Table for Two
Before Harry Met Sally, Figgy and Jenny met in An Autumn’s Tale. Mabel Cheung directed this romcom from a script by Alex Law. Set in New York City, it showed some of the obstacles Figgy and Jenny had to overcome on the way to love and the American Dream.Jennifer Lee flies from Hong Kong to NYC in order to go to acting school and be with her boyfriend, Vincent. Her cousin Samuel Pang aka Figurehead aka Figgy greets her at the airport and gives her a ride in his deathmobile to her new apartment. Jenny’s mom had been informed that Figgy was a very successful businessman with his own apartment and car. Technically, all those things were true, if exaggerated. Vincent gave her a worse surprise than riding in Figgy’s junker. Unmoored and not sure what to do, Jenny went to school and picked up two part-time jobs to make ends meet. When Figgy wasn’t working or gambling he spent time with her, helping her overcome a broken heart and also had to make a better bowl of fish soup.
This film may have smacked of a tried-and-true romcom formula, but it was a newer trope nearly 40 years ago when this film came out. Even at that I found it entertaining and well done. The film eschewed secondary characters for the most part and focused on Jenny and Figgy which helped deepen my bond with them. Both were flawed, likeable characters trying to find their place in the world. Chow Yun Fat gave a delightful performance as the good-hearted Figgy who always helped a friend in need. This was the most vulnerable I’ve seen him. From joyous to down crested, he made Figgy believable and sympathetic. The younger Cherie Chung held her own with him as Jennifer. The two had nice chemistry going from strangers to something more even when Jenny and Figgy weren’t sure exactly what that something more was.
NYC was shown from its dirtiest closet to its shiniest showroom. Jenny went from being unsure of how to navigate the city to gaining her confidence with each passing day. Unlike Figgy, Jenny not only hung out with Cantonese speaking people, she also made friends at her school. Though ten years older than her, it was Figgy who needed to gain the confidence required to meet his goals. The two characters helped each other to grow and figure out what they wanted in their lives and each other.
An Autumn’s Tale was a subtle and slow burn romance without any annoying melodrama or slapstick comedy. Even the misunderstandings were overcome quickly. What it did have was character growth and personal discovery for both Jenny and Figgy. Their endearing relationship and adventures made the trip to NYC worthwhile.
25 September 2024
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YiBo Is The Highlight Of That Movie, What More Can I Say? This Film Couldn't Have Been Easy For Him!
I Can't Stress Enough, How After Watching No Name/Hidden Blade I Was Pretty Terrified Of Watching This Movie Born To Fly, Because Of All The Dangers, And Stunts YiBo Did... Then I Come To Find Out YiBo Crashed A Truck While Practicing A Scene, And Flipped The Truck Like 4-5 Times, AND IT WAS NOT PLANNED!!! Watching That Video Scared Me Half To Death. YiBo Is WAY TO DAMN YOUNG TO BE PUTTING HIMSELF IN SO MANY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS!!! (I Love, And Adore YiBo So Very Much, I Just Wish He Would Love HIMSELF More, And Know That There Are People Like Me, And My Husband That Love Him Dearly. He Just Puts Himself Into To Much Danger, And WAY TO MUCH STUFF THAT CAN, AND WILL HURT HIM... NOW IF NOT IN THE FUTURE!!! 😭😭😭) Anyways Since That Test Run Was So Accurate, And Apparently Perfect, And So Real, They Ended Up Using It In The Movie, And Didn't Have To Do It Retry It Again!!!After Watching That Video I Was 1st Very Upset, And Angry, That The Producer's, And Production Team Of Born To Fly Could, And Would Allow So A Dangerous Stunt To Be Done By Such A Young YiBo. He Just Turned 27 On August 5th, 2024... I'm Going To Say While Filming Born To Fly, He Was 24-25. WAY TO FREAKIN YOUNG TO BE PUTTING HIMSELF THOUGH ALL THAT. Anyways I Was So Damn Angry, I Thought To Myself, And Told Myself I Would Not, And Will Not Watch This Movie Period!!!
I Will Say This, I Did Go Watch It, Because I Wanted To Support YiBo... I Ended Up Watching It 3 Times With My Husband...
So Yes, It Was A Really Good, And Really Awesome Movie. All The Actors, And Actresses Did A Great, And Wonderful Job... From Being Silly, To Being Serious, And To Getting The Job Done, The Actors Profesionalisum Was Very Good... ESPECIALLY WHEN HAVING LITTLE PIG TAIL IN THE MEN ACTORS HAIRS!!! 😂🤣😂 They All Were Such Good Sports About It, But There Is A Reason To It, And That Was In Honor One Of There Fallen Hero's, And Someone Else That Is Even More Special, And More Important To Them, Because They Knew Him, And Most Importantly, And Above, He Was There Superior, There Captain, Leader, Mentor, Etc.
YiBo As Always Managed To Make Me Laugh, Cry, And Be Terrified All In A Matter Of 2 Plus Hours, More Or Less. Oh And As A Added Bonus, He Was Trying To Make Me Throw Up... HaHaHa Seriously When I Say This Young Man Does All His Own Stunts, I Mean He Does His Own Stunts.
The Rigorous, And Strenuous Tests They Have You Do To Become A Fighter Jet Pilot. I Will Say This... I WOULD NEVER WANT TO BE A FIGHTER JET PILOT!!! NO THANK YOU!!! And This Is A Movie O.k. They Cut Stuff, Out Film What They Need, Ect. Watching A 2 Hour Plus Movie All Ready Gives Me A Taste, And The Realization Of How It Is, And Would Be A Fighter Jet Pilot, So Yes This Movie Is Very Accurate, And Very Real In All Aspects Of Becoming A Fight Jet Pilot, SO YES, THIS MOVIE BORN TO FLY IS A GREAT, AND AWESOME MOVIE!!! It Shows You Everything, And Anything You Would Need To Know If And Just Incase You Want To Become A Fighter Jet Pilot.
September 25, 2024 @ 4:25-5:28 P.M.
YiBo Said One Of His Greatest Moments Was Being Able To Sit, And Be In A Real Fighter Jet, He Said That There Was No Feeling Like Being In One, And He Was So Honor That He Was Able To Sit And Be Able To Flim In Them. YiBo Maybe Be A Man Of Little Words Or Expressions, But When It Came To Sitting, And Being Able To Be In A Real Fighter Jet, He Was Like A Happy Gitty Child Fulfilling His Childhood Dream.
YiBo Himself Did A Great, And Very Acceptional Job. As Always He Always Has Professionalism, And He Always Gets The Job Done.
This Young Man From The Beginning, I Have NEVER EVER SEEN YIBO COMPLAINT ABOUT ANYTHING WHILE FILMING. No Matter How Many Times He Has To Do A Stunt, Just To Get It Perfect, He Will Do It Over, And Over, And Over Without Anger Or Complaint. If He Gets Hurt, He's Always Asked Are You O.k.? Are You Hurt? YIBO'S ANSWER IS NOTHING IS WRONG!!! Which Means He Is O.k. He Is Not Hurt. I BELIEVE IF YIBO WAS EVEN HURT, HE WILL NEVER SAY OR EVER ADMIT IT!!! AND THIS IS JUST MY GUESS, BUT... BECAUSE THAT'S JUST THE WAY HE IS, HE #1 DOESN'T WANT TO INCONVENIENCE PEOPLE, AND #2 HE DOES NOT, AND WILL NOT BE THE CAUSE TO STOP FILMING OR PRODUCTION OF THE MOVIE... (As A Matter Of Fact After That Truck Accident Scene That Wasn't Planned The Producer Wanted YiBo To Go Get Checked Out By A Doctor... THANK GOODNESS YIBO HAD SOME TYPE OF HELMET ON, COULD HAVE EVEN BEEN A MOTORCYCLE HELMET, HIS??? YiBo Refused To Go, He Didn't Want To Delay The Production Of The Movie... So The Producer Told Him To Rest A Little Bit, But Again YiBo Basically Took A Few Drinks Of Water, And Continued To Work.)
YIBO IS A VERY HARD WORKING YOUNG MAN... HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SINCE THE AGE OF 13 YEARS OLD... SO BRAVE AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE, AND STILL IS TO THIS DAY ONLY BEING THE AGE OF 27 YEARS OLD.
I Am Always So Very Proud Of YiBo, Because This Is His 2nd Movie That Came To The Big Screen That Came Out To The USA... And Even Though I Was So Mad, And Angry At The Producer, And Production Team, I Wasn't To Support YiBo... I Like The Movie So Much I Saw It 3 Times With My Husband. 😂🤣😂 YES, IT WAS THAT GOOD!!! By The 3rd One I Knew When To Look, And Not Look At Parts Not Because I Didn't Like It, But Because I Hated Seeing YiBo Hurt, Even Though It Was Fake, EXCEPT The Car Truck Accident.
I Will Say This If I Didn't Go See It On The Big Screen, I WOULD HAVE REALLY REGRETTED IT IN THE FUTURE, Especially If I Were To Watch It On DVD In The Future, Because It Is Really, And Just That Good!!!
September 27, 2024 @ 3:43 A.M.
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For his part, Mutsuki Kishida (Toyokawa Etsushi - 'Beautiful Rain', 2012) is a handsome, emphatically homosexual doctor with a boyfriend, the beautiful university student Kon (Tsutsui Michitaka - 'Kimi to Ita Natsu', 1994).
In a heteronormative and patriarchal society where appearances are of great importance, both must satisfy their worried parents, so they enter into a marriage of convenience. Even though she knows about her husband's sexuality, each of them finds in the other the perfect partner for a fake marriage.
On the one hand, the marriage of convenience would be important for Mutsuki for his career as a doctor, while at the same time it could be perfect for him to hide his homosexuality in a society like Japan; However, there is genuine affection between the doctor and his wife, as they find some comfort with each other.
However, external pressures weigh on the newlyweds; for example, parents' questions about when there will be a grandchild. As Shoko says: "My comfortable, carefree marriage was as fun as playing at home, but it came at a price after all."
Of course, the parents of the newlyweds know the nature of their own child, but not that of the spouse, and at first the marriage manages to please them. And while the newlyweds hope, in their own way, to live happily ever after, they inevitably come face to face with the fact that no marriage, real or simulated, is a fairy tale.
Although Shoko accepts Mutsuki's relationship with Kon, the young couple will face tough tests, especially when Shoko's parents discover the falsehood of the marriage.
Neither partner seemed to have high expectations about it, and Shoko said, "It was good to have marriages like ours. You didn't expect much, you didn't want much. You lost nothing, there was nothing to fear.
Written and directed by Matsuoka Joji ('Shinya Shokudo 2', 2011), the psychological and LGBT+-themed drama 'Kira Kira Hikaru' was the winner of the Golden Hugo Award for Best Film at the 29th Chicago International Film Festival 1993, while Etsushi Toyokawa won the New Star of the Year Award at the 16th Japanese Academy Awards (1992 Films).
With a rather slow pace, the script adapts the book of the same name written by Kaori Eguni, known for her novels "Reisei to jônetsu no aida" ("Between Calmness and Passion", "Sweet Little Lies", "The Mamiya Brother" and "Tokyo Tower".
The search for connection, trying to fit into social standards, having to pretend in a society that is intolerant of homosexuals, isolation even when you are surrounded by people who are supposed to know and love you, family relationships, urban alienation, These are some of the themes explored in the feature film.
The performance of Hiroko Yakushimaru stands out, playing a depressed young woman who fights against alcohol problems, loneliness, and against what society expects of a young woman: getting married, having a baby, etc. Even though Shoko knew that Mutsuki could never love her the way she wanted, she really tried to make it work.
Her friend and confidant does not help her, telling her that having a baby will help her "calm down" even though she knows that her husband is gay and living in a fake marriage.
With a somewhat open closure as the director opted for people to create their own ending, the marriage that is already built on a fragile foundation and seems to break under the pressures of parents and society and personal weaknesses, finally the three protagonists find a kind of solution.
Despite the difficulties, they come to see that there is a bond and manage to hold on to it. Amidst the demands of submitting to gender roles and collective duties, the three main characters find happiness in their own oddities.
"I would have liked to have done a lot more to develop the relationship between Mitsuki and Kon, because the few scenes they have together show a lot of potential and chemistry between the two."
In my opinion, the book and the movie complement each other well. The complexity of the characters is a bit lacking in the book, but the characters' flaws are more evident in the film adaptation.
Starting off with a happy vibe, in the second part of the film the plot takes a rather sad and dark turn, but somehow manages to come out on the other side, but not without making the viewer suffer. It is a transition of humor that can entertain and, above all, make viewers reflect.
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Not as good as love syndrome III
From what I've been reading review after watching it, I've read many says its better than love syndrome III but for my opinion, its not as good as love syndrome III.I've read the novel, I though this movie might show the relationship progress of day and itt but I think day and itt only has around 30% part and the rest was about the story of night and gear only.
For people whom love to watch more of dayitt scene, I recommend watching love syndrom III. As for gearnight I recommend this movie thou it supposed to be series.
Actor - some ok some isn't. I prefer actor from LSIII more.
Story - it would have been better.
Sound - could be improvised.
Rewatch - not necessary.
The ending is TO BE CONTINUED.
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EASY 10!
Jason Kim, you have done it again.I knew from the moment this movie’s description said “Jason Kim director of Bloodhounds” that this must be just as good. AND DAMN I WAS RIGHT!!!
Kim Woobin fits these type of roles so well, from Black Knight to Officer Black Belt, truly an amazing performance.
Now the thing that roped me in was the plot, and I genuinely have no complaints against this movie. It was entertaining, it was emotional, it had likeable characters (the good ones ofc lol), and above all, the friendships that bloomed and the character development was beautiful. Kim Woobin’s character went from being a little immature and seeking fun in everything and never being serious, to opening a whole new dark world and inevitably getting sucked into it. Its easy to immediately seek out justice once you see what horrible stuff goes on behind closed doors.
Now that everything is coming out in Korea about CP distribution, SA’s and offenders not being properly prosecuted, I feel like this was a perfect movie to come out right now. Maybe it’ll make people of Korea watch this and realise how disgusting and very real these situations are.
Certain scenes were hard to watch since they didn’t censor how disgusting these cases can get, but thankfully it was never cruelly or gruesomely depicted as for example ‘Silenced’ movie did.
So, it’s own level of graphic will make you cry or atleast make you sick to your stomach.
I haven’t watched a movie in one sitting in a while, this was an amazing watch. I truly recommend it! But as always with these type of movies, be careful watching it and make sure you’re in the right headspace to do so.
Amazing movie!
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Contemporary & Cute
Love In The Big City is a contemporary coming of age flick, and its interests are decidedly commercial with an intent to shift audience perspectives. As a fan of the novel I had to switch my lens while watching this, and I think if youre one of those people that only wants to see what was on page put to screen it might be better to skip. Despite that, I quite enjoyed this movie. It was reminiscenf of those early 2010s office movies about characters struggling through their twenties and the filmmaking style was reminiscent of kdrama, even shooting flashbacks similarly. It has great performances, especially from Kim Goeun, and the central friendship was a beating heart that kept the story alive and from feeling too saccharine. It is still pretty over the top though, a film manufactured to be rewatched over and over on a laptop as you go about your day. In watching the movie I initially found it to be a bit generic in appeal, but that criticism seems a bit harsh as time passes. Its commerciality seems to work in tandem with the bitterness of the upcoming series, this movie works great when watched with friends and family in theaters, to help a closed off audience empathize and care for queer characters. Its not exactly revolutionary, but its ambitions lie in creating a feminist and queer narrative in a neat clean package. It wants to be a hit, and the promotion for it is insistent on it as Korea itself becomes increasingly polarized and unkind to women and minorities.Was this review helpful to you?
The snowy mountains and the lone Warrior at the beginning are so beautiful together
Because of the understanding of Zhang Zhehan's current situation in the country, a talented artist, but in the country has been comprehensively slander social death, his name is not, his TV series has been completely removed from the shelves, the film has been cut out, and even the case has been filed. There was nothing wrong with him at all, so the difficult climb of the snow mountain at the beginning made me cry. This unprecedented injustice, in the face of such a great injustice, he did not choose a dead end, but went to the most beautiful scenery in China - Tibet, to the human fireworks to find themselves, to find the meaning of life, to heal himself, but also to heal the injured people, this is the reason why I like. After watching this film, you will gain the strength of calm and go nowhere. I like the narration of this documentary best. The writing is so beautiful.Was this review helpful to you?
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Fantastic directing and great acting in a sensitive take on a delicate subject
What a wonderful watch. I loved how the story was revealed to the audience, from the first meeting of our protagonists, the relationship of Lok with Yan-Yan, to finally his second meeting with Yip Nam, and the struggles they went through. It was such an interesting way to tell their story, I completely didn't expect how it would unfold when I started watching.I also think that the film provided us with enough information about both protagonists to understand their actions, including Lok's final decision or Yip Nam's lack of professionalism when she got involved with him in the first place. I liked that both FL and ML shared the same theme of their mothers affecting how they navigate relationships and love (I appreciated that Lok wasn't just reduced to being a person suffering from schizophrenia, but we got to hear of more of his life experiences influencing how he behaves).
The acting was great. Both main actors did a wonderful job, and both made me cry with their respective break-down scenes. The directing was beautiful. I loved all the far distance, wide angle shots, which - for me - emphasized the feeling of derealisation, but also switching from "Lok's perspective" to the "real world" perspective. I also enjoyed how a lot of scenes were filmed from the perspective of standing outside a window or hiding behind a shelf (as if someone was constantly there with Lok, following and observing him).
The movie treats the subject of mental illness with sensitivity and depth. I appreciated we got to see how Lok navigates his life (e.g. relying on the cellphone to see if a person talking to him is really there) and feel the insecurity he might feel, not knowing if things around him are real. The relapse scene at his apartment was really painful to watch. Yet at the same time, it was so well- filmed and acted that I was enjoying its every moment. The sequence when Yan-Yan and Yip Nam are both holding onto Lok and "fighting over" him was excellent in every detail!
Finally, a separate praise goes to the love scenes. The chemistry between Lok and Yip Nam was palpable, especially in that scene on a crowded train.
Highly recommended!
This was cross-posted with Viki.
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"Sometimes I have to follow what others do. I don't know why life is this hard"
All the Crows in the World is a short film by Tang Yi that won the 2021 Palme d’Or Best Short Film and the 2022 SXSW award for Narrative Short. A clever satirical look at “respectable” businessmen and also a warm take on how friendships can occur in the strangest of places. Tang Yi built her world, added some surreal elements, and let her sharp female lead navigate it with care and fun.Zhao Sheng Nan and her friend are enjoying a snack when the shop owner takes off with a female “friend” before his wife comes back. Sheng Nan starts a stopwatch and bets how long he’ll last. A relative advises her with a bullhorn that her cousin wants to meet up with her. At the restaurant table filled with middle-aged businessmen she finds herself, her virginity, and her marriageability the center of conversation. A conversation that includes a Taoist priest. She’s also gifted numerous red envelopes. The party moves to an “entertainment” establishment where numerous girls in short dresses are introduced. Sheng Nan finds a safe harbor with Wang Jiang Guo who has no interest in women or the evening’s proceedings.
Shot on a small budget, Tang Yi was the writer, director, and cinematographer. She utilized her 14 minutes and managed to make Sheng Nan and Jiang Guo come to vivid life, also helped by the actors’ performances. Though teenage Sheng Nan still had an innocence about her, with each zip of her jacket she showed that she was also aware of what men’s eyes desired. And was confident enough to put the businessmen in their places. Unlike the mainland where gay love is verboten, this Hong Kong film had an openly gay character. Jiang Guo and Sheng Nan formed great co-conspirators as they found their own way to enjoy their evening.
I enjoyed this quirky short film which even found time for a quick dance number complete with wings, bubbles, and strobe lights. Sheng Nan and Jiang Guo’s developing friendship was entertaining to watch as they commiserated with each other and poked fun at the respectable people around them. Tang Yi is a fresh voice and one I want to hear more from.
24 September 2024
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Good food for thought
I really like the setting of this short film. It offers the possibility of a future where gender transition is actually supported by the government, but it's always inside the limits of the gender binary - not only on a biological level, but also on a social level.Yi An is almost 17 years old and will soon get his one-in-a-lifetime chance to choose the gender they will want to be for the rest of their life. As they interact with their best friend Wen Hua and their crush Zhou Yang Kai, their doubts keep increasing.
The events are kept vague, but also detailed enough to let the viewer reflect on what is happening in the film and make their own conclusion, which I liked a lot as I believe it mirrors the uncertainty of Yi An's feelings toward themself, toward the choice they're meant to make, and toward the people around them. I don't want to include spoilers, so I'll only add this: I believe that when the film ended, we got all the information we needed about the characters and their thoughts, and that anything else would have been unnecessary.
The actors all did an amazing job (Hsiang En Hung as Yi An, Audrey Fong as Wen Hua, and Ptero Li as Zhou Yang Kai). Props to Hsiang En Hung in particular for being able to portray Yi An's inner turmoil so beautifully.
I really liked the music used for this short and the camera angles. I also really liked the idea of using both a masculine and a feminine voice for Yi An's thoughts/narration, alternating the two or even using both at the same time.
It's a nice little piece of art. Recommended!
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What does it mean to be a mother?
No Blood Relation was the second oldest surviving film from director Naruse Mikio. Like Ozu Yasujiro, many of his early films have been lost to the ravages of time. Based on a novel by Yanagawa Shunyo, Naruse asked the question, “What makes a mother?” Is it biology or nurture? A little girl would be torn between the only mother she’d ever known and the mother who came to town to claim her.Famous actress Tamae Kiyooka returns home to Japan after making her fortune in the United States. First on her list of things to do is to regain custody of the daughter she abandoned as a newborn when she ran off with her lover to pursue her career in Hollywood. Coincidentally, her ex-husband is filing for bankruptcy and being hauled off to jail for reasons related to the downfall of his company. Kiyooka is unaware of how deeply Shegiko and her stepmother love each other. Masako has raised Shegiko as her own with Shegiko never knowing she’s not her biological mother. Kiyooka uses Atsumi’s mother who is disgruntled by their backward step in fortunes to kidnap Shegiko. Neither the little girl nor her stepmother are willing to be separated, but Kiyooka believes she has the moral high ground with the blood relation and is wiling to be patient.
Okada Yoshiko had the difficult job of making Tamae Kiyooka sympathetic. The script didn’t help much but her ability to convey Kiyooka’s sorrow and frustration over her daughter not only not recognizing her, but hating her as well came across wonderfully nuanced. Because Kiyooka remembered her child it never occurred to her that Shigeko would feel no connection to her. The consequences of her choices tumbled on her like a falling spotlight. “Is the bond between mother and child so fragile?” When you’ve put no effort into it for 7 years, yeah, it’s pretty fragile. I found Okada to be a fascinating person. The actress led a complicated life with various lovers culminating with a move to the USSR in 1938. Instead of a happy ending they were jailed and tortured as spies. She was incarcerated for 10 years and her lover died before she ever saw him again. Okada went back to Japan to make a few films in the 1970’s but returned to the Soviet Union not long afterward. Her story would make an intriguing film.
Tsukuba Yukiko as Atsumi Masako gave her character heart and a gentle fierceness as she fought for the daughter she loved. Traditional Masako was shown in contrast to Kiyooka’s modern and Westernized woman. Kiyooka deserted her daughter for a career while Masako began a job to keep her daughter. Oka Joji played the Atsumi’s friend, Kusakabe Masaya. This was a distracting casting choice for me. Nara Shinyo as Atsumi was homely and petite. I couldn’t help shipping handsome and imposing Kusakabe with Masako. Kojima Toshiko was charming as Shegiko, the precious child two mothers fought over. Katsuragi Fumiko played Atsumi’s greedy mother who proved that gold is thicker than blood.
I watched this silent film on the Criterion Channel where the film had an unobtrusive piano accompaniment added. There was significant salt and pepper pocking as well as white lines on some frames. The intertitles were used efficaciously and provided the necessary information needed with one exception. I wasn’t sure why Atsumi was sent to prison. Naruse made several awkward choices with the use of speedy extreme closeups interspersed with choppy shots of people and exteriors. His later work would flow much better. The bumbling brothers felt like they were part of different movie when they were clowning around all while two women fought a devastating battle for the affections and custody of a child.
With no spoken word, compelling performances were a must for silent films. No Blood Relation was fortunate to have quality actors conveying the film’s message. “It’s raising a child, not giving birth to one that makes a woman a mother.” Kiyooka had to learn the difference between love and possession while Masako had to dig deep to fight for the daughter she loved. If you enjoy Naruse’s films this poignant story about maternal love and what constitutes a family is one to try.
23 September 2024
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A different rendition of the end of My Home Hero.
Part 2 of the manga is one of my favorite pieces of media. It was harrowing, disgusting, and a massive low point for the Tosu family. However, Part 3 didn’t live up to my expectations. It dragged and didn’t feel like a satisfying conclusion to the story. But this movie, for me, is how My Home Hero should have ended.Since they excluded the second arc, they had to rework some key plot points to fit the story they were telling. Unfortunately, the biggest casualty of these changes is Kasen, considering the second arc revolved around her. Shino and Ozawa’s personalities also took a hit, probably because there just wasn’t enough time to flesh out their subtleties. Making them more extreme versions of their characters works, too, I guess.
That said, the movie does have plenty of positives. There were a few major throughlines. One was Tetsuo’s confession letter-turned-novel. It’s what caused everything to spiral for him, and the way they tied it back at the end? SO GOOD! Another was Reika’s childhood vacation story, where she had to save Tetsuo, even though he was supposed to be the one saving her from drifting too far from shore. That same beach ends up being where Tetsuo stashed the Mano group’s money after taking Kyoichi’s freedom. All roads led back to that beach, and it’s also where Tetsuo loses his own freedom. It’s such a good final set piece, and I’m really glad they included Kasen in that scene. It’s a good farewell for him. I also love the contrast between Tetsuo’s scream to the heavens in the live-action series and his quiet, pained look from behind the prison walls here. He lost his freedom, but he protected his family.
It’s a really well-done, streamlined version of the end of My Home Hero. If you have the time, read the manga too!
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A feel-good movie
It is indeed one of my favourite Chinese movies, the kind of movie that makes you feel really happy and hopeful afterwards, hence 10/10 rewatch value from me.The storyline is nothing out of ordinary, you can probably guess it just from watching a trailer. However, the way it flows is quite natural and does not have gaps where you feel bored or lose interest, instead it makes you cheer for the protagonist, you want him to win. The final battle where Chen Shuo incorporated everyone's dance moves into one is undoubtedly the climax of the film.
The only downside for me is I feel some of the dance scenes are unnecessarily heavily edited with too many visual effects, which kind of made the dance sequences a bit less enjoyable to watch.
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Esta wena pero no taanto
PARA EMPEZAR: Vi esta película con mi mamá y me pareció entretenida para tomar tecito en la tarde, pero a los días se me olvido que existía hasta que la vi acá asi que toco darle una review. >>•1.Este drama es la típica peli que está en Netflix sobre gente peleando con personas malas y pues senti que era una más del montón, lo que me llego a atrapar en algunos momentos fue el tema que aborda la película pero más de eso no me llamo la atención.
•2.La actuación del policía estubo buenisima (el poli tmb aajekek) y pues estuvo muy wuapo asi que le doy mas estrellas, agregaré que me encanto el cambio de look que le dieron al protagonista porque el pelo que llevaba antes no me gustaba nada la verdad (ahora si esta bien wapote).
•3.Respecto a la trama, no me pareció nada mal y me hizo encariñarme con algunos personajes, me gusto que el protagonista cuando veía a alguien en problemas no dudaba en ayudarlo. No me arrepiento de verla, byebye.
...
La recomiendo? Maso (recomendaria otras)
La volvería a ver? Nop
7-8/10
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