World Theatrical Premiere. Opening night co-presented with Film Arts Foundation. FAF members receive $1 off general admission. Friday - Sunday: director, cast and crew in attendance. Written and directed by local filmmaker Hasssan Zee and shot in the Bay Area. Hava, a Pakistani-American girl (played by former Miss India Pooja Kumar), returns to America after a traditional upbringing in Pakistan. Hava dreams of going to college and endless life opportunities, yet discovers her marriage has already been arranged by her parents. The film follows Hava¹s tangle with the clashing of cultures, and her battle for her individuality and freedom. With Pooja Kumar, Craig Marker, Suhail Tayeb, Ponni Chesser, and Nancy Carlin. 95 minutes. site

Director Takeshi Kitano, known for his moving and yet violent gangster genre films Sonatine, Boiling Point, takes an intriguing creative turn by delivering a puppet's-eye view of three stylized tales of love gone wrong: a young executive is bound forever to the girl he jilted by a red silken rope; an elderly yakuza godfather in constant fear of assassination discovers too late that his first love never stopped waiting for him; a former pop idol, hiding from the world since she was disfigured in an accident, comes to terms with the blind devotion of her fans. Kitano explains his films connection with bunraku doll theatre: "In the theatre, it takes three people to manipulate each doll. My idea here was to reverse that: what if the doll manipulated the people? If the Dolls told stories, they might well tell stories like these." Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijima and Tatsuya Mihashi star. 114 minutes, in Japanese. site

Written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the digitally shot Bright Future is anything but. Whether intense family drama, dark "coming of age" story, ghost thriller, murder revenge or monster movie, the film at once defies and toys with convention. The film allures with its dark shrouded world and yet surprises with it¹s playful narrative - though the main character¹s poisonous jellyfish figures prominently, to tell the plot would spoil it - but you would certainly never guess. With Jo Odagiri, Tadanobu Asano, Tatsuya Fuji. 115 minutes. In Japanese. site

Just having been laid off, a young woman fortuitously finds a noodle box filled with money on her doorstep, a lot of money. When two men show up inquiring, they accidentally end up dead and what does she do? Determined to keep her good fortune, she hides the bodies, conceals everything from the cops, and tries to spend the money without getting noticed. But life becomes difficult with corpses to hide, evading bungling authorities, and Thai boxing gangsters on her trail in search of their cash. Comedy from director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. With Tasanawalai Ongartittichai, Sritao, Lalita Panyopas. 114 minutes. In Thai. site

The 2002 highest grossing film in Korea, Marrying The Mafia beat out even the usual Hollywood box office pleasers. The entertaining gangster action comedy takes off when the virgin daughter of notorious mafia boss spends a night with a guy. When her Dad and three menacing brothers find out, they at first try to violently avenge her honor, but after discovering her one-night-stand is from an elite and prominent family, the goal changes to getting the two wed, in hopes the union will bring legitimacy and honor to their gangster family status. All the different relationships among the colorful cast of characters -- the gangster brothers, the intended couple, the well-to-do family, the gangster father -- are all played out enjoyably for comedy. With Jung Jun-Ho and Kim Jung-Eun. 115 minutes. In Korean. site

A prim college girl on a park bench rebuffs the rude advances of a thug. Within days, through a horrifying series of mis-steps, that same girl is held captive in a red-light district brothel where none other than the thug is her puppet master and pimp. Director Kim Ki-duk (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring; The Isle) Korean cinema¹s notorious bad-boy, provoked a storm of controversy at home with Bad Guy. Kim imbues his provocative approach to love, revenge, and class warfare with a savage mysticism when his rough-hewn gangster and unwilling prostitute reluctantly find salvation in each other. With Jo Jae-hyeon, Seo Won. In Korean. 100 minutes. site

Cult director Takashi Miike¹s international breakthrough came with 1999's Audition and has had an ever-expanding following ever since. A notoriously prolific director (60+ films in 13 years) Miike is known for explicit and taboo representations of violence and sex with films like Visitor Q, Ichi the Killer and the Dead or Alive trilogy. Missed Call adds a new flavor of horror to the Miike collection, warning "Death cannot be put on hold." With Kou Shibasaki, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Kazue Fukiishi. 112 minutes. In Japanese.

Winner of Best Asian Film at the 2003 Fantasia Film Festival. In Sabu¹s clever crime caper gone awry Drive, the director starts the film with a chase scene, a motif prevalent in all his works including this fifth feature. A straight-laced by-the-book salesman is car-jacked by a trio of masked bank robbers in pursuit of the double-crosser who¹s just run off with their loot. The robbers order the salesman to pursue, but the speed-limit abiding salesman allows the money man to get away. The robbers and their hostage are subsequently left to embark on a bizarre and surreal string of adventures together as night falls in this original black comedy. With Shinchi Tsutsumi, Ko Shibasaki, Ren Osugi. 98 minutes. In Japanese.

THE 4STAR THEATRE¹S 2005 SPRING ASIAN FILM SERIES
all films play for week-long engagements
please call theatre for showtimes
box office opens daily at 12 noon
(415) 666-3488
general admission: $8.50
seniors, children: $6.50
bargain matinees: $6.50
discount card 6 admissions: $40.00
2 people can use card at one time. valid 1 year.