Although one of the oldest film festivals with significant focus on Asian cinema, here in Asian Movie Pulse, we had not exactly followed HIFF so intently. It was a rather pleasant occasion thus, that this year we started a rather closer collaboration, that was definitely fruitful, since the Asian selection was quite significant, including a number of world premieres. The Japanese and Taiwanese presence was the most significant, including Neo Sora‘s “HappyEnd“, one of the best films of the year, but the Filipinos were also here, headlined by Mikhail Red‘s newest work, “Friendly Fire“. Without further ado, here is the sum of our coverage, which is bound to become more significant next year.
1. Film Analysis: HappyEnd (2024) by Neo Sora
Neo Sora has shot a film that is rather multi-leveled, to the point that frequently it functions as parable/metaphor/allegory, with essentially all characters and events hiding some sort of symbolism. The racism Zainichi Koreans have been facing for generations are personified in Kou, while Yuta seems to represent the current youths who seem to care very little about anything else apart from entertainment. At the same time, his insistence on nothing changing, despite the changes that take place around him, could be perceived as the overall mentality of a country which is quite stuck in the past on a number of levels, as with the issue of immigration for example. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
2. Film Review: Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality (2024) by Fumihiko Sori
“Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality” is an impressive adaptation of the well-known novel and also its creation. Fumihiko Sori manages to find the right balance between the visual extravaganza of the story and its themes, while the conflicts of an artist who comes to understand what his works truly means make for an interesting and impactful second narrative. (Rouven Linnarz)
3. Film Review: Friendly Fire (2024) by Mikhail Red
Some effort at drama does exist but this part is definitely on a secondary level. However, beyond the cliches and the somewhat lack of depth, there is an element that makes the movie quite intriguing and that is the presentation of Esports culture. With the rules being barely existent, to the point that trash talking is essentially encouraged, and the whole thing having become an audiovisual spectacle including sponsors, games played in stadiums filled with crowds, and international transfers, it is easy to realize that this is not the same thing where nerds were playing in some lightless basement in the past. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
4. Film Analysis: Stuntman (2024) by Albert Leung and Herbert Leung
Hong Kong stuntmen, the unsung background heroes of the past, have been the subject of interest for many years, especially in documentary filmmaking, with works like “Red Trousers: The Life of Hong Kong Stuntmen” dating back to 2003 and, more recently, 2020’s “Kung Fu Stuntmen”. The brothers Albert and Herbert Leung attempt to bring them front and center of the narrative in their debut feature, with mixed results. Clearly fans of old-school Hong Kong cinema and its style of shooting, they are also wholly conscious and acknowledging of the fact that it is now a dying art and that the changes that have come about due to the times and technology are what is causing its slow death. A lament to these changes and an ode to the times gone by, the narrative also believes that while it is necessary to change with the times to keep up, sometimes, just sometimes, it may be necessary to go back to what made it special to create something truly special again. (Rhythm Zaveri)
5. Film Review: Sisam (2024) by Hiroyuki Nakao
On the other hand, director Nakao matches the components of a “small movie” (such as pretty basic locations, Miki Ogawa‘s largely hand-held camerawork and natural lighting) with a sense of spectacle. For the latter, the kudos go to the production designer Kei Itsutsuji, the costume designer Tsuyoshi Takahashi and especially to the composers Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi whose fully orchestral score brings the sense of an epic. (Marko Stojiljković)
6. Film Review: Cloud (2024) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
One of the most interesting aspects of the film is how its protagonist is not even a morally ambiguous anti-hero, but an outright reprehensible nuisance. For the most part, we follow Ryosuke (Masaki Suda), an apathetic salaryman who moonlights as an abusive online reseller. He is introduced in a way that he can never gain sympathy from his audience: the movie opens with a scene where he buys 30 sets of medical machines for less than 100 thousand yen for the whole lot, and resells them at 200 thousand yen each. It could have been any other item, but Kurosawa the writer intentionally opens the scene with the protagonist opportunistically exploiting people in need of medical attention to make his point clear: this guy is a scum. (Epoy Deyto)
7. Film Review: Hunter Brothers (2024) by Su Heng-en
This fable is interestingly arranged too to highlight this internal conflict in Yuci’s mind. Terng Jaw-chyang’s editing contextualizes present tensions with the source of Yuci’s oedipal guilt that is driving his familial relationship awry. It is also in the moment of escalated emotions that Bokeh Kosang’s and Umin Boya’s performances are at their best. Boya’s Siring, muted and composed, but at times angry due to confusion, compliments Kosang’s Yuci as its contrast. (Epoy Deyto)
8. Documentary Analysis: Agent of Happiness (2024) by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbo
The film opens with a striking visual style, bringing viewers into the breathtaking rural mountainsides of Bhutan. Bhattarai’s cinematography, marked by lush, widescreen shots, imbues the journey with an almost spiritual serenity. Yet, beneath this pastoral beauty, “Agent of Happiness” unveils personal struggles that defy the cheerful narrative often associated with Bhutan’s GNH policy. Amber’s daily routine, while focused on assessing others’ contentment, subtly reveals his own discontent. Living with his ailing mother, longing for a wife, and facing his stateless status as a Bhutanese of Nepalese descent, Amber embodies the tension between individual reality and societal expectations. Despite his role, Amber remains unfulfilled, his own happiness score—a mere 5 out of 10—becomes a stark reminder that the system he represents cannot capture the complexities of personal well-being. (Quoc Tran)
9. Film Review: Love in the Big City (2024) by E.oni
Although the story has a clear beginning and ending, the seemingly integral choice of things in-between taken from the source novel can prove to be a bit troublesome, especially for fitting into a single movie. Although it is quite generous in terms of runtime, the material simply seems a better fit for a one-season TV show. E.oni‘s opting for a few clubbing montage sequences early on, kinetic camerawork (executed by the DoP Kim Hyoung-ju) and quick cutting saves some of the runtime, but seems a bit counter-intuitive for a romance drama. Later on, when the comedic elements evaporate, the style also gets calmer, and more fitting for the serious topics the novel, the script and the film try to explore. (Marko Stojiljković)
10. Film Review: Dead Talents Society (2024) by John Hsu
The parallel universe serves as a mirror of our own. The new, unique, and fresh is what the masses desire, and anyone who forgets to go with the trend falls into oblivion with dire consequences. Thus the fall of Catherine who, unlike Jessica, couldn’t recognize the potential of the digital world. Likewise, the only living “untouchables” are influencers whose recordings of supernatural occurrences contribute to the boost of popularity and the afterlife business. (Marina Richter)
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