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Like a rolling stone
Full disclosure, after watching this two-minute film I had to scurry across the internet and look up what sailing stones were. After doing my due diligence, I went back and rewatched Sailing Stones. I came to the conclusion that this was more a video piece of art than traditional film.Sailing Stones was filmed in black and white with zero dialogue. Several expressionless people are on the beach with long narrow tracks behind them. Their ages and sex vary. All stare ahead even as the sound of stone against stone grinds and moves them forward. At long last the sun begins to wake behind the mountain.
For anyone like me who is confused by the title, sailing stones (also sliding, walking, or rolling stones) have been found in Death Valley, California, USA. For a long time, stones were found to have moved with a dragging trail behind them. Turns out when the stones are on a melting sheet of ice, the strong winds can cause them to “sail.”
The disparate people in this short film were propelled in curving trails, victims of external forces instead of their own will and volition. Filmed for 10 CM’s single, “Sleepless in Seoul,” each of the individuals had their own reason for sleeplessness. A pregnant woman, a student, a salaryman, all were pushed about by the ever-present wind. Was the ground frozen beneath their feet or were their hearts and lives frozen as they were dispassionately transported?
I suspect like viewing a painting or a Rorschach test, everyone will have their own interpretation of this short film. I found the concept intriguing.
11 December 2024
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A bus ride you will not forget
Many of the short films I’ve watched have been heartwarming, life affirming, or poignant. Bus 44 blew those sentiments up in 11 minutes of dismal human nature with a series of shock and awe.Bus 44 travels through a rural area of idyllic lined trees and farm lands. The female bus driver stops for a young man who innocently flirts with her. At the next stop, two men enter the bus with evil on their minds. They rob the bus and make a decision that will prove fateful for everyone.
Director Dayyan Eng squeezed every minute out of this film imbuing the two leads with enough emotions to make them feel real. He managed to hit the Goldilocks Effect with the film not running too short nor too long. Without a whit of compassion, he also demonstrated the dire consequences of the Bystander Effect.
Bus 44 was short, horrifying, and satisfying in a grisly and perverse way. If you are looking for a feel good film, this is not it. Bus 44 showed the dark side of criminal behavior and group passivity. This well made film earned the film festival awards it won.
10 December 2024
***Spoilery trigger warning listed below***
Trigger warning: It’s listed as a spoiler in the tags, but for some people this needs to be more prominently displayed-Rape
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"In the royal household, they regard their children as enemies"
This was a hard film for me to write a review for. The Throne told the events leading up to the explosive event in 1762 when King Young Jo took his troublesome son’s punishment into his own hands. Or at least part of the events, giving reasons or making excuses for Crown Prince Sado’s reprehensible behavior depending on how you looked at it.Crown Prince Sado is called before his father after a possible aborted attempt to kill the king, something largely frowned upon. The king is in a jam because he can’t execute the prince for being a traitor because of the problematic law that states the whole family of a traitor would be judged, implicating the king and royal grandson as well. If the prince kills himself, his retainers and supporters are afraid they will be executed. Eventually, the king settles on locking the prince in a rice box with no food or water. The story then flips back and forth in time to explain how the two came to this moment of deadly impasse.
King Young Jo prided himself on his studies and discipline to Confucian ideals and decorum. Sado enjoyed art and hated studying. As the young prince grew up, the king became more disenchanted with the crown prince and more critical. When he made Sado a regent, Sado attempted to change taxation and create laws to benefit the people instead of the nobles. Rival factions were not amused and the king stepped in fearing a loss of power and prestige for himself. Regardless of what decisions Sado made, the king ridiculed him. And apparently because his daddy was mean to him, Sado snapped and became a murdering deviant.
In real life, Sado murdered a eunuch and carried the head around in his private quarters. He beat and raped the women in his circle and murdered many servants. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The serial rapist/murderer behavior or a distant critical father? In the film the Queen Dowager, his wife, and other women seemed to care for him and dote on him so he wasn’t without attention and positive affirmation. It felt like the film was attempting to drum up sympathy for Sado, but I dare say all of the people he murdered and raped would not feel much compassion regardless of the reason for his brutal and inhuman behavior. Glossing over his vicious actions seemed to weigh the scales without all the facts.
The costumes, wigs, and sets were all beautiful and luxurious. The Throne excelled in the poignant performances by most of the actors including Song Kang Ho, Yoo Ah In, and Kim Hae Sook. Song showed how the king was strictly disciplined in his own life, having no leniency for Sado’s more lax behavior. He also portrayed the king as distraught by the actions he felt had to be done for the country and to spare his grandson. Yoo brought out the complexities of this screen prince who wasn’t in a hurry to be king and had his own ideas for the crown. The dissent into madness was believable. Kim played the pivotal role of the Dowager Queen who saw more good in her grandson than her son did.
If I hadn’t read about Sado’s unbearably cruel behavior, I would have rated this film higher. Somehow leaving out the details seemed disingenuous when assigning blame for his actions to the king’s critical conduct toward his son. If you can block all that out and enjoy the film for the quality acting and cinematography, it is a stunning film to watch.
4 December 2024
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Promises, promises...
I was drawn to The Promise because Nicholas Tse and Sanada Hiroyuki were in the cast. It sounded like a fairytale which also had possibilities. If the characters hadn’t been so shallowly drawn, the promise of an entertaining film might have been fulfilled.Qian Cheng is a starving child with a sick mother. After scavenging food from a battlefield, she is approached by a goddess who offers her a deal she can’t turn down. Qian Cheng can be wealthy and adored by men. The catch, there’s always a catch, she can never fall in love or she will lose her love. Years later during a battle, a slave named Kun Lun displays a propensity for running---fast. General Guang Ming knows talent when he sees it and makes Kun Lun his personal slave. Duke Wu Huan is determined to take over the kingdom and have a grown Qian Cheng for his own. The table is now set for a love square.
The whole premise of the story is that Kun Lun, Guang Ming, and Wu Huan were all obsessed with Qian Cheng. It had to be the spell, for while she was beautiful, she wasn’t charismatic. Qian Cheng fell deeply in love with the masked man who saved her and had no qualms about giving herself to her supposed savior despite never having seen his face. Instead of coming across as a seductress, she appeared vapid to me. I found it difficult to care about any of the characters or root for any of the possible love combinations. They all seemed fairly vacuous. Aside from Kun Lun being able to enter the Speed Force, they just weren’t that interesting. Sanada and Tse camped it up a little in their portrayals of foes and besotted men, though Wu had other reasons for his obsession.
The CGI and special effects were rudimentary at best. There were luxurious costumes, especially for the opposing armies. You would not miss Guang Ming’s men in their bright red armor. The wigs left a lot to be desired though.
I enjoyed the premise of The Promise, or rather, I wanted to enjoy the premise of the film. The one-dimensional characters were difficult to become invested in. I appreciated most of the performances, it would be hard to ignore Sanada Hiroyuki and Nicholas Tse. The sets, scenery, and costumes were beautiful even with the low grade CGI and occasional editing glitches. It just felt like the movie promised so much more.
2 December 2024
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Laundry Kung Fu!
Dreadnaught was a martial arts film directed by Yuen Woo Ping. It starred Yuen Biao and a non-beardy “Beardy” Bryan Leung. In a supporting role was The Wong Fei Hung, Kwan Tak Hing, who’d played the character in at least 80 films. Most of the Yuen clan made a showing in this film or helped as martial arts directors.Mousy is a cowardly laundry man who is afraid of his own shadow and especially his sister. He is friends with Leung Foon, a student of the famous Wong Fei Hung. Across town is a rival of Wong’s, Tam King who is intent on bringing the physician down. The maniacal White Tiger is on the loose and Tam gives him shelter in his opera troupe. Mousy’s “lucky” bells trigger White Tiger’s deadly instincts sending the killer on the fearful washer’s tail.
Full disclosure, I’m not a big fan of slapstick comedy and Dreadnaught had its share. I found Mousy more annoying than endearing. If slapstick is your thing, you will likely enjoy this more than me. For a comedy it also had a rather high body count. With so many Yuens involved it couldn’t help but have creative and quality fights. The opening Lion dance and deadly dance off exhibited choreography requiring numerous skills. Yuen most likely to be cast as a deranged killer, Yuen Shun Yi, played the serial killer with frightening opera face paint. White Tiger seemed unable to speak only using growls to communicate. Yuen Biao was quite acrobatic and his latent laundry kung fu was interesting. Bryan Leung was excellent as Leung Foon who played for laughs and tears. Brandy Yuen and Yuen Cheung Yan both played assistants to the Marshall. This was my first time to see Kwan Tak Hing play Wong Fei Hung. At 76 most of his fights were choreographed using stunt doubles though he still held his own in several scenes. Rule of thumb with fight scenes on tv or movies. If you can’t see the face, it’s probably a double. Phillip Ko Fei made an appearance as bad guy Tam King. And Sai Gwa Pau who played Cocky So in Kwan’s movies also showed up here. Too bad they couldn’t get Walter Tso (Leung Foon) for a cameo.
Despite my dislike of Mousy’s over the top cowardice, I did enjoy this movie. Yuen Shun Yi made for a terrifying Big Bad, mainly because he had the skills to back it up. Yuen Biao and Bryan Leung’s kung fu abilities worked well with the fight choreography, making each fight entertaining. And it was fun to see elder statesman Wong Fei Hung, Kwan Tak Hing, have the chance to show he still had some moves left as he pushed eighty. This wasn’t the best Yuen Woo Ping film, but it was worth watching for the fight scenes. As always, I grade this old kung fu flicks on a curve.
30 November 2024
Dreadnaught: “One that is among the largest or most powerful of its kind.”
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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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"Women are like products for sale"
Burden of Life was a short Gosho Heinosuke film from 1935. Not going to sugar coat this one. I hated it. Even taking into account the time period, it was so overtly sexist that it made my blood boil.There might be a couple of elements below that could be considered spoilery:
The film starts out safely enough (sort of) with a playful bantering of the sexes. Itsuko is the middle sister married to an artist who paints semi-nude portraits of her. They live beyond their means and rely on her parents helping them out with money. Oldest daughter Takako is married to Tetsuo and are always fighting. He disapproves of her buying anything for herself, yet he spends his time in hostess bars drinking and buying drinks for the hostesses. Machiko, the youngest daughter, is about to be married which is costing her dad more money. Nine-year-old Kanichi is the baby of the family. He stays away from his dad as much as possible, even eating dinner in the kitchen to avoid him. Shozo has nothing good to say about the boy. His mantra is, “We never should have had him.” Finally, the mother has had enough and begs the father to be kinder to him and plan for the son’s future as well.
I’ve watched numerous older films, but the gaslighting of the mom to prove that the father knew best and women were overly emotional was too much for me. There appeared to be a tiny softening of Shozo near the end but it was not nearly enough for me to accept any real character growth. I found the father’s attitude deeply disturbing. Shozo didn’t know Kanichi’s age and had no plans for the boy to be educated. He considered the boy too short and too ugly to ever be married. Surprisingly, this was one of the first times I’ve come across a father wanting to be rid of a son. Daughters were often lambasted as being useless, but sons always seemed to be coveted. Shozo’s domineering attitude toward his wife had me hoping she’d smother him with her pillow while he slept. He kept saying he wished Kanichi had never been born, being as brilliant as he was, surely he knew how babies were made, didn’t he?
Despite the age of the film and knowing attitudes have changed in the last nearly 100 years, I could not enjoy this film at all. Other early directors had a modicum of respect for their female characters and audience. A child being continually rejected by his father destroyed any enjoyment I might have had with this film otherwise. If you are a fan of Gosho or can tolerate bad parenting and dismissive attitudes for women, at 67 minutes it’s worth a try. I gave myself a day to think about it and try to rationalize the father/husband’s behaviors and the neighbors’ but am still mad. Given this was supposed to be a lighthearted slice of life, I don’t think that’s the response Gosho was trying to elicit.
17 November 2024
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Revenge of the insects!
Genocide was a dark film with a very bleak opinion of humanity. Director Nihonmatsu Kazui threw a lifetime of grievances against the screen to see what would stick-nuclear war, environmental concerns, concentration camps, PTSD, racism (whether intentional or not), sexism (whether intentional or not), murderous insects that could communicate, and the Cold War. That was a lot to tackle in 86 minutes.Joji collects insects on an uninhabited island with Annabelle both for her own study and for his friend, Dr. Nagumo in Tokyo. When Joji and Annabelle are “relaxing” they see a plane catch fire with four parachutes dropping out. Later, two American crew members are found dead and one unconscious. Because Joji tried to sell a watch he found that belonged to a crew member he is arrested for murder. Colonel Gordon wants him to pay for their deaths but he is far more concerned about a missing nuclear bomb. Soviet spies are scouring the islands attempting to find it as well. To complicate matters, killer bees are on the loose bent on destroying humanity. Joji, his wife Yukari, and Dr. Nagumo become hopelessly entangled with a vengeful scientist, predatory insects, and two super powers.
There really was a lot to unpack with this film. Charlie, the black crew member, suffered casual and overt racism from just about everybody. He’d suffered severe PTSD from the war and had become addicted to drugs which caused everyone to treat him even worse. Yukari was sexually assaulted twice and the female doctor once with very little afterthought. The vengeful scientist was a survivor of the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp and had it in for humanity. “I love insects because they never lie.” The American colonel seemed to be a rogue commander willing to start a nuclear war and kill thousands of people to cover up his mistake. The Russians were using the deadly bee research for biological weapons and desperately wanted to get their hands on the bomb. As people showed their ruthlessness and/or utter stupidity on a regular basis, I began to root for the bees.
The actors performed well, something of a rarity for cheap horror flicks. There were several non-Japanese actors who were dubbed in Japanese. I don’t know who wrangled the bee actors but I hope they were paid handsomely. My biggest complaint was in the editing. There were times that people disappeared and ended up somewhere else without explanation. If you have a problem with insects, this film has numerous buggy scenes. I had to turn my head when bodies were infested with creepy crawlies or being chewed on. The science and logic for the film was genuinely lacking. It stretched credulity when a USAF officer believed that detonating a nuclear bomb was a smaller offense than going to the trouble to retrieve it. It's not like someone could have stuffed a multi-ton bomb into a backpack and carried it off the wooded island. Despite gruesome infested wounds, no one would believe the scientists that the insects had turned against humans. Un-bee-lievable.
Genocide was unflinching in its nihilistic view of the world and humans’ place in it right to the bitter end. Nihonmatsu took a stand and didn’t deviate from it. The insects let people know, “The Earth doesn’t belong to humans alone. We don’t care if mankind destroys itself with nuclear weapons, but we refuse to let you take us with you!”
29 October 2024
Trigger warning: Numerous insect scenes in a variety of manner and stages
(Rated on a curve for old, low budget, niche films)
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"Family is what you make of it"
Twinsters is one example of the internet and social media being used for good. After taking part in a YouTube video, American actress Samantha Futerman was contacted by a French woman living in London named Anais Bordier. The woman’s profile pic looked eerily familiar. Both women were adopted. Both women were born on November 19, 1987 in Busan. And both women looked exactly alike!This documentary followed Sam making contact with her sister and their journey toward learning more about themselves and their past. Sam grew up with two brothers and feeling accepted at home and school. Anais was an only child and often felt lonely and had anger issues when she was young. She was taunted at school for being adopted and different and did not feel accepted. Both women were excited and nervous about meeting the other. Sam and her family visited Anais and her family in London. Anais later visited Sam in Los Angeles. The sisters traveled to Korea to do more research into their past. Sam had been to Korea before to gain information and had met her foster mom. This time Anais would be able to do the same and discover maybe she’d been loved and cared for more than she’d ever known.
The Twins Study Center did the DNA testing for Sam and Anais as well as testing them for similarities and differences. When in Korea the two women attended the International Korean Adoptees Association gathering where their birth country welcomed them. It was heartwarming to watch two sisters go from not hugging to holding hands and embracing each other. They faced the ups and downs of their adoption stories together and in the process found that they were surrounded by more love than they thought possible.
“Family is what you make of it. There is no definition.”
12 October 2024
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Two children are seen searching for anything to eat, knowing they are starving and could die. Their world is decaying and crumbling apart. Every step crunching on the ruins of civilization emphasizes how they live in a godforsaken land. They search a blown-out building and find a man tied and chained to a wall. Realizing he might be someone else’s food cache; they work quickly to secure him for themselves. Is he dead or still alive? And does that even matter anymore?
This is not a great film, but one that people who want to annihilate others should see. Governments who believe there is such a thing as “limited” nuclear war should see. Our mutually assured destruction can put us in a position where those who survive have only the bodies of other unfortunate souls to feed upon. Hu Bo’s pessimistic vision of the future is a dark place of utter misery. Children who should be giggling, playing, and well-fed have become scavengers in a wasteland spiraling down a hole deeper than any well.
10 October 2024
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"It was no dream"
Kwaidan is a 1964 film that contained four unrelated ghost stories. The film drew most of its material from Lafcadio Hearn’s 1904 book called Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. Director Kobayashi Masaki crafted each stylized story much like a painting. The skies were often brightly painted backgrounds with each vignette taking place primarily on a soundstage. These were not terrifying or gory tales, more like eerie, karmic, Twilight Zone episodes.1) The Black Hair/Kurokami (B)
An impoverished ronin discovers what goes around comes around aka payback is a bitch when he leaves his loving wife to marry up and take a new position.
2) The Woman of the Snow/Yuki Onna (B+)
A young woodcutter is spared by a snow witch on the grounds that he never tell anyone he saw her. He learns the lesson to never betray a woman.
3) Hoichi the Earless/Miminashi Hoichi no Hanashi (B)
Blind, kind, Hoichi is a young monk at a temple not far from where an epic battle took place 700 years before. The ghostly Heike clan calls upon him to sing the tales of their failed battle night after night. He pays a painful price for his freedom.
4) In a Cup of Tea/Chawan no Naka (B-)
Can you swallow someone’s soul when drinking a cup of tea? A writer receives a proper punishment for writing an open ending to his story.
I enjoyed the stylized view of each of the stories with most having a stage production look and feel. They often appeared surreal, especially Yuki Onna’s swirling eyes in the sky. Each varied in length with Hoichi the Earless being the longest (maybe too long) and In a Cup of Tea being the shortest (maybe not long enough).
The cast for each story was strong. Nakadai Tatsuya played the naïve woodcutter and Kishi Keiko played the complicated Yuki in Yuki Onna. I love his wild eyes though he was the babe in the woods in this segment. Shimura Takashi as a Buddhist priest tried to help the blind Hoichi who was bound to his ghostly visitors each night. Too bad his character didn’t have a strict attention to detail.
Each of the four stories took a different approach to the supernatural though all of the main human characters paid a price for their encounters. Kwaidan had strong performances, taut stories, and a mesmerizing artistic appeal to it. There was an almost poetic rhythm to the moralistic storytelling. While these were technically horror stories, they were the type you could see people telling around a campfire, preferably with any powerful talisman available hanging around their neck.
3 October 2024
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What I Liked:
--Vengo Gao-He was tailor made for the role of a suave, badass vampire.
--Gothic vibes-the dark exteriors and interiors were perfect for this story.
--Costumes-I loved all the velvet, especially Jing Xue’s wardrobe.
--Eternally winter-a great vampire setting. You never see vampires sipping Mai Thais on the beach. The Snowpiercer train ride through the frozen landscape also felt other-worldly.
--Ever present Snowman- I had hoped Frosty would have transformed into a snow monster but we can't have everything.
--Gold Crow-I’m a fan of the Corvus genus of birds though this avian actor was forgotten about much of the time.
--Non-romantic relationship for most of the drama-Based on Mi Lan’s childlike personality, there was definitely a maturity gap and vastly unequal power structure between her and Zhi Heng. Lovers don’t usually tell the other to “drink your milk.”
Neutral:
--CGI-Not great, but not a deal breaker for me
--Ending-spoilery comments after review
--The writers couldn’t use the word “vampire” or show them drinking blood but angry, biting, hair-pulling sex was all right. Mmmm…kay
What I didn’t like
--Zhi Heng written to be utterly stupid and inept in the opening salvo. This brutal scene had him acting completely out of character. They needed a set-up for him and Mi Lan to meet and to show his mostly indestructibleness but man it made him look less than powerful or intelligent.
--Anything that hinted at a romantic relationship. I don’t mind age gaps, but this was a maturity gap. Mi Lan was treated like a 12-year-old and acted like one for much of the drama.
--Terrible wigs-some of the wigs looked like roadkill.
--Both Liang and Situ weren’t written consistently and could give you whiplash with their back-and-forth emotions
--Liang’s plot armor-Zhi Heng could take on a jillion Shadow Warriors but somehow Liang always slipped through his fingers. Although he was always being beaten, shot, etc. Characters would also go into hiding and then come back into the open with no consequences.
--The magical stones element felt ill developed and clunky. Another demerit for censorship-it plays havoc with creativity.
--Wei Lian’s creepy walk on the dark side with Jing Xue
In conclusion:
❄Overall, I enjoyed this drama. It was a nice attempt at the vampire genre given all the restrictions and had a luxurious look. The costumes and settings may have been Republican Era but the drama felt more like a magical storybook which I quite liked. Far from perfect, yet also strangely addictive, Snowfall made for an interesting if fractured fairytale.❄
30 September 2024
Short spoiler below
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I didn’t mind the SE. It had been foreshadowed from the beginning. Since I didn’t care for any romance between the two main characters, I didn’t need the HE. The only thing I didn’t care for was the apparent deviation from the source material. Of the Republican Era and strictly historical dramas I’ve watched, the censors seem to prefer sad endings so I know going into these dramas the likelihood of the main couple living HEA is a low percentage. At least it didn’t come out of the blue and the story was headed in that direction from the beginning unlike other dramas where a disappointing ending is tacked on.
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"Who can throw a stone?"
Love Letter was actress Tanaka Kinuyo’s first film to direct. WWII was over and the censors had left so she could address sensitive issues about American G.I.’s having Japanese lovers. The subject for her first film was a tough one and the 1950’s attitude of the male lead was difficult to sympathize with.Five years after WWII, Reikichi lives with his younger brother, Hiroshi, who pays most of the bills. An old friend brings him into his business translating and writing love letters in English for women who have been involved with American soldiers. Most of the women are asking for money and Yamaji makes the letters flowery and eloquent. Reluctantly, Reikichi begins work there to bring in more money. He’s despondent because he has never forgotten his first love who married someone else. When he discovers that she’s a widow he goes to the train station every day to search for her. As luck would have it, she comes into the shop to have a letter written to an American soldier who had fathered her baby.
First the positive. I enjoyed Tanaka’s fluid directorial style. Despite the year and cultural values, she showed Michiko in a mostly sympathetic light. Mori Masayuki gave a wonderfully complex performance, even when I wanted his character to erupt in flames. Yuga Yoshiko brought a damaged, yet sweet spirit to Michiko. Michiko was a woman who had lived through her own hell and was still able to be kind to others. The supporting characters were also strong. Tanaka made a guest appearance as a woman needing a letter written by Reikichi but instead received an earful about her lifestyle from the sullen man.
Much was made of Reikichi’s loyalty in waiting for Michiko for five years. They made a point of him standing next to the Hachiko statue, the dog who had waited faithfully for his deceased owner every day at the station for nearly 10 years. For Michiko to have sullied herself with a foreigner from the country that had defeated them was too much and the diatribe Reikichi buried her in was vile. That she’d also given birth to a “blue-eyed baby” who had died made her acts even worse. He knew nothing about her and the struggles and pain she had faced. He was unable to comprehend that the man she’d been involved with had been what she needed at the time. This kind of overly precious attitude about women’s virtue struck me as false given the horrors the Japanese military committed against women during the war.
What saved this film for me was that both Hiroshi and Yamaji called Reikichi on his stupidity and stubbornness. “Who do you think you are? A saint? You can’t be proud of the way you lived.” They knew that the war years and post war years were brutal for women, especially single women without a family to support them. For Hiroshi, Michiko’s actions could be forgiven as she had only been with one guy, unlike the prostitutes who made a living off the white bread foreigners. Michiko was a kind and elegant women who condemned herself for being “depraved” which was awful to hear. Reikichi wasn’t exactly a great catch. Though well educated he’d been sponging off his brother since he came home.
Japan had much to process after the war. Soldiers had experienced traumas and civilians had lived through their own. Most people had either visible or invisible battle scars. Reikichi was learning the hard way that forgiveness was hard to come by and sometimes harder to give when clinging to rigid ideals.
30 August 2024
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"If you search, fate grows. If you give up, fate dies"
In 2015 it was estimated 20,000 children in China had been stolen and trafficked just for that year. Some were sold for adoption, others for forced labor or prostitution. Lost and Love told the story based on a real-life father who had spent 15 years chasing down leads and searching for his child all over China. Andy Lau gave one of his best performances as the determined father who would never stop in his quest to be reunited with his son.Lei Ze Kuan rides his motorcycle with flags displaying missing children’s faces as he chases down leads on his missing son. After a road accident he meets Zeng Shuai when the young man fixes his bike. It turns out that Shuai was a kidnapped child and “adopted” by the family he lives with. The family has been good to him, but because of his unknown status he cannot go to university, marry, ride the train, or any other thing which requires an id card. He asks Lei to take a side trip and go with him to check on clues as to where his family might be. The two men bond during their road trip seeking the truth they both desperately want.
I’ve watched many films with Andy Lau, but Lost and Love is the first one where I wasn’t constantly reminded by his acting that he was “Andy Lau.” He gave a vulnerable performance as a father who was ridden with guilt and anguished over his loss. This understated interpretation was quite moving. Jing Bo Ran also gave a realistic performance as a lost son torn between wanting to find his biological parents and not wanting to betray his adoptive parents. The chemistry between the two quickly evolved into a surrogate family as they traversed the country. As they grew closer there were several tender and playful moments between them.
Peng San Yuan based the story on real life father, Guo Gang Tang. She added another missing child whose story with Sandra Ng as a trafficker was woven throughout the film, though it did turn melodramatic. Peng illustrated the complicated feelings and responses parents had who lived through the nightmare of having a child stolen from them. Aside from the guilt and fear, the trauma caused marriages to dissolve, mental health to collapse, and for some parents, the despair drove them to suicide. Peng not only wrote the screenplay but also directed the film. The pacing and transitions kept the film flowing even with three stories being told. The film was visually appealing as Peng highlighted the stunning verdant scenery of the countryside and architectural beauty of old chain bridges.
Lost and Love was heartwarming and heartbreaking and did so without falling into the trap of sentimentality. There were a couple of coincidences that were a bit too on the nose, but I’m a sucker for these stories based on real life events and was able to overlook them. I cannot imagine the terror of not knowing if your child was safe and whether you’d ever see them again. I also cannot imagine having the strength to spend every day for nearly two decades following any hint that might bring me closer to that child and dealing with the soul crushing despair every time a lead did not pan out. Lost and Love brought a horrifically painful subject to light while also showing the supportive networks and people trying to reunite families.
If you’d like to see how the real-life father’s story was resolved, see below.
28 August 2024
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After TWENTY-FOUR years, Guo was reunited with his son!!!
This link still works as of this writing:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57815491
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"Let go so you will be happy"
Down the River told the melancholic story of first love through the eyes of Krit, an openly gay high school student. This film was Director Nuchy Anucha Boonyawatana’s graduate school effort so I was lenient in my rating and criticism of it. The story was heavy with Buddhist and natural symbolism interwoven with the boys’ decisions about their futures and whether they would be together or apart.Krit is convinced that if he gives offerings and prayers at nine different temples that his wish to be with Win forever will be granted. The two have bonded since childhood and their friendship has crossed over into something more intimate. Win is going to the academy in order to join the military which would end any type of relationship they might have. Win also refuses to believe he is gay despite their friendship blurring lines with being lovers. He has a girlfriend and knows the military and society will not be accepting of him as a gay man. Krit presses flowers and his memories of Win into a book that he keeps with him that becomes a symbol of his love. On the trip to the temple and hike to the Elephant Waterfall, the seventh of the falls, Krit hopes to convince Win to stay, but to his dismay Win invites two girls to go with them. Further dimming Krit’s hopes are the monk at the temple telling him at the beginning of the trip that in order to be happy he has to let go.
Nuchy filmed numerous scenes of water and the woods set to a score that perfectly matched the mood and natural background. Sadly, several scenes were too dark to see much of anything. I don’t know if that was by design, age, or poor equipment. The film was held back between the dark scenes and rudimentary acting. While Krit came across as more fully developed, Win was a bit of an enigma. Despite the more amateur issues, I enjoyed the film especially as the meaning of the title became clear.
Krit reminisced about his relationship with Win in an almost spiritually poetic manner. While the film had a universal theme of first love, it also showed how first love between members of the same sex faced even more hurdles in a time and place where their love wouldn’t be accepted. Sometimes a person can hold onto their first love and other times they have to let it go to the river of time.
12 August 2024
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