The Bijou wraps up its semester next week with two films from fantastic Asian directors. South Korea’s Bong Joon-ho brings us Mother and the Bijou resurrects the classic Fallen Angels by Wong Kar-wai out of Hong Kong.
But first, a few notes from the IC film world.
1) That’s Rentertainment is having a “Grand Reopening” on May 8th. Check out their new home in the Hall Mall and support one of the few remaining rental shops in IC. One that’s locally owned and staffed by movie-lovers to boot.
2) Former LV arts editor Andy Brodie announced on Facebook that he’s receiving a grant from the Iowa Arts Council for his short film River Will Take You. Cool. He’s also still working on fundraising to shoot this summer.
Ok, back to the Bijou…
Fallen Angels, released in 1995, is overtly sensorial, visually-rich filmmaking. As one of Hong Kong’s “New Wave” cinema masters of the 80s and 90s, Wong weaves bold muusic, photography and editing decisions with on-screen action to capture the sensibilities of the post-MTV generation. It’s in-your-face cinema, but Wong somehow never loses the narrative, a tribute to his groundbreaking style.
Mother is Bong Joon-ho’s follow-up to his genre-blending monster-thriller The Host. His previous film was at-once pulse-pounding creature feature and family drama, sprinkled with a healthy dose of comedy and baked for 119 minutes. I haven’t seen Mother, but LV’s Scott Samuelson has and says he loves it. And Korea submitted it for the Academy Awards, so that’s worth something too.
We’ll have to dig a little deeper for some film picks starting next week with the Bijou taking a break. Got any suggestions? Email andrew(at)littlevillagemag.com. Otherwise, Summer blockbuster season begins this week with Iron Man 2, Robin Hood next week, followed by Shrek, MacGruber, Prince of Persia and who knows what else. Might be time for a trip to the megaplex.
