2005 AFFD Festival Week -- Friday: It All Comes Down To Gozu
Dumplings, Kirin, more dumplings, more Kirin, more Kirin…
Oh, sorry. Got caught up in the joy.
After such an enjoyable Opening Night event, I immediately had concerns that I was about to be disappointed. After all, I was starting my weekend with a screening of Days of Being Wild.
Wait, wait…before you say that, hear me out. I am not the Wong Kar Wai afficianado of the family. That would be Crys. I have only seen a handful of his films, and have prized two of them as Best Ever flicks: Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love. But WKW is an acquired taste. His films are always gorgeous to look at, lushly filmed and steeped in softened palettes that seem out of a dreamscape. However, his narratives are slowly paced, often about unrequited (or badly requited) passions, and as Crys says, “they always end in tears.” It helps immensely that he has some of the finest actors in the business doing his dirty work. So I am always a little hesitant when approaching one I have not seen before.
Days of Being Wild is good, but the best parts are with supporting characters that don’t get as much screen time as the loathsome lothario it focuses on. Played by Leslie Cheung, the character is deeply wounded from an earlier age, but frankly, who cares? Give us more Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau, and either expand on the Tony Leung character who pops up at the end, or don’t tease us with the inclusion of a new face in the final 30 seconds of the film.
How I rated Days of Being Wild: 2
I followed DoBW with Men Suddenly in Black, a silly comedy about four men who attempt to go on a sex-happy spree while their wives are out of town. Things go wrong at every turn, and the results are never as good as the promise of what could have been. But the film never winks at you, remains completely serious about its shenanigans, and repeatedly tweaks other genres and specific films with some of the funniest references ever found in a mediocre movie. And who doesn’t love the Eric Tsang?
How I rated Men Suddenly in Black: 2
Then it was straight into Takashi Miike’s Gozu. Mind you, it was almost midnight when this film started, and I had been up since five that morning. If you are familiar with Miike’s films, you pretty well know what you’re in for, but in the case of Gozu you may be surprised. It is not a constant flow of violence and disgust; it savors small chunks of such things here and there, but there are loads of one-shot, slow, staring passages. Yet Gozu is a confounding film, perhaps moreso than anything you have ever experienced internationally or domestically. Gozu is the David Lynch film as travelogue, if that travelogue were taking you through a small, decrepit town where everyone either ignores you, stares at you without speaking, or attempts to murder you. And then there is the hotel where baths and meals are served with a very personal touch.
Gozu is the David Lynch film that David Lynch thought twice about making, then set about burning its script and burying the ashes. It’s that wild.
How I rated Gozu: 3
I left the Magnolia at 2:15, laid my head on a pillow at exactly 3:00 AM, and in less than 12 hours I would be right back in the theater.
Next Up: The Single Most Powerful Show of the Festival
Oh, sorry. Got caught up in the joy.
After such an enjoyable Opening Night event, I immediately had concerns that I was about to be disappointed. After all, I was starting my weekend with a screening of Days of Being Wild.
Wait, wait…before you say that, hear me out. I am not the Wong Kar Wai afficianado of the family. That would be Crys. I have only seen a handful of his films, and have prized two of them as Best Ever flicks: Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love. But WKW is an acquired taste. His films are always gorgeous to look at, lushly filmed and steeped in softened palettes that seem out of a dreamscape. However, his narratives are slowly paced, often about unrequited (or badly requited) passions, and as Crys says, “they always end in tears.” It helps immensely that he has some of the finest actors in the business doing his dirty work. So I am always a little hesitant when approaching one I have not seen before.
Days of Being Wild is good, but the best parts are with supporting characters that don’t get as much screen time as the loathsome lothario it focuses on. Played by Leslie Cheung, the character is deeply wounded from an earlier age, but frankly, who cares? Give us more Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau, and either expand on the Tony Leung character who pops up at the end, or don’t tease us with the inclusion of a new face in the final 30 seconds of the film.
How I rated Days of Being Wild: 2
I followed DoBW with Men Suddenly in Black, a silly comedy about four men who attempt to go on a sex-happy spree while their wives are out of town. Things go wrong at every turn, and the results are never as good as the promise of what could have been. But the film never winks at you, remains completely serious about its shenanigans, and repeatedly tweaks other genres and specific films with some of the funniest references ever found in a mediocre movie. And who doesn’t love the Eric Tsang?
How I rated Men Suddenly in Black: 2
Then it was straight into Takashi Miike’s Gozu. Mind you, it was almost midnight when this film started, and I had been up since five that morning. If you are familiar with Miike’s films, you pretty well know what you’re in for, but in the case of Gozu you may be surprised. It is not a constant flow of violence and disgust; it savors small chunks of such things here and there, but there are loads of one-shot, slow, staring passages. Yet Gozu is a confounding film, perhaps moreso than anything you have ever experienced internationally or domestically. Gozu is the David Lynch film as travelogue, if that travelogue were taking you through a small, decrepit town where everyone either ignores you, stares at you without speaking, or attempts to murder you. And then there is the hotel where baths and meals are served with a very personal touch.
Gozu is the David Lynch film that David Lynch thought twice about making, then set about burning its script and burying the ashes. It’s that wild.
How I rated Gozu: 3
I left the Magnolia at 2:15, laid my head on a pillow at exactly 3:00 AM, and in less than 12 hours I would be right back in the theater.
Next Up: The Single Most Powerful Show of the Festival
posted by scn at 9:30 PM
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