The official selection has been announced for the 71st Cannes Film Festival running 8-19 May 2018 in its traditional homeland in the south of France. It’s all the name of the festival, you see. As The Reel Bits has long put Asia in Focus, we thought we’d take a closer look at the Asian cinema screening in Competition, Un Certain Regard, and during the midnight screenings.
With any luck, some of these films will make it to the Sydney Film Festival in June or the Melbourne International Film Festival in August.
COMPETITION
Asako I & II
(Japan, Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Happy Hour was one of our favourite films last year, despite (or perhaps because) of the fact that the 5-hour film took a leisurely stroll through the lives of a group of women. Based on the novel by Tomoka Shibasaki, it follows Asako (Erika Karata) a young women in Osaka who falls in love with free-spirit Baku (Masahiro Higashide). Baku disappears, and 2 years later she meets Ryohei (Masahiro Higashide), who is physically similar but very different to her ex-boyfriend. This is one we are very excited by, even if it’s another 5 hours from the filmmaker.
Ash Is Purest White
(China, Dir: Jia Zhang-Ke)
Jia Zhang-Ke’s sixth screening at Cannes, the one-time underground filmmaker has continued to rise to prominence in his native China and around the world. Starring Starring Zhao Tao and Liao Fan, the epic film with span almost two-decades in Datong, where a young dancer is caught up in a rivalry between gangs and takes a fall for love.
Burning
(South Korea, Dir: Lee Chang-Dong)
An adaptation of the short story “Barn Burning” written by Haruki Murakami, the mysterious trailer doesn’t give much away, as we only know that an incident has occurred between Jong-Soo (Yoo Ah-In), Ben and Hae-Mi (Jeon Song-Seo). Also starring Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Okja). Director Lee Chang-Dong is best known for his films Secret Sunshine (2007) and Poetry (2010), which won the best screenplay award at Cannes.
Shoplifters
(Japan, Dir: Hirokazu Kore-eda)
This is definitely one of our most anticipated films of the year. The latest film from the Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda, it features an amazing cast that sees regular collaborator Lily Franky appearing alongside Sakura Ando and Mayu Matsuoka, it follows another father/son relationship where shoplifting is part of their bonding experience. The dynamic changes when Franky’s character finds a little girl freezing, and decides to bring her home to his family.
OUT OF COMPETITION
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
(China, Dir: Bi Gan)
Bi Gan garnered a great international reputation thanks to Kali Blues, and his new film (also known as Roadside Picnic) follows a man going back to his hometown of Guizhou, where he discovers traces of a mysterious woman he spent the summer with her twenty years ago. The cast includes Tang Wei, Sylvia Chang and Chen Yongzhong.
DIRECTOR’S FORTNIGHT
Mirai of the Future
(Japan, Dir: Mamoru Hosoda)
Animation powerhouse Mamoru Hosoda’s film is one of our most anticipated animated films of the year. Since Summer Wars, Mamoru Hosoda’s output has earned him a massive reputation of being ‘the next Miyazaki.’ Not for nothing: those films have included Wolf Children and The Boy and the Beast.
The Pluto Moment
(China, dir: Zhang Ming)
Zhang Ming’s first film in over 5 years, Screen Daily describes his latest: “It’s a film that talks about cinema, politics and the relationship between the town and the countryside.”
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
10 Years in Thailand
(Thailand, Dir: Aditya Assarat, Wisit Sasanatieng, Chulayarnon Sriphol & Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Following the success of the 10 Year project from Andrew Choi, following the Umbrella Protest and a chronicle of Hong Kong in 10 years, a group of Thai filmmakers have gathered together to envisage a similar series of shorts for Thailand. There’s a Ten Years Japan project also underway.
Dead Souls
(China, Dir: Wang Bing)
What did we say about a 5-hour film? Pfft. Wang Bing’s follow-up to Mrs. Fang is an 8 hour and 15 minute piece about dying. Put aside a day to think about your life.
MIDNIGHT SCREENING
The Spy Gone North
(South Korea, Dir: Yoon Jong-Bing)
In this time of tense relations with North Korea, this film is based on the true story of…well, you get the idea. Set just prior to the 1997 elections for the South Korean President, the film previously known as Operation stars Hwang Jung-Min, Lee Sung-Min, Cho Jin-Woong, and Ju Ji-Hoon.
