56th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Asian Presence 2022

By Asian Film Festival on June 17, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

We present the Asian films that will be screened at the 56th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which will take place from July 1 – 9, 2022.

**A Far Shore** by Masaaki Kudo – Japan | 2022 – 128 minutes

An unadorned perspective on impoverished life in Okinawa, an island in southern Japan whose modern history was tainted by the bloody battle for the Pacific. 17-year-old Aoi works as a nightclub hostess in order to earn rent money and to provide for her little boy. She also supports her lazy husband Masaya, who has no qualms about giving her a few slaps, particularly after he loses his job. What chance does this young family have to scrape their way out of the social mire, where they were driven by poverty and the imprudence of youth? How dark does reality have to get before it stifles the rays of hope that filter through? An intimate story that presents a less glitzy picture of Japan than is customary, demonstrating that social inequality impacts all corners of the globe. – Martin Horyna

**All the Crows in the World** by Yi Tang – Hong Kong | 2021 – 14 minutes

18-year-old Shengnan is invited to a mysterious party by her cousin. The party is full of greasy, middle-aged Chinese men, but Jianguo is so very different. (KVIFF 2022)

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**Decision to Leave** by Park Chan-wook – South Korea | 2022 – 138 minutes

Detective Hae-joon is investigating the death of a man who fell from a mountain under unclear circumstances. “I worry when he does not come back from the mountain, thinking he might have died at last,” the dead man’s widow Seo-rae says vaguely and with a strange detachment, which immediately makes her a suspect. But the thing that confuses Hae-joon more than this mysterious statement are his slowly awakening emotions… What to do when the shadow of a crime hangs over blossoming love? Should one silence the past for the sake of love? This stylish romance full of mysterious plot twists resists labeling as the South Korean master of the mystery thriller comes up with one great idea after another. A well-deserved best director winner at Cannes. – Martin Horyna

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**Leonor Will Never Die** by Martika Ramirez Escobar – Philippines | 2022 – 101 minutes

What would it be like to meet the movie stars of our fantasies? Leonor, an aging former screenwriter for cheap action films whose star dimmed long ago, falls into a coma after her neighbor’s television lands on her head. As a result, in her mind she lives out the unfinished story of the noble Ronwaldo, who decides to stand up to a criminal gang. In her feature film debut, Filipino director and cinematographer Martika Ramirez Escobar presents a refreshing mix of reality with fantasy, relationship drama with screwball comedy, and cinephilic references with movie stereotypes. This formally varied, action-packed, and hyperbolic independent film took home the Special Jury Award from the Sundance Film Festival. – Natalia Kozáková

**Night Colonies** by Apichatpong Weerasethakul – USA, Thailand | 2021 – 14 minutes

There are demonstrations in Bangkok but the insects on the white bed linen have other concerns, if they have any at all. In his short film hovering on the border between dream and wakefulness Apichatpong Weerasethakul again blends familiar banality with the realm of the dead. While fluorescent lamps attract night-time creatures, some of them are more interested in the food that’s been left out – and a curious stillness hangs in the air. – Viktor Palák

**Plan 75** by Chie Hayakawa – Japan, France, Philippines, Qatar | 2022 – 112 minutes

The Japanese population is inexorably aging, placing a disproportionate strain on the national economy. Set in the near future, Plan 75 speculates as to a possible solution. A government program known as Plan 75 offers older citizens generous financial support, government-funded vacations, and other benefits, all in exchange for deciding to die voluntarily, thus giving the younger population a chance. The film follows several characters – both clients (in particular the charming 87-year-old Michiko) and employees of this program – who are forced to come to terms with its consequences. A gently funny and tenderly melancholy film about how the value of a life cannot be expressed in numbers. – Anna Kořínek

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**Return to Dust** by Ruijun Li – China | 2022 – 131 minutes

At first, the arranged marriage between the taciturn Ma and the lame and infertile Guiying does not portend a joyous future. But their modest life together on a farm with a faithful donkey pushes the couple towards kindness and patience, towards each other and the land from which they make a living. Chinese director Ruijun Li presents a drama about love without a trace of unnecessary sentimentality. With the captivated eye of a careful observer, he shows that the resilience of living together does not necessarily depend on material wealth or on having a “complete,” happy family, but that it grows from everyday acts of consideration. A charming film set in a landscape of deep yellow corn fields and sand dunes that reveals the unsustainability of idyllic rural life in a modernizing China. – Ondřej Pavlík

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**Small, Slow but Steady** by Shô Miyake – Japan, France | 2022 – 99 minutes

Boxing can be approached in a forceful and self-centered manner. But young Keiko, who was born with a hearing impairment and only recently began fighting professionally, is different. She shows others respect to the point that it looks like she doesn’t want to dominate over them. She radiates a calm energy that can be bested perhaps only by her own uncertainties. After two victories, she faces a difficult third bout, but the fragile young woman is overcome by fear and loses the will to fight. What is more, the local gym that has become her second home is at risk of being shut down. Will Keiko stumble beneath the blows of life, or will she win her inner battle? This surprisingly poetic film about boxing comes with a reputation as an unassuming gem from this year’s Berlinale. – Martin Horyna

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**The Moon and the Tree** by Tsai Ming-liang – Taiwan | 2021 – 34 minutes

A woman is receiving physiotherapy for her paralysed lower body; an old man contemplates an even older tree – both are celebrated figures of Taiwanese culture. Tsai Ming-liang in silent communication with people and places, presented in a way that makes us feel as if we were waking up from a restful summer’s afternoon nap. – Viktor Palák

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**The Night** by Tsai Ming-liang – Taiwan | 2021 – 19 minutes

An old Chinese song about the night which carries off a little fragment of our heart. Ordinary secluded spots in Hong Kong as we will never experience them again. The hustle and bustle of a night which seems remarkably serene. Tsai Ming-liang as a master at capturing muffled streets, the passing of time, and fleeting moments. – Viktor Palák

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