Italian animation auteur Alessandro Rak – best known for European Film Award-winner “The Art of Happiness” and Neapolitan mob fable “Cinderella The Cat” – is at work on a new project titled “The Little Prince of Shangri-La” set in an imaginary Tibet and involving the search for the Dalai Lama.
Rak’s new work, which follows “Yaya and Lenny — The Walking Liberty,” that launched in 2021 from Locarno, was unveiled earlier this month at the Cartoon Movie co-production and pitch forum in Bordeaux, France.
As seen in this exclusive teaser provided to Variety, Rak’s new feature is set in an imaginary time that appears to blend present and past.
“The 13th Dalai Lama has just died,” reads the provided synopsis, and “The armies of the terrible Warlord are at the gates.” The fate of Tibet seems sealed. “But a vision emerges from the waters of the Great Lake of Prophecies. Does it...
Rak’s new work, which follows “Yaya and Lenny — The Walking Liberty,” that launched in 2021 from Locarno, was unveiled earlier this month at the Cartoon Movie co-production and pitch forum in Bordeaux, France.
As seen in this exclusive teaser provided to Variety, Rak’s new feature is set in an imaginary time that appears to blend present and past.
“The 13th Dalai Lama has just died,” reads the provided synopsis, and “The armies of the terrible Warlord are at the gates.” The fate of Tibet seems sealed. “But a vision emerges from the waters of the Great Lake of Prophecies. Does it...
- 3/21/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
2018’s Korean action film Believer, a remake of Hong Kong’s Drug War, received mediocre praise for what it was at the time of its release. Korea has delivered a plethora of gore-filled action thrillers consistently over the years, so it’s quite rare to find something that really stands out. Believer isn’t one that does stand out, but it does warrant some merit with its presentation and praise-worthy performances. Five years later, we get a mediocre sequel that feels extremely pointless and incoherent with the first part. Unfortunately, even replicating specific scenes and tying up loose ends doesn’t help make Believer 2 a decent sequel. To add to the disappointment, Rak, who was played by Ryu Jun-Yeol (a fan favorite) in Believer, was replaced by Oh Seung-Hoon.
Believer follows the story of an elusive drug lord who seems almost mythical because nobody’s ever met him, seen him,...
Believer follows the story of an elusive drug lord who seems almost mythical because nobody’s ever met him, seen him,...
- 11/19/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
The South Korean remake of Hong Kong’s Drug War was a decent action-thriller boasting of and cashing in on its fantastic cast. 5 years later, we get Believer 2, a contrived and rather unnecessary sequel that tries terribly hard to fill up the (purposely left behind) gaps in the mysterious first film. What was fascinating about part 1 is the desperation with which Won-Ho wants to believe in the existence of Mr. Lee, who at this point appears as a fable rather than a real person. Won-Ho is keen on catching the mind behind the drug “Laika” that has taken over Asia (as we hear). Believer follows his vigorous journey to find the elusive man and shows us who he encounters on the way. Won-Ho is focused, moving ahead with nothing in his peripheral vision. He says to Brian, when he’s impersonating the big man that he knows Mr. Lee...
- 11/19/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
It’s interesting how much we like a negative female character who is wholly violent and has not an inch of empathy but is bogged down by something like daddy issues or raging Ptsd. Maybe this is today’s manic-pixie dream girl. The signs are all there; she’s not like the other girls; no, really, never mind doing her nails; she probably doesn’t even shower every day; and she’s always hungry… for blood. Specifically, in the K-world, there’s a special attachment that fans have to intense female characters with superpower-level physical strength and the ability to fight for themselves, whether they are positive or negative. This is, presumably, a direct reaction to having female leads who are docile, caring, fragile, and in need of protection. They’re independent, career-driven women, but they’re still desperate for love and need their Prince Charming. No, there are female...
- 11/19/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
The new Korean action-flick Believer 2 has just dropped on Netflix, and it’s quite a disappointment for fans of the original. Still, it delivers a conclusion to the many unanswered questions from Part 1. Believer 2 begins with the call Won-Ho receives from Rak, pretending to be Mr. Lee. Detective Won-Ho finds Brian severely injured, with his back burned up by Rak and his people. Rak escapes with his dog, leaving Won-Ho high and dry. Rak is on a mission to find the real Mr. Lee, and Brian somehow survives his tryst with a welding gun to take revenge on Rak.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The Film?
Rak escapes with his associates Manko and Rana, as well as his dog Laika. Rak seems to be on a personal mission to catch the man behind it all, even though he was working for the guy until a little while ago.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The Film?
Rak escapes with his associates Manko and Rana, as well as his dog Laika. Rak seems to be on a personal mission to catch the man behind it all, even though he was working for the guy until a little while ago.
- 11/18/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
As it is, Believer was not a fantastic movie; in fact, it’s a grain of sand on the shore that is the Korean action film industry. It’s not unusual to have great expectations from a country that has given us action-packed spectacles like Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, or most recently, Ballerina, and it’s equally fair to be disappointed. Personally, Believer wasn’t anything special on its own, and in an attempt to make a twisted film, the story got lost within itself, making for a convoluted film with an open ending. Now, we get Believer 2, a (very unnecessary) sequel to a rather mediocre movie. At least the first part had a decently cohesive story, though. Believer 2 follows Detective Won-Ho (again) as he continues his search for Asia’s (supposed) biggest drug-ring mastermind, Mr. Lee, along with looking for Rak, the inside man who got away.
- 11/18/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
Lee Hae-young did in 2018 what many thought impossible when he successfully remade Johnnie To's much loved thriller “Drug War” into “Believer”, an accomplished thriller that boasted of a strong starcast, excellent visuals, an impressive score and the final on-screen appearance from the late-great Kim Joo-hyuk. While the story didn't really need a sequel per se, Netflix thought otherwise and here we are in 2023, with “Believer 2” ready to release imminently in the streaming platform.
Synopsis
A crime action film on the nerve-wracking war between Won-ho, who is still pursuing Mr. Lee's organization and the disappeared “Rak” after the bloody fight at Yongsan Station, and Brian, who has reappeared, and a new character “Big Knife.” “Believer 2” follows Won-ho's investigation of looking for “Rak,” who disappeared after Brian's incarceration, while getting to the core of the elusive drug cartel. Baek Jong-yeol, who has already received praise for sophisticated cinematography and...
Synopsis
A crime action film on the nerve-wracking war between Won-ho, who is still pursuing Mr. Lee's organization and the disappeared “Rak” after the bloody fight at Yongsan Station, and Brian, who has reappeared, and a new character “Big Knife.” “Believer 2” follows Won-ho's investigation of looking for “Rak,” who disappeared after Brian's incarceration, while getting to the core of the elusive drug cartel. Baek Jong-yeol, who has already received praise for sophisticated cinematography and...
- 11/4/2023
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Whether it’s to make up for the predictable turn of events or just to leave the audience stewing in the perplexing aftereffect, Believer end is ominously ambiguous, and we’re not complaining. The 2018 Korean crime thriller seemingly prides itself on concocting a twisted cat-and-mouse chase involving an obsessed detective and a wildly enigmatic drug kingpin. And while the chase is intriguingly fueled by the mysterious aura of a certain Mr. Lee, Believer indecisive narrative does at times get tangled up in a web of its own design. What still keeps the film going and maintains a fairly taut grip is the detective-criminal duo and how ambiguous they really are in all of their actions.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘Believer’?
You’ve been dropped right in the middle of an escalating narrative where you are to draw your own conclusions about what might have gone down before.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘Believer’?
You’ve been dropped right in the middle of an escalating narrative where you are to draw your own conclusions about what might have gone down before.
- 6/21/2023
- by Lopamudra Mukherjee
- Film Fugitives
Project is targeting an autumn festival premiere.
Polish star Marcin Dorociński will lead the cast for Minghun, the latest feature from Leave No Traces director Jan P. Matuszynski.
Dorociński’s credits include The Queen’s Gambit, Vikings: Valhalla and the forthcoming Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One.
The cast also includes Daxing Zhang, young actors Natalia Bui and Antek Sztaba, as well as Ewelina Starejki, Wiktoria Gorodeckaja, Fenfen Huang, Kwong Loke and Yuk Han. The script was written by Grzegorz Łoszewski.
The project, which is currently shooting, is targeting an autumn festival premiere (with Venice a potential destination) and will be...
Polish star Marcin Dorociński will lead the cast for Minghun, the latest feature from Leave No Traces director Jan P. Matuszynski.
Dorociński’s credits include The Queen’s Gambit, Vikings: Valhalla and the forthcoming Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One.
The cast also includes Daxing Zhang, young actors Natalia Bui and Antek Sztaba, as well as Ewelina Starejki, Wiktoria Gorodeckaja, Fenfen Huang, Kwong Loke and Yuk Han. The script was written by Grzegorz Łoszewski.
The project, which is currently shooting, is targeting an autumn festival premiere (with Venice a potential destination) and will be...
- 3/30/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Italian star author Robert Saviano, whose mob exposé “Gomorrah” spawned both Matteo Garrone’s eponymous prizewinning movie and the groundbreaking crime series that plays stateside on HBO, is making his directorial debut.
Saviano will direct “I’m Still Alive,” an animation adaptation of his graphic novel illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka (“Waltz With Bashir”). “Still Alive” examines the anti-mob activist’s life under armed guard since being forced to live with police protection shortly after 2006 when Saviano’s account of the inner workings of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate was published.
Just like Saviano’s graphic novel, “I’m Still Alive” will feature illustration’s by Hanuka, an Eisner-winning cartoonist who is known, besides “Bashir,” for his autobiographical strips “The Realist” and for graphic novel “The Divine.”
“I’m Still Alive” is being mounted as an international co-production between Naples-based Mad Entertainment and Lucky Red in Italy, GapBusters for Belgium,...
Saviano will direct “I’m Still Alive,” an animation adaptation of his graphic novel illustrated by Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka (“Waltz With Bashir”). “Still Alive” examines the anti-mob activist’s life under armed guard since being forced to live with police protection shortly after 2006 when Saviano’s account of the inner workings of the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate was published.
Just like Saviano’s graphic novel, “I’m Still Alive” will feature illustration’s by Hanuka, an Eisner-winning cartoonist who is known, besides “Bashir,” for his autobiographical strips “The Realist” and for graphic novel “The Divine.”
“I’m Still Alive” is being mounted as an international co-production between Naples-based Mad Entertainment and Lucky Red in Italy, GapBusters for Belgium,...
- 3/6/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
WME has made five key promotions in its Independent group and film production department.
The Hollywood agency has promoted Dylan Kelley and Daniel Rak to agent, and Durrana Subat to associate counsel, business affairs within the WME Independent group. Additionally, Sara Malinow and Sarah Hurley, from the agency’s production department, have been upped to agent.
WME Independent brought domestic and international film sales and financing consulting services back inside the agency after it was spun out from Endeavor Content. (WME parent Endeavor agreed to divest at least 80 percent of its stake in Endeavor Content under the terms of a 2021 deal struck with the Writers Guild.)
Kelley and Rak worked in film financing, packaging and sales, with a focus on domestic and international film sales while with Endeavor and WME. Kelley and Rak, both based in Beverly Hills, came up through the agent trainee program at WME,...
WME has made five key promotions in its Independent group and film production department.
The Hollywood agency has promoted Dylan Kelley and Daniel Rak to agent, and Durrana Subat to associate counsel, business affairs within the WME Independent group. Additionally, Sara Malinow and Sarah Hurley, from the agency’s production department, have been upped to agent.
WME Independent brought domestic and international film sales and financing consulting services back inside the agency after it was spun out from Endeavor Content. (WME parent Endeavor agreed to divest at least 80 percent of its stake in Endeavor Content under the terms of a 2021 deal struck with the Writers Guild.)
Kelley and Rak worked in film financing, packaging and sales, with a focus on domestic and international film sales while with Endeavor and WME. Kelley and Rak, both based in Beverly Hills, came up through the agent trainee program at WME,...
- 11/16/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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