Change Your Image
andreiz2k
Reviews
Xie bu ya zheng (2018)
disappointing
I am not familiar with Jaing Wen's work and went in with no expectations. A Taiwanese friend passed me her ticket telling me that it's Chinese with Japanese historical and cultural references, and while that is not untrue, it's not what I would describe it. An indulgent description would call it a parody or self-parody, but I don't have the background and familiarity with his work to justify it.
I felt the first jolt to run out about 10 minutes in, and it's been a struggle to watch until the end. The story is convoluted and hard to follow, dialogue is fast and furious, and while I get it that the director may be going for parody, the net effect is cringe.
The hero is nonetheless played by an actor who is supposedly some kind of sex symbol, and he appears bare chested, which may be redemptive for some audiences; it might also spark a parkour renaissance in China (or at least boost the sales of Assassin's Creed).
Constantin si Elena (2009)
Touching family portrait of ageing lovebirds
The author follows with his quiescent camera his grandparents over a year. Whatever was judged film-worthy is shown to us, in a beautifully woven montage, much like Elena's colorful tapestries.
The way this perennially happy couple interacts is peacefully engaging. We get to listen to their church songs, watch them perform their daily chores, talk about the lies on TV and enjoy a can of pop for the first time.
Though intimate and revealing, we get the feeling that some important events were left out. I found out in the Q&A at the end of the North American premiere that the death of their youngest son took place while the film was being shot. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why death features prominently in their conversation.
A Romanian poet has said that "Eternity was born in the Village". Time certainly passes more slowly in that part of the world, but it's still too fast when the movie is over.
Lucid (2005)
An Insomniac's Dream about REALITY
Just like the main character's circumstances are a mixture of contrasts, so is the movie: it has unmistakable indy roots & feel, yet the way it's made is very professional. It could easily pass as a Hollywood production to someone watching it on FastForward. It also has a rather large range of moods, ranging from funny, to violent, to delicate, and even to depressing. But although the main character is a shrink (or a shrink wannabe), and you'll get to learn more about post-traumatic stress disorder than you would in a full-year psych course, the director manages to stir it into entertaining territory with ease.
I watched it in a late night sneak preview at University of Toronto, and I was lucky to have a Q&A with the director, who answered most of my questions even before I asked them (he's a psychic more than he is a psycho). Apparently, he found inspiration in his very own Yoko Ono, who's also a psych major :)
Riding Giants (2004)
You'll get salty water in your eyes!
I watched this on the opening night in Toronto instead of going to a pool party. We didn't go because it was too cold, cloudy and far away and chose instead to freeze in the movie theatre due to a/c. So after the first 10-20 min we wrapped ourselves in our beach towels, and from then on our enjoyment was TOTAL.
The movie starts with some really old footage, and as the movie progresses, there is also an improvement in the resolution / colour (just when I was getting warmer). For us, spoiled by OLN, seeing old extreme sports footage with an amateur flavour was a novel experience in itself. For me in particular, seeing those dudes confronting 50 foot waves with their primitive boards, when I couldn't catch a single wave when trying surfing for a few hours during my trip to San Diego was especially impressing (I stuck with windsurfing though ;^).
But make no mistake about it: this is no Warren Miller flick. Firstly, it's a true documentary which not only presents the surf culture from its humble beginnings to the accomplished present, but covers the entire emotional range, from the excitement this great sport brings to mourning the death of a surfing legend (the latter is insufficiently developed though). And, unlike most films dealing with extreme sports, this one is as appealing to women as it is to men: there were as many women as men in the movie theatre, and Richard Clark's story of getting a surfing dad brought tears in my friend's eyes. Furthermore, California's surf culture is fundamentally intertwined with the hippie culture...
It's impossible to capture in a few words the excitement and genuine high you get by watching the pioneers hunt the big waves and then conquering them, seeing Clark revolutionizing (again) the technique or seeing each one of them starting to glow as they talk about the ineffable. Watch it, and let your soul fly. And a word of advice: stay til the very end, you're gonna like the credits! ;^)
Furia (2002)
surprinsingly candid comedy/action/drama that will leave you yearning for more
I watched this movie with the Romanian Students Club at the University of Toronto. I was a bit late, so I missed the first few minutes, and at the end we talked about it. The opinions were divided: some felt that the movie is unfair to the Romanian reality as it focuses too much on the criminal element, others didn't like it because they felt it's too Russian, yet some saw similarities with "Snatch" or "28 Days Later" but most were either silent or seemed to have liked it. A singular voice claimed that the movie may be a reflection of the society (was he trying to incite comments?), while others felt that it was a parable. As for me, I found it hard to form an opinion, especially because of the complete lack of any frame of reference. Still, if a comparison is warranted, I've seen some ideas from Tarantino delivered with French candour (an Amores Perros made in Ro?!?). I haven't seen all the Romanian movies made after the fall of the stalinist regime. But of those few that I did see, most were very good, met or exceeded my expectations, and this is no exception.
The movie starts out on a light note, and seems to develop along the beaten path of Hollywood style teen comedies - fortunately, I missed most of this part. Luckily, the director abandons this avenue, the action takes off, drama unfolds, and we watch our heroes living - and dying - on the edge.
The main characters do represent indeed a generation, even though I did not identify with them. I wouldn't call them a "generation of sacrifice" as some did, because all generations in Romania have a claim to that qualifier, with the exception perhaps of those who lived in the interbellic decades (and even for them, those who had it best spent their retirement in prisons, in exile, or in a fetid basement overtaken by anxiety). There is a dark reality of Romanian life, strikingly apparent in the movie, a reality which cannot be denied through PR exercises: there's an appalling lack of horizons and opportunities for the young generation. It's no surprise then that most young Romanians, including our heroes, see immigration as the only way out, as the only hope, but few have the means to take this route.
Yet, despite the gloomy circumstances, the director/writer is able to present an involving, fast paced storyline. The premise is very credible and the actors lively and candid in their interpretation. Some scenes emerge from the uniform desperation as uniquely funny, but we don't even have time to catch our breath and realise it, as we are too involved (the movie was rated as Action/Comedy, but it's more of an Action/Drama in my view).
Certain characters are insufficiently developed, like the hardened thug who had to "take care" of the main (anti)hero. Certain scenes in the movie have their own rhythm and appear interconnected (maybe the scenes where emotions flow without words; words disappear in the background or simply sublimate), such as the spectacle with the two dwarf parents, the scene with Luca's parents or the very end, which is a nefarious conclusion to the search for a way out. The end shouldn't surprise. The hero engaged on a one-way street, and only a miracle could've saved him. But miracles don't happen in this part of the universe, so his struggle to keep his head out of the slimy, green water is destined to fail...
Perhaps the frequent comparisons to other cinema schools are rooted in the lack of awareness about movies from this part of the world. Is it not possible, then, that this movie, like several others before it (The Oak, Filantropica, Occident), is indicative of an increasingly assertive, independent, mature yet still largely unknown Romanian school of cinema?
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
...this movie will take you places that you'll find hard to leave...
I loved this movie. It allowed me to relive the wonder and edge-of-your-seat-excitement I experienced in my childhood when I watched another similar movie, The Neverending Story (Die Unendliche Geschichte). Watching Spirited Away awakened in my an almost insatiable appetite to see Neverending Story again. Although, unlike Miyazaki wondrous creation, it's German and older, although it's not animated and the special fx are a bit "dated", although it's about the coming of age of a little boy and not a little girl, the two movies are so much alike that when I watched it I had the feeling that Miyazaki's masterpiece is in fact the actualized Japanese version of this movie... The escapist premise is essentially identical: 2 children find an exit door from the mundane, from the rollerink, one through a hallway in an crying citadel, the other through a book. Both have parents too absorbed by themselves and their problems who don't have enough time for their kids' problems. In both movies self-sacrifice is a condition for survival and return to the real world. And let us not forget the friendly flying dragon which appears in both movies and is in essence a spermatozoid with the head of a labrador golden retriever... ;^) Still, I have to admit that while the Neverending Story's symbols are quite accessible, Miyazaki's symbols are much more vague. German clarity permeates through Neverending Story, while the Japanese coexistence of sharp contrasts is prevalent in Spirited Away. Still, both are colossal monuments dedicated to imagination and creativity, and if that's what you like, you shouldn't skip watching this movie!