Author Topic: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 561596 times)

smirnoff

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #100 on: November 16, 2008, 12:47:42 PM »
I'll be interested to see where After The Rain goes from here. Nice write-up Melvil.

roujin

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #101 on: November 16, 2008, 01:18:58 PM »
roujin's first verdict in the Far East Bracket!

Postman Blues vs. Made in Hong Kong


Made in Hong Kong (Fruit Chan, 1997)

There's a lot of stuff that's kinda off about this film for me. There's lots of cliched stuff abount, and it really does have atrocious music. But I can get behind it for the most part. At its heart, it is not a gang film or a film about violence or anything like that. It's simply a film about young people. Autumn Moon is at the center of it all. He deals with gangs but doesn't join one. He's an outsider. The film depicts him at this really cool guy in some moments while in others he's just a gawky little kid trying to be cool. At one point, we're shown a fake killing and then we're shown what happened to make clear the contrast between the physical and mental state of Autumn Moon. The film is shot in a great kinda DIY Wong/Doyle style. At points, it comes off silly and amateurish but sometimes, the film gets it right and we're left with some pretty good images. Mostly, I just appreciate the fact that it was actually trying something visually even it felt discordant at some points. The film sometimes deals in cliches but at points it really does get down the heart of the matter and we come to realize that the environment around them has beaten down these kids so much that they feel like they have no other choice. It's about hating adults, wanting to be free from everything and then realizing that it's all bullshit. Yeah, I liked this. Plus, he looks pretty cool right here:







Postman Blues (Sabu, 1997)

Wow, this movie starred That Guy. I've been wondering who the hell this guy is. I keep seeing him in movies... Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise. But, on to the movie. Easily to me the most interesting thing about the film is its treatment of the police. They're portrayed as morons who will quickly jump in and label someone a drug runner/murderer/sexual deviant and then go after them without any substantial proof (or a misunderstanding of the facts). They're buffoons and they're treated as such. That's all on the background though. Center stage is the story of a postman who's fed up with his job and while making the rounds meets up with and old friend who just happens to be a Yakuza. From then on, misunderstandings, traditional meetings taking place in the rooftops of buildings, more Yakuza, more silliness, more of everything. It's very inconsistent in its tone but it almost seems to be willful. There's also a love story that feels very dumb and cliched ('cept for one part... in the picture above) (and, of course, the girl is dying). I was really into the film at the beginning when it was quieter and less concerned with throwing in wacky stuff (although that was amusing in and of itself). There seemed to be a lot of potential here and I'm not sure how it all fizzled out as the movie went on but it did. Anyway, I think the best part was the totally random (and awesome) Chungking Express part as seen in the following screencaps:



Then:



The ending seems to end on a strong note even if it's kinda saccharine. Is it a condemnation of the police force or did it seem like the right way to end it after you've painted yourself into a corner....? I don't know. Maybe one of you could tell me.

I liked both films. I'm glad I watched them. But, at this point, I would rather rewatch/have other people watch Made in Hong Kong so I'm going with that!

uh, pix, another match-up plz?

worm@work

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #102 on: November 16, 2008, 01:27:39 PM »
Awesome :). Its pretty clear that I liked Made in Hong Kong more than you did. I agree with the fact that it frequently deals in cliches but there were moments that I really really liked. If it ever needs to be resurrected, maybe I'll post more details on why I loved it as much as I did. That whole sequence where Autumn Moon is trying to prep himself for the murder was pretty surreal and I really loved it.

Nice verdict Melvil. I really liked Ame Agaru as well and was pleasantly surprised by it. I don;t know why i haven't yet watched Porco Rosso though :(.


smirnoff

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #103 on: November 16, 2008, 01:39:39 PM »
Good to see the reviews coming in. Nice job roujin.

worm@work

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #104 on: November 17, 2008, 01:04:56 AM »
The Last Dance (Juzo Itami, 1993) vs. Dong (Tsai Ming-Liang, 1998)


The Last Dance

The website I stole this image from describes The Last Dance as a meditation on death and dying. It is indeed a film about facing one's mortality, about one's right to die with dignity, about family and the parallels between movies and real life. Oh and did I mention that its a comedy? I was a bit worried when the movie began given all the campy dialog and acting and then I realized that things would probably work out ok because what I was watching was really the melodramatic movie within the movie! The movie has it's heart in the right place and I think the whole idea was to criticize the Japanese custom where doctors hide details about the diagnosis from terminally ill patients. However, I'm not sure it really succeeds very well at this. Both the humor and the melodrama felt rather over the top to me. I didn't really find the comedy funny enough and the shift to drama felt all over the place as well. There are some dream / mystical sequences towards the end that I quite liked and that did improve the movie for me. The lead actor's performance was really good as well. Overall, the movie was watchable but it's definitely no Ikiru and given that, I kept wishing I was watching Tampopo instead!





Dong

This movie is such a trip! For almost the first 25 minutes of the movie, no one speaks a word. The only thing we hear is the sound of the television newscaster and the sound of dripping water. At one level, the film is an apocalyptic vision of a city plagued by a virus where only a few people remain that refuse to leave the quarantined area. But like in the other films I've watched by Tsai (What Time Is It There and I Don't Want to Sleep Alone), here again he seems more interested in exploring themes of alienation and loneliness and people's need for human connection. The movie is simply stunning in its brilliant portrayal of this dystopic world. Everything ALWAYS looks really wet and damp and dirty and I could almost physically feel that world as I was watching the movie. Secondly, there is the continuous sound of pouring rain and dripping water in the background that is haunting and serves to illustrate the relentlessness of the situation these people are under. And I'm only just getting to the best part about this movie. Into this bleak and disease-ridden world, Tsai inserts these amazing fantasy sequences set to Grace Chang's songs. There are quite a few of these in the movie and these are not just individual scenes but full-blown song and dance sequences with lavish, glittery costumes, lights, groups of dancers et al. No description can do justice to the complete awesomeness of these sequences in the movie or to the complete and utter surprise I felt when faced with the first of these. My jaw just dropped as I started to comprehend what was happening. Another amazing aspect of these sequences is that despite being fantasy sequences, they are all set in the same decrepit apartment complex and desolate shopping center and these surroundings don't undergo any significant transformation even in these dreams. These song sequences really distinguish this film from any of the other Tsai films I've watched. Apart from these sequences, there are several other really sweet touches of humor in the film. It's interesting to me that both the films in this matchup try to examine serious social issues with a somewhat light hand and that despite the fact that Dong has far fewer obvious jokes in it, I found Dong far more life-affirming and optimistic than The Last Dance. Finally, Dong just has one of the most amazing ending sequences ever! It perfectly combines the real and fantasy aspects of the film and just left me smiling and happy.

Ok, this hasn't been very suspenseful. Dong moves on to the next round.
« Last Edit: November 17, 2008, 06:44:31 AM by worm@work »

smirnoff

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #105 on: November 17, 2008, 07:10:12 AM »
Well I'm certainly interested in this Dong Movie now. Good reviews worm.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #106 on: November 17, 2008, 07:36:52 AM »
I'm pretty sure worm is going to dominate this bracket.  :P

But great verdict, and keep em coming.  ;)

skjerva

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #107 on: November 17, 2008, 12:26:04 PM »
worm, glad you loved it.  i am a huge fan of Tsai though have yet to experience a few of his films, including this one.  check out I Don't Want to Sleep Alone for another wet masterpiece with a nice ending.  i agree that his work is very "life-affirming"
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pixote

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #108 on: November 17, 2008, 01:16:37 PM »
But like in the other films I've watched by Tsai (What Time Is It There and I Don't Want to Sleep Alone)...

:)

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sdedalus

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket - Verdicts
« Reply #109 on: November 18, 2008, 03:35:05 PM »
Fight Back To School - A Stephen Chow comedy written by Barry Wong (Hard-Boiled and the ridiculously prolific writer/producer/director Wong Jing, and directed by Gordon Chan (Fist Of Legend).  The plot is in the Kindergarten Cop/Hot Fuzz vein, with Chow playing a supercop who has to go undercover at a high school to find his boss' lost gun (shades of Stray Dog).  Hilarity ensues.

The humor is much more subdued relative to Chow and Wong's The Royal Tramp, which mixes its slapstick with a dizzying array of puns that barely make it into the English subtitles.  The film also lacks the over-the-top visual inventiveness of Chow's later films like Kung Fu Hustle or Shaolin Soccer.  But it's a pleasant and entertaining comedy, with typical fine performances from Chow and his perpetual sidekick Man Tat Ng and the occasional fun action sequence.

Days Of Being Wild - Wong Kar-wai's breakthrough second film, winner of five HK Film Awards (Picture, Director, Cinematographer (Christopher Doyle), Actor (Leslie Cheung), and Art Direction) and rated #3 on the HK Film Awards 2005 list of the Best Chinese Films of All-Time.  It's the first film in the trilogy that concludes with In The Mood For Love and 2046 (a film which makes a lot more sense if you've seen this one, BTW).

There isn't a plot so much as a dense web of character relationships (Su Li Zhen loves Yuddy, Mimi/Lulu loves Yuddy, the cop loves Su Li Zhen, Zeb loves Mimi/Lulu, Yuddy hates his mom).  It's also arguably the most mellow of Wong's films, without the distortions of perspective, camera speed and film stock that he'd play with in his later films, or the overwhelming soundtracks of those films (or anything like the "Take My Breath Away" sequence of As Tears Go By).  Instead, the recurring song on the soundtrack is a light Latin number, contributing to the mellow vibe.

The cast is wonderful, only Wong's collection of talent in Ashes Of Time really tops it.  Leslie Cheung plays Yuddy as a kind of nihilistic James Dean: apathetic and irresistibly attractive.  Maggie Cheung's restraint brings out the desperation in the quiet Su Li Zhen, while Carina Lau chews up the screen as the vivacious Mimi/Lulu.  Jacky Cheung isn't given a lot to do as Zeb, but his goofy charm still manages to work.  And Andy Lau is solid as the stand-up cop, given a difficult task in that Wong constantly films him with the brim of his hat covering his eyes.

This was Wong's first collaboration with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, and while it isn't as flashy as their later work (there is one nice tracking shot towards the end of the film, but no slow-motion, for example), it is always interesting.  They suffuse the film with a greenish light, giving the film a dreamlike haze and adding to the sense to mustiness and humidity of the time and place (some video transfers filter this out, beware).

This is the first Wong film to tackle what have become his thematic obsessions: time, memory, lost love, travel, Hong Kong in the 60s.  And while later films have dealt with these subjects in more depth, they've also been more direct.  The obliquity of Days Of Being Wild is part of its laid-back charm, the characters are often desperate, but the film never is.  Wong consistently asserts self-defeating repression among the members of the generation that came of age in the '60s (as opposed to the hyperbolic young people of the '90s as seen in Chungking Express, Fallen Angels and Happy Together, many of whom achieve happier endings than the characters in Days, In The Mood and 2046).  In Days that repression finds its most general expression, going so far as to assert a kind of generational ubiquity to its events with the film's coda (featuring the great Tony Leung getting ready for a night on the town).


This really isn't much of a contest.  Nor should it be, this being the first round.  Fight Back To School is a nice and enjoyable film.  Days Of Being Wild is a masterpiece, one of the best films of the 90s, Asian or not.
« Last Edit: November 18, 2008, 03:38:12 PM by sdedalus »
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