March 3, 2011
After Adrift in Tokyo (2007) Instant Swamp disappoints with its unfocused fable exploring the great divide between magical thought and rational thought.
February 26, 2013
Mitsuko Delivers is a great beginning to the festival for me, starting with what could be the best acting performance of the year. Riisa Naka plays the eponymous Mitsuko, an energetic and pregnant young woman who travels back to her old stomping grounds and quickly befriends a cast of quirky local characters, forcing them to seek happiness, whether they’re open […]
April 20, 2010
His motivations nebulous, a young man opens a neighborhood Western-style bakery called Antique, employing a host of off-the-wall characters.
November 26, 2010
The only showing of the Singapore film, Sell Out, is, oddly enough, sold out. It’s my first Singaporean film, a musical sporting a peculiar premise, so I’m excited about it. A young Singaporean engineer, working for a multinational conglomerate, designs a terrific new product (a tofu processor) but discovers that his invention (and any kind of innovation) isn’t welcomed at […]
November 26, 2010
A federal agent meets a spy, Ji-won, who had escaped from North Korea, they play a game of cat-and-mouse, keeping an eye on one another.