This year’s Asian representation at Cannes was rather sparse. So, it comes as a surprise that three Asian films are nominated for the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize, the Palme D’or. Once, there was a Singaporean, a Chinese and a Filipino…Sounds like the makings of a bad joke. Anyway, there really WAS a Singaporean, a Chinese and a Filipino nominated for the top prize.
Each movie focuses on rather serious stories. An alcoholic magician connecting with his son (My Magic). A struggling rural family opening a prostitution service (Serbis). The effect of commercialism on factory workers in China (24 City). When will the world take the stories of our superheroes seriously? Iron Man, Hulk, your times will come. One day.
When I think of Cannes, I imagine open shirt collars, hairy chests and European producers looking to make a deal. I doubt they want to bring a movie on Asian factory workers back to their country. Instead, what Europe really needs is more Dolph Lundgren.
Cui Jian has been compared to the biggest names in American rock n’ roll history, including Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. His song, “Nothing to My Name“, became the adopted anthem to the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989. If you don’t understand the lyrics, the beginning couple of minutes will still strike a powerful chord emotionally. The beginning lyrics translate to:
I have asked you endlessly,
When will you go with me?
But you always laugh at me with,
Nothing to my name
I want to give you my dreams,
And give you my freedom.
But you always laugh at me with,
Nothing to my name.
Ohhh….
When will you go with me?
Imagine risking your life to stand up to a crushing regime and those lyrics play in the background. Very powerful. The song remains one of his most recognized for obvious reasons.
Cui was banned from playing in China until a few years ago. Now, he has significantly more freedom, playing both domestically and internationally. If you ‘re lucky enough to be in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can catch him on May 3rd and 4th. On May 3rd, he performs at the San Jose Convention Center. The next day on May 4th, he’ll take part in the Stanford University Pan-Asian Festival.
These days, Cui Jian plays rather frequently as the Chinese government has loosened its reins. Not a surprise. Commercialism has planted its flag in China, living standards are increasing and financial opportunities are a thousand times more than 20 years ago. So, what can the father of Chinese Rock rebel against now?
Lately, quite a few Korean actors have achieved a foothold in US entertainment industry. Both Se7en and Rain have made inroads into the industry. Now, Lee Byung-Hun comes along and has a couple of movies sure to increase his exposure to American audiences. First, he plays Storm Shadow in the new G.I. Joe movie. With all the different characters, it’s sure to be a supporting role and screen time may be limited. And isn’t Storm Shadow Japanese? Well, we should be happy Hollywood didn’t whitewash this role and at least chose an actor from the same continent.
Lee also stars in Anh Trung Hung’s I Come with the Rain. Anh directed The Scent of Green Papaya, which created huge buzz when it originally came out. His next film, Cyclo, also generated great reviews. However, it doesn’t appear like he’s done much in the past, ohhh, 10 years.
Twitch has a promo reel for I Come with the Rain, which also co-stars Josh Hartnett. The movie’s plot centers on Hartnett, a private eye, tracking down a missing person. He runs into Lee, who plays Su Dongpo, an Asian gangster. At about the four minute mark, you can see the results of Lee’s intense workout and diet regimen. Even I had to marvel at Lee’s buffness. Of course, I was marveling at him in a purely heterosexual way. He he..*slowly backs out the room*
Rain recently led Time.com’s “2008 Time 100 Finalists” for most influential people. Rankings change daily and today, Shigeru Miyamoto, video-game designer, grabbed the lead. In fourth place is Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert. The past couple of years, Colbert has been battling to overtake Rain, but has never achieved any success. He’s taken to the airwaves to make his case. He’s even gone so far as to make a Korean pop video to sway voters. No dice. At last count, Rain leads by 600,000 votes. A Colbert win does not appear likely this year. What will he do next year to influence voters? His plan is to challenge Rain to a dance-off on The Colbert Report. If that happens, I can’t wait to see it.
Rain has been doing well to represent his homeland. A couple of months ago, he won an award for best representing Korean pop-culture to the world. Along with his supporting role in Speed Racer and lead role in Ninja Assassin, it’s no surprise that millions find this 25 year old to be a major force in the world.
More steady work for the wonderful Lucy Liu. She recently starred in the blink and you’ll miss it “Cashmere Mafia“. E! Online reports she’ll follow it up with “Dirty Sexy Money“. ABC broadcasts both series, so maybe she has some sort of first-look deal with them. At least both are relatively well-received series which afford her the opportunity of substantial roles. Lucy would be great on another ABC series, “Desperate Housewives“. She would fit right in and give that show even more snap.
Lucy hasn’t been very visible this past year. She’s only had a couple of film roles. One of those is a voice role in Kung Fu Panda. Who can guess the over/under for stereotypes in that movie? Anyway, 2004-2005 appears to have been her watershed year. She’s already 40 and Hollywood is very age conscious. Could her career be tailing off?
More steady work for the wonderful Lucy Liu. She recently starred in the blink and you’ll miss it “
