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TORONTO: Anton Sirius on THE EYE, CHAMPION, SPIRITED AWAY and ROYAL BONBON!!!

Hey folks, Harry here... Yesterday in Toronto the first public screening for a film called CABIN FEVER by an Eli Roth played. It was a distributor screening. They've added additional screenings at Toronto because people went too crazy for it. Phrases like, "Best horror film to play Toronto since DEAD ALIVE!" were heard. Reportedly, that came from the New York Times critic present for the screening. Now there is a bidding war for this deviant horror flick. Watch them lose their minds... ain't it cute? I can't wait to see this one and to hear all you readers and writers in Toronto's point of view when it finally plays!

Day Five

Damn this has been a good festival.

At the halfway point I've already seen Bowling for Columbine, Dolls, Spirited Away (twice), Heaven, City of God, Shaolin Soccer... wow. And for the most part I anticipated those being good to great, just as I expect stuff like Punch-Drunk Love and Irreversible and Lost in La Mancha and Sweatbox and the MC5 doc to kick ass, and I have yet to stumble across my annual tiny little film that blows me away. Dear Goddess am I going to have a tough time doing a top ten list.

My interview with Elijah Wood is scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday), so if this somehow gets up on the site in time send me your questions at AntonSirius@HotMale.Com. I'm also trying to get Gaspar Noé, assuming I'm not thoroughly repulsed by Irreversible the way a goodly number of French critics were at Cannes. Of course French critics are always looking for an excuse to riot, so that doesn't really tell me much. If I book any others (c'mon, PTA) I'll try to give you a heads-up.

Anton

* * * * *

Champion (2002, directed by Kwak Kyeung-Taek)

A biopic on the life of Kim Deuk-Ku, the South Korean fighter killed in the ring by Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini in 1982, Champion has the look and feel of an Asian Rocky, all gritty filmstock and nostalgia.

(For non-boxing fans- the Mancini-Kim fight is easily one of the three most historic fights of the last half-century. Kim was essentially an unknown in North America when he was named #1 contender to Mancini's crown, and even the 'official' South Korean rankings didn't have him that high, but Kim proved in the fight that he belonged in the same ring as Boom Boom, going toe to toe with him for 12 rounds before tiring in the 13th and then being knocked out and into a coma in the 14th. He died in hospital a few days later. Principally as a result of this fight, sanctioned title bouts are now 12 rounds at most. The era of the 15 round title fight died with Kim.)

For two-thirds of its running time Champion is pretty good. The humor is low-key and thoroughly grounded in the characters, and while Kim's story is nothing new (wild young lad finds some discipline and direction in the boxing gym) it is told well. The fight choreography is fairly solid too, given the status of the fighters that are involved (low-level light and welterweight boxers).

Once Kim gets good in the ring, though, and the film starts building to the fight with Mancini it turns to crap. The humor disappears, and the story doesn't so much foreshadow the ending as try to brand it onto your forehead. To give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt part of the Kim legend is that he wrote 'Kill or be killed' on a lampshade in his hotel room just before the fight, but even that (which they didn't show) is more believable than having him tell his fiancée "One of us must die in the ring." Well, maybe it lost something in the translation.

Those of you expecting Tokyo Fist or Somebody Up There Likes Me-style Asian boxing mayhem will be sorely, sorely disappointed. The rest of you... eh, hard to say. Champion isn't a bad film, but in the middle of what is shaping up to be an unbelievably good festival it pales in comparison.

* * * * *

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2002, directed by Hayao Miyazaki)

Wait a minute, I can hear you say- didn't Anton already review Spirited Away? Well, yeah, I did. But here's the thing. For the first time since, um... well, let's come back to that one... Disney have done something nice. Each film in Toronto gets two public screenings- with Spirited Away they showed the dubbed version at one and the subtitled version at the other. Clever me managed to see both, just so I could compare the two. Well that and I got to see it a second time, to confirm that there will be a third and fourth and fifth and sixth and more coming in the future. Goddess I love this film!

The subtitled version is extremely close to the dub, with only a few subtle differences. The dub is dumbed down a bit (unnecessarily if you ask me) for North American audiences, but very slightly. For instance in the dub Yubaba and Zeniba are simply twins; in the subtitled version Zeniba describes them as 'two halves of a whole'. Like I said, slight and subtle.

The film is even better the second time too, and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased against dubs, entirely. The level of detail in the visuals is such that multiple viewings gets rewarded, and the story is still sweet and timeless. I saw it twice in three days and wasn't even remotely bored.

Props to Disney for not watering the film down, and quadruple props if they do release both versions theatrically. After all, they've gone to the trouble of making a subtitled print... why not throw it out there and see what happens?

* * * * *

Royal Bonbon (2002, directed by Charles Najman)

You know it's a bad sign when people flee en masse from the Q&A.

Royal Bonbon is the story of a crazy guy who thinks he is Haiti's King Christophe, the slave who led the revolt that freed the island and the country's first ruler. Driven out of the city by mockery and ridicule he takes up residence in Christophe's ruined palace. Surrounded by a 'court' of doddering senior citizens who have been waiting for Christophe's prophesized return and play along with his delusion, and a young boy desperate to find his father, the faux-Christophe... well, he doesn't do much of anything really. The set-up isn't terrible, but the film seems to expect to be able to coast on that set-up without bothering with a plot. There is some sort of nonsense with a cult who are expecting a resurrection of a different kind, but what the director was aiming for with that sub-plot missed me. I can't say the movie gave me incentive to try very hard to figure it out.

Royal Bonbon seems to want to capture some of the magic of Haitian culture, but instead loses itself in pointless symbolism and mysticism.

* * * * *

The Eye (2002, directed by the Pang Brothers)

A niftily spooky addition to the 'I see dead people' genre, The Eye is the latest feature from Hong Kong's answer to the Wachowskis, Oxide and Danny Pang. Mun is a young woman, blinded when she was little, who receives a cornea transplant. She gets more than she bargained for, however, when she gains not just her sight but also the ability the see the restless dead.

Although it doesn't have the gotcha that propelled the Sixth Sense to a triple digit box office, The Eye is actually a much scarier film. The Pang brothers don't skimp on the make-up the way M. Night did- their spirits are often horrific, their movements and actions grotesque. The elevator scene alone is creepier than everything in the Sixth Sense combined. But in place of the big twist ending The Eye offers up a tension-filled climax that falls more in the realm of bitter irony than the final puzzle piece territory of MNS.

In addition the look of the film is incredible. The Pangs do an amazing job of putting you in Mun's shoes (and lenses), using focusing tricks, overexposures, and other toys to portray her return to the world of the sighted. This gives the early shocks even more power, as neither her nor we are really sure exactly what it we're seeing out of the corner of our eyes.

In short, The Eye kicked butt. If you get a chance to see it, do so. And if you do manage to see it on the big screen, under no circumstances miss the opening credits. Trust me on this one.

Readers Talkback
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  • September 13, 2002 8:06 AM CST

    The Eye...

    by Sword23

    Very interesting... I think I better check this one out.

  • September 13, 2002 9:40 AM CST

    Woohoo!

    by Delete Me

    Spirited Away will play in cinemas here in The Netherlands with Japanese audio and Dutch subs... perfect!

  • September 13, 2002 10:43 AM CST

    "Spirited Away" Theater Listing

    by ll1234

    Located here (http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/sitenews/list_items.php). And yes, certain theaters are receiving both the dub and sub, most notably the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood that is Disney-run.

  • September 13, 2002 1:55 PM CST

    meow

    by RayPist Wit

    Odd, those bastards at disney didnt butcher the dialogue in spirited away and add a few singing and dancing numbers. The only way they can ruin the movie now is if they add Jar-Jar.

  • September 13, 2002 2:23 PM CST

    Let me just say this about Spirited Away

    by otis von zipper

    Seems like this is the proper place to say this. See Spirited Away. See it as soon as you can. Bring friends, family, neighbor kids, whoever you can. I feel it is a wonderful film that easily belongs to that small group of timeless classics like Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, E.T., Pinocchio, and Fantasia. I'm not an anime fanatic, I just really liked it.

  • September 13, 2002 4:01 PM CST

    Dubbed Version

    by JackLint

    I'm really looking forward to seeing the dubbed version. Ive seen the subtitled one twice. If the dubbing job is as good as totoro or mononoke then i'll be very happy. For Totoro and mononoke, Its the rare case where I prefer the dubbed version because they are done so well and are so seamless that I can focus totally on the visuals. And the casting is usually so good. In Mononoke, the meloncholy and monotone performance of Gillian Anderson and the strong willed and tones of Claire Danes and Minnie Driver were very good, and lets not forget Billy bob ( who i normally dispise) and billy crupdup who were right on. Jada Pinkette Smith on the other hand was horrible and stuck out like a sore thumb, but hey you can't win them all. And Phil Hartman in Kiki was kinda lame too, but overall - all the dubs for miyazaki have ben one with great care. I have soo much respect for John Lassitter. He is somebody who truly understands how to treat a movie when bringing it to the US, unlike others who I dont need to mention. GOD - 'kung fu fighting' the trailer was almost as lame as "COUNT... on revenge!"

  • September 13, 2002 4:59 PM CST

    the eye

    by bubblegirl

    I saw this flick in toronto as well and concur that it is a nifty flick. As an objective reporter, I must disclose that 4 of us went in and 2 left in about 20 minutes muttering that it was putting them to sleep - since it was almost 1 am, it might not have been the film. Unverified word on the street has it that Tom Cruise has optioned the rights to remake this movie...

  • September 13, 2002 5:12 PM CST

    Guys, they're gonna bury SPIRITED AWAY.

    by ThePoleOfJustice

    My local theatre is getting in a few weeks, and the promotional materials consist of two xeroxed sheets stuck in the lobby. On the other hand, they do have a massive cardboard standee for TREASURE PLANET. Disney's doing the American distribution (poorly) to keep Studio Gibli's work from making them look ridiculous. I hate to sound all Oliver Stone about this, but shit, the writing's on the wall. I can't imagine any other reason they would give this film such a nothing release after its massive success (and buzz) elsewhere. C'mon, JUWANNA MANN had tons more publicity than this. Also, anime is probably the only time I actually prefer dubbing to subtitles (providing the dubbing is competently done, of course.) Reason? It's anime...I want to stare at the images on the screen, not spend my time looking at the subtitles. For live action films, I'll pick subtitles 100% of the time, but with animation, you watch the screen and see every little detail, nook and cranny, which someone did by hand. The split second necessary to read words at the bottom of the screen wrecks that. Ah well...

  • September 13, 2002 5:13 PM CST

    HOLY SHIT, THEY FINALLY FINISHED THE MC5 THING?

    by ThePoleOfJustice

    YEAH! Is it true the Kraftwerk guys (!?!!?!?) provided some of the funding?

  • September 13, 2002 5:24 PM CST

    Odd, my subtitled version calls them Twins too

    by Drath

    It says "two halves of a whole" as well, but the two are still referred to as twins. Hmmmm.

  • September 13, 2002 10:14 PM CST

    i've heard great things said about THE EYE

    by mooncake

    all of my friends from asia who have seen THE EYE had great things to say about it. it's one of the exceptionally rare good films to come out of hong kong these days. those Pang brothers seem to have some talent in film directing!