Posted on: Friday, November 1, 2002
MOVIE SCENE
Film festival promises opulent feast for movie lovers
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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| India's mystical, extravagant spectacle "Devdas" is a retelling of Sara Chandra Chatterjee's 1913 novel. Paro (Aishwarya Rai) and Devdas (Shah Rukh Khan) have shared a special bond since childhood. Their love is put to the test when Devdas is sent away to England to further his studies.
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Hawai'i International Film Festival • Today though Nov. 10 at Dole Signature Theatres, Doris Duke at the Academy, Waikiki 2 and 3 Theatres, Neal Blaisdell Center, and one screening at "Sunset on the Beach" • $10 opening gala tonight at Waikiki 2, $7 general ($6 children, military, students, those 62 and older); $1 discount for matinees before 6 p.m. • 528-4433 • Program guide at the Dole Signature Theatres, and Starbucks and Blockbuster outlets statewide • Also: Nov. 8-10 on Maui (808-573-4242), Moloka'i (808-553-3455), Kaua'i (808-823-8444) and the Big Island (East Hawai'i 808-969-9412, West Hawai'i 808-322-2323) |
From short film nibbles to main feature entrees, the Hawai'i International Film Festival, today through Nov. 10, is ready to serve a diverse feast for movie-goers.
Movies from South Korea (earning a "spotlight" status, with 10 films on the docket), Japan, India, China, New Zealand and the United States are part of a 200-plus roster. HIFF boasts 18 world premieres and 36 U.S. premieres, which is a lot of celluloid and tape.
But exposure from the international and national press may be somewhat minimal this year. Variety, the showbiz bible, is sending a reviewer. Other publications and TV sources, normally here for the hoopla, are bypassing the Hawai'i ticket.
"We just don't have a lot of reviewers because we just don't have funding to accommodate them," said Chuck Boller, festival executive director. No money and limited air transportation mean minimal media presence.
Here are some films to check out — titles we've seen and can recommend. Interestingly, most of the films large and small have links to HIFF's mission of fostering understanding among ethnicities; a story set in one nation has parallels in another:
• "YMCA Baseball Team" (Korea): Kim Hyunseok's charming film employs baseball to serve as political essay (Korean loyalty vs. Japanese imperialism) as well as a universal pursuit of a dream (the underdog as winner) amid familial tradition. Song Kang-ho stars as Hochang, who defies his father's wishes to play baseball and become his own person. Opening night film, at 6:30 p.m. today, Waikiki 2 Theatre.
• "Devdas" (India): A mammoth Bollywood spectacle, retelling Sara Chandra Chatterjee's 1913 novel, with all the bells and whistles of a Hollywood epic. Shah Ruck Khan plays the title character, whose life from tot to adult is played out with stunning extravagance, though sequences, lavishly costumed and choreographed, are repetitive.
• "On_Line" (USA): An edgy, gritty indie entry from director Jed Weintrob. Computer whiz John (Josh Hamilton) owns, runs and maintains an online porn site with his roomie Moe (Harold Perrineau, from "Oz"). They peek into the lives and users, tapping on several "types" — a lonely college kid, a gay onliner looking for action, a "performer" who enjoys sharing her antics, etc. Stark slice-of-life vignettes and situations (drugs, masturbation, suicide), nudity and crude language make this adult fare.
• "Jalla! Jalla!" (Swedish/Arabic): Josef Fares' oddball debut about two buddies Roro (Fares Fares) and Mans (Torkel Petersson). The former is trying to ward off an arranged marriage by his family, the latter is working on his inability to "perform." A motley crew of characters abounds, including a one-eyed Lebanese grandmother, a dirty-talking parrot, girlfriends who are overly trusting or sexually dissatisfied.
• "Barrier Drive" (USA): Grace Lee's 26-minute short is as fresh as today. Audrey (Sandra Oh), rebounding from a failed relationship, researches the use of female condoms. One of her subjects, Serena (Suzy Nakamura), is seeing Audrey's ex. The conclusion is predictable but still fascinating.
• "To Dance With White Dog" (Japan): A white dog, who may or may not be a ghost/spirit, appears and reappears in this emotional and evocative portrait of love and death, from director Takashi Tsukinoki. No, it's not a traditional obake story, but it plays mind-games with beautiful results.
• "Ki ho'alu (Loosen the Key)" (Hawai'i): Kenneth Burgmaier's eloquent film is both a documentary about the island-style guitar tradition as well as a concert film of Keola Beamer's relaxing and riveting artistry. In interviews and performance, Beamer shows why he's among the best — and applauded by Willie Nelson, Willie K, Cindy Combs, Ledward Ka'apana, Cyril Pahinui and Ozzie Kotani. Of course, wife Moana dances and Mom Nona Beamer explains, in her charming manner, the notion of Hawaiian mele and hula: to tell a story, to preserve the culture.
• "Biography of Hawai'i: Aunti Maiki Aiu Lake" (Hawai'i): The first of a Hawai'i Public Television biography series (the film also shows on KHET this month), this portrait of the beloved kumu hula, by director by Joy Chong-Stannard, is the essence of hula. It gives the viewer an inspiring look at Lake's role in the growth and appreciation of dance, as seen through the eyes and voices of her students, from daughter Coline Aiu, who continues the tradition, to community stalwarts Robert Cazimero, Gordean Bailey, Milton I, Momi Kepilino, Puakea Nogelmeier, Kahauanu Lake, Kalena Silva and more.
