Who knew the first two weekends in March could make for such a wild ride? For the third year running, the AmérAsia Film Festival is continuing its mission of taking audiences on a journey through the world of Asian cinema, and this year’s program offers several memorable trips sure to stay with you long after the credits roll.
The adventure got underway on Thursday with a screening of Xiaogang Feng’s 2010 hit Aftershock, a drama focused on the 1976 Tangshan earthquake that left some 240, 000 dead. The story begins on the day of the disaster, as a young couple attempt to get their twins, Fang Da and Fang Deng, out of their collapsing apartment building at the time of the quake. The father perishes in his attempt, leaving it up to his trembling wife to choose between her son and daughter when rescue workers finally arrive and inform her that they cannot save both. It’s a heart-breaking scenario sadly undercut by the fact that moments earlier, a flurry of noticeably-CGI dragonflies filled the screen to hint at the trouble ahead, followed soon after by a construction crane worthy of Michael Bay swinging wildly out-of-control. The movie has several instances where it leans more towards the overdramatic, especially given some of the somber, soap-opera like developments that unfold during the film’s thirty-year narrative. Among them: in-laws who pressure the mother to give them her child and start her life fresh, a resentful foster parent who falls ill, a lover who leans on his girlfriend to have an abortion, and a child who relocates to Canada to be with a significantly older partner. Every new scene seems to offer some twist in the lives of the characters, and at a certain point it becomes wearisome. If the purpose of Aftershock was to pay tribute to the complicated lives of the survivors of the earthquake, it would have been wise to trim some of the irrelevant plot-points and include some hopeful moments, if only for the sake of variety. As it is, the solid performances and strong premise are weakened by a heavy-handed desire to wring tears out of the audience every fifteen minutes.
Still, there’s something to be said for using a straightforward narrative structure. The Day He Arrives, written and directed by Hong Sang-soo and previously screened at Cannes in 2011, is a black-and-white head-trip best suited to cerebral cinephiles who like to be challenged by their films. This tale of a depressed director visiting a friend in Seoul loops back on itself like a möbius strip, as the characters meet up in a bar called “Novel”, where drunken conversations are repeated word-for-word more often than is normal. The viewer is left to wonder whether the scenes are merely ideas being rewritten in the lead character’s imagination, or perhaps alcohol and loneliness-induced hallucinations. It really is hard to know what to feel while watching the lead throw himself pitifully at an ex-girlfriend only to depart with a cheery smile and wave, as though he hadn’t just been sobbing on her floor less than thirty seconds earlier. With its barely-there soundtrack and unfulfilling conclusion, this one’s a head-scratcher to be sure.
At the other end of the spectrum is Yona Yona Penguin, an equally unusual entry in the festival’s Animation Spotlight. The story follows Coco, a girl who runs around dressed in a penguin costume, convinced she’s able to fly because her dead father told her so. After piecing together a tiny toy goblin that whisks her off to a penguin-themed toy store, she learns that she is the “flightless bird” prophesized to save the goblin village from the evil Bukka Boo, Emperor of the Dark Realm. To call the narrative unpredictable would be an understatement, yet the movie establishes a pleasant rhythm from the get-go, making it easy to sit back and enjoy the ride. The overall visual treatment might remind some of a cut scene from a video game, but thankfully the character animation is far stronger. As Coco bounces along merrily like the happiest of little girls, you’re bound to notice a grin spread wide across your face and remain there for the duration of the running time. Ideal for the under ten set but enjoyable for all, make a point of checking this charming fantasy out.
The Day He Arrives screens tonight at the ONF at 8pm, and Yona Yona Penguin rescreens next Saturday at Cinema Du Parc. For more information on the films and calendar of events, visit www.amerasiafestival.com/2012 .
