The films for this yearยs Asian Film Festival hail from South Korea, Japan and India. The festival kicks off on Friday with two screenings of the South Korean thriller Mother. Directed by Joon-ho Bong of The Host fame, Mother is a suspenseful tale about a frantic mother who fears nothing and no one when it comes to saving her teenage son after heยs wrongly convicted of murder. On Saturday, itยs Yรดjirรด Takitaยs Departures, which won him an Oscar for Best Foreign Picture last year. Departures follows a young, unemployed cellist who finds a new life for himself and his wife by becoming a nakanshi, someone who prepares the dead for burial following ancient Japanese rituals. Sundayยs film, Dev.-D, from India, is Anurag Kashyapยs version of the classic Bengali novel Devdas. Heartbroken at being unable to marry his true love because they come from different castes, Dev falls deep into addictions until heยs rescued by a prostitute. Mother screens at 7 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Departures at 7 p.m. Saturday and Dev.-D at 7 p.m. Sunday. Rice Media Center, 6100 Main. For information, call 713-348-7529 or visit www.ricecinema.rice.edu. Free.
Fri., Oct. 1, 7 & 10:30 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 2, 7 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 3, 7 p.m., 2010
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 6, 2010.