For three decades, the Fantasia International Film Festival has been a premiere showcase of genre cinema around the world. Whatever your inclination — established auteurs or fresh new voices, exhilarating martial arts action or bizarre slow-burn horror — there is something for everyone at this celebration of what the art form has to offer. Berkreviews will be covering the festival for the fourth year running, and this is but a sampling of the films that have us the most excited.
Baby Assassins Nice Days
Yugo Sakamoto’s previous Baby Assassins films have been some of the best that contemporary action cinema has had to offer. The quirky hangout vibe, the chemistry of stars Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa, and the intricate and inventive choreography of Kensuke Sonomura are an indelible combination, and early word on the third is that it may be the best of the series.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
This film seems to have been on the horizon for years, and its release can be sene as a last gasp of the glory days of Hong Kong action cinema. Set in the now demolished Kowloon Walled City, directed by the reliable Soi Cheang, starring a murderer’s row of martial arts stars new and old — including the legend himself, Sammo Hung — this is one of the most anticipated films of the year.
Brush of the God
For nearly fifty years, Keizo Murase has worked below the line in the world of special effects, sculpting and designing suits on dozens of classic kaiju films. Now he finally takes the helm as director of his own giant monster film, and the snippets and behind-the-scenes footage released so far have been nothing short of jaw-dropping.
100 Yards
This tale of two rivals at a wushu academy in 1920s China has been earned an enormous amount of praise over its long festival run, not only for its fight choreography but for its portrait of the martial world at a precarious time in history.
Azrael
Samara Weaving has yet to get the star vehicle that truly deserves her. This audacious, dialogue-free post-apocalyptic thriller looks to provide exactly the showcase that she needs. That it comes from E.L. Katz, the director of the darkly funny and aptly named Cheap Thrills, goes a long way in inspiring confidence in this project.
Penalty Loop
Time loop movies have had a moment in the sun post-pandemic, and this looks like a fun twist on the formula: our protagonist is a murderer driven by vengeance, and his victim is trapped in the loop as well. Fertile ground for both a commentary on justice through violence and a gripping game of cat-and-mouse.
Confession
Nobuhiro Yamashita has three films that he directed at Fantasia this year, and this is the most enticing of the bunch (though Ghost Cat Anzu and Swimming in a Sand Pool also sound worth checking out). There are few things more tantalizing than a one location thriller with a limited cast of characters who are not sure who can be trusted, and condensing that two only two people and a seventy-six-minute runtime sounds like a recipe for a great time.
The Old Man and the Demon Sword
“Self-aware lo-fi riff on trashy genre cinema of the 80s” has become a genre in its own right, and has been a very mixed bag. This Portuguese entry incorporates tokusatsu into its blend of horror and sword-and-sorcery, and looks to have an earnestness that may elevate it above some of the more ignoble examples of its ilk. If nothing else, the hour-long runtime is bound to make it a breezy time.
Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain
I must admit to being unfamiliar with the 2007 television series Mononoke, so I have no idea how this film relates to the show. What is immediately evident is that this is absolutely gorgeous animation, full of eye-popping, vibrant psychedelic colors and with a beautifully textured and layered look. Truthfully, it’s so visually engrossing that a decent narrative isn’t even strictly needed; just staring at this imagery would be enough.
A Samurai in Time
There is something about stateliness, poise, and beauty of classic jidaigeki cinema that has given it a staying power, even as the genre modernizes. By all appearances, this story of a samurai thrust onto a modern film set will be a love letter to a brand of cinema that holds a special resonance to this day.
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