Gastoski
Italy
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Magnificent Obsession
"Ms. Perfect" is a scintillating melodrama with a classic flavour, able to offer an intricately multifaceted story that, starting from a fairly conventional family drama structure, with the end of a married couple's love affair at its centre and the relative painful disintegration of the domestic unit, gradually evolves into a fascinating and enthralling mystery thriller with an incredible story of mad love at its centre, absolutely indebted to the Hollywood classics of the golden age...Thanks to the chance offered by a singular and apparently perfect woman, a strange rental contract (extremely favourable! ) and a forced and curious cohabitation, accompanied by a heterogeneous group of family members, friends, and real or presumed servants, the focus of the story will develop in the new home of our heroine who, faced with ambiguously hostile characters and situations, gripped by doubts, feelings of guilt (not only her husband's betrayal, but also the uncomfortable presence/figure of her ex-first love) and even erroneous evaluations, will end up feeling threatened in the actual space of her new living location...
Trying to play with cinematic genres, in order to tempt the curious, “Ms. Perfect” seems to be the evolution of the so-called 'gothic movie', in its female variant, starring a woman, in spite of herself, grappling with a marriage affair with disturbing contours. Only in this case, the danger does not come directly from the male counterpart, but from the ambiguous and perturbing co-star, a true modern adaptation of the figure of the 'dark lady', a typical characterisation of the noir genre.
Everything is prodigiously served by a writing script that is never ordinary, capable of re-launching the plot each time with courageous choices, absolutely unsettling in many cases, at the service of a cast of an extraordinary level, able to alternate between comedy and tragedy, charade and drama, in a constant involvement that accompanies us throughout the wonderful twenty episodes, which show no sign of weakness or tiredness...
Intrigues and mysteries, real or presumed ghosts that re-emerge from a past with many interrogative aspects. As in the best tradition of Korean dramas, an underlying ambiguity appears that is able to characterise all the actors of "Ms. Perfect"... No one seems to be immune from guilt, albeit on different levels, and this ambiguity allows us to escape from easy "good/bad" classifications, thanks to a great performance by the whole cast...
The main attraction of this drama rotates around the astonishing performance of the charismatic Cho Yeo Jung, an actress of incredible beauty, capable, thanks to her immense and ambiguous charm, of portraying the role of a foolish woman in love, disposed to do anything to obtain the object of her desire... Absolutely ambiguous and sinister right from the moment she appears on the scene, Eun Hee becomes the true focal point of the narrative, catalysing the attention on her character who will progressively reveal her hidden object, concretely managing to raise the attention also on the omnipresent and obsessive relationship that connects stars and their fans (stalker! ?)
Sacrificial victims of his love madness are the "rival" Jae Bok, played by the also very beautiful Ko So Young (almost a twin sister of Kim Ha Neul!) and her husband, Jung Hee, brilliantly rendered by the excellent Yoon Sang Hyun, in one of the best roles of his remarkable career... In my opinion, it is precisely through the character of Jung Hee, in his progressive personality transformation, in the clash/confrontation with his wife Jae Bok, that some of the most interesting narrative cues emerge, capable of instilling doubts above all of a moral nature, on ambition, guilt and careerism at any cost...
It was said of the overall excellent cast where also the very good Sung Joon/Bong Goo makes his character evolve in a decidedly mature manner, thanks also to the exemplary part played by Im Se Mi/Na Mi who, mainly in the first half of the drama, shows a prominent role in the unravelling of the intrigued plot... I also really appreciated Jae Bok's two funny female friends, Na Hye Ran (played by Kim Jung Nan) and, above all, Kim Won Jae (Jung Soo Young) who could even have been used in more depth, given the psychoanalytic aspect emerging in the development of the storyline.... But, again, bravo to all, adults and children alike
There are many truly fascinating passages, often concentrated inside the vast mansion; the mysterious doors forbidden to all, also a typical noir cliché, almost an update of Hitchcock's "Rebecca" or so many of its epigones; Jae Bok's continuous wandering in the house, often intimidated by the presence of "hostile" figures; the effective use of flash-backs, which, thanks also to the classic repetitions of past traumas, reveal the many dark points of the principal characters... The confrontation between Na Mi and Eun Hee, Eun Hee finding herself alone in the huge house...And then one of my favourite movie tropes: The forced closure in the asylum, as well as the literally " flaming" finale that seems taken from a Roger Corman movie of the Edgar Allan Poe series....
Managing to satisfy so many of my cinematic obsessions, with an intriguing, engaging, well-written, perfectly acted tale, without moments of boredom or the usual lapses into more or less acceptable nonsense, 'Ms. Perfect' is a 'perfectly' successful example of excellent narrative script that meets absolutely exemplary mise-en-scene, creating a very entertaining story
9/10
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A marvelous story of indissoluble love
A poignant drama, permeated with a deeply felt melancholy that accompanies us from beginning to end, The Snow Queen continues to be, in my opinion, a marvelous story of indissoluble love, capable of transcending any barrier, pushing (in all senses) towards extreme borders (not only figuratively speaking) thanks to the sincere romanticism of a practically perfect script and an excellent direction (the author is the same director of 'Winter Sonata', to be clear)As always, love, chance and destiny are preponderant elements that drive the story forward, but compared to similar cases, one does not turn one's nose up at any inconsistency, illogic or magnanimous demands for complete suspension of disbelief, since everything manages to be coordinated in a balanced and 'realistic' structure that also guarantees a sentimental identification with the beautiful characters of the drama...
The composite screenplay manages to overcome a linear storyline with a concentric structure, full of randomness and coincidences, alternating points of view, even narrative variations on the same theme, as well as subplots and geometrical plotlines that enrich the construction of the story, where even a few symbols or simple objects such as a pager, a music tape and a couple of photographs have the strength to release sincere emotion without trespassing on the pathetic.
It is achieved without falling into the baroque or exaggerated mannerism (typical of many contemporary dramas) that sometimes makes us raise an eyebrow or roll our eyes, thanks to skillful and never ordinary dialogue of obvious literary derivation, capable of arousing equal passion for two apparently antithetical subjects such as mathematics and boxing, and this is also possible thanks to a perfect cast in an absolute state of grace.
Hyun Bin renders his character's torment and remorse very well, with a truly calibrated, touching and involving performance, a prisoner of his own secret and bearer of an inner suffering bordering on self-destruction, almost Catholic in nature, even though the religious references (much more marked in other dramas of the same period) remain confined to a desperate prayer/invocation towards the end of the drama. Yu-ri -very gorgeous! -is absolutely perfect, capable of operating a sort of progressive transformation and dramatic growth that is functional to the narrative development of the story; the bumptious and spoilt little girl of the beginning of the story, ends up evolving and becoming a mature (young) woman, consciously resigned, in spite of herself, to her own fate.
The remaining cast is perfectly integrated in their roles without any pedantic backstory that in this case would frankly be considered pleonastic, with the exception of the excellent portrayal of Tae Woong's mother, who is absolutely decisive in further accentuating the protagonist's torments, and Bo Ra's father, capable of confirming once again that founding principle of dramas whereby the faults of parents end up falling on their children (in fact, he is responsible for the tragic fate of his eldest son)
Much has been written, and rightly so, about the extraordinary venues of the story, and the skillful use of the locations really deserves a separate mention, starting with the extraordinary landscapes in the opening, later reproposed in the last episode, to continue with the gymnasium, a sort of perfect microcosm populated by a group of marginalized people with a warm heart, which restores to us all the sense of sadness that lingers in the (icy!?) heart of the protagonist; Bo Ra's house, almost a gilded prison, up to the basketball court that returns also in the heartbreaking finale...
As is common in other productions, the role of nature is central, both in the snowy sequences and in those where it is the sea that increasingly, almost overwhelmingly, emphasizes the lyricism of the drama; for example, the sequences at the grave of the friend/brother, which personally have always made me think of my favorite Murakami Haruki book, 'Norwegian Wood' ...
Touching and melancholic without ever being intrusive, the soundtrack is the further strength of this extraordinary drama, a kind of contemporary fairy tale that is a truly perfect transposition of Andersen's sadly melancholic universe...
I decided to re-watch this gem a distance of a few years, after, what an irony for a drama-fan such myself! Fate has stripped me, in a short space of time, of some of the most beloved people who have accompanied my life... When one loses, affections, loves, friendships, beyond the pain and inner wounding, one questions oneself and seeks answers as to why things happen...
Just like the characters in the drama, we are constantly asking ourselves many questions, and the reflection on the differences between mathematics, which is always able to provide answers, and life, which acts by chance and very often does not provide answers, is perhaps the best possible metaphor or the perfect theorem to sum up not only this drama, but the lives of many people...
10/10
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Essential Masterpiece
In 1960, at the time of the release of 'Cruel Story of Youth', Japan was in the midst of a series of protests against the renewal of the Japan-America treaty (Anpo) and the related growing student movement; Oshima, like many of his contemporary colleagues, not even 30 years old at the time, was a keen observer of the ongoing changes, perceived this new feeling of revolt that would even lead to a split in the Japanese Communist Party towards even more radical ideas, and succeeded in making two other features that were strongly integrated in that historical moment.The picture is produced by the major Shochiku, a legendary company founded in the 1920s, which enforces the use of CinemaScope and colour, not particularly favoured by the new generation of filmmakers; The film studio is perhaps convinced that it can exploit the late 1950s phenomenon of the so-called "Taiyozoku Eiga" (Sun Tribes), movies based on Ishihara Shintaro's novels about the angry and dissolute youth of that period, but "Cruel Love Story" ends up by upsetting the cards, literally overturning the Japanese film table and pushing the pedal even deeper, highlighting the general traits of what will be defined in a simplistic way, Nūberu Bāgu, in response to the French ‘Nouvelle Vague’ film scene revolution , definition is certainly not appreciated by Oshima since, like other filmmakers of the time such as, for instance, Masahiro Shinoda or Yoshishige Yoshida, he feels more artistic (and political) affinities with the Polish cinema of Andrzej Wajda, in especially his 'Popiól i diament' (Ashes and Diamonds).
The plot is well known: Shinjo Makoto, a young under-age female student, and Fujii Kiyoshi, an idle aspiring gangster who met in the middle of a tragic situation, fall in love and decide to set up a racket where she picks up unsuspecting drivers who offer to accompany her (with obvious ulterior intentions) while he, on a motorbike, breaks into the scene at the right moment, threatening them with prosecution and beating them up, with the aim of extorting money from them... Of course, the consequences will have a price to pay...
The picture was a huge success with audiences and was critically read as the Oriental response to “À bout de souffle”, the first masterpiece by French director Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jean Paul Belmondo and the stunning (and very unfortunate) Jean Seberg; Behind the undoubtedly obvious analogies, starting with the style, the cinematic approach, the use of the hand-held camera (however with stylistic variations and more 'natural' movements than Godard or even the Brazilian master Glauber Rocha, who was also shortly to become the forerunner of the 'Cinema Novo' movement) and the display of close-ups, there is however a whole series of aspects that make Oshima's movie memorable:
"Cruel Story Of Youth" is characterised by a whole series of stylistic innovations and breaking elements, contravening the rules established by the masters, 'fathers' of Japanese cinematography such as Ozu, Mizoguchi etc. Pervaded by an existential pessimism that spares no one, Oshima portrays a generation, that of the twenty-somethings, of outcasts, completely lost in an absolute nihilism, in rebellion against any moral, social or political convention, devoid of dreams or ideals and with a self- destructive, absolute anarchic inclination to crime. Practically 'rebels without a cause', and without the extraordinarily melodramatic romance of Nicolas Ray's masterpiece with James Dean and Natalie Wood.
A revamping of conceptions capable of shifting the focus from the 'classic' representation of the family - think of Ozu and its role within the modernist changes in Japanese society, or Naruse for his work on ordinary people and the condition of women in the Land of the Rising Sun - towards a representation of identity and individualistic logics, linked to the new post-war and unconventional generations.
"Adults Don't Understand Me" ('Otona Wa Wakatte Kurenai') is the translation of the Japanese title of Truffaut's "Les Quatre Cents Coups" and behind this simplification one can summarise the confrontation-generational clash with the movie's adults, well represented by Makoto's older sister and her ex-lover, the doctor Akimoto, in a dramatically representative moment, in which all the disillusionment of the two mature ex-lovers emerges, aware of a generational failure that has wiped out all their youthful dreams (it almost brings to mind Ozu's movie of 1932), which is counterbalanced by Kiyoshi's spiteful observation that he has no dreams whatsoever and therefore does not risk ending up like them...
But there is also the deep frustration of Makoto's older sister Yuki, who admits to envying their freedom, even sexual freedom (explicit, in the truly adult dialogues that stand out from the start), along with the authorial inability of their father, practically reduced to a caricature incapable of any adult decision and, figuratively speaking, placed on the fringes of the conversations (and the frames).
Alone and aware that they are condemned to a sad, sordid existence, estranged from the strict rules of Japanese society, the two young lovers wander aimlessly, in the beautiful Michelangelo Antonioni-style pre-finale, 'lost' in their city, on their way to their inevitable fate....
It is easy to imagine the cultural shock the picture may have caused in 1960 in a country deeply lacerated by student revolts, by the wounds of World War II, in its attempt to raise its head again, opening up to the world in an attempt to show its best side;
Oshima, an exceptionally sharp master, manages to remove that gloss of respectability, almost of whitewashed sepulchres, taking what, in the hands of another filmmaker, could have been a noir or a conventional yakuza movie and providing the representation of a cynical world, without pity and hope that, in countless thematic variations, will pave the way for a truly rich cinematic decade for Japan. As far as I am concerned, it is one of the first Japanese cinema auteur movies that I have been able to appreciate since my youth, it was often televised at night, paired with Seijun Suzuki's 'Gate of Flesh' (another seminal director for me); the DVD version (on which I based the review) displays superior attention to subtitles, making more explicit the depth and rawness of the dialogues that were decidedly adult for the time.
Essential masterpiece
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‘You should have left Hong Kong immediately.... ...What kept you? ...Or who ?’
*‘The Killer’ was filmed in 1989 and came just after the great success of the two-hit diptych ‘A Better Tomorrow’. Chow Yun-Fat, who had already starred in the two ‘A Better...’ movies, was again called in as the lead actor. The results were so extraordinary that it was from this film onwards that Woo's name began to travel the world (in every sense of the word).The movie was conceived as a sort of modern remake of ‘Le samouraï’, a famous noir by Jean Pierre Melville, one of Woo's favourite directors, but the Guangzhou director readapted it, according to his precepts, giving us an action movie/noir, capable of merging with the most typical elements of melodrama...All infused with astonishing and spectacular shoot-outs, which, also from a choreographic point of view, will be imitated ad nauseam.
Woo, also a screenwriter, draws truly exemplary characterisations for the two main characters; By setting them against each other and starting from absolutely ‘antithetical’ standpoints (one is the killer, the other the cop) he manages, in a ‘miraculous’ way to make them converge and resemble each other thanks to the typical aspects of his cinematography.
Jeff is indeed a killer, but he is heroic, brave, full of passion, idealistic and sensitive...He has a sense of honour that really doesn't make him resemble an assassin, but rather an ancient knight who accepts his destiny and faces it head-on, without any fear, but rather with a mocking smile on his face; the brotherly, virile friendship and respect that bind him to Sidney is almost poignant, his best friend, also a hitman, physically maimed by a wound but vigorously animated by the same ideals as Jeff.
All fundamental elements in Woo's cinematography.
...And Chow Yun-Fat's performance is truly memorable...
The same rules of honour and moral principles that drive policeman Lee Ying: Lee of course hunts him down, but by some of Jeff's actions, such as the incident with the little girl and the run to the hospital, he is admired, if not actually fascinated, perhaps beginning to perceive the killer's true nature...the two men, moreover, are united by their respective senses of guilt, deriving for both of them from the responsibility of their gestures, which have generated two very serious events.
This common fate, infused with doses of old-fashioned romanticism, a sort of ‘chivalrous code’, a mèlo poetry and that sense of friendship so dear to Woo, triggers an irreversible process that leads all the characters of the movie towards a road of no return, in a sort of almost ‘martyrdom’...and emblematically it is precisely a church that is the place of the showdown.
The extraordinary film direction, as well as the editing, sets a tone of epicness to the entirety, leaving the viewer often open-mouthed, through a series of absolutely breathtaking sequences.
Much has been written about the famous shootouts in John Woo's movies: Choreographed, likened to a kind of a ballet, with unexpected and acrobatic changes of frame...Sudden slowdowns, moments of hiatus that precede extremely violent outbreaks, bodies and bullets leaping and whirling through the air, with the hero on duty moving while handling two guns at the same time (‘a dancer going through the air’ explains Woo), almost ‘in suspension’.
The application of slow motion then reinforces the impact even more, adding depth to the scenes and setting the pace. John Woo is perhaps the only director capable of making even a simple flight of white doves ‘epic’.
Watch ‘The Killer’...and then try to see the Mariachi trilogy by Robert Rodriguez, someone who really has a thing for action movies; Well, you'll notice how much the director of ‘Sin City’ drew from the Asian filmmaker.
Among the film references, I like to point out the boat race during Jeff's last ‘contract’; it has an absolutely Hichcockian ‘construction’, with a rising tension in the style of ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’…
And there is also a quote from King Vidor's ‘Duel in the Sun’, really poignant...
'The Killer' is one of the high peaks of John Woo's career... it is probably the movie that best defines his cinematic universe and represents one of the most extraordinary modern examples of action movies (but not only).
A fundamental and highly recommended masterpiece.
10/10
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*An old review of mine from a no more existing forum, here for MDL, the names correspond with the Italian version of the movie
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‘So...if I believe in ghosts, then they exist...’
*Released in the early 1970s and regarded as the masterpiece of Hong Kong master King Hu, ‘A Touch of Zen’ had the great merit of updating a genre, the ‘classic’ wuxia, condensing within it, thanks also to its majestic but never really ‘heavy’ duration (180'), some of the most beautiful aspects of Chinese cinematography, today clearly re-proposed by contemporary filmmakers from the immense Asian territory, and by all those directors (Quentin Tarantino among the most devoted fans, for instance) faithful descendants of the great oriental film tradition.It is indeed difficult to speak of a simple adventure movie, because of the mixture of genres that runs through the picture, the repeated jumps from farcical to extremely dramatic tones, the astonishing action sequences alternating with more ‘reflective’ moments (‘definitely Zen’) make ‘A Touch of Zen’ a polyhedral work, multifaceted and therefore truly unforgettable.
Rich in symbols, allegories, even ‘arcane’ elements, always and in any case fascinating, immersed in an environmental setting rich in natural beauty, with an elegant and ingenious use of the camera and a picture capable of emphasising the contrasts, the numerous chromatic nuances (red, black and white, mainly) and alternating day/night sequences, the movie is a real feast for the eyes.
King Hu drew inspiration from a short story by the novelist Pu Songling, whose works have provided material for numerous Asian filmmakers, but it is clear that Hu, with his innovative stylistic choices, decisively marked the modernisation of the Wuxia genre, influencing generations to come (consider that the film's genesis dates back to around 1969...).
And thanks to the director's exemplary ability to synthesise, to the singularity of many sequences, even long ones, which are extremely descriptive and often dialogue-free, the observer is led almost to a kind of identification that puts him completely in the spirit of the work...
The beginning, in an almost western style (à la Leone, to be clear) immediately introduces us to one of the main characters in the story, the painter Gu; a curious observer at first, and then gradually more and more interested in the ‘strange’ pursuits that seem to enliven the sleepy town in which he carries out his occupation...It is very interesting to note how precisely the characterisation of this figure (extremely ‘modern’ in his conception of life) gradually takes on ever deeper nuances.
Also impressive is the Ghost Town (an old military fortress...) where all the characters live, which serves as the main theatre of the story: The painter in the company of his elderly mother, who continually ‘’vexes‘’ him, eager to see him settled:
‘You are 30 years old...You have to get married...get a career...I want to have grandchildren’!...
The mother-son duets willingly break the tension, bringing the film to more comic tones, even if they actually anticipate a development that is by no means banal in the evolution of the plot.
The beautiful Yang Hui-Chen, mysterious and silent, who, helped by the atmosphere of the place, is initially even mistaken by the painter for a ghost, as well as the blind peasant, whose real nature we later discover
Both figures can be considered classic, as they sum up many aspects found in numerous ‘genre’ movies, not only Chinese, but also Japanese...And if at the base of the story there is always the ‘old and healthy’ sense of revenge, it is skilfully melded with certain aspects of Zen ethics that accentuate its chivalrous nature; Precision and efficiency, discipline (which goes as far as asceticism), the noble spirit of loyalty, for example, are all at the core of the main characters' souls and determine their actions...
The Ghost Town, it was said:
During daytime, this former fortification looks like a simple assemblage of crumbling buildings, a refuge for the poor and outcast, At night, it truly appears as a place haunted by ghosts, where noises, shadows and creaks can create suspense and even fright...
Magistral from this point of view, the long sequence of the night battle, shot with an almost natural effect, where the sounds and lamentations, the screams of the fight imply a situation that will only be revealed to us at dawn, with an outcome that is both suggestive and highly dramatic...Cunning and strategy, supported by the ancestral fear of ghosts (‘Sir! the houses are haunted by spirits! ...’), against the numerical superiority of the enemy. It is evident, in this respect, how much ‘A Touch of Zen’ influenced a more recent Hong Kong classic such as “A Chinese Ghost Story”.
And over the three hours you can admire:
- Ironclad duels with jumps and evolutions that defy the laws of gravity...
- Swords with extremely strong blades that can, if necessary, act as trampolines to scale the highest walls...
- Others so flexible (yet lethal) that they can be fastened around the waist, like a belt
- A fight to the death in the middle of the forest that makes you realise how much movies like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hero” and “House of Flying Daggers” owe to A Touch of Zen
- Bows capable of shooting numerous arrows at once
- A villainous commander-in-chief, capable of thwarting our heroes, skilled swordsmen, with only the strength of his hands
- A group of Zen monks armed only with faith (and strong ropes...), led by a master capable of taming the fiercest of enemies with a simple whisper
And so on…
So many amazing elements that constantly relaunch the story, with the aforementioned alternation of rhythm and atmosphere.
The closing, which I have no hesitation in describing as mystical, visionary, with almost psychedelic stylistic overtones, has in itself a truly majestic strength and suggestion...It may leave one doubtful, perplexed, because it does not provide a clear explanation, but there is no doubt that it is visually astounding and that, even from an iconographic point of view, it can open up to the most ‘extensive’ meanings
Majestic, sophisticated, breathtaking but also contemplative, adventurous and captivating, ‘A Touch of Zen’ is a masterpiece that leaves no one indifferent, and is therefore recommended to everyone.
10/10
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*I took the liberty of reproposingt an ‘old’ review of mine that appeared many years ago on a forum that no long exists...
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For lovers of genre
I watched "Awaken" based on VIKI's introduction, expecting a crime thriller maybe in the style of "Flower of Evil" or "The Devil", two series I really adoredAt the beginning, I followed with good expectations, thanks to a rather impressive incipit and with intriguing subsequent suggestions, even though the typifications of the main characters were not particularly original (the usual typecasting of the variegated team at work always reminds me of certain Japanese robot cartoons of childhood with the leader, the beauty, the clumsy and the nerd, those things, in short...).
However, as the episodes went on, I began to have more than one doubt about the direction of the series with a growing sense of annoyance, a red alert for a scenario completely different from the initial perspective; getting to the point, the expansion to Sci-Fi and things of this nature I had not really planned for and at that point the interest really dropped exponentially...
I mean, it's not that the story is particularly boring, it's reasonably elaborate and repeatedly tries to revive the attention with impactful cliffhangers, but the problem is that 'Awaken' really does come at a very late stage and smashes open doors from so many previous ones...
With everything we ‘ve had, from 'The X-Files' to 'Stranger Things', via 'Dark Angel' and their many epigones with 'special kids', it's a moment's notice to find yourself in such trite situations that you're able to understand much of the unfolding almost immediately.
The usual secret labs, the usual child-guinea-pigs, the usual mad doctors, between Dr. Frankenstein and the many crazed demiurges in a delirium of omnipotence, perhaps even parents of the aforementioned lab subjects
In overall terms, for fans of the same genre, it is certainly something that can intrigue and involve, but at the same time, for the aficionado with a little knowledge of the material, it is impossible not to notice the incredible accumulation of references, clichés and tired stereotypes that make the nose twitch, as well as the usual holes in the logic that often screw up the elaboration and development of many situations...
And it's a pity, because in my opinion the moral dimension of the story should have been highlighted more, thanks to the excellent performance of the main character Namkoong Min, capable of casting for several episodes the classic shadow of doubt on his true nature; it's also a shame for the little in-depth analysis between our super-child and the really disturbing mad scientist-mother, limited to the last episodes; the same goes for the police-daughter/father-scientist relationship, with an always excellent Kim Chang Wan in a role that would have deserved a better deepening, but then the police daughter (who we are told is also of great merit) really knows practically nothing about her father's work, for all those years! ?
The lead character in the guise of a wanted possible multiple homicide who calmly drives around the city, in defiance of roadblocks, checkpoints, camera recordings or phone interceptions (as seen in so many dramas or movies) is inexcusable, as is the Terminator-turn with the relative moving of trucks with his hands (but why?), with sudden and opportune super-powers...
A comic anthology is the three days wasted by Jamie (by the way, she, Lee Chung Ah, really beautiful -nda) and the nosey reporter waiting for the rain to cease so they can go by boat to the island-laboratory, and then the two 'super-boys' who come and go in a flash, at night, and how do they do it, maybe flying!?
It gets to the end rather tiredly due to the too many twists and turns of the drama with a pretty predictable and practically inevitable ending that leaves that inevitable sense of déjà-vu and general discontent quite marked...
Personally my rating is 7/10, fairly generous, more for the first part of the story and for some of the acting performances:
Of course Namkoong Min who certainly doesn't need me to tell him that (he's a class actor!) and something in the minor characterisations but at the end of the whole affair there are no particular desires left for second viewings...
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Love can come at any time in our life
I watched this movie to detox myself a bit from a disappointing drama I ‘ve been watching in the past few days, also recommended by another MDL user, what can I say, really a happy breath of fresh air...It's a really pleasantly well-made romantic comedy that, without saying anything new, joyfully succeeds in engaging the well-prepared viewer for its two-hour duration (which is not particularly heavy at all, however).
It is in the choice of the main players that the movie's success is most evident; telling a love story with two mature characters, wonderfully mature I would say, but at the same time still young in their hearts and at the end of the day simply desperate to have someone at their side to love, like all of us...
The story is of disarming simplicity and the plot mechanics are those well established in the classic Korean rom-com: the main character, with his hilarious facial expressions, lost in his foibles and fixations, with an absolutely absurd and decidedly unhealthy job, the usual circle of colleagues/acquaintances more deranged than him, as well as the bothering element of his brother; on the other side, our beautiful Kim Hee Sun, a messed-up single mother with a teenage daughter, obviously problematic...
Rather than the usual clash-meeting between two completely antithetical entities, the most interesting element is surely the lengthy courteousness on her part, which allows the staging of several rather amusing scenes related to the total clumsiness of our male subject
But it is precisely in these phases of rapprochement of the two lonely souls, in this gradual process towards a state of happiness, that I found myself most satisfied, in that desire to attempt to experience the same joyfully adolescent emotions that can be found in so many dramas or movies, more or less good; that attempt at normality that leads us to think: "Why can't we experience the same joys too!"
Of course, there are the obvious lucky coincidences and even several innocent ingenuities that push the story towards the most obvious ending, thanks also to a supporting cast that is functional to its role, but in the end you are immediately inclined to cheer for the two heroes and therefore we welcome that bit of magical coincidence that leads to the happy end, just to have a Romantic Heart and believe/hope that love can come at any time in our life
The rating is a perhaps generous 7.5/10, but in cases like this it is OK to be kind...
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Birth Mistery!?
I, sadly, found it quite poorly developed and even unresolved, e.g. the amnesia escamotage serves as an engine to move the story forward, but at the end of the day there is not even a really plausible explanation of the triggers of the memory loss, with its 'trauma' that should then activate the relative feelings of guilt, sin, redemption and all the corollary underlying the drama itself...I'm not saying certain 'motorist clichés' like “Winter Sonata”, 'I Have A Lover' or 'Stairway To Heaven', but something more determinant and concrete than 'psychogenic amnesia' yes, but...
Then let's talk about the pedagogical disaster perpetrated on the poor child, treated worse than a postal parcel!
Abandoned by the mother, then taken back with proterrity and arrogance, then almost gifted to the aunt and uncle, then taken back again by the mother, with the relative runaway and the poor father who, between a child-exchange with the companies' shares as if we were at the local fish market, because he is a poor idiot, finds himself having to tolerate all this, perhaps without even complaining...
Quite a bunch of relatives, they should all be jailed and social services called in....
The male lead character who at least improves his posture during the episodes, stopping walking like a complete idiot, something that cannot be said of the tedious father-in-law/father/grandfather (which for an Italian like me, is quite funny, because it reminds of the journalist Beppe Severgnini, A/N). It's really a pain for 18 episodes, this Rain Man/Kaiser Soze style pacing with relative hand scratching (enough!) that even makes our amnesiac Yu-ri explode, in one of the best liberating moments of the story...
...Now a digression has to be made: 'But what did the mother of the female character find so extraordinary about this phenomenon who is always bent over, mumbles two words in 18 episodes and stares at the floor or books she has read a million times that she would even have a daughter with her?
Mystery of the plot, she leaves the drama almost immediately so we will never know....
Rather than "Birth Secret/The Secret of Birth" the drama should be titled "Birth Mystery/The Mystery of Birth"
The other cult-moment is the incredible argument between the two friends-colleagues who accuse each other of stealing their boiled-fish boyfriend (who laughs out loud!) as well as the theft of the thesis (and who knows what else must have happened in the USA, eh, you naughty girls!?) ...
There is something interesting in the secondary characters, such as the youngest son of the eccentric family, with musical ambitions, as well as his mother, a fervent Catholic with a chapel in the house ('we rich people don't miss a thing, do we'!?), but also among the lead character's friends, especially the hopeless lovers who intersect their repressed desires with the lead couple, who would have deserved a little more space in the story...
The 40-year-old son's contrition for his wife comes too late... sorry but your beautiful bride is already on the plane
Awesome the CEO who goes from the board of directors to robots-transformer in two episodes, almost a record;
by the way, is it the soju drunk in buckets that ruins the brains as well as the rest, of the poor Koreans!?
The 6.5/10 is for the entertainment, even if 18 episodes are sincerely too many, and for the cast, really great overall with Yu-ri who is always fabulous and the formidable child actress a cut above the rest, even if making her cry so often is really blackmailing, anyone would be touched by a crying child (except for that monster of a mother-genius, of course!)
but it's still very difficult for me to want to see it again
Last personal note: The music in certain bridging scenes, curiously enough, has resemblance to some sound passages from 'My Love From The Star'.
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You should never play with the emotions
I watched this movie with extreme curiosity, almost like entering a sort of tunnel/time machine that takes you to a space-time dimension that is truly touching for how far it is from current cinematic logic; It is undoubtedly a solid melodrama, with all the components of the case (starting with the usual dynamics and problems of social class) that finds, in my opinion, a winning choice in the superb locations of San Francisco(I had to smile remembering that even alternative musicians such as Makoto Kubota of the psychedelic band
Les Rallizes Denudes lived and played in California in the early 70s, just to say...) and in Obayashi's never banal film direction choices, which finds a capacity for synthesis, as well as some sudden directional changes
(see the 'accident' that is the cause of the meeting between the protagonist and her future husband).
Everything is undoubtedly overloaded and pushed to the extreme, the protagonist couple, extraordinarily famous at the time and also a couple in life, (I later discovered) love each other and break up in a sort of flamboyant amour-fou comings and goings with repeated plane flights ( beautifully synthesised by directorial solutions that are as simple as they are absolutely effective) or by efficient narrative re-propositions (the alternative club, but also the beginning and the end along the Golden Gate) and the story would be all here, undoubtedly not dissimilar from many others but certainly not banal, thanks to an excellent direction by a master who is never ordinary, even on a theme as simple as Take Me Away! The music is also beautiful
7,5/10
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Long and overcomplicate
Too, too long and exaggeratedly complicated (but why, what was the point!?) The initial cue is really excellent in addition to the criticism about a country that is at the very first places for plastic surgery, but then everything begins to crumble and disperse into heavy delays, unnecessary subplots and all those moments between the couple at home with him that keeps repeating ahjumma ahjumma (but enough!). It almost seems that they wanted to take all the possible clichés of Korean drama -the ridiculous family of him, gigantic offices where the protagonists do nothing except sit in an armchair for revenge and conspiracies, restaurants open without a why, a surgeon who doesn’t work and doesn’t even recognize his patient, just to say - and they pushed them to the paroxysm, with a sense of the ridiculous that peeps around the corner. The Count of Monte Cristo, quoted and badly served, is in itself the most glaring example of construction of melodrama - machination, revenge, shame, class relations, final twist - but, thanks God, there is really better around... Han Ye-seul is a really brilliant actress, excellent dowry for such a beautiful woman, but it must be said, here, apart from the very first episodes with the spy-story situation to hook the ex, has never been particularly valued 6,5/10 ...Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
When A Man Loves A Woman
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Personally I struggle a bit with the temporal collocation of some events, but no big deal.
In my humble opinion, I love so much the so called " old dramas" there is certainly more courage and more melodramatic strength than the contemporaries, but I also understand that these peculiarities can leave some viewers a bit sceptical,
for what it's worth my personal rating is 8/10
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Untitled Park Ji Eun Project
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The Woman Who Lived Two Times
Surrounded by a media hype worthy of the best previous series, 'Queen of Tears' certainly passes the test of success, but it doesn't reach the qualitative heights envisaged by its authors, due to a somewhat too schematic and rather predictable development, which doesn't integrate perfectly with the amount of material available, leaving us with the impression of a possible missed masterpiece...Yes, because this supremely romantic and poignant love story is supported by the usual exaggerated set of narrative stylistic traits, bordering on makjang, with which we are all familiar and which provide the necessary boost for the development and the need to keep the attention threshold high throughout the 16 long episodes; narrative stylistic traits which, however, do not seem to be able to decisively innovate the plot's contents...
The feeling is that of being faced with a very costly author's “centone” *, a patchwork of other dramas capable of advancing more by twists and disruptive emotional jolts than by a consequentiality of narrative logic.
The heart before the mind, one might say... which, let's be clear, is a beautiful way of developing a truly redundant story, of sublime love and certainly moving (prepare your handkerchiefs because it is very emotional...), at least for me, an incurable romantic, but which fails to dare to use a more innovative language, not even experimental, but perhaps less mechanical and accommodating, made more to please the audience, who are evidently already well predisposed...
Personally, and this is not a very good sign, I found myself, quite surprisingly, mentally anticipating several plot twists which then punctually occurred, such as:
- The Hong family's hurried escape, with their arrival in the village of Yongdu-ri, which introduces a great narrative twist for one of my favourite moments of the drama, with very funny situations almost in the style of "Family Outing"
- The press conference with Hae-in's confession, absolutely inevitable at that point in the story
- The predictable and dare I say "announced" sequence with the encounter at the traffic lights and the related “traffic accident”.
Here and there one has the suspicion of a fabricated cult classic, perhaps capable of repeating the enthusiastic success of "Crash Landing On You" (even mentioned in a fleeting appearance in a scene on the TV) without, however, having the same narrative force as its predecessor, which, unlike "Queen of Tears", is capable of escaping a schematic manicheism bordering on sketchiness, and can also count on a decidedly more interesting backstory... It is precisely in the pursuit of a familiar, self-indulgent and quite quotable scheme that 'Queen of Tears' reveals perhaps the least convincing side of its construction, as well as in some not entirely successful acting passages...
The pattern is quite common in the portrayal of the Hong family, with rather classic family characters and dynamics, accompanied, however, by some very good performances, especially by the always excellent Na Young Hee and, of course, Lee Mi Sook who, with those beady eyes, makes us realise immediately where this is going...
The Baek family, with the usual array of villagers to temper the narrative tension, is just the right amount of fun, although I didn't find the group of friends from the hairdresser's salon particularly entertaining.
Even the "company" part in the department store doesn't exactly shine with originality, with the usual set of classic assistants/employees, but a special mention for Yoon Bo Mi who is really cute and funny; Hyun Woo's group of friends/lawyers is of a good standard, capable of giving us some funny moments (the advice on divorce!), as well as the inevitable decisive actions to help our hero.
In the brilliant performance of a stunning Kim Ji Won we must recognise the true strength of the drama, with a staggering characterisation, of great artistic maturation, capable of penetrating into the essence of the scenes, alternating moments of frenzy, often irresistibly comic, with others of pure emotion where the simple facial expressions communicate more than a thousand words, for what is truly the perfect interpretation of a woman who lived two times; while it is perhaps in Kim Soo Hyun's work that one remains a little less convinced, finding almost a sort of mechanicity, bordering on self-citationism for example of her extraordinary role in that masterpiece that is "My Love From The Star", (certainly more than in the equally marvellous work done in "Its OK") including the monologue in front of the camera;
Let's be clear, we are talking about one of the best actors in the drama world and not only, but here he seems to play it safe, without pushing the pedal of style in a fully convincing way... However, it must be specified that the chemistry between the two main characters is very much present, especially in the levity episodes where there is often an amused and funny air as in certain old-school screwball comedies (see for example the jealousy scenes, often relying more on looks than words)
As for Park Sung Hoon, I often tell myself that when a character in the story comes to be particularly well hated, it means that his performer has done his job perfectly, and he has; he is an excellent villain, admittedly not particularly original, but the dramatic crescendo is certainly adequate and effective.
Pure gold the cameo of our lawyer Song Joong Ki/Vincenzo Cassano, a real hilarious one as always (Vincenzo! We miss you!), but also the appearance of the unlikely trio of 'Hong Gil-dong Detective Agency' ex-cartoonists, straight from 'My Love From The Star' almost made me cry ('My Love' also quoted with the pen-recorder element...)
The choice of locations is absolutely stunning, starting with Potsdam and the beautiful Sanssouci Palace which, we can bet, will soon see an exponential increase in its tourist flow; it must be said that given the use of specific car brands, a joint venture with Germany seems obvious. There is no need to repeat that Korean landscapes are always extraordinary, thanks also to a dreamlike photographic setting, of great impact, able to glorify sequences such as, for example, the moment of the proposal at sunset with the related ring, pure magic!
The nocturnal pre-finale on the snow-covered landscape is impressive, reminding me of certain asian noir movies of the 1960s (the closing of Truffaut's 'La Sirene du Mississippi' also came to mind), but absolutely stunning and extraordinarily moving the epilogue, truly an unforgettable example of film poem; in that beautiful epigraph there is the whole sense of the tale.
At the end of the voyage, a bit like in a theatre performance, some of the characters wonder what they have witnessed, mentioning different cinematographic genres... I wondered about this myself, reflecting on whether the structure and unfolding of the story could really have been adapted to the most classic of Sageuk, for example... One of the best film noirs of the 1950s, Fritz Lang's 'The Big Heat', would undoubtedly have been a beautiful western, just as Samuel Fuller's '40 Guns' could have been a great female-driven gangster-movie (thanks to the magnificent Barbara Stanwick)...
Heart and mind always at odds make me say that yes, it's true, "Queen Of Tears" is a drama that is not completely focused, quite conventional, with many narrative clichés, several contradictions and the usual unlikely things, perhaps with an eye towards the international and western television markets, but bearing in mind that suspension of disbelief has always been a basic element in following and loving dramas, it is important to be guided by the heart and to be overwhelmed by the extraordinary romanticism of the story, which makes me give it a positive rating of 8/10, probably reviewable on a second view...
*I preferred to keep the term Centone in Italian because it is quite hard to translate; let's say that -helping us with the Internet- a centone is a text composed of a collage of quotes from different authors or operas, joined together to form an original composition. It is often used in a somewhat disrespectful way in the film industry, while from my side it is a simplification to indicate a work full of multiple quotations, references etc....
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A walk in a Summer Evening
Always beautiful and exciting, this gem of a romance that has not lost its lustre over time, I find it refreshing and pleasant, like certain late summer evenings of yesteryear (nowadays perhaps with the climate warming it is a bit more difficult...)It may be due to the relatively short duration of the episodes, to the flowing of the situations without lengthy or overly complicated situations, but it is certainly in the extraordinary chemistry of the couple that the key to its innumerable merits is to be found (from a male perspective, it is impossible not to love a creature like Jeon So-Min.).
The minimalism often achieves the best possible result without overdoing it, but with that emotional crescendo that is demanded of a romantic comedy in which everything flows in the right way, even the silences and meditative pauses. But there is one aspect that I would like to highlight, and that is the great sensuality that pervades the whole drama. It is hard to believe that the classic 'spark' has never been ignited between the couple, thanks also to the very warm effusions exchanged, a far distant from certain cold kisses in other similar productions... Perhaps the last episode claims to settle every last detail, or various couple concatenations, but it is just a trifle, and it remains an 8.5/10 drama recommended to everyone
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