Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening July 9-14, 2015

Y/our Music

Urban and city beats blend in the tuneful documentary Y/our Music, which finally comes to Bangkok cinemas after a spin on the festival circuit.

I've seen it twice, and it kept my toes tapping both times. Directed by David Reeve and Waraluck “Art” Hiransrettawat Every, Y/our Music is a bifurcated look at Thailand's social divide through the benignly harmonious prism of music.

In Bangkok, there's an esoteric blend of city folk, playing Western-influenced folk, jazz and rock, while in the countryside, there are National Artists, performing the traditional Isaan country-folk music of mor lam, on traditional instruments, such as the electric pin (Isaan banjo) and the khaen (Isaan reed pipe).

It's those Isaan sounds that mostly come through, thanks to ever-present transistor radios in market stalls, taxi-cab stereos, masked street performers and, eventually, the Northeastern legends themselves.

Here are the performers:

• Wiboon Tangyernyong – A Khao San-area optician who developed a worldwide following as a maker of bamboo saxophones.
• Sweet Nuj – Young musician and indie record label entrepreneur Bun Suwannochin formed a duo with his singer mother-in-law Worranuj Kanakakorn, and they sell their discs online.
• Happy Band – Following the tradition of The Who, Velvet Underground and Talking Heads, some Bangkok artists thought it'd be a swell idea to create a rock band as an art project. Eventually, they learned to be musicians.
• Captain Prasert Keawpukdee – A gentleman who sells used violins and Buddha amulets at Chatuchak market, he hosts old-timey fiddle jam sessions on weekends.
• Nattapol Seangsukon – Otherwise known as DJ Maftsai, he is a DJ who collects old mor lam, luk thung, string and Thai funk, and is the glue that holds this all together.
• Chaweewan Phanthu – National Artist singer and academic.
• Chalardnoi Songserm – National Artist singer.
• Thongsai Thabthanon – Phin master. "Borrowed" telephone wire from American GIs to string up his Isaan banjo and play with rock bands.
• Sombat Simlhar – A blind virtuoso of the khaen, the Isaan bamboo reed pipe. He lost his sight in early childhood and turned to music, becoming a major recording artist and performer who is still much sought-after.

Critical reception is pretty great. Y/our Music screens at 6.45 nightly until July 22 at the Lido in Siam Square. Rated G

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Also opening

Magic Mike XXL – Before he blew up big with such movies as 21 Jump Street, Foxcatcher and White House Down, dancer and actor Channing Tatum worked for about eight months as a stripper, and it was his early-career exploits that inspired the 2012 sleeper hit Magic Mike, which was directed by Steven Soderbergh and was widely acclaimed. So of course there's a sequel, with Tatum's Mike rounding up most of the six-pack-rocking crew from the first film, including Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez and Gabriel Iglesias. The story is set three years later, after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game. They get back together for a last hurrah, hitting the road for a tour from Florida to South Carolina. Elizabeth Banks, Donald Glover, Amber Heard, Andie MacDowell, Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Strahan join the cast this time around. Gregory Jacobs, a first assistant director and producer on many of Soderbergh's films, takes over as director. Critical reception is mixed, leaning to positive, making XXL not as well received as the first Magic Mike but probably still magical enough for the fans. Rated 15+

Minions – The gibberish-spewing little yellow characters from Illumination Entertainment's animated Despicable Me franchise come front and center in their own movie, with a story that explains their origins, in which the devoted henchmen quested for centuries to find a master to serve. Their latest is female supervillain Scarlett Overkill (Sandra Bullock), who tasks them with breaking into the Tower of London to steal the queen's jewels. If you listen closely, you might hear a bit of Bahasa Indonesian sprinkled throughout the nonsensical utterings of the Minions. That's thanks to co-director Pierre Coffin, the son of a French diplomat dad and an Indonesian novelist mum. The overstuffed voice cast also includes Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, Geoffrey Rush and Jennifer Saunders. Critical reception is generally positive. Rated G

Danny Collins – Al Pacino stars in this fact-based musical drama about an ageing 1970s rock musician who is inspired to change his hard-living ways after he receives a letter of encouragement from John Lennon, delivered 40 years late. Nine of Lennon's songs were licensed for the film, which is very loosely based on the life of English folksinger Steve Tilston. Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale and Christopher Plummer also star. It's written and directed by Dan Fogelman, screenwriter on such films as Last Vegas and The Guilt Trip. Critical reception is generally positive. Rated 18+

F. Hilaire (ฟ.ฮีแลร์) – The writer of the widely used "Darun Suksa" Thai-language textbook was not Thai at all: he was a French Roman Catholic missionary and schoolteacher. Brother Hilaire was one of the key educators behind Thailand's Assumption College and taught many of the statesmen who would lead the Kingdom into the modern era. His story is recalled with help from a present-day scholar (Pharunyoo "Tac" Rojanawuttitham) who is looking for a new angle as he tries to write a thesis. Jason Young portrays the bearded clergyman teacher. Rated 13+

The Scar International Version – Dramatist ML Bhandevanop "Mom Noi" Devakula's adaptation of the classic tragic romance Plae Kao (แผลเก่า) is back in cinemas for one week as The Scar International Version. Adding 40 minutes of further exposition, the longer director's cut premiered at last month's Thai Film Festival in London. Adapted from a novel by Mai Muengderm, The Scar is set in the Bang Kapi countryside of the 1930s, where poor farm boy Kwan is hopelessly in love with Riam, the daughter of a wealthier farming family. The star-crossed romance has been adapted for film and TV many times before, including a beloved 1977 film version by Cherd Songsri. Mom Noi's take stars Chaiyapol Julian Pupart from Mom Noi's Jan Dara remake as Kwan and Davika Hoorne from Pee Mak Phra Khanong as Riam. It's playing at House on RCA.

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Also showing

The Friese-Greene Club – A black-clad gunfighter rides the Old West in search of enlightenment in tonight's cult-classic "midnight movie" El Topo by avant-gard auteur Alejandro Jodorowsky. Tomorrow's "precocious girl" is Natalie Portman, making her motion-picture debut as a pint-sized assassin in Léon: The Professional, starring Jean Reno and a very shouty Gary Oldman. Saturday night's "bad kids" movie is Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale, which has inspired such films as Kill Bill and The Hunger Games. Sunday has another imaginary friend in the deeply unsettling Donnie Darko. And next Wednesday, it's South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, in which all the world's ills are blamed on Canada. Shows are at 8pm. The FGC is down an alley next to the under-renovation Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. For more details, check the club's Facebook page.

European Union Film Festival – The long-running annual EU fest gets underway tomorrow night at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld with Girlhood, a French coming-of-age drama about a black 16-year-old who joins an all-female street gang. Saturday has the Czech sports drama Fair Play and the German post-World War II thriller Phoenix. Sunday has entries from Luxembourg (the Oscar-winning animated short Mr. Hublot and the death-row tale Dead Man Talking). Other entries are the Swedish documentary Trespassing Bergman, the Danish psychological drama The Hour of the Lynx and the Finnish crime yarn Concrete Night. Tickets are 120 baht at the box office. You can also book through the SF app and the website. For showtimes and other details, please check my earlier post.

According to Marguerite Duras Project – Born in French-colonial-era Saigon in 1914, author Marguerite Duras wrote steamy novels that reflected on her affairs and the expat experience. Her works have been adapted many times for films that highlight her cross-cultural romances. She also directed many films herself and wrote screenplays. This month, Thong Lor Art Space is screening some of those movies as part of the According to Marguerite Duras Project. With screenings at 7.30pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, next week's show is 1975's India Song. Delphine Seyrig stars as a twice-married French socialite in Calcutta, where she takes lovers to relieve the boredom. Other offerings will be 1969's Détruire dit-elle on July 21 and 22 and 1959's Hiroshima Mon Amour, directed by Alain Resnais, on July 28 and 29. All will have English and Thai subtitles. In addition to the films, which are free, the project is also staging a play. An Epilogue to the Malady of Death will be performed at 7.30pm on Thursday and Friday and 3pm on Saturday and Sunday until August 1. For details, check the Thong Lor Art Space Facebook page or the Facebook events page.

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand – Burmese human-rights activist Aung Myo Min is profiled in the documentary This Kind of Love, screening next Wednesday. Directed by Jeanne Hallacy, it premiered at last month's Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Yangon. The 45-minute doc follows Aung Myo Min's return to Burma after 24 years in exile, and highlights his vision of human rights for everyone, especially GLBT folk. You can read more about the film and Aung Myo Min in stories from The Nation. Hallacy will take part in a panel talk, with Aung Myo Min calling in on Skype. Entry for non-members is 350 baht. The show is at 7pm on Wednesday, July 15 at the FCCT.

Alliance Française – A poor theater actor who has left his wife to take up with his new love – a struggling actress – tries to make that relationship work in La jalousie, directed by Philippe Garrel, and starring Louis Garrel, Anna Mouglalis and Rebecca Convenant. It screens at 7pm on Wednesday, July 15, at the Alliance.

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Take note

Upcoming is the next entry in the Cinema Diverse: Director's Choice series at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, on July 25, where Concrete Clouds director Lee Chatametikool picks How to Disappear Completely, an award-winning 2013 drama by Raya Martin, one of the leading directors of the Philippines indie film scene. Martin and actress Ness Roque are expected to take part.

Ongoing events include the Short Film Marathon, in which all 500 or so entries in next month's 19th Short Film and Video Festival are screened until August 2. Shows are from 11am to 8.30pm on Saturday and Sunday and 4.30pm to 8.30 Tuesday to Friday in the FA Cinematheque on the second floor of the BACC.

Also, if you still haven't seen the Documentary Club's latest offering The Wolfpack, it looks likely it will be around for another week or so. A weekend screening I attended was more than half full, and more showtimes were being added.  For details, check their Facebook page or SF Cinema City for details.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening April 16-22, 2015

When Marnie Was There

Japan's vaunted animation house Studio Ghibli is reportedly winding things down, with When Marnie Was There being their final feature.

Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Arietty), the story is based on a British children’s novel by Joan G. Robinson. It's about a shy sick tomboy who is sent to live with relatives in a coastal village. There, she has visions about a mysterious abandoned mansion and a blonde girl named Marnie who no one else has ever seen.

This will surely be a bittersweet film for fans of Studio Ghibli, which announced Marnie would be its last new movie following the retirement of studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki and the release of co-founding director Isao Takahata's The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Though this might only be a "short pause" while Ghibli rights itself, there 's nothing new yet in the pipeline.

Critical reception is generally positive. It's in Japanese with English and Thai subtitles. In addition to Scala and House, it's also at CentralWorld, Paragon, Major Ratchayothin and Esplanade Ratchada. Rated G

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Also opening

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – The undersea cartoon world of Bikini Bottom falls into chaos after a pirate (Antonio Banderas) steals the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, forcing Spongebob SquarePants and his pals from the deep to team up, enter our dimension and retrieve the beloved burger recipe. Critical reception is wackily positive. This opened in a sneak preview last week and now moves to a wider release. It's in real 3D in some cinemas. Rated G

Big Game – When Air Force One is shot down by terrorists, the US president – played by none other than Samuel L. Jackson – bails out in his escape pod and lands in the wilderness of Finland. There, he's encountered by a 13-year-old boy undergoing a traditional hunting rite of manhood. Armed with only a bow, it’s up to the kid to fend off attackers while leading the president to safety. Onni Tommila also stars. It's reportedly the most expensive film ever made in Finland. Critical reception is generally positive. Rated 13+

Child 44 – Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and Gary Oldman try out their Russian accents with varying degrees of success in this thriller that is adapted from the best-selling novels of Tom Rob Smith. Hardy is a state security officer in the Stalin-era Soviet Union. Disgraced and sent to a remote outpost, he bucks authority as he seeks to find out the truth about a child's death, which he believes to be the work of a serial killer preying on little boys. Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) directs. Critical reception is mixed. Rated 18+

Boychoir – After his single mother dies in a car wreck, a talented-but-undisciplined Texas boy is packed off to an East Coast boarding school. The boy at first clashes with the school’s choirmaster (Dustin Hoffman), an old-fashioned disciplinarian, but soon learns to channel his hard feelings into his singing. Critical reception is mixed. Rated G

Demonic – College students investigating ghosts are found dead inside an abandoned home. A police detective (Frank Grillo) and a psychologist (Maria Bello) attempt to piece together what happened, with the help of – wait for it – video found at the scene. Critics have yet to discover this latest bit of nastiness, which is churned out of the mill of co-producer James Wan, one of the guys responsible for the sickening Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring as well as the new Fast and Furious movie. Rated 15+

Mr. X – Bollywood enters the realm of big-budget-blockbuster sci-fi with this week's big release, Mr. X, in which a young man gains the power of invisibility and becomes a revenge-seeking vigilante. It's in Hindi with English and Thai subtitles at Major Cineplex Sukhumvit, Rama III and Pattaya. Opens Friday.

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Also showing

The Friese-Greene Club – Martin Landau is man in a moral quandary in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors tonight. Tomorrow, it's Buffalo '66, cult director Vincent Gallo's love-it-or-hate-it crime drama about an ex-con who kidnaps a young woman (Christina Ricci) and forces her to pose as his wife as he seeks revenge against the man responsible for his imprisonment. On Saturday, it's another of the great westerns, The Searchers, which is is quite simply the best of the many fine films made by John Ford and John Wayne. And on Sunday, François Truffaut is struggling to make a film in the French classic Day for Night. Next Wednesday is another weird Werner Herzog movie, the mockumentary Incident at Loch Ness, which Zak Penn directed and Herzog produced. Shows are at 8pm. The FGC is down an alley next to the under-renovation Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. For more details, check the club's Facebook page.

Week of Portuguese Cinema – Two films by Manoel de Oliveira will screen during the Week of Portuguese Cinema starting on Sunday at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom. De Oliveira, who was making movies well into his 100s, died on April 2 at age 106. Notably, the Thai Film Archive's screenings will feature exclusively 35mm prints, including de Oliveira's debut feature, 1942's Aniki Bobo and his 1990 epic Non Ou a vã Glória De Mandar (No, or the Vain Glory of Command). During the week, from Tuesday to next Friday, the Portuguese movies will screen at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, but it returns to the Archive on the following Saturday. The entire schedule is detailed in a previous post. Admission is free and you can book your seat online at bit.ly/portuguesefilmthailand.

Alliance Française – After a break for Songkran, the free French films return next Wednesday with Hippocrate, a comedy-drama about a junior doctor who takes a job in a hospital ward headed by his father. It's in French with English subtitles at 7pm on Wednesday, April 22.

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Sneak preview

Woman in Gold – Helen Mirren stars in this fact-based prestige drama, portraying Maria Altman, a determined Austrian woman who fights an extended legal battle for the return of priceless Klimt paintings that were stolen from her family by the Nazis. Ryan Reynolds is her lawyer Randol Schoenberg. Daniel Brühl, Katie Holmes, Tatiana Maslany and Max Records also star. Critical reception is mixed. Officially not due to open until next week, this is in sneak previews from around 8 nightly in most multiplexes. Rated 13+

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Take note

Bit of a mix bag of films this week and next as distributors get some smaller titles off their books and clear the decks for the next comic-book behemoth, Avengers: Age of Ultron, which will have a one-day sneak preview before opening wide on April 30.

Slightly overlapping the Week of Portuguese Cinema will be the Swedish Film Festival, which runs from April 23 to 26 at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. Details are covered in an earlier post and the schedule is online at the SF Cinema City website.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening May 23-29, 2013

Fast and Furious 6

The Fast and Furious circus jets over to London for another mindlessly fun hot-rod ride.

According to producers, Fast and Furious 6 is the first of the franchise entries to not feature underground road racing as a major plot point. They felt they'd reached a "ceiling" in audience appeal, thinking that tuned Suburus and scantily clad race girls dancing to hip-hop weren't enough.

But there's still plenty of thrills as gravel-voiced Vin Diesel and his gang drive their musclecars on the wrong side of the road in England.

Franchise regular Paul Walker also returns, as do Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Sung Kang. And, surprise, Michelle Rodriguez is back. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson reprises his role from Fast Five. Joining the cast this time around is Welsh actor Luke Evans as the chief villain, plus MMA fighter Gina Carano from Haywire. And stick around for a post-credits scene to see the star of another car-chase franchise.

Director Justin Lin, who's steered The Fast and the Furious series since the third entry Tokyo Drift, is back in the drivers's seat one more time. He's moving aside to concentrate on other projects as Saw director James Wan takes over on the already-in-production Fast and Furious 7.

Following their big caper in Rio de Janeiro, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his crew of street-racing high-stakes thieves have retired but remain wanted fugitives. Diplomatic Security Service agent Hobbs (Johnson) gives them a chance for a clean slate when he asks for Dom's help in bringing down a British ex-special forces soldier (Evans) who is leading a team of mercenaries in daring highway heists across Europe. Among the team of criminals is Dom's supposedly dead girlfriend Letty.

Critical reception is mostly positive, so far. Rated 15+.

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Also opening

Epic – A teenage girl is shrunken down and discovers an incredible secret realm right in her own backyard. While trying to figure out a way to contact her nutty professor father and return to her normal size, she is caught up in a battle between the Leaf Men and their mortal enemies the Boggans. This animated feature is from Blue Sky Studios and is directed by Chris Wedge, the helmer of Ice Age and Robots. It is based on William Joyce's children's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. The voice cast is headed by Amanda Seyfried, along with Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O'Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler and Beyoncé Knowles. Critical reception, so far, is generally positive. In 3D. Rated G.

Crush – A shy lonely high-school girl (Crystal Reed) turns into a psycho when she experiences her first feelings of love, making life a living hell for a hunky sports star (Lucas Till from X-Men: First Class). Sarah Bolger also stars. This went direct-to-DVD in the States and critical reception somewhat mixed. Rated 15+.

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Also showing

European Union Film Festival – Wrapping up this weekend, tonight's feature is the Spanish drama Don't Be Afraid. Tomorrow, there are three movies: the Danish World War II drama This Life, the Polish black comedy Wonderful Summer and Julien Temple's documentary London – The Modern Babylon. Saturday's offerings are Stars Above from Finland, Goethe! from (where else?) Germany and Portugal's The Death of Carlos Gardel. And the fest closes on Sunday with Sweden's Beyond, starring Noomi Rapace, Cool Kids Don't Cry from the Netherlands and the Luxembourgish crime thriller Blind Spot. It's all at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. As always, tickets are free but you have to queue up to get them 30 minutes before showtime. This is a very popular festival, especially with the culture-starved expats, so be prepared for long lines. Check the festival website for the schedule.

Baara (Work) – The Alliance Française screens free movies with English subtitles at 7.30pm every Wednesday. Next week's offering is this 1978 African workplace comedy-drama by Souleymane Cissé. It's set in a factory in Bamako, Mali, where the harsh conditions and corruption of the bosses cause the workers to revolt.

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: European Union Film Festival, May 16-26, 2013

The long-running European Union Film Festival joins hands with SF cinemas this year to bring 18 acclaimed and popular recent movies from 15 countries for free screenings Bangkok.

The fest will also be held at the new SF multiplex in Chiang Mai, and for the first time, a mini-program of five English- and Thai-subtitled films in Khon Kaen.

In Bangkok, it will be held from May 16 to 26 at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. The move to SFW CentralWorld is a welcome change from the past several years, when the EU Film Festival was held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre – an inadequate venue for films, in my opinion.

As always, the tickets are free, which means you'll have to queue up. Tickets start being handed out 30 minutes before showtime, but in reality you'll want to get in line much earlier in order to ensure you get a decent seat. If you wait too late, you might end up straining your neck in the front row. This is always a popular festival, especially with the balloon-chasers who only turn up for free events, so brace yourself for long lines.

One thing I am uncertain of at this time is what format the movies are screening in – hopefully not DVD.

Five of them will have Thai subtitles in addition to English subs and will be shown in Khon Kaen. They are Tomboy from France (which has screened her before in a run at House), Cool Kids Don’t Cry from the Netherlands, The Death of Carlos Gardel from Portugal, Medal of Honour from Romania and the World War II drama Frozen Silence from Spain.

Here’s the line-up:

Protector (Protektor), Czech Republic, 2009 – A Czech journalist joins a Prague radio station that broadcasts Nazi propaganda in order to protect his Jewish wife. It was a winner of several Czech Lions awards, including best actress and best director.

A Funny Man (Dirch), Denmark, 2011 – This biographical drama chronicles the life of the prolific Danish actor and comedian Dirch Passer. It won several awards at home.

This Life (Hvidsten Gruppen), Denmark, 2012 – A popular entry at the Danish box office, this fact-based drama recalls the fighting spirit of the Fiils, a family of innkeepers who led the resistance against the Nazis. It won four awards.

Stars Above (Tähtitaivas talon yllä), Finland, 2012 – The stories of three women from the same family in the same country house are followed across three decades from the wartorn 1940s to the colourful 1970s and finally the present day.

Tomboy, France, 2011 – A 10-year-old girl is mistaken for a boy when she moves to a new neighborhood and embraces her new identity has she makes new friends. It won many awards, including the Teddy at the Berlin fest and prizes at several gay and lesbian fests.

Goethe!, Germany, 2010 – A starry-eyed young Goethe flunks his oral exams at law school and is sent by his angry father to the Imperial High Court in Wetzlar. There, he falls in love with a woman who is promised to another man. The sorrowful experience inspires him to write a novel that makes him an overnight success. It won a German Film Award for best makeup and was nominated for many more.

3 (Drei), Germany, 2010 – Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Cloud Atlas) directs this drama about the romantic triangle that forms when a long-married couple bring a man into their bed. A nominee for the Golden Lion in Venice, 3 won three German Film Awards, including best director and best actress.

The Last Rhapsody (Utolsó Rapszódia), Hungary, 2011 – The final days of composer Franz Liszt’s life are recalled, including his friendship with German composer Richard Wagner.

The Entrepreneur (L’Industriale), Italy, 2011 – A 40-year-old factory owner faces a crisis on two fronts when his factory is closing, leaving him with just one certainty in his life – his marriage. It won several awards at home, including the Italian Golden Globe for best film

Blind Spot (Doudege Wénkel), Luxembourg, 2012 – A senior police inspector takes one last case before retirement – the death of a fellow cop. He gets the help from a young loose-cannon officer, who just happens to be the brother of the departed policeman. This crime thriller has attracted a lot of buzz, and besides, how many times have you watched a movie in Luxembourgish?

Cool Kids Don’t Cry (Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet), Netherlands, 2012 – A spirited young girl loves football even though her closest friend thinks it’s not for girls. And even after she is diagnosed with leukemia, she remains optimistic. Eventually, it’s up to her friend to come up with something special. It swept the Netherlands' Golden Film prize, among several other accolades.

A Wonderful Summer (Cudowne lato), Poland, 2011 – This black comedy is mostly set in a funeral parlor. Kitka, 18, has a unique gift – she can communicate with the spirit of her dead mother, whose soul will not rest until she finds a suitable mate for her daughter.

The Death of Carlos Gardel, Portugal, 2011 – As a young drug addict nears death in a hospital, visits by family members evoke a web of memories. The father refuses to accept his son’s death, and channels his passion for tango and the Argentine singer Carlos Gardel.

Medal of Honor (Medalia de Onoare), Romania, 2009 – A 75-year-old Romanian man finds a new sense of self-respect after he accidentally receives a medal for his supposedly heroic actions during World War II, which he hardly remembers. It's won many awards, including several honors at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

Don’t Be Afraid (No Tengas Miedo), Spain, 2011 – A young woman marked by a dark childhood decides to start over and face the people and emotions that keep her bound to the past. Stars Michelle Jenner, who won or was nominated for best new actress honors.

Frozen Silence (Silencio en la Nieve), Spain, 2011 – At the Russian front in the winter of 1943, members of Spain’s Blue Division encounter a dead man in the ice with his throat slit and a message carved into his chest, "Watch out, God is watching you." It was nominated for a couple of awards back home.

Beyond (Svinalängorna), Sweden, 2010 Noomi Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) stars in this drama about a woman who confronts her abusive childhood when she receives news that her mother is dying. Pernilla August (Darth vader's mother from Star Wars Episode I and Episode II) directs and Ola Rapace (Skyfall) also stars. It won the International Critic’s Week Award at the 67th Venice Film Festival plus prizes at many other festivals.

London – The Modern Babylon, UK, 2012 – Julien Temple directs this time-travelling voyage to the heart of his hometown, featuring musicians, writers, artists, dangerous thinkers, political radicals and above all ordinary people.

For the schedule, visit the festival website.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening May 17-23, 2012

Iron Sky

When the Finnish sci-fi flick Iron Sky was first touted in a viral marketing campaign a couple years ago, the idea of the Nazis secretly retreating to the moon seemed preposterous but also somehow serious, grim and even somewhat intriguing.

Now the movie is completed, and it's a goofy-looking comedy that makes the Nazis a big joke like they were in the TV show "Hogan's Heroes". It's a type of humor that's become politically incorrect in recent years, especially in light of director Steven Spielberg's vow to never again make the Nazis the butt of a joke as he did in Raiders of the Lost Ark because they were nothing to joke about. And there was the recent controversy at a Chiang Mai school where students staged a Nazi rally for costume day. Iron Sky will certainly confuse the issue in that regard. Maybe the students will want to hold an Iron Sky costume day? On top of the idiotic Nazis, there's also a somewhat dated parody of former U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin who's somehow gotten herself elected U.S. president.

As the story goes, in the last moments of World War II, a secret Nazi space program evaded destruction by fleeing to the dark side of the moon and it's there that over the past 70 years they've constructed a gigantic swastika-shaped fortress and an armada of flying saucers. When an American astronaut lands a bit too close to the secret base, the moon führer (Udo Kier) decides the glorious moment of retaking the Earth has arrived sooner than expected. Two Nazi officers, ruthless Klaus Adler (Götz Otto) and idealistic Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), travel to Earth to prepare the invasion.

It premiered earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival and critical reception is mixed. Rated 18+.

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Also opening

Distortion (คน-โลก-จิต, Kon-Loke-Jit) –  It's been four years since veteran director Nonzee Nimibutr, director of the 1990s "Thai new wave" films Daeng Bireley's and Young Gangsters and Nang Nak, has had a feature in cinemas. Distortion is a psychological thriller in which four characters – a psychologist, a scientist, a businessman and a student – somehow become involved a serial-murder case. Sarunyu Prachakrit, Boonyisa “Poppy” Chantrarachai (first runner up Miss World Thailand 2012), Artit Wiboonpanitch, Arpa Pawilai and Suchao Pongwilai star. Rated 18+.

The Flowers of War – Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, the director of such opulently costumed martial-arts epics as Hero and House of Flying Daggers as well as such world-cinema classics as Raise the Red Lantern and The Road Home, turns his attention to the Japanese "rape" of Nanjing in 1937 in this English-language historical drama. Christian Bale stars as an American stranded in Nanjing by the Japanese invasion. Holed up in a Catholic convent, he's persuaded to pose as the convent's priest in a bid to protect the schoolgirls who live there. He gets some unlikely help from a band of prostitutes who are hiding in the convent's basement. Ni Ni, the young actress who plays a pivotal role in all this, won the Best Newcomer award at this year's Asian Film Awards. It was also a nominee for several other AFAs, including best director, and was China's submission to the Oscars, though it didn't make the shortlist of nominees for Best Foreign Language film. Critical reception is mixed. It's at Apex Siam Square. Rated 13+.

StreetDance 2 – When a top street dancer loses to an American crew, he sets off to gather the best dancers from around the world to take them on. Filmed in 3D at various landmark locations, StreetDance 2 also sees our hero fall in love with a beautiful salsa dancer. Critical reception is mixed. In 3D only. Rated 15+.

The Viral Factor – Jay Chou and Nicholas Tse star in this international-crime thriller directed by Hong Kong's Dante Lam. Jay is the leader of an International Security Affairs task force tracking a deadly virus. His brother (Tse) is a master thief. It's a bit of a departure for Lam, who's done tightly twisting crime stories based in Hong Kong. This one moves further afield, with action taking place in Jordan but mostly in Kuala Lumpur. Critical reception is mixed. It's at Major Cineplex and unfortunately is Thai-dubbed only. Rated 15+.

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Also showing

Swedish Film Festival – Organized with the Embassy of Sweden, the fest offers seven recent acclaimed films with screenings running until Sunday at SFX the Emporium. The line-up is A One-way to Antibes, Simple Simon, Simon and the Oaks, A Thousand Times Stronger, Sound of Noise, Sebbe and Miss Kicki. All are in Swedish with English subtitles. Admission is free. Line up a half hour before showtime to get your ticket. Check the schedule at the SF Cinema City website or read the article in The Nation, which also has details on the upcoming EU Eco Film Festival starting on May 24, which will be followed the week after by the annual EU Film Festival. Also upcoming is the Buddhist International Film Festival from June 7 to 10 at SFW CentralWorld.

L'enfer (Hell) – Claude Chabrol directs this 1994 drama starring François Cluzet, Emmanuelle Béart and Marc Lavoine. Based on the script to 1964's unfinished Inferno by Henri-Georges Clouzot, it's about a couple who run a hotel with the husband beginning to suspect his wife of infidelity an descending into paranoia from which there is no escape. It's at the Alliance Française at 7.30 on Wednesday, May 23.

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Take note

House on RCA is closed through May 21 while it hosts the auditions for "True Academy Fantasia".

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening January 12-18, 2012

Warrior

Up-and-coming English actor Tom Hardy is already on Bangkok screens in the highly acclaimed Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and will be seen again in this summer's The Dark Knight Rises, but here he is all bulked up and sporting a six-pack in Warrior, opposite rising Australian star Joel Edgerton in a drama about estranged brothers who enter a mixed martial arts tournament and work out their troubled relationship in the octagonal-cage ring.

Nick Nolte is their father, a former boxer, alcoholic and born-again Christian. He agrees to train his prodigal youngest son (Hardy).

Gavin O'Connor, who previously helmed the fact-based Kurt Russell hockey drama Miracle, directs.

While the film's promotional material draws comparisons to Rocky, critics have also noted similarities to other recent critically acclaimed fighting movies, Wrestler and The Fighter.

Warrior is being tipped as one of the favorites of the year's awards season, with Hardy and Nolte being mentioned for laurels. Critical reception is generally positive.

It's at Apex Siam Square.

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Also opening

My Week with Marilyn – The Weinstein Company aims to repeat the Oscar-baiting success of The King's Speech with another artful fact-based historical drama that's set in England. This one deals with royalty of a different sort – screen siren Marilyn Monroe, breathlessly portrayed by Michelle Williams, who has already collected a few prizes for the role and is nominated for several others, including a Golden Globe. The year is 1956, and Monroe, having just married playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), is in England on her honeymoon and to film The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). A 23-year-old assistant to Olivier (Eddie Redmayne) strikes up a friendship with the actress and ends up writing a couple books about his experience. Dame Judi Dench also stars, portraying actress Dame Sybil Thorndike. Critical reception is mostly positive. At Apex Siam Square, Paragon Cineplex and SFW CentralWorld. Rated 13+.

Contraband – Mark Wahlberg stars in this crime drama as a reformed criminal who is pulled back into his old life after his brother-in-law botches a drug deal. To protect his family, Marky Mark has to go to Panama to retrieve millions in counterfeit U.S. currency by duct-taping the bills around his torso. Kate Beckinsale, Caleb Landry Jones, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi and Lukas Haas also star. Icelandic actor-director Baltasar Kormákur directs, and it's a remake of 2009's Reykjavík-Rotterdam, which Kormákur starred in. This movie is just being released this week in the U.S., so critical reception is too early to tell. Rated 15+.

5 Days of War – Finnish director Renny Harlin caught fire in Hollywood back in the 1990s, directing such cult-classic action movies as Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight. He was even married to Long Kiss star Geena Davis for a time. Then he directed Cutthroat Island, a pirate movie filmed in Thailand that was a over-budget disaster that bombed at the box office. Since then, he's directed a string of mostly duds and doesn't look to be turning things around with 5 Days of War, in which an American journalist, his cameraman and a Georgian native are caught in the crossfire of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Rupert Friend, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Richard Coyle, Rade Sherbedgia and Val Kilmer star. It had a limited release in the U.S. last summer and went to DVD in November. Now it's in theaters in Thailand. Critical reception is mostly negative. Rated 18+.

What's Your Number? – Anna Faris stars as a young woman who begins a frantic search for all her ex-boyfriends in an effort to find out which one was her true love. She get help from a guy played by Chris Evans. Critical reception for this predictable and formulaic rom-com is mostly negative. At SF cinemas. Rated 13+.

Friends Never Die (มึงกู เพื่อนกันจนวันตา, Mueng Koo Phuean Kan Jon Wan Tai) – A once-popular subgenre of Thai cinema was the teenage gangster movie, and they continue to crop up from time to time, and this is one of those. Moving from Bangkok to study in Chiang Mai, the new kid in town, Song ("Mouse" Nattacha Chantaphan), faces problems with senior students and copes by joining a gang led by a guy named Gun (Mario Maurer). Together they overcome the bullying and learn what friendship really is. Rated 15+.

Rak Wei Hei (รักเว้ยเฮ้ย!) – A nerd (Phongphit "Starbucks" Preechaborisuthkul) falls in love with a young female DJ ("Ink" Chayanuj Boontanapibul from Channel [V] Thailand) and learns how to win her heart from a love guru (Nakorn “Ple” Silachai). Rated 15+.

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Also showing

Don 2 – Shah Rukh Khan is back as the indisputable king of the Asian underworld, and he aims to take over the European drug cartel. A sequel to a 2006 action drama, it was filmed in Thailand, Berlin, Kuala Lumpur and Switzerland.  Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Om Puri, Lara Dutta and Kunal Kapoor also star. In Hindi with English subtitles at SF Cinema Terminal 21 tonight at 7.45 and at Major Rama III tomorrow and Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 4 and 7.30. Call (089) 488 2620, (02)225 7500 or visit www.BollywoodThai.com.

German Open Air Cinema – Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds, Goodbye Lenin!, The Edukators) stars in next Tuesday evening's feature, Elephant Heart (Elefantenherz), a 2002 drama about a struggling amateur boxer. He works a tedious job and still lives at home with his unemployed alcoholic father. His only joy comes from training at the local gym, and he gets a chance at being a contender from a shady promoter. The German Open Air Cinema series runs on Tuesdays until February 28 at the institute on Sathorn Soi 1. Show times are at 7.30pm.

Hiroshima mon amour – Born in colonial French Indochina, writer Marguerite Duras specialized in East-West romances that were based on her own life, penning stories like The Lover and The Sea Wall, both of which have been made into movies. In 1959, she wrote the screenplay for this Japan-set drama by Alain Resnais, about the relationship between a French actress only known as "she" (Emmanuele Riva) and a married Japanese man only known as "him" (Eiji Okada). Touching on themes of the atomic bomb, forgetfulness and memory, the film is generally credited with starting the French New Wave cinema movement. It's showing at 7.30pm on Wednesday, January 18, at the Alliance Francaise Bangkok.

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Take note

There are at least five film festivals coming up in the next two weeks and running into February in Bangkok and around Thailand.

Starting January 18 is the Goethe-Institut Thailand's Science Film Festival, with screenings of mostly short documentaries in venues around Bangkok, mainly geared for busloads of schoolchildren. It was postponed from last year because of the floods.

Also postponed from last year is the World Film Festival of Bangkok, which starts on January 20. The opening is at Paragon Cineplex, but after that, the screenings will all be at the Esplanade Ratchadaphisek. The closing films on January 27 will be outdoor screenings at the Village Square at the Nine Neighbourhood Centre on Rama IX Road. Highlights include Turin Horse by Bela Tarr, this year's recipient of the festival's Lotus Award, and the 3D Cave of Forgotten Dreams by Werner Herzog.

The 6th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival runs from January 24 to February 5 in various venues around Bangkok. The special focus is "Raiding the Archive", and the opening on January 24-25 will be at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya, Nakhon Pathom. Other screenings take place on January 28-29 and February 4-5 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

The Hua Hin International Film Festival has imposed itself on January 26 to 29, with a selection of around 50 films. Some of them, like the Aung San Suu Kyi biopic The Lady and the South Korean romance Always, will have regular theatrical runs. And six of the films in the HHIFF are also screening in the World Film Festival.

And up in Chiang Mai from February 2 to 5, there's the Lifescapes Southeast Asian Film Festival, with a selection of documentaries and documentary-style dramas that aim to tackle social issues in the five mainland Southeast Asian countries. The Nation had a story about the first four festivals mentioned here plus one more.

Some films you might have missed have been brought back this week at House on RCA: Pen-ek Ratanaruang's hitman thriller Headshot, the original Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the psychological thriller Take Shelter.

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: European Union Film Festival in Thailand 2011

The European Union Film Festival marks 20 years in Thailand this year, with a line-up of 22 movies from 16 countries.

There are children's films, thrillers, fact-based historical dramas, romance, comedies and even a documentary.

Highlights include the U.K. documentary Exit through the Giftshop, about the shadowy grafitti artist Banksy. There's also The Escape, a Danish thriller about a journalist's life in peril in Afghanistan, the award-winning Finnish coming-of-age drama Forbidden Fruit, two much-acclaimed Spanish dramas, Camino and Cell 211, and several fact-based historical dramas, including the Dutch ice-skating drama, The Hell of '63. Children's films are Poland's award-winning The Tree of Life and the Czech teddy-bear tale Kooky

The fest runs from July 7 to 17, and just like last year's event, it will be held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in the first-floor auditorium. All screenings are on DVD in their original soundtracks with English subtitles. Showtimes start in the afternoons daily except Mondays, when the BACC is closed. Admission is free.

In celebration of the EU Film Festival's 20 years in Thailand, there will be musical performances on the closing weekend of July 16 and 17. The fest moves to Chiang Mai's Vista Kad Suan Kaew from July 22 to 31.

Find out more details on the festival's Facebook page.

Here's the line-up:

Bánk Bán (Hungary, 2002) – In 13th century Hungary, the king is fighting abroad while his German-born queen plays host to courtly feasts. Meanwhile, the king's deputy tours the poverty-ridden country while the queen's brother tries to seduce the deputy's wife. A group of nobles, anxious for the fate of their homeland and the honour of deputy's wife, plot a conspiracy against the queen. Thursday, July 7, 1pm and Sunday, July 10, 5.05pm.

Erratum (Poland, 2010) – A young man who years ago left his hometown, has built up a comfortable life for himself in the big city. When work takes him back to his hometown, he hopes to avoid seeing any of his old acquaintences, but a car wrekc thwarts those plans. And investigation ensues, and he must confront the choices he's made. Thursday, July 7, 3.10pm and Thursday, July 14, 5.45pm.

Camino (Spain, 2008) – An 11-year-old girl must simultaneously face two completely new events in her life – falling in love and dying. This fact-based drama is a winner of nominee of multiple awards, including Best Actress, Best Director and Best Film at the "Spanish Oscars", the Goya Awards. Thursday, July 7, 4.55pm and Saturday, July 9, 6.10pm

The Escape (Flugten, Denmark, 2009) – A journalist is taken hostage in Afghanistan, but she manages to escape. Back home in Denmark, her career takes flight. Then her one of her former captors makes his escape and comes to Denmark seeking her help. Thursday, July 7, 7.20pm and Sunday, July 10, 1.10pm.

With Friends Like These (Dagen zonder lief , Belgium, 2007) – A young woman returns to her Belgian hometown after some years away in New York City and is dismayed to find her friends have changed. Friday, July 8, 2pm and Sunday, July 10, 3.15pm.

Above The Street, Below The Water (Over gaden under vandet, Denmark, 2009) – A Copenhagen couple's seemingly happy marriage is put to the test when the husband decides he wants to take a break. Friday, July 8, 3.50pm and Wednesday, July 13, 7.10pm.

The Last Pulcinella (L'ultimo Pulcinella, Italy, 2009) – An unemployed actor is forced to leave Naples with his son after he witnesses a mafia killing. In Paris, he meets an actress who owns a theatre. Together they try to stage a play about the traditional Neapolitan character of Pulcinella. Friday, July 8, 5.40pm and Friday, July 15, 2pm.

When We Leave (Die Fremde, Germany, 2010) – A young woman of Turkish descent, fighting for an independent and self-determined life against the resistance of her family, finds herself in a life-threatening situation. Friday, July 8, 7.20pm and Sunday, July 17, 2.45pm.

Kooky (Kuky se vrací, Czech Republic, 2010) – An ailing six-year-old boy is forced to part with his mouldering pink teddy bear. The discarded stuffed animal then makes his way into a mysterious forest for an adventure against evil forces. Saturday, July 9, 11.30am and Sunday, July 17, 11am.

Weekend With My Mother (Weekend cu mama, Romania, 2009) – A woman who 15 years before left Romania for a fresh start in Spain, leaving behind her 3-year-old daughter, is dismayed to learn the now-teenage girl is a drug addict with a 2-year-old daughter in an orphanage. Overwhelmed by guilt, the woman attempts to save her daughter and redeem the mistakes of her youth. Saturday, July 9, 1.15pm and Friday, July 15, 7.30pm.

Assault on the Santa Maria (Assalto ao Santa Maria, Portugal, 2010) – This fact-based historical drama about Operation Dulcinea is set during 1960, when a young emigrant joins a group of opposition movement members in the seizure of the South America-bound Santa Maria cruise ship in a bid to bring attention to the fascist regimes in Portugal and Spain. Saturday, July 9, 2.55pm.

The Hell of '63 (De hel van '63, Netherlands, 2010) – This fact-based sports drama is about the Elfstedentocht, the world's largest and longest speed skating competition that is held irregularly in Friesland in the northern Netherlands. In 1963, thousands of skaters competed in the 200-kilometer race, but only a few crossed the finish line. Saturday, July 9, 4.10pm and Tuesday, July 12, 4.45pm.

The Magic Tree (Magiczne drzewo, Poland, 2009) – A red chair, made out of wood from a magical oak tree, leads children on a fantastic adventure. Winner of several film-festival awards, including the Chicago International Children's Film Festival and the BAMkids Film Festival, New York. Sunday, July 10, 11.30am and
Saturday, July 16, 11am.

The 1,000 Euros Generation (Generazione mille euro, Italy, 2009) – A young man working in the marketing department of a company learns his firm is being "reorganised". The arrivals of a new female colleague and a female housemate lead to an comical series of trials and tribulations. Sunday, July 10, 7.10pm and Wednesday, July 13, 2pm.

The Paper Will Be Blue (Hîrtia va fi albastrã, Romania, 2006) – This fact-based historical drama is set during the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and focuses on a young militiaman who escapes from his unit in hopes of joining the rebels. An officer assembles a patrol to hunt down the deserter, while nervous citizens watch history unfolding on their television sets. Tuesday, July 12, 3pm and Friday, July 15, 3.40pm.

Run If You Can (Renn, wenn Du kannst, Germany, 2009) – A wheelchair-bound young man and his caretaker fall for the same woman, a cellist who is working to finish her music degree. Tuesday, July 12, 6.45pm and Saturday, July 16, 4.15pm.

Cell 211 (Celda 211, Spain, 2009) – A rookie prison guard finds himself in the midst of a riot after an unforeseen turn of events. With the inmates around him unaware of his position, he must pretend to be a prisoner to survive. A winner of multiple awards, including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Film at the "Spanish Oscars", the Goya Awards. Wednesday, July 13, 3.40pm and Friday, July 15, 5.25pm.

An Ordinary Execution (Une exécution ordinaire , France, 2010) – A young urologist practicing in a Moscow hospital in the 1950s desperately tries to get pregnant from her husband, a disillusioned physician. Meanwhile, the doctor, to her horror, is assigned to treat Stalin. Wednesday, July 13, 5.15 and Saturday, July 16, 2.20pm.

The Wedding Photographer (Bröllopsfotografen, Sweden, 2009) – When the factory in his hometown shuts down, a young man decides to try his luck in Stockholm as a wedding photographer. Thursday, July 14, 2pm and Sunday, July 17, 12.45pm.

Exit through the Giftshop (United Kingdom, 2010) – Eccentric French-born Los Angeles thrift-shop owner Thierry Guetta attempts to capture one of the world's most elusive graffiti artists and pranksters – Banksy – with wildly unexpected results. Critical reception is wildly positive. Thursday, July 14, 7.30pm and Saturday, July 16, 7.25pm.

Dust (Luxembourg, 2009) – Teenage twin siblings survive in a post-apocalyptic world in a secluded mansion left by their parents. They lead a quiet and simple life, growing their own food, swimming in a nearby lake, reading and playing chess. With the unexpected arrival of a young man throws their harmonic life into disarray. Thursday, July 14, 4pm and Saturday, July 16, 12.40pm.

Forbidden Fruit (Kielletty hedelmä, Finland, 2009) – A pair of 18-year-old girls from a restrictive Christian order are on their summer break and go to Helsinki for the first time. One of the girls wants to cut loose and experience life before getting married while the other only wants to make sure they return safe. By the end of the summer, one of them will be changed for good. An award-winner and nominee at several film festivals. Sunday, July 17, 5.30pm.