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Arthouse Monster Recommends:
Not Quite Hollywood
NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD is the wild, shocking and massively entertaining chronicle of Australian genre cinema of the 70s and 80s! This documentary will delight film connoisseurs who fancy extra large helpings of over-the-top violence, low-budget gore and antisocial behavior. It will certainly enchant moviegoers who had no idea that Australians were capable of producing such explicit, violent and extremely entertaining films. Sure, MAD MAX gave American viewers a taste of this phenomenon, but it doesn’t even begin to cover what the Aussies were into.
Mark Hartley, the writer, director and co-editor of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, admitsthat he’s a member of Generation X who never got to experience 70s Australian genre cinema in the theaters or drive-inns in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. Instead, he discovered it late night on television. As a kid, he was captivated by after-dark TV screenings of films such as THE MAN FROM HONG KONG (1975), PATRICK (1978) and SNAPSHOT (1979). He’s had a love affair with “Ozploitation” films ever since. Hartley's documentary pays homage to an overlooked and neglected corner of film history and examines the maverick directors who paved the way for today’s crop of filmmakers.
Although documentary plays like a mix tape of the craziest action, martial arts and splatter movies from Down Under, it’s also a careful examination of Australia’s censorship regime and howit went from repressive to progressive overnight. The film also feature astonishing anecdotes and comments from Ozploitation’s most prolific filmmakersand performers. Arthouse Monster highly recommends this one!
— Jason Soeda
Arthouse Monster also recommends the following films:
Kung Fu Kun
Kung Fu (played by 8-year-old Chinese martial artist Zhang Zhuang) is a Shaolin monk on the cusp of completing his training. He’s defeated a series of enemies and there’s only one left. According to his aging master Pin Ko (Pinko Izumi), his final opponent resides in Japan and he’ll need to beat him to earn his expert license. For this reason, Pin Ko sends the tiny warrior to Japan, “the land of the samurai.” There, he befriends Izumi, the proprietress of a Chinese restaurant. Their friendship seems destined. After all, Izumi is a martial artist herself, using her uncanny skills to prepare the noodles. Before long, Kung Fu and Izumi will have to confront an evil force corrupting the Japanese educational system. Can the brave and baldheaded boy save Japan? Guaranteed fun and excitement for the whole family!
— Jason Soeda
A Christmas Tale
Abel and Junon Vuillard have never recovered from their son’s Joseph’s death. The victim of a rare genetic disorder, the Joseph’s only hope was a bone marrow transplant. Neither his parents nor his sister Elizabeth was a compatible donor. In a desperate final effort to save their son, the couple conceived a third child, Henri. Unfortunately, Henri also could not save his brother and Joseph died at the age of seven. A CHRISTMAS TALE follows the aftermath of this tragedy, many years in the future, and explores the tense relationships of the Vuillard family. Many years have passed, and the family’s relationships are tremendously strained, particularly those between authoritative Elizabeth and the Henri, now a hopeless ne’er-do-well. Arnaud Desplechin’s film, arguably his finest, is a bittersweet, gripping and poignant cinematic experience not to be missed.
— Jason Soeda
Sparrow
In Hong Kong vernacular, a “sparrow” is a pickpocket. It’s the perfect term for Kei (Simon Yam), a gentleman thief who can easily lift your wallet and disappear without a trace. Kei and his partners make a good living doing this. It’s sweet life for Kei, who spends his free time whizzing around the city on his bicycle, snapping photos with his vintage camera. One day, an alluring woman named Chun Lei (Kelly Lin) appears in his viewfinder and utterly captivates him. In fact, his entire team falls for her. However, in time, they realize that Chun Lei’s a woman on the run, and she has deliberately lured them in for one reason — to take advantage of the their skills! Have the sparrows finally met their match?
— Jason Soeda
Sailfish
Set against the social turmoil of China’s Cultural Revolution, SAILFISH is the story of 12-year-old champion swimmer Yue Haiyang. His father, a kindhearted intellectual, always encouraged the young boy’s dream of becoming China’s greatest swimmer. But his dreams are abruptly shattered when his father is killed, his family’s house is confiscated and he and his mother are forced to live in the countryside. Six years later, with the help of his childhood friend, Gao Ming, and the love of his life, Bai Ling, he is able to rejoin the swimming team. Does he still have what it takes to win? In a quest to fulfil a lifelong dream, friendship and loyalty are tested as the three friends wade through the waters of personal struggle and political unrest.
— Jason Soeda