Tag: 2020

Wotakoi: On Why Love is Hard for Otaku in this Movie Review

This parody on otaku life updates viewers on the term and it doesn’t have to be derogatory. Some folks can get overboard with some aspect of Japanese fandom, but how is that different from Star Wars fans with rooms dedicated to merchandise since its release in 1977? Or how about Transformers or KISS?

WotakoiBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Fantasia Festival 2020
North American Premiere
Aug 29, 2020

Based on the manga of the same name, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (ヲタクに恋は難しい,) by Fujita is a hilarious live action musical comedy that doesn’t require audiences to know anything about the source material.

Narumi Momose (Mitsuki Takahata) is a young office worker who reads yaoi manga. She keeps this fact hidden very well. Also, she likes Hirotaka Nifuji (Kento Yamazaki). They knew each other when really young, and now he’s working in the same building as her. He’s always had difficulty expressing his feelings to her and it’s very amusing to watch them rekindle their relationship. She’s high strung and he’s mild mannered.

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The Old Man Movie Isn’t What You Think in its Message to Drink Milk!

Narrative-wise, this film is essentially a comedy. Mart (the youngest), Priidik (middle brother) and Aiido (eldest sister) are unceremoniously dropped off at grandpa’s farm for the Summer. They discover that this elder is a few cards short of a full deck and it’s his eccentricity which really sells this movie.

Wotakoi

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020 On Demand till Sept 2. Buy your virtual ticket here.

The Republic of Estonia is a country not everyone will be aware of, and their animated film The Old Man Movie (Vanamehe Film) shows the wonky genre material their entertainment industry can churn out. Originally a web-series, this pièce de résistance by Mikk Mägi, Oskar Lehemaa and Peeter Ritso is now a movie. It borders on the surreal for humour and embraces Dada to create a lasting imagery which I will never forget.

Narrative-wise, this film is more comedy than horror. Mart (the youngest), Priidik (middle brother) and Aiido (eldest sister) are unceremoniously dropped off at grandpa’s farm for the Summer. They discover that this elder is a few cards short of a full deck and it’s his eccentricity which really sells this movie.

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In Conversation w/ Finn Wolfhard at Fantasia Fest’s Free YouTube Broadcast

In Conversation with Finn Wolfhard and Jay Baruchel as he discusses his debut short, Night Shifts in this free Fantasia 2020 YouTube event!

WotakoiYouTube Link
Scheduled for 29 Aug 2020, 2pm EDT

Come join Fantasia Fest 2020 with a free to view YouTube broadcast with the talent of Finn Wolfhard at hand! He has a local connection as he’s from in British Columbia, and it’s super that he’s moving on to bigger and better things.

This actor and musician burst onto the world stage in the culture-shifting Netflix series Stranger Things. With subsequent performances in the IT films, The Goldfinch, The Turning and The Addams Family, among others, and forthcoming roles in Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson’s recently announced Pinocchio, Wolfhard has solidified his standing as a major international talent.

Now, at the age of 17, he’s completed his debut as a writer/director, the clever character-driven comedy short Night Shifts, premiering in our lineup this year. To celebrate the launch of his move into storytelling, Fantasia will be presenting a live virtual artist talk with Finn Wolfhard, in conversation with none other than How to Train Your Dragon/Popular Science for Kid‘s Jay Baruchel!

Catching a Costume for Nicolas, A Movie Review

As long as Nicolas believes in the fantasy, that’s all we need to know. When he puts on a costume made by his grandma (pirate, spaceman, a dragon or whatever), he feels empowered and can take on anything!

WotakoiBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020 On Demand till Sept 2. Buy your virtual ticket here.

North American Premiere

A Costume For Nicholas is a wild and fancy free animation for all to enjoy. It’s not only a delightful and heartfelt adaptation of the children’s book Pablo y El Baúl by Jaime Mijares but also no prior knowledge is needed! The titular protagonist has Down’s syndrome. He lost his mother just minutes into the film (it’s easy to surmise because his grandparents take him in). Thankfully, adapting to life in an unfamiliar environment is hardly difficult at all.

David is his cousin, older by a couple of years, and though the two initially struggle to get along, it will take a magical adventure to see them bond. The tween has nightmares and they manifest strongly enough for Nick to see and he offers to help. However, before he involves David, he chases after the beast by himself and finds himself in another world via an old clothes trunk. Thankfully, the dangers he faces alone are not as dangerous as The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

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Serving Detention with Spirits this Ghost Month!

This movie is Dead Poets Society meets Pan’s Labyrinth. The dread comes at you in waves. The historical context is rightly nuanced and a solid platform to build upon for this movie by writer and director John Hsu. Additional writing credits include Fu-Kai Ling and Chiem Shi-keng.

WotakoiBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Played at Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020
Canadian Premiere

SPOILER ALERT

So here is Greenwood, an unassuming high school, where students get an education about why the Kuomintang (KMT, Chinese Nationalist Party) are great. However, anyone who is found to possess other teachings may get Detention (Fanxiao).

Viewers get an after hour’s lesson of a tumultuous time in Taiwanese history. There are other secrets this educational institute holds. The demons and ghosts of White Terror’s past wanting to tell their story. I’m sure all the atrocities that occurred is one many prefer to forget. Without it, the context of why Wei (Jing-Hua Tseng) is part of a dissonant group of kids learning from banned textbooks and the writings of Nobel-prize winning Rabindranath Tagore would be lost. Thankfully he is not alone, Fang Ray-Shin (Gingle Wang) sympathizes, but she wants nothing to do with the clandestine meetings. Two teachers–Miss Yin (Cecilia Choi) and Mr Zhang (Fu Meng-Po)–better be careful too. They won’t be facing jail time, but will be executed instead for their transgressions. A warning can be found with the grave in the schoolyard which students regularly cross.

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Jesters or Trickster Spirits? These “Game Changers” Play with History!

Ultimately, the story is about The Six Matryred Ministers whom the recently annotated King Sejo wants forgotten.

WotakoiBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Played at Fantasia Festival 2020.
Region 3 DVD is available to order on YesAsia USA and International.


SPOILER ALERT

Newly anointed King Sejo (Hee-soon Park) is quite the pickle in Jesters: The Game Changers. He’s dethroned the former prince, his nephew Danjong, in his rise to power and in order to sully a good reputation, he recruits Deok-ho (Jin-woong Cho) and his gang of talented con artists (Jesters, in this translation) to spotlight all the good he can do.

They use strangely modern techniques to make their special effects. Honestly, it’s these moments which make this film shine. Viewers may scratch their heads at how 15th century Korea has access to electric lights but I figure what they used are smoke and mirrors inside different types of containers to make their illusions. With creative thinking, anything is possible, including projecting Buddha on a cliff side or seeing Deok-ho on an ancient treadmill.

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