I wished I lived in New York so I could attend the New York Asian Film Festival. Although some of these films have made their way to Chicago via the silver screen in the past or are available on DVD, there are quite a few films and filmmakers I have not heard of before. It sounds like it skews to a younger male audience with outrageous characters and themes of action/violence and sex. I love the synopses, which sound as if they were written by people who have watched and loved these films.
The line-up includes films from the heavy-hitters--Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea (has anyone ever seen a feature film from North Korea?)--but also include one or two from Thailand, the Philippines, mainland China, Taiwan and even Malaysia.
Of the handful I have seen, I recommend The Chaser, a film from South Korea. A pimp, who was a former police detective, is suffering business woes as several of his prostitutes have gone AWOL. He comes to believe they are being murdered by a serial killer, and his detective instincts kick in as he starts looking for his missing employees. The film is basically a big chase as the former cop and the psycho killer chase each other through the streets of Korea at night, narrowly missing each other several times. I thought it was interesting how the hero's being a former cop played into his actions and thinking. There is a lot of violence and blood but a lot of suspense.
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