Toronto Reel Asian Film FestivalRuns Nov 12-16 at Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex), the Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor W), more. Festival Box office located at Innis College lobby (2 Sussex). Call 416-703-9333 for info or go to
www.reelasian.com for complete listings and locations.
Though not as old as the tradition of smuggling containers of General Tso’s chicken into movie theatres in lieu of popcorn, Reel Asian is still plenty venerable. Now in its 12th edition, the festival of film and video from East and Southeast Asia and throughout the Asian diaspora runs at a variety of venues. Special events include a live music night with host Masia One, DJ Jaime Sin and local psych-rockers Radius & Helena at the Rivoli on Nov. 14 and an exhibition by Japanese artist Takashi Ishida at Trinity Square Video. But the most popular items on the Reel Asian menu remain the movies, many of which make their local premieres at the fest.
The title most anticipated by devotees of Asian horror is Hansel and Gretel (***; Nov. 13, 9:30pm, Innis Town Hall), a lavishly designed sophomore effort by Korean director Yim Pil-sung. After crashing his car, a young salesman gets lost in a forest before finding his way to a strange house. No surprise: there’s something sinister about the family he meets there. Details about how all this relates to the fairy tale are murkier than they ought to be, but Yim’s queasy, eerie tale stands up well to comparisons with Pan’s Labyrinth, The Orphanage and other recent entries.
An outsider encounters a more serious atmosphere of dread in Wonderful Town (****; Nov. 14, 8:15pm, Innis), a delicately rendered Thai film about an architect who woos a hotel worker in a coastal town still recovering from the 2004 tsunami. A Tiger Award winner at the Rotterdam festival, Aditya Assarat’s film has the same graceful air as the works of his countryman Apichatpong Weerasekathul — marred by some unsteadiness and a final act that seems overstuffed compared to the languid scenes that precede it.
Michael Kang’s follow-up to 2005 fest opener The Motel, West 32nd (**; Nov. 15, 8:15pm, Innis), doesn’t fulfill its big ambitions as a Scorsese-sized crime flick set in New York’s Korean disrict.
More satisfying is Tiger Spirit (***; Nov. 16, 5:30pm, Innis), a documentary by Min Sook Lee. The Toronto filmmaker’s pregnancy prompts an exploration of her Korean roots and of the country’s own identity issues since the civil war that split it in two.
As always, this bitter dose of reality goes down easier with a side of kimchee.