Kiki’s Distribution Service
The 31st Busan International Film Festival is already underway, and with it, the latest movement for new martial arts fantasy, The Scar-Faced Cat: Way Of Asura. The film is led by Golden Bell Award-nominated actress Han Ning (Afterword) in the lead role.
Written and directed by Wang I-Fan (Get The Hell Out), The Scar-Faced Cat: Way Of Asura marks one of two titles serving as the launchpad for Kiki Yu’s Kiki’s Distribution Service, in its market debut at Busan’s ACFM. The film enjoyed its World Premiere in the Midnight Passion section of the festival at the end of last week.
Below are the film’s program notes by Chae Kyeong Hoon:
We already know the conventions of a revenge story. But Wang I-Fan, who unleashed mayhem in Taiwan’s Legislative with zombies and pro wrestling in Get the Hell Out, sharpens the familiar formula by combining the backdrop of colonial Taiwan, martial arts, and female-led action. In Taiwan under Japanese rule, police officers are murdered one after another. The suspected killer is the Scar-faced Cat, a female assassin with cat-like agility, wielding a pair of sickles. The case is assigned to Shimizu, a Japanese officer who spends a year gradually approaching the case, twisting their fates. Emerging Taiwanese actor Han Ning trained for nearly a year to perform the demanding action sequences as the Scar-faced Cat, while Fukushi Sota, star of My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday, plays Shimizu who sets out to stop her rampage. When the truth finally comes to light, the Scar-faced Cat’s journey descends into a blood-soaked way of asura, as her razor-sharp claws tear through the screen in Midnight Passion.
The Scar-Faced Cat: Way Of Asura will next serve as the closer for the 63rd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival in November. Japanese actor Sota Fukushi (My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday) will also star.
Below is an action promo characteristic of what viewers can expect in terms of its caliber. Fang’s multiple hats on his sophomore pic also saw him serve as the film’s choreographer, as well as cinematographer and editor.
Take a look, and then read more at Screendaily.
