A new Viennese film event is showing pan-Asian popcorn entertainment that has it all until May 15 this year.
Escape the police? Yes, please, but not like this: In the first scene of “Just 6.5”, a dealer, the cops hot on his heels, climbs over a construction site fence – and falls into a pit on the other side, which a few seconds later is followed by an excavator several cubic meters of earth is filled in and then levelled.
A powerful start that sets the tone for what follows. The film comes from Iran, a country from which normally only social dramas with a poetic touch make it to Europe. “Just 6.5” is a different caliber: A hard-hitting, illusion-free cop thriller regarding the Iranian “War on Drugs”. Dealing with the country’s massive drug problem requires total commitment, the film suggests, and so we breathlessly follow a downright obsessed cop as he sets out to single-handedly unravel a heroin cartel from below.
The Red Lotus Asian Film Festival Vienna was founded for films like “Just 6.5”, the first edition of which will take place this year in the Stadtkino. It is dedicated to the popular Asian film. Or, to put it another way: everything that the inhabitants of Asia – following all, 60% of the world’s population – prefer to watch in the cinema themselves. A wide field, of which only a fraction is normally visible in Europe: a handful of festival hits such as “Parasite” and “Drive My Car”, for specialists perhaps a few more anime or horror films.
Even the brief Bollywood hype of the noughties has long since subsided. The “Maanaadu” presented by Red Lotus – strictly speaking a Tamil production – shows that the Indian film industry is still looking for its own when it comes to pure spectacle cinema. A time warp film literally overflowing with ideas and images in the tradition of “Groundhog Day” is the one that easily outshines the American model in terms of crazy plot twists. And which seamlessly blends political intrigues, wild action choreography and enthusiastic dance scenes.
A film that reinvents itself every few minutes. And so in a way: a film like the entire festival. Because the Red Lotus program also impresses with its extraordinary range. 13 films from eight countries and across all genres, a Lifetime Achievement Award for John Woo actor Chow Yun Fat, a special dedicated to Ann Hui, the grand dame of Hong Kong cinema? Red Lotus wants to grow even more in the next few years, but it’s already going full steam ahead with its debut.
