And now for something completely different
For years Fantasia has been popularly perceived as a festival dealing in very specific types of cinema, mostly Japanimation, martial arts films and Italian horror. And it's true. Fantasia does cater to the Fangoria and Dragonball sets, but in eight years Fantasia has grown into much more than a myopic genre festival. More than anything it has become a showcase for films that North Americans have scant access to.

Komikstok is born
This year's edition of Fantasia hosted a new segment, sub-festival, or whatever you choose to call it - Komikstok. The comic-loving subset of Fantasia, which ran July 17 and 18, brought a new dimension to a rapidly maturing festival. More than ever the obvious connection between genre film and comic books has been drawn in thick unwavering lines. Taking a broader perspective than the typical Japanimation slant, Komikstok ran out the weekend showcasing films (live action and animated) created by some of the world's top comic artists and animators. Comic artist meet-and-greets were also held at various locations around the city.

American weirdo animator Bill Plympton (whose work is frequently likened to Disney on acid) screened his latest feature, Hair High. The film is like a cartoon blend of Grease and Evil Dead, sort of a '50s-era story of love that won't die - literally.

Live-action films of comics being all the rage in the States (Spider-Man, X-Men, The Hulk, Daredevil, blah, blah), Komikstok loaded its screen time with a veritable wealth of foreign treatments in the same vein. Ayako Fujitani, Japanese screen idol and star of the live-action refit of the acclaimed comic Cutie Honey, arrived to introduce both that and the other film by animator-turned-director Hideaki Anno, Ritual (in which Fujitani also appears). Immortel, the new live-action treatment by France's comic-artist-turned-director Enki Bilal, showed to an enthusiastic audience of punkishly attired girls and the boys that love them. Another French effort, Blueberry, sets America's Wild West in a franco sensibility. The film is based on the legendary bandes dessinées by the renowned artist Jean Giraud, a.k.a. Moebius (whose animated feature Arzak Rhapsody also screened during Komikstok) and stars Vincent Cassel (of La Haine and Irreversible) and Juliette Lewis.

The new wave of Korean cinema
The Korean film industry continues to astonish with its high production values, superb actors, nuanced treatments, and, above all, original storytelling. Six of the 13 Korean films at Fantasia have already screened. Natural City in particular made a powerful impression by taking on the sci-fi dystopic theme of simulated life (much as Blade Runner had done) with all the dismaying visual effects of AI and I, Robot but with a subtle emotional intensity that the ham-handed American efforts failed to achieve. Hollywood has been taking note and has begun to buy up the remake rights on several Korean blockbusters. Both A Tale of Two Sisters (July 25, 9:30 p.m. at the Hall Theatre) and Jail Breakers (July 31, 5 p.m. at the Hall Theatre) have been sewn up by the Hollywood machine - see them before they get rehashed.

Preview picks
Killing Words (July 22, 9:45 p.m. at the J.A. De Sève Cinema) - Catch the second and last screening of this beautifully orchestrated Spanish thriller starring Darío Grandinetti (who also starred in Almodovar's Talk to Her).

Rojo Sangre (July 23, 8 p.m. at the Hall Theatre) - Actor, screenwriter and horror legend Paul Naschy (a.k.a. Jacinto Molina) hosts this one-time screening of his new Spanish horror film.

Sex Is Zero (July 24, 7:20 p.m. at the Hall Theatre and July 27, 5:20 p.m. at the J.A. De Sève Cinema) - The third highest grossing film in Korean history, Sex Is Zero is a spirited sex comedy in the no-joke-is-too-low tradition of American Pie.

One Missed Call (July 22, 5:30 p.m. at the Hall Theatre, July 26, 9:30 p.m. at the Hall Theatre and July 30, 7:30 p.m. at the J.A. De Sève Cinema) - The latest terrifying turn by director Takashi Miike, the man who brought you Audition, Ichi the Killer, Gozu and Visitor Q.

The Hillside Strangler (July 28, 9:50 p.m. and July 30, 5:20 p.m., both at the J.A. De Sève Cinema) - This is the second serial-killer biopic by director/producer Chris Fisher. Fisher, who produced Jonas Akerlund's Spun, first took on a dramatization of a serial killer's life in his first feature Nightstalker, based on the life of Richard Ramirez.

 
 

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Fantasia diary: Week 1...and so it continues     According to Dylan Young, Fantasia has for many a year been popularly perceived as a festival dealing in very specific types of cinema (mostly Japanimation, martial arts films and Italian horror, etc...)--well, duh?! Thanks for stating the obvious there. Like I really needed to grasp the thematic nuance of Fantasia from him. No, what gets me is his oh so bold statement that Fantasia has grown into much more than a myopic genre festival. Eh? Dude, the whole point is that it IS myopic in perspective. It's catering to a niche market. If we Fantasia freaks wanted a wider festival we'd go to one. Shall I name the other film festivals that glut this city annually? I'm sorry but just because the Fantasia heads are more overt about how they're promoting certain aspects of the fest doesn't mean they weren't ALREADY doing it before. YOU just happened to notice it now. By the way, what exactly do you mean by "More than anything it has become a showcase for films that North Americans have scant access to"? Has become? Has become?! Dude, were you even there for the other years? Fantasia has ALWAYS showcased films that North Americans have scant access to! By the way, that's a claim that several other film fests could make too, y'know. I'd love to invoke the FFM or Cinemania as references but the FFM would have to be disqualified these days since they started watering down their film crop to appeal to a broader audiences. Or as you might put it, they've become less myopic. Now, they just suck. Well, at least compared to previous editions. Oh, and by the way, I get credit for making the NATURAL CITY/BLADE RUNNER link first. Read last week's edition of the Fantasia diary. But heck, who's counting, right? For my money, Komikstok was a moderate success. Good idea but a somewhat fumbled execution. HAIR HIGH was a hoot but Guard Dog stole the show. And yes, BLUEBERRY & ROJO SANGRE are going to kill at the fest. Until next week...
Pedro Eggers	{45 votes}	July 23rd, 2004
Disappointed by "Blueberry"     I saw the trailer for the movie "Blueberry" based on the character created by Jean Giraud. As I recall, the bande dessinée about Lieutenant Blueberry was full of historical details, thanks to its earlier scenarist Charlier. As far as I can tell, it seems to me that the movie they shot has more to do with esoteric journey to forgotten indigenous civilizations than with the good-vs-evil duel by a lonesome anti-hero. At least, this is what we would have expected. Apparently, the director decided to make a movie more along the lines of Alejandro Jodorowsky's "El Topo". Suffice to say that I am a bit disappointed. Who wouldn't be when you expect to find a good story by Giraud and end up with something that he wouldn,t even have considered when working as Moebius. This is too bad considering that this character was created with cinema in mind (Blueberry's face was drawn after Jean-Paul belmondo's).
Sylvain Provost	{6 votes}	July 27th, 2004
Fantasia Film Festival     This will be another entertaining year at the fantasia film festival with a lot of fun filled films to watch in little time because everyone has a busy summer schedule. I'm really interested in seeing the film about the Hill Side Strangler because I love director/producer Chris Fisher films. He is an excellent producer and I loved watching the film Nightstalker based on the life of one of the worst serial killers in American history by the name of Richard Ramirez. This will be a very scary film to watch. I love Fantasia film festival because it shows films that we are not use to watching at our local theater. Fantasia offers films at a very cheap price and not like $15.00 to see a film like Catwoman. Fantasia always offers bloody film that will live you with your mouth open.
Carmela Sicurella	{5 votes}	July 25th, 2004
Fantasia Comments...     I saw Killing Words tonight... I really liked it, a lot of twists and turns and a great performance by Dario Grandinetti. It reminded very much of A Patricia Highsmith novel, and was directed by a woman for a change. All in all a good thriller that relied on a real psychological mind game. One Point 0, was also quite interesting, shows that sci-fi on a low budget can work. Korean Films... so far I've seen NATURAL CITY - although I was impressed, I would of liked to see more exploration into the human/robot relationship, instead of the drawn out battle scene at the end. I also saw MEMORIES OF MURDER - nothing special. THE UNINVITED - a ghost story brought down to earth, a little drawn out, but again another film that didn't have to rely on tons of FX to make it's point. TALE OF TWO SISTERS and SEX IS ZERO are my next picks... http://www.livejournal.com/community/fantasia_2004/
Jim Levesque	{9 votes}	July 23rd, 2004

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