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"Early worms get eaten first"
How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies showed how the vultures come out when an older relative is near the end of their lifespan. For the most part the writers made the distasteful somewhat palatable and at least one character had a change of heart.M’s friend/cousin Mui makes her living off of becoming the #1 of dying patients, when she’s not hosting her Only Fans site. When M discovers his grandmother has terminal cancer he decides to become her #1 and begins to take care of her. Other family members also have their eyes on the old woman’s house, the only thing of value she owns.
Taew Usha Seamkhum as the grandmother gave a wonderfully nuanced performance as the woman who accepted life and people as they were. Grandmother was aware that when people visited, it was because they wanted something. She also saw the potential in her ne’er do well grandson and had pity on her deadbeat son. Even though she knew M's motivation for being with her, she could at least take pleasure in having someone to eat and play cards with and go to chemo with. Some of the supporting actors were stronger than others.
I’ve been around long enough to see the relatives crawl out of the woodwork in order to try and get what they can from a dying person. In real life, they rarely learn any meaningful lessons from a beloved elder, their eyes only on the financial prize. For most of the film the only people I felt any sympathy toward were Grandmother and Sew, her daughter. It was, however, disappointing that Grandmother failed to learn the lesson she suffered from as a daughter when her parents died.
While this film had a patented redemption arc, and I love a redemption story more than any other kind, it didn’t move me as much as I would have hoped. Perhaps, it was a more realistic portrayal of the selfish children and grandson but I spent much of the film being irritated with their myopic vision. It is the nature of children to be involved in their own lives and neglect older members of the family, but when the clock was ticking down on the matriarch’s life, I found their behavior inexcusable. The elderly may not want visitors who “are counting the minutes” before they can leave, but they also crave those precious minutes with beloved children and grandchildren when their own minutes are slipping away.
13 April 2025
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"I'm invincible now!!...what a way to go"
When Wong Kar Wai’s Ashes of Time was running over budget, the rumor is that he produced a quickie comedy starring his Ashes actors in order to make a fast buck on Lunar New Year. If you are looking for anything to make sense, you won’t find it here. Hong Kong slapstick fans will be in hog heaven. While parts of the film worked for me it dragged on way too long.Normally, I’d give a brief synopsis of the film here, but there really wasn’t enough of a coherent story to do that. Tony Leung Chiu Wai played the main bad guy who was beaten, poisoned, and stabbed along the way. He spent much of the film with swollen lips and ears. Tony Leung Ka Fei played an Indian prince looking for his one true love so that he could obtain immortality. The object of his desire was less than thrilled. Jacky Cheung played the Beggar King who was in love with Joey Wong’s Su Qiu who was in love with Leslie Cheung’s Yao Shi who was in love with Brigitte Lin’s “Third Princess.” Carina Lau was dressed as the man Chou Po Tang/Zhou Bo Tong, a disciple of Kenny Bee’s late Wang Chon Yang, believing that the princess killed him. There were cross dressing and gender bending relationships, some played for laughs and others not. Talking monsters including a gorilla, a dinosaur, and a large “sparrow” joined the strange menagerie also populated by giant centipedes.
I found some of the bits funny but others went on and on and on and on and on… There were several lengthy song and dance numbers. The martial arts fights were done for a laugh. Most were furiously over-cranked or slowed down to almost a standstill. The fights featured a great deal of wire work, smoke, and explosions.
The Eagle Shooting Horses looked low budget and hastily made with a great deal of improv. If you are a fan of slapstick this is the ticket. And I have to say it was the first time I ever saw anyone play soccer with a floating head.
21 March 2025
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A rose for luck!
Mr. Canton and Lady Rose aka Miracles aka Miracles: The Canton Godfather was Jackie Chan’s attempt at directing a film not entirely dependent on kung fu. This film was based on Frank Capra’s movies-“Lady for a Day” and “Pocketful of Miracles.” It’s about as good-hearted a Triad film as you are likely to find.Kuo Chen Wah comes to Hong Kong to find work and is promptly fleeced by a conman. Almost penniless he ends up buying a rose from a street seller and his luck promptly changes. He precipitously and inexplicably becomes the head of a triad assisted by the canny Uncle Hoi. Rival gangster Tiger Lo wants half of the hotel the gang owns creating tension between the two criminal crews. Before Kuo knows it, he is turning his hotel into a club to showcase beautiful singer Yang Lu Ming. Believing the roses bring him luck he continues to buy Ms. Kao’s roses until one day he can’t find her. Turns out, the daughter she supports who lives abroad is coming to town with her fiancé and future father-in-law and they will be expecting the mother to be the fancy lady she’s described herself as in letters. Kuo and Yang decide to help the rose seller and hijinks soon occur.
This film was loaded. There was no doubt that there would be good fights regardless of the storyline as nearly every stuntman in Hong Kong was on the cast list. The fights were fewer than one would expect in a Jackie Chan film, but the ones shot were spectacular. Jackie showed that anything can be used as a weapon, even a Durian! The final fight proved that ropes and ladders worked better than chutes and ladders. Billy Chow led the baddies against Chan in the high swinging and falling stunts.
The cast was a who’s who among kung fu flicks. Lo Lieh played a bad guy even among the bad guys. Wu Ma was the shrewd #1 to Kuo’s Big Brother. This was one of his better roles. Anita Mui was gorgeous as Kuo’s love interest. Richard Ng played the morally gray police inspector and thankfully he made it through the entire film without showing his bare derriere. Mars, Fung Hak On, Billy Chow, Alan Chan Kwok Kuen, Ken Lo, and a host of other well-known fighters and stuntmen made appearances. Even prolific Shaw Brothers writer Ni Kuang made a cameo!
The biggest problem I had with the film was that it was too long. Many of the comedic moments began to feel repetitious. It could have been trimmed by 20 minutes and still maintained its narrative integrity. The film looked good and for the most part the pacing worked. The ending was very Capraesque, something unexpected but appreciated. Mr. Canton and Lady Rose doesn’t have the following that many of Chan’s films do, but for a 1989 kung fu film based on a 1933 Frank Capra film, I thought it was entertaining.
11 March 2025
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"Remember, I did try to be polite"
Secret of Chinese Kung Fu was highly “influenced” by Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss. The only problem with that was The Big Boss was a terrible story saved only by the best kung fu fighter to ever grace the silver screen. I watched this film because I’m a fan of Lo Lieh, but he was asking a lot of me to sit through this one. Definitely not the worst I’ve ever seen but completely forgettable.Sisters Wai Wai and Yee Yee save Chang Chi who is unconscious on a piece of driftwood near the shore. They nurse him back to health and even find him a job at the local cannery. Kang Ho returns to town now wealthy and a nefarious criminal. He has his sights set on Yee Yee who has her sights set on her houseguest who frequently practices his kung fu shirtless at home. Kang is determined to own the cannery and recruits fighters from Thailand and Japan. A mysterious stranger shows up in town and helps Kang’s henchmen earning him a job with the suave gangster. It will be up to Chang Chi to protect the sisters and workers from Kang and his thugs.
Szema Lung played the hero. He was pretty to look at and had more than adequate martial arts skills, but he was deadly dull in this role. Lung Fei, without his trademark mustache, made an appearance as a karate expert from Japan. Blacky Ko and Jack Long filled in for the Thai fighters. Lo Lieh was, of course, the Big Bad. Even after leaving Shaw Brothers and going to make movies in Taiwan he was still stuck as the baddie. As always, he could be counted on to give an interesting performance.
The fights were average for a kung fu flick. Lung Fei choreographed fights that may have been repetitive, but were reasonably fast for 1977. The “Thai” fighters showed off high kicks instead of the more often used elbows and knees in Muay Thai. Unless it was to represent that Kang was an international drug smuggler, I have no idea why they tried to pass off Japanese and Thai fighters.
Secret of Chinese Kung Fu wasn’t terrible for a 1970’s low budget kung fu movie, but it wasn’t good either. Only for fans of the genre.
7 March 2025
Warning---The only copy I could find was dubbed in English and cropped on the sides
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"Nothing changes. Nothing."
Sword in the Moon was a 2003 Korean attempt at a wuxia complete with running on rooftops. Because even in a wig and sword drama there has to be a childhood connection, the two main characters were blood brothers who trained at the same school but ended up on different sides of a coup.Yun Gyu Yeop has the nickname “The Butcher” and serves at the pleasure of the king. This king stole the throne during a bloody rebellion. Ministers involved with the coup begin being brutally murdered. It doesn’t take long before Yun realizes that the two people involved were his friends from another life. Choi Ji Hwan and Shi Yeong have nothing left to live for except their revenge after the king’s men and Yun killed everyone they cared about.
Sword in the Moon had the basis for an entertaining wuxia. The filming and editing let me down greatly. The director overused the shaky and nausea inducing camera style as well as too many blurry slow-mo fights. The film jumped back and forth in time, introducing characters briefly and rapidly and killing many of them off just as quickly. New players entered the game and then disappeared. This film might have benefited from telling its story more linearly. The main characters were not well developed and relied on the old friends/brothers to enemies trope. At one point it seemed Shi and Yun might have had romantic feelings for each other, yet it was with Choi that Yun road horseback in the moonlight through the tall grasses as grand romantic music played in the background. It honestly felt like Director Kim was told to cut 30 minutes off of the film and he stitched together an odd patchwork with a chisel hoping no one would notice the characters that came and went without reason.
If you are squeamish, it’s important to note that there were numerous beheadings and dismemberments. There were a few fights that weren’t ruined by the shaky, slow-mo camera. As the characters were given little emotional depth, except for Yun, it was hard to care what happened to any of them. Even the traitorous ministers and king lacked any menace or interesting details personally or historically. Sword in the Moon wasn’t terrible, but I would have better enjoyed watching an old Hwang Jang Lee kung fu movie instead.
16 January 2025
Trigger warnings: beheadings and dismemberments
A scene with NUMEROUS snakes
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The rest is silence
You know to brace yourself for the pain when Feng Xiao Gang took on Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy in The Banquet. Vengeance, desire, madness, and treachery were never far away in this opulent film inspired by Hamlet.In a tale as old as time, a king is murdered by his brother who then steals his throne and empress. The Crown Prince lives in a bamboo forest with a theater group pining for his lost love who married his father. When the news arrives that his father is dead, killed by a “scorpion sting,” CP Wu Luan heads for the capital. Empress Wan loves Wu but also enjoys the perks and power of being an empress and is disappointed that Wu seems to have little interest in ruling the country. When Emperor Li declares a banquet, everyone in attendance is looking to murder someone else. Family gatherings can be a bear.
The role of Empress Wan was originally to go to Gong Li but due to scheduling conflicts was taken over by Zhang Zi Yi. In the book, the queen was Hamlet’s mother, but here, the young empress had been his lover. I would love to have seen what Gong Li would have brought to the role but ZZY availed herself well as the conflicted, scheming empress. Ge You brought out the fratricidal emperor’s lethal and sexy sides. Daniel Wu’s crown prince varied from brooding to whiny. That’s not a slam, Hamlet was one of the first emo “heroes.” Zhao Xun made the most of this version of Ophelia though Qing never went completely mad. Despite a strong cast, the writing let them down. By the end of the film, I wasn’t heavily invested in any of the characters. Ironically, Ge You’s acting pulled me in more than any of the other performances. It also didn’t help that I knew what the final course of the meal would be.
The story only thinly related to Hamlet and was told at a glacial pace. In order to spice things up there were some of the most erotic scenes I’ve observed in Chinese films. ZZY had a body double for the full backside scenes, something else you rarely see. The final scene strayed from the book in a puzzling manner which left a bad taste in my mouth. The dependable Yuen clan choreographed the few fight scenes which were elegant and bloody. One clandestine fight was more dance fu and foreplay than fists and kicks.
The Banquet excelled in its stunning cinematography, luxurious costumes, and beautiful score. This film was truly a treat for the eyes and ears. By utilizing blank masks and theater, the film gave us a story within a story. Everyone wore a mask in one form or another. The Banquet was a sumptuous feast for the eyes, but some of the dishes were a little bland.
12/12/24
AKA LEGEND OF THE BLACK SCORPION
Trigger warnings: A "romantic" rape. :(
Also, backside nudity and a few gratuitous breast shots that didn't show everything.
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"He lies"
When watching Thai short films/commercials made by life insurance companies you can usually be assured of having your heartstrings tugged. A Dad’s Story was no exception. These companies know exactly how to hone in on your tear ducts.A young daughter and her father are walking as he reads a report she wrote for school. She describes how handsome, kind, generous, and sweet her dad is. He is Superman to her. And then like a punch to the gut he reads the next words, “…but he lies.” In the next minute she narrates how little eyes see everything. Love, sorrow, sacrifice, all rain down in her words.
MetLife didn’t give any answers to life’s hardships and unfairness, simply encouraged people to not give up because children’s futures are worth it. The three minutes of this commercial are also worth watching.
11 December 2024
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If My Wife Becomes an Elementary School Student.
5 people found this review helpful
"Isn't life too long to live that way?"
If My Wife Becomes an Elementary Student was actually an off-putting title for me as I’ve had some odd experiences with Jdramas. One, I worried that this would be one of those age gap VERY inappropriate dramas or if it wasn’t illegally weird the child actor would be awful. Neither of those concerns were fulfilled. There was one little segment that was uncomfortable but mostly this was a very wholesome drama about healing after suffering from devastating grief. I know what it’s like to wonder if the sky will ever be blue again after the loss of a loved one. For the most part this drama handled it well. And most importantly, the young actress playing the elementary school child was amazing.Keisuke and his 20-year-old daughter Mai have become zombies after the death of his wife ten years prior. The are alive but not living. One day 10-year-old Marika arrives at their house and claims she is Takae reincarnated. At first neither believes her but before long the two fully accept her as their beloved wife/mother. Slowly but surely, the sunny, responsible Takae begins to work her magic on everyone involved. The only question, is she here to stay?
With the exception of the initial encounters with Marika and Keisuke acting like an idiot, the drama portrayed the healing powers of love and reconciliation in a meaningful way. Takae helped the people around her reconnect to life by showing them how to plug back in. Maida Nono played adult Takae quite believably and also 10-year-old Marika. The entire drama hinged on her performance and she carried the weight beautifully on her tiny shoulders.
The nagging drawbacks to me were the substantial age differences for characters and actors. I’ve no problem with most age gaps, but at the time 58-year-old Tsutsumi Shinichi and 26-year-old Morita Misato (32 year gap) was a bit of a stretch. They couldn’t have found a more age-appropriate actress? The potential romantic partner was barely older than the actress playing his daughter! Keisuke was described as kind, innocent, and clueless, but at his age some of his responses were over the top ridiculous, even for a man whose wife returned in the body of an elementary school child. Marika’s mother was no prize but the loss of her child was never dealt with in a consequential manner.
Overall, I enjoyed this drama quite a bit. Second chances in life are rare, impossibly rare when a loved one has passed. And when that loved one is the center of a family’s world and the sunshine in their lives, it can feel like life has ended when their life ended. Even as wish fulfillment, it was beautiful to see these wounded people granted the chance to heal and have their rear-ends kicked when needed in order to remember they were alive and needed to live to the fullest in order to honor that precious gift.
26 November 2024
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Nothing goes to waist in this short film!
I started this short film trepidatiously due to the title---My Wife Got Fat. Too often fat shaming is condoned and can be cruel and demoralizing. Thankfully, there was no judging or taunting here.When a wife wakes up to find she’s gained 2.2 kg/ 5 lbs she becomes frustrated that she’s gotten “fat.” Her husband doesn’t say much but begins to observe her. What he discovers touches him and he makes a plan.
Jang Young Nam played the anxious and loving wife and mother. It was hard for me to think of this slender woman as “fat.” I kept hoping her husband and sons would tell her how beautiful she was and to not be discouraged. Kim Tae Hoon brought a tenderness and understanding to the husband. Kim Joon as the youngest son is one of the most adorable child actors around. Fortunately, Ahn Ji Ho’s teenager wasn’t awful like so many teens are shown as being and was also enlisted to help the mom out. Throw in a cute dog and this family was about as perfect as they get. The resolution made the husband even more endearing.
With all of the dysfunctional families in Kdramas it was a joy to see a loving, supportive family. Though not even in my dreams could I aspire to be as “fat” as this thin mother. The mom was beautiful, active, and cared for her family and never should have felt less than. Apparently, not only beauty, but fat is in the eyes of the beholder. Thankfully, the beholder in this film saw his wife through the eyes of love.
21 November 2024
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Homage to Jimmy Wang Yu's One-Armed Swordsman
Wu Xia aka Dragon was a nice homage to The One-Armed Swordsman, even casting Jimmy Wang Yu as the Big Bad. My review is based on the shorter international version which was thankfully subbed and not dubbed but was still almost 20 minutes shorter than the original version.Liu Ji Xi makes a living making paper and lives with his wife, stepson, and young son. Their lives are quiet and idyllic until one day two notorious criminals who have escaped custody break into a shop and brutalize the older couple who own it. Ji Xi clumsily stumbles in and intervenes. Afterward when the village is celebrating Ji Xi’s heroic acts, Detective Xu Bai Ju arrives. He believes that there may have been more than luck involved when the simple papermaker defeated too skilled killers. His suspicions are confirmed when the 72 Demons Gang attacks the town in search of Ji Xi.
Donnie Yen played the papermaker with a mysterious past giving the kind of performance you’d expect from him. He also choreographed the fights which meant they were entertaining to watch. Tang Wei played his wife, Ah Yu. Sadly, she didn’t have much to do in this film. Ji Xi’s bespectacled antagonist was the investigator played by Kaneshiro Takeshi who had his own murky past. I suspect some of the edits came at the cost of Kaneshiro’s character as there was more to him hinted at than what I saw. I would like to think Tang Wei’s time was also cut because in the 97-minute version she was criminally underused. Jimmy Wang Yu played the nefarious Master of the 72 Demons gang who was a formidable martial artist. I was never a fan of Jimmy’s old kung fu flicks, even blasphemously the original One-Armed Swordsman. To my relief, he gave a more nuanced, if menacing, performance here. Kara Hui (My Young Auntie!!) bounded in as one of the Demons and at 51 years of age held her own with Donnie in their choreographed fights.
Dragon had superb fights, two male leads with painful pasts trying to make the best of their lives, and a thriller element when the 72 Demons came to town with swords drawn. The film called into question whether there was room for empathy in enforcing the law. Dragon might not have broken any new ground, but it was stylishly filmed and well-acted. Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half.
7 November 2024
Trigger warnings: Body parts went flying in three different scenes as well as a tooth
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Special of the day!
Grand Maison Tokyo was a “grate” drama where the chefs “whipped” up “un-brie-lievable” dishes all while showing that cooking can be transformative. Broken friendships were “heel-ed” and new ones were created out of the “ingredients” of respect, forgiveness, and the mutual love of “egg-cellent” food. Oh, yeah, there will be puns, I’m on a “roll!”Obana Natsuki has been reviled as a terrorist for three years ever since his crew in Paris catered a dinner and a diplomat was accidentally given food contaminated with nuts and collapsed. Everyone involved took a hit, the restaurant and chefs, and the politician and magazine writer who extolled and recommended the restaurant. In the world of high-end food making a mistake was nearly a death sentence and some of those involved were looking for revenge.
Hayami Rinko is a fifty-year old chef who desperately wants to work at a Michelin starred restaurant. As luck would have it she and Obana bump into each other in Paris. The persona non grata talks Rinko into a partnership and financially backing a restaurant in Japan assuring her that he can not only gain her a Michelin star, but three. Obana contacts his former colleagues who are also working in Japan with measured success. Many people never want Obana to step foot in front of a stove again.
Obana’s people skills weren’t “berry” “gouda”, even at that he went about solving people’s problems like a “souper” cranky Mary Poppins. Instead of an umbrella, he carried a set of knives. Many of the characters struggled “pudding” up with him until they discovered his heart of gold. At the Grand Maison food and “thyme” mended the deep wounds of the past as those hurt or angered by the scandal found “peas.” While cooking for the chefs was a passion with the “beet” of a religious fervor, they found that they “cod” “yolk” around and find their smiles again. Love for two of the chefs was here today and gone “tomato” as the women in their lives did not like being put on the “back burner.”
It wouldn’t be a food drama without some cooking drama and competitions! Obana and Rinka, along with their team had to discover what ingredients made the perfect “matcha” and plate it in the most “a-peeling” manner. The competing owner of Gaku wasn’t afraid to play dirty and also had deeper pockets for expensive ingredients. Eto was just the “wurst.” He and another invested individual planted “im-pasta-rs” with Team GMT putting the Grand Maison in a “jam” at times. Lucky for Team GMT they had a “latte” “loaf” for creating perfect dishes and ability to forgive “pour" decision-making. They weren’t afraid to “whisk” everything in the search for the most delicious food they could create. When the chefs became discouraged there was always someone to give them a “Riesling” to believe.
Even better than the gorgeous meals the chefs created was their “stirring” loyalty to each other and their “perfect blend” of intriguing characters. Any way you “slice” it, Grand Maison Tokyo was a “mash” made in heaven of good performances, delicious looking food, and engaging characters. It was “shrimply” irresistible.
5 September 2024
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"Life itself has its own life"
If you watched Everything Everywhere All at Once and thought it was overly simplified and spoon-fed its audience, Leonor Will Never Die might be the reality tripping, mind bending movie you want as long as you don’t mind a bare bones budget. Director Martika Ramirez broke the fourth wall and the 5th dimension.Leonor worked in the movie industry until tragedy struck. Now ten years later, she and her son Rudy barely speak to each other and literally can’t keep the lights on in the house. She decides to dust off an old script and finish it hoping to help pay the bills. Before she can wrap the story up she’s hit in the head by a flying television and sent into a coma. She enters the world of her script and discovers the traumas she’s put her characters through.
The above paragraph sounds similar to other “entered a make-believe world” dramas and films we’ve all seen. Then Ramirez added a ghost that everyone could see, a pregnant man, and strange criss-crossings of realities. She even threw in a song and dance number. I’m not familiar with 1970’s-80’s Filipino action flicks but Leonor’s re-enacted film looked much like old Hong Kong films from the same time with the same chicka-bow-wow music.
I have no idea if Ramirez wrote this to speak about some deeper social commentary. Should we stop extolling violence to resolve problems, poor Ronwaldo was tortured by Leonora’s writing. Was the story a way for Leonor to work through her grief? I spent most of my time trying to figure out what was going on as the characters and story jumped from one reality to the next. At one point, when Leonora disappeared, the doctor told her son to not bother looking for her. She’d seen this kind of bizarre thing before when people needed to finish their stories. The doc looked at the distraught son as if to say, “Writers, am I right?” Martika Ramirez used comedy, violence, family, and supernatural occurrences to take a woman near the end of her life on a trip that could be described as a “dream within a dream*”--- especially if she’d had spicy food and cold medicine mixed with alcohol before bed.
24 August 2024
*Princess Bride quote and/or Edgar Allen Poe
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"I don't have time to get mad anymore"
Filipina director Mae Cruz Alviar and writer Enrico Santos put their own stamp on the relationship time travel trope. They didn’t break new ground but they did commit to their story and characters in a way that came across as authentic.Mary and John have been married for years and have a son together. Mary still deeply loves John and has built her world around helping him to fly while John has become selfish and angry. John never has time for her or their son, Austin, especially after Austin failed to make the football team. Austin tells his dad that Lodz has been talking with him and that everything is going to work out, his dad just has to figure out what he really wants. John asks who Lodz is and Austin shows him a picture of Jesus. When Mary dies the next day, John has his own meeting with Lodz who has a proposition for the guilt-ridden man.
John had a little over a day to put things right and save Mary. Not really long enough to have a complete personality change and to its credit the film showed John faltering at his first challenge. He was smacked upside his head with what was really of value in his life and how much time he’d wasted thinking only of work and himself. The people around him had suffered and been starved of his affection and attention. Mary was a skilled chef and she wanted to fly. Austin was a gifted pianist ready to fly if given the chance as well. John’s eyes were opened to the love and happiness he’d been shutting out for years and how badly he’d hurt his family.
Few people are given second chances and John learned about redemption, accountability, and regret in a crash course delivered by an electrician to help him see the light. Normally, this is the type of film I’d give a 7.5 to for being a good average movie, but I bumped it up for the commitment the filmmakers showed until the end to not take the easy way out.
11 August 2024
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"This is my prisoner"
If Sergio Leone had been a woman, Indonesian, and used motorcycles instead of horses, he might have made something like Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts. Thankfully, Mouly Surya is a woman and she created this beautifully shot, unflinching look at a woman alone who faced a gang of bandits in a desolate landscape with only her wits and courage. Contrary to the title, Marlina wasn’t a murderer except perhaps in the eyes of the men in the film.Widow Marlina lives in a remote area tending her livestock. Unwanted guests come in the form of 7 bandits intent on stealing her animals and raping her. Two of the bandits leave with the animals---they were the lucky ones. The next day Marlina sets out walking carrying the leader’s head in a bag with the intention of reporting the incident to the police. Nothing goes easily on the long journey into town and the return trip home, especially with the remaining two bandits searching for her.
When I researched this film in order to submit it to the MDL DB, the words revenge, redemption, and murderer were thrown around by reviewers and in the film’s description. After watching the film, I wanted to ask these people, “did we watch the same thing?” If a man knew he was about to be gang raped and murdered and defended himself would anyone be saying he was vengeful or a murderer? Would he need redemption and forgiveness? Not. A. Chance. I was so proud of Marlina when her friend asked if she wanted to go to church and confess her sins, Marlina replied, “I have no sins to confess.” No, girl. You did not. And her friend, Novi, would understand Marlina’s “sins” before the credits rolled. Marlina may have seen Markus’ headless body following her playing his musical instrument as she traveled to the police department, but it certainly wasn’t out of guilt and the tactic wasn’t used for very long. It actually came across humorously.
Despite a sexual assault, this was not a sexploitation film. And despite defending herself, Marlina was not a kung fu badass. She was a woman who used her wits to protect herself and also tried to do the right thing. When she attempted to report the crimes committed against her, she ran into officials who couldn’t have cared less and would have gone after her if they knew all that happened.
Director Mouly Surya and her cinematographer Yunus Pasolang provided incredible cinematography. The bare, endless rolling hills showed just how isolated Marlina was. This was not an action-packed, fast moving film. The story unfolded at a deliberate pace slow enough that the viewer traveled the long trails and experienced the excruciatingly suspenseful perils with Marlina. I also enjoyed the headings for each act. Setting the mood was a lovely blend of Ennio Morricone* inspired western score and Indonesian music.
Marsha Timothy gave Marlina a gravitas and vulnerability with few spoken words. Dea Panendra as the very pregnant Novi at first came across as a thoughtless airhead, but when thrown into the thick of things Dea displayed a greater acting range as her character faced dire circumstances. Which brings up another thing that women have no control over. With her baby long overdue, Novi’s husband and mother-in-law were convinced it was a sign she’d been unfaithful as the baby might be breech.
Marlina the Murder in Four Acts was a western with a decidedly feminine slant. It was also gorgeous to look at and listen to. Marlina might not have been a gun toting or sword-wielding superwoman, but how many people do you know who could not only protect themselves but wander through the countryside with their “prisoner” in a burlap sack?
6 August 2024
*Composer for such Sergio Leone movies as “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and “For a Few Dollars More”
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Simply wonderful
Ann Hui took a subject that could have been melodramatic and maudlin and handled it with subtlety and quiet grace. A Simple Life gave a glimpse into Hong Kong nursing homes and the challenges of caring for and taking care of the elderly. Andy Lau and Deanie Ip had a beautiful chemistry as boss/surrogate son and maid/surrogate mom.Ah Tao has been serving the Leung family for 60 years going back to the Leung grandmother matriarch. She continues to work for Roger, the Leung son residing in Hong Kong-cooking, cleaning, and even nursing him after a heart attack. Roger is a film producer who often travels for his job yet he always knows an exquisite meal and sympathetic ear will be waiting for him when he returns home. On his latest trip Ah Tao has a stroke. Unwilling to be a burden she retires and decides to enter a nursing home. Roger checks the place out and tells her he will be visiting her. Unlike the sons of other residents, he keeps his word.
Ah Tao had always taken pride in serving Roger and his family. The role of being provided for was an unfamiliar and uncomfortable one. Though she often refused money, the sight of Roger visiting caused her eyes to light up. During the first scene of the film no words passed between them as Roger ate, now when he arrived, they ate together, laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. Never ashamed of her, he called her his aunt when she accompanied him to a movie premiere.
The view into the nursing home was difficult. Ah Tao’s room was little more than a cubicle with a curtain for a door. She was around people in varying states from vegetative, with dementia, or still quite mobile. As people came and went, she knew one day she too would leave and not come back. Death was no stranger to the home. Ah Tao was feisty and generous, not letting anyone put her down. Even as her body deteriorated, her spirit soared. Though Roger doted on her, he never fussed over her, giving her the space and dignity she required. Deannie Ip gave a wonderfully complex performance as Ah Tao dealt with her health issues, adapted to life in the nursing home, and the change in her relationship with Roger. Lau’s Roger calmly accepted his role of caregiver without complaint as his character showed how much the older woman had come to mean to him.
Director Hui could have taken the easy path and attempted to manipulate the audience’s feelings. There was no hysterical crying or deep soul wrenching conversations. Instead, she portrayed Ah Tao’s health and future matter of factly. No evil nursing home personnel or family members tried to take advantage of her or come between her and Roger. Instead, the film focused on the universal challenges of growing older-facing deteriorating health, the financial and emotional costs, and how different families reacted to those challenges. In this slice of life, Ah Tao and Roger effortlessly displayed the ease of two people who loved and respected each other. At 2 hours the slow, character driven story might have been too long in someone else’s hands, but Ann Hui allowed her actors to shine as their characters showed the importance of loyalty and devotion especially in the difficult times in this touching film.
5 August 2024
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