THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

In a nation where anyone can carry a gun, it's not easy to distance oneself from violence. At least according to Canadian-born director David Cronenberg (The Fly, Dead Ringers). In this, the director's twentieth film, partially based on the eponymous graphic novel by John Wagner, Cronenberg focuses on the family, whereas Wagner focused on the mob. The film relates the story of the small town owner of a diner, who's thrust into the spotlight after killing (in self-defense) two thugs. In no time, his quiet home life becomes a cycle of ever-more-vicious ultra-violence. With the director posing the question (among others): how much carnage is necessary to protect one's family from harm? Though made with a relatively small budget, History is a prime example of Cronenberg's cinematic audacity and intelligence; he demonstrates the ease with which "normal" people can fall into a spiral of violence, and how it provides an all too easy answer to life's complications. The film itself is full of violence–excessive, quick and intimate, though never exploitative. This straight-forward modern tale, supported by a superb cast (Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt), won several awards, from NY to LA, and the 63-year-old director's hometown (2005 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards for Best Director and Best Picture and Best Canadian Film).
New Line Cinema

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May 2006 issue

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May 2006 issue

Perpetual Motion was promoted (and sold) as a Chinese version of Sex and the City. Though this reviewer looked in vain for any trace of sex, or city for that matter (a house serves as the sole location). False advertising aside, the plot is of interest: Niuniu is convinced that her husband has had an affair with one of her acquaintances; to discover the truth, she invites three of her girlfriends, each of whom is a suspect, to a Spring Festival celebration. Indeed, Director Ning Ying has devoted most of her effort to the narrative; Perpetual Motion is almost as devoid of production values as it is of sex. Admittedly, the point here is substance over style, but the film’s cheap look undermines its appeal, and the message. But what exactly, is the message? If Ning Ying’s aim was to present a new, feminist representation of women, she went astray; the film is more of series of sessions with a psychoanalyst: a sort of group-therapy where the main characters are neurotic, manipulative, haughty and pompous. The screenwriter hasn’t helped. Perpetual Motion is full of stereotypes – the very thing Ning is supposedly trying to fight against. Take this line, for example: “Americans aren’t romantic enough, while French are too romantic.” Ahem.
Beijing Happy Village

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May 2006 issue

A Mexican immigrant living in a poor Los Angeles suburb dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. He gets his chance when a coach from British club Newcastle United offers him a kick at the ball. Goal! is the first entry in this USD 100 million trilogy that boasts more real life soccer stars (Shearer, Zidane, Beckham) than any one team could possibly afford. And why not? Goal! has FIFA’s blessing (the international football governing body) and will be released to coincide with the 2006 IFA World Cup in Germany (which kicks off this June). Naturally, the series takes aim at the young audience. Says David Beckham, “It will provide a positive message to kids around the world.” So what’s the message, Mr. Posh Spice? To make some filthy lucre in a dog-eat-dog world, or the struggle to fulfill one’s dream – and get rich and famous? The former, of course. Viewers see little of the players day-to-day struggles, rather the film focuses on the behind-the-scenes politicking so endemic to this sport. Michael Winterbottom, the flim’s original director was replaced after objecting to interference from the FIFA. In sum, Goal! is a no goal. A worldwide flop with disappointing box-office scores even in the big football nations.
Buena Vista International

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May 2006 issue

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May 2006 issue

Throughout his life, Ray Robinson Charles (1930-2004) never really escaped the alternating cycle of success and failure, both personal and professional that seemed his fate since birth. He had a rocky start. At five, he witnessed the death of his brother, became blind at seven and an orphan at fifteen. But battling the odds seemed to fuel his genius; he was one of the first artists to fuse gospel and R&B. Still, the struggle took its toll; Charles developed a heroin addiction. Hackford stresses the impact Charles’ childhood had on his adult life in a series of flashbacks and flash-forwards. This editing technique accelerates the movie’s pace; Ray’s quite long (178 minutes) but far from dreary. The film benefits from Charles role as ‘supervisor’ and it’s evident that he didn’t indulge in self-censorship; the singer’s dark side is clearly there for all to see from his drug habit to his adultery. While far from perfect in his personal life, Charles was a perfectionist in his work – he re-recorded some of his songs for this independent production (later widely distributed by Universal, and released in China by CAV Warner). Before dying of liver failure in 2004, Charles was able to sit through the first edit of the film to contemplate his own legend.
CAV Warner

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April 2006 issue

Most people would do anything to escape prison. Michael Scofield, on the other hand, tries his best to get inside – to the delight of the audience. Scofield wants to get in the penitentiary to help his brother escape from death row, where he’s ended up after being wrongly accused of the murder of the vice-president’s brother. Of course, the case is more complicated than it seems, with conspiracies unfolding inside and outside the prison. Despite this synopsis, don’t expect prison-genre clichés. There are, of course, the compulsory baddies, corrupt and brutal wardens, and psychotic and perverted inmates. Yet the story is well-written, as well-written as Escape from Alcatraz, for example. For one thing, the series conveys a sense of realism; indeed, Prison Break was shot, in part, on location at the Joliet Prison in Illinois. We’re not giving anything away by mentioning that an escape scene in the program looked so convincing that several US prisons banned the TV series. In short, lock yourself in, get comfortable on your bunk, and enjoy the first season of this highly-suspenseful show. But get ready to do some hard time – the second season will air (in the US) from March to May this year.
Fox Television

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April 2006 issue

During the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in Germany, eleven Israeli athletes were taken hostage by the terrorist group Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government unofficially recruited agents to execute the Black September operatives. Munich is a 165-minute edge-of-your-seat movie experience that examines the emotional and ethical toll upon the members of the Israeli task force sent to execute the terrorists. The film opens with a recreation of the fedayeen abducting and executing the Israeli athletes, followed by the Israelis exacting vengeance, spilling blood for blood. At the time, the Palestinian terrorists were viewed as heroes by their compatriots. The Israeli undercover assassins, employing terrorist methods, were also seen as heroes in Israel. Hero or terrorist? Merely a matter of perspective. This USD 75 million thriller raises some thought-provoking questions, questions that have yet to be answered thirty years later as the tit-for-tat cycle of violence in the Middle East continues. Munich received five Oscar nominations and a Directors Guild of America nomination. That said, the film performed better worldwide than in the US.
DreamWorks

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April 2006 issue

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April 2006 issue

In Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist, the central character is a paragon of stoic endurance. No matter what happens to the kid, he takes it with a smile. Actually, just a barely perceptible shrug of the shoulders. Twist is the center around which all the characters revolve, but he’s the least quirky, exciting, poignant, and human of them all. He’s the one to whom everything happens, but about whom audiences couldn’t care less. After his success with the 2003 Academy-Award-winning The Pianist, Polanski has made one of those rare films where supporting actors are the real stars. Of course, no Twist, no movie. But Oliver, on his own, is rather a boring young lad, devoid of excitement and personality. Reportedly, Paris-born actor/producer/director Polanski made this version of the Dickens’ classic for his children, unlike most of his previous works (including Hook and Repulsion) which children shouldn’t see unless they wish to be afflicted with life-long trauma. Which is not to suggest that Twist is children’s fare. By making Oliver a near-mute cipher, Polanski allows us to focus on his masterly use of the cinematic language, without contrived emotions to distract. In short, a triumph of compassion over sentiment.
SPHE

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April 2006 issue

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Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
April 2006 issue

Following Shanghai Story, a subtle, semi-autobiographical, family drama set in post- “cultural revolution” Shanghai, local director Peng Xiaolian has changed course. Her latest film, Shanghai Rumba, is a multi-layered romance set in the late 1940s. The film is drenched in the cinema milieu. An unhappily-married young woman dreams of genuine love. Later, she joins a leftist film production company, where she meets Ah Chuan, a popular actor. Shanghai Rhumba was released on St. Valentine’s Day this year, a fitting date for this love story which features two real-life lovers in the cast: actors Xia Yu (Waiting Alone, 2004) and Yuan Quan (the stage play Amber, 2005). Peng exploits this element of reality in the film, including subtle references to the romance, on-screen and off. Adding yet another level to the plot, the film was inspired by a 70-year-old, legendary love affair between the ‘Prince of Film’ Zhao Dan (Crossroads, 1936) and actress Huang Zongying. If that’s not enough sentiment for you, Shanghai Rumba’s exquisite production values offer a gorgeous representation of the city as it was (or is remembered by romantics) in its ‘golden years’. With stunning cinematography, gorgeous costumes and old-fashioned music-score, this is one film that lovers anywhere can’t afford to miss.
Shanghai Film Studio

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April 2006 issue

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April 2006 issue

If Duplex were a real-estate property, Miramax producers might have thought twice before investing in a project built on such a shaky foundation. Produced in 2003, this 89-minute-long comedy only reached Chinese theaters this year. Likely to produce forced smiles than real laughs, this film is mercifully short, for which thanks is due to director Danny de Vito. The two-level apartment story lacks both a clear blueprint and quality material. A young, New York-based professional couple, played by Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore, finds their dream home in the form of the downstairs half of a Brooklyn duplex. Unfortunately, their neighbor is a nightmare. Unlike de Vito’s The War of the Roses (1989), Duplex ignores the fact that good comedy is anchored by truth. Instead of offering believable characters in exaggerated circumstance, it relies on a plot twist that rings false. De Vito tries (and fails) to plaster over the holes in the plot with cheap filler. The flick flopped in the US, and Barrymore (deservedly) won the 2004 Worst Actress Razzie Awards for her tasteless performance. Miramax

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April 2006 issue

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April 2006 issue

At 52, Jackie Chan or Cheng Long (Dragon Cheng) has appeared in more films, in Asia and the West, than any other ten actors combined. As such, he merits the box set treatment and CAV Warner’s magnificent, limited edition, collector’s box (only 3,000 copies), includes a dragon t-shirt and four Chan films from the 90s – a transitional period when the actor journeyed to the West and in the process, lost something of his style. Fortunately, one of the films here is the excellent Drunken Master 2 (1994), his last Hong Kong Kung Fu movie. Rumble in the Bronx (1996) is also impressive, but it failed to establish Chan in the American market. The big-budget Mr. Nice Guy (1997) was a more successful effort to place Chan squarely in the US mainstream. In a similar vein, the entertaining, but cheap, Hong Kong/Aussie Who Am I? (1998) was a failed attempt to make the dragon an international star, at least, a respected international star. Chan is known throughout the world, and he has many admirers. Still, his later works, for example, the foul and unfunny US flicks, Rush Hour or Shanghai Knights, are sad reminders of what could have been. Note that this set doesn’t offer English subtitles; no matter, you can wear the t-shirt.
CAV Warner

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March 2006 issue

If you think you know Pierce Brosnan, think again. The stylish, phlegmatic British gentleman, James Bond, is no more. In The Matador, Brosnan is Julian Noble, an unsavory hitman sent all over the world to ‘facilitate fatalities’. Noble is anything but. He’s an asocial, alcoholic, middle-age killer, whose social life is limited to nights with hookers. ‘Matador’ means ‘killer’ in Spanish, and killing is what Noble does best. But even hitman get the blues, and Noble suffers a middle-age crisis; he senses the shallowness of his life; becomes depressed; fails to do his job. Of course, this leads to some serious consequences. Despite the nature of the story, this is not an action film; rather, it is drama laced with black comedy. With a well-written script, a wicked soundtrack, great performances and slick photography, this film is a sure hit, if you’ll excuse the pun. The real draw though is Brosnan’s portrayal of an inept, sleazy killer, and it’s evident that the actor enjoyed the part, meticulously deconstructing his screen persona. Check out the scene in the posh hotel lobby and you’ll understand why he was nominated for Best Comedy Actor at the 2006 Golden Globe awards.
The Weinstein Company

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
March 2006 issue

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March 2006 issue

For the past five years, Zhang Yimou has switched back and forth from action blockbusters with mass appeal to the more personal art-house film. His latest work falls in the latter category. Or does it? With a modest budget of RMB 56 million, this movie might best be described as an ‘art-house blockbuster’. It has been promoted and distributed like a blockbuster and has enough appeal to reach audiences across Asia and beyond. But at the same time, it’s the sort of work that will wow film-festival goers. The plot concerns a Japanese fisherman who travels thousands of miles to Yunnan province in search of a local opera performer who was supposed to sing for the fisherman’s terminally ill son. The story is an excuse to throw a taciturn Japanese guy - played by ‘Japanese Clint Eastwood’ Ken Takakura - into the Chinese countryside and see what happens. While the film has definite commercial potential (just ask the Yunnan tourism board), its also addresses father-son relationships and the culture gap in a thought-provoking manner. So is this hybrid a sign of what’s to come? Perhaps Zhang’s next flick, Autumn Remembrance, will be a ‘blockbuster art-house’ film.
Toho Company

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March 2006 issue

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March 2006 issue

US films and TV series have long been inspired by real life confrontations, e.g., the Cold War and Vietnam, but Over There breaks new ground. It is the first show based on a war still in progress – the war in Iraq. Unlike some of its predecessors, this series doesn’t romanticize; rather it portrays the day to day violence without a trace of sentimentality. Over There follows an infantry platoon led by a savvy, battle-hardened sergeant. Indeed, he’s a good man to have around when one has to deal with insurgents and the military bureaucracy. This series is not a commercial for the military, or the US government. None of the parties involved are completely ‘good’ or ‘evil’ and no one has a solid claim on the truth. Yes, this is television, and though based on real events, the series is not a documentary. But it does feel realistic. War, as everyone knows, is terrible stuff and this series convincingly portrays the moral, physical and mental state of soldiers on both sides of the war. Patriotism is not an issue here; even hope is in short supply. The end credit sequence features a song with the lyric: “Someone has to die”. In fact, the show died in its second season. In Bush’s America, pessimism is not tolerated.
fX Network

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
March 2006 issue

Kung Fu movies aren’t famous for providing anything more than kicks, back flips and thrills, but Fearless breaks the mold; indeed, it is a movie with a message. Produced by and starring Jet Li, this film tells the true story of Tianjin-born Master Huo Yuanjia (1869-1910), the heroic founder of the Jing Wu Sports Federation. In Shanghai, in the first decade of the last century, Hou set out to prove the superiority of his (and China’s) martial arts. He challenged all comers and in doing so earned the respect of some of the most ruthless and brutal opponents ever to appear in the ring (the fight scenes are extraordinary, choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping [the Matrix]). But there’s more to this movie than action. Huo’s motto was: ‘Never give up’ – even when he lost a fight, he came out a winner. Li seconds the motion. Like Huo, he also founded an organization with a noble aim, the One Foundation which offers support to the suicidal. Its message: ‘Life is worth living’. And Fearless, both for its cinematic qualities and uplifting message, is worth seeing. Indeed, it is the best Kung Fu film we’ve seen in years.
Columbia Tristar Asia

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March 2006 issue

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March 2006 issue

Following his highly successful adaptation of Lord of the Rings, director Peter Jackson tackled another classic, Cooper and Schoedsack’s King Kong (1933). Of course, he had a far bigger budget, and it shows in this latest version. Jackson’s Kong is an epic, though the story remains about the same: An ambitious, ruthless moviemaker persuades his cast to travel to the mysterious Skull Island, where they discover a giant gorilla. Indeed, this is the most expensive film made since Titanic – USD 207 million (equal to the total Chinese box-office revenue for 2005) – and much of the cash was spent to grand affect. Emotions, action and special effects are state of the art, which is to say they are overblown. True, Jackson has worked hard on character development, and roughly the first third of this three-hour long movie serves to introduce the players. The 7.6m ape appears some 70 minutes into the film, and he does look real, courtesy of the motion-capture technique (the same used for Gollum in the Rings trilogy). That said, this high-tech, megabuck version has nothing on the original.
Universal Pictures/UIP

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
March 2006 issue

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Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue