[SkateDC] ‘Asia Trash!’ Films at Freer Gallery [Off Topic]

[George Marinkovich]

The Freer takes a break from highlighting the finest art and culture of Asia and brings us instead something a little different (http://www.apafilm.org/tag/asia-trash-freer-gallery/).:

An Asian western flick? A monster as cool as Godzilla? You betcha! You
can see these films for free at the Freer Gallery in August. Here’s the
schedule for their Asia Trash! lineup:

Thursday, August 6, 7 p.m. – The Host


Asian cinema, mainly Japan’s Toho Studios, has brought to the big screen a slew of legendary monsters such as Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah
(Who? Remember that cool looking three-headed monster? Yeah, that one!)
and the king of them all, Godzilla. The unnamed monster in The Host
definitely could clobber any of those creatures. This film is unique
because it’s a horror-comedy. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, The Host is the
highest grossing Korean film ever.  
“Bong Joon-ho’s wildly entertaining saga,” writes Lisa Schwarzbaum in
Entertainment Weekly, “should become the hip, thinking-person’s monster
movie of choice.” By turns thrilling, terrifying, hilarious, and
touching, this unholy marriage of Godzilla and Jaws follows a slimy
beast that emerges from the Han River to terrorize the citizens of
Seoul. Korea / 2006 / 119 min. / Korean with English subtitles

Thursday, August 13, 7 p.m. – Tears of the Black Tiger
Wisit Sasanatieng is the brains
behind this Thai western. The colorful scenery of Tears of the Black
Tiger is reminiscent of Amelie. The violence evokes memories of Pulp
Fiction. The film also pays homage to the western films of the 1960s.
The story and acting is terrific. The cinematography and music are
wonderful. What makes everything bizarre is that this film is an Asian
western. Not sure what I like better: Watching this flick or eating at Thep Phanom,
my fave Thai restaurant located in Lower Haight. Bottom line is that
they’re both winners. Tears of the Black Tiger is one of the greatest
films to come out of Thailand.  
Filmed in an eye-watering palette of neon turquoise, chartreuse, hot
pink, and other colors not found in nature, Wisit Sasanatieng’s
deliriously campy send-up of classic Thai movies, Hollywood melodramas,
and believe it or not, cowboy movies “exuberantly combines pop and
kitsch with a wholesome belief in the thrills of bad art” (Wesley
Morris, Boston Globe). Thailand / 2000 / 110 min. / Thai with English
subtitles

Thursday, August 20, 7 pm – Tokyo Gore Police
Gory. Perverse. Bizarre. The Freer Gallery couldn’t have written a better description of this film: “Employing
geysers of blood, mountains of severed body parts, mutant go-go girls,
and other delights, it takes place in a Tokyo of the near future in
which a privatized police force wages hyper-violent war on a new breed
of cyborg criminals who can transform their wounds into weapons.” I know what you’re thinking: I am so there!
Intended for mature audiences. The New York Times calls Yoshihiro
Nishimura’s film a “splatterific social satire.” Employing geysers of
blood, mountains of severed body parts, mutant go-go girls, and other
delights, it takes place in a Tokyo of the near future in which a
privatized police force wages hyper-violent war on a new breed of
cyborg criminals who can transform their wounds into weapons. Japan /
2008 / 109 min. / video / Japanese with English subtitles.
How to get your free tickets
Free tickets are required for
films in the 300 seat Meyer Auditorium, located in the Freer Gallery.
Up to two tickets per person are distributed at the auditorium one hour
before show time. More info, visit: http://www.asia.si.edu/events/ticketInfo.asp
Also of interest:

One Nite in Mongkok (Made in Hong Kong Film Festival)Friday, August 7, 7 pm and Sunday, August 9, 2pm

Derek
Yee’s fast-paced thriller takes place in Hong Kong’s Mongkok district,
a bustling urban jungle where everything, from fake designer watches to
sex, is for sale. A hit man from the mainland looks to gun down a
big-time gangster and, with the help of a prostitute he meets in a
no-tell motel, find his missing fiancée. 2004 / 110 min. / Cantonese
and Mandarin with English subtitles

Enjoy,George