Three… Extremes

After the Asian horror trilogy Three from 2002, producer Applause Pictures c.s. now presents Three… Extremes. Well-known festival names Miike Takashi, Fruit Chan and Park Chan-Wook are the directors. In all three episodes, the horrors of human inadequacy float to the surface in a surreal yet terrifying way. Miike is as contemplative and psychological in Box as he is physical in his film Izo (see that entry). The stunningly attractive Kyoko is a successful writer with conflicting feelings towards her editor, who displays a great similarity to Kyoko’s twin sister Shoko. This twin sister died long ago and it was Kyoko’s fault. Miike’s predilection for abstract images and sexual aberrations gives Box a surrealistic mood. Fruit Chan’s Dumplings, beautifully photographed by the master Chris Doyle, shows more explicitly how human frailty can lead to atrocities. Former actress Qing married rich and has everything except one thing: a rejuvenation cure. She calls on the mysterious chef Mei, who was an abortion doctor in a previous life. Nothing goes too far for Qing. Park Chan-Wook, whose overwhelming epic of vengeance Old Boy created a furor in cinemas last year, directed Cut, in which evil turns out to be contagious. A successful film director is kidnapped by a dissatisfied extra and faces an impossible dilemma: the death of an innocent child or the fingers of his wife, a pianist. (GT)