">Forum Views ()
">Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Asia's dark pics make a splash at Cannes
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
Yahoo! Search
Search:
Sign InNew User? Sign Up
News Home -
Help
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Search
Search:
Asia's dark pics make a splash at Cannes
AFP - Monday, May 18
CANNES, France (AFP) - - Asia made a splash at Cannes with films from Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines this weekend, almost all throwing dark violent blood-spattered visions of the world onto festival screens.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hong Kong's Johnnie To offered "Vengeance", starring aging French rock idol Johnny Hallyday as a father out for blood after a family murder. A gangster movie shot like a western peppered with Triad shoot-outs, it is one of 20 films competing for the festival's coveted Palme d'Or.
A crowd of around 10,000 chanting "Johnny, Johnny" swarmed for a glimpse of the 65-year-old rock star for the evening premiere. "Do you have an invite? Johnny is my whole life," said one French fan.
Hallyday was last seen in a movie 24 years ago by Jean-Luc Godard.
From the Philippines, and also vying for the Palme, controversial love-him-or-hate-him director Brillante Mendoza's "Kinatay" (meaning "massacre") notably features corrupt cops hacking a prostitute to pieces with blunt kitchen knives.
Lone exception to the blood-and-gore on offer was "Mother" by Korea's young cult director Bong Joon-ho, although he is no stranger to violence in previous films such as "The Host" and "Memories of Murder".
His latest movie is a highly intense emotional tale of a mother's readiness to fight to the extreme to save her son, and it won the award-winning 39-year-old a standing ovation at its Cannes premiere.
But even that film, running for the Un Certain Regard prize for fresh upcoming talent, revolves around a murder and is fraught with contained tension.
"I'm interested in violence, but in this film I wanted the violence invisible though just as intense," Bong told AFP.
Casting veteran 70-year-old Korean star Kim Hye-ja as a mother ready to do the worst to save her mentally challenged son, Bong said in an interview that "after exploring Korean society in previous films, this time I wanted to concentrate on psychology."
"When a father or mother loses their reason because of love for a child, they can return to the state of beast," he added. "A mother can be a noble figure or a savage."
Mendoza, at Cannes for the second year running, (last year was the first time since 1984 the country had a film competing for the Palme) again split the critics, drawing both hisses and applause for "Kinatay".
Last year's "Serbis" was set in a Manila porn-theatre with long close-ups of festering boils and overflowing toilets, as well as the poverty and distress on the streets.
Still determined to portray the social reality around him, Mendoza in "Kinatay" traces 24 hours in the day of a trainee policeman, happily beginning with his wedding in the morning to close with the young man's first outing at night with a band of corrupt colleagues.
To his surprise, fear and anguish, they pick up a prostitute accused of betrayal and wind up torturing, raping, killing and hacking her before disposing of the body parts across Manila.
"This is not just entertainment, these kinds of stories are real," Mendoza said at a news conference.
Asked about his novel style and the lack of action and slow rhythm of his films, Mendoza said "I want people to have a different kind of experience, to be with the character rather than just watching from outside."
To's fast-action flick came as a stark contrast but failed to wow critics.
"This time I approached the movie like a western," To told AFP.
"I am a big fan of Sam Peckinpah, so this movie follow these codes," he said, referring to the legendary director of violent, but beautifully shot westerns such as "The Wild Bunch" and "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid".
Commenting on Hallyday, who variously speaks French and English in the film, To said: "I would describe him as an authentic tough guy. His eyes, you feel they carry a lot of stories, a lot of history, a lot of past with them."
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Sign in to recommend this article »
0 users recommend
Related Articles: Asia Pacific
EU cancels substantial aid to FijiAFP - Monday, May 18
Tiger supremo's son killed: Sri Lanka militaryAFP - Monday, May 18
Armed ship with nuclear fuel arrives in Japan: witnessAFP - Monday, May 18
Asia's dark pics make a splash at CannesAFP - Monday, May 18
'Intense' battles as Pakistan troops advance on TalibanAFP - Monday, May 18
Most Popular – Asia Pacific
Viewed
Popular cereal is a drug, US food watchdog says
Tough 4th spacewalk underway to repair Hubble
Coral Triangle could die by century's end: WWF
British store admits it boobed in bra row
Australian zoo evacuated after orangutan escape
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Community
- Intellectual Property Rights Policy
- Help
Other News on Monday, 18 May 2009 Canadian pianist in record-breaking concert
Iraqi Special Forces on the hunt for al Qaeda
| International
|
Zimbabwe's MDC asks AU, SADC to sort out deadlock
| International
|
Darfur rebels say Sudan army base seized
| International
|
Pain, progress, pride on day against homophobia
India's Congress prepares for government
Japan confirms '80 domestic swine flu cases'
Obama Credits "Honest, Thoughtful Dialogue" At Notre Dame Graduation
White House Budget Chief Says Economic "Freefall" Seems To Be Over
Treasury Aide To Help With Upcoming Supreme Court Confirmation Process
Congressional Republicans Weigh In On CIA, Pelosi Feud
Kidnapped California 3-Year-Old Reunited With Family
New York Officials Stage Mock Explosion; Largest Emergency Drill Since 9/11
Biden Reportedly Reveals Location Of "Secret" Vice Presidential Bunker
19 Arrested On Eve Of Obama's Planned Notre Dame Commencement Address
Wheel Falls Off Plane As It Lands In Buffalo
Boy's Body Found Buried In Albuquerque Playground Sandbox
"The Producers" wins rave reviews on German debut
Clouds on horizon for American Idol juggernaut?
| Entertainment
|
New Tom Hanks thriller fails to crack Code
| Entertainment
|
Congressional Republicans Weigh In On CIA, Pelosi Feud
Hamas, Fatah talks on unity gov't
Volkswagen, Porsche talks suspended amid spat
Sri Lanka fights Tiger remnants
| International
|
Myanmar's Suu Kyi faces trial, critics outraged
| International
|
Israel's Netanyahu to press Obama on nuclear Iran
| International
|
Afghan President's brother says survives ambush
| International
|
Japan opposition head revives election chances
| International
|
India's Congress cements power as markets surge
| International
|
China sex theme park comes to abrupt end
| International
|
After 60 years, Germans learn to love themselves
| International
|
Israel PM in US for talks on Mideast peace
Asia's dark pics make a splash at Cannes
AT&T to offer cloud-based storage as a service
| Technology
|
Swine flu spreads in Japan ahead of WHO meet
Japan confirms 93 swine flu cases
China retain badminton's Sudirman Cup
S.Korea bonds rise on weak shares; auctions eyed
Korea Hot Stocks
Seoul shares open down;N.Korea-related issues fall
NZ services sector weakens further in April-survey
Spain's Amenabar brings Cannes toga-clad philosophy flick
Billy Elliot adds more theater prizes ahead of Tonys
| Entertainment
|
Frenzied welcome home for Norwegian Eurovision winner
Fox contest seeks animated ideas
| Entertainment
|
Gays, lesbians in worldwide call for end to homophobia
New Terminator no fun without Schwarzenegger
| Entertainment
|
Box-office heaven for 'Angels and Demons'
Lars von Trier film Antichrist shocks Cannes
| Entertainment
|
Uruguay writer Mario Benedetti dies
| Entertainment
|
Astronauts to embark on last Hubble spacewalk
UK's Brown urges cleanup of scandal-hit politics
| International
|
Pakistan army battles Taliban; PM wins support
| International
|
Health ministers tackle pandemic flu, Japan in focus
| International
|
Turk president should stand trial: court
| International
|
Islamist rebels seize another Somali town
| International
|
Seoul vows support for NKorea estate
Tiger supremo's son killed: Sri Lanka military
EU cancels substantial aid to Fiji
Protests as nuclear fuel ship docks in Japan
Tight security for trial of Myanmar's Suu Kyi
Obama hosts Netanyahu as Mideast strains ties
Samsung bets on LCD TVs despite downturn
| Technology
|
Nokia unveils its cheapest 3G phone
| Technology
|
South Korea tries recharging road to power vehicles
| Technology
|
Antarctic team boosts medical care with 3D ultrasound
| Technology
|
South Korea says factory park in North in turmoil
Taiwan dollar slips on outflows, importers
Mussolini's mistress, love-child seen in Cannes
Handshakes, high fives return as US flu fears wane
Star-light Cannes feels pinch, early films shine
| Entertainment
|
Director defiant after Antichrist jeered
| Entertainment
|
Idol without Simon could prove turnoff: poll
| Entertainment
|
Woody Allen wins $5 million in lawsuit over his image
| Entertainment
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights