Describing a Sion Sono film is always a challenge, but this time, the creator of the masterpieces LOVE EXPOSURE and SUICIDE CLUB surpasses himself! With LOVE & PEACE, he fuses together tokusatsu films, the musical and fantastic comedy, throwing in talking toys that inhabit a fairlyland in the Tokyo sewers and casting a critical but loving eye on contemporary Japan. Dusting off a 20-year-old script of his, Sono poured his heart into LOVE & PEACE, for which he composed a few catchy numbers, and kept the special effects old-school for Pikadon and his toybox pals. LOVE & PEACE is a funny, touching and deliciously strange feel-good flick (written by Nicolas Archambault)

SYNOPSIS:

Ryoichi, a disgraced musician, is treated with contempt by his co-workers at the third-rate company where he toils. To bring a little light into his miserable life, he adopts a tiny turtle, which he names Pikadon. With this new companion, Ryoichi’s spirits are lifted enough to rekindle his musical dreams, but the day he brings Pikadon to work, his colleagues force him to flush the reptile down the toilet. Ryoichi is devastated, but his obsession with the animal, oddly, brings him back to music. Meanwhile, Pikadon’s journey through the sewage system leads him to a strange fellow who takes abandoned toys and animals under his wing. The old man even gives them the means to talk. However, a ludicrous mistake invests the Pikadon with the potential for incredible growth. Pikadon and Ryoichi are destined to reconnect in a wild frenzy of love, rock ’n’ roll and collateral damage.

SCREENING INFORMATION:

LOVE & PEACE
Digital Projection, 117mins
Location: Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N Clark St. 60640
Dates:
January 8th at 8:00pm
January 10th at 7:00pm
Ticket price: $9.00

With SUNRISE, Partho Sen-Gupta reveals himself to be, not unlike Anurag Kashyap (UGLY, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR), one of India’s most promising independent filmmakers. Staying off Bollywood’s beaten path, he instead offers with SUNRISE a poignant and maddening noir-inflected thriller, set in Mumbai’s child-trafficking industry. Deliberately provocative, structurally challenging and exquisitely stylized, in alternating Refn-esque garish colours and expressive chiaroscuro that would make Pedro Costa proud, SUNRISE unfolds like a lucid dream, or rather, the nightmare of one police officer, whose guilt materializes as horror. Powerful, bold and uncompromising, there is nothing even remotely sunny about SUNRISE, yet it shines bright, violently eclipsing the competition. (by Ariel Esteban Cayer)

SYNOPSIS:

The life of Inspector Lakshman Joshi (Adil Hussain, seen in LIFE OF PI) has been a living hell ever since his young daughter Aruna vanished without a trace. Driven nearly insane by her disappearance, he walks his police beat by day and furiously roams the streets at night, pursuing an elusive shadow-man into the darkest, seediest, most haunted corners of Mumbai. Night and night again, this fever-dream pursuit leads him to Paradise, a gentlemen’s club where disgusting men prey on underage dancers. Powerless, he heads home every night, to find a broken wife. Another case soon lands on his desk: that of Naina, a kidnapped six-year-old, brought into a nearby brothel. Are Paradise and Naina connected? Joshi spirals further and further downward…

SUNRISE
1st screening:
Digital Projection, 85mins
Location: Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N Clark St. 60640
Date: Saturday, January 16th
Time: 8:00pm
Ticket price: $9.00

2nd screening:
Digital Projection, 85mins
Location: Columbia College (Hokin Hall)
600 S Michigan Ave. 60605
Date: Tuesday, January 19th
Time: 6:30pm
Ticket price: $9.00

Following several memorable projects, such as ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU, auteur Shunji Iwai surprises us with a more playful tone in a first foray into the world of animated film, which weds rotoscoping and digital animation. While he tackles touchy subjects such as divorce and bullying, THE CASE OF HANA & ALICE remains first and foremost a charming comedy that uses the vivid imagination of its characters as means to create hilarious situations. Actually a prequel to its predecessor HANA & ALICE (2004), our joy at reuniting with these characters is almost equal to that felt by Yu Aoi (RUROUNI KENSHIN) and Anne Suzuki (HELTER SKELTER) in revisiting them. However, except for a few references that will please fans of the first film, THE CASE can totally be appreciated on its own. By throwing everything he had as a director, writer and composer at this irresistible animated debut, Shunji Iwai confirms his rightful place amongst the most eclectic directors of his time. (by Nicolas Archambault, Fantasia International Film Festival)

SYNOPSIS:

Spunky Tetsuko, AKA Alice, is off to a fresh start. Having just settled down with her recently divorced mother, she’s set to begin school at Ishinomori College. Upon arrival, she quickly falls victim to peer bullying, but after running into Fuko, an old ballet partner, she finds solace in her return to dance. It is during such a dancing session that she overhears about the enigmatic affair of the Ishinomori High murder. According to rumour, a student named Judas was supposedly killed by four other students also named Judas. Despite its inherent absurdity, the story fuels many fiery discussions and leads to much strange behaviour, including ludicrous rituals and in-class possessions. When Alice discovers that her next-door neighbour Hana, who’s been holed up inside her apartment for months, might hold the missing pieces to this homicidal puzzle, she decides to pay her a visit. Together, they’ll follow the threads of a shady investigation that will cement their friendship forever.

THE CASE OF HANA AND ALICE
Digital Projection, 110mins
Location: Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N Clark St. 60640
Dates:
December 4th at 8:00pm
December 6th at 7:00pm
Ticket price: $9.00

Ethiopia’s first sci-fi feature also happens to be a post-apocalyptic black comedy, an eccentric love story and a brilliant blast of politically charged surrealism. The most jaded cinephile will be lit up by this intelligent and offbeat blast of Afro-futurism. It’s an extraordinary feature debut for writer/producer/director Miguel Llansó, sumptuously photographed with widescreen panoramas the make potent use of Ethiopia’s largely alien-to-Western-eyes landscapes, and staged with a bottomless sense of invention, poetry and wit. Llansó has created a hugely original futureworld oddity, where magic fuses with history, and religious faith evolves into something even more absurdist than the extremes of our current age — all fronted by a performer every bit as singular as the film itself. To state the obvious, CRUMBS is quite unlike anything you’ve ever encountered. (by Mitch Davis – Fantasia International Film Festival)

SYNOPSIS:

In a distant future wasteland, many years after an apocalypse wiped out most of humankind’s history, a new religion has emerged. Random found artifacts of late 20th century pop culture that have been collected into a twisted spiritual narrative of gods and wonders. This is a land where a vintage Michael Jackson LP is a sacred object. Physically malformed Candy (the incredible Daniel Tadesse, a star in the new wave of Ethiopian film) is tired of his day-to-day routine, salvaging and bartering scraps from bygone civilizations. He embarks on a quest to conquer his fears and learn more about a mysterious UFO that’s been hovering in the sky “since the beginning of the big war.” His journey will see him crossing paths with numerous unexpected obstacles, including witches, Nazis and an emaciated and rather belligerent Santa Claus.

CRUMBS
1st screening:
Digital Projection, 68mins
Location: Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N Clark St. 60640
Date: Saturday, October 24th
Time: 8:00pm
Ticket price: $8.00

2nd screening:
Digital Projection, 68mins
Location: Columbia College (Hokin Hall)
600 S Michigan Ave. 60605
Date: Tuesday, October 27th
Time: 6:30pm
Ticket price: $8.00

The Chicago Cinema Society is extremely proud and excited to announce the Chicago Premiere of TURBO KID at Chicago Filmmakers for three screenings starting on August 28th (see bottom of post for specifics)! The debut feature from Canadian filmmaking collective RKSS, TURBO KID is a wild throwback to post-apocalyptic action cinema of the 80s filtered through colorful Saturday morning cartoons and video game box art. Featuring Michael Ironside and a killer synth soundtrack, TURBO KID bursts off the screen with adventure, gore, and heart. Don’t miss one of the most fun and unique movies of the year!

Synopsis:

In a post-apocalyptic parallel future of 1997, an orphaned teenager called The Kid scavenges the Wasteland searching for relics from a better time (the 80s). During one of his expeditions he meets Apple, a mysterious girl with a rather large secret. As their relationship deepens, they accidentally run afoul of Zeus, the self-proclaimed leader of the Wasteland. Zeus, a sadistically droll maniac who murdered The Kid’s parents, now controls the Wasteland’s most precious commodity: fresh water. When Zeus’ gang kidnaps Apple, The Kid joins forces with Frederick, the laconic leader of the legendary Arm-Wrestling Clan. Armed with little more than blind faith and an ancient turbo-charged weapon, The Kid must fulfill his ultimate destiny: destroy Zeus, avenge his parents’ death and get the girl of his dreams.

FILM FESTIVAL SELECTIONS & AWARDS:

Audience Award – Best Film: Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival
Jury Award – Best Art Direction (International Film): Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival

Audience Award – Midnighters: SXSW Film Festival

Best Director (RKSS): Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival

Official Selection: Sundance Film Festival

REVIEWS:

“Perhaps the most colorful film ever made with a postapocalyptic setting, TURBO KID is a loud, energetic homage to Eighties kitsch (though set in 1997) with so much going on that it makes sense that it took three directors (François Simard and Anouk and Yoann-Karl Whissell, aka RKSS or Road Kill Super Stars) to wrangle it all.” – Laura Kern, Film Comment

“TURBO KID is the ultimate midnight movie… RKSS creates a rich, vibrant world and packs it to the brim with fun idiosyncrasies, details and characters.” – Perri Nemiroff, Collider

“A post-apocalyptic homage that’s kitschy on purpose (which is sort of easy), very funny on its own merits (which is not), and actually sort of sweet — which is practically unheard of when you’re dealing with this particular sub-genre.” – Scott Weinberg, Nerdist

“A pitch-perfect pastiche that never mocks its inspirations…” – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

“TURBO KID is insane… feels like no other film in the last decade.” – Peter Sciretta, Slashfilm

“TURBO KID is a magical can’t-miss experience that’s like a Saturday morning cartoon turned into an apocalyptic 80s fever-dream… an invigorating adventure that has its phasers set to WOW!” – Matt Donato, We Got This Covered

SCREENING INFORMATION:

TURBO KID
Digital Projection, 93mins
Location: Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N Clark St. 60640
Dates:
August 28th at 8:00pm
August 29th at 8:00pm
August 30th at 7:00pm
Ticket price: $8.00