Date night movies are all about mood. Ideally they’re films that bring you and your date closer together through a shared experience.
The New York Times describes Journey to the Shore (Japan, France) as having “an emotional force that edges in like an afternoon shadow … meaningfully beautiful and moving”. This subtle and gentle drama is a profoundly romantic rumination on what it means to have both loved and lost.
An (Japan, France, Germany) is a tender and intimate drama that sees a little pastry shop, run by the taciturn Sentaro (Masatoshi Nagase), flourish with an old lady’s magic recipe. The film is a celebration of the power of human beings to unite and overcome anything in their path.
Floating Clouds is yet another example of powerful Japanese story-telling. The LA Times calls it “quietly eloquent and immaculately crafted”. Considered Mikio Naruse’s definitive masterpiece, and a favourite of directors such as Wong Kar-wai, Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, Floating Clouds is a patiently observed, heartbreaking portrait of obsessive love. BAPFF’s screening of Floating Clouds at Palace Barracks on Sunday 22 November commemorates master Naruse’s 110th birth anniversary.
My Love, Don’t Cross that River (Republic of Korea) is a touching story of true love that has lasted the best part of a lifetime. Still as flirty and playful as newlyweds, Jo Byeong-man and Kang Kye-yeol have been married for 76 years but as much as their love will endure, their bodies will not. Filmed over the final months of Jo’s life in the couple’s tiny mountain village, this affecting affirmation of the power of love is the highest-ever grossing film in South Korea, taking viewers to the peaks of joy and the brink of heartbreak.
Also from Korea comes the wryly offbeat comedic gem Right Now, Wrong Then, from the master of form, Hong Sang-soo. There are two screenings of this 121-minute romantic comedy during BAPFF, giving you two chances to make it a date to remember! Whip smart, coy and acutely self-aware, Right Now, Wrong Then, this year’s Locarno Golden Leopard winner, offers a whimsical look at the “butterfly effects” that flow from our small, everyday social interactions.
For more information and to book:
JOURNEY TO THE SHORE
https://brisbaneasiapacificfilmfestival.com/film-archive/journey-to-the-shore/
AN
https://brisbaneasiapacificfilmfestival.com/film-archive/an/
FLOATING CLOUDS
https://brisbaneasiapacificfilmfestival.com/film-archive/floating-clouds/
MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER
https://brisbaneasiapacificfilmfestival.com/film-archive/my-love-dont-cross-that-river/
RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN
https://brisbaneasiapacificfilmfestival.com/film-archive/right-now-wrong-then/
