Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening August 23-29

The Raid: Redemption

A worldwide sensation among action-movie and martial-arts fans, The Raid: Redemption has a police tactical team going to make an arrest in an apartment building. There, they are trapped and beseiged almost non-stop by a ruthless mobster’s army of thugs.

Iko Uwais stars as a rookie member of the SWAT team. He's a practitioner of the Indonesian martial art of pencak silat, and is credited with sensationalizing it for worldwide audiences in much the same way that Tony Jaa did with Muay Thai (or more properly Muay Boran) in 2003's Ong-Bak.

The director is Gareth Huw Evans, a Welsh-born filmmaker who relocated to Indonesia and made a name for himself with Merantu, a cult martial-arts hit starring Uwais.

Following Merantu, Evans and Uwais aimed to make something harder-hitting while also channeling the martial-arts classics like Bruce Lee's The Big Boss and Jackie Chan's Drunken Master as well as newer cult movies like Park Chan-wook's Oldboy and Takeshi Miike's Ichi the Killer and even Hollywood action blockbusters like Die Hard.

The Raid premiered last year on the film-festival circuit and was picked up for U.S. distribution, where it acquired a retooled score and the Redemption in its title, aiming for a possible franchise.

Critical reception is mostly positive. It has English and Thai subtitles at Apex and SFW CentralWorld. Rated 18+.

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Also opening

Shambhala (ชัมบาลา) – Sunny Suwanmethanon and Ananda Everingham are estranged brothers on a soul-searching journey in Tibet. Sunny, the more strait-laced and uptight of the pair, decides to go to Tibet to fulfill the wishes of his ailing girlfriend (Nalinthip Phermphatsakul). His feckless older brother, played by Ananda, then turns up. He's having problems with his girlfriend (Asa Wang) and invites himself along. Panjapong Kongkanoi, a veteran TV director, helms this road-trip drama, which is his feature-film debut. It was completed three years ago, but has been delayed for release by Sahamongkol Film International for one reason or another. You can find out more about it in an article in The Nation. Rated 15+.

Lay the Favourite – After achieving great critical acclaim with his portrait of a troubled Elizabeth II in The Queen, director Stephen Frears makes a return of sorts to a grittier tale, like The Grifters or Dirty Pretty Things. This comedy is about a former stripper (Rebecca Hall) from Florida who finds herself in Las Vegas. There, she falls in with a gang of sports gamblers led by Bruce Willis. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joshua Jackson and Vince Vaughn also star. Critical reception is mixed, and is so far among the most-poorly received films by the High Fidelity helmer. At SF cinemas. Rated 13+.

The Dinosaur Project – Tired of waiting around for another Jurassic Park sequel, a team of British filmmakers went digging and turned up some “found footage” that purportedly reveals the terrifying discovery of adventurers who were searching for “Africa’s Loch Ness monster”. But really, it's just bad CGI. Critical reception is mixed. Rated G.

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Also showing

When Night Falls screens on Friday at 5 and Sunday at 11.

16th Thai Short Film and Video Festival – Wrapping up on Sunday, there are still many highlights to see, among them Queer Musical!, adding a tuneful twist to the annual package of GLBT-themed shorts from around the world. That's tonight at 6.30 and on Sunday at 1pm. Also of note is the Jeonju Digital Project, offering new works by three Asian filmmakers: The Great Cinema Party by the Philippines' Raya Martin; Light in Yellow Breathing Space by Sri Lanka's Vimukthi Jayasundara; and the feature-length docu-drama When Night Falls by China's Ying Liang, on Friday at 5 and Sunday at 11. Controversially, When Night Falls deals with the case of Yiang Jia, a man who became a symbol for injustice when was executed in 2008 for killing six police officers with a knife. He had complained of abuse and harassment by police  after his arrest in 2007 for riding an unlicensed bicycle. The film, which has angered Chinese authorities, follows Yiang Jia's mother in her quest for justice. According to the Bangkok Post, Ying Liang, who is in Bangkok to give a masterclass on Friday afternoon, will face arrest if he returns home. On Saturday at 1pm, the entire S-Express package of shorts from the Philippines, Malayasia, Indonesia and Singapore will be shown in one 250-minute block. Also worth catching is the Best of Clermont-Ferrand program on Sunday at 11am, offering an entertaining selection of short movies from the world's largest shorts fest. It's all at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in the fifth-floor auditorium and the fourth-floor conference room. Admission is free.

Chulalongkorn University International Film Festival – The twice-yearly DVD-screening series continues on Friday with Silenced, a South Korean drama in which a new teacher at a school for deaf children uncovers a dark, troubling secret. On Monday it's Tuesday After Christmas, a Romanian drama about a married man torn between devotion to his wife and lust with his new fling. And next Wednesday is Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, a crime tale by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The series wraps up on August 31 with Belgium's Dardenne brothers and The Kid With a Bike. Screenings are at 5pm on the ninth floor of the Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Building at Chula. Admission is free. All have English subtitles.

Ek Tha Tiger – In case you missed it last week, Bollywood Thai is offering another run this weekend of the blockbuster thriller starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. The action-packed spy-romance yarn is about a university professor suspected of selling nuclear secrets to Pakistan. It's in Hindi with English subtitles at SF Cinema City Terminal 21 on Friday at 7.30, Saturday at at 5 and 7.30, Sunday at 3, 4 and 7pm and Monday at 7.30pm. Call (089) 488 2620 or (02) 225 7500 or visit www.BollywoodThai.com.

La Petite Jérusalem (Little Jersusalem) – Karin Albou directs this 2005 drama starring Fanny Valette, Elsa Zylberstein and Bruno Todeschini about an orthodox Jewish teenager living with her family in France, struggling to balance her religious upbringing with her increasingly complex views of contemporary society. It's in French with English subtitles at the Alliance Française on Wednesday, August 29, at 7.30pm.

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Sneak preview

Ted – With his animated TV series like "The Family Guy" and "American Dad", writer-director Seth MacFarlane leaves no pop-culture reference unturned as he aims for the broadest possible laughs. But with Ted, his feature-film debut, McFarlane offers a more narrowly honed concept with a live-action story of man and his talking teddy bear. Mark Wahlberg stars, with MacFarlane himself as the voice of the smoking-drinking-swearing stuffed bear. I wonder if MacFarlane was inspired at all by the 2005 Thai comedy, Citizen Dog by Wisit Sasanatieng? It also had a smoking-drinking-swearing teddy bear. Critical reception is mostly positive. It's in sneak previews this week, screening nightly at most cinemas from around 8, and then opens in wide release next week. Rated 18+.

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.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening September 9-15, 2010

Aftershock


China's record-setting blockbuster Aftershock is a disaster drama, chronicling a family torn apart by the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.

Directed by Feng Xiaogang (Assembly, The Banquet), it's an epic tearjerker, following characters over the decades from 1976 to the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

It broke box-office records last month, earning 532 million yuan ($78.6 million).

Aftershock is China's first commercial IMAX movie – a first by a studio outside of North America – however the local release won't be in the IMAX format. It's at Apex and House in Mandarin with English and Thai subtitles. Rated 13+.

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Also opening


Resident Evil: Afterlife – Director Paul WS Anderson and his leading-lady wife Milla Jovovich return for a fourth outing of this action-horror franchise inspired by a video game. Milla again plays Alice, the genetically enhanced warrior woman and survivor of a viral zombie apocalypse unleashed on the world by the Umbrella Corporation. Picking up from the ending of 2007's Resident Evil: Extinction, Alice has made her way from Nevada desert up to Alaska, where a ragtag group of survivors have fled, in hopes of finding a land untouched by the T-Virus mutation. She gets in a plane and flies it to Los Angeles, where she finds more survivors and leads them on an attack on Umbrella's underground headquarters. Mother-to-be Ali Larter also returns as Claire, the plucky leader of the band of resistance fighters, along with Sienna Guillory. Wentworth Miller joins the cast as Claire's brother, leading the LA cell. It's in 3D in some cinemas, including IMAX. Rated 15+.


We Are Family – Writer-producer Karan Johar offers the Bollywood remake of the 1998 Hollywood family comedy-drama Stepmom, with Kajol in the Susan Sarandon role of the devoted mother of three children. She's divorced from her husband (Ed Harris in the original, Arjun Rampal here), who has a new career-oriented girlfriend (Kareena Kapoor taking the Julia Roberts role). It's showing at Major Cineplex Sukhumvit (Ekamai) on Friday at 8.30pm and Sunday at 7.30pm and at Major Cineplex Rama III on Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 4pm. For more details, call Bollywood Thai at 089 488 2620.

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Also showing


Agrarian Utopia (สวรรค์บ้านนา, Sawan Baan Na) – Uruphong Raksasad directs this beautiful, highly acclaimed experimental documentary on the hardships of rice farming. The director hired two families to tend a plot of land in his native rural Chiang Rai Province, setting the stage for real-life hardships with no script. The film pulls no punches as it depicts the challenges the families face as they try to plant their crop with a stubborn buffalo, and work in all kinds of weather, from blistering heat, shivering chills and intense downpours, all captured on high-definition video camera, to brilliant, jaw-dropping effect. Part of Extra Virgin's Director's Screen Project, Agrarian Utopia is playing at SFX the Emporium until September 29 at around 7 nightly with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2. Rated 15+


Doc Fest – Thai and international documentaries will be shown this weekend at Chulalongkorn University. The new and classic Thai selection includes The Rocket from Agrarian Utopia director Uruphong Raksasad, Home Video (Made in Thai Town) by Sompot Chidgasornpongse, The Mother Wanna Go to Carrefour by recent Thai Short Film & Video Fest winner Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and In Between, the 2006 short doc by Baby Arabia directors Kong Rithdee, Panu Aree and Kaweenipon Ketprasit. The international selection includes Afghan Star, Modern Life, Blindsight and Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One. The fest is in Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Communication Arts, Dr Thiem Auditorium on Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 8pm.


Cabaret Balkan: Rarely Seen Films from the Balkans – The film series continues on Sunday with two 1960s Romanian films. First up is Reconstruction, a 1968 drama in which two students are made to re-enact a drunken brawl as part of a disciplinary action by a prosecutor, a policeman and a teacher. Next is A Bomb Was Stolen, the debut live-action film by animator Ion Popescu-Gopo. It's a low-tech sci-fi Cold War comedy. The movies are at Thammasat University Tha Prachan, in the Pridi Banomyong Library's Rewat Buddhinun Room, U2 Floor. The shows start at 12.30. The movies are on DVD. Admission is free. You'll have to inform the library staff you're watching the movies and let them copy your ID. Call (02) 613 3529 or (02) 613 3530 or visit the DK Filmhouse blog for the complete lineup.


Ali Zaoua, prince de la rue – Ali, Kouka, Omar and Boubker are street kids in Casablanca. They sniff glue to escape the harsh reality. However, the boys must face that reality when a rival gang intrudes on their turf and kills Ali. Rather than abandoning their friend, the three survivors decide to give their friend a burial fit for a king. It's showing on Wednesday, September 15 at 7:30pm at the Alliance Francaise, with English subtitles. Admission is free.