Andrew Heskins

6 days ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

After the tragic death of their child, a couple buy a doll to help them grieve. But the toy seems to have a mind of its own…When a life-sized child doll flings herself at an old lady, with a vigour more commonly associated with sumo wrestlers, should you laugh or scream? It’s a question that Japanese writer and director Shinobu Yaguchi, best known for feel-good comedies such as Waterboys and Swing Girls, struggles with in Dollhouse, his first attempt at horror.

1 week ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

A dive into the secretive Thai amulet trade scene combines crime, action and unexpected drama in an entertaining debut…The Stone starts small, ends big. It all begins when young man Ake (Jaonaaz Jinjett Wattanasin) tries to sell a set of Buddhist amulets stowed away among his father’s possessions, in order to pay for his sick father’s medical bills. It turns out that what Ake has in hand is the real deal: a genuine Somdej amulet (‘The Stone’), among a market full of fakes.

1 week ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

An existentially stirring, absurdist, but entertaining look at ageing, historical guilt, and tragedy heralds a modern masterpiece…With the film’s many allusions to works such as Rear Window and texts by Balzac, Camus, and Saint-Exupéry, intertextual references have inevitably plagued much literature about Yoshida Daihachi’s latest release, Teki Cometh, which premiered at Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2024 and recently won Best Director at the Asian Film Academy Awards. And why not?

1 week ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

A heartfelt father and son dramedy told through colours, challenging what we expect from life and cinema…Kicking off the 27th Far East Film Festival in Udine this past April, Chinese director Xu Lei took the stage to present his second feature, Green Wave, to an eager audience of over 1,000 people. The film had already made waves at last year’s Pingyao Film Festival, where it won two major awards—yet this marked its international premiere.

2 weeks ago | easternkicks.com | Andrew Heskins

Far East Film Festival coupled their retrospective with an exhibition on Mizuki Shigeru, both focusing on the world of ‘yokai’…Before seeing any film at the 27th edition of the Far East Film Festival in Udine I had the pleasure of visiting the Mondo Mizuki, Mondo Yokai exhibition closely related to the festival.