FadedBlue_net

Title: Villon’s Wife (Viyon no tsuma)
Director: Kichitaro Negishi
Year: 2009
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Film (@CIFF 34)

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Bare Essence of Life is Villon’s Wife (and hey, it rhymes).  Villon’s Wife is going to be the complete opposite feel of Bare Essence, with traditional characters, a classic setting, and a serious, realistic, adn dramatic story.

Villon’s Wife lives up to it’s name.  It is a period piece set in late-WWII of Japan, and focuses on the wife of an often drunk and even suicidal writer who gets caught stealing a large sum of money from a local food & spirits joint.  The rest of the story follows her as she sways between being a loyal wife and leaving him for a better life.  The story is somewhat sad because of the traditional values in the wife’s character.  Like the ‘good’, loyal wife that she is, she is very forgiving of just about everything her husband does, including cheating on her and stealing her money.  Without giving in to cultural relativism or feminism, the movie is better watched knowing that this is the “traditional role” for the wife at this time and place, at least before the war.

The acting, storytelling, development, pacing all are quite good until the very end of the movie.  It’s easy to fall in love with Sachi, the wife, as several men in the film do.  Tadanobu Asano delivers another great performance as the meandering, drunk villon.  The characters, besides the villon, feel a lot like some of Ozu’s, albeit more modern and less subtle.  Much of the story is very lively, with Sachi either working at the bar to pay off her husband’s debts.  It slows down considerably, as you might expect in a melodrama.  The story even falls apart a little bit at the end when it tries to pull everything together.  Some of it feels out-of-place or unexplained, and I was left wondering what happened to one character all-together.

There definitely seems to be some underlying message in Villon’s Wife.  I read somewhere that it is supposed to be about Japan changing after the war.  This can definitely be felt near the end of the movie where we see girls with lipstick running away with GI’s.  If anything, it shows the faults and benefits of Japan’s traditional double standard roles of husband & wife in the transition to an industrial society.

Villon’s Wife is a great movie for anyone interested in ‘old life’ in Japan, though I think you have to also be on board for the drama.  It is beautifully shot and one of the most believable WWII-era settings I’ve seen in a while.  It’s not really a romance picture, but it is decent as a slow, relationship drama.  Without ruining the ending, it can keep you guessing.  There are several different ways it could have gone, and if the director had taken a more Ozu-esque open ending, it probably would have been a perfect fit.  But the story clearly is leading to the definitive ending given.

Rating – 4 /5

Title: Bare Essence of Life (aka Ultra Miracle Love Story)
Director: Satoko Yokohama
Year: 2009
Genre:  Comedy, Drama, Love Story (?)
Format Reviewed: Film (@CIFF 34)

Ultra Miracle Love Story is a crazy movie.  Note the actual Japanese title of the movie is the katakana translation of this ‘English’ title, so I will call it this name throughout the review.  This title is also much more reflective of the actual plot and feel of the movie.  It really is a follow-the-character story plot that has some love elements, irrational and imaginative plot changes, and is borderline insane.

It was interesting to see a lot of actors and actresses from some other major films appear in Ultra Miracle.  The protagonist is L from Death Note, teacher Machiko is from Kairo (Pulse), as well as an appearance from an actress of the classic Kaidan (Kwaidan)!  At first, it seems that Kenichi Matsuyama plays a very different role from L (and different his role in Akarui Mirai) in Ultra Miracle since he is go outgoing and rambunctious.  Honestly, the first third of the film is tough to watch him run around and cause havok.  Some of it is funny, but most of it equally annoying.  It’s really going to depend on your tolerance for silly and ridiculous things whether it’s enjoyable or not.  Later in the film when he calms down, he seems to turn back into a low-key rational guy like L (but without the ultra logical thinking).  Kumiko Aso is somewhat the same character she was in Kairo: quiet and a ‘typical’ Japanese female role.  As a teacher, this fits her role, though.  The acting and development of the characters are great throughout, which is really a saving point of most of the movie.

The plot of Ultra Miracle is very strange.  About half of it is somewhat logical and placed in reality.  But as we progress toward the end, several ‘miracles’ happen and things get crazy.  Clearly the purpose of Ultra Miracle is not to tell a story at all.  There seems to be a desire to show human emotions and exploration of life through freedom, spirituality, and irony.  I felt that there were some messages underneath the strange events of the last third of the film, but it’s so crazy and seemingly dumb that it’s difficult to understand what’s trying to be said.  This is really the most disappointing aspect of Ultra Miracle.  Had this been really fleshed out or given more time (especially with cutting a bit from the beginning of the film), it would have been a much greater and meaningful film.

Ultra Miracle is not a movie for everyone.  It will definitely not be liked by a good majority of Western audiences.  If you’ve seen other bizarre Japanese family-driven comedies, you know what kind of silliness and bad visual effects can be in these types of films.  Luckily there is very little of the latter, mostly because the film doesn’t try for too much, visually.  A few notable things were some extremely long camera shot (long in time, not field of view).  There were several parts that were at least three or four minutes without cut.  This said, there are a lot of interesting elements of comedy, camera work, and a sort-of ‘flight of spirit.’  It was also quite interesting to hear some thick Aoyama dialect.  Someone who can sit through similar Japanese movies should be fine, but a ‘normal viewer’ should be warned before seeing Ultra Miracle.  It is definitely a “WTF” movie.

Rating – 3 /5

Title: Accident (Yi Ngoi)
Director: Pou-Soi Cheang
Year: 2009
Genre: Thriller
Format Reviewed: Film (@CIFF 34)

Last year, at CIFF 33, I saw a film by Johnny To called Sparrow.  I was a bit disappointed in the pacing and overall lack of anything very interesting besides nice set pieces and a few ‘action-y’ moves.  The same goes for the Johnny To produced (but not directed) Accident, which ultimately takes an interesting premise and disappoints on the execution.

Several things you probably expect from Accident are there, though.  For one, the style of Accident feels like a well-produced, modern Hong Kong flick.  There is an undeniable mark of an HK actor who is suave, resourceful, and especially in this case: clever.  Brain, the lead character, is the mastermind of an assassination squad that works without directly killing their targets.  They plot and engage seemingly realistic events which lead to an “accidental” death, or one which is undetectable as a homicide by police investigations.  The second thing you would expect from this interesting premise are elaborate, well-shot scenes or the camera panning through the situation in either slow-mo or rapid fire.  Got it.

If the above paragraph is all you knew about the film, it probably sounds pretty good!  Which is why Accident is so disappointing.  An interesting premise and good camera work doesn’t save the excruciatingly slow pacing during parts of the movie.  For the longest time, we are watching Brain try to figure out how to go after his last target, so obsessed it feels a bit like A Beautiful Mind at times.  There is only slight tension which ultimately leads to an anti-climactic ending.  There is a final twist that I admit I still don’t think I fully get yet, so I will give it the benefit of the doubt.

The accidents themselves are too few and far between.  There are really only two elaborate accidents, and a couple more small ones.  They aren’t ridiculous in size enough to be really fun, but then again you wouldn’t want to them to be too wild and crazy.  These scenes range from intense to not even knowing it’s happening.  The latter is an interesting concept, since the audience is put in the shoes of the victim.  The thriller aspect of Accident is definitely present in a few set-ups, and are genuinely good.  There are just too many lulls in between.

In the end, Accident is an ok movie that may put some to sleep in the middle or last half.  Coming in with expectations only hurts what is otherwise an interesting idea, but it is showing when short, non-explicit sex scenes are the most engaging parts of the middle third of the movie.

Rating – 3 /5

Title: Ingredients
Director: Robert Bates
Year: 2009
Genre: Documentary
Format Reviewed: Film (@CIFF 34)

Ingredients, at first glace, looks like another derivative documentary covering the green-ness of growing your own food.  But Ingredients actually takes a different angle at it’s subject.  Although most of the political concerns in the films are covered in several other, similar documentaries, Ingredients tries to show it’s audience the actual progress and examples of local growing, rather than preaching the politics of its subject.

Ingredients rightly avoids wasting time on what it’s audience already knows from films like Food Inc. After a very short animated clip of the evolution of the food industry (much like the animation from Bowling For Columbine), the film gets right into several types of food experts (chefs, farmers, scholars) and their views on the subject of locally grown foods. It’s almost inaccurate to call this an environmental documentary, because the argument for local growing is actually in the opposite direction.  Rather than “the environment is ruining, so we should grow locally”, Ingredients says “we should grow locally because of it’s own benefits, which happens to be great for the environment.”

The point, which really isn’t revealed until the final portion of the film, is to show a revolution cultivating from the “affluent” class.  As they catch on to locally grown foods, it will trickle ‘down’ to the rest of society.  At first Ingredients suggests that to really gain the benefits of better nutrients and taste, everyone ought to know as much as they can about the plants they are buying and their source.  On one hand, this is asking a lot of a working person, and Ingredients even admits that the sustainable growing is not feasible in feeding the world, due to  growing populations.  But even if an everyday person is unable to do so, this trend is already set in motion via chefs, scholars, and farmers, as well as a growing consumer population who have already come to see the benefits.

Overall, this is a well-made documentary which let’s the subjects talk for themselves, who seem interested, knowledgeable, and for the most part passionate.  Since it takes for granted the evils of processed food and environmental concerns, one could say it’s intended for those already bought into the green lifestyle.  But Ingredients doesn’t really use those in it’s main arguments, so it is probably the most accessible film of this type to anyone who doubts the politics of being green.

Rating – 3 /5

Title: Queen to Play (Joueuse)
Director: Coraline Bottaro
Year: 2009
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Film (@CIFF 34)

As the first film I saw at 2010’s Cleveland International Film Festival, this was a great one to get me into the mood of appreciating film.  Joueuse, like many French movies (and especially the ones that become visible to the American audience), is very charming, rounded with mixed emotions, and enjoyable.  But even beyond a pleasant feeling, Joueuse goes beyond the everyday-life-drama to contain a subtle inspirational undertone.

The first part of the film follows the everyday mundane existence of this middle-aged, married mother.  As implied, she (and her daughter) become unsatisfied with their low-class lifestyle.  This all changes when she learns of her passion to play chess, inspired by another couple that she may or may not be jealous of.  While adopting a coach through a kind of hard-to-catch relationship with a doctor (professor?), she is pushed both to pursue and avoid her passion from opposing social forces.

Joueuse is made-or-broken by the characters.  At times, our main character’s emotion is black-and-white.  She is either serious and let-down, or smiling and cheerful.  The later is only seen when she is pursuing her passion or sees others pursuing their own.  This leads to a little bit too strong of a push from the major point of the film: to encourage the audience to achieve fulfilment through the things you love in life (or to support your spouse in doing so!).  In fact, besides the doctor, who is a brilliantly crafted character, most of the characters are exactly two-sided.  This leads to a little bit of artificiality in the story.  But if you can buy into the delivery of the actors/actresses, they all develop into a satisfying conclusion.

Although it lacks the uber-charm of Amélie and some other French movies, any fan of those types of films will find something to like with Joueuse.  Similarly, the overall feel of the movie is a lot like other inspirational movies such as October Sky, but it is much less powerful.  In a way, the subtlety of Joueuse makes it more relatable.

Rating – 4 /5

Title: Thirst
Director: Park Chan-wook
Year: 2009
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Film

Some Park Chan-wook films, specifically the Vengeance Trilogy films and Cut, are known for their realistic, brutal violence.  Adding J.S.A. and I’m A Cyborg… But That’s OK, the comparisons by plot are less, but the trademark features of a Park film are still present: silly humor and well-defined characters.  On all three of these levels, Thirst delivers.

Like Let The Right One In, Thirst is definitely a different take on the vampire genre.  The main character is a priest who donates his body to scientific research in order to find a cure for a disease and become a vampire by accident.  His motives are clearly good, and even as a vampire he refrains from killing any humans. The girl, on the other hand, becomes a vampire by choice.  As soon as she transforms, she kills at will and for pleasure.  Her whimsical nature about killing will likely bring joy to fans of the violence in the Vengeance movies.

Thirst never becomes a horror movie, nor does it really commit to a drama.  It’s pacing reflects the slow, method of Lady Vengeance, and is more of a study of the imagination surrounding vampires than the resolution of the plot itself.

Title: Let The Right One In
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Year: 2008
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Bluray (US)

Let The Right One In is a much more serious take on a vampire story.  In fact, unlike Thirst, the ‘vampire parts’ of the movie are not the main focus.  At it’s core, Right One is a coming-of-age love story.  Vampire movies often include seduction or love, but this one has a classic “it’s not going to work out” love story that you would find in any other romance.  But this is definitely not the feel of the film.

The visuals of Let The Right One In are just as gory, and actually even more visceral than Thirst.  The kills in Let The Right One In, which are a combination of necessity and passion crime, are realistic and disturbing in a Fargo way, not to mention all the snow.  The imagery and slow pacing helps to make the small town and it’s citizens feel like an otherwise stable, quiet community.

In the end, Let The Right One In is a better film in almost every way.  The characters are developed better, the violence is stronger, the pacing is more deliberate (a plus to the drama), and ending much more powerful.  This isn’t to say Thirst is a bad film.  If it weren’t for Let The Right One In, I might declare it the best modern day vampire movie.  But Let The Right One In transcends the genre to deliver both a gruesome killer and a dramatic romance that delivers on both ends, perfectly.

While I would recommend Thirst to any Park Chan-wook or violence fan, Let The Right One In is a must see for anyone serious about film that can put up with a rated-R film.  The last 20 minutes are truly epic.

Ratings:
Thirst: 4 /5
Let The Right One In: 5 /5

I’ve been pretty busy studying for exams, so sorry for the absence.  I will be watching a lot more DVDs and blurays in the next two months.  Border’s had a 50% off sale on their DVD’s so I picked up a lot!  Right now, I’ve been going through the Ghost in the Shell: SAC 1st season box.  I hope to finish my Ozu box set as early as today.

Here are a bunch of mini reviews of things I watched from the festival and since then:

All Around Us (Gururi no Koto) -4/5 (CIFF09)
Great, though quite slow.  A family-drama that leaves many messages about living life and the connections between loved ones, especially a spouse.  Some characters were a bit annoying, though it can’t be helped if art imitates reality.

Surveillance -3/5 (CIFF09)
Not horrible, but could have been much better, in my opinion.  Some twists in the plot, some of which are predictable.  But this is no action movie.  It’s almost all dialogue, and awkward dialogue at that, for the first three-quarters of the film.  Probably would have been better as a short.

Chaser (Chugyeoja) – 5/5 (CIFF09)
Excellent thriller.  Korean movies contain some of the best psycho-killer/ detective movies and this is one of them for sure.  Though not as epic as a Park Chan-wook film, it has great pacting, characters, tone, and is interesting to watch.  Some gory parts.  Worth tracking down.

Sparrow (Man Jeuk) – 2/5 (CIFF09)
Too slow, and too long.  The plot is not interesting enough to make a whole movie out of, though it did hold my attention.  What was there was executed well and had some nice imagery.

White on Rice – 4/5 (CIFF09)
Good feel-good comedy.  You kind of root for the main character, and definitely grow to like his quirks.  You can see a lot of miscommunications that a Japanese-American may come across, and this really hits home if you have some familiarity with a non-native English speaker.  Plot is a bit uninspired, but serviceable for fun.

Meatball Machine – 1/5
After seeing the excellent Machine Girl, and iffy Tokyo Gore Police… I knew that Meatball Machine could go either way.  And it was bad.  Bad in a bad way.  Even for a B-movie, there is nothing really interesting that goes on.  The characters are beyond boring… enough to make a user manual seem a worthwhile use of time.  Gross out moments are not realistic or that gross if you’ve seen either of the mentioned ultra-gore movies.  Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this movie to even gore fans.

Tale of Two Sisters (Korean) – My 2nd viewing – 4/5
Although it’s probably one of the best Korean horror films I’ve seen, the rewatch isn’t that great.  The characters are a little boring and the pacing slow, but the ending and mystery is pretty good.  Although it’s a must see for asian horror fans, you really probably only need to see it once.  Compare with Ju-On, which I can watch many times and still enjoy.

Title: Late Autumn
Director: Ozu Yasujiro
Year: 1960
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Criterion Eclipse DVD

Remember the last time you just walked through the park without anything on your mind?  That’s about what I felt while watching Late Autumn.  There is a tenderness and light-heartedness to the plot and pacing.  Late Autumn doesn’t try to hit you with a huge build-up of anticipation and huge disappointment.  Following Equinox Flower’s ending of acceptance, Late Autumn continues Ozu’s tone of forgiveness in family conflicts.  This leads to a not-very-dramatic drama.  In fact, I enjoyed the comedy more than the actual drama of Late Autumn.

The characters are once again what makes this Ozu film so enjoyable.  Like Ozu’s other family dramas, Late Autumn has his usual cast of characters: middle-aged and youthful salarymen (and salarywomen), widowed wives, and the rest.  The salarymen are chummy and have their usual set of silly sayings, mocking their hostess at one point, and laughing at their own antics when their plots fail.  The men act like boys in many ways, and they especially remind me of the boys from I Was Born, But….

The main cause of their plot is Ayako, who refuses to marry until her widowed mother re-marries.  Not standing the thought of her lonely mother after marrying away, she continues to deny the thought of marriage even after finding her mate.  Ayako is a dynamic character.  She starts out very traditional and pleasing to all, but when she suspects her mother of hiding secrets of remarrying, she quickly becomes the spoiled brat that youth is portrayed as in Tokyo Twilight.  One can’t help but change your opinion of her as her emotions sway her to extremes.

Late Autumn combines several elements of Ozu’s other films together, and doesn’t try to really hit any emotion too hard.  One is free to enjoy the comedy, drama, or just simple daily-life of old Tokyo which Ozu does the best.  Because of this mish-mash of elements, I felt that the movie played quite smoothly from start to finish, and is an easy watch.  There are a few insights into life and deep thoughts, but nothing that will bog you down or really appreciate more than a subtle reference.  Until the last scene, there isn’t all that much reflection.  And it’s fine that way.

Rating: 4 /5

 In the interest of getting out my opinions on some great 2008 movies that are up for Oscars out before the actual awards are given, this post will be a small reflection on each of three movies: Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, and The Wrestler.  The reviewed format for each is film.

The Wrestler

Mickey Rourke is up for best actor in this very realistic story about the downfall and clinging-on of past fame of an old wrestler.  The movie itself is kind of a downer, though more reflective than sad.  Some parts are extremely graphic, which really help the story seem realistic.  If the camera work weren’t so good, I would think this was a documentary.  I suppose this is a testament to Rourke’s acting.  Though, I’m not sure if he deserves the praise because of acting as much as him fitting the role both on and off the camera.  I can’t say either way.  To me, this is a great accomplishment.  The movie is meaningful, but doesn’t go the extra mile to really move the audience, in my opinion.

Rating – 4 /5

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Frost/Nixon

Another contender for Best Actor, in addition to Best Picture.  Frost/Nixon is a very interesting based-on-real-life story about an interview between an Australian TV figure with the recently outed Nixon.  Especially great if you like a politically charged film.  I don’t mean this like a nation-wide politics, but on a personal level: similar to The War Room, which focused mostly on the internal politics of the campaign managers.  Nixon is played very well.  It’s a tough call of whether or not Rourke in The Wrestler is better than Nixon’s portrayal in Frost/Nixon.  The main character of Frost isn’t anything great… he is more of a silent protagonist if anything.  He doesn’t really show you his feelings as much as Nixon does.  And Nixon does get very emotional.  His confession confrontation in the last interview is amazing.

Rating – 4 /5

—————-

Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle delivers again.  Aside from Millions, he’s put out some of my favorite genre movies.  And now…. a Bollywood genre?   Slumdog is unlike any other movie this year.  Aside from it’s emotionally-charged “love destiny” story, it shows some of the beauty and dirt of India.  It opens up some cultural barriers between India and the West, as well as shows us how to make a feel-good ending.  You couldn’t root for the main character enough, and one can feel each tough decision that he makes throughout his tough life.  Monetarily, it is a “rags to riches” story, but emotionally, he has one dream.  It is epic and Slumdog is easily the best film up for nomination at the Oscars.

Rating – 5 /5

Title: The Machine Girl
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Year: 2008
Genre: Action
Format Reviewed: DVD

I don’t know how much you can really say about The Machine Girl to convince whether the movie is good or not.  It is a total exploitation movie.  Blood, guts, more guts, insane Japanese things, etc., etc.  There are many lists out there to tell you all the crazy stuff they threw into Machine Girl.  I think this is really the first exploitation movie outside of Grindhouse that I’ve seen where I knew going in that it was going to be bad.  And I mean bad in the good sense, like how sick is awesome.  The Machine Girl is hella sick.

First off, some of the actresses are apparently porn stars.  So if you want to watch for the looks, you’re set.  There is as much blood and guts as a Miike film, though much less realistic.  If you want an “asia extreme” flick, you’re set (just don’t expect anything near as powerful as say, Oldboy).  There are some very funny things that you can only do in a Japanese move, like have an arm tempura-fried.  So if you want some laughs and an inside joke, you’re set.  Lastly, if you like revenge and strong women characters… that’s the main plot element.  Check.  Everything is 120% superficial, on purpose.

So pretty much everything you could ask for in a moving picture, right?  Well.. if you’re into it.  I think for an “average” person, Machine Girl is going to be love it or hate it.  If you’re like me, and Yakuza, chainsaws, and skirts are your bag, then all you have to do is get past the “B-movie” aspect of Machine Girl.  Yes, the plot can be a little illogical at times, but honestly it’s not that bad, and nowhere near the level of stupidity in Hollywood horror movies.  The actions scenes are not too unrealistic, though it seems to be a bit under-budget for some special effects.

I wouldn’t say Machine Girl is better than the sum of its part, because I think that’s exactly what the movie is.  A bunched up package of awesome scenes meant for those who already like it.  If you are in that crowd, Machine Girl is a must-see.  There are a lot of things here that I’ve never seen before in a movie, including one of the grossest scenes ever (the mom getting stabbed).  Usually gross-out scenes stop at the first or second level.  This one goes one more (or 11 in Spinal Tap terms).

Note: The DVD extras are short, but fun to watch.

Rating – 4 /5