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Western painting and narrative film share many similarities as both create illusions within a frame and work with light and shadows. Following on from the popularity of "Critics' Choice" in the past few years, six critics from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society have selected six feature films that are related to painting styles, images and painters' creations to be shown from this month to July. The screenings will be accompanied by post-screening talks and workshops for audiences to gain a better understanding of painting and films from different perspectives.
"Critics' Choice 2014 - The Painting of Film" is presented by the Film Programmes Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and organised by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. The films selected by critics David Chan, Joyce Yang, Chang Wai-hung, Matthew Cheng, Cheng Chuen-wai and Lau Yam are in three different themes. "Painting Style - The Visual Impact of Painting on Film" will feature director Jean Renoir's "The River" (1951) and Carl Theodor Dreyer's "Ordet" (1955); "Film Painting - Director with Painter's Heart Using Film as Canvas" will screen director Peter Greenaway's "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" (1989) and David Lynch's "Eraserhead" (1977); and "Painter and Creation - The Truth and Fabrication of Painter's Biographies" will show Victor Erice's "The Quince Tree Sun" (1992) and Peter Watkins' "Edvard Munch" (1976).
The six films are being shown until July 5 at the Cinema of the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) and the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Science Museum. Some of the screenings will have post-screening talks hosted by the film critics and guests including Honkaz Fung, Dunet Chan, Vicky Leong, Rita Hui, Leung Kwong-yiu and Wong Yan-kwai to share their interpretations on the films.
To complement the screenings, a series of "Canvases and Screens" Workshops will be held in the function rooms on the fourth floor of the Administration Building of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre from 2.30pm to 4.30pm on Saturdays. Film critic Chang Wai-hung and renowned artists Lam Kee-to, Li Chi-tak, Chow Chun-fai and Ivy Ma will share with the participants their experiences in paintings and films in four workshops entitled "The Magic of Frame: The Case of Awazu Kiyoshi and Terayama Shuji's 'Pastoral Hide and Seek'" (June 7), "The Infection of Shadow: The Psychological Space of Surrealism" (June 14), "The Projected Images in 17th century: Johannes Vermeer's Camera Obscura and Camera Lucida" (June 21) and "Still Life and Cutaway: The Quiet Moments of Ozu Yasujiro and Paul Cézanne" (June 28). All the workshops will be conducted in Cantonese.
Renoir's first colour film "The River" is an exquisite cinematic jewel that depicts a tale of love and loss in an English family in the Bengal region of India. Like an Impressionist painting, the naturalness in the film evokes the pictorial works of Marie Laurencin and Raoul Dufy. Writing on the film, critic David Chan noted, "'The River' is a never-ending flow, painted by Jean Renoir, who is concerned about the post-war human condition, with a touch of Impressionism and enormous humanity."
In "Ordet", one of several well-received works by director Dreyer, the piety of a farmer in rural Denmark is not shared by his sons. Adapted from Kaj Munk's famous play, the film reflects the style of painter Vilhelm Hammershøi with still, simple and enigmatic images. Fusing theatre, painting and film, "Ordet" evokes a spirituality that transcends the senses. The film won Best Film, Best Actor and Best Actress in the Bodil Prize awarded by Danish Film Critics in 1955, the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival 1955 and Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globe Awards 1956. This is the first screening of the film's restored version in Hong Kong. Commenting on the film, critic Joyce Yang said, "Dreyer's exquisiteness makes 'Ordet' a must-see for admirers of 'The Passion of Joan of Arc'."
In "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover", director Greenaway expresses his painter's heart in the drama with vivid artistic depiction. "The Cook" balances pride and strict procedures in his kitchen, shown in green, while "The Thief" executes his impudent brutality in a car park with bluish shades. "His Wife" secretly stages an escapade in her white lady's room, whereas "Her Lover" is caught in his golden yellow library. Greenaway presents love and lust, a tale of incitement, killing and revenge, and more. Represented in the kitchen, meanwhile, is a reference to the golden age of the 17th century depicted in Fran Hals' paintings in comparison to pre-French Revolution unrest. The film won Best Foreign Film at the Annual Chicago Film Critics Awards 1990. As the film is classified as Category III, only persons aged 18 and above will be admitted. In his observations on the film, critic Chang Wai-hung noted, "Greenaway gave up being a painter, but his heart of one was manifested through Fran Hals' works (and those of other Dutch masters) in the film. One painting, one universe; the painter gives the direction with brushes."
The dark and nightmarish imagery of Lynch's works already manifested itself in his directorial debut, "Eraserhead", which has become a quintessential American cult movie. Henry, the man with a super-weird hairdo, rushes into marriage and becomes the father of a freak. The pressure in life is so unbearable that it causes him to cut up his child. Influenced by the novels of Kafka and Gogol, Lynch depicts a freakish picture of human anxiety and collapse with surreal visuals. Critic Matthew Cheng praised the film for its "unlimited imagination on a very limited budget" and described the work as an "early manifestation of Lynch's dark world".
A painting by Antonio López is like a photo that takes years to be snapped, as he observes and paints everyday objects with precision. In "The Quince Tree Sun", director Erice documents López painting a quince tree in his backyard. López insists that no object ever looks the same, as the light that illuminates it varies throughout the day, which is why he keeps painting the same tree repeatedly. The painter captures light and shadow on his canvas, as he is likewise captured on film. The film was awarded the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 1992. Critic Cheng Chuen-wai described the film as follows: "Multiple exposures of art and life."
In "Edvard Munch", maverick British filmmaker Watkins adopts a docudrama approach to portray the life of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. The film travels back and forth between his childhood and middle age years when he achieved fame, examining how family tragedies and romantic affairs influenced his work. With a cast of mostly non-professional actors, the film sees characters often addressing the camera directly and complimented by the director's controlled voice-over in English, and the film breaks from the conventions and clichés of film biographies. The film stirred great controversy during its initial release but quickly faded into obscurity. The new and fully restored print cements Watkins' classic work in film history. Commenting on the film, critic Lau Yam said, "Telling the story of Edvard Munch, the legendary painter of 'The Scream', using the formal strategies of avant-garde cinema not only exposes the complicated relationship between art and life, and personal and social transformations, but also poses difficult questions about modernity."
All films have Chinese and English subtitles.
Tickets for all screenings and workshops, priced at $55 and $80 respectively, are now available at URBTIX with half-price concessionary tickets for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Credit card bookings can be made at 2111 5999, or on the Internet at www.urbtix.hk.
Detailed programme information can be obtained in the leaflet distributed at all URBTIX outlets. For enquiries, please call 2734 2900 or browse the website at www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/filmprog/english/2014cc/2014cc_index.html.
Ends/Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:10
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