Time for yet another survey of this year’s New York Asian Film Festival! This time we’ve got bare naked boobies that are literally in your face, a girl who redefines the term “crazy”, and a movie that may change your view on the blind forever, along with masseurs and masseuses…
3D Naked Ambition
As the very first film to be screened in 3D, naturally the NYAFF chose a sex comedy. 3D Naked Ambition (technically Naked Ambition 2) stars Chapman To (who aside from being the lead in the sex comedy that headlined the fest two years ago has, imho, the coolest name ever) as Wyman Chan, a guy that wrote stories for the erotic section of the local newspaper until changes in the marketplace forced him out of a job. Not surprisingly, Chan is incensed by the notion that no one pays for porn anymore (thanks to the internet), so he decides upon another way to make money off of horny dudes: by producing an AV (which stands for Adult Video, aka what porno movies are called in Asia). Chan and his buddies venture to Japan where they meet Shodaiko Hatoyama (played by Josie Ho, whom I have kind of a major crush for, after this movie), a rather kooky woman that’s a fellow Hongkonger who’s embedded in the seedier parts of Tokyo. Hatoyama sets them up with a porn production company and everything’s just awesome until they all manage to piss off their leading man. Chan ends up having to act in the movie unwillingly, which definitely shows in his performance”. Which, as it turns out, is a hit among women in Japan; they love how the tables are turned for once, with the woman dominating the man.
While my familiarity with the world of porno is quite limited (not just saying that btw), there I get the impression that are plenty of movies in which women forcibly advantage of men, but Chan’s genuine freak out propels him to superstardom and a brand new career, in which he has sex with all the great female talents from the world of Japanese AV (and for each movie, he has to pretend that it’s pure torture). It’s worth noting that 3D Naked Ambition enlists the aide of legit porn actresses, hence why you see a LOT of naked flesh. And not to sound like a typical guy, but seeing a pair of particularly large boobies, front and center, was excellent use of the film’s 3D presentation. I was also genuinely surprised by some of the porno actress’ acting chops, especially the one especially fresh faced girl who is being forced into the AV world thanks to her shady management and is unwilling to perform (the behind the scenes of the adult film world, both the humorous and not so much, are touched upon, albeit lightly). But she ends up opens up to Chan because he’s such a genuinely nice guy and is able to have sex with him on camera after all. Which is supposed to be this sweet, poignant moment but ends up being unintentionally depressing. Or was it intentionally? I was also shocked by the amount of context and commentary that the movie is chock full of.
Anyhow, life is good until Chan’s girlfriend from Hong Kong shows up. The inevitable break up culminates in her kicking her former bf in the nuts (and on national television), which naturally leads to performance problems on the set. Then along comes some a brand new adult star heartthrob, one who wishes to challenge Chan’s crown as the King of AV, so our leading man has to go on a training regimen to build back his strength. That’s where all the HK film industry in-jokes, a staple for any Category III movie, and 3D gags really come out of the woodwork. Regarding the former, one of the reasons why the aforementioned Vulgaria from 2012 didn’t quite work is that the jokes went over my head, due to obvious cultural differences, but thanks to the increase in possibilities that 3D affords, we get more sight gags. Which are not only more universal in general, but are exceptionally executed as well, especially when compared to most 3D movies I’ve seen in the past. The fact that 3D Naked Ambition was shot in 3D to begin definitely helps, though it was also intriguing to see an entirely different visual approach period, which is somewhat a given that it’s a product from an entirely different part of the world; 2D HK movies inherently look and feel different than 2D US movies, but so much more in 3D. It was also just plain weird to see a subtitled 3D flick, with the text ever so slightly floating on top of everything.
Things culminate with Mario Ozawa (that’s Chan’s porn star name) going head to head against challenger Nagasaki Naok (portrayed by guest star Louis Koo; should maybe also mention Sandra Ng has a brief appearance, repressing her role from Golden Chicken, which was also shown at this year’s NYAFF) by starring in flicks that not only contain gratuitous amounts of sex, but also challenges the human heart and soul. Oh, and the person acting as judge is both Mario and Nagasaki’s mentor, a legit star from the AV world (think Ron Jeremy but about a billion times less disgusting, but still very much gross) who demonstrated finger techniques to melons in an earlier training montage that I forgot to mention (and which was another excellent use of 3D). 3D Naked Ambition has been, by far, the biggest surprise of the NYAFF 14 thus far; unfortunately it’s one sole screening has just passed, but if you can catch it later down the road, even if it’s just in 2D, don’t hesitate to do so.
Beautiful New Bay Area Project/Seventh Code
I admire anyone who knows exactly what they’re doing, especially filmmakers. Take Kiyoshi Kurosawa for example; you’d be hard pressed to find another director who controls every minute aspect of information that’s conveyed to such a calculated degree. Kurosawa’s also the king of only showing what he believes is important, not a sliver more, hence why his work is often a challenge to absorb and fully comprehend. Though even I’ll admit that he’s not entirely successful 100% of the time, and nothing illustrates this better than the back-to-back screening of Beautiful New Bay Area Project and Seventh Code.
Okay, maybe passing any sort of judgment on Beautiful New Bay Area Project is unfair. It’s 29 minute long run time made a lot more sense once I discovered that it was part of an anthology of short stories called Beautiful 2013, commissioned by the Hong Kong International Film Festival and for the Chinese version of YouTube, Youku. I believe all the directors involved (four in total) were asked to do something related to beauty, and Kurosawa chose to craft a tale about some young punk that’s the head of a construction company (a role he basically inherited and which he is so not suitable for) who falls in love with a female dockworker. A few seemingly key details are casually divulged, like how the girl is working in an area that has been exposed to some kind of brand new norovirus, and how the guy claims to have known her in another life or from the future. Both end up being red herrings, which is unlike Kurosawa plus flat out annoying. The kid makes multiple attempts at wooing the girl but to no avail and I found myself wondering when the hell the movie would end, despite knowing in advance that it was only half an hour. Eventually the guy steals the girl’s nametag and she heads to his office, where she proceeds to beat everyone up. Alright, that part was cool; it was interesting seeing a director, best known for slow paced, psychological horror movies, handle an action scene. But then it just ends, so moving on…
Meanwhile, Seventh Code is a winning example of Kurosawa’s less is more approach. The run time here is just 60 minutes, because that’s all he needs to tell a crime thriller. It’s all about Akiko, a girl who is absolutely smitten with Matsunaga, whom she had a brief encounter with back home, in Japan. So much so that she tracks him down to Vladivostok (that’s in Russia, btw), where he’s engaged in some kind of business, and tries to finally score a date. But he’s got more important things to do, plus the chick is plain crazy yo, so he ditches her and goes his merry way. Yet Akiko finds him once more, but this time she’s beaten up by a pair of thugs, stuffed into a bag, and deposited in the middle of no where. Akiko manages to find her way back to the city, yet is still a stranger in a strange land. With all her personal assets long gone, including every cent she had (taken from her by the aforementioned bad guys), she orders a ton of food at a Japanese restaurant that she conveniently stumbles across and the owner allows her to work her debt off. Plus he eventually becomes invested in Akiko’s search for her dream boat; together they discover that Matsunaga’s colleagues are indeed up to no good, mobsters to be exact, ones dabbling in nuclear contraband. Which actually gets the gears turning in the head of Akiko’s boss, since his restaurant ain’t doing so hot (as pointed out several times by his Chinese girlfriend and Akiko’s brand new gal pal).
I won’t divulge any further details, since there’s not much else to say (especially since the movie is only an hour long), other than the big twist at the end. Which would have been so incredibly stupid in any other director’s hands, yet here it’s a genuinely satisfying pay off thanks to Kurosawa’s aforementioned meticulously crafted set-up. Though what really sells Seventh Code is the actress who portrays Akiko, Atsuko Maeda, whose background is that of a pop idol. Maeda is beyond convincing as pa totally cute, yet totally off her rocker obsessed chick, which is maybe no big surprise given that she was a member of AKB48. Also, it was great seeing Ryohei Suzuki as Matsunaga, since he was so awesome in last year’s Hentai Kamen. Sorry folks, but Seventh Code was shown only once, though due to Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s growing popularity in the west, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to see it for yourself eventually.
Blind Massage
The NYAFF is often guilty of going a bit overboard with the hyperbole, but in the end, Blind Massage may indeed be ”the most powerful and innovative Asian film of this year” after all. It attempts to show you what it’s like not to see, and the execution is absolute, bonafide brilliance. From the very beginning, the dreamy, lost in the shadows visuals grab hold of you plus hearing the opening credits recited by the narrator also reinforces that you’re venturing into very foreign territory. The film revolves around those at the Sha Zonqi Massage Centre, in central China, which is run and operated by both the partially and fully blind. We first meet Xiao Ma, a good-looking boy who lost both his parents and his vision in a car crash. An attempt at his own life prompts his caregivers to enroll him into an all-blind school, where everyone becomes masseurs and masseuses. it’s run by two men; Sha Fuming is a happy go lucky fellow who loves to dance & write poetry, and Zhang Zongqi also sports an easygoing disposition & is simply a lovable goofball. Dr. Wang, an old school chum of Sha Fuming also joins the Centre, who brings his fiancée Kong in tow. Thing immediately become complicated when Xiao Ma becomes obsessed with Kong and tries hard to come onto her, but to no avail.
The characters, either stating outright, or via simple observation, truly live life by their own set of rules. Certain behaviors that would seem odd or unacceptable to people with sight are not frowned upon. One intriguing notion that is constantly reinforced is that the blind are in many ways happier than whose who are not, who are constantly fooled by their eyes, which force restrictions, unrealistic expectations, and other difficulties. But that’s not to say those who cannot see are truly happy; while no one feels sorry for themselves, one character simply states that it’s hard to see the truth when you can’t even see, which means everything is basically a lie, so it’s best to just go with the flow. Another character worth noting is Du Hong, an attractive women that gets annoyed whenever she hears from her sighted clients ”wow, she’s really pretty for a blind woman”, for obvious reasons. They say the other senses of the blind are enhanced, which means condescending attitudes are especially hurtful.
It’s Sha Fuming who ends up obsessing over Du Hong, which she finds absolutely ridiculous, since its based upon a quality that is incomprehensible to the man, which at least the woman is able to acknowledge. Nice to know horny blind men are just as silly as their sighted counterparts. And granted, it’s no surprise to hear insight regarding the frivolities of physical beauty from someone who is not burdened by it, though it is odd seeing someone who is, though even more intriguing is hearing blind people constantly say ”see you later” or ”are you blind” when once accidentally bumps into another. The ways in which everyone’s lives overlaps, both on soap opera-ish and even more mundane levels, is beyond engrossing. Though the perfect harmony that can be achieved is naturally disturbed via interactions with those who can see. And back to how the blind are aware of other things; Zhang Zongqi, sensing how sexually frustrated Xiao Ma is, takes him to another kind of massage parlor, where he becomes involves with a sighted prostitute. Meanwhile, Dr. Wang’s wedding plans with Kong are sidetracked when he has to fork over all the money to some mobsters that are threatening his family cuz his good for nothing brother borrowed money that he can’t pay back.
Yet, no matter how much headache and heartache the sighted pile up, the resolve of the blind never waver. And (here’s the most important part) the portrayal of their existences is beautifully matter of fact, never pandering or preachy. Again, I also cannot overstate how mesmerizing the visual approach is, especially when he “see” the world through the “eyes” of Xiao Ma; anyone who is a student of cinematography cannot afford to miss this movie. Though the superb cast deserves the most accolades, which is a deft (and often times indistinguishable) mixture of veteran actors and legit blink folk. As incredibly cheesy as the following statement might be, I’ll say it anyway: after seeing Blind Massage, you will never view blind people in the same way ever again. Thankfully (and unlike most NYAFF movies this year), there is a second screening, tomorrow, July 2, at the Walter Reader Theater. Do whatever you can to catch it.
