"Those are shoes. And that, That's Called A Fool" An Overlooked Masterpiece, by Anyone's Standards
An Overlooked Masterpiece, by Anyone's StandardsEven though it is one of the saddest movies I have ever watched, I originally watched, it is so hard not to watch again and again and again...
You are rooting so hard for this couple to get together that you forget it is just a film!
And after the dicscovery is made, you feel so sad for the young beautiful librarian and all the pain and sadness she went through for nothing...
All the cast, makin and support, made this short movie very real and you forget time for awhile!
The music is almost perfect, the cinematography is great and the library helper is so funny and supportive of the main plot!
NOTE: while her support librarian Niti Chaichitathorn, (Pompam) has gone on to star on multiple movies our lovely anti-heroine has only starred in a handful of movies since this one (the list for her is incomplete here, by the way!)
RE-WATCH: Definitely!
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Drama Special Season 5: Middle School Student A
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Good, but 'Cry Me a Sad River (2018)' better!
What the other reviewers should have said is not that it is s movie about bullying; but more about a Western educational system that pits students against student, and the resulting bullying is the result of such a system!
This was a very good movie for students who find themselves alienated by other students who will do anything to make it in our cut-throat educational system. Unfortunately. MONEY has made most educational systems in this world all the same, throughout the 'civilized' world!
The story is about a new transferring male student, Lee Hae Joon (Kwak Dong Yeon) being bullied in his new school by the top test scorer Jo Eun Seo (Lee Yeol Eum) in order for her to KEEP her number 1 position; however, he realizes that she is actually lonely and isolated due to something that is not revealed until later in the movie.
However, after the movie runs for awhile, we see WHY Eun Seo is so worried about being the top scorer, and it isn't her wanting this outcome! I believe that her untied shoe string is her crying out about being the top scorer in her class; this is professed by her as well later in the movie, I believe, in what she says during her last scene with her (movie) parents.
Her untied shoe lace is a sign that her life is not perfect; something is indeed lacking! Her mind is sharp, but her soul is empty!
His befriending of her made her quit working on her scheme, but she doesn't realize, until it is too late, that the number 2 student in her class, who she thought was her supposed friend Jung Na Yeon (Lee Han Na), continued the harassment of Lee Hae Joon, without Jo Eun Seo's knowledge!
(The same way that the second seat of mathematics at his university was the one who turned Galileo Galilei into the Inquisition, and he moved up to the head seat at the university then!)
Lee Hae Joon was the culprit that hurt Lee Hae Joon and allowed Jo Eun Seo to regain the top score; but Hae Joon didn't stop there...she started further harassment so that Eun Seo too, would become discouraged...allowing others to "move up" again!
I liked this movie, but I wished they had made a drama out of it and developed the main and support characters more thoroughly.
The music and atmosphere, cinematography and all made you feel that you were actually in a Korean classroom; the main characters were realistic in their portrayal of students and the main leads were excellent in their individuals roles and on-camera magnetism....I especially love what Hae Joon did when he finally found Eun Seo in the end (I was worried whether he would find her or not!).
Personally, I liked Cry Me a Sad River (2018) better than this movie. Nothing personal, but Cry Me a Sad River placed more of a emotional feeling and pulled at your heart strings more.
The support characters (especially Jung Jae Eun and Kim Gyu Chul, whose acting showed the real problem at hand) gave excellent performances supporting the main cast members and mkaing the movie seem more real.
RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!
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Part 2 of Director Ang Lee trilogy on "Father Knows Best"
Director Lee’s trilogy ("Father Knows Best") in bringing together family members to create tension and tender comedic moments shine in this trio of PUSHING HANDS (1991), THE WEDDING BANQUET (1993). and Eat Drink Man Woman (1994).
I knew that this movie was going to be at least 'good' movie when i saw the part where Wai Tung Gao (Winston Chao) and Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0509033/ ), his gay lover made up the "requirements " for his future wife that was sent to Tung Gao's mother Mrs. Gao (Gui Ya Lei) and I knew it was going to be a"great" movie when his mother comes back in the next scene finding a female that met the two lovers' "outrageous" requirements of a potential wife!
As i said in the review of "Pushing Hands" review, Ang Lee has a tendency of throwing you a "twist" near his movie's end when you think you have the movie figured out already. However, this movie has TWO "twists" in it, but I am not telling you what they are!
Trust me, both of the remaining part of this trilogy (including this one) are no exception as far as plot twists!
The main characters are great at making you believe that they are actually living the life of their characters in this movie; and the support cast is also very good and believable, including Mrs. Gao and her husband Mr. Gao (Lung Sihung from "Pushing Hands"). I especially like Mr. Gao's playing 'dumb' in this movie; believe me, he isn't!
The parents actually find out what is actually taking place; as most parents usually do!
The rest of the support cast are also believable in their roles, lending their support for making the main cast seem more legitimate.
The music is not overbearing and helps set the mood at various places in the movie. The cinematography is also very good in this movie.
I like the two male leads in their attempt to fool Tung Gao's parents, and I just LOVE the parents actually showing that they were not born yesterday!
Wei Wei (Kao Chin Su-mei /Chin Su-mei/May Chin/Ciwas) put on a great performance as the love-struck renter and bride of Tung Gao; too bad she retired from acting and became a politician. She is part of the "twists" of Ang Lee's direction in this movie as well!
This movie may be watched as a separate movie or as a part of Ang Lee's trilogy; either way, it is a great movie that should make Ang Lee proud for decades to come!
It is available for free online.
RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!
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Verbal "Slapstick" Movie, especially for guys!
The MAIN problem with this movie is which 'version' of it you watch ONLINE:The uploaded film under "Who Slept With Her" online is the only full movie that is available unless you find it somewhere besides YouTube.
The version under the name "Hot For Teacher" is lacking the last 10 minutes, and the explanation of the two teachers who slept" together is omitted (the same way that the film "Lover's Concerto (2002)" on YouTube was cut by 10 minutes by the uploader, changing the ending!).
The other movie, also called by an alternate name of this movie, is about another entirely different teacher in a co-ed high school, not a all-boy Catholic high school! Since I have control over the uploading by others, I cannot change this.
Also, the edited version and the copycat name movie do not develop the side stories at all: for example, Wolf's "problem" is not even mentioned (being edited out) in the abridged movie.
It is nothing more than a 'verbal slapstick" movie to be watched for fun; with every conceivable innuendo about women that you can find...nothing more, nothing less!
To my knowledge, there is no law that says that a movie has to prove a point, or make a social statement or even make a person thing; try the 1963 American movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". Its director, Stanley Kramer, known for his heavy 'social problems' dramas, took a sabbatical and made one of the funniest movies in American history, with no redeeming social statements.
I loved the way that the female lead Eom Ji Young (Kim Sa Rang), known for her acting ability in several movies and dramas, endorsed this happy-go-lucky mentality and created a great movie that any guy, or girl, can get lost in! She doesn't let anyone phase her or make her mad; she simply smiles and beats everyone at their own game! She seems to know that she is HOT, but let's the students - and faculty and staff - let their imaginations run wild and continually flatter her with praise and proposals.
The music, especially the dance music, is great and her and the students' dancing is fabulous in their school presentation. The main male leads do an excellent job pretending to be high school students as well.
The support cast was all excellent, but Sirasoni (Lee Hyuk Jae) is who really made the entire movie so funny! A professional comedian, which few websites give him credit for being, took every incident between the teacher Eom Ji Young and the other students wrong and made the movie so funny!
He should have been listed as a main cast member, for without him misinterpreting everything, there would have been few laughs from the antics of the other love-lorn students and male faculty members.
This movie was not supposed to be 'developed' anymore than it was turned out to be. Just click on the movie, sit back with a cool drink and popcorn and laugh yourself silly!
RE-WATCH when you want to laugh out loud anytime!
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Tongue-in-Cheek Police Comedy/Parody!
This is a movie not to betaken seriously, as the cast themselves make 'references' in the dialogue that this movie is NOT to be taken seriously!The police woman Yang Yang (Zou Yang) does everything conceivable that a cop would NEVER do; especially with a narcissistic police boss, Mr. Huang (Naisen Hou, not listed on MDL as an actor), and a high school teacher, Wu Xie (Wen Zhou) who is not the innocent high school teacher he seems to be!
The movie follows Yang Yang as she protects Wu Zie and looks for the missing girls, breaking every protocol written into a police manual while doing it!
I like the fast-paced action in the different segments, the shootout which reminded me of Leslie Nielson in the (American) Naked Gun movies, the music, the cinematography which also contributed to the comedy and the support cast, which made both main leads look good in the film.
All you have to do to 'change' a female's age in a movie is to redo her hair, slight makeup adjustment and her clothes; again, this is a tongue-in-cheek movie, as Heirs From Another Star (2014) is.
As the other reviewer wrote, she had seen another movie 'like this on'.....I see about 3-4 former police movies being parodied here, both Asian and America.
This movie was simply meant to bring laughter and a hour and 20 minutes of happiness to its viewers!
Don't take this movie seriously.....and watch it whenever you need a good laugh...
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Drama Special Season 7: Explicit Innocence
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KBS should be proud to have their name connected to this Drama special!
KBS should be proud to have their name connected to this Drama special!First of all, every teenage boy and girl, and FORMER teenage boy and girl, can relate to the characters, as hormones start making both male and females start their personal quests to find sex and love during their teenage years.
This movie was so funny throughout; the young boy Joon Ho (Lee Joo Seung), is frustrated at his girlfriend Seo-Young (Kang Min Ah) who seems not to be interested in sex as much as he is...leading him to 'day dream' (you guys know what I mean!) about 'doing it' with her all the time!
Kang Min Ah does an especially good job of playing the girl, who underneath probably is as curious as her character boyfriend is about 'doing it' but asks the tough questions that every young couple should ask each other before giving up their virginity.
Anyway. he misinterprets what she says to him about after the national college entrance essay exam both of them are scheduled to take soon, which leads to more embarrassing and funny scenes!
I like the acting of both main cast members; they portray young high school kids convincingly, and in particularly, a couple.. The support cast, from his uncle, mother, pharmacist and even his best buddies all play their parts well; his uncle , Myung Ho ( Min Sung Wook) gives him excellent advice as to his relationship with Seo-Young, his girlfriend; advice he finds out to be more relevant than he realizes.
All in all, the support cast also excellently support the main cast members and the overall movie; the scenery and cinematography make you feel that you are in a high school environment, and the other locations all make you feel as if you are following high school kids around in their everyday life.
One especially funny scene happens after they all go to the seashore to watch the sunrise - be watching for it when you watch the movie!
I also liked the way Joon Ho's mother (Yoon Yoo Sun) accepted his being unsure of his future; I just wish all mothers were like her! The mother and uncle show how a real family operates!
As 'communication' is key to any relationship, i loved the way that Seo-Young kept communication open with Joon Ho, again with his period with his struggle with his future..
I especially like how they COMMUNICATED near the end; and especially how Seo-Young showed him that she 'liked' him more than he thought and was supporting him!
I give it a rating as high as Jeni & Juno (2005), another movie about adolescents growing up and the consequences of choices.
RE-WATCH-VALUE: Definitely, especially teens and pre-teens!
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MATURE Psychologial triller with a couple of great plot twists!
I saw this a few years after it came out, and BOY, was it a good movie!It starts out with Hyeon Ah (Jeon Cho Bin) plying her 'trade' and being exploited/harassed/assaulted by her 'employers'...
Out of the blue, while being 'harassed' by her 'employer', a quiet man , Jeong Ho (Heo Dong Won), appears and quickly 'ends' the conversation between Hyeon Ah and her 'employer'; followed by a taxi ride, her being drugged, and waking up in chains.
Heo Dong Won gave an excellent performance as an unwanted 'benefactor' to Hyeon Ah, since she initially protested his help and Jeon Cho Bin did an excellent performance, in and out of bed, and made the plot twists fabulous!
Both mail and female leads did a fantastic job on this movie. The support cast, Ji Jeong-woo, also did an outstanding job on this movie; especially in his last two scenes on the film! I would also like to mention the support couple who allowed us a glimpse into Jeong Ho's head (Their names are not mentioned at any film site I tried - Sorry!).
Nothing personal, but actress Bo ri isn't really needed in this movie, but she did put on a few fantastic bedroom scenes throughout the last part of the movie; her only real significance to the movie is her discussion with Ji Jeong-woo near the end.
The music at first is psychedelic, which help set up Jeong Ho's mentality and his actions throughout the first part of the film: it turns more 'normal" as the relationship turns normal as well. That, with excellent editing from the director and editor, makes great cimatography overall.
Not to give everything away, but major twists in this film, especially at the end, make this movie more than worth putting up with some sex scenes and topless women scattered throughout!
RE-WATCH VALUE, especially is you like psychological thrillers
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Feel sorry for future of (character) Lee Hyun...
I believe that this was the perfect length (6 episodes about 15 minutes each) for this series; but, in saying that, had they spent more time with characters' background stories we might have felt more sympathy/empathy for the way these four characters interacted with each other.The two girls and one guy are seeking fun, and fun only, while one of the boys is mesmerized by the carefree lifestyle the other three exhibit but finds it hard to emulate that lifestyle himself.
It doesn't beat around the bush but goes straight in the first scene to one of the couples talking about what "FWB" means on the dating app both are using. The boy is taken back by what it means, but is interested in what the lifestyle entails.
I agree with stawbewii, in that this mini-series is about the "modern way of dating", but I really feel sad for Lee Hyun (Kim Yi Kyung) in the future, and to a lesser extent, Kim Jae Ha (Oh Dong Min). They both are headed to a sad and lonely future.
In America today, 99% of the women want the top 1% of the men. If this is an example of modern Korean dating, they are headed for the same tragic results, as American women are beginning to experience!
I was surprised after the series continued about the relationship between Ahn Ji Young (Shin Bo Ra) and Lee Hyun (I didn't see it coming!). I have nothing against the lifestyle but didn't anticipate it earlier in the film.
After about a month of "sex without commitment", Lee Hyun tells Kim Jae Ha near the end of this month that she is supposed to obey his rules when coming to his house, but he never goes to her place, ever! She was feeling that the relationship was one-sided, in his favor.
What Lee Hyun didn't know at the beginning of her affair with Kim Jae Ha was another surprise that ultimately not ended their month-long affair but also caused the four friends to split later on!
No one in the complex relationships wanted to "give" anything to the other members to which they were having sex or a relationship, which tends to make any relationship unfulfilling for all concerned; Kim Jae Ha said it best in the last few minutes of the series, "I noticed that I had to give up on my ways when I like someone." That is precisely what happens when two people start any relationship, and if you don't give up some of your "ways" there will be no relationship soon!
The cinematography was limited, since the dark streets and loud nightclubs set the ambiance the film sought, but for the length of this movie, wasn't bad at all! The director can be forgiven for a limited use of light and location for this mini-series. The entire film happened in a bar, in Kim Jae Ha house, in briefly in the girls apartment, a two brief scenes outside of the bar and on a pedestrian overpass outside of Kim Jae Ha house.
The chemistry was good between the actors, whose characters were supposed to fall out of favor with each other, and the unlisted support cast did a good job as well keeping the mood of the film going.
I downgraded my opinion for this mini-series for a) insufficient development of the characters and b) the attraction between the main male and female leads seemed too forced and artificial at their first meeting, as if it was part of a script or something (pun intended)!
RE-WATCH VALUE: 60% yes - 40% no.
This series is available for free on Dailymotion, YouTube and MyAsianTV.
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Bound to be a masterpiece as time passes...
This movie started out as a great comedy, and I enjoyed it immensely; the comedic parts are so good; you shouldn't watch this after quiet hours in your house, dorm, or apt; you will probbaly be laughing out loud some of the time!However, a "shift' came about as Gu Xiao Jiao (Tong Li Ya) finally meets the man she initially met in her "shared" apartment twenty years later (though, just 'days' away in her timeline), and found that the path he had taken did not make him the "man" she enjoyed being with in her apartment shared in teh time distortion.
We also find that futures are "changed" with the actions brought about by Lu Zhi Yi (Lei Jia Yin) in the 1999 timeline; actions that affect both Lu Ming (again, Lei Jia Yin) and Gu Xiao Jiao's father as well.
The cinematogrphy was great: I loved the way both timelines weres shown together and seemed to be sewn together perfectly! The earlier timelines from 1999 involved many icons that also appeared in 1999 America, and they must have spent much time on details since the street scenes seemd so perfect.
I see that both main cast members worked together in past movies, which their chemistry together shows briliiantly as their onscreen chemistry is unmistakenly and almost flawless - like two people who have actually lived together for years...I also enjoyed the unexpected short dialogues intertwined within the credits at the end!
The support cast gave their talent and years of expereince in making the two main characters seem so much more alive and genuine, giving more personality to the main cast members throughout the movie.
This should become a masterpiece or have a cult following in the future!
RE-WATCH: A big Yes!
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A tribute to film-making in this time period and Japan in the 70s
It was my turn to furnish a movie for a group's Saturday night showing; and it went really well with the group!BACKGROUND: Japan is on a destructive plate boundary, where the Philippine Sea Plate subducts the Eurasian Plate. It is a triple junction and three subduction zones are involved. The movie has historical significance both in the far past and more recent; in 2011, in 2011, the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, towns like Ishinomaki subsided. 'Subsidence' is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves very little horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope (horizontal) movement.
For its time period, the cinematography is very good, plus what I like is the Japanese use of "model' terrain and cities, which were prevalent in the 1960s/70s as a standard way of showing mass destruction of cities, towns, countryside fires and tsunami damage (as most films of this era did). It brings back memories of my childhood seeing these models being used in era pictures going back as far as the 50s. If you want a look at movie-making in this time period, try this movie!
What I also liked about this film is that I knew absolutely no one starring in it, which made it seen so much more real; this makes the movie more believable on one level. While some would criticize this, it makes the movie more believable to e and other who were watching.
Everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats, anticipating what would happen next, and surprised when things happened "earlier" than they would anticipate them.
I also read about it before I showed the movie, and it is a good representation of Japanese culture at the time.
Other pluses: the few women in the movie kept their clothes on, and no one was cheating on their Significant Others as well!
Take a chance and see a great film about Japan and see what movies looked like in the late 50s to mmid-70s....
RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely, especially for a group of different aged people who want to watch the same movie!
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A Masterpiece from Japan!
This movie is available in several languages, including English...First of all, the cinematography is GREAT in this film! They found geography to make it seem you are back in the days when the movie took place and their wardrobe dept effectively captured the era's common people's attire..
Azumi is an orphan who is found by the master training assassins, who goal is to kill the main warlords who continue killing, raping and plundering the innocent people of the time period. Azumi joins the tough training regime and excels in it.
The only reason I only gave it a 9.5 was when he 'reduced' his assassin team in half and also, their reaction to what was happening in the first village they came upon. Neither were necessary.
The team 's goal is to complete the mission no matter what, and to kill or be killed in its completion.
Tragedy takes two of its members, but the rest continue their mission. Later, two more members and the Master die, leaving Azumi and Nagara (Ishigaki Yuma).
It is pure action from end to end, with tidbits of emotional touches in between.
The choreographer for this movie's swordplay must have worked overtime and deserves his own award for his or her work, as well as the cast, who must have spent hundreds of hours perfecting the fight scenes! A special note of appreciation to the psychotic white-clad assassin, who was released from jail to deal with the assassin squad team formed which was trained to kill the warlords.
I have never seen a movie with Ueto Aya in it before, who played Azumi, but I will definitely look for more of her movies; likewise all of the support staff effectively played their parts and backed Ueto Aya's performance here.
RE-WATCH - you bet!
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Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal
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A great show for kids...of all ages!
Many of the online reviews kick this movie for the CGI not being "up to par" for 2015...Most people watching a show like this are not critiqing the CGI, but simply want to see CGI that works for this particular movie. I liked the CGI here because it seeemd to 'work' for this movie!
Another critic critcized the movie for putting a handsome man playing the part of Zhong Kui...
Do you really want to scare off all the women watching the movie?
I often crticize movies for not being historically accurate, but this is a fable/myth/fairy tale/whatever, not history.
If you read the works of the (late) great mythologist Joseph Campbell, myths change with time and need of the audience, and more likely change over thousands of years of time.
Even if you know the original myth, does it hurt Zhong Kui beng less ugly than a couple of thousand s of years ago?
I found the movie refreshing, entertaining, and only a couple of places did it really show any gore (blood), so most audiences should be entertained by this movie without too much complaint.
Forget if the CGI may not be up to Hollywood standards, this CGI made you believe that the actions were actually taking place!
The main and support cast all seemed to work well together to bring about a good movie and only in one scene did I not think that the main leads may not be sincere, but that was just before the action hit its apogee and I forgot about it.
The cinematography was good, and I liked the angle changes on some scenes.
All in all, I think it is a movie that kids of all ages can watch and re-watch again, and enjoy themselves doing it!
Let the critics watch some ugly guy in another movie....
RE-WATCH VALUE: Yes!
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Only the last segment is worth watching!
Prologue "Tell Me Your Name"- Seo-Hee (Choi Hye Kyung), Nam-Hee (Kim Kkot Bi) and Kim Lan (Han Ye Ri) hold tarot cards and told to chant their names as a magical spell. Once their names are spoken, special events unfold.NOTE: Whoever wrote the profile on AsianWiki got the order and names of the segments wrong! I am using what is used by the majority of sites for this movie...
Only a prayer and good writing could have saved this movie!
Tarot 1 [6:00] "The Hand that Calls"- Lan (Han Ye-Ri) and two of her best friends are ordered by their seniors to get into an abandoned school building. Lan steps into a classroom in the abandoned building where a kid died without anyone knowing. The dead may not want to be alone and she can't leave the basement.
First, almost nothing in this segment is scary: the students go into the old school during the day; there is electricity in the old school building; th girls seem to die from falling a whole 3-4 feet (fortunately, none of the girls belong to any school sports teams, or they weould be off with injuries always!); no one seems to be worried when any girl disappears; and the shyest girl turns out to be the ghost!
Tarot 2 [37:05] " Stay With Me"- So-Young (Shin Ji-Su) is popular among her peers and the teachers. When So-Young learns that her best friend Nam-Hee (Kim Kkobbi) is pregnant, So-Young tells Nam-Hee that she should keep the baby and they will raise the child together. However, a tragic accident happens and So-Young loses touch with Nam-Hee, for a while.
Tarot 3 [1:11:10]"Haunted Boy""- Park Chul-Min (Lee Tae-Ri) is a high school student. He can also see ghosts, but tries to pretend he doesn't see them. Chul-Min then sees a cute girl ghost named Seo-Hee (Choi Hye-Kyung). Seo-Hee can't forget her first love and asks Chul-Min for his help.
The cast, main and support all did an amazing job with this movie; however, without good (scary) music, a good script from good writers and good cinematogarphy, nothing can save the first two stories of this movie...only "haunted Boy" is worht re-watching.....Sorrhy!
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A hilarious 'sleeper' comedy!
A 33-year old "spinster' and statistics professor Kwon Mal Hee (Hwang Woo Seul Hye) has a very conservative father (Gong Ho Seok) and she has ever been ALONE with a man; she suddenly loses her father, who unknown to her, was quite a "ladies' man". It seems "Daddy" says one thing to 33-year-old daughter over the years, while not following his own advice to her!Father lets a strange woman ,Hong Se Yeong (Sa Hee), the university art instructor who possesses her own 'little black book' of male conquests (and her won 'scoring system' ), to move into his house with his spinster daughter; and her deed to what should have beem his daughter's house appears to be legit!
However, After some roommate problems, Mal Hee decides that she wants to know about how to catch a man; most of the movie is the art treacher talking to her about catching a man; in particular the ballet instructor Sang-Woo (Kim Jin-Woo) whom she has known since she was young. Sang-Woo is younger than her.
While Mal Hee is suffering from knowing sex only as a "statistical problem" the art instructor, Se Yeong, haas her own problems with a hidden 'secret admirer" who ultimately kidnaps her; her only salvation is her new friend, Mal Hee, and a few of the support cast.
The movie has a couple of twists at the end, which you will see when you watch it!
i like the overall 'feel' of the movie and the cast HAD to have had fun making it!
The atmosphere, cinematogrephy are great; and the main and support cast all do excellent jobs on this mvoie, and I would definitely recommentd a re-watch occasionally...
It deserves a place alongside the 'Sex Is Zero' movies as beng fun to watch and re-watch!
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The movie's anti-hero is his own worst enemy!
A corrupt government official blackmails the anti-hero Atsushi Wakizaka (Katsuo Nakamura) into watching over his suitcase full of embezzled cash while the official serves a mandatory 5-year jail sentence.Atsushi had fallen in love with Shoko (Mariko Kaga) his student, and murders the man who raped her, after the rapist returns to blackmail the parents to protect Shoko's "honor/marriage-ability"...with Shoko's parents' permission, he follows the rapist on a train and kills him there.
The two problems that develop are that Atsushi was seen by a corrupt, embezzling government official throwing the rapist's body off the train where he was killed and the government official forces Atsushi to keep a suitcase-full of money that he took from Japan's Agricultural dept, knowing he will only get 5 years in prison when he is caught, and also Shoko is betrothed by her parents and marries another man.
Atsushi goes into daydreaming of Shoko running away with him, seeing her come to his house or apartment, which he shares with his 'bought" women; the time he dreams of her showing up at his house and her declaring that she would rather be dead than return to her rich husband drives Atsushi to throw all caution to the wind, and he decides to spend the millions in cash and let the imprisoned government official kill him once he is released after serving time.
What follows is a descent into debauchery by Atsushi , picking up woman after woman who reminds him of his lost student Shoko, and paying them millions to them allowing him to do whatever he wants with them. The problem is that they are giving their money to others: the Japanese Yakusu, to a husband who allows his wife to be used by Atsushi, or the last one who seeks out other "johns" during the day when Atsushi is not using her...
You had to think about what the director, famed Nagisa Ōshima (the reason I watched this movie in the first place), in a movie he made before IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES.
I have decided that he was trying to convey that:
"Love cannot be bought" and (as others have said), greed was prevalent in post-WW II Japan, and (unfortunately), today as well.
The money and his wild spending of it leads to more and more trouble for Atsushi; and perhaps what is sadder still, is that everyone is willing to sell their souls or body to him...for the money; even Shoko, his true love and who actually does come to him when he is out of money, is willing to give her body to him in order to save her husband's cash-starved cosmetics company.
Without planning or any foresight, Atsushi wanders from one woman to the next, not finding what he really wants. He is after all, his own worst enemy: thinking that money can buy happiness, and he also always opens his mouth at the wrong times, not knowing when to shut up!
He cannot keep his mouth shut about how he came about his money, making everyone a possible snitch to turn him in, and he also tries to offer more and more money to get what he wants from the women he chooses. His mouth also got him into trouble with Mari's pimp. played by the late Akiji Kobayashi, who found out about the money from being in prison with the corrupt government official, not knowing that Atsushi is the man he is looking for!
Atsushi runs his mouth to Maris' pimp about the missing money; had he been able to keep quiet, he would have been safe and free of the worry of the corrupt official's return. He even tells Shoko his secret (during the one time that she actually returned to him), which ultimately gets him arrested for the murder of Shoko's rapist.. She, his long lost crush, is the cause of his arrest at the end.
I found the movie to be quite convincing about the immoral situation in Japan, or any other place in today's society, and am saddened by Atsushi's lack of morality, common sense and naivete!
The cinematography of Pleasures of the Flesh is good, in my opinion; but I had to watch the movie twice to realize the Japanese music, which I was unfamiliar with, was actually used as a segue between scenes. I especially loved the use of black and white and gray to impart the mood of the different parts in this movie!
I would recommend this movie to anyone, especially fans of the late director Nagisa Ōshima, as this movie also questions the social constraints of his native Japan during his life.
RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!
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