far east special
» Mr. Suave / Mr. Suave , Joyce Bernal, PHILIPPINES, 2003 100′
Meet Rico, woman-magnet, smooth operator, who can charm just any woman. He’s best known for two things: his popular shrimp - they’re best-sellers, especially with the women - and his suave reputation. When he’s not busy exercising his suave ways, Rico instructs his four nerdy friends how to attract women in four simple steps. But Rico — despite his superhuman charms – turns out to be seriously flawed. When he is about to make intimate contact with a woman, his whole body freezes, petrifies and becomes generally useless. The doctor is of no help, so his friends hire a beautiful girl to do the job. At first Rico is frustrated, but gradually he warms up to Venus. However, Venus has a dirty secret, and their tender courting is ended prematurely. Eventually Rico realises that despite the fact that Venus is a prostitute and a thief, she is the only girl to whom he will offer his virginity. After an explosive ending with crashing cars, Rico proposes to Venus. But when it’s time to kiss the bride, the symptoms of Rico’s sickness return and he collapses.
» Nora-neko rokku: Sekkusu hantaa / Stray Cat Rock – Sex Hunter , Hasebe Yasuharu, JAPAN, 1970 85′
Mako is the leader of an all-female biker gang that hangs out with the rival all-male Eagles, headed by the super-cool, yet ruthless Baron. When one of the Eagles looses his girl to an African-American-Japanese man (a Half), the leader of the Eagles, Baron, declares war on all the mixed-race Japanese citizens living in their town because his sister was raped by a Half years prior. Tensions really escalate when a new gang, the Brats, arrive into town. Headed by hunky half-bred Kazuma, who is searching for his sister, the Brats quickly become the target of the Eagles, now on the warpath against any non-Japanese in town. Mako grows sympathetic towards Kazuma and helps nurse him, which, of course, infuriates Baron, secretly enamoured with Mako himself. He concocts a dejected plan to humiliate and subdue the rebellious Alleycats, but Mako succeeds in spoiling it. However she can’t prevent the tragic outcome of the final stand-off between Kazuma and the Baron’s henchmen.
» Wong gok hak yau / One Nite in Mongkok, Derek Yee, HK, 2004 110′
He got his start working with the famed and notoriously iconoclastic director Seijun Suzuki. Later, Hasebe got a chance to direct his first film for Nikkatsu in 1966, Black Tight Killers, with which he earned his Nikkatsu ranks for years to come. In the following years, he made a series of action films for the studio, including the very successful youth-oriented Stray Cat Rock series, which mixed in a little sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll into the mix. Due to dwindling audiences for their action films, Nikkatsu made nothing but sex films from 1971 onward, Hasebe’s fate and notoriety were sealed. Throughout the 1970s he churned out generic Nikkatsu exploitation, ranging from pink films to explosive violence, but his talent as a director of action films is arguably more representative of his cinematic legacy.
harvest| friends| masters| new shores| retrospective- the south of cinema
far east special | special occassion| short films and animation
» Mr. Suave / Mr. Suave , Joyce Bernal, PHILIPPINES, 2003 100′
Meet Rico, woman-magnet, smooth operator, who can charm just any woman. He’s best known for two things: his popular shrimp - they’re best-sellers, especially with the women - and his suave reputation. When he’s not busy exercising his suave ways, Rico instructs his four nerdy friends how to attract women in four simple steps. But Rico — despite his superhuman charms – turns out to be seriously flawed. When he is about to make intimate contact with a woman, his whole body freezes, petrifies and becomes generally useless. The doctor is of no help, so his friends hire a beautiful girl to do the job. At first Rico is frustrated, but gradually he warms up to Venus. However, Venus has a dirty secret, and their tender courting is ended prematurely. Eventually Rico realises that despite the fact that Venus is a prostitute and a thief, she is the only girl to whom he will offer his virginity. After an explosive ending with crashing cars, Rico proposes to Venus. But when it’s time to kiss the bride, the symptoms of Rico’s sickness return and he collapses.
» Nora-neko rokku: Sekkusu hantaa / Stray Cat Rock – Sex Hunter , Hasebe Yasuharu, JAPAN, 1970 85′
Mako is the leader of an all-female biker gang that hangs out with the rival all-male Eagles, headed by the super-cool, yet ruthless Baron. When one of the Eagles looses his girl to an African-American-Japanese man (a Half), the leader of the Eagles, Baron, declares war on all the mixed-race Japanese citizens living in their town because his sister was raped by a Half years prior. Tensions really escalate when a new gang, the Brats, arrive into town. Headed by hunky half-bred Kazuma, who is searching for his sister, the Brats quickly become the target of the Eagles, now on the warpath against any non-Japanese in town. Mako grows sympathetic towards Kazuma and helps nurse him, which, of course, infuriates Baron, secretly enamoured with Mako himself. He concocts a dejected plan to humiliate and subdue the rebellious Alleycats, but Mako succeeds in spoiling it. However she can’t prevent the tragic outcome of the final stand-off between Kazuma and the Baron’s henchmen.
» Wong gok hak yau / One Nite in Mongkok, Derek Yee, HK, 2004 110′
He got his start working with the famed and notoriously iconoclastic director Seijun Suzuki. Later, Hasebe got a chance to direct his first film for Nikkatsu in 1966, Black Tight Killers, with which he earned his Nikkatsu ranks for years to come. In the following years, he made a series of action films for the studio, including the very successful youth-oriented Stray Cat Rock series, which mixed in a little sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll into the mix. Due to dwindling audiences for their action films, Nikkatsu made nothing but sex films from 1971 onward, Hasebe’s fate and notoriety were sealed. Throughout the 1970s he churned out generic Nikkatsu exploitation, ranging from pink films to explosive violence, but his talent as a director of action films is arguably more representative of his cinematic legacy.
