Hong Kong Filmart Day Three!

The Hong Kong Filmart is in definite slow down mode on this, the second last day, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fun things to see.  Nope. Here are a few treats on display:

Best film title of the market:  Ghost With A Hole.  I’ll leave it at that.

Wandering through the UniFrance pavilion I scooped up a flyer for upcoming thriller Inju, from Barbet Schroeder.  There was nobody actually manning the booth any time I went by so I’ve been unable to see the promo they apparently have but the still images on this look fantastic and it is of immediate interest because it is a French adaptation of a novel by legendary Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo.  The effects guy worked on Amelie and the rest of the crew have equally impressive resumes so you know this is going to look good.

Also looking good, the fresh trailer for Invited Guest, the first ever slasher picture to come out of Taiwan.  The film just wrapped shooting so what they had to show was still quite raw but impressive, nonetheless.  This looks to follow the standard slasher conventions to the letter and I’m very curious to see how it’ll work taking such a purely American film tradition and placing it in the far east ...

On an entirely different note I also got to sit and watch two extended promo spots for McDull Wudang and I am more baffled than ever that these films haven’t been picked up for distribution anywhere in the western world.  They’re funny, charming, clever and they have made HUGE strides with their animation techniques.  This one looks simply gorgeous, using a unique 2D-3D hybrid that maintains a look consistent with the earlier films while also pushing things forward nicely.  Apparently some people from Ghibli have been involved in aspects of the film, which should tell you all you need to know.

First trailer for Tsui Hark’s diving thriller Missing?  Light on plot details but loaded with some impressive imagery.  Apparently there is a longer and more detailed promo spot here as well but I haven’t seen that one yet.

Fans of Kamikaze Girls and Memories of MAtsuko take note:  director Nakashima’s next is done and ready to go.  There was an invitation only, buyer’s only screening of Paco And The Magical Picture Book this afternoon and while I ciouldn’t get in to that I was treated to a few glimpses of the film.  It’s as brash and colorful as you’d expect, a pure shildren’s fantasy that uses more CG than Nakashima has in the past while also indulging his more typical lighting tricks and trippy production designs.  Koji Yakusho and Ryo Kase are so far away from their normal on screen personas as to be almost unrecognizable and they are clearly loving every minute of it, as was I.

And finally, Shinya Tsukamoto’s Nightmare Detective 2.  It’s still in post but there is a trailer available and - to these eyes, at least - it looks even more engaging and impressive than the first Nightmare Detective picture.  Matsuda seems a little bit more expressive in this one, the young female lead appears strong and Tsukamoto has worked an element of his classic body-horror into the mix.  Yes, please.