by Kevin Muller
One of the perks of the Oscar film season, which we are currently in, is films from all around the world get their moment in the spotlight that are vying for the chance at the “Best Foreign Film” prize. You probably have a favorite film from this genre: Life is Beautiful, Roma, A Separation, War and Peace, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This film comes from South Korea. Does it deserve to be mentioned amongst those other great films?
My second movie on Day 3 of the Fantasia International Film Festival was the Quebec Premiere of the South Korean crime thriller “Akinjeon” (literally “Villain Story”) aka The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil. The film opened in South Korean theaters on May 15th and was screened out of competition in the Midnight Screenings section at Cannes on May 22nd. It then played in a handful of US theaters in June.
My second film of the evening on Day 2 was the North American Premiere of the science-fiction thriller Vivarium. It is a co-production between Ireland, Belgium, and Denmark. The film had its World Premiere at Cannes during the Critic’s Week back in May. The film is also setup to be the closing film of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland on July 13th.
MANDY – Pacific Northwest. 1983 AD. Outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed by a cult led by the sadistic Jeremiah Sand, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.
The time is finally here for the 21st edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival to begin in downtown Montreal, Quebec. It started on July 13th and runs until August 2nd. This year’s opening film was the North American premiere of the South Korean film The Villainess (Ak-Nyeo). It was my first of twenty-four screenings I’ll attend this year.
GOOD TIME gets a hallucinatory new trailer and poster with stunning accolades from its Cannes premiere.
The Safdie brothers’ exhilarating New York thriller stars Robert Pattinson in a headlong rush into crime and chaos. The overwhelmingly positive reactions out of the Cannes Film Festival mark a thrilling turn for the filmmakers and a career-defining performance for Pattinson.
– In Theaters August 11 –
