Kim Ki-Duk Retrospective

“Why was this old world cursed with a creep like me?” asks the troubled lead of Kim Ki-Duk’s debut film Crocodile. The director arrived on the cusp of the Korean Wave but was far more interested in the depraved end of society than any of the country’s financial muscle. So as the nights grow darker what better time to delve into the director’s work. This month Kino Arsenal showcases a whopping 17 of the directors 19 features; from the aforementioned Crocodile- concerning the tender awakenings of a bridge dweller who picks the pockets of suicide victims on the riverbed- right up to last year’s Gold Lion winning Pieta, in which a cruel loan-shark deals with some troubling mommy issues; but fellow Venice darling 3 Iron- about a young drifter’s love affair with an abused housewife- might just be the pick of the bunch. 

Room 237

Wild rumours of underlying messages in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 classic The Shining have been doing the rounds for years. For Room 237 filmmaker Rodney Ascher brings together five major fanatics to shed some light on their theories. Greatly detailed throughout, the ramblings range from interesting points on layout and design- which perhaps seem reasonable enough given the director’s infamously meticulous nature- to some fairly way out conspiracies. A large grain of salt may be required but be you sceptic or converted, this a film about the director’s lingering aura. Not some crackpot’s unsolved mystery.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Following Twilight’s dominance at the box office it was only a matter of time before something new arrived to keep that demographic all hot and bothered. Adapted from the first book of another bestselling series, City of Bones follows a young woman named Clary (Lily Collins, daughter of Phil) as she juggles with revelations about  her past, pesky demons and  boy troubles while trying to unearth some sacred cup. Miserable stuff (unless you’re into that sort of thing) but hey, at least the werewolves are Irish.

Storm Surfers 3D

Two aging championship surfers spend the southern hemisphere’s winter months trekking out to big-wave hot spots off the Australian coast, using someone called a ‘surf forecaster’ – which is a real job apparently- to monitor oceanic swells and predict what region to hit. There’s some painfully staged basecamp stuff and a rather clumsy narrative but with Red Bull-who have become the Medici of this sort of ludicrous behaviour- .providing some serious equipment, whenever we look to the ocean, Storm Surfers offers plenty to get the heart racing. 
 

Keisuke Kinoshita

While never reaching the same international recognition as Kurasawa or Ozu, at home Keisuke Kinoshita is considered among the elite of Japan’s post war filmmakers and this month Kino Arsenal will be providing an 11 film retrospective of the director’s work. Five of Kinoshita’s lesser known works play in the Berlinale forum and are given repeat screenings here alongside the director’s six most celebrated films. The season kicks off with his devastating 1954 anti-war melodrama Nijushi No Hitomi (Twenty-Four Eyes); in which a school teacher must deal with the ravaging effects of war on a small island community over the course of 20 years (2/22 FEB, 20:00). Adapted from a Kurasawa screenplay, Shozo (The Portrait) is the story of a woman who turns her life around after being overwhelmed by a portrait she commissioned from a struggling artist (3 FEB/19:30, 26 FEB/20:00). Narayama Bushi Ko (The Ballad of Narayama) takes elements of Kabuki theatre to tell the tale of a son who refuses to accept a local tradition of sending the community’s elderly to the mountains (5/23 FEB, 20:00). A Tokyo stripper returns to her rural town in comedy satire Karamun Kokyo Ni Kareu (Carmen Comes Home), the first colour film to be produced in Japan.

Jason Statham in Parker

Crook-with-a-code Parker (Jason Statham) must track down the crew who stabbed him in the back and left him for dead following a successful heist. His journey takes him to Palm Springs where he enlists the help of a real estate agent (Jennifer Lopez) to thwart the gang’s plans. The promise of Hackford (an Oscar nominated director) and the often enjoyable Statham working together dissolves soon after the opening fairground heist, with Statham’s array of disguises and accents drawing all the wrong kind of laughs. 

Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away 3D

Taking sections from 7 of Las Vegas’ Cirque Du Soleil shows and tying them together with a loose wonderland narrative; Worlds Away transfers the hit show to the big screen with ease, showcasing all the huge sets, lavish costumes and ludicrously skilled individuals which have given the show its global brand. It also proves a great advert for 3D. Finding that sweet spot between playful gimmick and physical depth; Andrew Andamson makes a decent case for the much maligned format. James Cameron weighs in with a production credit. No surprise there.