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Dong Ju: The Portrait of a Poet is an eloquent story woven around the poet's own insightful words. Shot in black and white, the monochrome film beautifully fits the quiet, intense mood of the short lives of these two young men.
I will leave the historical aspect of this film to those who have a personal stake in it or are more well versed in it than I am.
This film is as much about Yun Dong Ju's cousin and revolutionary, Song Mong Gyu, as it is the poet. Their lives are intertwined, two different ideals in how to resist during a time of hated occupation. One willing to use a gun, the other a pen though at times those lines blur. Their friendship though challenged never waivers.
The story begins and ends with the young men in prison. The present takes place during Yun's interrogation by the Japanese. As Yun is questioned, the past is revealed to show the steps they took to end up in prison. Quoting Yun's poetry to the corresponding events paints the conflicted feelings he had over his role during the dark times and his attempt to find hope in the moment. The tripod of present, past and poetry is perfectly balanced.
Kang Ha Neul gives a restrained and poignant performance as Yun's younger self and later as the tortured prisoner knowing death is imminent, reflecting on his actions and inactions. All the performances are good but his stood out as the titular character.
Dong Ju is an elegantly filmed story of an inelegant and agonizing time told through the courage, defiance and beauty of poetry and a poet.
Prelude
Wishing not to have
so much as a speck of shame
toward heaven until the day I die,
I suffered, even when the wind stirred the leaves.
With my heart singing to the stars,
I shall love all things that are dying.
And I must walk the road
that has been given to me.
Tonight, again, the stars are
brushed by the wind.
-Yun Dong Ju
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The cinematography is dark and melancholic, reflecting the mood of anger, guilt, sadness, and regret. The score embraces those same feelings.
JDY gives a good performance as the angry son, Zhen Chen, who travels from China to South Korea to find his mother due to his dying father's wish. What he finds only deepens his anger and resentment. Lee's mother shows restrained emotions, a woman who has long dealt with sacrifice and hardships. The story deepens when a disappointed Zhen Chen on the return trip home finds the diary his mother left him and her long buried secrets and his are slowly revealed.
The film dips into the overly dramatic waters on occasions, but never completely sinks into them. Though not for everyone, and not a perfect movie, I found the struggles of this mother and son compelling.
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Qiao Yan is a successful actress with an overly clingy manager. She’s rigidly unhappy and desperately seeking her freedom from the life she’s living. Her manager has other plans for her future and is unwilling to take no for an answer. Into this abyss her pregnant sister from Myanmar walks in. Her sister is looking for her deadbeat husband who is trying to escape his gambling debts. Due to Qiao’s secret slipping out, a long list of people line up to extort an exorbitant amount of money from her. Qiao will have to decide how far she’s willing to go to protect herself.
The characters were thinly and inconsistently written. The old, “if I’d had the opportunities you had, I’d be a famous actress and wealthy instead of you,” trope was used because yeah, life just works that way. Anyone can become rich and famous. That petulant phrase was overused. The older sister’s emotions and ethics swung back and forth like a pendulum. Her husband was utterly vile and made me wonder why she stayed with him.
What actually intrigued me about this film was that the entertainment industry was shown to be a patriarchal, capitalistic den of iniquity where wealthy men thought they owned the talent and could do what they wanted with them. I’d heard rumors about this type of behavior for years, just never thought I’d see a Chinese movie airing that dirty laundry. (I write this knowing Hollywood has had its issues, too. It’s always a problem when people hold unchecked power.) They also showed the negative side of the “one child” rule. Another shocker.
The story itself was uneven and dragged on too long. The actors did the best they could with the material. The movie Qiao was shooting gave Zhao Li Ying more of a chance to shine than the actual movie she was in. The Unseen Sister was watchable, but could have been better.
20 August 2025
Triggers: Lots of smoking if that bothers you
Attempted Sexual Assault
Dismembered finger
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"Only the cloud knows the feather"
Spies, assassins, poison, sword fights, and a struggle for the leadership of one of the last sects not under the thumb of the evil Wufeng sect, My Journey to You attempted to cover a lot of ground. Populated with beautiful people and costumes, this drama was sometimes more stunning to look at than compelling.What drew me to this drama was the promise of not one, but at least two female “assassins”. This felt like a bad translation, as they were more spies than killers. Yun Wei Shan had real possibilities for a dark and intriguing character. Once the Gong male characters were introduced, it often felt like the Wufeng spies had little to do other than talking in whispered tones. When a double tragedy left the underachiever, Gong Zi Yu, as the only choice for Sword Wielder, I had to agree with the snide Gong Shang Jue. Zi Yu was pitifully unprepared for such a task. Of course, it was difficult to side with Shang Jue and his “brother” Yuan Zhi, as they could be insufferably contemptuous. Much of the drama focused on Zi Yu’s trials in the Three Realms of the Back Hill with some assistance from Yun. Shang Jue had his own undercover bridal spy to deal with as well.
At the beginning I was completely engaged with this drama. Then it began to rinse, lather, repeat for me one too many times. Zi Yu and Shang Jue kept being hauled before the elders where they could accuse the other of causing problems. At this point I felt like neither one deserved to be the Sword Wielder. The Back Hill provided some interesting characters and trials when the two Gongs weren’t arguing over who was prettiest. There were multiple attempts at humor, usually involving the overly dramatic and over acted role of Gong Zi Shang and her crush on Zi Yu’s bodyguard, Jin Fan. Which brings up the point, this was the martial world and only the “bad” girls knew martial arts. The Gong women all seemed to be rather defenseless. To quote Eowyn from LOTR: TT, “Those without swords can still die upon them.” The oldest surviving Chinese wuxia starred a woman! I was disappointed by the lack of Gong women wielding swords.
The beginning was strong and I enjoyed some of the middle until it became bogged down in recrimination after recrimination. The last part with the fights that had real consequences was more engaging. Then the big “twist” was almost a movie length of exposition. “I suppose you all wondered why I gathered you here today…” The acting varied from adequate to excellent. This drama should help Ryan Cheng graduate from web dramas for good. I also quite enjoyed Wen Zheng Rong’s performance as Lady Wu Ji. She was able to go from calculating to maternal in the blink of an eye.
Overall, I found this to be an entertaining and binge-worthy, if flawed, drama. Had it not been for my least favorite ending-the open end, I would have bumped it up to at least an 8. Maybe there will be a S2, maybe there won’t. If they develop a compelling S2 that coincides with this story well, I’ll revisit my rating. Even with the disappointing ending, this was a journey worth making.
1 July 2024
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"I've got nothing to give you, but I'll stay by your side"
If you choose to watch Miss Baek, best be warned that it can be a tough watch. The film unflinchingly showed the story of child abuse. It also showed the fallout from abuse when an adult carries those wounds with them through the years.Miss Baek has a rocky relationship with her police detective boyfriend Jang Seop. Baek refuses to let anyone get too close. As a teenager, she’d protected herself from her rapist and was the one who ended up in jail. Now with a criminal record she works numerous part-time jobs. Her depressed and alcoholic mother beat her and eventually abandoned her. When she sees 9-year-old Ji Eun shivering in the street, she feeds her trying to ignore the bruising she sees. When she eventually intervenes, the abusive guardians attempt to have her arrested. As a single woman with a record and not related to the child, the police refuse to hear her out. Ji Eun is once again sent home with her tormentors.
These types of films always walk a fine line between revealing reality and being exploitive. The sad truth is that every year, regardless of country, children are beaten, sexually abused, and killed by people who are supposed to love and protect them. I take issue with the word abuse, because too often in cases I’ve been familiar with the correct term would be torture. If one did the same acts to an adult prisoner, that’s what it would be called. And too often authorities are slow to act and innocent lives are taught the meaning of pain and distrust. For people who have never experienced familial terror, it can be hard to believe that such gruesome acts take place in “polite” society. Sometimes, it takes film to shine a light into the darkness to inform and also to confirm to the harmed that abusive actions are not and never were acceptable. They are heinous crimes.
Miss Baek told the story of two people who understood each other because of similar experiences. One person who lacked education, finances, and connections stepped up refusing to let a child suffer any longer regardless of the consequences. The third act had some issues, but overall, it was a strong effort by writer/director Lee Ji Won with Han Ji Min and Kim Si A giving excellent performances.
8 August 2026
Trigger warnings: Based on a true story-physical abuse of a child. Attempted murder of a child. Child endangerment. Smoking. Sexual assault off screen.
Age note: The main characters had an age gap on screen, but the actors did not (3 years). The supporting actors had a 7ish year gap.
Housekeeping Note: 1300th REVIEW
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Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!" *
The Hill of Secrets was another tender coming of age story by a female director. This time Lee Ji Eun took us back to 1996 as Lee Myeong Eun struggled to understand what family meant and how to traverse class distinctions. Her chosen route of lying led her down a path that became filled with quicksand.With the new school year starting, everyone in Eun’s class is required to divulge what their parents do for a living . Eun is too embarrassed to say that her parents run a salted fish stall. She thinks up a lie on the spot and declares that her father is a salaryman and her mother is a housewife. Looking for more validation, she ingratiates herself to her teacher and runs for class president which she wins. Her mother tells her to quit as she has neither the time nor money to help her. Eun doggedly keeps the position, creating a secret box where students can write their concerns or suggestions. As the school year progresses, keeping her secret, becomes more daunting. Especially, when a new student, Hye Jin arrives and creates competition for her.
Being twelve-years old as puberty hits is difficult enough. Most kids are embarrassed by their parents but in a class sensitive society, being the child of salted fish dealers took confidence to accept. Something Eun did not possess. Eun’s journey of self-discovery began as she entered several writing contests and had success. She researched her topics rigorously, still navigating the lies she had told. In order to maintain the façade of the “acceptable” middle class family she yearned for, Eun had to go to extreme lengths with the stress building minute by minute. Eun was not alone in the fibbing department. “Everybody lies,” the saying goes. Eun’s uncle lied when he donned a suit to pick her up from school. Her teacher and principal also lied. There were times lies protected others but more often the lies were self-serving.
Writing brought Eun more popularity and more problems. When Hye Jin bested her, she became jealous, lashing out in passive-aggressive ways. Hye Jin’s mother ran a brothel which she didn’t even attempt to hide. Hye Jin and her “sister” did almost no research for their essays, only writing their truth which the judges appreciated. Through Eun's writing and developing friendship with her rival, she began to recognize the costly lies around her and within her. Some of her classroom behaviors driven by jealousy were deceptive and unkind. Her mother’s drive to earn money held secrets Eun had not been privy to. When Eun finally wrote her truth, she discovered it was based on hidden lies, leaving her in a lurch with her family. Regardless of how she felt about them, she wasn’t prepared to unleash public pain and humiliation on them.
While Eun's mother was not the cuddly type, she worked hard to provide for her family and extended family. Her motto to “Take nothing, give nothing,” was born out of too many wounds and losses. One of the saddest moments for me was when the mom was working in her vision journal, posting pictures of the dream house she greatly desired and would likely never afford due to all the hands outstretched to her. As much as I wanted her to hug Eun and praise her successes and hard work, she likely could not give something she’d never been given.
Overall, this slow film was entertaining. My biggest criticism is that it was too long. Grade school coming of age films like kung fu films, should not run longer than 90 minutes. The Hill of Secrets rested firmly on Moon Seung A’s slender shoulders and for the most part she carried the film well. There are times when lies are gentler than the truth. And there are times when a person has to accept who they are and where they are from and own those things. Lee Myeong Eun was not perfect, she was a pre-teen desperately looking for acceptance and belonging with no roadmap of how to achieve either. She lied, she was overly competitive, and increasingly arrogant. Yet she was also sensitive, intelligent, creative, and hard-working. Eun wanted what most people want--to be loved and appreciated. Watching her grow and evolve and gain confidence in who she was, was rewarding.
31 July 2026
* Quote Note: Sir Walter Scott ("Marmion")
School Note: Why would the teachers have the students talk about their parents’ jobs? It was a sure way to set up a pecking order, especially when according to Kdramas and Kfilms, schools are rife with bullying. I was delighted to find that there was no overt bullying in this drama. There was some typical grade school gossiping, but nothing awful. Hye Jin may have had a pessimistic world view, yet by being honest about her life, the students came to accept her which was refreshing. Eun’s jealous overreactions were the closest thing to villainous behavior.
Director Note: I would love to see more women directing in SKorea and in a wider variety of subjects. So many times they are relegated to coming-of-age stories. Same type of problem in my country. : /
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"No one here tells the truth"
I’ve enjoyed most of Koreeda Hirokazu’s films that I’ve watched but The Third Murder was more of a challenge. Fukuyama Masaharu and Yakusho Koji gave powerful performances in a glacially slow courtroom drama where nothing was as it seemed and everyone lied. Right to the bitter end.Attorney Shigemori Tomoaki has been assigned to a case where the defendant has already confessed to the murder of a factory owner. Because he is a repeat offender and robbery was involved, he’s likely to be sentenced to death. If Shigemori can convince the jury robbery wasn’t the motivating factor he can likely get the sentence reduced to life in prison. A grudge related murder is somehow less damaging than robbery (selfish). Shigemori doesn’t care to understand Misumi and the truth is irrelevant. All he needs is an argument to reduce Misumi’s sentence. The victim’s daughter becomes involved in the case muddying the waters as does her mother. Despite his trained instincts, Shigemori begins to question their planned defense and seeks to understand the truth behind the murder.
“We’re all on the same ship called Justice.” Well, buddy, that ship was sinking fast. Neither side of the courtroom was interested in the truth. Schedules had to be kept, reputations had to be protected, judicial economy was important, and cases had to be won. And it didn’t help that the defendant’s story changed from day to day. What was one to believe? This film also touched on the ways "good citizens" harmed each other every day by pretending to not see injustice and crimes and who abused and took advantage of the vulnerable.
As much as I love Koji’s acting, this film belonged to Masaharu. Watching Shigemori go from cocky, strategic planner with no emotional attachments to his clients to a man completely ensnared by Misumi and Sakie’s stories was mesmerizing. That’s saying something given how slowly and repetitively the film moved. Koji, of course, knew exactly how to play his character to draw both Shigemori and the audience in. The acting was superb and well worth the time to watch these two actors play off each other in a life and death dance.
The Third Murder had great potential, especially with the acting as I just mentioned and the cinematography was excellent. Koreeda’s esoteric dream board of themes-free will, justice, truth, control, judgement, predestination, and understanding—was never fully served by the film. Worst of all, the characters and story were too enigmatic to care about. If the writer/director wasn’t committed enough to answer the most basic questions of who did what to whom and why, why should the viewer care? If you enjoy either of the leads or mysterious films that leave all the details to the audience to decide upon, it’s worth a watch.
"Do you believe that story?"
22 July 2026
Koji Murder Movies Note: Under the Open Sky (2020) was a better film starring Yakusho Koji as a lifetime criminal.
Ratings Note: I rarely go by the MDL suggestion as rewatch rating and music rating play almost zero roles in my ratings. This time I filled out the stars and let MDL choose the rating as I was torn between a 7.0 and 7.5, largely influenced by the acting skills over film satisfaction.
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"Because I'm old I'm supposed to stay out of sight until I die?"
In a country where 50% of the people over 76 years old live below the poverty line, meat can become a distant memory. In People and Meat three elderly citizens brooch civility and the law by dashing and dining in order to eat well.Park Hyung Jun (80), Jang Woo Shik (78), and Baek Hwa Jin (72) are struggling financially. Despite their age, Park and Jang supplement their very meager incomes by collecting cardboard boxes. Baek sells vegetables on the corner. One day in a kerfuffle over the boxes, the three meet and later share a bowl of homemade soup. Park suggests going to a pork belly BBQ restaurant, his treat. While the food cooks, they can’t move as their eyes take in the largess before them and their mouths drool. As they finally partake of their meal, for the first time in a long time, they are satiated and full. But when the bill comes, Jang tells them he has no money and gives them the strategy to exit without paying. The three bond over their thievery and a friendship blossoms. Unfortunately, the law does not look so kindly on people dining and dashing.
I found this film to be more stressful than any heist story. Devising ways to stay ahead of the waiters giving chase over their food theft made me very uncomfortable. The focus shifted to the thrill they found from their actions rather than actually filling their stomachs. Though Jang of the three needed the meals, he was sharing a carton of milk with his cat on his limited resources. Food scarcity stopped being the motive as the antics continued. The story darkened as the consequences of their actions caught up with them. Yet they never brought up the dire circumstances for seniors when they achieved a level of notoriety.
People and Meat benefited from three veteran actors who knew how to sell their roles. And I loved the friendship that slowly developed through their misdeeds. Friendship made their lonely lives more bearable. However, the film struggled with its identity. Was it an indictment on a failing social safety net? A criticism of sweeping the elderly into the shadows? Or was it a comedic food heist film? It tried to be all three, and while I enjoyed the film, it missed the chance to pack more meaning into the finale. The film is still quite worthy of a try as it does shine a light on a segment of the population that many wish would simply disappear.
“I long to dissolve into laughter
So I dissolve into tears instead
Too fed up with living and dying
Forgetting the azure sky
Wings flutter aground
Heart full of unspoken words
I forget my hunger…
Shall I start a fire to warm my cold heart?”
19 June 2026
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"You must be brave. Bravery is all we have."
A Foggy Tale took place in 1953 Taiwan during the period of the White Terror. The story focused on a young girl traveling from her rural community to Taipei to retrieve her beloved brother’s body after he was executed for his ideas. The trek was harrowing as she faced numerous challenges in her desire to bring her brother home.Huang Chih Yue has been secretly bringing food and water to her brother Yun who has been hiding in the sugar cane fields. He gives her his watch, telling her that with it she can travel forward in time and imagine better days when the going gets too rough. The young artist is chased down, arrested, and later executed. Yue is determined to bring his body home instead of letting the government dump it in a mass grave. When she arrives alone in Taipei she is overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. She’s quickly set upon by traffickers, but luckily enough rescued by a rough and ready pedicab driver. The two make an awkward pair and whether Chao Kung Tao is there as a helper or to help fleece her remains to be seen.
Caitlin Fang and Will Or gave strong performances as the odd couple scrambling to keep putting one foot in front of the other on a broken beam. This film was primarily Yue’s and Caitlin’s, following the young girl’s trials in the complete unknown of Taipei. Aside from navigating the large city under martial law populated with human traffickers and thieves, Yue’s primary obstacle was money. The fees for retrieving the body of an executed prisoner were astronomical for a poor girl from Chiayi. Yue also had no plans for how she would pay to transport Yun home. All she had was her bravery and perseverance. Chao’s interventions were at times beneficial and at others disastrous. He had an interesting skill set. Chao had been a soldier and learned to curse in several languages and dialects during his time in the military. A skill he frequently displayed. He also had a traumatic past having run afoul of the KMT merely by army associations. Terrifying agent Fan Chun dropped by on occasion to menace Chao and to try and gather information from his former prisoner on wanted men.
MDL currently has 9m88 listed as a lead, but she was in the film less than 30 minutes if you are a fan and wanted to watch this for her. She played Yue’s older and absent sister, Chiu Hsiu Hsia. Due to the family’s poverty, Hsiu Hsia had been adopted out as a child to a family in Taipei. 9m88 was given a three-minute song and dance routine on her introduction which seemed to be overkill for the supporting character, especially since she wasn’t seen again until near the end of the film. I don’t know the name of the actor who played the Robin Hood styled thief, Kao Chin Chung, Kao’s brief appearances were welcome levity in the film.
The film glanced over much of the terror that went on with the KMT despite the number of people who had been killed in the film by the secret police. Money was extorted and/or confiscated, especially by the police. Poverty was omnipresent in the rural and urban areas. Sometimes a finger was all a person could afford to pay for in regards to their deceased loved one. Chao was so broke he could only buy one cigarette at a time. Scarce jobs were lost at the whisper of an agent looking for a person. Yet food was still shared and grace offered.
If I have one complaint it’s that the flow of the story could be stilted at times with characters on the periphery distracting from Yue and Chao’s narrative trajectory and making the film unnecessarily longer.
A Foggy Tale contained moments that were tense, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and gently humorous. The unlikely alliance of Yue and Chao strengthened Yue’s resolve and brought out the bravery in Chao he believed he’d lost. Sparks of human kindness gave glimpses of light in the grim darkness all around. Friends and random strangers rendered unexpected support in a sea of people doing whatever it took to survive and get ahead. And nestled in Yue’s quest were her brother’s words of hope that in the future there would be peace. That there would be a day where people would not be killed for their ideas. Unlike Yun’s watch, time could not be sped up, Yue had to face what lie before her one minute at a time with most of that time used well.
(8.25 rounded up to an 8.5)
29 May 2026
Awards note: A Foggy Tale won the Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature (2025)
Housekeeping note: This was my 100th review for 2026
Cutie Pie note: If you are a Tseng Jing Hua fan, despite being on the poster, he is primarily shown in a few flashbacks
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"You can see the world anyway you like"
Daughter does in eight minutes what longer films fail to do in two hours. Ostensibly an advertisement for the iPhone 11Pro, it was far more than that. Phones played no part except for the fact that it was supposedly shot with an iPhone. Theodore Melfi directed the film and Lawrence Sher was the cinematographer, both Academy Award Nominees.Zhou Xun plays a mother estranged from her own mother. She drives a taxi and takes her daughter to work with her for which she is often criticized. The little girl, Dou Dou, entertains herself with a homemade telescope, viewing the world with a few accessories from the window of the cab. Not everyone complains about sharing the backseat with Dou Dou offering themselves up as temporary surrogate “parents.” New Year’s Eve and a desire for dumplings and to share dumplings offers a chance for healing.
Zhou Xun gave a wonderfully complex performance in this short film/commercial as the daughter who refused to fit into the mold her mother made for her and also as the mother of her own daughter. The little girl was adorable which helped seal the deal. “Daughter” had a compelling ending that made this old Butterfly tear up. Definitely worth 8 minutes, especially for daughters who both need their mothers and their own identities separate from them.
5 May 2026
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Monstrously bad
It has been a long time since something irritated me as badly as Hoshi 35. Ostensibly billed as a kaiju flick, it underperformed in that manner epically. The kaiju was on screen for less than five minutes--in all forms. The rest of the film was a disturbing tale of human sacrifice, brain washing, and murder. If that sounds more exciting…it wasn’t.1000 years ago, in a remote village near the Tengen Mountain, a young woman is sacrificed to the Beast of the Star. Whenever the meteor appears in the future, young women are sacrificed to keep the Beast happy. Two geology employees studying the crater stumble upon the deadly and very creepy secret. They manage to escape when the villagers decide the outsiders are too big a risk. Thirty-five years later when a meteor approaches Earth headed for the mountain, the two return to the village hoping to save the villagers and keep another tragedy from happening.
Why are young women always sacrificed and not the village elder, warriors, or virgin boys? And in this case also offered up as some sort of companions? The film started turning into a village horror story but didn’t commit to that angle. Instead, it came across as misogynistic religious rites gone very wrong. After a bloody beginning it strayed into very boring territory.
A rubber costume was created, so why not use it more? Aside from the lack of a kaiju presence, because dear goodness I was truly wanting the villagers to be stomped on, the biggest transgression was in regards to the actors. Many of the older actors had been in numerous kaiju films. Odaka Megumi who played Aki starred in multiple Heisei Era Godzilla films. They even wasted Moll (Kobayashi Megumi) one of the Elias from the Mothra Rebirth trilogy. Almost no kaiju scenes and Godzilla/Mothra alums being relegated to this dreck-monstrous.
24 April 2026
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"Even if life is bumpy, you must live vibrantly!"
I love these kinds of dramas and films set in extraordinarily beautiful and remote places where people have lived to their own rhythm and nature’s for generations. To the Wonder did an excellent job of showcasing the scenery and people as they moved from their winter homes to summer ranches.What I liked:
The different people with different languages and religions communicating, negotiating, and also showing great hospitality. Separate cultures bonding through marriage and friendship.
Respect for nature.
The stunning vistas and grass ranges.
The sharing of games and celebrations.
The burgeoning writer element.
The love for horses.
Ba Tai didn’t have much character development, but he was pretty to look at.
What didn’t work as well for me:
Going to be an unpopular opinion, Li Wen Xiu felt like a character copied and pasted from a high school or college romcom Cdrama. My least favorite Cdrama FL stereotype---described as clumsy, stupid, bad at math, lazy with homework, but creative. Apparently, it is not possible to be competent and creative. How many times could she be covered in poop or water? She was also emotionally rash which resulted in dire consequences.
To the Wonder brought forth the age-old dilemma regarding changing times, as the older generations lamented their ways of life disappearing, the younger generation had to determine what was right for them. What to keep, what is lost, what is gained? I honestly could have done without the “fish out of water” character that became an avatar for more urban viewers and just reveled in the mountains, fields, and herds as the families navigated the land and changing social and political environment.
9 April 2026
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"It's a mawashi, not a jock strap"
Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t was a funny, lighthearted story of young college men finding something they were missing through a failing sumo club. “The players are pink giants,” with lots of skin showing and a determination to win and maintain age old traditions, well, at least some of them. And none of these boys were giants.Yamamoto Shuhei is called into Professor Anayama’s office. Due to his absences, Shuhei is going to fail and not graduate unless he joins the sumo club, just until the first tournament to keep the club open. Shuhei and the club leader, Aoki, search for new recruits. They manage to field a team with a guy wanting to impress a girl, another who can’t pay his rent and needs a place to live, and finally someone who just desperately desires friends. Unimpressed with the ancient art of sumo, Anayama’s losers may not be able to do enough to keep the club open.
Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t was the Bad News Bears of sumo. No one was really invested in sumo, but the more they competed the harder they worked at training. I did feel like Masayuki left out crucial moments that led to the boys’ decisions to dedicate themselves to the discipline of the sport and the respect for the ancient traditions. Most of their hardcore training was off-screen.
The film was funny, but not usually in a slapstick manner, more born out of the conditions the wrestlers found themselves in. I actually laughed out loud numerous times, a rarity for me with films. There were also deliciously heartwarming moments.
Sumo Do, Sumo Don’t was an entertaining, at times even rousing, sports film. Given that it was made for less than $1 million (USD), writer/director Suo Masayuki got a lot of bang for his buck. It was impossible for me to not root for this group of likeable underachievers. Each member of the team discovered something in himself through the rigors of sumo and the gift of friendship. Definitely worth a try if you enjoy sports or unexpected friendship films.
28 March 2026
Trigger warnings: I’ve seen other sumo fare and maybe the mawashi were ill fitting, but there was a lot of unkempt pubic hair exposed. Also, diarrhea gags.
Surprising note: I’m not sure how prevalent it was in the 1990s but this school had an American style football team complete with cheerleaders.
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The Good Guys led by Qi Shan Yun are searching for a band of masked killers for hire who have been plaguing the area. While staying at an inn, Zeng Jun thinks the cook is paying too close of attention to the goings on. After the cook saves their lives, Zeng goes out of his ways to befriend the prickly, secretive man. The Good Guys’ numbers continue to dwindle at the hands of the trident wielding murderers leading them to believe that someone within is a traitor.
It’s been a while since I’ve watched a Chang Cheh film so I pulled out my handy-dandy CC checklist:
No discernable female presence. Check. Usually, older actresses like Got Ping or Mama Hung were in a background somewhere. In this film a sister had a couple of minutes of air time. Might be a new record for this period
Bare oiled up chests and fishnet “shirts”. Check and check. Shirts were optional in his homoerotic atmosphere.
Sado-masochistic murders. Check. He went out of his way to kill people in torturous new methods.
Buckets O’ Blood. Check. Though he was rather restrained with his artery spewing extravaganzas. The body count was typical for one of his films. Don’t get emotionally attached to anyone.
Drama Queen Bad Guys. Check. Check. And Check. All the baddies made entrances like on a corny game show in the spotlight. “When he’s not murdering people for hire, he enjoys oiling his weapon and walks along the beach.”
Not necessary, but often included when the Venoms were involved: Mutton chops. Some very serious sideburn action going on.
The story was thin with the requisite hidden identities. Though one look at the cast list tells you all you need to know. I was disappointed Lo Meng couldn’t join Philip Kwok, Chiang Sheng, and Lu Feng for the reunion. But I was pleased with the addition of Chin Siu Ho. Also, the English title is misleading. The bad guys wore the masks. The Venoms and Chu Ko acted as martial arts directors. They sped things up this time around, no kung fu posing. The fights were fast and furious and the final fight gave an appropriate just deserts to the villain.
Because it was a Shaw Brothers production, it has been maintained through the years and still looks sharp. I’m not a huge Chang Cheh fan with his exclusion of female characters but his films from this era were always a spectacle to behold. Rated on a curve.
9 March 2026
Trigger warnings: A chicken was skewered. Numerous impalements and lots of blood. Drinking of “blood”. Sexual assault off-screen.
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"Love can be used to trick people"
Clans of Intrigue was another bonkers whodunit extravaganza from Chor Yuen, Ti Lung, and Gu Long. Maybe not a cast of thousands, but certainly a large and unwieldly who’s who among Shaw Brothers staples wandered onto screen only to be murdered soon thereafter.Chu Liu Xiang, the ethical thief, is accused of stealing the Tianyi Divine Water poison and killing four clan leaders. Kung Nan Yen from the Divine Water Palace gives him a month to find the real killer or his life is forfeit. Chu crisscrosses the area hunting down clues and thwarting murder attempts on himself. The renowned swordsman will discover that enemies may be allies and allies might be enemies as he seeks to uncover the truth while trying to stay alive.
Ti Lung shone in this role. He seemed to take delight in the light-hearted, skilled thief and swordsman. Ling Yun would have a larger role in Legend of the Bat but made the most of his sword for hire role here. Nora Miao, Li Ching, and Betty Pei Ti all played swordswomen with Chu in their sights for various reasons. Tien Ching and Yueh Hua’s characters had their own secrets to bear. This was one of Yueh’s stronger roles. He could be rather stiff in other roles so it was fun to watch him exercise his acting muscles in this one. Ku Feng showed up at a clan’s gambling den, another interested in party in who killed the chiefs.
This film was a wuxia detective story as Ti searched for clues with killers on his trail. I’m always amused when the bad guy wears an unassuming bright red costume. To quote My Cousin Vinny, “Oh, you blend.” There were surprising twists and turns for a 1970s martial arts movie.*** I’m finding that Tang Chia and Huang Pei Chih worked well together as martial arts directors. The action was fast and acrobatic. As much as I love Ti, he could border on kung fu posing at times and this choreography seemed to suit him.
If you enjoy old kung fu flicks and don’t mind a rapid release of characters and information, this is one to try. I’m disappointed that I’ve watched all the Ti Lung and Ling Yun “buddy” movies, they had a nice bromance. As always, I rate these films on a curve.
6 March 2026
Triggers: An arm ripped off. Suggested sexual encounters off screen. Suicide.
***The film had a lesbian relationship without making it too weird. A major feat for the time.
***Spoiler comment below:
There was also an “intersex” character which at first made me nervous because I feared the character might be shown in a derogatory manner. Thankfully, this character was also not ridiculed. It was a “gotcha” moment but for 1977 they didn’t get gross in their language about the character. The situation was simply accepted matter of factly which was a nice surprise even if it might have pushed the bounds of realism.
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