The Reel Asian International Film Festival wrapped up last week. I had a chance to attend two screenings this year… I know only two. During this time of the year, several film festivals overlap and one can find it difficult to attend all screenings. This is where one gets choosy.
I got to see the opening film at Reel Asian, The Drummer by Kenneth Bi, which coincidentally won the NOW Audience Award. I’m not surprised that it won this award but I beg to differ in my opinion of the film. The premise of the story was promising: a young man, son of a gangster, is forced to hide in the mountains after romancing the enemy’s girlfriend; to find himself drawn to the sound of Zen Drums. It starts off well then it gets just too long. The story drags and I found myself saying, “just give it some time.” Well for me, it just took way too long to deliver any punch (no pun intended). The two leads, Tony Leung and Jaycee Chan, play the father and son roles well. But I still didn’t think the characters were developed enough. The drumming scenes delivered and those are what stood out for me. There are some people who may agree with me on this… You may want to read this response to EYE WEEKLY’s review. I’ll end my bit on this film here as I do not have much else to add.
The other film I had an opportunity to see was Hansel & Gretel by Yim Pil-Sung from South Korea. This is a re-telling of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale. I liked this film much better than the opening film. Lee Eun-Soo has a car accident; his car veers off the road and he wakes up in the middle of a dark forest only to be saved by Kim Yon-Hee, a young girl who brings him to a very neat, cozy home. Lee meets Kim’s parents and siblings. The family takes care of Lee but soon he wishes to return home. This is where the story takes a turn, as every attempt Lee makes to leave the forests is unsuccessful and he is forced to return to the home in the forest.
The story is slightly changed in the film in that it is the children who are now “punishing” the adults… The cast worked well together, especially the children: Kim Yon-Hee (Sim Eun-Kyung), her 13 year-old brother Manbok (Eun Won-Jae) along with her younger sister Jung-Soon (Jin Ji-Hee). The children are really believable whether they are being funny or casting some evil looks but adult characters alike are also well portrayed. The set design worked well as did the cinematography. The one thing with this film is that I felt it dragged a bit in the second hour. I think many expected this film to be a horror film but it goes beyond that genre because as much as it can be creepy, it is thought provoking and well crafted.
