Asia's dark pics make a splash at Cannes

Source: Yahoo!

Asia made a splash at Cannes with films from Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines this weekend, almost all throwing dark violent blood-spattered visions of the world onto festival screens.

Hong Kong's Johnnie To offered "Vengeance", starring aging French rock idol Johnny Hallyday as a father out for blood after a family murder. A gangster movie shot like a western peppered with Triad shoot-outs, it is one of 20 films competing for the festival's coveted Palme d'Or.

From the Philippines, and also vying for the Palme, controversial love-him-or-hate-him director Brillante Mendoza's "Kinatay" (meaning "massacre") notably features corrupt cops hacking a prostitute to pieces with blunt kitchen knives.

Lone exception to the blood-and-gore on offer was "Mother" by Korea's young cult director Bong Joon-ho, although he is no stranger to violence in previous films such as "The Host" and "Memories of Murder".

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Vengeance:

Youtube Link

Mother:

Youtube Link

Kinatay: Youtube Link (Sorry can't embed)