25 August 2012

Stray Dog (Japan, 1949)

Murukami, a young homicide detective, has his pocket picked on a bus and loses his pistol. Frantic and ashamed, he dashes about trying to recover the weapon without success until taken under the wing of an older and wiser detective, Sato. Together they must track down the culprit before more people show up dead, killed by Murakami's own gun.

Stray Dog is a great film-noir police drama by Akira Kurosawa with Toshiro Mifune in the lead as a desperate rookie cop. It features an highly entertaining plot where the tension mounts fast and the story grows more and more complex. A classic, well-directed and compelling detective story about a missing gun. Beautiful.



Genre: Drama/Crime/Film-noir

19 August 2012

Nameless Gangster (South Korea, 2012)

The film is set in the 1980s and ’90s in Busan when corruption and crime was so rampant that the government declared war on it in 1990On the verge of being fired, a corrupt customs official finds a haul of drugs and teams up with a vicious gangster to become the most powerful crime partnership in Busan.

Nameless Gangster became one of 2012's so far biggest movies. The excellent cast, primarily Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, I Saw the Devil) and Ha Jeong-woo (The Chaser) took this hard-hitting gangster story to a higher level. The director wanted to depict the widespread corruption that infested the city of Busan, and how mobsters grew more and more powerful. 

A qualitative suspenseful thriller about crime lords, gang violence and corruption.

Genre: Crime/Thriller

18 August 2012

Punch (South Korea, 2011)

17-year-old Wan-Deuk comes from a poor family and his grades in school are equally poor. He is a rebellious and troubled student, but he never loses in fights. Wan-Deuk then meets teacher Dong-Joo. At first, Dong-Joo and Wan-Deuk are like enemies, but Wan-Deuk grows to like him. Meanwhile, Dong-Joo cares for and seems to understand Wan-Deuk. Wan-Deuk takes up kick-boxing and through the sport grows as a person and also develops a dream.

A splendid coming of age film with a big heart. In one of the lead roles we have Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser, Running Turtle) who delivers a great performance as a somewhat unorthodox school teacher. 

A recommended drama with a lot of punches, humor and warmth.  

Genre: Drama

Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Taiwan, 2003)

A Japanese tourist takes refuge from a rainstorm inside a once-popular, old Taipei cinema that is closing down, showing King Hu's 1967 sword-fighting classic "Dragon Inn". Even with the rain bucketing down outside, it doesn't pull much of an audience -- and some of those who have turned up are less interested in the movie than in the possibility of meeting a stranger in the dark.

Goodbye, Dragon Inn will not appeal to everyone. Many won't see the beauty in its minimalistic screenplay. The film is shot with almost no camera movement, most shots lasting well over thirty seconds. There are only about a dozen of lines of dialogue. If that doesn't float your boat, you're out of luck. But if you take time to watch this unique and wonderful film, you'll discover something beyond words. 

Simply become a member of the audience.



Genre: Drama

15 August 2012

The Twilight Samurai (Japan, 2002)

Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai, leads a life without glory as a bureaucrat in the mid-XIX century Japan. A widower, he has charge of two daughters and a senile mother; he must therefore work in the fields and accept piecework to make ends meet. New prospects seem to open up when Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. However, even as the Japanese feudal system is unraveling, Seibei remains bound by the code of honour of the samurai, and the turbulent times conspire against him.

During it's release The Twilight Samurai met an hailstorm of awards and praise, and rightfully so. Even though it's more focused on drama rather than fighting, it's one of the best samurai films I've ever seen. Director Yoji Yamada has, much like Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows), a huge talent for looking at family and relationships, and makes you really invested in the fates of the characters. You feel for Seibei more so than any bloodthirsty samurai, and it feels like a very realistic portrayal of a struggling mans life in Japan's Edo-period.

Genre: Drama/Romance

14 August 2012

Man of Vendetta (South Korea, 2010)

One day, Hye Lin, the five-year old daughter of a devoted pastor, Joo Young Soo, is kidnapped. Pastor Joo, who has a rock solid faith in God at this time, prays wholeheartedly for her safe comeback, but she does not return. Eight years later, Joo Young Soo, who now does not believe in God and leads a completely secular life, receives a call. Hye Lin is still alive and is with the kidnapper. Joo Young Soo’s resolute attempt to rescue his daughter begins...

Man of Vendetta is yet another contribution to the world of stylish, hair-raising South Korean-thrillers. While it's a bit unoriginal with a kidnapping scenario and a vengeful father, the movie will most likely keep you on your toes and has the tension to capture your interest in a tight grip. So, if you have a soft spot for solid, exciting thrillers, give this one a chance.

Genre: Thriller

Late Spring (Japan, 1949)

Noriko is 27 years old and is still living with her father Somiya, a widower. Noriko just recovered from an illness she developed in the war, and now the important question pops up: when will Noriko start thinking about marriage? Everybody who is important in her life tries to talk her into it: her father, her aunt, a girlfriend. But Noriko doesn't want to get married, she seems extremely happy with her life. She wants to stay with her father to take care of him. After all, she knows best of his manners and peculiarities.

Late Spring has been called "one of the most perfect, most complete, and most successful studies of character ever achieved in Japanese cinema", and has widely been referred to as director Yasujiro Ozu's best work. With a fantastic screenplay, it's a well-told story about ordinary lives in Japan's immediate post-war era.

Another essential classic.

Genre: Drama

The Woodsman and the Rain (Japan, 2011)

Katsu, a 60 year-old lumberjack, lives in a small, tranquil village in the mountains. When a film crew suddenly arrives to shoot a zombie movie, Katsu finds himself unwittingly roped into assisting the production and is increasing frustrated by the pushy crew, especially the young, seemingly spineless director Koichi. However, an improbable friendship soon develops between Katsu and Koichi, as Katsu comes to see joy in the filmmaking process, and gradually helps Koichi to recover his sense of self. 

Koji Yakusho (Cure, 13 Assassins) is back in a very feel-good type of movie. The cinematography is very soothing, due to being shot in the beautiful Japanese countryside which I haven't seen so much of in other movies so this was definitely interesting. 

Genre: Drama


13 August 2012

Cyclo (Hong Kong/Vietnam, 1995)

A young man who struggles through life by earning some money with his bicycle-taxi in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) gets contact to a group of criminals. They introduce him to the mafia-world of drugs and crime.

Cyclo is a raw, unforgettable story about a young man trying to escape his dangerous life and has some brutally stunning visuals. Directed by Tran Anh Hung (Norwegian Wood, The Scent of Green Papaya), it's one of the most powerful dramas I've ever seen, with many scenes that alone deserves a handful of prizes. Acting like this doesn't grow on trees, as it is quite extraordinaire. 

A film that truly leaves you breathless, amazing direction and storytelling.



Genre: Crime/Drama

3 August 2012

From Up on Poppy Hill (Japan, 2011)


Umi, a 16-year old girl, lives in Kokuriko Manor, a house that overlooks Yokohama harbour. Every morning, Umi raises a set of signal flags with the message "I pray for safe voyages". The identity of the person raising the flags arouses much local interest, and a poem about her is published in a school newspaper. The author of this poem, Shun, always sees this flag from the sea as he rides a tugboat to school. The two students eventually meet, and a strong friendship is formed.

Another year, and finally another Studio Ghibli-film. From Up on Poppy Hill is one of those few Ghibli-movies that doesn't feature a storyline with lots of fantasy, thus making it more reminiscent of Whisper of the Heart (1995). Set in the year 1963, Poppy Hill explores the growing relationship between two students and the problems surrounding them. Ghibli's rendition of Tokyo in the 60's looks great, and many sceneries are spectacular in that distinctive Ghibli-kind of way. A warm and more subtle Ghibli-film. 


Genre: Animation/Drama/Romance

2 August 2012

5 Centimeters Per Second (Japan, 2007)

Takaki and Akari are two classmates in elementary school. During their time together they have become close friends. Their relationship is tested when Akari moves to another city because of her parents' jobs. Both of them struggle to keep their friendship alive, as time and distance slowly pulls them apart. When Takaki finds out that he is moving further away, he decides to visit Akari one last time.

Before animation genius Makoto Shinkai created the incredible Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), he directed the equally beautiful 5 Centimeters Per Second and immediately made a huge name for himself. It pulls on your heartstrings, and it's hard not to get moved by this portrayal of a doomed, yet very strong relationship. The animation is flawless. I want to eat every cloud that floats across the many gorgeous, purple skies this film has to offer. 


Genre: Animation/Drama/Romance

Floating Weeds (Japan, 1959)

A troupe of travelling players arrive at a small seaport in the south of Japan. Komajuro Arashi, the aging master of the troupe, goes to visit his old flame Oyoshi and their son Kiyoshi, even though Kiyoshi believes Komajuro is his uncle. The leading actress Sumiko is jealous and so, in order to humiliate the master, persuades the younger actress Kayo to seduce Kiyoshi.

Legendary director Yasujiro Ozu decided to make a remake of his own A Story of Floating Weeds (1934), and the fruit of that production was this fantastic film which is one of his most outstanding works. It's a well-told drama that slowly unfold itself, the kind of movie Ozu was a master of. With an exquisite color palette, Yasujiro Ozu portrays life in the most realistic and respectful way possible. There isn't much about the way Ozu shoots his films that hasn't been said, but one can at least join in on the vast amount of praise given to him. The restorations of his films absolutely makes the colors glow and give that Hitchcock technicolor (Eastmancolor here) look, and objects you didn't think could ever be important makes scenes much more rememberable. You're never as much aware of the sets as you are with Ozu, given the care he took when filming his actors.

A wonder of human drama and skill in moviemaking, Floating Weeds is the film you return to when it feels as if modern directors have forgotten how to make this kind of quality. 


Genre: Drama

Branded to Kill (Japan, 1967)

The story follows Goro Hanada in his life as a contract killer. He falls in love with a woman named Misako, who recruits him for a seemingly impossible mission. When the mission fails, he becomes hunted by the phantom Number One Killer, whose methods threaten his sanity as much as his life.

The controversy surrounding Branded to Kill is almost as interesting as the movie itself. Director Seijun Suzuki was hired to rewrite the original script, and threw in all sorts of crazy ideas just before shooting the scenes. After it's release, the film company fired Suzuki for making "movies that make no sense and money". Since then, Branded to Kill has become a cult classic and has grown a strong following. It's a cool story about ice cold assassins and gangsters, with visuals that got a man fired from his job. Literally.

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama