The Asian angle

Published on October 26, 2007

Since the artistry of Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" captured the world's imagination in 2000, the contemporary cinema of east and southeast Asia continues to attract viewers and attention.

Following Asian gurus like veteran Lee and arthouse hero Wong Kar-wai, other Asian filmmakers such as Thai directors Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Wisit Satsanatieng and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, have taken their films on the road, staking out territory on the world's cinematic map at film festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Toronto.

At World Film Festival of Bangkok, three films from east and southeast Asia have been selected to compete with films from Argentina, Austria, the Netherlands, Turkey, Israel/France and the US in this year's Harvest of Talents awards. They are the musical "881" from Singapore, the erotic "Help Me Eros" from Taiwan and the dramatic "Tokyo Tower - Mom & Me, and Sometimes Dad" from Japan.

Royston Tan's "881", delves into the colourful world of the city-state's "getai" musical culture, which really can't be compared to anything else in the world, except for perhaps Thailand's luk thung scene.

Tan, 31, was named one of Asia's "under 40" heroes by Time Asia in 2004. His "15" (2004) portrays an intense, graphic exploration of Singapore's unseen underbelly. "Tan's willingness to push the creative envelope has made him a hero to the city's independent artists. When censors wanted to gut "15", Tan stood firm - he knew his film depended on its honesty - even as the authorities finally forced more than 20 cuts," fellow Singaporean director Eric Khoo wrote in Time.

From Taiwan, the critically acclaimed "Help Me Eros" is directed by Lee Kang-sheng, who has worked as an actor in the films of the daring Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang. Tsai makes his imprint as executive producer of the film. A nominee for the Golden Lion at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, this bold, humorous and exquisite look at surreal sexuality, follows the exploits of a young businessman Ah Jie (Lee) who has lost everything in a stock market crash. He spends his days in his sealed apartment, smoking pot and looking after the marijuana plants that he secretly grows in his wardrobe. A call to a suicide hotline launches him into a dream world as he fantasises about the woman on the other end of the phone line.

The Japanese drama "Tokyo Tower - Mom & Me, and Sometimes Dad" is based on Lily Franky's popular book about a talented, but lazy illustrator named Masaya whose his life becomes a melodrama as his mother is sick with cancer. The director, Joji Matsuoka, 46, is well known for his 1990 teen romance, "Swimming Upstream".

Weekend talks to festival director Kriengsak "Victor" Silakong about these three films and the state of contemporary Asian cinema.

There are three Asian films in competition. Does the selection reflect the quality of Asian film in general?

The three films in competition are strong portrayals of traditional Asian values against the backdrop of modern society.

Why did you select these three films? What are the strong points of each story? What about the directors and their directorial style?

In "881", by "l'enfant terrible" of Singapore, Royston Tan, Tan manages to pick on his country. I wish to see more of this in Thai cinema. With "Help me Eros", Lee Kang-sheng came up with a brave view of life vs lust in modern society. We have to be honest when it comes to the subject of sex, and he is one of the few who is brave enough to take it on. "Tokyo Tower", is the classic Asian way of doing melodrama - no one on Earth does this better than us.

All three were selected to show at Venice, Cannes and Toronto and other prominent film festivals. This reflects that Asian films are now on the world cinema map and that they are here to stay. Nowadays it seems like more and more Asian films are getting noticed in West. What can you say about that?

Asian directors like Ang Lee or Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, Nonzee Nimibutr and many more are the pride of Asia. They really wowed the Western world with their unique styles and story telling. It's our era. Asia is in and will be in for a long time to come.

Will the World Film Festival follow the trend - of discovering quality Asian films?

We are trying to promote good names and quality names. I look forward to the coming years when films from our Produire Au Sud funding project start to come out.

As you have been participating at these festivals for over a decade, how did you come to recognise the significance of Asian contemporary films (including Thai films by Apichatpong, Pen-ek or Wisit) in the global context?

I was in Argentina and watched Pen-ek's "Last Life in the Universe" on TV in my hotel room. People in Lima, Peru asked me about "Mr Weerasethakul". These people should be looked upon as our national heroes.

While the world cinema scene is more interested in Asian contemporary films, the countries where the films originate seem less interested. Ang Lee's critically acclaimed "Lust, Caution" had to be re-edited to avoid censorship in his homeland and also in China. Apichatpong's "Syndromes and a Century" was censored in Thailand. "Help Me Eros" may face the same problem. Do you have any comment on this issue?

We are living in a Third World country, where the leaders are so narrow minded. They can never stop us if we really stand up and fight. Besides, there will be more support from film lovers in the outside world who admire these kinds of works everywhere.

Like other film festivals, does the World Film Festival aim to explore Asian films, support them and bring them to the public eye?

Our team will definitely go for that. We want those great films for the cool audiences we love.

Many films at these festivals reflect contemporary culture in Asia. Some discuss taboo topics, others talk about revolutionaries or secrets of society and culture, and bring them to worldwide audiences. Is it worth the risk?

Film is very political in many ways. It really provokes and stirs things up in our society. If we have strong quality films, it proves that our body, soul and spirit also grows.

Hong Kong, Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese films have long been on the world map. What about  Thai film? Will the World Film Festival help springboard Thai films as well as other southeast Asian films?

We are trying our best, and not only for Asian cinema. We succeeded to bring the best of Turkish, Czech and Polish cinema in the past years, and we will continue to give more to our audiences.

Phatarawadee Phataranawik