Blue Island (ND/NF), in the Epoch Times

Hong Kong was once a metaphorical and literal island[s] of freedom, but now its not. Two generations of HK activists reflect on the CCP crackdown in the hybrid documentary BLUE ISLAND. Exclusive EPOCH TIMES ND/NF review up here.

ND/NF ’22: Fire of Love

Katia and Maurice Krafft were sort of like the Jacques Cousteaus of volcanism. For decades, they were beloved, especially throughout Europe, for their books and television documentaries on volcanoes. They even had their own red stocking caps. As a couple, they kept their privates lives private, but their passion for volcanoes was very public. It also led to their demise. The Kraffts’ lives and careers are documented in Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love, which screens as part of the 2022 New Directors/New Films.

The Kraffts talked a lot about volcanoes, but not so much about themselves. Dosa had extensive access to the Kraffts’ archives, which was a blessing, but a number of their personal details remain blank. Maybe that is okay, because everyone is coming for the volcanoes anyway, but Dosa too often tries to speculate (and then ruminate) anyway.

Maurice was always the adventurer who wanted to get closer, regardless of risks. Katia was the more analytical and conservative one, who was reluctant to raft across acid lakes. At first, they investigated both of their two loose classifications for volcanoes. “Red” volcanoes have the classic slow glowing lavas flows, but you really must be negligent to let one kill you. “White” or “grey” volcanoes are the really dangerous ones that suddenly just explode, like Mount St. Helens. It was that danger to human life that led the Kraffts to eventually specialize in the latter.

It is not much of a spoiler to reveal the Kraffts were killed by a white volcano, because Dosa starts with the reality of their deaths, rewinding in search of “Rosebud” moments. Much of the archival film she assembled is quite amazing. However, Miranda July’s narration is grossly over-written, dubiously offering loaded pop psychology and forced symbolism. This is a case where less would have been much more.

ND/NF ’22: The Innocents

They are sort of like young X-Men, who can amplify their latent psychic powers when banded together. Unfortunately, they probably never should have done so, because one of them is . . . troubled. Coming of age slowly but steadily slides into horror in Eskil Vogt’s The Innocents, which screens as part of the 2022 New Directors/New Films.

Kids can be rotten. Ida proves that through her cruelty to her older sister Anna. She feels like her sibling gets all her parents’ attention due to her severe autism. At this point, Anna has almost no expressive language skills, so the family has to new exurban neighborhood, in hopes that nearby facilities will help treat Anna.

Unbeknownst to Ida, little Aisha seems to undergo experiences that mirror those of Anna, but she is fully aware of her surroundings. In fact, Aisha is keenly aware, because she has a bit of the “shine.” Largely left to her own devices, Ida befriends Ben, another local kid with a single-mother, who also has ambiguous “gifts.” However, Ben has a considerable mean streak. When the four children get together, Anna suddenly has sufficient conduits to communicate telepathically. She also starts to reverse her apparent developmental regression. Unfortunately, they also inadvertently empower Ben, which leads to horrific consequences.

Vogt’s Blind was a remarkably accomplished debut, but The Innocents is an even more assured work. It is not exactly a “slow build,” but the stakes and suspense steadily grow and compound (like off-shore interest payments) with each scene. There is a tragic logic to the story and a cleverness to how Vogt reveals it.

Singing in the Wilderness, in Epoch Times

The Christian choir in a Miao farm village learns its never good news when the Party takes an interest. Exclusive Epoch Times review of Singing in the Wilderness (screening at New Directors/New Films) now up here. 

ND/NF ’22: Onoda 10,000 Nights in the Jungle

Hiroo Onoda helps prove why the atomic bombing of Japan were necessary to end WWII. He was the second to last Japanese soldier to lay down his arms, decades after the Emperor surrendered. Onoda and the final holdout, Teruo Nakamura became the stuff of tall tales and legends, but his story is in fact a tragedy. The sad futility of Onoda’s service is chronicled in French filmmaker Arthur Harari’s multi-multi-national co-production Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle, which screens as part of the 2022 New Directors/New Films.

Initially, Onoda was considered a washout, because his acrophobia prevented him from fulfilling his duties as a kamikaze pilot. However, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi gave him a chance for redemption when he recruited Onoda for training in guerilla resistance. Onoda is dispatched to Lubang in the Philippines, with the anticipation that it would soon fall. No matter what he might hear, Onoda and whatever troops he can hold on to are supposed to wage hit-and-run attacks against the Americans and our local Filipino allies.

Unfortunately, Taniguchi trained him too well. Few of the troops have Onoda’s will to fight, but his second in command, Kozuka is as dedicated/stubborn/incredulous/fanatical as he is. Inevitably, the numbers of their rag-tag group dwindle, until it is just gaunt and grizzled Onoda and Kozuka, but they still manage terrorize the local farmers on a regular basis.

In some ways, Onoda is an absurdist war film, not so radically dissimilar in terms of aesthetics from Apocalypse Now. Yet, it achieves a note of grace and redemption when a young, conscientious “tourist” journeys to Lubang, in hopes of bringing home the now nearly mythical Onoda.

Although more senior than a drill sergeant, Taniguchi, as played by Issey Ogata, ranks alongside Louis Gossett Jr. in An Officer and a Gentleman and R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket. Yet, one of the most fascinating developments in the film is the way Taniguchi is forced to face up to his former militarism.