A FILM OF TWISTS : "BAD GUY"

I seem to be all about famous auteurs with questionable reputations these days. Kim ki-duk is, without a doubt one of them. Then again we can say the same thing about South Korean cinema in general. Korean cinema tends to be something you either like or you don’t I find. Then again, it’s my personal opinion that if you can get used to the idea of doing things a little bit differently, Korean cinema can be your friend. One has to be open to have one’s preconceptions challenged though. Even more so if you are going for a director like Kim ki-duk. Bad guy is the story of… Well seemingly what is a very bad guy indeed. Han is seemingly mute, although his toughness and fighting skills makes him a feared and revered figure in Seoul’s red light district. He and his two friends help run and “protect” a particular brothel in this region. One day, as he saunters through the park, Sun, a twenty one year old, beautiful student catches his eye. The thing is, he doesn’t just think she’s sexy, he actually falls in love with her. In a stage managed robbery gone-wrong,Sun is forced to start work in the brothel Han helps manage. Adaptation his hard, Sun refuses to accept her fate at first; but then as time goes by, she slowly begins to adapt to her new life. The question is however, will she adapt enough to actually fall in love with Han ? Now, if you watch a few of Kim ki-duk’s films, you cannot, in my opinion, avoid noticing that there are a few tropes that he loves using over and over again. And one of them is definitely the “Stockholm Syndrome” that we also see here. In many films, the characters are kept, often as not from birth, in isolated conditions, away from the world (Think of The Bow or Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring). At some point they start fighting against the conditions they’re in. Then they accept them. And in fact they reach the point where they grow to love and defend these conditions. I’m not saying that the conditions are always necessarily as “bizarre” (for lack of a better word) as Bad Guy (or The Bow) but still. When you get over how disturbing the whole thing actually is, it is interesting to consider the body’s defense mechanisms under these circumstances. Ki-duk actually unites this, in quite a few of his films, with the concept of fate. It is as if the acceptance of the characters is more or less due to the fact that this is the way things were meant to be. This was what was meant to happen all along. It goes as far as throwing a bit of the supernatural into the mix (and often when we expect it the very least). And, again as often as not, the endings are happy. Or can be considered happy. I mean, I found the end of Bad guy profoundly disturbing, but hey, the characters seem quite happy… Bad guy and Kim Ki-duk in particular, will definitely give you something to think about. I strongly suggest you give it a go, if only for the sake of having a different experience.

QUIET CONTEMPLATION AND "A SIMPLE LIFE"

Here once again, we are able to observe the clear difference of the Asian point of view to the Western. In this film we have a quiet, understated, yet beautiful story, told in a quiet, understated and beautiful way. Some might say that there is “no story here”, but one must remember that it is the little things that happen in everyday life that make that big old life of ours worth living, heck, our lives are made up of little things anyway… This is why I quite agree that they should be honored. Ah Tao is an “amah” a nanny and servant. She has been working with the same family for 60 years, she has helped bring up several generations of the same family and thus she is almost part of the family now. The only thing is of course that most of her family has moved from Hong Kong to the United States. She keeps up the family home and looks after Roger who is now a successful television producer. And then one day, old age comes to her as it does to us all and she has a stroke. She lets the family knows that she wants to retire and be placed in an old people’s home. The family respects her decision and Roger, of whom she has taken care for almost all his life, decides to foot the bill. This in itself is a nice gesture but it is only the beginning of a different story. As Ah ?? does her best to adapt to her new surroundings – and all is not as rosy as she may have first imagined – a new relationship has started up between her and Roger. Because although he has the option of leaving her there and getting on with his life, he decides that now the old and faithful servant who was a second mother to him is poorly, it is time for the roles to be reversed and for him to look after her… Like I said, there is no grand story to this film. Or at least it looks as if there isn’t. Yet again, when you think about it, in our days of fast-living and self-serving, acts of kindness and looking out for one another is actually big news. It is also interesting to consider the whole “parental” relationship through this lens. In the film it is clear that Roger’s relationship with his mother is a pretty typical one where they love each other dearly but do not know each other that well and in fact Roger begins to get quite annoyed by the little things she does. When Ah Tao moves out however, he is lost. Firstly because of very basic things, he doesn’t know how to work the washing machine or the oven. But then it is her benign presence, hovering over him, scolding him and keeping him company that he begins to miss. Ah Tao may not be his biological mother, but she has mothered him in every other sense of the word, more so probably than his own mother did – it is quite obvious that the family is well off. Sade bir hayat is a quiet, placid, contemplative film whose slow, sedate pace allows for a lot of rumination on what are in reality complex emotions that are overlooked in day to day life. Well worth taking time out of your busy schedule to think about it.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT : "HANA BI / FIREWORKS"

Having just reviewed a French film called “Le Samourai” that has categorically nothing to do with Japan; I thought it was only fitting to review a Japanese film that… Well actually has nothing to do with samurais either… If you are confused as to what the film is doing here however, not only is it an excellent crime film, it is also a masterpiece from an auteur, Takashi Kitano. Now Kitano’s films also have a slight reputation of being hard to watch. This reputation, I have to say, is justified in pieces. But to be fair, it is all about being used to watching a certain type of film. True, the use of dialogue is minimal, true there are VERY long pauses in dialogue and in action. However the cinematography is so masterful and the way the story is told so touching that once you get out of the “mainstream mindset” there is no reason why you shouldn’t love this film as much as I did. Nishi (Takeshi Kitano himself) is a veteran police officer who is going through an extremely rough patch. His wife is dying of Leukemia, but that’s just to start with. One evening, when his partner of many, many years and close friend Horibe sends Nishi off early so he can spend time with his wife, Horibe is attacked and shot, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheel-chair for life. Horibe’s wife abandons him and Nishi is racked with guilt. But he doesn’t have the time to help is partner as much as he would want because his wife is going downhill very fast. Nishi then looks back at his long, distinguished career and makes a decision. Sometimes, to be able to do what is morally right, one has to transgress the law. This may be particularly hard for an officer of the law, but Nishi has decided that he will do what he has to do. The associations writing this blog has thrown up for me are quite extraordinary when I think about it. Looking back at Hana bi and comparing it with Le Samourai (see above) one can’t help but notice the similarities in layout. In effect, yes, Hana bi is a Japanese film noir. It is, however, a modern film noir and so heavily influenced by Takashi Kitano’s very original and personal style that it may be a bit tough to recognize it as such at first. Yet there it is. Nishi is hard not to sympathize with, despite the fact that he is a man of very few words indeed and a rather disturbing penchant to sudden outbursts of violence. The story is sad, violent in places… Yet with all these familiarities there is something different. And the biggest difference I would suppose is Kitano’s own style. The long silences are never awkward; they are often pregnant with emotion; so much so you may not even “notice” they are silent in places. The other thing is the cinematography. Kitano is, among other things, a painter. And his “painters eye” is very obvious in his beautiful frames. While we are on the subject it is also worth mentioning that all the artwork we see in the film is Kitano’s own artwork. Now, yes, we all have to admit, he is “plugging” himself ever so slightly. But the pictures are so good and the artwork is so appropriate in the film, I honestly think we can give him that one…

HANDLE WITH A LOT OF CARE : "AUDITION"

I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard of Takashi Miike. And I am also pretty sure that what we heard wasn’t exactly pretty. I mean, I’ve had to watch a few of his films for one of my modules this year. And Ok, it definitely isn’t what you might call “pretty”, but I mean on a lot of levels you have to admire the guy, he pulls some pretty amazing stunts in his movies – and gets away with them! However, although I did toy with the idea of having a “Takashi Miike week”, I kid you not, I was afraid you might give them all a go, despair of my taste and never visit the blog again. Please note that I am not trying to be funny, the possibility seriously concerned me. Thus I have decided to put bold lashings of “Handle with care” all over every entry of his and “sprinkle” the Miikes throughout the blog if you will. Here is my first attempt, and my favorite of the films I have watched so far. This doesn’t mean, however, that you will find it easy to watch. I mean I couldn’t watch bits of it. But overall it’s worth the effort. Let me try and explain what I mean by that…
Mrç Aoyama is a film director. His beloved wife has passed away and he is doing a pretty good job of bringing up their son on his own. However, time goes by, loneliness begins to set in and he decides to remarry. There is a problem though. He doesn’t want to marry just anyone. She has to be a) quite a bit younger than him (he is now in his 40s) and b) similar to his ex-wife. What starts as a joke with a friend in a bar however, soon turns into a rather bizarre undertaking. Our hero's good friend is a producer. He says they can cook up a film project – something that doesn’t “really” exist of course – then, advertise for the “character” and hold auditions. This way ?? can pick and choose is wife with ease. And who knows, they might even be able to actually make the film… So auditions are held and Mr. Aoyama is instantly taken by Asami, an ex-ballet dancer. She is beautiful, graceful, meek and seemingly obedient. Our hero is ready to marry her straight away his friend however, basing himself on the premise that if something seems too good to be true it usually isn’t, urges caution. Love however, as we know, laughs in the face of danger and so does Mr. Aoyama. This, as you can guess, will turn out to be a mistake.
Now, I will try and explain, without giving anything away, what makes Miike’s films so brilliant and so difficult to watch. Miike is a master of suspense. All through the films information is “eked out”, we are constantly forced to keep guessing as to what is going to happen next. The beauty of it is, that Miike’s stories are so far off the wall, such a long way away from the beaten track that the chance of your actually figuring out what happens next or how it comes about is pretty darn slim. Now this, as you can guess, is a good thing and a bad thing. Because when Takashi Miike is concerned unusual, usually means unusually violent. Or violent in a particularly “creative” way. I mean, I’m a massive fan of Quentin Tarantino. He is notorious for the amount of blood spilled, the profusion and violence with wich this blood is spilt and lastly, the unexpected way said violence erupts. I have pretty much seen all of Tarantino’s work, and I pretty much love it all, but all that definitely did NOT prepare me for the finale of Audition. At the grand old age of 29, I actually peeked through my fingers at it. No kidding. But if it’s adventure, adrenaline and mystery to tease your mind that you want, look no further than Audition. There is a strong possibility it will give you nightmares, but it is DEFINITELY one heck of an experience.

A MOMENT FOR REFLECTION : "SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING"

A change of pace, methinks. If you have tried Miike, his editing is as frantic as his weird and err… I don’t quite know how to describe it, although wonderful would be one way of putting it doesn’t quite capture what I mean… Anyway his weird and … More weird acts of violence are enough to tire anyone out, we need to slow down and chill out a bit. And as we are in Asia, we can go all the way into the mountains, to a Buddhist monastery and do just that…
In this extraordinarily beautiful and striking Kim Ki-Duk fim, none of the characters have names. Not that there are many characters to name. We are in a Buddhist monastery hidden in the mountains, somewhere in Korea. In the middle of a tiny island on a hidden lake this small monastery has one master and one very young pupil, living a quiet, Buddhist life in the timeless mountains, far from the modern world in more senses than one. The pupil, starting off as a child in the spring of his life, will with the changing seasons become a young man. And of course, like most of the young, he will be filled with emotion, passion and curiosity towards the world. As the seasons continue, the call of the outside world is balanced with the fact that the old monk is dying and the young man’s turn is coming to become the teacher… Which will win? The wisdom of the Budhist world or the passion of the outside?
As you can probably already imagine, this film is more about philosophy and less about actions and adventures. Kim Ki-Duk uses beautiful, subtle symbolism to reflect on life, love and the passage of time. And while we’re on the subject of beauty, the cinematography and scenery simply have to be noted. Ki-Duk’s is some of the most, subtle and graceful I have seen, and of course the natural beauty of the shooting location – wherever it may be – doesn’t hurt. There are scenes from the film one could frame and hang on the wall, such is their grace… As for the content, naturally a lot of the content reflects the Buddhist outlook on life. But the great thing is, they are neither over-explained nor rammed down our throats, they are just, very powerfully “there”. Like the old monk, who prefers to teach his young pupil not with long lectures but single, powerful demonstrations we watch, experience and are led to draw our own lessons and conclusions…
It is strange, that with so little happening – in truth if I told you any more I will have given the entire film away – this film is so powerful and so thought-provoking. Definitely watch it when you’re in a mood to think and reflect. As you will quickly realize, there is a lot of depth to be covered here…

A WOMAN'S ANGLE ON VENGENCE : "LADY VENGENCE"

Ok, I’m sorry, but I really, really cannot have a week of “original” Asian films without touching on that all-time great among those directors that are slightly more “original” than others (otherwise known as mad), Park Chan-Wook. And by the way I do realize that the title of the post is slightly misleading in that Park Chan-Wook is not a woman, but the perspective presented in the film is a woman's, so... Mmm, I think we it counts =) The film I have in mind is the last film of his “vengeance trilogy” that started off with Oldboy and continued with Sympathy for Mister Vengence. Lady Vengece, if a little lighter on the twisted side of things (and don’t get me wrong, I mean that as a compliment!) definitely doesn’t let up on the adrenaline and emotion. And don’t forget, I said it just went lighter on the twisted… So do handle with care…
13 years ago, Geum-Ja caused absolute scandal in Korea when, at the age of 20, she admitted to kidnapping and brutally killing a small boy. She is sent to prison, as you can imagine. But in prison her legend only continues to grow, not as a notorious killer but as an “angel”, one of the most good-hearted people ever to have existed. Her sentence over, she is out of prison, and as anyone can imagine, more than ready to start her life over. The thing is, before she actually can start her life over, she has things to do with her past that she must deal with. This is, notably, the man whose fault it is she ended up in prison in the first place. Having had 13 years to plan this vengeance, and since this man is a person of particular evilness, Geum-Ja has an extra-special kind of vengeance planned out for him…
I have been thinking on what makes Asian films so darned successful. I mean, not everyone likes them but why are they so popular with the people who do (I’m talking about the fans who are originally from the “Western World” you understand). I think with films like Lady Vengece, like in Audition (see above) actually, it is the element of suspense. In Asian films the suspense is usually two-fold. Firstly, there is the information, leaked little by little. Watching Lady Vengence takes a serious amount of background effort; we slowly piece together the puzzle of Geum-Ja’s story, starting from the press reports about her at the time of her incarceration and moving slowly on to a more personalized account as the film carries on. Then there is the fact that we are thus led to constantly guess what will happen next. Only the thing is, because the directors of these films have such personal styles and since the conventions they use originate in a culture so different from our own, we rarely succeed in figuring out what will happen next. When the adrenaline rush resulting from this mixes with the adrenaline rush from the film itself, the story, the action and the “reveal” at the end, well… It makes Park Chan-Wook’s films among the most exciting these days one can watch. Even if the themes undertaken and the way they are undertaken are a tad hard to stomach sometimes, in this time of the “uniformity” of the mainstream, I find something original that surprises me very, very refreshing. Plus, Lady Vengence reads very much like a sort of “vigilante” style crime story, there is a crime that has been committed and all Geum-Ja really wants is to bring the real perpetrator to justice. If you’re into the crime-drama scene and if you’re on the hunt for something original, look no further than this one I say. You will not regret it.

AND A LOOK TO THE EAST - TAKESHI KITANO - "KIKUJIRO"

The following film does have a gangster in it, but it is better qualified to be a parody of gangster films; it definitely isn’t a “typical” gangster film. Then again, it does spring from the imagination of master director Takeshi Kitano, so it would be quite surprising if it was typical. Those of you who are into Japanese cinema will know Takeshi Kitano well, and those who follow popular entertainment will know the rather surreal TV show he runs called “Takeshi’s castle”, where contestants have to negotiate one of the most fantastic obstacle courses I have ever seen… Even if it does kinda violate my rule of disliking films that have the director as the lead. This film reminded me of the show somehow, because it is shown largely through the eyes of Masao, a rather sensitive and introverted 12 year-old. The way the film is narrated, the little surreal touches are so well combined with a quite serious theme that personally my mind boggled at the success of the combination when I thought about it later… But let me get ahead with the story first.
School is out – it is time for every student’s favorite time of the year! No more lessons, going on holiday with the family… That is all very well and good – if you actually have a family that is. Masao lives with his grandmother. His father passed away, his mother works in a city far, far away and so for Masao, summer holidays mean being left home alone by his grandmother (who also works) and watching his friends leave town one by one. Masao is a quiet and obedient boy, but he is fed up. He packs a little bag and sets out to visit his mother, armed with an old address he has found. Luckily however, on the way, he is spotted by a neighbor. The neighbor, a kind woman who understands Masao’s frustration, decides to help out. She gives her husband, the good-for-nothing gangster Kikujiro some money and sends him along with Masao to accompany him to see his mother while she “covers for them” with the grandmother… At first, things do not go according to plan. The lazy Kikujiro has his own ideas as to how the money his wife has given him should be spent and the odd couple is thrown from one adventure to another on the way, much to Masao’s mortification, but in the end they arrive… Masao, however , will not receive the warm welcome he dreamt of… Kikujiro, for all his faults, has a heart. He feels bad for Masao and about the way he treated him on the way there, so he decides that at least on the way back he can show Masao a proper good time…
I have to admit one thing, if you are not used to Japanese cinema, you may have some trouble watching this one at first. The first half of the film is made up like the most surreal road-trip you could possibly imagine. It is funny, very funny indeed, but the type of comedy employed is very much “Japanese” comedy. Kikujiro, I felt is very much comparable to Leon, the character from the epic Luc Besson film; both are gangsters and very much children in adult’s bodies… And Kikujiro’s laziness and lack of logic (considering he is in fact a Yakuza judging from his tattoos) makes for a hilarious film – for those who are used to that kind of humor. But then, the second half of the film begins… And the whole atmosphere of the film changes the very moment Masao meets his mother. I will not give details of why it goes badly, so as not to spoil the surprise, but we are brought down to earth with a firm thud along with Kikujiro. He has been acting rather selfishly from the start and feels distinctly bad about the way the whole trip has gone for the little boy. He gathers around him a couple of allies and puts all his strength into making sure the little boy has fun, and since the imagination of Takeshi Kitano comes into play, these make for, if it were at all possible, even more surreal and absurd adventures and tableaus. You might start off thinking it is a touch lacking in substance for your taste – I did – but it is so well balanced-out with the second half, where a more sober air combined with Kikujiro’s surreal efforts (comparable to Roberto Begnini’s equally surreal Life Is Beautiful in a sense) make for a film about an extremely unlikely friendship that knows neither age nor background but exists for its own sake, and that will warm you right down to the cockles of your heart…

AND LASTLY, SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT : "PONYO ON THE CLIFFS BY THE SEA"

Well, we have covered a pretty large spectrum as far as animations are concerned this week. Computer animation, stop-motion animation, adaptations from a favorite story book and completely original stories… So I feel personally that skipping “anime”s would be something almost tantamount to a crime. I have mentioned on many previous occasions that I love animes. And since this is famous director Hayao Miyazaki’s latest work, well… You have to take a gander… Chances are you have heard of it already actually, this one has become rather famous, but anyway, here we go for the ones who haven’t…
This story is actually an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s story, The Little Mermaid. Ponyo is a little fish who lives under the sea with her father Fujimoto who is a sorcerer. Fujimoto doesn’t particularly like humans, an understandable predicament considering what we’ve done to the seas of the world but I digress. Ponyo is young, and she wants to see the world. Thus, she escapes and is captured by a five year old boy called Sosuke. Now, when I say young, I mean it, Ponyo is the same age as Sosuke. And the boy and fish become very attached to each other very quickly. Ponyo is adamant she will turn into a little girl and be Sosuke’s proper girlfriend. But there is a problem. By leaving the sea to live on the land Ponyo has upset the entire balance of the planet. Is there a way to save both the planet and Ponyo’s happiness? Or will Ponyo have to go back to being another “fish in the sea”? (Ho ho ho)
Ponyo is, in a word, adorable. Absolutely sweet. The DVD cover tells us “Welcome to a world where everything is possible”. I can’t think of any better way to describe the world of Miyazaki. But when we say magic, don’t go thinking Lord Of The Rings or something. No, here magic is, well, not less grand but less showy. The details of the film are wonderful and there is a story in every single detail. I don’t know, but it may be the fact that every frame is actually hand drawn that gives the film itself such a unique spirit. I love anime and Miyazaki but was not sure before I started this one. People around me have fallen in love with Ponyo to such a degree that I couldn’t help feeling as if she was some sort of fad. I don’t like fads. I appear to also be a person of very little faith. Ponyo is as sweet and as original as any Ghibli creation. I mean sure, there are some rather obvious messages about pollution. But fair is fair, the messages are correct, so I reckon the best thing to do is to grit one’s teeth and bare it with good grace.

GREAT DIRECTORS MEDLY : AKIRA KUROSAWA - "RED BEARD"

Ok, last Kurosawa for a while, I promise. This, I have to observe, is for the more discerning viewer. Point one, it is three hours long – and that in itself puts off some people. Point two; this three hour film is rather slow moving. But as with most Kurosawa films, it provides us with an unexpected and informative view of Medieval Japan, delicate emotions and simply wonderful photography. You just have to be prepared to patiently watch the film, look for and be delighted by the little gems you find scattered around in it. If you feel you’re able to do this, you’re definitely on to the right film.
A young doctor arrives at a out of the way clinic in Medieval Japan. The young doctor is an ambitious young man, full of hopes of becoming the Shogun’s personal doctor one day. He is versed in the latest western developments in medicine. The clinic on the other hand, is desperately under-funded. It relies chiefly on Japanese medicine, is understaffed and the patients themselves are often desperately poor. Thus the young doctor feels, and in fact is, most exceedingly out of place there. Upon arrival the young man thinks he is just paying a courtesy visit for his father. Red Beard, the surly head doctor of the clinic quickly puts him right. He is there to work, indefinitely. The young doctor revolts. He first is sure there is some kind of mistake, but he is quickly set right. Then he has another idea, he will make himself such a nuisance that Red Beard will fire him. He sets about this, but after a while, his doctors’ instincts get the better of him. Little by little, and almost despite himself he gets immersed in day to day life in the clinic. Who knows, maybe Red Beard has more to teach him than he initially thought.
This is, of course, a typical “maturing youngster” movie. But don’t sneer at it because it is typical. You see the way I see it, a film is a classic mainly if its topic is still relevant today. And although Medieval Japan is quite far away from my personal here and now, the main topic is actually pretty damn relevant. Think about when you first started work. You were fresh out of school, young, arrogant… You reckoned you knew it all, you reckoned you deserved to run the bleeping company. You hated your “first rung of the ladder” job, it was under you. Heck, I even know people who went down the “fine, I’ll get myself fired” route. But then? You saw the value of experience. You learnt. Important things happened to you, you developed… The sky’s the limit as to how the story continues, but you know what I mean… You see the parallelisms, right? Of course, the beauty of staging this in a hospital is (apart from it being a very original setting) is the profusion of people there. It is a clinic for poor people, so the stories are sad, striking, laced with death sometimes, recovery and happiness other times, the possibilities are endless. In short a very striking and intelligent film that you may well find something you sympathize with in… And of course brilliant photography, so beautiful and so clever. If you do watch the film, please note the sequence where the mad woman approaches the intern reclining in the hospital… My personal favorite…

BACK TO THE MYTHICAL ORIENT : "HWAL / THE BOW"

Now, I want to kick off this week with something a little less traditional. And I do mean by anyone’s standard. Admittedly, Kim Ki Duk is NOT everyone’s cup of tea. The Bow, you might find is even less so. I was in two minds about this one to be honest with you, it is fascinating, it draws you right to the core of it and you basically watch it without so much as drawing a breath or pausing for the loo right till the end. But I have to warn you, there’s some tricky material therein. And Ki Duk’s style as a director? Heck, it’s trickier still. But first, the story.
Our characters have no names. They have no voices to speak of either. I know you know half expect me to say they are inanimate, but no, they are human. One is an old man, and one is a young girl. The way they have come together is somewhat unusual though. The old man found the little girl when she was six and brought her out to his boat. They have lived together for ten years, on a boat in the middle of the sea. They make their living by brining tourists who want to fish out to fish on their boat, ferrying their customers back and forth in a smaller motor-boat. The odd couple has an almost completely silent but happy and comfortable relationship. And every evening, the old man crosses a day of the calendar. When the young girl reaches 17 – and she will in a few months time – he will marry her. The girl seemingly sees nothing wrong with this until that is, a particular group of tourists comes on board their little boat. In this group there is a young boy of her own age. Cupid is hard at work and for the first time, the young girl begins to question her quiet existence. The old man is curious and the young man is intrigued by the whole thing… The couple can never be the same again, the question is, what then is the way forward for them?
Now, I do realize that the idea of an old man (think 70’s) marrying a girl of 17 is not an easy thought to digest. I also find it easy to understand why you would find the fact that she has lived on the blessed boat without a thought to her previous life (6 after all isn’t exactly infancy, she should logically remember something) unsettling. Add to that, the fact that the film contains maybe 100 lines in total during its full 90 minutes. In short, I have to admit, you may want to give this one a miss. And I wouldn’t blame you. I didn’t give it a miss however, and am glad I did.
The relationship constructed between the old man and the young girl is fascinating. For instance, he is like a father to her, all the way up to their wedding day. If any of the tourists on the boat try any funny business with her, he defends her with a bow and arrow – and he is one heck of a shot! He approaches her almost with chivalry. And the girl evidently loves and trusts him. The affection between them is genuine and odd as it is, you can see why; if this is the only life you have known and you have been protected from everything except your limited small world, you may well now question your life. Heck, with no outside influence you have nothing to compare your life to, and the girl doesn’t even start thinking about it until something to compare her feelings to comes into her life – the boy she falls in love with. The old man is seriously upset by this turn of events (a typical Ki Duk theme this by the way – love as a kind of ownership), he feels genuine affection towards the girl, has been counting the days (literally) towards their wedding day and has simply assumed she felt the same way…
The ending of the film, well… I will not be able to give much away if only because it’s one of those endings that means something different to everyone who watches it. I only wish I knew a bit more about Budhism, because although one can see the references there as clear as day, if one doesn’t know what they mean, one is pretty much stumped, if you see what I mean. It is weird, beautiful and thought provoking this one. I would get over my prejudices and watch it if I were you. I didn’t regret it.

BACK TO THE MYTHICAL ORIENT : "POETRY / SHI

I hate burying you all in depressing films the way I seem to be this week, but the seconda entry of the day will be another sad one… Add to that the fact that Poetry is actually a Korean film; you will understand why I kinda feel bad about it. What I like a lot about Asian cinema you see is that the emotions portrayed in the films are not “filmified”. You know what I mean, joy and happiness tends to be all engulfing and sadness devastating and destructive in movies. In Asian cinema however, everything is more… Well dignified. Sadness, negative emotions tend to be weighty and striking but the character will not be “engulfed” in it. The smaller tell-tale signs wrench our hearts, which is closer to real life in my view than the other approach. That is why Asian films tend to touch me more than Hollywood style movies – on an emotional level anyway… But I appear to have launched into the commentary already, let’s get the storyline first…
Mija is 66. She lives in a small town in South Korea with her grandson, Wook. His mother has left him with her and has moved to the city after her divorce, Wook and Mija have a “typical” grand-mother – grand-son relationship, even though they are not close. Mija is getting old, her memory is beginning to fail her (the doctor tells her she has to have a full check up in case it’s something really serious and Mija will get round to it one of these days…), she works part time assisting an old man who is half paralyzed because of a stroke to keep the little family afloat. In the spirit of doing something for herself, she starts taking poetry classes – with the aim of writing a poem herself… However ,upon the heels of this little experiment will first come her test results then the revelation of a devastating secret… Whether Mija will be able to cope with these shocks and whether she will be able to finish her poem – or even start it – is what we will find out as we watch the film…
No wonder this film won the award for best Screenplay at the Cannes film festival. The story has so many dimensions and subtleties… First of all, as I was discussing in the first paragraph, there is the emotion. The film is dominated by intense sadness but this is balanced out and made more real by Mija’s attitude to it. Like most people of her generation – especially in that part of the world – she puts a good face on it. Does not let go of her dignity. She searches desperately for a way out and for poetic inspiration – as possibly another symbol for escape – but does it with her head held high. It’s the little things that alert us to how she is really feeling. Mind you, there is one scene in the second half of the film that some viewers may find slightly offensive, but I didn’t mind it. Even a “difficult” situation like that is handled with the spirit of the film and in fact comes completely naturally with the story…
Another thing I really liked a lot about this film is the way the director and scriptwriter constantly play with the concept of knowledge. It’s a matter of not knowing whether or not someone else knows a given thing and not just between the characters; the story “plays” with us the spectators as well, so we are never quite sure when this quiet, dignified little film is going to throw us another curveball, keeping us on our toes, in a sense, right until the end.
My verdict? Tough to watch without a doubt, but it broadened my horizons… Put it on your “to watch” list…

BACK TO THE MYTHICAL ORIENT : "IKURU / TO LIVE"

Ok, you may or may not have noticed that I have, these days, developed a “thing” about Akira Kurosawa. That is partly because I have acquired a rather large box set of his collective works. It’s not that I feel I HAVE to write about his stuff, it’s just that every single thing he does is so good! Well, since I am simply bubbling with Akira Kurosawa’s I want to talk about and this is “Asian Promises” week, I thought it only fitting that we should talk about Ikuru here. Not one of Kurosawa’s most famous films – which is why I want to talk about it here. It avoids Kurosawa’s usual topics, i.e. Japan of the Middle ages, and focuses on more up to date and philosophical topics such as work life, bureaucracy and well. The meaning of life… I LOVED this one, it is possibly my favorite Kurosawa so far…
Now, even if you don’t know Watanabe san personally, you definitely know someone like him. He is the head of a government office and has worked in the same office for 30 years. He has never missed a day of work. He never does anything outside of his daily routine. Even his family, his brother and his son (who lives with him with his wife) don’t know much about him – there is nothing much to know! Watanabe san is going through life in this semi-conscious state and not particularly considering doing anything about it until he is diagnosed with stomach cancer. The cancer is advanced and incurable. Watanabe san has no more than 6 months to live. At which point the old man realizes he has no idea how to live. He has, to all intents and purposes, never lived in his life… If he understands nothing else, Mr. Watanabe does see that this is his last chance to learn. So he drops everything and sets about finding out. Will he find the answer? One thing you can be sure of, his quest will astonish those around him in the remaining days of his life and after his death…
Now, for all intents of purposes this does look like a ‘50s version of “Eat, Pray, Love”, right? Wrong. Never underestimate the switch of perspective brought by the different geography. This is not a story about embracing life Julia Roberts style, or going through a series of amusing scrapes like “The Bucket List”, this is the story of a man clutching desperately at the few remaining days of his life, doubled over not only by the pain of the cancer but the pain brought on by the knowledge that he has wasted over 30 years of his life and now he only has a few months left. But it is not a bitter film either. Sad, yes. But also constructive. Watanabe is sad, but he is also desperately seeking an answer. And as we all know, people who truly seek tend to find.
And of course there is Kurosawa’s masterly touch. Black and white film can, in its composition alone convey so much emotion don’t you find? Especially in the hands of a master like Kurosawa. His mastery and imagination alone makes the film a joy to watch, add to that the philosophical nature of the film itself and it somehow feels more like a portrait and less a film… That sounds odd but you know what I mean… Not to be missed.

FAMILIAR FILM, ORIGINAL SETTING: SANJURO

Some might point out at this point that, if we are talking about Akira Kurosawa, Sanjuro isn’t exactly his most famous work, even as far as samurai films are concerned. I will answer, I know. I was lucky enough to acquire a goodly number of the master’s works and I will be scattering them in my reviews of the coming weeks (so as not to inundated you in samurais. Mom and I seem to be OK with doing that, you may not be though… =)) I think we need to review this film here, at this point because it actually went on to influence a lot of spaghetti westerns in its day. And western lovers will find the theme eerily familiar. It is definately a slightly more “light hearted” side to Akira Kurosawa’s work. We will be reviewing “Throne Of Blood” (Kurosawa’s adaptation of Macbeth) and “Ikuru” that has become a modern classic among other things in the weeks to come. For now though, let us concentrate on the further adventures of Sanjuro.
After his first adventure, Sanjuro (again the quite brilliant Toshiro Mifune) goes on travelling. And on his travels he comes across 10 young samurais. Now, these young men are greatly distressed. There is much corruption in the area they live in, especially in the police department, and they want the governor – the uncle of one of the young samurai – to put a stop to it. The governor however, seems to be sitting on his hands, telling them to be patient. But then, partly as a result of their meddling, the governor is kidnapped by the corrupt officials. Sanjuro, who gets embroiled in the proceedings greatly by mistake doesn’t have the heart to leave the 10, well intentioned but very inexperienced young men to their own devices. He will take on the role of older brother and leader to the band. The “band” will not always be content of this, but Sanjuro being the only natural leader among them they can’t really refuse either. So, will they be able to find the governor and save him? Or will the corrupt police chief be able to frame the poor man for his own dastardly crimes?
This film is a completely different kind of film from Yojimbo, despite the many common themes in them. First of all, there are the samurai. The 10 young men mirror the two rival gangs in the previous film in many ways. They do not know how to act, they make often foolish mistakes. This, like the previous film, elicits a lot of laughs (it did from us anyway). But this is attributed largely to the youth of the samurai, not their stupidity or lack of capability like the gangs in Yojimbo. Then of course, there is the fighting. And you can hardly have a samurai film without fighting. But the circumstances are greatly different here. Tactics have to be in the foreground, they are 10 people against the entire police force. Sanjuro must use his wits to the end to help them free the governor. So, even more so than Yojimbo, suspense as to whether the tactic will work enters the play. And I must say some bits of it are nail-biting. And then of course, there is another psychological factor. We know that Sanjuro is a very, VERY good guy beneath his rather rough and ready exterior, but our “gang” don’t know him from Adam, so to speak. Thus the issue of trust and the lack thereof also comes into play.
But of course, there are spectacular fighting scenes, as usual. And as usual it is laced with that sophisticated humor – almost character comedy – I tend to associate with Asian films. Great fun to watch. So much so that I am going to research whether Sanjuro has any more adventures. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything…

FROM THE EYES OF A MASTER : LIFE AND LOVE "CHUNGKING EXPRESS"

Well, we started off in Denmark, now we jump half way around the world to Korean master-director Wong Kar Wai. Now, if you had this general impression of Asian cinema as being slow paced, philosophical or heavily action based (Kung-fu films) please think again. Chungking Express is an intelligent, fast paced- sometimes to the point of bewildering – and sensitive consideration of modern life. Life and love in general in fact. No big surprise that the name of the film comes from Chungking House, a massive labyrinth like shopping mall in Hong Kong (I have to say, I never checked to see if it’s actually real or not…). Much in the vein of Vive l’amour, confined spaces in modern life bring extraordinary characters together and adventures – real live adventures – take place…
Police officer 223 is not having a good time these past couple of days. He has been dumped by his long-term girlfriend and is having trouble getting over it. On the evening of his 25th birthday, he decides he must force himself to get over it so he goes to a bar and vows he will fall in love with the first woman who walks in. And the first woman who walks in just happens to be a drug smuggler who has recently lost a group of Pakistanis with whom she had made an agreement to smuggle drugs out of the country. She is now in deep trouble. True to form, officer 223 falls in love with her immediately, but this for him will be the starting point of many extraordinary adventures… Some of them life-changing…
What I love about some movies is the way that two completely unrelated stories and genres can be just mushed up together and actually make a meaningful whole. This happens many times in this film, and the number of times Wong Kar Wai has pulled this off is a true tribute to his talent. The entire film is set on parallel stories, only the stories change – keeping officer 223 as a constant as far as I can tell – to make first one extraordinary pattern, then another. In the first half we explore the underworld, then the young officer and his sadness and his (rather bizarre) ways of coping. Then it’s a love story – only not the kind of love story you’re thinking of, it’s complicated – and then it’s goodbye… But maybe there’s a hello just round the corner… Scattered throughout the film, thanks to a series of truly extraordinary but touching characters, are a series of weird thoughts and considerations on life, love and relationships. I watched it in the cinema, but after I’ve finished working on my blog I think I’m going to just check the internet to see if there are any sights were quotes are compiled, they are so good and so touching, I’m sure someone thought of writing them down…
Another small thing, I was amused to find out that this also seems – in a way – the granddaddy of the French hit film Amelie. I won’t go into detail but you have to be blind not to see the parallelism. You will get it though if I say, for example, that Wong Kar Wai will pick up the same theme in a future film, Empty House… I’m not quite sure what it is in Asian culture that makes the theme of two people living in the same house without one or both parties being aware of it come back over and over again… I guess, like I said before, it’s the very confined spaces flats and apartments are set on in that part of the world. People virtually live on top of each other without knowing a thing about each other, it is rather spooky when you think about it…
And yes, I do rather seem to have given a chunk of the second half away but firstly you don’t know how we get there from the first half, and secondly, there is no way you can unite these two halves and get to the ending, I’m sorry guys you’re just going to have to watch and see…

FROM JAPAN : NORWEGIAN WOOD

So, I reckon we’ve covered pretty good distance as far as representing Asian art goes, Korea, Taiwan, murder mysteries (well, sort of) and deep art films. I seriously doubt I could get away with skipping Japan in this context though. What I seem to have achieved is, however, a double whammy. Not only do I get to present you with a rather beautiful and sensitive piece of Japanese cinema but also get to talk about one of my favorite Japanese novelists, nay one of my favorite novelists ever, Haruki Murakami. It is his novel Norwegian Wood that has been adapted to the big screen for our pleasure. Now, in the q & a session later on people enquired of director Tran Anh Hung “Why this book? It’s so unlike any of his other works, and not nearly as “visual” as them?” The director’s answer was simple : It was the first Murakami he had read. He had loved the book and decided not to read any other novels by the writer until later so as not to spoil the emotions he felt and wanted to convey with the film. I think this contains a beautiful lesson, not a lot of Murakami fans like Norwegian Wood (I was sort of so-so about it), mainly because it doesn’t match the “wild” imaginings and symbolism of his other novels. The lesson is that one should try and compare as little as possible, especially when it comes to art. If you start categorizing like that, you will miss the content of the artwork in hand, and although it doesn’t seem so from your biased standing, you might actually be missing one heck of a lot. Luckily, Tran Anh Hung, invites us to stop and ponder this story for a moment, and I for one am glad I did…
Naoko, Watanabe and Kizuki are three Japanese high school students. Naoko and Kizuki are childhood sweethearts; Watanabe is Kizuki’s best friend. Their lives are the lives of all teenagers, until that is, Kizuki, for some reason incomprehensible to the others, takes his own life. Both Watanabe and Naoko are utterly destroyed. Watanabe finds solace in flight. He moves to Tokyo, starts University, cuts all ties with his former town. He lives a pretty solitary life, he has trouble making friends and connecting to people after Kizuki’s death but he keeps himself too busy to notice. Until, that is, Naoko comes to town. They meet completely coincidentally and their common pain is still so fresh in both their hearts that they first become friends, then well… More than friends. But it quickly turns out that Naoko’s scars run a lot deeper than Watanabe’s. Watanabe truly loves her and is determined to stand by her unlike Kizuki who abandoned them all… At which point an original and lively young girl, Midori comes into Watanabe’s life. What will he do? Stick to trying to make the past right, or leave the past to rest and turn his face to the future?
I’ve never fully understood the connection of the story with the Beatles Song it gets its name from. I think I can feel the connection but find it hard to describe… You remember the line in the song “I once had a girl /Or should I say, she once had me?” It’s about… Well commitment to other people in a way. Belonging. And of course, in this case, figuring out where you belong and (in Watanabe’s case) who you belong with…
“The past” eh? We all have baggage in one form or another; very few lucky ones among us have grown up in a bed of roses. But in the end, we all have our own lives to lead. I mean, we have them. The question is whether we choose to lead them or not. In this case it’s the romantic involvement between Naoko and Watanabe, but we may feel a debt, as sense of duty towards someone or something in our past, and we may end up deciding to stand by that / them rather than move on. Whether or not this is a healthy attitude is questionable; in the story, even though Naoko and Watanabe truly have feelings for each other, one may wonder how much of it is in fact based on making each other surrogates for Kizuki. I say this even though the relationship gets physical; the fact that Watanabe is actually torn between Midori and Naoko does indicate after all, that there is a bigger slice of “sense of duty” concealed in his feelings than he may care to admit. I will not go into too much detail but I will tell you the story makes it quite clear which side it is on. I leave you to make your own choice… After all, it is a very personal matter…

FROM TAIWAN : VIVE L’AMOUR! – AIQING WANSUI

Ok, this is quite a heavy duty art film. Golden Lion and FIPRESCI prize at the Venice film festival among other prestigious awards. This being common knowledge, the showing at the film festival this year started out chock-a block. A lot of enthusiast but a few serious connoisseurs too, all settling down to watch a film one doesn’t often get the chance to see… Now, the film is a Taiwanese film, again I haven’t seen many of these either so I didn’t know what to expect. Neither, it appears, did my fellow spectators because from 15 minutes into the film onwards, there was an exodus to the door – right throughout the film (even 5 minutes before the end which I found rather excessive, I mean, after sitting through it for almost two hours you couldn’t take 5 more minutes? Seriously?). My point is this film is NOT for everyone. I find I am more able to watch films like this because I see them more as a job now – since I will begin actually studying them this fall – and I have trained myself not to get bored so easily shall we say. However, well, the film is almost a silent film. I mean, there is sound but almost no dialogue at all – a total of maybe 50 lines at the most in total, in two hours. Which is why half the audience ran screaming (well not screaming but the rate they were going I bet they felt like it) from the room. Be warned.
This is the story of three almost random individuals who “run into” each other in Taipei. May, a lady real-estate agent literally runs into Ah Jung, a street vendor, on the street. The two somehow take a liking to each other and May takes him back to an empty yet partially furnished flat for a night of passion. Little do they know however, that homeless sales-rep Hsiao Kang has got hold of May’s spare keys and set up there as his home. After May leaves for work the next day leaving Ah Jung at “home” with the keys, Ah Jung also thinks the house isn’t such a terrible place to crash for a few nights. So the bizarre trio starts using the house. At once. And completely unaware of each other’s presence. They will, of course unavoidably run into each other in the end, but will this actually help them communicate in any way? You will have to watch the film and see.
Taken in context and given the message the director wants to give, the lack of dialogue actually makes complete sense. Well, it’s big cities, modern life, and isolation. It’s living side by side with thousands of people without even addressing a word to them. Think of modern day apartment buildings. The flat in question here is big, very big, but if you think of small flats, I mean ignore the partition walls and doors, we live in the same amount of space with complete strangers for years and years without even knowing their names. The most basic things, the most basic desires go unsaid. Talk about “The Sound Of Silence”… But director Tsai Ming-Lang doesn’t paint a completely bleak picture. Little touches of wry humor, much like in real life makes one smile in spite of the bleakness of the general picture… I would describe them but I really don’t want to, the picture in the film is so complete of itself that taking one little piece out would really spoil the film.
Apparently the film divided critics at the time of its first showing 16 years ago, well I can see why. It’s hard to watch in more ways than one, but I would recommend you at least try if you feel you can cope with the lack of dialogue… It’s not as easy as it seems but you may well find it rewarding in the end…

DEPARTURES

It is common to say of films “Oh, it made me laugh, it made me cry”. It’s a cliché, but we very rarely think how difficult it actually is to pull this off without one or the other looking cheesy. Don’t get me wrong, I had not thought much about this either, until I got round to watching Departures – the 2009 Best Foreign Film Oscar ® winner. You may have realized by now that Asian cinema has a special place in my heart. Departures is a perfect example of Asian (Japanese to be precise) grace and finesse.
So, meet Daigo Kobayashi. He is a cello player in a big orchestra in Tokyo. He is happily married to Mika – a web designer – in short things are kinda going ok for him. Until, quite out of the blue, the orchestra Daigo works for is disbanded. (pardon the pun) Daigo decides that this is the moment to make a fresh start. And by fresh I mean completely fresh, Daigo considers himself a mediocre musician. He decides to leave Tokyo for the small village in rural Japan where he was born and find “a proper job” there. Mika (who can basically work from anywhere) agrees to follow, so before long the Kobayashis have settled in the old house Daigo’s mother left him. All is well, far from missing the city country life seems to agree with the young couple – “even the rice tastes better” claims Mika cheerfully. And sure enough one morning over breakfast Daigo spies an ad for a job in the newspapers .From what he gathers it’s a tourism agency – the pay is good and no prior experience is necessary. What is better, Daigo’s luck is with him – he calls, is called for an interview and gets the job with mind numbing speed. It is only then that Daigo realizes there is some kind of mistake. This isn’t a tourism agency. It’s an undertakers. A traditional undertakers – they prepare the “departed” ceremonially before cremation. It is a job that is essential – but considered “unclean”. Daigo hesitates, but they need the money and the owner is a lonely old man. Daigo takes the job – but is “economical” with what he tells Mika (just in case). For Daigo, a journey has just begun. A journey of discovery – of himself, of his vocation and ultimately the true meaning of forgiveness…
Departures is a perfect example of the grace of Asian cinema. It is an emotional film – and I am talking true emotion here. Don’t forget that death is one of the lead actors – emotion and more specifically sadness comes with the territory. But this is no tear-jerker. It’s the Asian “stiff upper lip”. It’s normal people like you and me coping with loss in their own ways. Yet, in the same way that real life is rarely monochrome – neither is Departures. The film absolutely forces one to laugh – genuinely. Not “American Pie” style. It is, to all intents and purposes, a door that opens up on a slice of life that we in the West would never have discovered in any other way. Incidentally, this film was born from the lead actor Masahiro Motoki’s personal interest in the profession of encoffining. I can well see why. You would have to watch the film for that to make sense though.
A delicate masterpiece well worth enjoying…

FRANCE MEETS SOUTH KOREA : "THIRST"

The more observant among you, my readers (we precious few – we band of brothers!) may have noticed I am rather fond of Park Chan Wook. I seem to have pretty much eulogized about him in my previous article about him – see “I’m a Cyborg But It’s Ok”. I am about to do it again. Behold Thirst. A film by Park Chan Wook. And in fact, a rather intelligent adaption of the classic Emile Zola novel Therese Raquin. Confused ? I certainly was. But absolutely titillated by the idea of the combo of one of my favorite classical authors(YES I know, I’m square. Live with it.)and one of my favourite directors? You betcha. I finally got to watch this film the other day. And boy did I get everything I expected and more…
Now, to fully appreciate the film – and the intelligence of the adaptation by Park Chan Wook himself and Seo Gyeong Jong – I should give a brief summary of Therese Raquin. So I shall. Basically, this is the story of Therese, who through circumstances, is forcibly married to Camille, the spoiled and effeminate son of a patron and neighbor. She then falls in love with Laurent, a vagabond who stays with her more because he can no longer afford prostitutes than anything else. They proceed to murder Camille to be together; however, murder is not as “easy to forget” as the couple first imagine… It is basically a naturalist novel which seeks to prove Zola’s ideas on the human condition and this is a very short summary of it indeed – I strongly recommend you read the book as well!
Now, onto the film. As you can imagine, it is set in South Korea and all the characters are Korean. Now, the Therese in this story is Tae Ju who is an orphan who was brought up by Mrs. Ra and forced to marry her spoiled son Kang Woo. Tae Ju is very unhappy in her marriage indeed. Laurent however, is Sang-hyeon and he is a childhood friend of the family and – wait for it – a catholic priest working in a hospital. Not a very appropriate euphemism for a playboy? No wait, there is more. He is a priest, who through a blood transfusion that has seemingly gone rather wrong has become a vampire. The only way he can survive is through consuming human blood, which makes life complicated if you believe in “Thou shalt not kill.” The couple will proceed to “inter-infect” each other with their own personal brands of good and evil. Through Tae Ju, Sang-hyeon discovers lust and love for the first time in his life. Tae Ju who is left unsatisfied by her husband clings to him. She is entranced by the idea of leaving Kang Woo and being with him. Especially if this means living (and being young) forever – thus Kang Woo’s days become numbered. All that being said, Sang-hyeon is still very much a priest in his own soul and even though love and lust may lead him to do unexpected things, well, let us say he will stay true to himself in the end…
Honestly, you don’t need to read Zola to enjoy this film – but those of you who have will do so more, I enjoyed the many parallelisms. And please don’t think “blasphemy” right away – this is a very tasteful and respectful, all be it modern and slightly well, different adaption. But that is not to say Park Chan Wook has not added something “personal” to the mix. The film is touching, observant, intelligent and sometimes quite hysterically funny in the way only Asian cinema can be. And Park Chan Wook’s great success is that he can give this whole range of emotions without disrupting the general feeling of the film, a film that becomes rather somber and at one point slightly surreal towards the end of its 2 full hours. It is one of those films that will most probably give you a migraine if you are prone to them or just make you grumpy for the rest of the day. But you will not regret watching it. That, I promise you.

I’M A CYBORG BUT THAT’S OK

Circumstances have led me to a slightly “themed” week. Well, partially themed anyway. And the theme of the week is South Korea! I have chosen for your delight and delectation two South Korean classics. And one of them is “I’m a Cyborg But That’s OK” by Park Chan Wook. Park Chan Wook is possibly the most famous modern Korean director, known for such classic films as Oldboy, Mr Vengeance and more recently Thirst.
Now, if you watched any of his movies before, you might be struck by the general darkness of the themes and of the movie itself. Not so in this case. I’m a cyborg but that’s ok is quite serious in its own way, but it’s basically a rather fantastic love story. The whole story takes place in a psychiatric hospital in Korea. The newest addition to the “family” is Su jeong-lim who thinks she is a cyborg. She is also on a mission however. She must make contact with her grandmother (who is really a mouse and was taken away by the same white-coats who didn’t believe her either) to find out her own reason of existence. Oh, and she must kill all the white-coats to avenge her grandmother. In hospital, she meets Rain. He is a thief. Not a kleptomaniac though, he can steal anything. From your pity to your talent for ping-pong. Su jeong-lim is struck by Rain but nothing will deter her from her mission. However, the other rather eccentric inmates are not going to make things easy for her either…
Now, even though there is no animation per-se, fans of anime will find something bizarrely familiar in this film. I can’t begin to describe what, but I definitely know it’s there. It’s something in the larger-than-life characters. The cheerful décor, the crazy adventures, the surreal atmosphere… Within a matter of minutes, Park Chan Wook has taken us on a crazy journey in a magical land- despite the presence of doctors and nurses- and even group therapy constantly reminds us where the “magic” is coming from… Still, we never think about that for long… The typically Asian attention to detail, the tasteful and subtle comedy, the pure art… A lot of Asian films may be considered difficult to watch, especially if you are not used to the genre. They can be considered dark, or too deep with too many subtle messages for the “Hollywood-numbed” brain. But this film is just so purely esthetic and joyful, I can’t think of a better introduction to Asian cinema. One last foot-note I will be adding is that if you like this film, you should really try watching some “anime” too, I’m ready to bet you’d like it. And vice – versa of course.

SOUTH KOREAN CLASSIC : "THE HOST"

Well, second on the menu we have another “Korean classic”. The Host by successful Korean director Bong Joon-ho became the most successful film in the history of South Korean cinema, gathering 13 million viewers. If you rely solely on the synopsis, you may be confused, but as always with Asian cinema, the devil is in the details…
The Host is basically a monster-movie. The callousness of western scientists cause the birth of a monster in the Han River in Korea. The monster leaves the water and takes to the streets, terrorizing the inhabitants. And at the end of the rampage, just before it vanishes into the river, it takes of a secondary school student, Hyung-seo. Now, Hynug-seo is at first assumed dead, and mourned by her family along with the other victims. In the meanwhile, the area is sealed off and rumors of a deadly virus begin spreading. In the midst of the chaos, Hyung-seo’s father receives a phone call from Hyung-seo herself. The monster has taken her back to some kind of sewer, she has no idea where she is but she’s alive. The family tries to alert the authorities but they are far from inspiring confidence. Hyung-seo’s father is, well, not the brightest bulb in the box so no one believes his story anyway. His brother is an alcoholic; his sister is a famous almost failing archery champion. His father thinks a little bit of bribery here and there is what makes the world go round. In short, the authorities take one look at them and tell them to go back to bed. This, however, is the last thing they will do. They have decided that they will battle the monster with their bare hands if need be, and rescue Hyung-seo at all costs… And so the adventure begins…
Now, before we go on any further, I would like one thing to be known. This is the most successful combination of horror/adventure/comedy I (or anyone else in my humble opinion) have ever seen. No matter which way you look at it, the film is just plain different, and more than a cut above the rest. First of all, the film is easy to watch, simply because the characters are so… Well real. I mean, there are incredibly surreal moments in the film, but the characters aren’t “perfect” and “handsome” and “strong” as they tend to be. Incidentally, they are not particularly well off. Park Gang – du, the father, lives at home with his own father and helps run a small convenience store. The brother, as I mentioned, has drinking problems. Not particularly likely heroes for a “monster-flic”, right? And yet, they are perfect for the part. One, because they are an average family pulling together in a crisis, which is in my opinion more likely than one lone gunman going it alone. (As can be seen in some other monster-flics I need not mention). Secondly, they provide the most wonderful opportunities at situational comedy you can imagine. All in excellent taste and surprisingly when you least expect it. A memorial service where the family is crying after their lost daughter/granddaughter/niece for instance... (Trust me, I am not a fan of “insensitive” humor and cry half the time as I watch the news but I was in stitches watching THIS memorial service)
Thus Bong Joon-ho sways very gracefully between a very intelligent comedy and a breathtaking adventure (where unexpected developments are also plentiful incidentally) without so much as missing a beat. I am personally highly embarrassed I had never watched it before, and am guessing you will be too by the end…