Category: Narrative

By Joe Bendel. They were not called dark ages for nothing. Battlefield carnage and an inflexible class system are the realities of the day. Yet, the charismatic leader of a band of mercenaries has unthinkably lofty aspirations in Toshiyuki Kubooka’s Berserk the Golden Age Arc I: The Egg of the King, the feature anime adaptation of Kentara Miura’s popular manga series, recently released on DVD and Blu-ray by Viz Media.

The relatively young looking Guts is a ferocious sword-for-hire if paid well enough, but he is not a joiner. Nonetheless, the mysterious Griffith is determined to recruit him for his “Band of the Hawk” mercenary troupe. While Guts easily overpowers Griffith’s best warriors, including the fiercely loyal Casca, he is no match for their angelically effeminate leader. Bested in a fair fight, Guts swears fealty to Griffith, quickly becoming his favorite.

Thanks to Guts’ reckless courage, the Band of the Hawk earns the gratitude of the Midland Kingdom. Much to the shock and disdain of the nobility, Griffith is rewarded with a title. However, he has even further ambitions, including catching the eye of the Princess. It will probably end badly if you believe the prophecy of Nosferatu Zodd, but you can’t always accept the word of giant demonic mercenaries.

While the Berserk series was produced in Japan (with the original Japanese soundtrack available as a DVD option for purists), it was clearly shaped by the Medieval Europe that served as the foundation of Tolkien’s Middle Earth and most subsequent epic fantasy series. Yet, the anti-heroism of Egg is rather distinctive. Indeed, the opening battle sequences are unusually stylishly by anime standards, yet surprisingly brutal.

Intended for mature audiences, Egg should be considered anime for Game of Thrones fans. Blood will definitely run. There is even some brief fan service provided by Casca. While most of the target audience is probably already familiar with the franchise characters, new arrivals pretty much have to roll with the punches. We can glean there were some difficult childhoods in the past, forging everyone into lethal warriors. Of course, how much characterization do you need in the middle of a full scale siege?

As dark and moody as Egg gets, it never lets the angst interfere with the action.  As a result, the awkwardly titled Berserk the Golden Age Arc I: the Egg of the King delivers all kinds of hack-and-slash, making it a fitting stocking stuffer for a reasonably “grown-up” fantasy fanatic awaiting the new season of Thrones and the final Wheel of Time novel. Recommended pretty enthusiastically for genre and anime fans that prefer blood and guts over magical devices, Berserk … King is now available for home viewing from Viz.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on December 12th, 2012 at 8:30am.

By Joe Bendel. She was one the biggest stars of her generation but the press was out to get her. Eerily, Ruan Lingyu’s short life paralleled the trajectories of her most tragic roles. Her career was marked by scandal, making her story a natural for big screen adaptation. Mixing narrative with documentary snippets, Stanley Kwan sympathetically profiles Ruan in Center Stage, which fittingly concludes the Asia Society’s Goddess film series tomorrow.

There are two divas in Stage, Ruan and Lily Li, played by two divas of a later generation: Maggie Cheung and Carina Lau, respectively. A gifted actress, Ruan is often called the Greta Garbo of Republican China. She gained fame as a romantic heroine, but is now best remembered for her more politically charged films. Unfortunately, she fell for the wrong man at an early age. Arguably, it was a mistake Ruan significantly repeated once, perhaps twice. Ultimately, her ne’er do well ex would serve as the media’s willing tool.

Stage can be quite maddening, because it recreates scenes from many of Ruan’s films that are now considered lost. Many of them look like they were really darn good, but we can only hope they eventually turn up in a mysterious film vault someplace. Naturally, Kwan also gives the audience a behind-the-scenes look at the surviving classics, Goddess and New Women, which kicked off the Asia Society’s retrospective last month.

Cheung is not a bad likeness for Ruan, perfectly expressing her brittle vulnerability. Her Ruan struggles to maintain a placid façade, but she obviously feels the sleights of others on a very deep level. Indeed, screenwriter Peggy Chiao clearly ascribes a great deal of her success as an actress to her remarkable empathy. It is a star turn from Cheung, justly awarded best actress at the 42nd Berlinale.

Kwan’s talking head segments, both archival and original black-and-white interviews with cast and crew, give the film a stop-and-start rhythm that can be distracting. Still, much of this commentary is rather interesting stuff, including the final sit-down granted by Li Lily, Ruan’s friend and fellow diva (represented in the Goddess series with Daybreak). Cheung’s sympathetic take on Ruan adds an intriguing meta-dimension to the film. Her candid segments also serve as a reminder how striking she is, considering how pale and drawn she often looks when appearing in character as Ruan.

At well over two and a half hours, Stage truly brims with ambition. Sort of the HK equivalent of Jessica Lange’s Frances Farmer bio-pic, it is a finely crafted period production that should satisfy Ruan’s fans with its earnest ardor for their star. Viewers will come to feel like they understand the exquisitely morose idol, yet suspect there is something about her that will always remain unknowable. Anchored by a great lead performance, Center Stage is highly recommended for fans of Ruan, Cheung, and Hong Kong cinema in general when it screens tomorrow (12/8), wrapping up the Goddess film series at the Asia Society.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on December 7th, 2012 at 11:09am.

By Joe Bendel. Where are the Griswolds when you need them? It is the season for sentimentality and Edward Burns intends to indulge. He returns to Long Island for a big Irish family get together in The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, which opens today in New York.

Their mother’s birthday is two days before Christmas, but aside from Gerry, her favorite, none of the grown Fitzgerald children want to come home to celebrate. Grown might be too strong a word. Let’s say they are over twenty-one. Gerry is the professional martyr who still lives at home. He has four sisters whose names are impossible to keep straight. It is easier to just number them in accordance with how annoying they are, number four being the most insufferable. He also has two brothers, one of whom would have been forgotten were it not for a handy set of press notes.

There is still a Fitzgerald father out there, but he is dead to Rosie Fitzgerald after he walked out on her when the brood was still quite young. Unfortunately, Jim Fitzgerald will be dead to everyone soon. His final wish is to spend his last Christmas with the family. Gerry tries pleading his case, but his mother and assorted siblings remain steadfastly opposed.

Various other family dramas crop up, including Sister #1’s pregnancy with her abusive husband. Brother Quinn and Sister #4 are pursuing significantly younger and older romantic partners, respectively, while Sister #3 sent her husband packing in favor of their landscaper. Sister #2 actually has a presentable husband and young baby, but she is still absolutely miserable to be around. Meanwhile, completely forgettable Brother Cyril just got out of rehab. Right, good luck with that.

Christmas with the Fitzgeralds will make viewers convert to Buddhism. The only appealing scenes involve Brother Gerry’s awkward courtship of Nora Daugherty, the nurse of a longtime family friend. It is nice to see realistically flawed, everyday looking (slightly worn even) people develop a down-to-earth relationship. Reuniting from The Brothers McMullen, Burns and Connie Britton display real romantic chemistry together. He helms these sequences with a sensitive touch the rest of the middling family chaos lacks.

Granted, it should also be noted Ed Lauter might just give a career performance as the remorseful absentee father. In fact, there are several very nice supporting turns peppered throughout this overstuffed holiday feast of subplots, each of which is neatly resolved, lest they spoil the turkey. While not an outright affront to cinema, The Fitzgerald Family Christmas is unlikely to become anyone’s holiday tradition. More liable to test viewers’ patience, it opens today (12/7) in New York at the Village East.

LFM GRADE: C-

Posted on December 7th, 2012 at 11:08am.

By Joe Bendel. Ouyang Feng is an agent for freelance swordsmen looking for some dirty work. You could call him a cutthroat’s cutthroat. Likewise, when it comes to love, he is a cynic’s cynic. If you suppose a woman was the cause of his hardened heart, you would be correct. It is a logical guess, considering Wong Kar Wai’s Ashes of Time Redux screens this Friday as part of the Asia Society’s film series Goddess: Chinese Women on Screen.

Instead of adapting Louis Cha’s epic novel The Eagle-Shooting Heroes, Wong conceived of an original pseudo-prequel that can be fully appreciated without prior familiarity with its inspiration. Every year, the swashbuckler Huang Yaoshi pays a visit to his friend Ouyang’s desert home. Both are men with complicated pasts. For his latest visit, Huang brings a bottle of supposedly enchanted wine that is said to induce forgetfulness. Huang imbibes. Ouyang does not.

After Huang disappears, apparently under the effects of the potent drink, Ouyang carries on with business. However, his next clients are somehow involved with his soul-sick friend. Clan leader Murong Yang recruits Ouyang to murder Huang in retribution for spurning his sister, Murong Yin. Soon thereafter, the sister tries to hire Ouyang to murder her compulsively controlling brother. In a hallucinatory evening (which is par for the course in Ashes), Ouyang realizes Yin and Yang are the same divided person.

The seasons pass, but it is hard judge time in the desert. Ouyang recruits a wandering swordsman to defend the village from a band of outlaws. His skills are formidable, but he is rapidly losing his sight. The man’s one desire is to see his native land once again before going completely blind. Eventually, Ouyang also yearns for home, where the woman he once loved lives as his brother’s wife.

Redux is the restored and reworked de facto director’s cut of Ashes Wong oversaw when he realized how many dubious copies of the film were in circulation. Featuring fight choreography by Sammo Hung, it is quite stylistically daring by martial art film standards, bordering on the outright experimental. There is indeed a fair amount of combat, but the action is rendered impressionistically and blurred, almost like a series of freeze frames.

As promised, there are also several divas, including Brigitte Lin in sort of a dual role as the Murongs. Although she is always recognizable, Lin brings a conviction to both personas that keeps the audience off-balance. Yet it is Maggie Cheung who really lowers the diva boom as the woman from Ouyang’s past. Emotionally devastating but never indulgent or showy, it might represent the best second-for-second cameo ever. As a bonus, Charlie Young is a genuinely haunting presence as the peasant girl out to avenge her brother.

While the film’s color palette reportedly varies depending on its various editions, any retrospective of cinematographer Christopher Doyle’s work ought to start or finish with Ashes. The golds and burnt-umbers of Redux are absolutely striking. Frankly, Ashes Redux is a daring classic of the genre that might be new to a lot of people who might think they have seen it already (like a wuxia Blade Runner). Highly recommended, Ashes of Time Redux screens this Friday (12/7) at the Asia Society.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on December 6th, 2012 at 11:00am.