Kung Fu Cinema review

Genre(s): Action, Drama

Origin: USA, South Korea

Length: 87 min

Studio(s): Young Man Kang Films

Director(s): Young Man Kang

Producer(s): Bruce Khan, Young Man Kang

Action Director(s): Eung Jun Lee, Reuben Langdon

Writer(s): Young Man Kang

Cinematographer(s): Cheol Hun Ham, Sang Jin Han

Music: James Hopkins, You Lee Kim

Rated: NR - strong violence, sexuality, language, drug use

Cast:

Bruce Khan ... Adam
Kelly Hamilton ... Eve
Jourdon Lee Khoo ... Adam
Melanie Jean ... Eve
Freddie Milligan ... Snake
Seung Min Kim ... Eve
Tim Colceri ... Priest
Eung Jun Lee ... Cain
Chul Jeong ... Abel

Recommendations:

Ashes of Time (1994)

No Blood No Tears (2002)

Volcano High (2001)
:: REVIEWS ::.


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The Last Eve (2005)

AKA: n/a



The Last Eve is an ambitious and challenging independent production that attempts to bring together three interpretations of the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, diverse martial arts action, and Korean and American culture, all while set to an apocalyptic story that unfolds in reverse order. It's occasionally bewildering and uneven, with its small budget and good intentions struggling to smooth over a range of rough spots. But there is something quite appealing about this martial arts movie that dares to artistically step beyond convention.

Although there is a singular thread that runs through the whole film, it's divided into three chapters that could very easily stand apart as distinct short films. Hapkido champion Bruce Khan stars in the first two chapters, but this and each chapter's relevance to Adam and Eve is about all that connects them.

To break it down as easily as possible, the earth has been struck by a massive comet that has wiped out all of humanity save for three people. One is a hooded priest, whose presence I must admit remains a mystery to me. Then there is Adam (Bruce Khan), the last man and a warrior monk who defends Eve (Melanie Jean), the last woman, from a small group of demons sent to earth in human form by Satan to stop humanity from being reborn. The outcome of the fight is clear, but the fate of humanity is left to interpretation for we're either presented with a demonic trick played on mankind or a reference to The Crying Game.

Of special interest in this first chapter is some fun martial arts choreography courtesy of Reuben Langdon and a number of fellow stunt actors who fill out the roles of the demons. This includes Zero Gravity member Kerry Wong, Chris Torres, and Stephanie Cheeva. Visually, these scenes are less of a supernatural sort and more of a crude Mad Max variety. The editing in this segment borders on experimental, but unfortunately things like two or three scene fades crudely overlaid looks a little too much like public access channel video effects and does nothing to enhance the film. There's also no dialogue, only some narration. When paired with the film's most unusual and arguably disturbing imagery, this makes it difficult to settle in to the film.

The middle act, which reinterprets the Biblical murder of Abel after Adam and Eve are exiled from Eden, is the film's high point visually and action-wise. The story makes an abrupt shift to an earlier time in modern-day South Korea where Adam (again Bruce Khan) is now a gravedigger and underground cage fighter, while Eve (Seung Min Kim) is the woman he hopes to marry. Trouble arises when the figurative serpent, in the form of Eve's brother Cain (Eung Jun Lee), loses Eve in a wager with a gangster and gets Adam's brother Abel (Chul Jeong) killed in the ring. To win her back, Adam must defeat the gangster's Muay Thai champion.

The production values and visuals of this Korean segment are substantially better than the American ones. It should come as no surprise though for the guys in charge of the camera and stunt work are Cheol Hun Ham and Eung Jun Lee, both veterans of Korean action cinema with Jungdok (2002) and Volcano High (2001) respectively to their credits. It serves no purpose to the story, but Eung Jun Lee is featured in a fantastic fight with his stunt team where he uses a blunt training sword to beat a group of gangsters to a pulp. Imagine any group fighting scene in Korean films like My Wife is a Gangster or Arahan, but without wires or excessive editing. The featured cage match between Bruce Khan and the Muay Thai fighter is just as well executed with Khan showing off some terrific legwork. His performance, and he's a solid actor too I might add, really makes me wish that the art of Hapkido was featured more often in action films.

The final chapter brings us to America, shortly before the comet strikes. From here on, Young Man Kang leaves the martial arts action behind and focuses on the temptation of Eve. Adam (Jourdon Lee Khoo) and Eve (Kelly Hamilton) appear to be grown residents of a Catholic orphanage and soon to be married. Enter the serpent again, this time as Snake (Freddie Milligan), another grown resident who has embraced worldly vice. Jealously leads him to tempt Eve into having a little premarital sex. She in turn does the same to Adam and both are cast out of Eden, shortly before the world comes crashing to a halt.

Kudos to Young Man Kang for attempting such a unique film. Certainly, the martial arts movie genre can benefit from more creative and challenging productions that push boundaries, although this is obviously more than just a genre movie. It's amazing to see so many diverse elements come together in a single, independent production. Most impressive is how Young blends Korean and American culture without resorting to any of the pitfalls that generally plague Hollywood productions that attempt the same. The Last Eve is definitely a major advancement from the director's last action-oriented film 1st Testament CIA Vengeance (2001), an ultra-low budget and convoluted thriller with mammoth pacing and bad acting issues.

The Last Eve has a few issues of its own, chief among them is a lack of visual continuity. The three chapters look like they were all shot with different crews and different equipment, while under different circumstances. In fact, this is somewhat the truth and its just hard to hide on a limited budget. I could also complain about the loose story structure and overall lack of clarity with regard to the film's message, if there is any beyond restating the tragedy of humanity's Biblical fall from grace. But the film falls far enough into relative artistic expression territory that viewers should ultimately form their own conclusions. However, I'll go ahead and put forth my own and state that The Last Eve is an intriguing, if overly ambitious art film, given its means. It's like a rough draft of some daring work of potential genius in progress. But it also challenges convention, makes you think, and delivers some great martial arts action, which makes the film worth investigating and Young Man Kang worth keeping an eye on.

- Mark Pollard


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:: DVD REVIEWS ::.


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"The Last Eve" Wins Award at New York Independent Film Festival

"The Last Eve" Wins Award at New York Independent Film Festival



An epic film entitled "The Last Eve" directed by Kang Young-man, who is based in New York, has won the "Action Film Award" at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, which just recently closed.

The festival, which was launched in 1993, has been taken in a road show format to four different cities in the United States, including New York and Los Angeles, screening about 300 films each year.

"The Last Eve" is an epic film consisting of three different short films using Adam and Eve from the Bible as motifs.

Kang made headlines in 2000 when he was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as "the film director who had distributed a film made with the smallest budget to American movie theaters" by producing the epic film "Cupid's Mistake" (1999) with a mere 980 dollars, or about 1 million won.

2005 New York International Independent Film Festival in Los Angeles

THE LAST EVE (film by Young Man Kang) @
2005 New York International Independent Film Festival in Los Angeles

"The Last Eve" is so rich is visual imagery and so beautifully framed
for its martial arts sequences that it becomes a truly hypnotic
experience." - Film Threat-

- Thursday, September 29, 2005 @ 8:00pm

- Laemmle's Fairfax Cinemas inside Screen 3 (Beverly & Fairfax) in Los Angeles

- After-party at a great location for free. All ticket-holders are
very welcome to attend.

NY Film Festival Link & Buy Ticket online link

http://www.nyfilmvideo.com/cgi/schedule.cgi

The New York International Independent Film and Video Festival
(NYIIFVF) is the largest film festival in the world. Founded in 1993
by entertainment impresario Stuart Alson, NYIIFVF has been recognized
by the film and entertainment industry as one of the leading film
events on the festival calendar. Each festival showcases over 300
films from around the world, including world premieres, features,
shorts, documentaries and animations.

NYNYIIFVF now exhibits in the four entertainment capitals of America:
New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Miami. Traditionally the event
kicks off with a huge networking party, followed by 10 days of
screenings, red carpet premieres, panels with industry executives and
after-parties in premier locations. NYIIFVF always attracts many
global entries, including, Australia, Baghdad, Brazil, Canada,
Croatia, Holland, Iceland, India, Ireland, France, Germany, The
Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Tunisia, the UK and all over the US. The
scope of the festival ranges from high profile to novice, so audiences
can experience an array of films and individuals driven by independent
movie making.

More info: http://www.youngmankang.com

The Last Eve

Synopsis

A Young Man Kang Film

"The Last Eve" is a film that takes the audience on an emotional adventure through history. In a way never before seen. The story of Eve is shown from front to back.
We start in the future and ride all the way back to the loss of all innocence.

Our journey through time shows us three contrasting tales (Cain & Abel, Snake's Temptation, Eve's Secret) which in their own unique way reveal the dark tragedies at the heart of all romance:

Part 3: Snake's Temptation

Part 3: Snake's Temptation

In the Bible, Eve was tempted by the Snake. Adam was tempted in turn by Eve.
Present day Los Angeles. Adam, Eve and Snake were raised by a priest in an orphanage. Three people caught in a deadly love triangle. The Priest allows Adam and Eve to marry. Both promise to keep their virginity until the wedding ceremony. Snake tries to break their vow of chastity and tempts Eve. Will Eve fall for Snake?


Location: Los Angeles



Cast

Eve - Kelly Hamilton
Adam - Jourdan Lee Khoo
Snake - Freddie Milligan
Priest - Tim Colceri
Lilith - Paula Labaredas
Fortune Teller - Tomiko Lee
Bartender - George Thomas
Reporter (Hollywood) - Luke Y. Thompson
Reporter (British) - Douglas Dunning
Reporter (Japanese) - Leila Kurosawa
Reporter (French) - Fabrice Uzan
Reporter (Russian) - Marina Yaloyan
Reporter (Austrailian) - Sarah Backhouse
Reporter (Vietnamese) - Susie Vu
Reporter (Koreatown) - Mason Rhee
Reporter (Hong Kong) - Qin Zhu
Drag Queen Poet - Tony T.L. Young
Snake Girlfriend #1 (Snake Dancer) - Jade Wu
Snake Girlfriend #2 - Amanda A. Anderson
Snake Girlfriend #3 - Ji Hyun Moon
Snake Girlfriend #4 - Star Yoo
Snake Girlfriend #5 - Jenny Slaydon
Snake Girlfriend #6 - Apple House
Snake Girlfriend #7 - Ingrid Coree
Snake Girlfriend #8 - Marylin Hebert
Snake Girlfriend #9 - Qin Zhu
Videographer - James Chean
Still Photographer - Nash Choi
Hooker - Jillian Difusco
Drunken Man - Tommy Le
Motel Owner - Edwin A. Santos
Child Adam - Aaron Scott
Child Eve - Gloria Carrasco
Child Snake - Chance Stroud
Vietnam Buddhist Nun #1 - Fung
Vietnam Buddhist Nun #2 - Feng
Bar Customer - Don Glut




Crew

Director/Producer - Young Man Kang
Writers - Young Man Kang, Tony T.L. Young, Rick Phillips
Executive Producers - Seung Jae Choi, Kimmarie Johnson, James Chean, Tomiko Lee
Co-Producers - Edwin A. Santos, Aaron Pugliese
Associate Producer - Jungklay Dae Seo
Director of Photography - Sang Jin Han
Camera Operator - Nash Choi
Gaffer - James Chean
Casting Director: Tim Colceri
Production Designer/Prop - Tony T.L. Young
Editor - Sung Chul Hoon
Custom Designer - Kay Park
Custom Designer - Mason Rhee
Sound - Avi
Boom Operator - Dawn Cooper
Visual Effect Supervisor - Tai Kun Han
Key-makeup/Hair - Coco Yuon
Makeup/Hair - Ji Hyun Moon
Makeup/Hair - Sharon Kim
Assistant Director - Max Chang
2nd Assistant Director - Dawn Cooper
2nd Unit Director - Moo Jung Kim
2nd Unit Director of Photography - Byung Hee Choi
Still Photographer - Clinton H. Wallace
Publicity Photographer - David Edwards
Production Assistant - Alexander Yi
Production Assistant - Minki Kim

Catering - Diane Timmons & Impeccable Taste Catering

Part 2: Cain & Abel

Part 2: Cain & Abel

In the Bible, Adam and Eve was exiled from the Garden of Eden. Cain and Abel were born from original sin. Cain murdered Abel, and became the first murderer in human history.
6000 years later in Korea, Adam, a former kick-boxing champion, makes a living digging graves and suffering from his past. He had accidentally killed an opponent at an underground boxing ring.
Adam falls for a girl named Eve, but her brother Cain disapproves of their relationship.
Cain, an underground kick-boxing gambler, manipulates Adam's brother Abel to fight in the ring. When Abel is killed by Muay Thai boxer Anthony, Cain loses Eve to an underground mob boss. Adam returns to the ring to avenge Abel's death and save Eve, but he has once again trapped himself in the game.

Location: Kwang Ju, Korea

Cast

Adam - Bruce Khan
Eve - Seung Min Kim
Cain - Eung Jun Lee
Abel - Chul Jeong
Muay Thai fighter - Anthony
Red fighter - Film Park
Boss Hwang - Hyoung Ho Hwang
Hammer - Yong Woon Cho
Eve's Son, Cain - Brian Kim
Gambler #1 - Jun Hyoung Lim
Gambler #2 - Sung Ryong Moon
Gambler #3 - Jong Pil Kim
Gangster #1 - Gab Yong An
Gangster #2 - Jin Ho Kim
Gangster #3 - Sung Ju Min
Gangster #4 - Sang Yong Kim
Gangster #5 - Seung Hyun Lee
Gangster #6 - Young Su Kim


Cain's Tattoo

Production Note: Three action teams from Hollywood, Hong Kong and Korea combine into the production. From Hollywood, Korean-American Director Young Man Kang, martial arts champion Bruce Khan from Jackie Chan & Sammo Hung's action team, Muay Thai master Anthony and Korean martial arts choreographers Eung Jun Lee (Whasango 2001-Volcano High) and Cheul Hun Ham (MBC, Joongdok 2002, kamunion).


martial arts choreographer Eung Jun Lee & stunt team

Crew

Director - Young Man Kang
Writer - Sung Ryong Moon, Bruce Khan & Young Man Kang
Producer - Bruce Khan, Yong Woon Cho, Jun Hyoung Lim & Jong Pil Kim
Martial Arts Choreographer - Cheol Hun Ham & Eung Jun Lee
Director of Photography - Cheol hun Ham
Editor - Cheol hun Ham
Production Designer - Yong Woon Cho
Music - Seung Hoon Baik
Assistant Directors - Mi Ju Sun, Ji Young Park & Eun Ran Cho
Camera Dept. - Byung Kyung Moon & Ji Hoon Lim
Sound Dept. - Ah Jong Yoo & Tae Chan Park
Still Photographer - Dong Gil Kim
Make-up Artist - Ji Sook Yang, Hyang Mi An
Tattoo Artist - Hyun Myung Park
Art Dept. - Eun Soo Park
Script Editor - T.L. Young

Part 1: Eve's Secret

Part 1: Eve's Secret

Somewhere in the future, man has devolved into savages and roams the wreckage of a post-war wasteland. These bizarre but majestic warriors live in the deserts of Death Valley and voraciously search and fight for who may be the last woman on earth. Her name is Eve and the winner becomes the new Adam. But what is Eve's secret?


Location: Death Valley, USA

Cast

Monk - Bruce Khan
Eve - Melanie Jean
Catman - Stephanie Cheeva
Chainman - Chris Torres
Blindswordmen - Reuben Langdon
Monkeyman - Kerry Wong
Nunchakuman - Jungklay Dae Seo
Hornyman - Lloyd Hizon
Coolman - Samuel Yu
Death Valley Goddess - Melanie Jean
Ghost - Stephanie Cheeva
Buddha - Lloyd Hizon




Bruce Khan : Monk

Bruce Khan is a four-time world champion titleholder in the World Korea Hapkido Championship, having claimed his first title at the age of twenty-two. He holds a 4th degree black belt in Hapkido and black belts in numerous other styles including 5th Dan in Korean Hwal Bup, 4th Dan Korean Karate, and 4th Dan Korean Kyeoktooki as well as being a certified sports massage therapist.

An alumnus of the prestigious Seoul Action School, Bruce worked as a fight choreographer on a number of projects in Korea and Hong Kong before being invited to join Sammo Hung's stunt team, Hung Gar Ban as performer and choreographer in Jackie Chan's latest Hong Kong Actioner Highbinders. Bruce help to design a number of key action sequences performed by Jackie himself.

Bruce is currently based in Los Angeles where he continues to pursue his acting and stunt career, having appeared in a number of TV shows and Video Game productions he recently performed in Encore's video game version of Daredevil, the Man without Fear, tied in to the Fox feature to be released in February of 2003.



Melanie Jean : Eve (Future)


Kerry Wong : Monkeyman

KERRY WONG brings innovation and diversity to ACT through his knowledge of the martial arts. An enthusiastic practitioner of various fighting styles, Kerry Wong began his training at the age of 10. His formal martial arts education consisted of Kyokushin Karate, Shotokan Karate, Taekwando, Wushu, Capoeira, and Chinese Boxing. As his knowledge increased, Kerry decided to take a step towards a career which would best utilize his martial arts expertise.

In 1998, Kerry co-founded ZeroGravity (www.zgstunts.com), with the help of Tony Chu and Greg Wong. ZeroGravity was created to bring the most innovative style of fight choreography together with unique martial arts encounters. After realizing that such a style existed in Hong Kong, ZeroGravity dedicated their efforts into learning, and eventually emulating, the Hong Kong style of action made popular in today's action films. And because of the vast knowledge of various martial arts, the fight choreography offered by ZeroGravity is unique, creating a style they can call their own.

Kerry is currently based in Los Angeles, leading the ZeroGravity South Division (Tony Chu leads the North Division). While learning everything he could about acting, directing, cinematography, and anything else about film, Kerry encountered ACT. ACT acquired Kerry Wong as a student at first. After realizing what he and ZeroGravity had to offer, ACT made Kerry one of their own, and brought in ZeroGravity as a martial arts talent pool.


Chris Torres : Chainman

Stunts - filmography
King of the Ants (2003) (stunt double)
Latin Dragon (2003) (utility stunts)
King's Guard, The (2000) (stunts) (uncredited)
Absolute Force (1997) (stunts) (uncredited)
Mortal Kombat (1995) (martial arts demonstration) (uncredited)



Actor - filmography
Medallion, The (2003) .... Henchman Machado
King's Guard, The (2000) .... De La Cruz
Shootfighter: Fight to the Death (1992) .... Shootfighter ... aka Shootfighter (1992)



Reuben Langdon : Blindswordmen

Reuben Langdon is a Los Angeles based producer, actor and stuntman. He was crash coursed in Asian action performance when he landed a regular role on the Japanese superhero TV series B-Fighter Kabuto, known in the US as the Beetle Borgs. From there, he relocated to Hong Kong and worked on various Hong Kong films some of which include, Jackie Chan's My Stunts, Gen-Y Cops/Metal Mayhem, as well as Jackie's latest epic fantasy adventure Highbinders, to be released October 2003. As Jackie and other Hong Kong talent become more closely affiliated with Hollywood productions, Reuben relocated again to the US, where he appeared in Martial Law and Disney's Power Rangers, and has performed and designed a number of motion capture shoots for interactive video games, including Star Wars Jedi Knight II and Encore's Daredevil, the Man without Fear, tied in to the Fox feature film to be released February 2003. Reuben played the part of Daredevil in the game.

He is cofounder of Just Cause, a production company dedicated to raising the profile of Hong Kong style action in every aspect of the entertainment industry, pursuing the creation of TV series, movies, games, and other media on both sides of the Pacific. Currently in pre-production are Cherry Dynamite, a Japanese TV series about a trio of martial arts wielding women crime fighters, and Messengers, a live action thriller from the writer of the Japanimation cult hit TV Sires, Ghost in the Shell. Just Cause has a number of other feature film, TV, and interactive projects in various stages of development.



Stephanie Cheeva : Catman



Stephanie Cheeva came to LA in 1996. Being born and raised in Bulgaria, she had to learn how to speak English, before she could join and graduate the "Joanne Baron & D.W. Brown" school of acting. Since then we've seen her in "The Ultimate Game", "Martial Law", "Nash Bridges", "VIP", "Good Versus Evil", "Longshot", "Last Call", "The Fine Art Of Persuasion", "Tequila Express", etc. She's been in a Pontiac-Sunfire National Commercial and the Freeserve-Internet Commercial.

What's the appeal? The catlike eyes, pouting lips, high cheek bones mixed with a beautiful physique and jumping kicks that will knock most people's heads off? Or is it something else? Strong faith, unbreakable spirit, gentle heart, a true warrior passionately fighting her battle towards excellence with joy and perseverance, that inspires all who know her. "The camera loves Stephanie", says producer Bedo Manukian.

Kung Fu Cinema

Kung Fu Cinema

Wastelands & Warriors in 'The Last Eve'

by Mark Pollard

2004.01.25 - The Last Eve, an unusual post-apocalyptic martial arts film from underground writer/director Young Man-kang is currently in post-production. The film's hook is that its story is told in reverse chronological order. This takes place in a wasteland where Eve (newcomer Melanie Jean), possibly the last woman on earth, is caught up in the struggles of savage warriors in a barren landscape.
Starring as a monk is Hapkido champion Bruce Khan, a recent veteran of Sammo Hung's stunt team whose credits include choreography in The Medallion and stunt doubling in Daredevil and Gen-Y Cops. Other martial arts action vets starring include Zero Gravity team members Kerry Wong as Monkeyman and Reuben Langdon (The Medallion, Extreme Challenge) as the Blind Swordsman, Bulgarian-born Stephanie Cheeva (Rise to Honor) as Cat, and Chris Torres (Mortal Kombat) as Chainman.
Previous indie films for Korean-born filmmaker Young Man-kang are an eclectic mix featuring multicultural casts and include Soap Girl, a quirky romantic comedy and 1st testament: CIA Vengeance, an international thriller with martial arts action. Young is currently in pre-production on Mist, an epic Korean-American co-production with supernatural themes based on Korean folklore.
Distribution for The Last Eve have yet to be announced. A trailer and more information is available at the official site.
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©2004 Kung Fu Cinema. All rights reserved.