Looking forward to the best of Besson
French film-maker Luc Besson's often stylised and frequently beautiful films have always courted controversy. It began 14 years ago at the age of 24 when he made his first feature The Last Battle, which was an award-winning debut.
Lately, it has been with his current hit The Fifth Element which was panned after opening last month's Cannes Film Festival but had the public stampeding through the doors of their local cinemas.
With an impeccable sense of timing, Broadway Cinematheque in Tsim Sha Tsui is capitalising on the furore by staging a festival of arguably his most popular offerings. Entitled 'Futuristic Romanticism', the tribute opens on June 20 with Nikita, initially dismissed by critics but later reassessed.
The movie stars Anne Parillaud, Besson's former partner, who becomes an assassin after murdering a policeman while breaking into a store to obtain drugs. Recruited to a secret government organisation she is eventually released and goes undercover as a nurse.
Complications arise when she falls in love with Jean-Hugues Anglade, putting the couple's relationship to the test following orders for her to carry out a 'job'.
It is these scenes, together with those with her prison boss and Svengali, Tcheky Karyo, that provide emotional depth, while the drug store robbery is a bloody tour de force.
Also opening on June 20 is Leon, Besson's first movie in English which starred Jean Reno as a New York hitman befriending a 12-year-old neighbour whose family has been slaughtered by a gang of drug dealers. Initially, Natalie Portman asks him to instruct her in the art of killing but gradually their relationship turns into a touching bond.
The movie struck a chord with Hong Kong audiences, perhaps because of its stark contrasts of love and violence and this screening is the director's cut or complete version.
On June 22, Subway, which was Besson's second film and established him as a force in the French film industry after it became France's biggest box office attraction in 1985, is being shown.
Starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert, it has the feel of a familiar cops-and-robbers theme given fresh treatment. A staccato editing style adds to its captivating atmosphere.
Also on June 22 is The Big Blue, a haunting movie of a young diver played by Jean-Marc Barr who is obsessed with the sea since witnessing his father's death in a diving accident. Interlinked with a romantic interest, the movie raises the question of whether the man's love for the sea and his quest to dive deeper is greater than his love for his girlfriend, Rosanna Arquette.
And on June 24, Broadway screens The Last Battle and Atlantis. Like The Big Blue, Atlantis is visually stunning and is set variously in Scotland, Australia, Colombia, Panama and the Red Sea.
Consisting of underwater photographic sequences linked to themes such as first daylight, rhythm, soul, love and hate, Eric Serra's music complements these images.
The Last Battle is, perhaps as the title alludes to, the battle to end all battles - the fight for food, water and life in a post-apocalypse world.
Its surrealism is amplified by a magical rainstorm of fresh fish while one poignant moment sees two characters sharing a few words with the aid of an inhaler.
The festival runs from June 20-26 with up to 10 screenings per film. For programme inquiries tel 2529-3898. Regular tickets cost $50, discount tickets $30.
