I've almost written off the Japan Film Festival in LA for it's lack of content that isn't depressing or about the Tsunami. Eiga Fest has taken it's place, showcasing a large collection of both mainstream films and more intricate pieces of Japanese culture.
I mention it as a precursor to the feelings of the Chinese Onscreen Biennial, a festival lacking any movie that would be uplifting. Every film in it seems like someone talking to so someone about to jump off a bridge and saying, "Just put one foot first and fall." If you are feeling moody or of a darker demeanor than the films, all with no heroes, all lacking some sort of hope, than watch them.
"A Touch of Sin" recommended by LAist looks to be the most action oriented film "based on true events" and filled with feverishly harsh violence. The rest of the films, that its own site idolizes, sound like artsy over-hyped messes of annoyance.
If you want to win over American audiences, send over something they might like, not a film adapted about the story of an Uncle who owned a kindergarten, whose put in jail for ten years, then reopens the kindergarten.
