Filmmakers

Filmmakers

Movies worth watching:

ANATOMY OF A FALL

ANATOMIE EINS FALLS

The sheer brilliance of writer/director Justine Triet.

2023 Winner, Palme d’Or, Cannes
Screened in Hong Kong: 05 JAN 2024

Filmmaker Justine Triet seemingly takes an ordinary day, mundane by all standards and creates a whodunit mystery.

A tale that does not feel or look extraordinary. Yet with a simple story 3 out of 4 friends leave the theatre with different answers.
This is telling because the entire film does not look or feel clever. Is that the story ? Whom do you believe ? While most filmmakers would include a strong seductive context like Basic Instinct or ‘jazz it up’ a la The Game or Knives Out. This director does neither. She instead highlights the family dog. And how does it end — the last scene says it all.
In life there are no truths. Only personal truths, an interpretation of one’s experience. And in this day and age where sensationalism rules the courts, this simple commentary shows the depths of how far and how important the media plays into our daily lives. “Another Day, Another Headline” … there are no winners and this is the point Triet emphasizes.

Sandra Hüller and Justine Triet

Cannes Palme d'Or

4 of us watched the same film, and we have 3 different reactions !

If that alone is not incredible I don’t know what is. That is mindblowing superb. This filmmaker knows and observes human behaviour like no other. She tells it like it is, and leaves the viewer to believe what they want to believe. In life sometimes, truth is an enigma.

“All we can do is decide.

Film:
Anatomy Of A Fall  

Screenwriter:
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari

Director: 
Justine Triet 

Cinematographer: 
Simon Beaufils

Editor: 
Laurent Sénéchal

Production Design: 
Emmanuelle Duplay

Music Supervisor: 
Thibault Deboaisne

Filmmaker Justine Triet is quite the observer and is ‘the one’ to watch.

If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough.

Robert Capa

Scoop!

Actor Masaharu Fukuyama's performance is gutsy, spirited, and mesmerising to watch.

Screened in Hong Kong: 12 AUG 2020

“It has to be written by the woman he last loved.”

Behind his brash, rough exterior, are kind eyes.

Scoop! is a hilariously entertaining film that sparks bursts of joy and delight, sprinkled with small doses of serious lessons on mental illness, debt, and fear.

What an unexpected surprise — a beloved character; Shizuka is wonderfully captured by the brilliant actor Masaharu Fukuyama who has strong camera presence and gives it his all.
Fukuyama transforms effortlessly into the role of an aging paparazzo — but what is especially unique and impressive is that his presence lingers long after the film has ended. His energy and vigor reminds me of the wild authenticity of Oscar winner Nicolas Cage who embodies the fun-loving challenge of playing a variety of interesting unlikely roles.
Shizuka is paired with a ‘green’ rookie reporter, Nobi played by Fumi Nikaidô and they are tasked with obtaining the exclusive celebrity Scoop! Their witty banter and chemistry amuses …

It can be intimidating playing opposite Masaharu Fukuyama but Fumi Nikaidô remarkably stands firmly on her own.

Intimate scenes in a comedy are difficult with many attempts coming up dry and empty. This however, has a blast of fresh air under director Hitoshi Ône who has taken tenderness and care to a whole other level.
He embarks on the early stages of sensual foreplay as a beautifully lit memory. This was not comedic in any sense but instead has a personal point of view, and spectacularly captures Nobi’s feelings.
The scene boasts the talents of the direction, camera work, and editing. The entire film crew is worth mentioning because it feels like they all had a blast filming and as a result, this naturally and genuinely shows onscreen.
Film:
Scoop!

Screenwriter/Director: 
Hitoshi Ône 

Cinematographer: 
Gen Kobayashi

Editor: 
Yasuyuki Ohzeki

Art Direction: 
Wataru Hirai

Costume Designer: 
Daisuke Iga

Remake of Masato Harada's "Out of Focus".
A Film that Plainly Speaks Volumes about Friendship and Loyalty.

Can’t wait to see when Hollywood calls — who they would pair with Masaharu Fukuyama!

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.

Carl Jung

Moonlight

Actor Trevante Rhodes performance is daring and delicately powerful.

Oscars: Best Picture & Best Adapted Screenplay: ‘Moonlight’ (2017)
Screened in Hong Kong: 12 AUG 2018

You the only man that’s ever touched me. You’re the only one. I haven’t really touched anyone since.

With a lot of hype and critical acclaim surrounding the film Moonlight, there is sometimes a dread of is it really that good?

The answer: Yes, it is that good and much more! An impressive show of camaraderie amongst the players. Each and every character uplifts the other — stepping in and wholeheartedly trusting the scene with subtle nuances: being present + re-Acting.
This was an honest performance piece, and the ensemble is as good as it gets. The cinematography played as if it were a symphony capturing powerful indelible moments that stays with you long after a few weeks, and even many months after. Kudos and congratulations to the entire cast and crew, especially to Naomie Harris who it has been said shot all her scenes in only 3 days?!

I am not sure what I expected Moonlight to be, but it left a huge presence and mark in cinema history. It is a film to be treasured by one of cinema’s very clever writer/director Barry Jenkins.

Trevante Rhodes plays the adult Chiron, nickname: ‘Black’.
Film:
Moonlight

Screenwriter/Director: 
Barry Jenkins 

Cinematographer: 
James Laxton  

Released by A24 in the US.

Trevante Rhodes is The One to Watch!

I don't think that my films are literary; they are based on the most ordinary things of life.

Eric Rohmer

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.

Alfred Hitchcock

On The Beach At Night Alone

A must-see film !

Best Actress, Berlinale: Kim Min-hee
Screened at the Hong Kong Filmart: 14 MAR 2017

“Are you still searching for love?

Where’s love? It’s not even visible? You need to see it in order to search for it.

You know how charming you are?”

As Alfred Hitchcock has said time and time before, film is about the story, the story, and the story.

This would seem to be a classic tale: a story of forbidden love and a lost soul. No heartbreak compares to a love that suffers in the eyes of society that is deemed ‘wrong’. Glimpses of a Woody Allen-esque style and flavour appear in the film. However, it is the remnants of auteur director Eric Rohmer that I see from the very first scenes of this masterpiece.
I say masterpiece because it takes a fearless director to tell a story to its highest truth. This feels like ‘real life’. That we are imposing; with scenes that visually feel like live theatre. There is guts in its staging, and the characters, however small it may be — all work together as an ensemble. I felt transported into the middle of their scene and it was uncomfortable. This film does not feel like an act.

The bold performance of the lead actress Kim Min-hee wins her Best Actress @ Berlinale and is so very well deserved!

Her pain, suffering, and longing for a love that cannot be, hurts and is bravely laid bare. These subtle nuances are splendidly captured in the stillness of the camera, where the director lets his leading lady shine. The minimalist set is kept clean, filtering an essential rawness that looks and feels like a documentary.
While this work may possibly feel too close to home — as such it happens to mirror their true life situation. The director speaks his mind and utter heartfelt words that come alive when spoken and the emotion, it cuts deep. Hong Sang-soo’s script is littered with pain and heartache, and he does not hold back.
Like the classic tale of Romeo & Juliet yearning to love one another even if it is the wrong place, wrong time, wrong person. This film leaves you with a feeling to love without fear.
This film is something all filmmakers have to see. Director Hong Sang-soo and his muse Kim Min-hee are the team to Watch!

We live in a crazy strange world where one is truly lucky to find and meet someone to love in their lifetime; and this message is what the director projects in this film.

“I’m the kind of person who needs to live alone.”
Film:
On The Beach at Night Alone

Screenwriter/Director: 
Hong Sang-soo

Stars:
Kim Min-hee
Seo Young-hwa
Jung Jae-yeong

Distributor: 
Finecut, Korea

This is the very first film I have seen of this director and I can’t wait to revisit his past films.