10 Asian films you shouldn’t miss at the 59th Chicago International Film Festival

By Asian Film Festival on October 8, 2023 • ( Leave a comment )

These are ten Asian films you shouldn’t miss at the Chicago International Film Festival which will take place from October 11 – 22, 2023 in Chicago, USA.

– Feature Films –

Concrete Utopia by Um Tae-hwa – Korea | 2023 – 130 minutes
A massive earthquake has reduced Seoul to a battered post-apocalyptic snarl of twisted metal and collapsed rubble — except for one building, the Hwang Gung Apartments, the last vestige of civilization as far as the eye can see. Together with the rest of the building’s tenants, young couple Min-seong (Parasite’s Park Seo-jun) and Myeong-hwa (Park Bo-young) must work together to restore order and plan for their survival, which turn out to be just the beginning of their troubles.

South Korea’s official submission for next year’s Oscars and a box-office smash in its home country, Concrete Utopia is a rollicking disaster epic that deftly mixes intimate psychological tensions with action-packed set pieces. Not unlike other recent South Korean hits, it’s a skillful combination of violence, thrills, and acerbic social commentary about authority, community, and the fine line that exists between heroes and villains, civility and savagery. (ChicagoIFF 2023)

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Evil Does Not Exist by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Japan | 2023 – 105 minutes
Following his international sensation Drive My Car, filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi returns with a captivating eco-thriller that explores the eternal conflict between the natural world and the human urge to destroy it.

Set in the peaceful northern village of Harasawa, the film follows Takumi, a local handyman who lives with his young daughter and makes his living chopping wood, hauling water, and doing odd jobs around town. The tranquility of this rural life is threatened, however, when a Tokyo company announces plans to construct a high-end glamping site near the village. The venture is met with skepticism from the townspeople, who worry that the development will irreparably damage the natural environment — and, by extension, their very existence. Expertly scripted and directed with an eye for human duality, Evil Does Not Exist ponders our complicated relationship with the world around us. (ChicagoIFF 2023)

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Monster by Hirokazu Kore-eda – Japan | 2023 – 126 minutes
In the opening scenes of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest masterwork, a three-alarm fire engulfing a building evokes the many small sparks that have ignited a culture of gossip, stigma, fear, and silence in a coastal community. When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother Saori feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that Minato’s teacher, Mr. Hori is responsible for the boy’s odd behavior, she storms into the school demanding to know what’s going on. But answers — much less accountability — remain elusive as Mr. Hori denies all accusations. Minato and his fellow classmate Yori remain tight-lipped and evasive. As the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher, and then child, the truth gradually emerges.

Directing for the first time from a script not entirely his own (co-written by industry veteran Sakamoto Yuji), Chicago International Film Festival favorite Kore-eda expertly pieces together an exquisite narrative mosaic, journeying down three separate paths and perspectives that converge in an inexorable climax. Celebrated composer Ryuichi Sakamoto provides the ethereal soundtrack. (ChicagoIFF 2023)

Trailer:

Perfect Days by Wim Wenders – Japan | 2023 – 125 minutes
Living a life of solitary, quiet contentment, a middle-aged public toilet cleaner (Kôji Yakusho) spends his days working, reading, listening to cassette tapes, and tending to his indoor garden. The satisfying rhythms of his life are interrupted when his niece, fleeing her family, arrives for an unexpected visit. The two begin to bond, relishing their ability to share in the beauty of the everyday.

Featuring a stellar soundtrack and a warm, grounded performance from Yakusho, Perfect Days is at once a love letter to the city of Tokyo, an open-hearted character study, and an irresistible, charm-filled exaltation of the profound pleasures of a simple life. (ChicagoIFF 2023)

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The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki – Japan | 2023 – 123 minutes
A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning.

A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation,  in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki. (ChicagoIFF 2023)

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– Short Films –

Battery Mommy by Seungbae Jeon – Korea | 2023 – 9 minutes
Peek into the inner lives of batteries with this charming short. (ChicagoIFF 2023)

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Closing Dynasty by Lloyd Lee Choi – USA | 2023 – 17 minutes
A day in the life of a streetwise kid named Queenie as she navigates her own path through New York City. (ChicagoIFF 2023)

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Grandma & Grandma by Sean Wang – USA | 2023 – 17 minutes
A moving portrait of an elderly pair, their quirky rituals, and their strong sentiments for life. (ChicagoIFF 2023)

Mountain Man by Arun Bhattarai – Bhutan | 2023 – 22 minutes
Mountain Man chronicles Phuntsho Tshering and his annual sacred journey to the Himalayas to track the movement of the glaciers. (ChicagoIFF 2023)