam, Tony Leung Kar-fai…) all of whom were on-hand.

Later that afternoon, kung fu idol Wu Jing rolled in to attend the press call for his new film Kung Fu Cyborg. Now there’s a title to conjure with. I always like a movie to be named so that you know what you’re getting. Unbearable Lightness of Being, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind… Who needs that? Kung Fu Cyborg tells you right off what to expect: cyborgs… and kung fu!

That evening saw the third year of the Asian Film Awards. These are to the Hong Kong Film Awards what the Golden Globes are the Oscars. They’re conducted largely in English, and, as someone frequently forced to conduct meetings in my second language, my respect goes out to those Asian presenters gamely tackling theirs, live on stage. As ever, the event produced some eyebrow raising moments. Jung Woo-sung gamely accepted an award for Best Supporting actor for The Good, The Bad and The Weird, observing wryly (and accurately) that he’d been under the impression that (as The Good) he was one of the leads! My friend Max Mannix co-wrote Best Picture winner Tokyo Sonata, but wasn’t on-hand to received his prize for best script. Apparently, no-one invited him! For shame…

The after party was located at the pool bat of the Hyatt. Having an expanse of water and alcohol just feet apart is never a good idea, but, at least up until I left, no-one had fallen in. Not even Cinematographer Chris Doyle, who was back in town and in great form.

After a quick pit stop there, I headed off to a late night meet and greet at the Emperor Hotel in Happy Valley. Fest guest Oliver Stone was there, as was a Beijing-bound Jackie Chan, who left early for the Chinese premiere of Shinjuku. Given that I was there on business, I resisted demands for me to belt out some Elvis… for at least ten minutes.

Given that we're celebrating a hundred years of Hong Kong film-making, it was great to see that the industry's energy seemed, today, anyway, not the least diminished. (Or maybe that's just the Grey Goose talking...)