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"Fine dust is hard to see, we forget about it, though it's everywhere"
Fair warning, Dust-Man is the type of film I enjoy--independent, centered around art, and involved redemption. The filming, music, and acting were not polished, but somewhere it just hit that sweet spot of theatrical enjoyment for me.Tae San is homeless and looks out for Mr. Kim, an older man, and Do Joon who is in his 30s like Tae San. One night Tae San observes a young woman painting a mural in a small tunnel. When he returns the next night, the city has painted the walls white. Mo Ah passes by and tells him it’s okay, she does these murals to force the city to clean up these spaces. Tae San shows her how to create art on the fine dust collected on cars and other surfaces. The two develop a friendship over art that is only held back by the darkness of Tae San’s past.
I enjoyed the impermanent art created by the two, art that would eventually be blown, wiped, or washed away. The two understood that art didn’t have to be permanent to be meaningful. Their images showed what was, what is, and what could be, hampered only by their imagination. Though Tae San’s art was unbounded, his life was a cage created by his memory. Until he found the key to unlock the door he was stuck on an “endless journey.”
Homelessness was portrayed as a life choice with the three men shown which was not very accurate. Most homelessness is caused by unaffordable housing, unsustainable wages and poverty, substance abuse, health issues, and mental illness. For women, abusive relationships can drive them out to the streets with children. Despite the white washed version, the director did try to show that homelessness, like fine dust, was everywhere, but often invisible. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And like personal problems and pain, it needed to be faced. Tae San’s art and friendship with Mo Ah revealed the key he had hidden under mounds of dust and ash. Dust-Man was gritty and unpolished but showed that dreams could be carried by the dust in the wind*.
28 August 2025
*Apologies to Kansas/Dust in the Wind for applying the same term
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"Don't blame me if I don't fight fair"
Ten Tigers from Kwangtung is a kung fu cult classic. It boasted an all-star cast, had non-stop kung fu action from the beginning to the end and…meh. Maybe I was in the wrong mood, but I need a little story to break up the continuous fists and kicks.Five young Tiger apprentices are being hunted by two Qings bent on revenge. The Ten Tigers of Kwangtung had killed a general so his son and an official are looking to even the score. Though the five young men had nothing to do with with the death, if you can’t kill the one you want, then kill the one you’re with (a rif on the Stephen Stills song from 1970). The story rewinds to show how the Ten Tigers formed their rebellious band.
This cast was loaded. Ti Lung played the leader of the Ten. Alexander Fu Sheng was the annoying Tam Ming who tested the members’ skills and patience. All six Venoms eventually joined the Ten. Johnny Wang played the Qing general in an understated performance for him. Ku Feng was the rebel leader being protected by the numerical crew. Wong Lik shone as the menacing Qing official in the present who had a variety of lethal weapons hidden on his person and wasn’t afraid to fight dirty. “Don’t blame me for not fighting fair.” The always maligned Qings lost their head when confronted with the Venoms and learned that a spear will go through two as easy as one.
Fair warning, this was a Chang Cheh film which meant the blood spewed freely and forcefully. Many of the fighters were stuck in bad Bruce Lee wigs with pigtails awkwardly tacked on. The dubbing was atrocious, lips and dialogue didn’t always match up. That often happened when scripts were written on the fly and the actual dialogue was dubbed in later, but seemed rather egregious in this bigger budget flick. I recognized several of the sets which hadn’t been demolished in previous CC movies serving as murder scenes in this one.
The martial arts choreography was okay and standard for the time in the flashbacks, though some of the action bordered on kung fu posing. Fortunately, Phillip Kwok and Lu Feng could be counted on to bring the acrobatic charm. Ti Lung and Johnny Wang had a battle with a weapon I’d never seen before—a mermaid cudgel. During the present, the youngsters’ fights against Wong Lik and Chen Shu Chi in the final 30 minutes were the fastest and most creative.
Ten Tigers from Kwangtung would have benefited from some white space on the page to give the viewers a mental breather from the constant kung fu. Despite my complaints, it was fun to see this festival of favorites in one film. And it gave several smaller players with skills who were often relegated to bit roles time to shine. I wasn’t as crazy about this film as kung fu film aficionados tend to be, but if you enjoy these old films, it’s one to try. As always, I grade kung fu flicks on a curve.
22 August 2025
Trigger Warnings: Dismemberments and lots of spewing blood.
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What I liked:
The production values were high. The cinematography and music were all slick.
The acting was quite good, there were the occasional clunkers, but for the most part, the characters were convincing.
Unlike a lot of dramas who won’t go there, the stakes were high for both swindlers and victims.
What didn’t work for me:
(Vague, but slightly spoilery)
This has been done before. Many times. I kept waiting for Takumi to show that he had been stinging Harrison, but alas he just wasn’t that bright. The twist was evident from the beginning because, it is a tired old trope that needs to be retired instead of retread.
The sinning nun made no sense to me. Sell the temple and go get her freak on whenever she wanted. Were there bodies buried there?
Harrison’s business model wasn’t sustainable. Word was bound to get out. Should have already been common knowledge.
None of the characters were likeable, especially Takumi. He might have a boyish face, be able to hang in there like a stallion, and been the victim at one time, but he kept the cycle of devastation, death, and revenge rotating. Hardly a sympathetic cause. For 5 years he had access to all sorts of information, yet he failed at the one thing he was supposed to be searching for which others found overnight. Harrison may have been right.
To sum up (no spoilers):
Tokyo Swindlers examined how far people will go to possess land and how far swindlers will go to make them think they are acquiring it. Too often victims are left financially ruined with little to no recourse. Even if the crooks are caught and spend a few years in jail, they still have access to the ill-gotten gains in secret offshore accounts making the risks worth it. In this drama, the police were hardly a threat, it was the “no honor among thieves” that held a knife or a piano wire to the throats of the swindlers. A short, cynical, at times gory watch.
18 August 2025
IF YOU HAVE TRIGGERS be forewarned:
Sexual Content, Gory Death scenes, Vomiting, and Drug Use
My personal pet peeve: The black character was the only uneducated, poorly dressed grifter :/
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"It's important to see everything around us well"
I have to say, I have not been a great fan of Lee Chang Dong’s work. That changed with Poetry. Despite the difficult subjects, a shred of humanity and dignity survived.Though barely making ends meet while taking care of her sullen grandson, Yang Mi Ja dresses well and is always composed. She works as a caregiver for an older man who has had a stroke. Passing by a notice she sees there is a poetry class being offered. For over 50 years she has harbored a secret desire to write poetry and begins the class. The students are challenged to really look at the world around them, to dive below the surface and discover the beauty hidden in plain sight. Mija’s world is rocked when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But worse than that she’s informed her grandson has a connection to a young girl’s suicide.
Yoon Jeong Hee was mesmerizing as Mija. Always polite and soft spoken, hiding her true emotions, until they spill over in the rain. Mija sees and empathizes with a grieving mother and joins her by grieving the loss of an innocent child, brutalized by cruel boys. The other parents and the school heartlessly only care for burying the truth with the body, for boys’ live and futures must be protected no matter how reprehensible and inhumane their actions. Mija faces the painful reality in her family with a higher vision. A more poignant game of badminton you are likely to never see. Knowing her independent time was on a countdown, Mija looked for what was beautiful, what was true and gave witness to it. In doing that she gave Agnes a voice, recognizing her life, her love, and her loss.
14 August 2025
“Agnes’ Song”
How is it over there?
How lonely is it?
Is it still glowing red at sunset?
Are the birds still singing on the way to the forest?
Can you receive the letter I dared not send?
Can I convey the confession I dared not make?
Will time pass and roses fade?
Now it’s time to say goodbye
Like the wind that lingers and then goes, just like the shadows
To promises that never came
To the love sealed till the end
To the grass kissing my weary ankles
and to the tiny footsteps following me
It’s time to say goodbye
Now as darkness falls
Will a candle be lit again?
Here I pray
Nobody shall cry and for you to know
how deeply I loved you
The long wait in the middle of a hot summer day
An old path resembling my father’s face
Even the lonesome wildflower shyly turning away
How deeply I loved
How my heart fluttered at hearing your faint song
I bless you
Before crossing the black river,
with my soul’s last breath
I am beginning to dream
A bright sunny morning
Again I wake, blinded by the light
and meet you standing by me.
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"The patterns you see may be different but the beads inside never change"
Jin is a 2009 time travel drama that has held up surprisingly well. The acting, sets, and music do not seem out of step fifteen years later. Set during the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate there was plenty of political turmoil roiling around the main characters as Jin sought to train medical students and tend to patients while trying not to obliterate the timeline.Dr. Minakata Jin has been treading water as a surgeon ever since his failed surgery on his fiancé ended with her languishing in a coma. After performing an emergency surgery on a patient with a brain tumor, he removes the tumor that has the appearance of a fetus. Later, the patient steals a medical bag and the tumor, attempting to run away. In his efforts to stop him, Jin falls down the stairs and into 1862 Edo. He becomes involved with the family of a young samurai who saves his life. From there he makes the acquaintance of Sakamoto Ryoma and later the famous courtesan Nokaze. Gradually, he sees more patients and becomes more involved with the people and politics of the time. He’s determined to expand Japan’s medical field hoping it will save Miki in the future and that he can return to his time period and her.
Despite the political upheaval and Jin pretty much dropping from the sky, nearly everyone was accepting of him. It helped when the doctor had seemingly godlike powers compared to their current medicine. Jin’s fish out of water concerns were largely minimized and enemies often became friends rather quickly. Much of the conflict dwelled on Jin worrying that his actions would change history detrimentally, especially for Miki. Young Saki hero worshipped Jin and determined to be a doctor herself, much to her mother’s chagrin. Another woman fell for Jin, but the doctor only had eyes for his fading Miki and improving the medical procedures and medications for the day.
Season 1 was largely a feel-good drama with Jin saving people who were usually neglected. The comradery continued to build with other doctors and leaders as well as the reckless Ryoma (with actor Uchino Seiyou channeling his best Mifune Toshiro impression). The biggest complaint I had was that the drama had trouble nailing down their time travel rules and Jin’s motivation. Other than that, I found it to be quite enjoyable.
27 July 2025
8.25 rounded down to an 8.0
Trigger warning: Graphic surgery scenes if you are sensitive. They also faced a cholera outbreak which meant diarrhea and vomiting scenes.
Funny note: the characters run a lot. I found myself going, “Run, Sensei, run!” as the drama progressed.
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"True love often conflicts with reason"
When I hit play on Naruse Mikio’s coming of age film, Spring Awakens, I was not expecting a 1947 version of a sex education class but that’s what I got. There was nothing graphic, it was 1947 Japan after all, but I was surprised at the frank talk about questions raised by the six young adolescents.Kumiko and her friends Hanae and Kyoko discover the reason Kumiko’s maid has been fired is because she’s “in love”. Hanae introduces the girls to her brother’s buddies-Koji and Noshiro. Gossip around the maid brings up numerous questions to parents centering around, “Is love wrong?” The girls’ school physical which involves measuring their breasts (seriously, why?) leads to laughter about different sizes and shapes. Crushes between the six members of the friends’ gang also cause the teens to develop funny feelings in their hearts and bodies. Another question repeatedly asked by the girls is “where do babies come from?” Some of the parents are better equipped at answering the uncomfortable questions while others stick their heads in the sand.
Kuga Yoshiko at 16 and starring in only her second film, did a superb job playing the emotional rollercoaster of adolescence. Yumiko’s mother was very strict and her rules about boys could be summed up as, “Don’t look at them, don’t be around them, and for Pete’s sake don’t touch one!” Most importantly, “Don’t ask me where babies come from!” On the flipside, Koji’s father played by the always reliable Shimura Takashi, doled out helpful, loving advice to his son and those who came to him needing guidance. Other parents were also more “lenient.”
The film showed how important sex education can be. When girls don’t know where babies come from, they are liable to end up carrying one or fear they have become pregnant from a kiss. The old adage brought up in this film that it’s better to keep girls in the dark or else they might act on their newly found knowledge was as useless then as now. Teenagers’ hormone fueled curiosity and new appreciation for the opposite sex and their own changing bodies can only benefit from correct information and adults they know they can talk with about anything. The film discussed menstruation without the girls understanding what role the monthly cycle played in their sexual health. When adults told them that married love or the gods conjured up babies, I guess that knowledge was beside the point. Given that the girls were lectured about the “right kind of love” and “not making any mistakes before marriage”, crucial data was being withheld from them. Despite one of the school girls stating that girls and boys were equal, it was clear in the film that they were still rigidly defined by social traditions and the patriarchy. I’ll step down from my soapbox…
Kumiko and Kyoko read “lewd” romantic poetry including “Im Wundershoenen Monat Mai” by German writer Heinrich Heine (1797-1856). I love when Naruse walked the wild subversive side. The author he chose had to leave Germany to live in France because his works were considered obscene, often banned, and he held radical ideas about democracy. Another unexpected scene was when a pregnant teenager’s mother was advised to support and love her child instead of shunning her. Also, who else besides Naruse would have girls drawing boobies on a school chalkboard in 1947?
Spring Awakens was actually a delightful coming of age/slice of life film with gentle humor and sweet first loves. The teen friendships and crushes were realistic as well as their burgeoning desire to know more about their feelings and bodies and those of the opposite sex. The film occasionally drifted into Afterschool Special lectures but overcame the bouts of preachiness with charming characters and performances. Children began to stretch their boundaries and parents learned the best they could hope to be were supportive guardrails.
“’Twas in the glorious month of May,
When all the buds were blowing
I felt, ah me, how sweet it was!
Love in my heart a-growing.
‘Twas in the glorious month of May.”
-Heinrich Heine
26 June 2025
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"Salvation is never painless"
I had great hopes for Confession as it starred So Ji Sub and Kim Yoon Jin (Lost’s Sun!). Instead of a sexy or cerebral thriller, I was treated to one of villainy’s lower wattage killers. While it had a nice little twist, it came so late in the film that I’d already emotionally checked out.Yoo Min Ho is under investigation for the murder of his mistress, Kim Se Hui. It was a locked room killing, with only Yoo and the deceased Kim in the room. When Yoo meets with his new lawyer, Yang Sin Ae, at his remote cabin near a lake in the snowy woods, the stories of what really happened are slowly revealed.
Very slowly revealed. The story had potential, but the unraveling of the lies and the truth came across too clinically and illogically. By the time the denouement arrived, it was too little too late for me. I don’t want to spoil anything for potential viewers who have never watched a suspense drama like this and will quite probably have a better experience. In the end, for me, Confession ticked off all the requisite suspense boxes while stretching logic and police procedures to the breaking point.
21 May 2025
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Mainly a recap of the drama
When I watched My Housekeeper Nagisa-san on Netflix it showed 10 episodes, so I watched 10, or at least tried to. The events in episode 10 began not long after the events in episode nine. It was only when I came to MDL to add the drama to my Watched List that I discovered the 10th episode was a solo affair.
If you don't want to watch My Housekeeper Nagisa-san or you are short on time you could just watch this recap of the drama to get the gist. Most of the highlights of the nine-episode drama were shown. After a negative introduction to the special, the recaps began in earnest. There were a few new mini-scenes that were interspersed. Unless you are a diehard fan that wants to relive the drama, or catch a glimpse into the future for some of the characters, it is definitely skippable. Or fast-forwardable. Or skippable.
11 May 2025
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"Go is a fight against yourself"
The Match starring Lee Byung Hun and Yoo Ah In was based on South Korea’s great Go player Cho Hun Hyeon and the student he trained who eventually surpassed his master, Lee Chang Ho. The pacing of this film was similar to a slice of life. The conflicts weren’t insurmountable and there were no villains. Everyone loved the game, hated losing and saw their opponents across the table as the enemy. But those enemies weren’t afraid to be a friend away from the stones.In 1982 Cho Hun Hyeon became a national hero when he won the 1st Ing Cup, an international Go competition where Cho was the only invited Korean participant. Two years later through an acquaintance, he is introduced to the young Lee Chang Ho, an arrogant and self-trained Go player who takes on all comers, even Cho. When Cho observes his raw talent, he takes him on as a student and invites him to live in Seoul with Cho and his family. Lee gradually develops his own Go strategy which is at odds with Cho’s. The two gifted players travel along a competitive trajectory which will test their relationship.
Despite being devoted to the game of Go and hating to lose, Cho believed in a detached attitude which fit Lee Chang Ho's personality as well. Both were also capable of arrogance. Their approaches to the game were complete opposites. Cho quickly attacked, Lee methodically defended. Cho may initially have had a mental set-back as his student surpassed him, but both men refused to allow bitterness to enter their relationship. Thankfully, the film didn’t try to overexaggerate the growing pains the two faced.
Lee Byung Hun as Cho gave a restrained performance as would be expected of this composed Go player. If Byung Hun had to reel in his emotions, Yoo Ah In, had to swallow them in order to convey the slow growth of “The Stone Buddha.” The legendary Go competitors were in safe hands with these two actors. Jo Woo Jin gave a lovely performance as the defeated competitor of both, and also someone who offered the student and teacher the encouraging words needed at just the right times.
The Match’s soundtrack wonderfully matched the events taking place with the final epic battle perfectly told through the music. Go was played with black and white stones, yet the game displayed a wide range of battle plans, just as the relationships weren’t black and white, showing a range of nuance.
“Go is about trying to find answers when there are no answers.”
8 May 2025
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"When it rains, I want to see you even more"
Yunbogi’s Diary was released in 1965, the year relations between South Korea and Japan were normalized. This boy’s diary was also, if not the first, one of the first Korean books published in Japan after the normalization. Though officially things had been worked out there were still unresolved feelings and issues between the two countries. Yubogi’s story was not only his own, but represented the stories of thousands of impoverished Korean children at the time.Yunbogi is a ten-year-old boy taking care of three younger siblings. After his mother left them with their ailing father, it fell upon this child to earn enough money to feed them. His sister, Sun, also worked selling gum on the streets with him. Yunbogi goes on to work various jobs---goat herding, shoe shining, anything to bring in money. Yet still the tiny family is starving.
Director Oshima Nagisa used stills of Korean children set to music with voice overs by children and himself. He took the pictures while doing research for the short film. Ostensibly he hoped to coax guilt from the Japanese regarding their destructive occupation and the long-term consequences for the people. He also hoped to evoke compassion for the Korean people most adversely affected…the children. Japanese policies had gutted the country leaving the citizens in a deadly precarious position after WWII and then exasperated by the Korean War. Japan’s economy had turned for the better by 1960, but South Korea was still struggling. Oshima controversially highlighted the disparity by showing images of children and conveying the damning words of a 10-year-old boy desperately working to keep his siblings alive. Yunbogi’s spirit was strong, condensing into a powerful resiliency as he was knocked down again and again. Despite that resiliency, he was also a child who was willing to starve to death if it meant his mother would return home.
“Chili peppers when boiled down become even hotter. Barley dies and sprouts anew.”
4 May 2025
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"The Pig and the Pearl"
The Neighbor’s Wife and Mine was one of Gosho Heinosuke’s earliest films. The title of the play for which the main character was writing was called “The Pig and the Pearl.” Pretty much summed up the married couple in this story.Shinsaku is walking on a country road and comes across a man painting a landscape. Because the area is quiet, he thinks it would be a great place to live and write. The “famous” writer asks repeated questions of the painter who becomes perturbed at the interruptions, and down right angry when Shinsaku disparages his artwork. The two end up in a childish fight broken up by a pretty woman from the village. Shinsaku rents a house for himself and his young family soon thereafter. To his chagrin, he finds that even quaint towns can be noisy at times.
Immature Shinsaku called his wife, a very young Tanaka Kinuyo, an “idiot” several times, berating her for not being quiet enough or the children not being quiet enough. When he asked, “Why did you have to have a baby?” I loved her reply, “You were responsible, too!” From there Shinsaku scolds her for backtalking him. He was malleable when people flattered him, but unable to use kind language with his wife. Kinuyo constantly nagged him to write so that they could pay their bills instead of him playing mahjong with the boys or hanging out with the neighbors. When he finally attempted to write, annoying sounds sent him into a tizzy. Perhaps all this was supposed to be a marital comedy, but I just found him ever grating and not remotely funny.
As this was Gosho’s first “talkie” he must have felt liberated being able to use sound. Scenes were filled with long minutes of people singing or playing in a band. An airplane was heard and shown which much like the music did little to move the story along. The movie felt less like a cohesive story and more like an experiment with songs and running gags. One song called, “Speed up!” at least gave Shinsaku a modicum of writer’s inspiration. It was also the mantra I repeated as the minutes dragged by.
21 April 2025
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"Got backup?"
Chongqing Hot Pot was a strange amalgamation of buddies flick and thriller where most of the turning points relied heavily on coincidence and luck. Clocking in around 90 minutes, it felt much longer.Three childhood buddies, Four-Eyes, Xu Dong, and Liu Bo are trying to peddle their failed hot pot restaurant that lies underground in an abandoned bomb shelter. Gambler Liu Bo owes a huge sum of money to the loan shark Seven. He’s hoping the sale of the restaurant will help him pay off the ruthless businessman. A buyer is willing to put some money down on the hot pot spot if they expand it. In the process of expansion, they accidentally knock a hole in the building above which coincidentally happens to be a vault in a bank. To steal or not to steal? And how to repair the floor so that no one notices it? They gain help from an old school friend who coincidentally works in the bank and is unhappy with her co-workers and had a crush on Liu Bo in middle school. Their efforts are thwarted when coincidentally a crew of deadly thieves picks that bank to rob on the day their plan is to go down.
Despite all the beatings Chen Kun’s Liu Bo took at the hands of the loan shark gang and the robbers, I found my mind wandering during much of the film. Aside from Liu Bo, the other friends were underdeveloped and not very compelling. It didn’t help that the buddies were supposed to be in their mid-twenties and the men’s ages IRL ran from 35-40. The story depended heavily on fate stepping in over and over again which detracted from the urgency and real threat to the characters.
Chongqing Hot Pot had an interesting premise as the down on their luck friends had to decide if they wanted to continue to be losers or become hunted criminals. Turns out the three didn’t have to undergo any character development as fateful coincidence lent them a hand in their decision and future.
21 April 2025
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"You think anyone ever wins at life?"
Black Coal, Thin Ice is one of those films I find hard to rate. Technically it was beautifully shot, with a dark, bleak, noir mood. Character-wise, I disliked nearly everyone, especially the male lead. The characters were either amoral, murderous, or stupid. I can’t say that I enjoyed the film, but it was artistically made.When an arm shows up in a coal processing plant, with other pieces scattered about, you know someone is up to no good. Fear not, for Detective Zhang is on the case! Unfortunately, the case goes hay-wire because the police know nothing about proper police procedure. Fast forward five years and Zhang is a drunk working as a security guard. As fate would have it, he stumbles across his old partner and a case that closely resembles the one that sent Zhang down a bad path. Zhang is determined to not let the culprit escape this time.
I’ll get my peeves out of the way first. #1-Zhang attempted to rape his ex-wife at a train station in the early minutes of the film. Strike 3, he’s out and I’m hoping his body parts end up at the coal mine. He uses his position of authority to compel another woman to have sex later in the movie, so yeah, I don’t care if he saved the country, he’s an animal. Peeve #2, the police were inept at best. Not once, but twice, disasters happened because they didn’t understand how to properly detain a perp. The cops turned over possible evidence to a suspect and then asked for it back. They also had to rely on an ex-cop to solve their case. Peeve #3-the femme fatale was uninspired and underwhelming. Her primary purpose was to be groped by awful men.
The atmosphere and cinematography were stunning. In a land nearly always shrouded in nightfall and covered in ice, you could almost feel the cold and desolation seep through the screen. Where Wong Kar Wai’s shadows enhanced with green, yellow, and red provided for an erotic and melancholy atmosphere, Diao Yi Nan’s colors evoked death, violence, and criminal intent.
While I really wanted to like this film, I loathed the dogged detective, found the femme fatale banal, and the police deadly incompetent. The film was artistically pleasing to look at and if you don’t mind an entire cast of unlikeable characters, you might find this more entertaining than I did. For me the “hero” had a heart that was Black Coal and the story skated on Thin Ice.
18 April 2025
Trigger warnings: At least one attempted rape. Dismembered body parts. Bare male butts in a bath scene.
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"That person doesn't exist who is as foolish and misunderstood as myself"
Eight student Cleaners have their stories told in a surreal manner that straddled reality and animation as if in a memory round robin. What is dirty? What is clean? And does it really matter?I. Intro
II. Nutrition Month
Stephanie, who has OCD, comes face to face with her worst dirty nightmare. It will either cure her OCD or traumatize her for life.
III. National Language Month
Angeli, the class president, is stuck with three skateboard slackers (Eman, Arnold, & Lester) for a folk-dance contest. Can the three “dirty” boys find a way to clean up and make the dance work?
IV. Prom
The class “dirty” girl, Britney, is slapped down by the patriarchal view of chastity for girls but not for boys. Francis takes drastic measures for his dirty hooded problem.
V. Youth Council
Junjun’s dad, who is the mayor, has political ambitions for his son that go beyond the student council. The parents are willing to get their hands filthy to help him win. JJ finds that dirty politics can be like a bridge to nowhere.
VI. Last Day
The cleaners cleanse themselves in a primal song of rage.
Cleaners played out like a darker Breakfast Club. The film style looked like staticky memories in a year book come to life and decorated with bright highlighters. Most of the stories had a ring of truth to them even if at least three scenes were gross to observe. Life is messy and these kids found ways to enjoy themselves even if they got dirty doing it.
17 April 2025
Trigger warnings: Long poop sequence, self-mutilation, vomiting, penis scene and penis "art"
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"My hobby is making you upset"
Naruse Mikio wasn’t afraid to have his female leads shun societal norms. He also wasn’t afraid to bring the tears and the pain. With a title like, Yearning, I’ll let you decide which category this film fell into.Reiko has single-handedly saved and restored her late husband’s family story. Even though he died during the war six months after they were married and the original shack was destroyed in an air raid, Reiko felt the responsibility to build the store up. Her mother-in-law and two vipers for sisters-in law were happy to let her do all the work while they benefited from it. Her brother-in-law, Koji, 11 years her junior also benefited from her hard work by going to college and then becoming a slacker who spent his time and the store’s money on booze, women, and gambling. The little shop and others like it are being threatened by a new super market that can sell items cheaper than they can. The Morita sisters-in-law are planning on cutting Reiko out of the family store as the profits dwindle and new plan is hatched to save the business. More threatening to the family is when Koji declares his love for Reiko.
Takamine Hideko gave a beautifully complex performance as Reiko. Her wonderfully expressive face conveyed emotions Reiko would not allow herself to speak. Kayama Yuzo made a stunning Koji, handsome, with a primal maleness. There was no doubt why Reiko would be swayed by his desperate declarations. Koji also fiercely defended Reiko’s place in the family and in the store. The music, longing looks, and awkwardness all conveyed the terrible yearning of Reiko and Koji. While it was perfectly acceptable for ancient old men to wed teenage girls, a relationship between a woman a decade older than a man was unthinkable. Koji might have been willing to face society’s scorn but traditional, reserved, Reiko was not so open to the idea.
Yearning tackled the changing economic landscape, family dynamics, and a forbidden love. Naruse, as always, crafted an aesthetic film and multifaceted female lead. Takamine and Kayama gave heartbreaking performances as two people so close and yet so very far away. Along with, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, this Naruse film has now become one of my favorites of his.
"I wanted to stay here because you are here."
15 April 2025
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