Author Topic: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 561689 times)

BlueVoid

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2370 on: May 26, 2017, 04:09:55 PM »
Nice job roujin!

Lets get this round over the hump!
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2371 on: July 04, 2017, 07:31:57 PM »
It’s the 4th of July and what better way to celebrate American independence than watching Asian cinema? I promised pix a verdict and I always keep my promises. As we get deeper in the bracket, I expect more greatness so I went in with high expectations. Keep that in mind when I discuss these movies.
 
The Story of Qiu Ju


 
Director Zhang Yimou is a favorite of the bracket and for good reason. He’s made some of the most gorgeous and emotional films in the bracket. I sat down anticipating something great and what I got was okay. As I read up on this film, I’m not sure if I’m missing something because it seems well-regarded and picked up some decent awards.
 
The film is the titular character’s quest for justice when the government chief kicks her husband in the nuts. As she pursues her lofty ideas of justice, it quickly becomes a deconstruction of government bureaucracy. Even nearing the end of her pregnancy, she continues the quest for some higher power to bring justice.
 
Gong Li gives a decent performance here, but I felt like the camerawork didn’t do her a lot of favors. Most of her performance is more about the physicality of acting pregnant with a lot of medium shots and generally reserved acting. She given much better performances in this bracket.
 
I can relate to the sentiment of the character a lot, but the tone is so flat. It lacks the emotional punches I expected from Yimou’s films. I looked it up, and it’s classified as a comedy on IMDb, but if it is, I never laughed. There’s a detached, muted tone to the whole proceedings which I could see working for another filmmaker as sort of comment on the dehumanization the whole process brings, but the story never feels like it’s grinding these characters down.
 
The film is pretty to look at. The style can be muted but there are some great landscapes and solid camerawork. I’m not sure if I had the wrong expectations or if even seeing this cold I would have felt the same way. It’s not bad, I just couldn’t help but think that Kiarostami seems to have made a few films that feel like this, but actually made me think and feel in a way this film never could.
 
 
Moving (Ohikkoshi)


 
I was enticed by this film when I saw pix post some screens in the resurrection review. I feel like he might have cherry picked a lot of the best shots because it wasn’t as gorgeous as I expected it to be. Don’t get me wrong, it still looks great and I love how vibrant colors are used in some scenes to catch your attention, it’s just there are lots of shots that aren’t quite as rich as others.
 
The actual content of the film is rather pedantic. A married couple separates and Renko (Tomoko Tabata) finds herself slowly finding the new arrangement troubling. She lives with her mom when it’s clear she prefers her dad. She doesn’t tell anyone because she’s one of the girls bullying another girl for her parent's divorce. As she tries to wrestle with this new life, her parents continue their own separate lives.
 
The story beats are rather paint by the numbers but it generally flows by well enough. Until the last act. I get what the film is trying to do, but it feels a bit overblown. The final act does get at what makes Moving interesting: it’s attempt to use visuals to convey the emotions. Not all the visual moments work, but enough land to make the film decent enough.
 
It’s not nearly as moving as I was expecting it to be. Her parents aren’t fleshed out enough for me and I never felt devastated by her situation. I had to keep reminding myself that Renko was likely acting out as a child would, but I never felt immersed enough in who she was and getting that child perspective to root for her. I felt indifferent to the entire cast. They’re painted generally enough to play out their role, but not much more than that.
 
Verdict:
 
I think high expectations soiled this matchup for me. Neither film is poor, but neither evokes any sort of strong reaction from me. I could swing either way on these films, but I have to make a choice and I think Moving is the more interesting film. It tries to do more with its visuals and is more tonally sound. Plus, it’s hard for me not to think of how much better the other Zhang Yimou films in the bracket are and how I’d much rather champion something a bit off the beaten track that other people are less likely to see otherwise. Moving moves on to the next round.

PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2372 on: July 04, 2017, 08:22:05 PM »
Oh today is July fourth? I don't think I can squeeze mine in today but hopefully tomorrow.

BlueVoid

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2373 on: July 04, 2017, 11:35:23 PM »
Great write ups Sam! Too bad neither film really landed fully with you. Given your experiences with each it sounds like you made a good choice to go forward.

Looking forward to your verdict PA!
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MartinTeller

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2374 on: July 04, 2017, 11:51:15 PM »
 :'(  Qiu Ju is in my top 100. My review.

BlueVoid

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2375 on: July 05, 2017, 07:03:23 AM »
:'(  Qiu Ju is in my top 100. My review.

Well now I don't know what to think! I enjoyed reading your review-- I can see how an understated movie might completely miss the mark for a lot of people that aren't meshing with the flow of the film.
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pixote

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2376 on: July 06, 2017, 12:53:19 AM »
Round Four Bonus Review



The Cherry Orchard  (Nakahara Shun, 1990)
Lost to Minbo - or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion (verdict by Melvil)
Won over The Weald (verdict by Bondo)
Won over Musuko (verdict by BlueVoid)
Lost to Comrades, Almost a Love Story (verdict by 1SO)

I've been waiting to watch The Cherry Orchard since June 2012, when I resurrected it based just on its first ten minutes and the strength of Melvil's verdict. So I wasn't going to let the fact that it's ineligible for a second resurrection keep me from finally seeing it. And I'm very glad I did — even though my five years' worth of anticipation (fueled greatly by Bondo's praiseful verdict in the second round, which seemed to validate the masterpiece I imagined the film to be) perhaps set the bar for the movie impossibly high. I agree with all the verdicts about the remarkable naturalism of the performances. The young ensemble cast is extremely impressive and well directed by Nakahara. Despite that naturalism, the camerawork almost implies at times the point of view of a ghost. Is Chekhov watching these Japanese girls perform his play? Probably not, but I did feel like there was an extra layer of meaning there that I was missing. I'd love to read the manga the film is based on, if only because I really can't imagine the story existing in that form. As filmed, it's all too subtle and nuanced, and dependent on the physical presence of the actors. I'd be fascinated see how that all plays out on the page. Where the film falls a bit short with me, at least on an initial viewing, is that it doesn't seem to dig into its narrative and character elements enough. Almost everything is interesting, but just in hints. I wanted more. I wanted to get beyond the tableau of this group of girls at this moment in their lives and explore them more as individuals — to cut from long shot to close-up. I wonder if Nakahara's 2008 remake of this story makes that sort of adjustment.

Resurrection Standings (the top three films will earn resurrection)

Up next: A Scene at the Sea.

pixote
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pixote

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2377 on: July 06, 2017, 01:46:16 AM »
Round Four Resurrection Review



A Scene at the Sea  (Kitano Takeshi, 1991)
Won over The Emperor's Shadow (verdict by Melvil)
Won over City of the Rising Sun (verdict by smirnoff)
Won over Festival (verdict by Sam the Cinema Snob)
Lost to Raise the Red Lantern (verdict by Teproc)

Just like with The Cherry Orchard, it's been a billion years since Melvil's great first-round verdict whetted my appetite for this film. But in this case, my enthusiasm was subsequently diminished, at least a little, by screenings of Kikujiro and Kids Return. The first twenty-minutes of A Scene at the Sea are marvelous, though. They would work as a self-contained short film. So very charming, brimming with the joy of watching someone persevere unfazed through repeated failure with mute determination. But after that first act, the film becomes a bit too haphazard for my tastes, teasing threads of storylines but then looking the other way before things get interesting. There's too much time spent away from Shigeru, who really demands to be the constant center of this story. The romanticization of his deafness is troubling, however, in a 'noble savage' kind of way. There's a helplessness to both him and Takako, his doggishly loyal girlfriend, who is also deaf, that suggests that the film isn't interested in them as real characters, just as ideals. They exist in almost pure silence, with very little communicated through hand gestures, let alone true sign language or writing. Shigeru has no evident coping mechanisms for his deafness and is often at the mercy of the kindness of strangers. But even the people who know him best are always shouting at him from behind, as if his deafness might be fake, just part of some long con. Joe Hishashi's score matches the relaxing rhythms of the ocean waves, adding to the soundtrack's value as a sleep aid.

Resurrection Standings (the top three films will earn resurrection)

Up next: Moonlight Whispers.

pixote
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PeacefulAnarchy

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2378 on: July 06, 2017, 08:48:06 AM »
Sorry for the delay, at least I'm not the last one.

Woman Sesame Oil Maker
This is not a bad film at all, but it's not all that good either. The best way to describe it is to say that it's a victimization melodrama that consciously tries to avoid the trappings of the style by having the victimization mostly linger in the atmosphere and the downplaying the melodrama. That should be a plus for me, because this story done in an overbearing style would make me hate it, but the problem is that it downplays its central thrust but doesn't replace it with anything. Plot points come up seemingly only to raise or diminish the main character and never develop emotional or narrative resonance, overblown drama ensues but is quickly cleaned up so that it feels meaningless, and the film's central theme of the constraints of Chinese society on love, particularly for women, is pretty obvious rather early and never really develops. It just shows us something kind of bad, and we nod our head in agreement and that's that. The print was a bit faded but the cinematography still stands out as pretty good, and the lead actress is strong enough to carry a film, though neither of these things is special enough to make the film a must see. It's not my kind of movie, and while it's good enough to avoid turning me off it wasn't good enough to actively engage me.

Vive L'Amour
Typical for a Tsai film, this one is a slow burner. It grabbed me at the start, but then throughout the film kept letting me go before grabbing me again. The premise is interesting enough, as are the characters, and many of the individual scenes are quite effective at conveying the fleeting connection and alienation themes of the movie. In between those scenes there are others that just feel like padding. More than Woman Sesame Oil Maker, however, I felt something for these characters as real people, rather than simply stand ins for a theme, even with the minimal dialogue. There's a bubbling of life and emotion under the surface of the film that you can feel, and some very evocative shots to bring those feelings up close to the surface. It's not a perfect experience, I don't think Tsai's style is quite right for me, but it's something I can appreciate and if I found myself in the right mood I'd be interested in revisiting this.

Verdict: The favourite goes on, it's Vive L'Amour.

Jared

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #2379 on: July 06, 2017, 12:39:25 PM »
I've advanced along both of those films at some point and I like this decision. Very nice reviews. I feel like I thought WSOM was a bit better but it hasn't really been all that sticky in my memory since.