The Rebel
Dir. Truc “Charlie” Nguyen (Vietnam 2006)
Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars (good)
Review by: Charlie Prince

Vietnam muscles its way onto the martial arts scene with this Ong Bak-inspired action flick, starring Johnny Nguyen of Tom Yum Goong fame. As much as we love the Thai kickboxing films, The Rebel raises the bar somewhat by having an actual plot. Nguyen stars as a government official during 1920s Vietnam, when the country was under French colonial rule.

As you would expect, Nguyen is a martial arts badass (dressed in a white suit no less), and always ready to bring a fist to a gun fight in the name of the law — and he’s a fearsome threat at that, especially when paired with his equally talented boss, played by Dustin Tri Nguyen. Initially assigned to a squad designed to stamp out the rebellion, Nguyen ends up joining the movement himself. Thus the action stage is set — for Johnny to save the rebellion and (inevitably) the beautiful girl, he must face off against his nemesis and former boss Dustin.

The action is non-stop knees and elbows, and if you’re so inclined, you can check your brain at the door and still have no problem enjoying the action. Sporting the biggest budget of any Vietnamese film to date (at $3 mil), The Rebel is also Vietnam’s biggest box-office hit, no doubt helped by the presence of pop star and leading lady Vo Thanh Thuy. One look at the beautiful rebel, and Nguyen’s “hearts and minds” are made up. Once on the run, Nguyen begins to see first-hand the abuses inflicted by the French colonial rulers and becomes a true believer, but in the meantime he’s content to safeguard a hottie. No, the film won’t win an Academy Award for best screenplay, but the storyline is definitely a step up from the likes of, say, Dynamite Warrior (which, btw, isn’t to say we don’t like Dynamite Warrior). Overall The Rebel gets a hearty thumbs up and I’m delighted to see Vietnam cash, er, get in on the Ong Bak boom.

THE REBEL PLAYS AT THE IFC CENTER THIS FRIDAY JUNE 27TH AT 11:30 AM, SATURDAY JUNE 28TH AT 7:45 PM AND THURSDAY JULY 3RD AT NOON.

---

The Butcher
Dir. Kim Jin-Won (South Korea 2007)
Rating: 2.5 out of 4 Stars (above average)
Review by: Charlie Prince

When I say “above average”, I mean within the film’s genre — which is gore. Unapologetic, on-screen, Fulci-would-be-proud gore. The ultra low-budget, Blair Witch-like handheld style gives The Butcher a feel of Texas Chainsaw Massacre more than the recent explosion of slick Hollywood gore a la Saw and Hostel, but as a result there’s also less beating around the bush — this isn’t horror, it’s gore, with such distractions as plot kept to a minimum. It’s not quite out to the extremes of the infamous Guinea Pig films (there are a few characters who we get to know), but if you’re looking for a good story or onscreen violence makes you feel icky, this ain’t for you.

A murdering psychopath, who goes by the name “director”, has a ramshackle-barn full of kidnapped prisoners. They’re soon to be victims in a demented home movie he is making, and you have to be patient through the first 30 minutes while the film sets the mood. To the “director’s” credit, he’s made sure each scene is covered from every angle, going so far as to mount camera-helmets on all of his victims. We watch most of the film via these camera-helmet P.O.V.s, through which we meet not only the “director”, but his hammer-to-the-head-happy assistant, a young man who seems to be his intern. Later we also meet the “star” of the “director’s” film, filling the role of the big dumb monster in true Texas Chainsaw Massacre form (he wears a hollowed out pig’s face for a mask).

The film really gets going when the “director” turns his attention to a young couple. The “director” reviews footage of his previous “work” and declares it a failure, consoling himself that he “can always sell it in America — they’re always looking for more blood there” (paraphrased from my jumbled notes). But as he later points out, the real challenge is that it’s all been done before, and he’s struggling to find a new way to kill a kidnap/torture victim. So he poses the question directly to his victim — “come up with a novel way for me to kill your wife, and I’ll let you go”. Things proceed from there and I’m confident gorehounds will not be disappointed. Everyone else will probably hate it, honestly, but then the target audience for this film was never very big to begin with.

THE BUTCHER PLAYS AT THE IFC CENTER SATURDAY JUNE 28TH AT 9:50 PM