MOViE MOViE Magazine#56 - GOING THE EXTRA MILE

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

SEE THE WORLD SEE IT ALL

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Joycelyn Choi

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Renatus Wu (EDITED.HK)

MANAGING EDITOR

Leah Kee

CHINESE EDITOR

Rita Cheung

EDITORIAL TEAM

Hazel To Michael Leung

DESIGNER

Russell Pun (EDITED.HK)

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GOING THE EXTRA MILE

FESTIVAL

In the filmmaking business, “extras” are people engaged temporarily to fill a crowd scene in a film. They are usually overlooked, but many movie scenes will look dull without them.

MOViE EXTRA FESTIVAL

THE KONGNER 和 Edited 全力協助策劃及

，我們便有信心辦得到而且辦得好。 為什麽對這套《 上流落水狗 》如此情有獨 鍾？ 因為它十分 MOViE MOViE ！ 一來 MOViE MOViE 頻道特色就是主打影展得獎戲，而導 演同樣揚威康城的前作《方寸見人心》和《愛 情中的不可抗力 》都是在 MOViE MOViE 頻道 熱播的好片； 二就是《 上流落水狗 》娛樂性 和知性並重，導演借豪華郵船沉沒炮製既荒 誕又諷刺的黑色喜劇來呈現階級矛盾；三就 是它的國際化，雖然是英語片，導演是歐洲 人，演員也來自五湖四海，跟擁有 40 個國 家影片的 MOViE MOViE 十分投契。

而這個 EXTRA FESTIVAL 的另一最大亮點當 然是我們的合辦單位 THE KONGNER 以及 協力的 Edited。時代在改變，流行的媒體和 觀看電影的形式也不斷在改變，但到底我 們需要什麽？ 評論人米迦和他的團隊 THE KONGNER 及 Edited 的胡卓斌一直在努力推 廣文化，米迦為今次的合作更策劃了一個集 戲院放映、社區放映

This being MOViE MOViE’s 10th anniversary year, we naturally want to share all our celebrations with every film lover. As our flagship festival, “Life is Art”, draws to a close, we are gearing up to launch yet another festival: MOViE MOViE EXTRA FESTIVAL — in less than two weeks! This is, quite frankly, an insane move. However, after balancing the availability in the cinema and our desire to present TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, this year’s Palm d’Or winner at the Cannes Festival, as our opening film, it became apparent to us that this was a now-or-never situation. With the staunch support from like-minded partners THE KONGNER and EDITED, we decided to “go for it” against all odds. Together, we know that we can deliver a unique and memorable festival!

Why TRIANGLE OF SADNESS? Because it fits MOVIE MOViE perfectly! Firstly, when we started the brand MOViE MOViE with our pay channel on Now TV, one of our key selling points was to show award-winning movies. In fact, MOViE MOViE has been proudly showing Ruben Östlund’s previous Cannes-winning films, THE SQUARE and FORCE MAJEURE. Secondly, we love how this satirical dark comedy is entertaining and inspirational. Thirdly, the film is very ‘international’ because it is an English-speaking film with a European director with a stellar cast from different countries. This echoes MOViE MOViE’s positioning of featuring films from more than 40 countries!

EXTRA FESTIVAL is unique because we collaborate with THE KONGER and EDITED. The ways we watch films and share information change as the world moves forward. Micah and his team at THE KONGNER and Renatus Wu and his team at EDITED are leaders in their respective media promoting art and culture. As the curator for the festival, Micah will combine cinema and community screenings with podcasts, exhibitions and more. The films screened will also be shown simultaneously on the MOViE MOViE channel (NowTV 116) and MOViE MOViE Play (Now E). Through the films, we aim to engage the audiences in discussions involving issues such as social equity, race and LGBTQIA. Renatus, on the other hand, has decided to print a newspaper-style leaflet for the festival! Some people may consider things we treasure and care about as outdated, but we want to go the EXTRA mile and curate an extraordinary “film journey” for the community. I suspect I am a born pessimist, so I was extra excited when I met Micah and Renatus, who want to change the world — albeit step by step. And this is precisely why the EXTRA FESTIVAL idea was born.

With the new year just around the corner, we hope to welcome you to the 10 years-old MOViE MOViE cinemas and at home on our channel. Whether you are watching our films at home or feel at home at our cinemas…, we wish you an excellent MOViE MOViE time this holiday season!

Text by Joycelyn Choi General Manager of MOViE MOViE

To grow is to fall apart, and that takes you to the healing on the other side; because the best part of life is not the easy bits but the matters worth suffering for. When you give yourself the time to breathe, it gives you a chance to believe in yourself, in deserving the goodness in life; you see what this world has to offer.

After what you've been through, you deserve a break.

PS. Worlds was a fairy tale without the happily ever after. The GOAT never left and never will.

more than a decade after the events of the first film, "Avatar: The Way of Water" begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure.

A young boy called Tori and an adolescent girl called Lokita have travelled alone from Africa to Belgium, and all they have is each other. When Lokita is denied refugee status, the two are forced to strive for survival in the criminal underworld. Two-time Palme d’Or winners the Dardenne brothers’ new film is a tale of a beautiful and invincible friendship, as well as a furious social commentary on injustice. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Special 75th Anniversary Award.

Following his Oscar-nominated fantasy Border, Denmark-based Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi takes an unflinching look at the misogyny and twisted sense of justice that plague his homeland with this serial killer procedural thriller. A fictional account of true events that occurred in the holy city of Mashhad, the film follows a working man who murders prostitutes in the name of “cleansing” the city, and a crusading female journalist (Cannes Best Actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi) who tries to uncover his identity. Even more chilling than the film’s graphic murder scenes is the public’s subsequent response to the brutal murders.

Wanna Dance with Somebody is a powerful and triumphant celebration of the incomparable Whitney Houston. Directed by Kasi Lemmons, written by Academy Award® nominee Anthony McCarten, produced by legendary music executive Clive Davis and starring BAFTA Award® winner Naomi Ackie, the film is a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice. From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant — and so emotional — journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with showstopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before. Don’t you wanna dance?

Robert Moses is undoubtedly one of the most influential architects to come from America. A far cry from an “Urban Planner” — a term he reviled for the connotation of lack of action, his method is pure efficiency and velocity, leading to the complete revamping of the entire New York transport system, fostering the modernization of New York City.

STRAIGHT LINE

While his severe methodology is highly effective, it brought lots of dispute. Straight Line Crazy focuses on two life-turning incidents in Moses’s life: his uprising and his eventual downfall. The film examines how his belief and passion got him to the top, and how the same belief brought him down from the pedestal.

Do the ends justify the means, like what Machiavelli said? Or will democracy triumph and return?

CRAZY (NT LIVE)

“Killing Eve” star Jodie Comer wins the Best West End Debut Performer award with her solo performance in this new, critically-acclaimed drama, PRIMA FACIE. The story centers on a young, brilliant barrister who worked her way up from working class origins to be at the top of her game defending, cross examining, and winning. While she specializes in defending men accused of sexual assault, an unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof, and morals diverge. She questions her own understanding of justice and notices those who are not protected by said laws. The writer of the play, Suzie Miller, used to be a criminal defense lawyer and was often required to take statements from victims who have just gone through horrible incidents. Drawing on this experience, the play thus provides a perspective on the law that gives a voice to silenced women and resonates with the #metoo movement and other advocacies of promoting gender equality.

Join Clara at a delightful Christmas Eve party that becomes a magical adventure once everyone else is tucked up in bed. Marvel at the brilliance of Tchaikovsky’s score, as Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker fight the Mouse King and visit the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince in the glittering Kingdom of Sweets.

Peter Wright’s much-loved production for The Royal Ballet, with gorgeous period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, keeps true to the spirit of this festive ballet classic, combining the thrill of the fairy tale with spectacular classical dancing.

THE EXIT OF GOODBYES

THE NUTCRACKER THE TUNNEL TO SUMMER,

The Urashima Tunnel grants a wish to those who enter... with a price.

Kaoru Tono appears elusive but has a heavy heart rooted in a traumatic accident in the past. Anzu Hanashiro seems stronghearted but suffers from the gap between her ideal self and reality. The two team up as allies to investigate the mysterious tunnel in order to get what they want. It is an unforgettable, nostalgic story that sweeps past a summer in the countryside.

This year’s winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival. Models Carl and Yaya are navigating the world of fashion while exploring the boundaries of their relationship. The couple are invited for a luxury cruise with a rogues’ gallery of super-rich passengers, a Russian oligarch, British arms dealers and an idiosyncratic, alcoholic, Marx-quoting captain. At first, all appears Instagrammable. But a storm is brewing, and heavy seasickness hits the passengers during the seven-course captain’s dinner.

The cruise ends catastrophically. Carl and Yaya find themselves marooned on a desert island with a group of billionaires and one of the ship’s cleaners. Hierarchy is suddenly flipped upside down, as the housekeeper is the only one who knows how to fish.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of MOViE MOViE, MOViE MOViE limited edition gift will be handed to every audience in this special screening. Offer valid while stock lasts.

Every festive season has its tradition. As a cinephile, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” is a must-watch every December, not only for Ryuichi Sakamoto's film score but also for a fatal kiss with David Bowie.

Speaking of romantic Christmas movies, you cannot miss out on the intense gaze of the first encounter in “Carol” — what more can you want from a Christmas romance?

The holiday season is here! There's nothing better than watching a movie with a blanket and hot choco. Watch from our hand-picked selection of festive films for a cosy night in!

of the most celebrated and prolific composers on the contemporary scene, Max Richter composes opera, ballets, theatre, TV scores, and — most famously, his film scores. From Waltz With Bashir in 2007 to the sci-fi box office smash Ad Astra, the work of the German-born British composer touches the hearts and soothes the souls of many. This December, MOViE MOViE brings you the greatest hits from our Maestro in Focus, Max Richter.

Are you happy? We know the answer can be complicated. In this holiday season, most of us love to pack our schedule tight with gatherings and parties to eliminate loneliness. But do you enjoy the time with crowds of people? Sometimes, when you stay alone and away from the hustle and bustle, you will learn to appreciate every detail of life, feel the warmth transmitted by food and find love through flowers and plants. Then you will realize every day is a good day.

end of the year is approaching. How are your 2022 resolutions going? Have you found your beloved? Has the bonding with your family turned into a curse? How is the progress of your goals for the year? Dreams do not always come true in real life, but you never feel alone with movies around you. Let's embrace a new year with new hope and determination.

In 1970, sewing worker Chun Tae-il lit a spark that changed the workers’ rights movement in South Korea forever. Over two decades after his story was told in the 1995 award-winning film A Single Spark, director Hong Jun-pyo brings Chun’s tragic but rousing story to animation for a new generation of audiences. While Hong’s version of the story doesn’t shy away from the inhumane working conditions in Seoul’s Peace Market that drove Chun to become a labour activist, it also portrays Chun as more than a heroic martyr by showing him in happier times as an ordinary young man with aspirations.

“Chun Tae-il: A Flame that Lives On” offers a very rewarding presentation of a truly important topic, while continuing the very intriguing, context-first path Korean animation seem to be taking during the last few years.”

— Asian Movie Pulse

ALMA (Maren Eggert) is a scientist at the famous Pergamon Museum in Berlin. In order to obtain research funds for her work, she is persuaded to participate in an extraordinary study. For three weeks, she has to live with a humanoid robot tailored to her character and needs, whose artificial intelligence is designed to be the perfect life partner for her. Alma meets Tom (Dan Stevens), a machine in human form in a class of its own, created solely to make her happy.

I’M YOUR MAN is a playful comic-tragic tale about the questions of love, longing and what makes a human being human. Maren Eggert won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the 71st Berlinale International Film Festival.

“With a thought-provoking concept brought to humorous life by a pair of well-matched leads, I’m Your Man is an AI rom-com whose intelligence is anything but artificial.”

— Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus

In post-WWII America, a woman (Noomi Rapace), rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband (Chris Messina), kidnaps her neighbor (Joel Kinnaman) and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her. Directed by Yuval Adler from a script by Ryan Covington and Yuval Adler.

Anthony is 81 years old. He lives alone in his London apartment and refuses all of the nurses that his daughter, Anne, tries to impose upon him. Yet she has taken the decision to move to Paris to live with a man she has just met… But if such is the case, then who is this stranger who suddenly bursts into Anthony’s living room, claiming to be married to Anne for over ten years? And why is he claiming with such conviction that they are at the supposed married couple’s home, and not his? Is Anthony losing his mind? There seems to be something going around, as if the world, for a moment, has ceased to be logical. Unless his daughter, and her new companion, are the ones trying to make him appear as crazy?

“The Father does something that few movies about mental deterioration in old age have brought off in quite this way, or this fully. It places us in the mind of someone losing his mind and it does so by revealing that mind to be a place of seemingly rational and coherent experience.”

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Since the conception of cinema, it has been regarded as a medium through the spectrum of our humanity and memory. Our history tells us that the meek become brave and make a giant leap of change due to the injustice of society. Let's recall our past and take a leap of faith in facing the future and becoming a better person in the New Year.

Based on true events from 1939, the film follows teacher Thomas Miller (Izzard) who has taken a last minute and controversial role teaching English to the daughters of highranking Nazis at the Augusta-Victoria College, Bexhill-on-Sea — a finishing school on the south coast of England. Under the watchful eye of their headmistress Miss Rocholl (Dench), and her devout assistant Ilse Keller (Juri), the girls practice their English and learn how to represent the ideal of German womanhood.

Stephane has recently joined the Anti-Crime Squad in Montfermeil, in the suburbs of Paris, where, Victor Hugo set his famed novel “Les Miserables”. Alongside his new colleagues

Chris (Alexis Manenti) and Gwada (Djebril Zonga) — both experienced members of the team — he quickly discovers tensions running high between local gangs. When the trio finds themselves overrun during the course of an arrest, a drone captures the encounter, threatening to expose the reality of everyday life.

Inspired by the 2005 Paris riots, and Ladj Ly’s short film of the same name, Les Misérables is a provocative insight into the tensions between neighborhood residents and police.

Anne Walberg is a celebrity in the world of Perfumers. She creates fragrances and sells her incredible talent to different types of industries. She lives as a diva, selfish, with a strong temperament. However, when she temporarily lost her sense of smell, she broke down and started to doubt herself. Guillaume is his new driver and the only one who is not afraid to stand up to her. Probably the reason why she doesn’t fire him. The unlikely friendship takes them on a journey of rediscovering themselves and the world around them.

Set in 18th century France, Marianne, a young painter, is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of a young noblewoman and reluctant bride to be, Héloïse. Knowing that Héloïse has just come out of a convent and has previously refused to sit for portraits, Marianne disguises herself as the lady’s companion by day in order to paint her portrait from memory by night.

Intimacy and attraction grow between the two women, they ignite in each other feelings that are passionate yet forbidden. As they share Héloïse’s first and last moments of freedom, all whilst Marianne paints the portrait that will end it all.

Drawing on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, director Céline Sciamma flips the male gaze in Hitchcock’s Vertigo and presents a film that is based entirely on the female gaze: a gaze of artistic appropriation, of inquisition, and of unstoppable desires.

“An intellectually erotic study of power and passion”

— Mark Kermode, The Guardian

Elia Suleiman escapes from Palestine seeking investors for his new comedy film about “peace in the Middle East”, but is shot down because his project is not “Palestine enough”. His time in Paris & New York turns into a comedy of errors: however far he travels, the absurdities of the free world always reminds him of home.

IT MUST BE HEAVEN is a burlesque tale exploring identity, nationality and belonging, in which Suleiman asks a fundamental question: where can we feel “at home”?

“An entrancing blend of the poignant and the absurd, It Must Be Heaven finds writerdirector Elia Suleiman returning to action in peak form.”

Ruben Östlund is the genius of political satire movies. Received two Palme d’Or in the past five years, the celebrated Swedish filmmaker’s latest work, TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, is releasing soon in the cinema, gathering all film buffs’ attention.

Meanwhile, you can rewatch the acclaimed films from our double-Palme winner.

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Continuing his cinephile odyssey from THE STORY OF FILM, Mark Cousins embarks a new journey towards 21st Century cinema in his new award-winning film THE STORY OF FILM: A NEW GENERATION. With the new age comes the new ideas and new technologies. Film is always about pushing past the existing limits of imagination, just as how BLACK PANTHER and JOKER has transformed what it means for a superhero (or supervillain) movie.

Do you want to know more about the films featured in “The Story of Film: A New Generation”? MOViE MOViE has prepared these great films for you to watch anytime, anywhere.

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HBO, Home Box Office, Cinemax and related service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc. Copyright in and to the programmes used and referred to herein vest in the following respective owners Pineapple Lasagne Productions, Inc., Bleecker Street Media LLC., Warner Bros. Ent., SF Studios Production Limited., GODZILLA TM & © Toho Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.