Saturday, August 19, 2006

edinburgh film festival 8/16

SUMMER PALACE (YIHEYUAN)
Lou Ye / China & France / 2006 / 140 min
Hao Lei, Guo Xiaodong, Hu Lingling, Zhang Xianmin


24399

Breathtaking, controversial drama, from the maker of Purple Butterfly (EIFF 2004).
It is the mid-1980s, and teenage Yu Hong leaves her village, her family and her boyfriend to study at Beijing University. There she discovers a very different world, and falls passionately in love with fellow student Zhao Wei. But though their relationship soon comes to overwhelm everything else in their lives, the weight of history soon pulls them apart - their story, like those of so many others, overwhelmed by the massacre in Tiananmen Square. Featuring a level of sexual and political frankness unprecedented in mainland Chinese cinema, Lou's fourth feature was banned by his country's government days before its Cannes premiere. It is shown here uncut: a groundbreaking film, and a masterful integration of editing, art direction and sound design, by one of the most important and accomplished directors working today.


MIRRORBALL MADE IN JAPAN
80 min

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Visual adventures, Nippon style. A comprehensive, eye-poppin' round up of must-see Japanese music promos and shorts.

Robots! Games! Fashion! Art! Japan has always been at the forefront of the aesthetically cutting edge, and this year's selection of promos and shorts proves no exception. With the likes of director Nagi Noda (Partizan Productions) leading the pack, the bar has been set VERY high. From the dizzily surreal to the so-cute-it-hurts, Mirrorball Made in Japan has put together a veritable bento box of live action and animated visual styles.

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