NYAFF continued to showcase unique and fun films.
This year I’ve enjoyed a mix of dramas, dark comedies, satire, and an incredibly unique take on jidaigeki. As such, here are the films I had the opportunity to see, all of which I recommend checking out.
Where is the Lie
Where is the Lie is one of the cruelest, darkest comedies I’ve seen in a long time; and I loved it. The film follows Janzen (EJ Jallorina), a hopeless romantic who, after a bad breakup, goes on a dating app and starts an online relationship. Little does she know the boy she’s talking to is really Beanie (Maris Racal), who operates an elaborate catfishing operation. It was a tough watch as Beanie is sociopathic in the glee she garners from her catfishing and gaslighting, and Racal’s cartoonishly over the top performance contrasted with Jallorina’s empathetic performance helps make this deeply hurtful comedy work. The film is deeply topical, allowing for a more empathetic look at a real trans experience in the realm of online dating. The film addresses transphobia, trolling, and social media excess through modernly cruel lens. You feel a mixture of laughter over the absurdity of the situation and anxiety over how Janzen’s being manipulated. I really enjoyed the film, but I can only really recommend it to fans of pitch-black dark comedy, like In the Company of Men, Happiness, or Observe & Report.
Okiku and the World
When most people think of jidaigeki they think of cool samurais or feudal lords. Okiku takes a different approach, focusing on the working class trying to navigate the Edo era. The film follows Yasuke (Ikematsu Sosuke) and Chunji (Kanichiro Sato), two manure man as they navigate their jobs while Chunji pursues Okiku (Haru Kuroki), as she takes care of her samurai father. Poop jokes are expected in a movie about manure men, but and contrast between the low-brow comedy and director Junji Sakamoto’s stellar direction elevates both the comedy and social commentary. As over the top as the jokes can get, it never undercuts the film’s tone or romantic chemistry between Chunji and Okiku. Since the jokes build on the film’s themes of class and income inequality commentary, the jokes feel relevant and consistent with the film’s atmosphere. The film feels deeply relevant, so the humor maintains a working class, accessible vibe in a typically elevated genre. Okiku is a jidaigeki that feels like it’s for the everyday person, representing an audience that may feel typically alienated by the genre.
Marry My Dead Body
This movie is hilarious. Marry My Dead Body is fun, passionate, heartfelt, and bleeding with empathy without losing its cartoonish joy. The film follows Wu Ming-han (Greg Hsu) a homophobic police officer who accidentally gets ghost married to Mao Mao (Austin Lin). Now Wu Ming-han must help Mao Mao settle his affairs so he can cross over, while also solving his murder. While the premise of “Homophobic cop learns not to be homophobic” may sound groan inducing, the film takes tremendous glee in punching down Wu Ming-han’s homophobia. Director Cheng Wei-hao has zero patience for Wu Ming-han’s homophobia, and clearly takes pleasure in both calling his character out and enacting some karmic justice. But what really makes Marry My Dead Body work is the chemistry between Wu Ming-Han and Mao Mao. Mao Mao is already a fun and lively character on his own, but the two are exquisite together, allowing both their funny and heartfelt moments to really hit hard. While the film is a tad too long, Marry My Dead Body is a wild, enjoyable comedy that’ll easily satisfy those looking for a feel-good comedy, or a revenge fantasy.
Marry My Dead Body won the NYAFF Audience Award and it was absolutely deserved.
Mountain Woman
A personal and warm period drama, Mountain Woman balances the line between folklore and modern turmoil effortlessly. Mountain Woman follows Rin (Anna Yamada), as she tries to navigate her famine riddled village, while seeking shelter and strength from the spirits in Mt. Hayachine nearby. Yamada carries the film with a deeply pensive performance, as you see her try to balance maintaining the stories and myths that carried her village, with the harsh reality of income and resources inequality that effects it. The cinematography is naturally stunning, taking in the beauty and harshness of her village life. While the pacing is a bit slow, Rin carries the film powerfully as a deeply compelling character. Anyone who’s needed escapism and stories to cope with hard times will appreciate Mountain Woman.
You can check out Knockurnal contributor Britt Trachtenberg’s interview with director Takeshi Fukunaga here.
Glorious Ashes
A deeply heartfelt, intense, and folkloric film, Glorious Ashes weaves together the short stories of Nguyen Ngoc Tu to create a tapestry of empathy. Following the lives of three women Nhan (Phuong Anh Dao), Hau (Bao Ngoc Doling Juliet), and Loan (Ngo Pham Hanh Thuy), director Bui Thac Chuyen shows the stress they handle dealing with their husbands and gossips of the small village, but with a grace and earnestness that prevents the film from feeling mean-spirited or manipulatively depressing. The cinematography is beautiful, almost majestic in how it captures the weather and trees throughout the film, immersing the audience while also contrasting with how trapped the women feel. You feel their heartbreak, their sadness, but most of all their frustration over how they can’t express their frustration in the village. Whether it’s the gossiping villagers or their deadbeat husbands, you feel how much these women need their relationship with each other so they can feel seen and heard. Glorious Ashes is a powerful film.