Roy Chow Hin-Yeung's NIGHTFALL: What does a somewhat middling Hong Kong movie look like?

When I first saw NIGHTFALL appear on the list of new additions to Netflix' streaming service, I automatically thought it was a Korean film. The poster had that certain look, and the story --according to the short Netflix description -- had to do with a detective investigating the murder of a famous pianist, so that sounded properly dark and delving. But then, as we started watching and the opening scene was one of those uber-bloody and frenetic but perfectly choreographed action/fight scenes taking place in the shower room of a prison, I immediately realized, uh-oh: Hong Kong! (I've never been there, so the night-time cityscape on the poster above didn't ring any bells.)

And indeed this is a Hong Kong creation, though not up to the level of some of the better of the Johnnie To movies like Breaking News or Sparrow (click and scroll way down). In fact there are two major action sequences: that fine and fast opening and another in a glass-bottom cable car (plus a couple of good chase scenes, as well). But the major part of this off-key but reasonably fulfilling film from Roy Chow Hin-Yeung (shown at right) is devoted to the mystery of multiple deaths arriving a generation apart, and the detective bent on solving them, along with his -- this is near-de rigueur for current Asian thrillers -- pretty young female assistant. (Real feminism is coming but slowly to Asia, if its movies are any indication.)

The longing of families fractured by untimely death is a paramount theme here, and it's handled pretty well, mostly thanks to that wiry but highly muscled actor Nick Cheung (above) who manages to handle both action and emotional scenes with prodigious flair and feeling. The titular star of the film is Simon Yam (below) who plays the detective in charge of the case, who lost his wife to supposed suicide (he imagines something other) years before. Mr. Lam gives a perfectly OK, close-to-the-vest performance but his work pales against what is required of (and provided by) the amazing Mr. Cheung.

The family that gives the plot its goosing is made up of a servile mom (Yu On-on), that pianist dad (Michael Wong, in a pretty scary, "Hey, listen to me revert to English!" performance) and put-upon daughter (the lovely Janice Man). Each is up to snuff, with Mr. Wong particularly memorable in a nasty way.

Enjoyable enough and somewhat mysterious (though I guessed the characters' connections awhile before the movie revealed them), Nightfall never rises much about the level of "just so-so." Despite all the back-and-forth, past-and-present time-frame changes, the film is not at all hard to follow. In fact, it's a little simple minded in its plodding manner, and the detective work on display is pretty paltry, too. Not to mention the coincidences that abound. I suspect that, had this been a Korean film after all (see initial paragraph), it would have made a better movie -- though perhaps with not quite such good action sequences.

(On the subject of "just so-so" (in the paragraph above): This was a rating level that Netflix, early in the game, used to offer its viewers, before it realized that forcing folk into either liking or not liking a movie was a much better marketing strategy because most of the time, viewers will, if they have mixed feelings about a film, opt for liked it over didn't like it. Little wonder, once Netflix dropped the so-so rating, so many movies seemed to become so much more popular. Rotten Tomatoes does the same thing. You either like or don't like a film. A mixed review cannot exist. This is, of course, bullshit. But this is also the hail-the-god-of-marketing times in which we live.)

Nightfall (a rather much-used title) in this case probably refers to the beautiful shot above -- in which sea, sky, cliffs and moon are actually the background for some very ugly goings-on. The film is available now via Netflix steaming.

The FSLC's New York Asian Film Fest 2012 opens today at the Walter Reade Theater

From animation (The King of Pigs, above) to zombies (Dead Bite, below), from Asian art films (a few, at least) to box-office blockbusters, romance and comedy, sci-fi and sports, heists and hotties, retrospectives and current films, award-winners and some that will only inspire genre-audience love -- hell, there's even a South Korean remake of an Argentine rom-com on tap! -- the New York Asian Film Festival is back for its 2012 edition. Sporting the kind of movies that he who Trusts would die for (had he not just finished seeing the complete Italian Open Roads fest and so must rest awhile and content himself with a few of the films currently opening in NYC), this festival seems to only grow more popular from year to year.

The 2012 collection of films comes from Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan and contains just about every kind of movie you can imagine, including some that you probably can't -- until you've seen 'em, that is. (View the entire program here, and then click on the individual films for more specifics.)  There is, 'natch, a movie based on a video game (Ace Attorney, below), as well as another that's an oral history of

Cambodian cinema that was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge (Golden Slumbers, below). There are plenty more movies of every sort -- 43 programs in all (44, if you don't count the classic Infernal Affairs 1 & 2 as a single entity) shown over a two-week period at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center.

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Other than the above-mentioned Infernal Affairs duo, TrustMovies has seen but one of this year's films, the Korean crime opus titled NAMELESS GANGSTER (Bumchoiwaui junjaeng). This heady stew of societal corruption, which takes us back to the 1990s and to South Korea's "war" on organized crime, and then via flashback to the decade previous, is said to be based on a real case from that fetid period involving one particular criminal, here known as Mr. Choi (given a memorable rendering by Choi Min-sik, below), who goes from a bribe-taking civil servant (not all that different, it would seem, from most civilians of that time) to a major criminal kingpin without ever quite being able to completely take on the calculatingly lethal criminality required of the "best" gangsters.

Choi wants himself and his family to survive above all else. But on the other end of the spectrum is a real gangster, played by another exceptional Korean actor, Ha Jung-woo, below, who uses his somewhat younger age, effortless sexuality, and utter ruthlessness to counter Choi. For a time the two men work together, but betrayal is never far away.

How else can one get ahead in a society this corrupt, the movie asks? Many Americans will shake their head in recognition. Venality and corruption run neck in neck throughout: politicians, police, special prosecutors all give the gangsters a run for their money. "There's no end to a man's greed," notes the slut of the moment to Choi, with a certain pride in her voice.

While an understanding of the ins-and-outs of Korean culture would be a big help in deciphering some of the mores on display, most regular art house audiences will be able to keep up well enough with this film, which has been described as a kind of Korean Goodfellas -- quite an appropriate comparison. Written and directed -- both exceedingly well -- by Yun Jong-bin, the movie is intelligent, exciting, fast-moving (despite being over two hours long), featuring a pulse-pounding finale and a denouement (a family party a few years down the road) that's a quiet humdinger.

Nameless Gangster plays twice during the festival: tomorrow night, Saturday, June 30, at 9pm, and again Tuesday, July 3, at 1pm.  Click here to purchase tickets.