The Japanese actress’ transition behind the camera is explored in a new Eclipse series boxed set from The Criterion Collection.
Plus: ‘Two Women,’ ‘Two Seasons, Two Strangers,’ ‘Mistura,’ and ‘Buffet Infinity.’
Beyond Fest’s first year here in Chicago went off without a hitch. Sold out screenings brought huge crowds and created instant community amongst Music Box Theater regulars, industry professionals and excited out-of-towners. I experienced this first-hand as I arrived for a scheduled interview with the legendary actress Meiko Kaji, best known for her starring roles in Lady Snowblood (1973) and Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance (1974) as a young woman raised to be an assassin after the murder of her parents in turn of the century Japan. Revered for their combination of elegant composition, ferocious sword play, and fearlessly violent set-pieces these two films were enshrined in the Criterion Collection in 2016. Kaji herself was a primary inspiration for Quentin Tarrantino’s…
In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week we look at selected music videos by Cory McAbee. Cory McAbee is a conundrum, both as an artist and as a subject for a Sound and Vision. Always on the periphery of mainstream indie cinema he is the true example of an outsider indie artist. His cinematic work is singular, truly oddball and extremely great. The conundrum is this: what kind of artist is McAbee? And could we call some of his art music videos, which is after all the main subject of this editorial? Cory McAbee has a singular voice, and is a jack of all trades. He writes his movies, acts in them,…
A constellation of Chinese martial arts stars shines in this epic historical action film, including Wu Jing, Jet Li, Nicholas Tse, among others.
Plus: ‘180,’ ‘Verganza,’ ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles,’ ‘The Dark Wizard,’ and new ‘Beef.’
Plus: ‘Erupcja,’ ‘Marama,’ ‘Mile End Kicks,’ ‘Amrun,’ ‘Ballistic,’ ‘Mother Mary,’ ‘Mad Bills to Pay,’ ”The Whistler,’ ‘Blue Heron.’
The poster for this Quebec observational documentary on early childhood, through the titular jardin d’enfants (kindergarden), has at its centre a whimsical, but dense, illustration from France’s Jean Millard. His work in watercolor and gouache (a water-based, opaque paint known for its matte, velvety finish) aims to create infinite worlds open to all. The typeface is clear and clean, leaving the eyes to wander through the secret garden, even as the title seems to be wrapped up in it. The poster is framed, as it were, with the credit block, further adding to the seek-and-find element of the design. The pastel gradient through the illustration feels a bit like a sunrise, which is the metaphor of this earliest phase of life. Kindergarten is structured to follow the gradual…
About twenty-five years ago, Japan’s special kind of horror suddenly spread over the world like a virus. This horror had none of the fun exuberance of slashers, none of the tongue-in-cheek references to popular culture, and none of the gorefests to splatter audiences with (those exist too but are a different brand). Dread and the occasional jumpscare turned out to be, when well used, extremely frightening. This special kind of horror was often bloodless, mean-spirited and surprisingly effective. They were also not expensive, so it’s easy to see how industries worldwide jumped on the format. Nowadays it’s a staple and you need something special to stand out from the crowd. Writer and first-time director Sakai Zenzo gives it a shot by making his film Iai…