
The film version of
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
(Anchor, $11, 0385722206), directed by the book's author, Dai Sijie,
opens Friday. The movie marks a kind of circular achievement: Dai wrote
the book, based on his experiences during the Cultural Revolution, in
part because his career in film was stagnant. The book became a
worldwide bestseller, allowing Dai to direct and film to his heart's
content. Dai's second novel,
Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch (Knopf, $22, 1400042593), was published here just last month.
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Night Watch, directed by Timur Bekmambetov and starring
Konstantin Khabensky, opens this Friday. Made for just $4 million and
originally released in Russia, where it surpassed hits such as
Spider-Man 2 and The Lord of the Rings at the box office, this is the
first tale in Sergei Lukyanenko's science fiction trilogy (
Night Watch,
Day Watch and
Twilight Watch) that portray an epic struggle between
Light and Darkness on the streets of Moscow. The second film is
expected to be released here next winter, while the third installment
is still in the works. English-language editions of the original books
apparently are yet to be released.
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Tony Takitani, directed by Jun Ichikawa and starring Issey Ogata
and Rie Miyazawa, also opens this Friday. Based on a story by Haruki
Murakami, the film follows Tony Takitani, a mild-mannered illustrator,
as he meets and marries a client who is addicted to high-priced
designer clothing. Tony, used to being cold and lonely, opens up and
discovers life as he never knew it.