The world can be a dull and sullen place. Movies of the mainstream variety offer an easy if not cathartic diversion from the humdrum with momentary distractions full of thrills, horrors and laughs where things happen for a reason. Festival films tend to be creatures of a different sort--still a form or escapism, but unafraid of dystopia in its unanswered forms. James Lee, one of the leading figures in new Malaysian film, is a director that spreads his artistic endeavors across the festival-mainstream lines. Lee is best known in his home country for his edgy genre films: from the full-tilt action of The Collector to the extreme horror of Histeria, not to mention his controversial and heavily censored Clay Pot Curry Killers. Festival goers are likely to have a completely different perspective of Lee from a slate of more low-key films that explore the dark yet subtle effects of social isolation, including his award-winning My Beautiful Washing Machine and his critically acclaimed Love Trilogy. His most recent film, If It's Not Now, Then When? firmly lands in the later prospectus with an added self-assurance to his thesis on unrelenting bleak moments.
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