WOOCHI kicks off Fantastic Fest for Harry with whimsical wonders and fantasy!

Hey folks Harry here working on my iPad at Fantastic Fest! just got out of my first film of the fest, called WOOCHI about a feudal era would be wizard and all around scoundrel named Woochi. in many ways this struck me as a slightly more whimsical version of Dia De La Bestia or Timur's Nightwatchor Daywatch. About five hundred years ago some very mystical shit went down with three Taoist gods, weird animal spirit goblins and Woochi with his dog, who is mostly in human form, but does get used as a horse. This film was an absolute delight, the type of film that I come to Fantastic Fest for. It spans feudal era Korea as well as modern day. The effects are so much fun. The animal spirits are incredibly badass, they're done with CG - but it really put NARNIA to shame. At a pure design stand point and at a dynamic level. WOOCHI might have had a few too Some day we'll see this kinda fantasying western films, the closest we have is Terry Gilliam and the recent Stardust. Director Dong Hun Choi is someone to keep an eye on. The sheer whimsy and fun of this film has really stuck with me over the course of this first day of FANTASTIC FEST. As I'm sitting here putting the finishing touches on a few of these festival write-ups - it just struck me that this is a little bit like a live action Miyazaki mysticism type film. The way Wizards move is so cool. If you love Stephen Chow's amazing A CHINESE ODYSSEY - then you're very likely to love this. This is less silly, more polished, perhaps less quirkily brilliant - but damn it makes me happy to even think about it. now it is time for 14 BLADES, just want to get as many mini reviews during the fest. See y'all 'round!