I'm going to cut right to the chase, this movie was poorly acted, poorly written, poorly dubbed, poorly shot, and had a weird soundtrack of badly sung American Country Western music.

The only highlight in the movie was Michelle Yeoh who had about five minutes on screen with which she outshone everyone else in the cast.

The police corruption story was merely in the background and the excuse to put the main leads together. The Hong Kong police officer was a dead ringer (pun intended) for the Japanese woman's deceased fiancé. The rushed romance comes across a little creepy given that she falls for him because he looks like her dead lover and he knows this. The police story was convoluted to the point of being ridiculous.

I would have scored it lower, but Michelle Yeoh's scenes had me feeling slightly merciful.

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Butterfly and Flowers is a heartwarming coming of age story. Huyan is a young Muslim teen struggling with poverty. His mother died and his father is a laborer. He’s an excellent student and popular with the other students. When his father chooses to pay for a school fee instead of buying rice for the family Huyan decides to drop out of school. Selling popsicles on the street he hopes to earn enough money to send his siblings to school. When an accident pushes the impoverished family closer to the edge he feels he has no other choice than to go to work for the rice smugglers so that they can survive. The question he keeps asking of himself is, “what does it take to be a good person?”

The young rice smugglers hide bags of rice on trains and try to avoid the conductor checking for tickets by riding on the top of the trains. The work is dangerous and the risk of getting hurt or arrested looms over the boys every day. Far from being a gloomy story, Huyan makes friends and provides for his family. A sweet romance develops between him and Minpee, a girl he knew from school who loves flowers and butterflies.

Huyan will ultimately have to make decisions for his family’s future and his future with Minpee. Whether those decisions will lead to him being a good person of course is always the question.

The acting in this movie is very natural. I was quickly drawn into Huyan’s life and desire to take care of his family. There are no villains, only people trying to feed themselves and their families. Much of the action and conversations take place on trains. Are they moving toward something better or something worse?

Huyan’s goal for himself is familiar to many people---how to be a good person? “It’s tricky.”

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Dr Storks protect and assist the miracles

Dr Storks followed the trials, joys, and frustrations of the medical personnel in the labor and delivery portion of a hospital as well as those in the NICU. Dr. Konotori worked to help mothers share the gift of life during the miracle of birth. Pregnancy is not an illness but as the drama showed, it is not without risks. The doctors and midwives fought alongside the parents and newborn infants as they dug deep to find their courage to succeed and survive.

The main OB/Gyns were Drs. Konotori and Shinomiya, both devoted to their patients but as different as night and day. Friendly and talkative Konotori was willing to risk a mother’s life to save her uterus while harsh speaking and quiet Dr. Shinomiya was ready to perform a hysterectomy at the drop of a hat. Made for an interesting balance. For anyone wanting to watch the drama for Hoshino Gen, he was only in each episode for a few minutes. This was Ayano Go’s starring role and he made the most of it. I thoroughly enjoyed his piano performances in disguise as the pianist "Baby". Some doctors had character growth and others broke down. In my country the majority of OB/Gyns are women so it was odd seeing the majority of doctors as male. The female doctors weren’t very well represented. One female doctor was easily excitable and distracted while the other was a walking burnout. Both came across as fragile. The doctor I would want in my corner was the older NICU doc. He saw the big picture and was steady emotionally.

Each episode had different medical crises and subjects---teen pregnancy, adoption, abortion, Rubella, birth defects, maternal and infant deaths, IVF, smoking, preservation of the uterus, midwives, pregnancy and sexual discrimination, as well as discrimination against single parents and working women with children, postpartum depression, and more—whew! A few of the topics came across as strange to me. Adoption seemed to be a new concept and there were misconceptions about the availability of pregnancy care in Hawaii. Members of the staff also had very callous attitudes toward certain patients which seemed the opposite of how they should have approached patient care. The gut-wrenching stories involved parents and spouses faced with traumatic decisions that no one would ever want to make. Some parents handled bad news better than others. As in real life, there were parents who would do whatever was needed for their baby and others who wouldn’t visit a child fighting for its life. A few of the topics were handled with the subtlety of an afternoon school special while others were quite well done. I hate to admit that I became teary during two or three of the stories. It wasn't all tears, there were lovely heartwarming stories as well.

The cinematography and lighting were rudimentary and could be distracting. At times the music blared over the dialogue which was also distracting. What Dr. Storks had going for it were the compelling stories of life, death, and the medical personnel who fought for happy healthy outcomes for everyone even when it wasn’t possible. The doctors realized they were often powerless and that “things don’t always go as planned,” but that didn’t stop them from giving their all to the women and tiny lives entrusted to them.

4 Jan 2024

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"Pleased to eat you!"

If you decide to watch The Meg because of the tagline, "Pleased to eat you!" you probably already know to check your brain at the door because you are about to be swamped with clichéd characters and plot and ridiculous pseudo-science. Most of the CGI and cinematography were quality which helped when the dialogue tried to drown the fun of a massive Megalodon or two set loose from the Mariana Trench!

Starring Jason Statham, you know he's going to have to go mano y pectoral fin with the giant 90ft/27m shark at some point in time. Jonas is the lone diver who can attempt a rescue at over 11,000ft/3300m depth and he's off in Thailand drinking his sorrows away. He'd attempted a rescue five years earlier of a sub trapped in the Trench and had to abandon some of his men when the sub was attacked by a giant creature. Even though he saved numerous lives he was branded as having had a psychological breakdown for the story he told. When his ex-wife and crew become stranded at the bottom of the Trench, an old teammate comes calling to talk him into rescuing her.

The characters were stock characters, shallow with little personality. Li Bing Bing was weighed down in the Stereotypical Headstrong Female Scientist role who thought Statham's Jonas was crazy and treated him as such until she was rescued by him numerous times as he snatched her out of the jaws of death. She had a Wise Beyond Her Years Daughter who helped to lead the two divorced people to a romance. The rest of the crew included the Egotistical Billionaire, Tough Chick, Black Guy Who Can't Swim (really?!?), Scientist Bestie, Jerk Doctor, Dad With a Target On His Back, and a couple of other scientists. Honestly, with the exception of a couple of characters, none of them were developed enough to make me care whether they lived or became chum. One of the early deaths was actually emotional and done well, after that it was bring on the shark!

The science was particularly awful without any conception of the forces at work on submersibles and the people in them at the deepest depths of the ocean. And one scene that was supposed to be frightening had me laughing until I could barely breathe. Seriously, that little boat they used was tough if they could lasso a megalodon using it! Also, every time the script called for Statham to have to dive into the water to face the big fish to show his courage was hilarious.

If you watch this movie, you need to know that there aren't any award-winning performances, in fact, some are particularly bad. The science is dreadful. The dialogue can be cringe-worthy. When numerous people are threatened the stakes don't feel very high because we don't know anyone, even the people from the main crew who fall into the water every five minutes. If you can set all that aside, it is a fun movie with the ginormous sharks seeking to turn back the clock about 10 million years when they ruled the oceans.

9/13/23

Edit--I bumped the score up .5 because I enjoyed it more than the sequel although the sequel had better acting. This one had me laughing more.

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"Even though I'm no better than a beast, don't I deserve the right to live?"

Oldboy was an unflinching violent revenge film that would have made a Greek tragedy blush. I watched this film during its 20th anniversary year and the production values held up. The storytelling's misogynistic overtones dated it and didn't hold up as well. I've not mentioned any of the major plot twists in this review.

Choi Min Shik as the deeply flawed Oh Dae Soo did a marvelous job transitioning from drunk, philandering husband to confused, bitter prisoner to vengeful vigilante searching for answers. Yoo Ji Tae made a decidedly creepy and vengeful Lee Woo Jin. The two men whose lives were intertwined by a careless comment were at their best when playing cat and mouse.

The action scenes showed that nearly anything can be transformed into a weapon. You may never see toothbrushes the same. A hallway fight leading to an elevator fight were truly iconic and I can see where they influenced many other fight scenes in television and film. Dae Soo's commitment verging on insanity was frighteningly powerful.

Where the film failed me were the women's roles. Their very existence seemed to be as vessels of the men's lust and "love". They played into the men's circle of vengeance with no real identities. Of course, they were necessary to have several gratuitous bare breast shots and being threatened with sexual violence. Mi Do accepted it as perfectly normal when Dae Soo attempted to rape her. And the final plot twist, sick as it was, once again left her without any choice or agency of her own.

While Woo Jin's revenge long game was vile, the film seemed determined to make Dae Soo as unsympathetic as possible from beginning to end. His one moment of empathy was cut short by self-gratification. In the end the film doubled-down on his troubling personality. There was no redemption arc, no moment of healing, no positive character growth, only primal animal instincts. As a thought exercise in tearing away the veneer of civilization, the film succeeded in a disturbing manner.

9/2/23

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"It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves."

*I have updated this review and my score on a second viewing. My added thoughts follow the original review.*

I'm going to post a short, heretical review of this much lauded film. Much as I wanted to love this film, it had a major stumbling block for me in the story.

That the movie is technically well made is not up for debate. It was a well made movie from 1950. I've enjoyed other Kurasawa movies. I love Mifune Toshiro. Rashomon might have been a profound movie experience for me if the story had not been told through such a narrow male lens.

The Rashomon effect is still used to describe eye witnesses giving different testimony to a single event. People do lie to each other, to the court, and to themselves because of their egos, fears, survival instincts, and inability to face the truth. The film showed this human frailty quite poignantly. The cinematography, music, and acting were exceptional for the time. Mifune's performance as the bandit tinged with madness was unexpected but quite well done although at times it did veer into Ernest T. Bass territory.

Where I diverge from the fans of this movie is in one particular aspect of the film. It repeatedly showed and told the viewer that women were not just physically, but morally weaker than men and were not to be trusted. This was even more despicable because the men were shown as being morally corrupt so the raped woman was even lower than they were. Twice we come away with the woman in the story enjoying her rape and trying to use it to her advantage. In different flashbacks she pit the two men against each other or asked the bandit to murder her husband. That she was willing to go with her rapist was beyond comprehension to me, unless she was planning on murdering him in his sleep. I understand that during the period of time the movie was set in, and even in 1950, a raped woman was looked on as damaged goods. (The Comfort Women after WWII were looked down upon and expected to commit suicide and often shunned by their families.) If the director had convinced me that she was doing what she had to do to survive I might have been able to stomach that part of the story better, but as it was shown it built a fire of anger in my chest, not at the woman but the storyteller for perpetuating some of the most dangerous myths about women and rape. Given, it was a common view of the time, but it didn't make it any less reprehensible to me.

Only in the woman's version does she not come across as a conniving "whore", perhaps only a murderous woman to save herself, but we are also told to not believe a woman's story immediately thereafter.

As much as I tried to overlook the misogynistic view of women and rape in this movie to enjoy the rest of the story, I couldn't escape it. Rashomon, despite all the glorious reviews I've read across the internet, failed to live up to them in my experience.

2 September 2021

*Update on my review:*

Having now watched all but one of Kurosawa’s films for which he was the writer/director I decided to revisit this film about the unreliability of eye witness accounts and how truth is often relative, enigmatic, and subjective. I struggled with it mightily the first time because of how women were not only looked down upon but treated with outright hostility. I wanted to see if my opinion would change on a second viewing of this famous and well-loved film.

When asked about Rashomon, Kurosawa had the following comments: “Human beings are unable to be honest with themselves without embellishing…(these characters) are the kind who cannot survive without lies to make them feel they are better people than they really are.” “The human heart is impossible to understand.”

The message that people are weak and even lie to themselves for a variety of reasons still resonates. Also, how perspective and memory are faulty witnesses still holds true. I would have to add that perhaps Kurosawa was blind to the depths of his own gender bias. Other Japanese directors from this time frame and even earlier had made films showing how the patriarchal society caused women to suffer, I guess I was just expecting more from one of my favorite directors. I’ve read interviews with him about this film and he discussed at length how they suffered from leeches while filming in the forest, but not even a brief comment about the trauma or suffering rape causes a woman or how he wanted to show the inequality women suffer from. Instead Tajomaru is romantically described as a womanizer.

Social reform, individual responsibility, and equality were important points in many of Kurosawa’s films. Apparently, just for men. Masago’s rape was only viewed as a crime against her husband, and yes, I know this would be historically accurate. I was just looking for a hint of sympathy for her from any of the male characters since she was the only woman in the film. Her testimony in court was dismissed as irrelevant immediately. When she testified, she didn’t even mention her rape because either she knew no one would care or the writers knew that. The only crime was the samurai's death. The male rape fantasy that women really like it and want to be dominated was still appalling. Just one flicker of disgust from the men telling the story to the peasant, anything to tip the hand that her treatment was inexcusable, but nothing. Because all of the voices except one telling the story or judging it were male—the witnesses, the judge, the writers, the director---Masago’s witness was all but ignored. Masago's only weapon against the dominating men was her sexuality, all she had to try and salvage her situation with and save her life. Perhaps Masago was diabolically cruel and cunning, pitting two men’s penises and swords against each other for her own pleasure, her rapist and heartless, cowardly husband, but as was pointed out, “It’s human to lie. Most of the time we can’t even be honest with ourselves,” so I’m afraid I can’t even believe the actor (character) who usually played the moral compass in Kurosawa’s films.

I did bump my score up from a 6.5 to a 7.5 because this is a culturally important film and it was well made, but honestly, and still unpopularly, I didn’t like it any better the second time around. From my own biased witness on this film, if Kurosawa had been making a culturally relevant film that also purposefully highlighted the ruthless way rape victims were treated and the stunning disregard for women instead of reinforcing dangerous beliefs, I’d have rated this much, much higher.

11 June 2024

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Godzilla: Final Wars was the 50th Anniversary for Godzilla and a retirement for Big G from that era. Despite the improved CGI in other areas of the movie we were still treated to guys in rubber suits stomping around and grappling each other.

This was almost non-stop Kaiju battles as monsters from the previous 50 years showed up to do battle with Godzilla, including the abomination from the US Godzilla (1998). A who’s who of monsters from the Godzillaverse---Hedorah, Rodan, Kamacuras, King Ghidorah, Manda, the aforementioned Zilla and many others. Mothra even showed up to bat clean-up with Gigan.

There was a lot to love in this movie. The humans were the most interesting of any of the Godzilla movies I’ve watched. It had aliens and mutant humans and futuristic weapons. Kitamura Kazuki as a bad alien with even badder guyliner was over the top. He looked like he was having as much fun making the movie as I had watching it. Don’t expect Oscar worthy performances, it’s not that kind of movie.

How could I not love a Godzilla movie that included my second favorite niche genre-kung fu in it?

Yes, the story could be a bit of a mess, but was easy to follow. The director unashamedly included a lot of the science fiction fads from previous years, the Matrix, Star Wars, Independence Day, Alien, and Jules Verne, among others. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. No doubt there were moments of pure cheese. They also must have spent most of their money on the monsters, sets, and CGI because the music sounded like some guy hitting random notes on a synthesizer. The non-stop action from beginning to end could be draining and there were times when Godzilla was absent during a lot of the action with other monsters and the aliens. However, when Godzilla did appear, he showed why he was a force to be reckoned with.

Godzilla: Final Wars features guys in rubber suits and miniaturized cities and vehicles, just as the Godzilla Genie intended them to be from this era. On Godzilla’s 50th anniversary and retirement, it was appropriate. Final Wars was a monster mash that was fun and entertaining from beginning to end.

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"Every place is the same"

Xiu Xiu the Sent Down Girl was a haunting and angry film set during the Cultural Revolution. The Tibetan steppes with an ocean of green and endless blue skies belied the ugliness taking place in a small, ragged tent.

Xiu Xiu waves goodbye to her family as she and other youth from her community are sent to the “countryside” during the Cultural Revolution. At fifteen years of age she is assigned to work with a horse herder in order to learn the skills to come back in six months to lead the Iron Girls Cavalry. Lao Jin is a skilled horseman who understands the land he lives on. During a battle twenty years ago he was castrated, something none of the local men let him live down. Xiu Xiu doesn’t care for her remote assignment but gamely works with Lao Jin in the sun and rain. When the six months come to an end, homesick Xiu Xiu packs her belongs and eagerly waits to be picked up. The bus home never arrives. One by one men come to her and convince her that they can help arrange her permission documents if she will give them the favor of using her body. Desperate to leave the steppe and return to her mother and father she opens herself to the degenerate men while slowly and surely her hope and dignity begin to ebb away.

This was an infuriating movie to watch. Director/writer Joan Chen left most of the politics out and focused more on human nature. Xiu Xiu was a naïve child who wanted to go home. The vast steppe wasn’t freedom to the teenager, more like being stranded on a desert island. As evil men do who have power over women or in this case a beautiful teen girl, they took what they wanted offering empty promises in return. Like the child she was she committed to the only path she could see that might help her escape. Lao Jin allowed her to make her own choices even when he saw how disastrous they were. Only when something happened that wasn’t her choice did he spring into action.

The connection between Xiu Xiu and Lao Jin was engaging. The difference in age was substantial which Lao Jin respected if the men at headquarters did not. He cared for her more as a ward than possible love interest. Xiu Xiu tended to boss him around yet Lao Jin tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Li Xiao Lu (Lu Lu) and Lopsang gave natural heartfelt performances that drew me in as the mismatched work couple.

Both Joan Chen and the author* of the novel this film was based on lived during the Cultural Revolution which gave them some basis for their artistic endeavor. Watching a child willing to do whatever was necessary to break through the corrupt bureaucratic red-tape and institutional abuse of human rights and dignity was devastating. Joan Chen took advantage of the stunning scenery and cloudy skies as the backdrop for the film. Even when human darkness began to erode Xiu Xiu’s self-worth the sun shone brightly. The juxtaposition was jarring. With these kinds of films I worry that they can be more exploitive than revealing. Instead, there was a coiled fury underlying the manipulation and mistreatment of a child who had no money, no power, and no knowledge of the ways of the world. The Cultural Revolution didn’t have a monopoly on those vices. To quote Lao Jin, “Every place is the same.” Every place is the same when those in power are free to do as they will to those with less power.

31 August 2024

*Yan Ge Ling wrote the short story Celestial Bath in 1981

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"Who can throw a stone?"

Love Letter was actress Tanaka Kinuyo’s first film to direct. WWII was over and the censors had left so she could address sensitive issues about American G.I.’s having Japanese lovers. The subject for her first film was a tough one and the 1950’s attitude of the male lead was difficult to sympathize with.

Five years after WWII, Reikichi lives with his younger brother, Hiroshi, who pays most of the bills. An old friend brings him into his business translating and writing love letters in English for women who have been involved with American soldiers. Most of the women are asking for money and Yamaji makes the letters flowery and eloquent. Reluctantly, Reikichi begins work there to bring in more money. He’s despondent because he has never forgotten his first love who married someone else. When he discovers that she’s a widow he goes to the train station every day to search for her. As luck would have it, she comes into the shop to have a letter written to an American soldier who had fathered her baby.

First the positive. I enjoyed Tanaka’s fluid directorial style. Despite the year and cultural values, she showed Michiko in a mostly sympathetic light. Mori Masayuki gave a wonderfully complex performance, even when I wanted his character to erupt in flames. Yuga Yoshiko brought a damaged, yet sweet spirit to Michiko. Michiko was a woman who had lived through her own hell and was still able to be kind to others. The supporting characters were also strong. Tanaka made a guest appearance as a woman needing a letter written by Reikichi but instead received an earful about her lifestyle from the sullen man.

Much was made of Reikichi’s loyalty in waiting for Michiko for five years. They made a point of him standing next to the Hachiko statue, the dog who had waited faithfully for his deceased owner every day at the station for nearly 10 years. For Michiko to have sullied herself with a foreigner from the country that had defeated them was too much and the diatribe Reikichi buried her in was vile. That she’d also given birth to a “blue-eyed baby” who had died made her acts even worse. He knew nothing about her and the struggles and pain she had faced. He was unable to comprehend that the man she’d been involved with had been what she needed at the time. This kind of overly precious attitude about women’s virtue struck me as false given the horrors the Japanese military committed against women during the war.

What saved this film for me was that both Hiroshi and Yamaji called Reikichi on his stupidity and stubbornness. “Who do you think you are? A saint? You can’t be proud of the way you lived.” They knew that the war years and post war years were brutal for women, especially single women without a family to support them. For Hiroshi, Michiko’s actions could be forgiven as she had only been with one guy, unlike the prostitutes who made a living off the white bread foreigners. Michiko was a kind and elegant women who condemned herself for being “depraved” which was awful to hear. Reikichi wasn’t exactly a great catch. Though well educated he’d been sponging off his brother since he came home.

Japan had much to process after the war. Soldiers had experienced traumas and civilians had lived through their own. Most people had either visible or invisible battle scars. Reikichi was learning the hard way that forgiveness was hard to come by and sometimes harder to give when clinging to rigid ideals.

30 August 2024

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"Everyone has their limitations"

Director Marilu Diaz Abaya crafted a daring film about four female friends in 1982. Moral talked about martial law under Ferdinand Marcos while he still held power. There were frank discussions about premarital sex, married sex, sex between men and women, men and men, and women and women. One character spent as much money on weed as she did on cigarettes. Marital rape was brought up as was abortion. No subject seemed to be taboo in Ricky Lee’s script.

Pregnant Maritess and Dodo tie the knot in the opening scene with guys taking bets on how long the marriage will last. Present at the wedding are Maritess’ best girls-Kathy, Sylvia, and Joey. Maritess moves into a large house with Dodo’s even larger extended family. Kathy is determined to become a famous singer and isn’t afraid to use any of her wiles to make it happen. Sylvia is a divorced mother with a child around 5 years old. She still loves her ex, Roberto, but Roberto loves Celso, a dancer at a gay bar. Finally, Joey is adrift with no place to call home spending the night with whoever will take her in. She dulls her emotional aches with marijuana and sex with strangers. Her heart belongs to Jerry, who is heavily involved with the fight against the government and is in love with Nita. The women are about to graduate from university with many decisions personally, professionally, and socially to come to terms with.

There were less love triangles and more love conga lines. At one point, teacher Ernie loved Sylvia, who loved Roberto, who loved Celso, who loved sleeping with other men. Sylvia’s relationship with Roberto and Celso was the most endearing. The three became emotionally involved if not sexually. Maritess found herself repeatedly pregnant and caged in a house with 20 children with little say in her life. Like a trapped raccoon she was ready to chew her arm off to escape. The price for fame began to take its toll on Kathy as it became more apparent she wasn’t a very good singer. Joey lagged behind the others in growing up until she hit bottom and had to make some hard choices.

Moral showed the moral choices the women had to make that were breaking new ground in a conservative society. Sylvia was deemed immoral for not wearing a bra to work, imagine the horror if someone found out she shared a bed with two men. Joey was talked about for being promiscuous, something that was a right of passage for male students. Kathy slept with a woman in order to further her career. Maritess had to decide whether to be a voiceless babymaker or stand up to have a life of her own. All four women were three dimensional characters who had their own growth arcs. The men were not vilified though some of them behaved in the entitled way they were accustomed to in 1982.

Scenes from the film were censored for being offensive to the army, not surprising with two characters actively involved in the New People’s Army. Moral was not a box office success or one with the critics back in the 80’s. Over time people were able to see its groundbreaking themes and emphasis on women’s challenges and lives in a changing society. The negatives of the film were badly degraded, damaged by time and mold. L’Immagine Ritrovata spent 2600 restoration hours working to salvage it with the restored film being shown in 2017. There were still some issues but nothing distracting.

Even here near the end of 2024, films about women, directed by women are all too rare. In 1982 I cannot imagine what it took to get this film made and distributed. Especially a film where women were the powerful agents of their own lives. No wonder it didn’t get a positive reception, Marilu Diaz Abaya and Ricky Lee were treading on new territory and it would take time for people to catch up with them. The film had its flaws and some performances were stronger than others, but given its age and the courage to make it I was generous with my rating.

Favorite line---“Next time you see Ernie, tell him his mother is a whore.”

29 August 2024

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"Once you see hope, embrace it!"

I went into Last Night trepidatiously given the subject matter. Suicide is far too serious and complex a matter to take lightly. This film had mixed results with how it broached the topic. In this particular story, the motivation was sudden catastrophic changes in life and not long-term clinical depression which made the movie’s approach more palatable.

Mark is about to jump off the Jones Bridge when he hears a woman calling for help. Carmina’s sweater is caught on the sign below in a failed suicide attempt. They end up agreeing to die together and begin attempting different ways but are continually foiled.

This was a tale of two movies for me which made it hard to rate and hard to watch at times. As I was slogging through the first half of this film, it was sitting at a 5.0 for me, largely because of the character of Carmina. Everything Toni Gonzaga’s character did was over the top, cringe-worthy, and annoying. Even Mark asked Carmina, “Are you a child? Do you always have to be entertained?” Piolo Pascual’s Mark was more reserved and felt like he was in a completely different movie. The suicide attempts were more farcical than saddening. Long before the half, I’d figured out the upcoming twist and was waiting for it to be revealed. The second half was more engaging and the comic acting was toned down. The cinematography and music were actually quite good and put to much better use as the film went on.

If you enjoy Gonzaga’s comic routines you will likely enjoy this more than I did, I tend to be hypersensitive to overt comic acting, especially with a serious subject matter. Without any spoilers, the ending was satisfying and I did enjoy her acting later in the film. If suicide is a trigger or the Catholic view of it troubles you, best to skip this one.

26 August 2024

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"Are you happy?"

Autumn Moon was a melancholy story of three lives in transition set in Hong Kong. The blue filter gave an added layer of existential angst to a 25-year-old Japanese traveler, a 15-year-old girl readying to meet her family in Canada, and her grandmother who knows that won’t be the trip she’s making.

Hong Kong teenager Lee Pui Wai and Japanese traveler Tokio meet on a bridge where he’s fishing. Tokio’s looking for a great place to eat, having been let down by his guidebook. Wai takes him to her favorite restaurant---McDonald’s. Later she brings him to the home she shares with her grandmother. Wai and Tokio communicate in broken English but Grandma doesn’t speak any and aside from asking his name, generously feeds him. Wai and Tokio strike up a friendship sharing their life experiences and the difficulties they are going through.

I was concerned this would be an age-inappropriate romance but there wasn’t a hint of romance between Tokio and Wai. Tokio had become involved with an older woman and Wai was in love with her classmate. Tokio went through women like a giant Pez dispenser. The casual sex didn’t bring any satisfaction, only reinforcing his alienation from society and himself. Aside from her grandmother, the rest of Wai’s family had already emigrated. Most of her friends had left Hong Kong as well. Once her family found a house, she would be moving. Grandma was the odd person out, unable to emigrate due to her age. The only trip she was planning on was to the Goddess of Mercy.

The available version of this movie that I found was badly degraded and cropped for television. Visually, I could see the potential spoiled by graininess and wavy lines. The dialogue could also be hard to follow when the friends were speaking broken English as there were no subtitles during the common language scenes. What still held up well was Tats Lau’s music which ranged from playful to mournful and always hauntingly beautiful.

Director Clara Law filmed the leads on different locations around Hong Kong. Though the crowded city is usually shown packed with people, Wai and Tokio always seemed to be alone. Surrounded by the unseen people and crowded buildings, they were desperately isolated in worlds of their own. The two suffered from having “trapped hearts”, unable to break through the barriers. Tokio wanted someone to get to know him instead of his 'wham, bam, thank you mam' anonymity. Wai struggled with being separated from her family and friends. Yet she wasn’t prepared to say good-bye to her grandmother and her home. She was also dealing with the complicated feelings first love creates in a young girl's heart and body. Grandma’s legacy lay in the refrigerator filled with secret, sacred ingredients that would no longer be needed.

Three generations of people and two different cultures were lovingly and respectfully shown. The characters dealt with loss, soul shattering boredom, and the unknown. Through their friendship and a private celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Tokio and Wai would discover how to revel in the small moments and find the courage and contentment they would need to travel the paths that led to happiness.

“When will the spring flower and autumn moon fade,
How much of the past do we know?
At my home last night the East wind blew…”

21 August 2024

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"The society is harmonious but I am bullied!"

Director Zero Chou gave a Taiwanese interpretation of how mainland Chinese gay couples are received in We Are Gamily. Her view of the complexities of loving someone that a conservative society will not accept was important but I found the interpretation on the screen lacking.

“Any conflicts and unharmonious relations existing in a society, require us to actively harmonize them to achieve a stable, harmonious, and orderly outcome.”

Wu Gang and Yang Duo are both in relationships that their families would never approve of and that are not believed to contribute to a harmonious society. Gang and Sam have been lovers for over three years as have Duo and Liya. In order to get both of their families off their backs, Gang and Duo marry but continue to live with their lovers. Their plan goes array when their mothers decide they need to have a baby as soon as possible and Gang’s mother moves in with them to push the matter along. How having a live-in mother pressing a couple to have sex would enhance their performance is something I don’t want to know. Neither Sam nor Liya are happy about the new living situations. Complicating matters, Gang’s lesbian sister Rou moves in as well.

The comedic set-up had possibilities but didn’t work for me. The writing, acting, cinematography, music, and sound were all a “C” at best. Ang Lee made a similar movie nearly 25 years before this one on a shoestring budget that delivered a more emotional punch. In a two-hour movie, We Are Gamily had very little character development. Gang and South African Sam had been together for several years but all I knew about them was that they loved each other and had a penchant for phallic shaped art. Duo and Rou had similar development issues, but at least we were told what they did for a living. Ruo and Sam were both ready to rock the boat, while Gang and Duo were more concerned with their mothers’ acceptance.

Gamily started out with a comedic tone and then morphed into a more serious one as the couples began to wonder when they could stop acting and start living their lives. I found it hard to become emotionally invested in the story as Rou and Sam were dragged into the play neither wanted to act in. Rou was the character I could most connect with. She accepted who she was and was willing to live away from home in order to be honest with herself, even if she couldn’t be honest with her family. When societal harmony was brought up, she replied, “The society is harmonious, but I am bullied!”

We Are Gamily was a lighthearted look at a serious subject about being different and upsetting familial and societal harmony, when the lack of “harmony” or sameness should never have been the responsibility of those being judged. The social and familial commentary were elements to appreciate about this film. However, the overly contrived situations, poor camera work, and often terrible sound challenged my attention span.

14 August 2024

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"We're just like everybody else"

37 Seconds was billed as a sexual liberation story for a young woman with cerebral palsy. While the film acknowledged that Yuma had desires like any other woman, for a film often set in the red-light district it was surprisingly chaste. This was a coming of age film as Yuma sought to break free from her mother's control and explore the world that couldn't see her as a real woman.

Twenty-three-year-old Yuma leads an insular and highly controlled life. She works as a manga artist for her friend, Sayaka. What the world doesn’t know is that Sayaka can’t draw or write stories, Yuma does it all. Sayaka merely plays the part on YouTube and keeps Yuma a well-guarded secret. At home, her mother cares for and treats her like a child refusing to let her have long hair, use makeup, or wear dresses. When Yuma attempts to sell a manga idea she’s told to stop copying Sayaka’s work and be unique. She ends up at an erotica manga publication. The editor likes her work but tells her she needs some sexual experience to understand what they want. Yuma starts breaking free from her mother and Sayaka when she meets sex worker Mai and her assistant Toshi on a trip to the red-light district. Her new friends encourage her to explore what she likes and not be afraid to try new experiences. Advice her mother will absolutely not agree with.

This film was decidedly aided by hiring Kayama Mei, a woman who has cerebral palsy, instead of an actress mimicking what she thinks CP looks like. Kayama with her delicate voice showed Yuma's resolve as she fought to live her life for herself. Yuma wanted to be seen and heard, something her mother was afraid of. A gifted artist she was closeted away by her “friend.” The film bestowed Yuma with enormously helpful new friends which may not have been realistic but they provided her a gateway to independence. There were a couple of adult moments if you are sensitive to such subjects, when Yuma attempted to hire a sex worker and later when she and Mai visited a sex toy shop. Films about people with handicaps can be condescending and patronizing. 37 Seconds managed to avoid those pitfalls. Soft spoken Yuma demonstrated to herself and others that she was strong and despite her physical limitations, she was just like everyone else. Her transformation as she gained confidence was beautiful to watch. I loved Mai’s words to her, “You’ve taken a big step. Better not f*ck it up.” Of course, most of do on occasion whatever our life circumstances.

Yuma made friends, carved out a professional path for herself, gained independence, and even had an adventure to Thailand. She learned that sometimes you need to know where you’ve been in order to figure out where you want to go. 37 Seconds can be gone in an instant or its effects can last a lifetime. The memory of this tender, unique coming of age film will linger far longer than the title.

13 August 2024

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Could have used more rom and more Tang Wei

Despite starring Tang Wei and Jacky Cheung, this ended up being Jacky and Pau Hei Ching’s movie. Tang Wei was criminally underused. Crossing Hennessy was a scrambled ensemble that too often pulled focus from the main couple.

Loy is a 41-year-old man who sleeps until noon and has difficulty with responsibility. His mom owns an appliance store where he fixes equipment and does installs near as I could tell. His aunt dotes on him while his mom berates everyone around her. Queenie, the mom, sets him up for a matchmaking dinner with the woman whose uncle owns a shop across the street. Oi Lin, much like Loy, has no intention of following through with the match. She has a jailbird boyfriend and Loy is seeing his ex-girlfriend. Later, after meeting coincidentally the two find they share an interest in mystery novels. Kismet! Queenie, family friend Uncle Ching, and Loy’s aunt end up in a love triangle of their own.

I watched this film mainly because Tang Wei was starring in it. Before the hour mark she all but disappeared from the screen until the end of the film which was quite disappointing. Her character was given little to do overall. I also struggled to understand what thirty-year-old Oi Lin would see in a forty-year-old man (49-years-old in real life) who had no direction and nothing to offer her but the ability to make her laugh. Jacky Cheung’s acting style is not my cup of tea. I find his mugging for the camera and eyerolling more annoying than cute. It was difficult to understand what lit the attraction between Oi Lin and Loy. Pau Hei Ching as Loy’s mother was continually loud and overbearing with no nuance. I kept waiting for her older sister to finally snap after being continually rundown by the family diva. I only know Danny Lee from old kung fu movies so it was interesting seeing him as the henpecked, dog carrying Uncle Ching. The veterans’ love triangle dominated the second half of the film along with Loy’s challenges while Oi Lin sold toilets offscreen in her uncle’s shop.

Crossing Hennessy had some cute moments but then the film would go in another direction leaving the burgeoning romance on the backburner. Tang Wei’s return to film after being blacklisted (apparently, she did those spicy Lust, Caution scenes all by herself? None of the men suffered any consequences) should have highlighted her acting abilities instead of sidelining her in her own romance. Jacky Cheung’s hangdog, lazy character and verbally abusive mother weren’t interesting enough to carry the film for me.

8 August 2024

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