Is MOUNTAIN PATROL coming to your town?

In view of the dearth of any new Asian films being released on Region 1 DVD this week, we direct your attention to the limited release of Kekexili: Mountain Patrol. Is it just in New York City this week?

According to the official website, only a truly limited number of US communities will have the opportunity to see this film on the big screen. If yours is one of them, check it out. It's been well-reviewed (generally) and, hey, it's Asian.

18 Fingers May Kill You

Sorry for the delay in posting this week. This is an arid time for Region 1 Asian releases, so if you're aimlessly wandering around the "New Releases" section of your local rental shops and come across 18 FINGERS OF DEATH!, beware. Supposedly it's a "mockumentary" directed by James Lew. I'd never heard of it before, though it's listed as being made in 2004.

Note this review submitted by David M. Keplinger to Amazon: "I'm glad this movie is in the 'comedy' section otherwise I'd not known it was a comedy. I laughed one time. To say this is in anyway as clever or funny as Kung Fu Hustle is like comparing Rosie O'Donnel to Cindy Crawford. I think you get my point.

"I think you could take one of those 18 fingers of death and poke your own eye out. That would be slightly more enjoyable then having to watch this movie.

"I got to see this movie for free yet I somehow feel I should in some way get my money back. It's the oddest feeling. Kinda goes with the bitter taste left in my mouth after having watched this movie."

I'm prejudiced against "mockumentaries" anyway, having sat through too many unfunny ones as a film festival screener (death is easy, comedy is hard). So, best to catch up on any discs you have sitting around unwatched. I'm leaning toward watching Johnny To's multi-award winning ELECTION again, especially with the premiere of the sequel at the recently Hong Kong Film Festival. I admired ELECTION but wasn't blown away.

Speaking of awards, Kozo has a nicely-formatted list at his site, LoveHKFilm.

And, as an addendum to last week's post about the Region 1 release of Zhang Yimou's THE STORY OF QUI JU, Dave Canfield posted a revew yesterday. His summary: "This is a solid movie that deserves continued attention." He confirms that the disk is bare bones but feels the DVD includes a good transfer.

Rural Laughs, Gorgeous Beauty

Fighting for shelf space against BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, look for Gong Li in THE STORY OF QUI JU.

Amazon lists the DVD as being released last week, but whatever the case, it might be hard to find at a brick and mortar retailer. It's being released through Sony Pictures, which should guarantee at least a minimum order from retailers and rental shops. I've had some success looking in the "Drama" section for foreign-language titles, rather than in the "New Release" area.

Hard-bitten Anthony Lane wrote in The New Yorker: "This new film by the Chinese director Zhang Yimou is a far cry from his earlier work. After such intense, forbidding fables as 'Red Sorghum' and 'Raise the Red Lantern' we are now offered a rough-edged comedy about a man kicked in the groin by the village elder."

With the recent release on DVD of the horridly boring MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, perhaps disappointed viewers of that disaster will be sufficiently intrigued by Gong Li to search out her earlier work. Though I haven't seen THE STORY OF QUI JU, which was released in 1993, I still recommend this colloboration between her and real-life love (at the time) director Zhang Yimou.