[AMA-e-News] Latest Update on Film Screening: "The Promise", tonight 7:30 pm at Brookdale 8 Cinema

[Johnny Chio]

Hi Everyone:

We have a latest update on our screening of the highly acclaimed film "The
Promise".  It will not be screened at the Bell Auditorium tonight or at the
Riverview Theater this Friday.  Instead we keep our original screening date,
tonight, May 3rd, but just change the venue to the Brookdale 8 Cinema.  This
is because as some of you may have already set up time tonight to see the
film, and so we don't want to disrupt your plan too much if possible.  We
hope this latest screening time can still accommodate your schedule.  Thank
you for your continuous support, and your attention to this very short
notice.  We appreciate it!

Schedule at a Glance:

TONIGHT, 5/3 (Wed), 7:30 pm, "The Promise"
Brookdale 8 Cinema Theater, 5810 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center.

5/12 (Fri), 11:30 pm, "House of Fury"
Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave S., (E. 38th Street & 42nd Ave S.),
Minneapolis

5/19 (Fri), 11:30 pm, "Initial D"
Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave S., (E. 38th Street & 42nd Ave S.),
Minneapolis

****************************************************************************

For more information, contact Asian Media Access at 612-376-7715 or
amamedia@amamedia.org


Cinema with Passion is Back !!!
as part of 11th Annual Chinese Film Showcase (CFS) 2006
"Generation Gap in Chinese Cinema: Established - Emerging -Experimental"


As part of 11th Annual Chinese Film Showcase (CFS) 2006, Asian Media Access
has brought back the populated Cinema With Passion series at the Brookdale 8
Cinema and Riverview Theater. With a 3-week limited engagement , 3 top Hong
Kong action films will be shown and resurface once again the Hong Kong Movie
Magic to the Twin Cities.

Starting at 5/3 (Wed) 7:30pm, the film The Promise will be shown at the
Brookdale 8 Cinema Theater, 5810 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center.
Followed by 5/12 (Fri) 11:30pm with House of Fury and 5/19 (Fri) 11:30 pm
with Initial D at the Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave S., (E. 38th Street &
42nd Ave S.), Minneapolis, MN 55406, 612-729-7369.    Admission is $ 5 for
single ticket and a Festival Package $10 for 3 films.

The series kicks of with  director Chen Kaige's "The Promise". In this epic
film , an impoverished orphan girl makes a bargain she will live to regret
with a goddess:  she will have the admiration of every man, but she will
never be able to live happily with a man she truly loves. Only snow falling
in spring and the dead coming back to life will be able to break the
bargain.  As an adult, all the men she's loved have met with tragedy, and
now her involvement with a man with two men, one a mysterious figure in red
armor & a golden mask and the other the slave of a great general, seems to
be leading to the same fate for all three of them.  Are their ends
predestined, or is it possible for them to escape the cycle and find a
happy life?

This exceptional film is almost a pure transposition of folk tale to film,
with all the magic and mystical happenings & characters   that folk tales
involve.  Accurately translating the tone and style of such a different art
form as the magical folk tale to the movie screen is something at which the
best of filmmakers have often failed, but  "The Promise" does this very
effectively for folk-tale/myths.  With "The Promise", Chen Kaige is once
again pushing Chinese film in new directions. Stars: Dong-Ku Jang,
Hiroyuki Sanada, Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse.

Following "The Promise" is the action-filled family film "House Of Fury".
Teddy Yu used to live an adventurous life, but that's no more. Settled down
for many years as a chiropractor,  the only trace of his former existence
is the martial arts he teaches to his children. But when a sinister figure
from his past returns, his doubting sonŠ who never believed his father's
wild talesŠ must team up with his dad to stop the evil agent  and his
henchmen.  Families who enjoyed the "Spy Kids" movies will love this Hong
Kong variation on a similar theme.

Star Stephen Fung's second directorial effort does for family films what
his first, "Enter The Phoenix", did for gangster movies a few years agoŠ
that is, it takes a genre known and loved (but perhaps taken for granted)
by many and reinvigorates it, in the process reminding us of what we loved
about it in the first place.  The sheer  sense of fun and excitement the
movie generates will have both children and adults so swept up in the
adventure that they'll also be absorbing the film's little lessons about
love and communication between parents and children before they even
realize it, in a film as well acted and directed as any so-called "adult"
drama,  and with as much to say. Also starring Anthony Wong and Michael
Wong.

The series concludes with the popular box office hit  "Initial D". An
exciting racing saga from one of Hong Kong's top directors, Andrew Lau.
Takumi has spend the past five years as a deliveryman, bringing Tofu to
hungry customers. But he has longed for a life of more excitement and
adventure than his day job could provide him. Little did he imagine that
the monotonous daily grind of delivering Tofu would be the perfect
preparation for the life he had been dreaming ofŠ  as a driver of the
fastest race cars around!  Comparisons with "The Fast & The Furious" are
inevitable, but this film (based on a popular Japanese Manga) has an Asian
style all its own.

A lively, action-packed story with a very distinctive style inspired by the
Manga on which it is based,  "Initial D" was the  most popular movie at the
Hong Kong box office last year, and it is easy to see why.
Adrenaline-pumping racing sequences and a bit of romance are blended with
some effective acting by some of Hong Kong's best "old pros", particularly
Anthony Wong as Chou's father, a former racer  who has fallen on hard
times.  Combined with a memorable movie debut from Jay Chou and a bit of
depth to its fast-paced story line, this film is a fine example of a kind
of film that is popular around the world, but that can't be found done with
this kind of flare anywhere else. Also starring Alan Mak & Shawn Yue.

The Showcase is made possible by McKnight Foundation, MN Film Arts, MN
State Arts Board, National Endowment of the Arts, St. Paul Travelers,
Target Foundation and University of Minnesota.  For detailed information
and show time, please call Asian Media Access at 612-376-7715, or visit our
web site at www.amamedia.org.

********** 11th Annual Chinese Film Showcase (2006)   ************

The Eleventh Annual Chinese Film Showcase (2006) runs from April 21 - May
19.  It features a collection of rarely screened films from Hong Kong,
China and Taiwan under the theme of "Generation Gap in Chinese Cinema:
Established - Emerging -Experimental."  In recent years, many young,
independent Chinese filmmakers have launched into the global spot light.
Ironically, their films may not even be known by Chinese audiences, but
have won the top international prizes.  The world is moved by clever
narrative, sharp social criticism with a touch of surrealism.   Chinese
film directors who made a name for themselves in the West, people like
Zhang Yimou (China) and Ang Lee (Taiwan) were in many ways traditionalists
who explore the richness of China's cultural history and examine how that
heritage had changed over the years and transformed as the monumental
events of the Twentieth Century changed both China and the rest of the
world.  There is a shift in outlook among Chinese filmmakers.  New
generation directors possess a much different attitude and filmmaking
approach than the previous generations.  How different that is, and why so
different will be the highlights of the 2006 Chinese Film Showcase.   The
Festival will compare directors from 3 regions - China, Hong Kong and
Taiwan.  Through each generation's works we see a changing society and the
way people live and adapt over time.   By comparing the different
generation's works, we appreciate and analyze how such differences and
similarities enrich the film language as a whole.    Please check AMA's
website for more information: www.amamedia.org