News

The Warrior And The Wolf

Guest Review by Dog Ate My Wookie

Stars: Jô Odagiri, Maggie Q, Chung Hua Tou | Written and Directed by Zhuangzhuang Tian

More than two thousand years ago the Han Emperor sent his armies far beyond the Gobi Desert in order to subdue the rebellious tribes. It was a treacherous and inhospitable zone where winter came and the land belonged to the wolves and snow. After a long battle Commander Lu begins the retreat as winter sets in but his troops become stranded in the village of the ‘cursed’ Harran tribe. Trapped, Lu takes refuge in an apparently abandoned hut only to discover that he’s not alone, a Harran widow lives there and he takes a fancy, the pair become embroiled in a ‘passionate affair’ but Lu does not comprehend the price that they will pay for their passions.

Let’s start with the good:...

As is usually the case around this time of year, European Film Market sales materials have gotten a little ahead of the press releases for several far-off titles. Such is the case for Masato Harada’s upcoming film adaptation of Yasushi Inoue’s autobiographical novel Waga Haha no Ki. Yesterday it was officially announced in Japan that the film—which is currently being shopped around at Efm under the English title Chronicles of My Mother—will star Koshi Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, and Kirin Kiki.

The story is set in the 60s and is is based on Inoue’s own experiences with his mother as she aged and lost her memories. Yakusho plays an author named Kosaku Igami who has lived apart from his mother, Yae (Kiki), from a young age. When his father dies, Kosaku must handle his mother’s living arrangements. As Yae grows more senile, she struggles to...

It's all go in the Argento household, as it looks like dad Dario will be taking gothic horror to a new dimension as he assumes the director position for Dracula 3D.

And lest we forget that daughter Asia is a helmer too, she'll be taking up her weapons for A Hunting Gun which she has co-written with hubby Michele Civetta along with Japanese author Yasushi Inoue.

Apparently, as Euro filmmakers and Hollywood types alike converge in the glamorous Cannes, the father-daughter helmers have been selling their wares and both have come up trumps.

While Dario's 'faithful' take on Dracula shows some promise, eyebrows may be raised as to the fate of Asia's project, having been burned with previous film-outing The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things where she was duped into thinking that the J.T. Leroy memoir it was based on was a true story when he was in fact...

The Argento family is having a busy week. From the Cannes marketplace, there is news that Dario Argento will make a new, 'faithful' take on Dracula, in 3D. And then his daughter Asia Argento, who had sworn off screenwriting after The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, is back with a new film called A Hunting Gun, which she is writing with husband Michele Civetta and Japanese author Yasushi Inoue. Dracula first up, but we don't have a lot of details. Styd's Alan Jones said via Twitter earlier today, "Just announced, Dario Argento's Dracula in 3D, filming in Italy in January, period setting." Argento is writing as well as directing. Further info from Styd says the sales material for the film describes it as "a faithful translation of the Bram Stoker novel." Well, it can't help but be more faithful than Bram Stoker's Dracula, right? Shock's report also has...

First short teaser trailer for The Warrior and The Wolf from Chinese director Tian Zhuang Zhuang based on a short story by Japanese writer Yasushi Inoue. Starring Maggie Q and Joe Odagiri, The Warrior and The Wolf will be screened on the Toronto International Film Festival in mid-September.

Synopsis via Toronto International Film Festival:

In the Era of the Warring States, before the unification of China, thousands of soldiers are dispatched to fight the enemy and conquer nomadic tribes. Sent to remote regions at the edges of the known world, the soldiers encounter many adversities, and the brutal challenge of survival often brings out the worst human instincts. But valiant Lu Chenkang (Joe Odagiri) belongs to a different breed. He is brave, loyal and extremely skilled in the art of war. Nevertheless, he is kind-hearted and averse to murder. Though he has a pet wolf cub, he keeps his own animal instincts at bay.

Focus Features Intl. has struck a three-picture deal with Bill Kong's Hong Kong-based Edko Films, in which they will produce, co-finance and distribute Yuen Woo Ping's True Legend, Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Warrior and the Wolf and Roy Chow's Murderer.

According to Variety, the deal cements the long-standing relationship between Focus and Kong, which dates back to Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Focus topper James Schamus co-wrote the martial arts epic with Lee, and exec produced along with Universal co-topper David Linde through their Good Machine banner.

True Legend, which is currently lensing, stars Zhao Wenzhuo, Zhou Xun, Michelle Yeoh, Jay Chou, David Carradine and mixed martial arts world champion Cung Le. The film tells the story of Su, a great warrior betrayed by his adopted brother who kills his father and steals his son, and his subsequent revenge.

Christine To Chi-Long has penned the script with Yuen,...