Journey to the West

Apr 24, 2014

0h 56m

★ 6.3

Overview

In 2014, Tsai Ming-Liang was invited to make a film for the MarseilleFID, Marseille International Film Festival. Since he was not familiar with Marseille, he decided to make a film as tourist, capturing the beautiful Mediterranean sunshine in the late summer of that year. He also invited famous French actor, Denis Lavant, to appear alongside Lee Kang-Sheng playing Xuanzang. "Journey to the West" was invited to be the opening short film at the Berlin International Film Festival the same year.

Genres

Drama

Documentary

Production Companies

House on Fire

Journey to the West Trailers

Cast

Monk

Lee Kang-sheng

Dragon

Denis Lavant

After his father is murdered by the Nazis in 1938, a young Viennese Jew named Ferry Tobler flees to Prague, where he joins forces with another expatriate and a sympathetic Czech relief worker. Together with other Jewish refugees, the three make their way to Paris, and, after spending time in a French prison camp, eventually escape to Marseille, from where they hope to sail to a safe port.

0.0

Cape of the North

Apr 3, 1976

A Swiss nun falls in love with a Japanese engineer.

7.8

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

Sep 19, 2003

An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.

7.5

Breathless

Mar 16, 1960

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

7.1

Love Actually

Sep 7, 2003

Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

9.3

Becoming Who I Was

Sep 27, 2017

Angdu is no ordinary boy. Indeed, in a past life he was a venerated Buddhist master. His village already treats him like a saint as a result. The village doctor, who has taken the boy under his wing, prepares him to be able to pass on his wisdom. Alas, Tibet, Angdu’s former homeland and the centre of his faith, lies far away from his current home in the highlands of Northern India. On top of that, the conflict between China and Tibet makes the prospect of a trip there even more daunting. Undeterred by these harsh facts, the duo set off for their destination on foot, accompanied by questions of friendship and the nature of life. With its narrative approach steeped in a serene sense of concentration, this documentary film, composed over a period of eight years, stands as a fundamental experience in its own right.

7.0

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama

May 1, 2006

How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? These are some of the questions posed to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by filmmaker and explorer Rick Ray. Ray examines some of the fundamental questions of our time by weaving together observations from his own journeys throughout India and the Middle East, and the wisdom of an extraordinary spiritual leader. This is his story, as told and filmed by Rick Ray during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India over the course of several months. Also included is rare historical footage as well as footage supplied by individuals who at great personal risk, filmed with hidden cameras within Tibet.

7.7

The Count of Monte Cristo

Jan 23, 2002

Edmond Dantés's life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are shattered when his best friend, Fernand, deceives him. After spending 13 miserable years in prison, Dantés escapes with the help of a fellow inmate and plots his revenge, cleverly insinuating himself into the French nobility.

6.6

Beautiful Boxer

Nov 26, 2003

Based on the real life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muaythai boxer who underwent a sex change operation to become a woman.

6.5

Beautiful Lure: A Modern Tale of Painted Skin

May 14, 2021

With both beauty and wit, Maiko looks for a man who suits her. One night, she finds Taro, a candidate for the prime minister. Everything goes well as she plans, but he finds out she's actually a "youma" who destroys the country. What's their destiny?

7.6

Le Deuxième Souffle

Nov 1, 1966

A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.

6.9

Borsalino

May 19, 1970

In 1930s Marseilles two small-time crooks decide to join forces when they meet while brawling over a woman. Starting with fixed horse races and boxing matches, they soon find themselves doing jobs for the local gangster bosses. When they decide to go into the business for themselves, their easy-going approach to crime starts to change.

6.7

Transit

Apr 5, 2018

In an attempt to flee Nazi-occupied France, Georg assumes the identity of a dead author but soon finds himself stuck in Marseilles, where he falls in love with Maria, a young woman searching for her missing husband.

6.3

The Devils

Sep 11, 2002

The story of the struggle of an autistic girl and her brother trying to survive without their parents.

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6.0

Art as a Weapon

Jun 12, 2014

Street art, creativity and revolution collide in this beautifully shot film about art’s ability to create change. The story opens on the politically charged Thailand/Burma border at the first school teaching street art as a form of non-violent struggle. The film follows two young girls (Romi & Yi-Yi) who have escaped 50 years of civil war in Burma to pursue an arts education in Thailand. Under the threat of imprisonment and torture, the girls use spray paint and stencils to create images in public spaces to let people know the truth behind Burma's transition toward "artificial democracy." Eighty-two hundred miles away, artist Shepard Fairey is painting a 30’ mural of a Burmese monk for the same reasons and in support of the students' struggle in Burma. As these stories are inter-cut, the film connects these seemingly unrelated characters around the concept of using art as a weapon for change.

5.2

Our Eternal Summer

Apr 27, 2022

To live and to love at the age of 18, immersing yourself in the carefree summer days and nights, losing your best friend suddenly, and realizing that nothing lasts forever. It’s a time of decisive encounters in order to be reborn.

6.4

The Witnesses

Mar 7, 2007

Paris, 1984. A group of friends contend with the first outbreak of the AIDS epidemic.

7.9

The Burmese Harp

Jan 21, 1956

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

5.1

The Magnet

May 31, 2000

The story of a group of friends, all around 30, who live in the Le Panier district of Marseille, France. It's not a bad life, made up of slightly shady dealings, nights out, sun and just hanging out. But the neighborhood is an inescapable presence. Over a period of a few summer days, their carefree lives will plunge into a predictable tragedy.

10.0

Buddha Wild: Monk in a Hut

Apr 16, 2008

Buddhist monks open up about the joys and challenges of living out the precepts of the Buddha as a full-time vocation. Controversies swirling within modern monastic Buddhism are examined, from celibacy and the role of women to racism and concerns about the environment.

Journey to the West

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Journey to the West Trailers