I'm back!I've decided this year to take things in chronological order, since it makes it easier for me to re-group after having seen so many films in such a short period of time.If you haven't read much of the past blogs on the AFFD, it stands for Asian Film Festival of Dallas, and it is the largest venue for Asian and international film in the Southwest U.S. The website is right here.In preparation for the just-over-a-week-long festival, one of my jobs was to review films for the program. I'd like to post both the original reviews, my current observations (if any new ones apply) and how I rated the film using the festival's straightforward 1 thru 4, 1-being-worst, 4-being-best, method. I'll do the same for everything I add here, summing up with some special notes toward the end. This should take several posts, so please don't fret. I'll hit your favorites eventually.Of the 30+ films featured in this year's festival, I reviewed 4 in advance, though I watched a good deal more than that. They were: Arakimentari, Imelda, Last Life in the Universe and Save the Green Planet. So let's get started._________________ARAKIMENTARI What I said then:
"Nobuyoshi Araki is a wily little man, and at first glance might remind the viewer of those lecherous old masters that are a staple in anime features, grasping at women’s anatomies in an openly lurid and unapologetically sexual manner. Araki is, however, flesh and blood, and he is the epitome of the full-on eroticized aesthete. A masterful Japanese photographer, when he inevitably leaps upon a half-nude woman, it is usually to manuever one of her limbs into the right position or adorn her body with some piece of clothing (or remove one entirely).
ARAKIMENTARI is a look at the artist’s work, and whether a photographic series on clouds, street kids, his late wife or any number of nudes (and there are many…this film is not for children or the anyone easily offended by nudity and frank sexual discussion), he creates wildly evocative and even solemn, powerful images. This brief documentary, directed by American filmmaker Travis Klose, focuses on the photographer working various shoots, mingling with people on the streets and in the bars of Tokyo, and in interviews. Additional comments on his life, art and style are provided by celebrity friends, admirers and peers, including Takeshi Kitano, Bjork and Yoshiko Kamikura, as well as many of his models.
Energetic and sexually-charged, ARAKIMENTARI also displays the halting, emotional core of a man’s life and work."What I think now:Arakimentari still holds my fascination as acutely as it did in my advance viewing. The film's focus on the beauty of a man's sometimes lurid art holds up under repeated viewings.How I rated Arakimentari: 3_________________SAVE THE GREEN PLANET
What I said then:
"SAVE THE GREEN PLANET comes across at first like an energetic comedy, but after a credit sequence set to a punk-rock version of “Over The Rainbow”, the film settles into its more evenly-paced thriller format to become an affecting hybrid of film genres with a sense of humor that – while infrequent - is as black as pitch.
Lee Byeung-gu (an impressive, wild-eyed Ha-kyun Shin) believes that aliens from the Andromeda system are going to attack Earth in seven days during a lunar eclipse. In order to save the world (according to instructions he has received from his comatose mother), Lee kidnaps Kang Man-shik (played with painful resolve by Yun-shik Baek), the CEO of a chemical company at which he once worked. With the aid of his tightrope-walking girlfriend Sooni, Lee begins interrogating (and almost immediately torturing) Kang in hopes that he can prevent the oncoming attack.
Lee’s methods (which include the application of mentholatum to the most tender parts of the anatomy, as well as the use of axes and steaming probes) make him seem extreme, perhaps psychotic. We learn that Lee has had more than his share of tough breaks in life. Yet he has also amassed a huge amount of data that points to impending doom. Despite the cringe-inducing efforts he takes to force the truth from his captive, the question becomes: What if this poor sap is right?
With unequal parts conspiracy drama, hostage thriller, gory actioner and dark satire, SAVE THE GREEN PLANET manages to illuminate such loftier issues as the fragility of both the planet and the human mind. There is also a wonderful sequence that displays mankind’s history of violence upon itself, framed in a historical pastiche that combines biblical, scientific and cinematic elements that make for an undeniably clever headtrip.
Ultimately, SAVE THE GREEN PLANET is a very tense and engaging sophomore effort from director Jun-hwan Jeong, and the film exceeds mainstream necessity with its contemplative and evocative - if not slightly psychotic - designs."
What I think now:
Again, the film holds up well, and is even more entertaining the second time when you don't expect a wacky comedy, the likes of which the trailer seems to suggest.
How I rated Save the Green Planet: 3
_________________
IMELDA
What I said then:
"“My mother? Get beyond the shoes. The shoes are a funny side story.”
-Ferdinand Marcos II
“When they went to my closets, they found shoes, not skeletons.”
-Imelda Marcos
Imelda Marcos believes that love and beauty are the core of human existence, yet to this day she seems completely oblivious to the ugly horrors that took place behind the scenes of her late husband’s dictatorial regime. It is this very basic conflict that drives Ramona S. Diaz’s award-winning documentary, IMELDA, and the film makes its mark as one of those rare, few glimpses into the world of a seemingly certifiable individual. Mrs. Marcos has, for every aspect of life, an uplifting philosophy that almost makes her seem forgivable, until she starts to describe some of her personal beliefs. Lesser audience members may well be driven mad when she transcribes her inscrutable concept of a series of “circles of life”, complimented by her speedy scrawl on a yellow notepad.
IMELDA alternates easily between a history lesson and a more personal and captivating view of a woman who seems somewhat at odds with the power structure she was a primary force in building and maintaining. Her sense of fashion always at the forefront of any presentation, when Mrs. Marcos is attacked by an armed man at a rally, her first thought is that she wished his weapon had been adorned with some kind of ribbon or cloth. As a member of her husband’s cabinet, Ferdinand Marcos frequently sent his wife to meet with heads of state, and she explains that when the trappings of politics were forgotten, they could “talk like people”. She recalls Syrian leader Mohammar Quaddafi trying to teach her parts of the Koran, focusing on the passages that stressed peace and love. When treaty negotiations almost stalled out, Mrs. Marcos sweetly reminded the man of his earlier message, and the treaty was quickly signed. And just as quickly and violently as the Filipino people turned on the Marcoses after the assassination of political opponent Benigno Aquino, they swarm about her years later with warmth and affection, calling her “mommy” as she campaigns for her children. The whole film is a patchwork of opposing thoughts, images and ideas.
Yet for every few moments of lunacy and blind, history-excusing rhetoric, Mrs. Marcos is also shown to be a very gentle, genuine woman with honest emotions. With her husband lying in state before her, she tears up as she speaks about his death. Late in the film, Mrs. Marcos watches her son and daughter on Filipino television during their respective campaigns for governor and congresswoman (both won by landslides), and you can sense the warm pride swelling up inside her.
Ms. Diaz’s second documentary, IMELDA won the award for Excellence In Cinematography For Documentary at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival."
What I think now:
While eye-opening in its way, much of the film's first half drags on, while the seeming madness in the woman's philosophy comes across more starkly in repeated viewings.
How I rated Imelda: 2
_________________
Last Life in the Universe
What I said then:
"Kenji has constant thoughts of suicide. When he picks up a knife, kneels on the railing of a bridge or stands on a neatly placed stack of books in his apartment, a noose around his neck, you can see the wheels turning as he imagines how he might die in the next moments. The clothing in Kenji’s wardrobe consists of several shades of gray, all precisely folded and placed immaculately within drawers and closets. Meticulous rows of books, his shoes, everything is labeled. Even the food in his refrigerator seems placed in an exact, perfect fashion. Kenji’s behavior is that of an extreme obsessive-compulsive, yet he is so stiffly turned in upon himself that he seems almost inert. In the world of cinema, Kenji seems primed for a chaotic woman to enter his life.
Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE is the tale of how Kenji comes out of his shell when faced with an attraction that is greater than death. From the start, we only have glimpses of what may have pushed him to this state of being: he reads Mishima (the author’s own suicidal statement a grim note in Japan’s cultural history), has a loud, abrasive brother who is hiding out from a Yakuza boss he dishonored, and works as a librarian. It is in the library Kenji catches a glimpse of Nid, a young woman in a school uniform that acts as her outfit at a gentlemen’s club. The next time he sees her, Nid becomes distracted by Kenji and is involved in an accident. Nid’s tougher sister Noi then enters his life, and the two are hardly apart after that event.
Kenji, as played by Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer, Bright Future) is little more than a politely receptive zombie at first. A full third of the film passes before we see a smile on his face (and a hint that there is more to him than his illness). After an encounter in his apartment with a seemingly friendly Yakuza soldier and a very special teddy bear, Kenji arrives at Noi’s home, which he immediately sets about cleaning, and the two start down the road toward a tentative attraction. Asano is effective at allowing very slight layers of Kenji’s habits to slip away as he passes the time with Noi.
Held in check by the lush cinematography of Hong Kong-based cameraman Christopher Doyle, LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE plays clever tricks on the viewer, including cameos by Takashi Miike and Riki Takeuchi, a shot of a library poster of Asano’s character from Ichi, and many surreal moments that imply all is not as it seems. To an extent, the entire film feels as if the viewer is behind the eyes of someone locked in a dream-state. Late in the film, the sisters even appear to have switched places, and there are hints that Kenji may have been involved at some point in his brother’s lifestyle. But the triumph of films like this is that nothing is completely explained and no path forward seems altogether certain.
Noi’s abusive ex and some abrupt gangsters make their presence felt late in the story, but they cannot upset the quiet balance the film strikes from its first image of a lizard clinging to a wall in Kenji’s apartment. LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE is a captivating and alluring film that manages its quirky nature with beautiful imagery and an honest, upbeat relationship between two slightly broken people."
What I think now:
Universe is one of a small handful of films that caught me by surprise and immediately garnered my highest praise. It ranks up there with Oldboy, Fireworks and Chungking Express as one of my favorite Asian dramas.
How did I rate Last Life in the Universe: 4
Next up: Opening Night, the joy that is 20:30:40, and how to eat at a reception.
