On June 16, the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival will kick off. For movie fans, the ten-day film festival is an annual movie-going carnival. This year, there will be about 500 excellent Chinese and foreign films, divided into 30 different units and screened in 45 theaters in Shanghai.
Turning over the list of films in this year's exhibition, there are many masterpieces that fans yearn for. One of the most anticipated is Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's new work "Thief Family", which has just won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and announced its debut at the Shanghai International Film Festival after a month. The Japanese film unit that has always been most sought after by Shanghai film fans will have the latest masterpieces of Japanese famous directors such as Shuichi Okita and Takashi Miike, and the cast can also be described as "super luxurious" - Ken Sato, Matsusaka Momori, Sho Sakurai, Tomoya Nagase, Fukushi Aoi, Suzu Hirose, Tsuchiya Taiho, Takahashi Issei... Each one is a first-line actor with super popularity.
The 90-year-old "Mother of the New Wave" Varda will unveil the documentary masterpiece "Face, Village", and many new works by international directors will also appear one by one, such as Wim Wenders and Mirko Manchevsky of the "Four Masters of New German Cinema", as well as Japanese director Nobuhiko Obayashi, Veteran French director Robert Gaidignan, and the current world film industry's young and strong representatives John Cameron Mitchell, Andrew Hagrid, Kenel Mudluzo, Atsuhiko Suwa, Takeru Ishii, Hideo Nakata, etc , all new works have come out.
Whether it is the "Bazin Legacy", "Children of Freedom", "The Best Film of the Sixties" unit, or the "4K Restoration" unit that is highly anticipated by fans every year, there are many classic old films returning to the big screen, you can see hitchcock and Krutzo's suspense classic competition, but also see the masterpieces of Ozu Yasujiro and Mizoguchi Kenji. The seven films directed by Xie Jin are also the peak representatives of Chinese films. For the first time in Dolby Vision format, "Titanic", "Warcraft", "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", "Joker Returns", "Crisis 13 Hours", "Mission Impossible 5" a total of six films, may also set off a wave of movie watching by veteran fans.
With 500 great films in abundance, we've selected this must-see list that may give you a clearer picture of how to follow.
Japanese film unit
Family of Thieves (2018)
Director: It's Kore-eda
On May 19, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's new work "Thief Family" won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and just one month later, the film was announced to appear in the screening section of the Shanghai International Film Festival.
Hirokazu Kore-eda is a regular visitor to the Shanghai International Film Festival, and as early as 2006, his masterpiece "Nobody Knows" was screened at the 9th Shanghai International Film Festival. "Thief Family" continues Kore-eda's usual creative style, using a calm documentary-like lens to tell the story of an ordinary family that seems to live a peaceful life. On the surface, the family, which depends on theft for a living, is happy, but an accident breaks the original calm and reveals the secrets of each family member. At its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received 9 minutes of applause from the audience.
The Witch of Laplace (2018)
Director: Takashi Miike
The story is based on the 80th novel of the same name written by Japanese mystery novelist Keigo Higashino on his 30th anniversary. Keigo Higashino once said, "I wanted to destroy the novels I had written before, and this work was born." ”
The film tells the story of a university professor investigating a serial death. The protagonist in charge of the investigation is Shusuke Aoe, a serious and honest university professor, who is played by Sho Sakurai, a member of the popular Japanese group Arashi. Just looking at the names of the movie's main actors, from Sho Sakurai, Suzu Hirose, Fushi Aoi to Tatsumi Okamoto, means that this is the lineup of super kashi of the year, not to mention that the director is Takashi Miike. The film is being released in Japan and landed at the Shanghai International Film Festival at the same time, and there may be a phenomenon of tickets in seconds.
Aerial Tires (2018)
Director: Katsuyo Ben
Released at the same time as Japan at almost zero time difference, "Air Tire" starred Tomoya Nagase, Indigo Fujioka, Issey Takahashi, Kyoko Fukada and others, and is also a popular Japanese suspense film this year.
The film is based on the best-selling mystery novel. The protagonist of the story, Tokuro Akamatsu, is a down-to-earth owner of a small transportation company who, one day, his company's truck suddenly had a tire failure accident, resulting in the accidental death of a young mother. Both the police and the media agreed that he was the murderer. In search of innocence, Akamatsu discovers that similar accidents have occurred throughout the country, and that behind each accident is a car from a major automaker, Hope Motors. In order to get justice, Akamatsu is alone in challenging huge enterprises.
Punk Samurai (2018)
Director: Yuki Ishii
Ishii Ishii is a well-known visual maniac in the Japanese film industry, who is good at shocking audiences with explosive pictures, and his representative works include "Burst City" and "Shanidal's Flower". The screenwriter of the film is the famous Miyato Kankuro, who has many fans in China with his "brain hole" and fun.
Punk Samurai is based on Yasushi Machida's novel of the same name. Set in the Edo period, the story is set in sci-fi elements, comical dialogue, and a dizzying array of bizarre characters, telling the story of a group of Japanese samurai fighting against monkeys, interspersed with human intrigue. In the film, Ayano plays the samurai Toshijin, who is both a swordsman with unparalleled swordsmanship and a wandering samurai who lives a casual life.
Dolby Vision
For super movie fans and audiophiles, this year's Shanghai International Film Festival may get a super shocking movie-going experience. Located on the 7th floor of Aegean Sea Shopping Park, 1588 Wuzhong Road, Minhang District, Red Star Movie World Wuzhong Road store is a Dolby Cinema composed of dual high-tech technologies of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Dolby Vision Laser Projection Systems deliver best-in-class optical and image processing for more detailed and clear shock results. This unit has "Titanic", "Warcraft", "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", "Joker Return", "Crisis 13 Hours", "Mission Impossible 5" six films will be released.
Titanic (1997)
Director: James Cameron
At the 70th Academy Awards in 1998, Titanic swept 11 awards. Even after 15 years, the 3D version of the film was released in China, which still attracted thousands of people.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of "Titanic", director James Cameron, a technical controller who has always pursued the ultimate in audio and video, specially produced the Dolby Vision format version. Regarding the dolby Vision format viewing experience, director Cameron said, "It's gone beyond 3D, beyond 70mm film, beyond any format you've seen before." The picture seems to jump off the screen, just as bright and flexible as life, full of vitality. There's no doubt that Titanic has never been so good. ”
In addition to the Dolby format version of titanic, Cameron's other masterpieces "Terminator", "Alien 2", "Abyss", "Avatar" will be specially screened in the "Tribute to the Master" section.
Bazin Centenary
In 1918, The great theorist of film history, Bazin, was born. In 1958, at the age of 40, Bazin died of illness before he could witness the birth of the New Wave. In 2018, on the occasion of the centenary of Bazin's birth and the sixtieth anniversary of his death, the Shanghai International Film Festival launched Bazin Centenary, selecting some outstanding films that are inextricably linked to him. Classic movies "Desert Freak" 4K, Hell's Gate 4K, "Four Hundred Blows", "Paris Belongs to Us" and "Bazin's Film" will be screened separately.
Desert Freak 4K (1954)
Director: Nicholas Ray
Unlike traditional Westerns, Desert Freaks is a female protagonist and the villain is also a woman. It is the Western version of "Beauty and the Beast" and the American version of "Dragon Gate Inn". Bazin regards Nicholas Ray as a representative figure of film writers in the Hollywood system, and in his famous book The Evolution of Westerns, he cites "Desert Freaks" as the best example of the "sincerity" of Westerns in the 1950s.
Hell's Gate 4K (1954)
Director: Sadayuki Ikasa
Hell's Gate was Daiying's first Eastman color film, based on a novel by Japanese writer Hiroshi Kikuchi, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1954 and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1955. The president of the Cannes jury that year was Jean Guccido, and Bazin was also among the judges.
Bazin once wrote that "the discovery of Japanese cinema is undoubtedly the most important cinematic event after Italian neorealism". He likened Hell's Gate to the French masterpiece Princess Clive, praising it as "enhancing the virtues and interests of ordinary Japanese films in a unique way" and being a "miracle of balance and perfection."
"Tribute to the Masters" section
Ecstasy (1958)
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
In China, the fame of the master of suspense films Hitchcock is almost a household name. Born in London at the end of the 19th century, the great director directed silent films from the 1920s onwards, and his subsequent creations sparked the popularity of modern thrillers.
In 2018, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of ecstasy, the Shanghai International Film Festival brought Hitchcock's "Butterfly Dream" and "Ecstasy" 4K restored versions. "Ecstasy" has long been at the top of the world film list and is the perfect endorsement of Hitchcock's film achievements, and the 4K version was also screened in this year's Classic Restoration Section of the Cannes Film Festival.
Hibiscus Town (1987)
Director: Xie Jin
2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the death of director Xie Jin. The Shanghai International Film Festival will focus on seven of Xie Jin's masterpieces. Among them, "Furong Town", starring Jiang Wen, chairman of the Golden Jubilee Award jury of this film festival, will appear on the big screen with a 4K restored version. The film uses the joys and sorrows of small people to witness the change process of the big era. With a delicate and fierce lens language, the director portrays the character image of how to be strong and energetic and work hard to live after experiencing difficulties and ups and downs. "Furong Town" has won many awards such as the Golden Rooster Award, the Hundred Flowers Award for Popular Film, and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
In addition, there are also "Stage Sisters" (4K restored version), "Big Li Xiao Li and Old Li" (Shanghainese dubbed version), "Women's Basketball No. 5", "Red Girl Scout Army", "Legend of Tianyun Mountain", "Wrangler" and other representative works of Director Xie Jin.
An Andalus Dog (1929)
Director: Luis Buñuel
Writers: Salvador Dali/Luis Buñuel
The short film "An Andalus Dog" is only 16 minutes long, has no storyline, but leaves many classic shots that make future filmmakers worship, "blade scratching the eyeball", "palm crawling ant", "piano and dead donkey" and other shots, are meaningless dream splicing.
Director Buñuel once said: "This film combines Dalí and my dreams. I was living at Dalí's house, and one day I had a strange dream that a dark cloud obscured the moon, like a razor cutting the eyeballs. Dalí told me that he had also had a strange dream the night before, and in the dream he saw a palm full of ants. Our only rule is very simple: open the door to all irrationality and keep only the images that shock us without trying to explain the 'why'. ”
In the commemorative feature of the surrealist master Buñuel, in addition to "An Andalus Dog", there are six works of "Veritina", "Maid's Diary", "Day beauty", "Tristana", "Bourgeois prudent charm" and "Hazy Desire".
The Graduate (1967)
Directed By: Mike Nichols
In 1998, when the Motion Picture Association of America selected the Best American Film of the Year, "The Graduate" ranked seventh. That year, director Mike Nichols won the 40th Academy Award for Best Director for "The Graduate," and the young Dustin Hoffman rose to fame in this debut.
This youth romantic comedy successfully captures the pulse of the American era in the 1960s, and provides a vivid and sharp analysis of the growth of the post-war baby boomer generation in the United States in the 60s. Fifty years later, this film, which can be called the "Hollywood enlightenment" of Chinese audiences, will be unveiled through 4K restoration, and the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the almost perfect film picture and set off a national "memory killing".
The Salesman (1968)
Directors: Albert Messos, David Mesos
Fans familiar with documentaries will certainly not be unfamiliar with the Messos brothers, albert and his brother David Messos's directorial combination is the most representative of the "direct film" school, and their film philosophy and production methods have also had a major impact on later filmmakers.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Mesos brothers' famous work "Salesman", the film will be unveiled in a new 4K digital restoration. The Salesman used a video camera to document the lives of four salesmen who knocked on the doors of low-income parishioners in Boston, New England and southeast Florida every day to sell expensive hardcover versions of the Bible. As a benchmark work of "direct film", "The Salesman" exposes the hypocrisy of the "American Dream" in the context of the times, showing the living conditions of Americans struggling between material and spiritual values in the 1960s, which can be called a great sociological documentary work and profoundly influenced the shooting style of later documentaries.
The Taste of Tea and Rice (1952)
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
"The Taste of Tea and Rice" was unveiled at the 16th Shanghai International Film Festival in 2013, when the old version of the 35mm film copy was screened, and this time it will meet the audience again with a new 4K look. The film follows the family life of a middle-class Japanese couple in the 1950s. At that time, less than a decade after Japan's defeat, Japanese civilians put aside the heaviness and pain they had experienced and were suffering, in exchange for a gentle and quiet flow.
Another 4K restored version of Tokyo Twilight, one of Ozu's few films set in the bitter cold winter, has a story that is different from the director's previous works in a plain style, and can be seen as a transformational work in the later stages of Ozu Yasujiro's career.
Doctor Pepper (1954)
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Based on Mori Ouwai's original novel, "Doctor Pepper" won the Silver Lion Award at the 1954 Venice Film Festival. The film takes place at the end of Japan's Heian period, when the honest and patriotic Iwagi parent, Guan pingzheng, was attacked by his colleagues for violating the orders of the imperial court to help the victims, and was demoted to Chikushi. Seven years later, Heisei's wife took her children to Chikushi in search of a husband. Orphans and widows have nothing to rely on and are deceived by human traffickers, and the two children are sold to the family of Dr. Shan Pepper after Danhou as slaves. In the past ten years, the brothers and sisters have been tortured by inhuman beings, from the tribulations of a family, presenting people's persistence and belief.
Another film in the "4K Restoration" section, The Story of Konmatsu, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 8th Cannes Film Festival and won the Best Director Award for blue ribbon in Japanese cinema at the 5th Edition of Mizoguchi.
Documentary screening unit
Fang Xiuying (2017)
Director: Wang Bing
"Fang Xiuying" records the last time of Fang Xiuying, an Alzheimer's disease patient, in the world. It's a "prose that indifferently expresses the weight of death," and in the past, death may have been just a moment, but in this documentary, death seems to be a process that makes people stare and wait.
Director Wang Bing hopes that the audience can feel life to the greatest extent through this real death and restore respect for life. The film won the Golden Leopard Award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland last year, the first time in the festival's history that a documentary has won the highest honor.
Faces, Villages (2017)
Director: Agnès Varda / Jean Genet
Although sixty or seventy years have passed since the New Wave, the freshness and emotion brought by Varda, the "mother of the New Wave", is still the same. Last year, the 89-year-old Varda invited 33-year-old photographer Jean Genet to collaborate, and the two left the big city and drove their vans through French towns, taking huge art photos of ordinary people along the way and posting them along the countryside. The two directors show the magical charm of art in a down-to-earth and gentle way. "Face, Village" has deeply intervened in society and people's lives, excavated the spiritual world of ordinary people, and also touched countless audiences. The film was the world's most watched documentary of 2017, and was selected as the New York Times's "Best Film of 2017" and swept major international film festivals.
It is worth looking forward to that Varda himself will personally go to Shanghai to attend the post-screening meeting, and fans will get close to the 90-year-old "legend of film history".
Maria Callas: Voices for Love
Directed by: Tom Volf
Maria Callas, who died in 1977, has been hailed as the greatest soprano of the 20th century. She has performed more than 100 operas in her lifetime, and has swept the world with her full of vitality singing, reaching a realm that no one can match.
"Maria Callas: Born for Love" tells the artistic career and life trajectory of Callas in the form of a documentary, and truly describes the growth and success of a contemporary female artist. The film uses a large number of historical images to show The Life and Career of Kalas, including rare videos of Karas's friends shooting with the Super 8 camera, as well as many of her personal letters. Interestingly, as a documentary, the director did not interview any of Karas's relatives and friends, and purely used the first-hand information of the year to structure the film, which is vivid and vivid.
Submerged 4K (2017)
Director: Wim Wenders
The famous German director Wim Wenders is one of the "four masters of the new German film", which has a pivotal position in the world film industry, his style of work is mostly frank and calm, the emotion is slow and deep, and the new film "Drowning" also carries the standard "Wenders-style loneliness".
The story revolves around the love story of the female scientist Danielle and the British businessman James. James McAvoy plays a marine engineer who is actually a British government agent. Once, he met Danielle, the heroine played by Alicia Vikander, on the island and quickly fell in love. After separating from the islands, James traveled to Somalia on a mission, where he was kidnapped by pirates and reduced to a prisoner. Danielle took a submarine into the deep sea for scientific research missions, and the two people, thousands of miles away, faced the test of life and death.
The Lion Stays Up All Night (2017)
Director: Atsuhiko Suwa
Japanese director Atsuhiko Suwa is deeply influenced by French cinema and culture, and his film career spans Japan and France, and his works have participated in the Cannes International Film Festival many times.
It is a film that pays tribute to the French New Wave and a generation of famous actors, Jean-Pierre Lyod. The story is set in the eyes of an elderly actor in his 70s, who decides to visit the old house of his former lover between filming, and is deeply immersed in the memories of the past. A group of children also came to the house to make a horror movie, and the old man found in the children the good memories of simply enjoying making movies. The film uses an exquisite "play within a play" structure, through the protagonist's pursuit of old lovers and the process of getting along with children, the magic and reality are integrated, showing the themes of love, movies, death and so on.