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Intimates; Failan; The Restless; May 18
Jan. 9th, 2009 10:32 amThe Intimates/Ji Sor (Hong Kong, 1997)
Why didn't I know about this movie before? This is a beautiful Chinese lesbian film that's set both in the present and in the past of the character of Foon. I debate how much the film needed all the scenes in the "present" though they tie in nicely--and universally in their themes--with the flashbacks of Foon. In the flashbacks, though, Carina Lau and Charlie Yeung are arresting as Wan and Foon respectively, two very disparate women who are brought together under one man's household. Drawn to each other despite Wan's jadedness and Foon's naivety, their friendship is touching with its depths of trust and affection, deepening--to a bit of confusion and wariness--as the film moves on. There are some things the film could have done without, especially touching upon a little point at the end, but it doesn't detract from some of the film's intense moments, one in particular that had me cringing and my stomach lurching. Yet if I had to choose between watching Intimates again or Butterfly (HK, 2004), I'd probably choose Intimates. (Note: The movie is on YT, but there are some chunks missing. Give Veoh a try if you want to watch this.)
Failan (Korean, 2001)
I kept seeing the title of this movie and hesitated to watch it because of its Chinese referent, but its an engaging film about an aging, down-on-his-luck gangster and the wife he never knew. Although I know I was annoyed a great part of the film because Kang-Jae is such an asshole who really is kind of an inept gangster and his mobster boss friend is even more of an asshole, the film did a good job in the second half humanizing Kang-Jae along his journey getting to know the wife he never met, Failan. I have a few complaints (do you really fall in love with a picture of a man whom you married through an arrangement in order to not be deported? And I thought the ending was too predictable and gave me serious American Beauty vibes), but I thought this was an affecting and touching film.
The Restless (Korea, 2006)
What a craptacular film. It's beautiful to look at, but the story is practically non-existent and the villains' motives are stupid, not to mention their plans and intentions not very clear, and it seems like no one put any real effort into acting--or maybe they put in too much effort. Badboy heartthrob Jung Woo-Sung's desperate, frantic eye movements which worked for him in A Moment to Remember and Daisy just come off ridiculous here and Kim Tae-Hee's "acting" consists of widening her eyes to convey emotion. Some might say the fights are thrilling, but I found them boring. I can't believe I sat through this entire movie (albeit not in one continuous sitting).
May 18 (Korea, 2007)
Whoa, this movie is intense. It depicts/imagines the May 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement and, good God, is it brutal in parts. I found it difficult to watch because of the brutality but nonetheless engaging, especially since I was unfamiliar with the events. I actually looked into this film because of interest in actress Lee Yo-Won (aka the "bitchy one" from cult hit Take Care of My Cat [2001]), but I actually found her performance here a little flat. Maybe it was the extremely repressed emotions in many of her scenes. To my surprise, heartthrob Lee Jun-Ki stars as the younger brother of the protagonist. Huh. Two characters, though, really detracted from my enjoyment of this film--they were so annoying that I sat wishing (wrong, I know) that they would get shot and thus would shut up. I wonder, too, if the film overstepped in making the commander of the troops such an arrogant, narrow-minded asshole. And the ending confused me. Did Shin-Ae also die? Or did she not and that's why she's unsmiling in the wedding pictures? I'm so confused! Not for the light of heart.
Why didn't I know about this movie before? This is a beautiful Chinese lesbian film that's set both in the present and in the past of the character of Foon. I debate how much the film needed all the scenes in the "present" though they tie in nicely--and universally in their themes--with the flashbacks of Foon. In the flashbacks, though, Carina Lau and Charlie Yeung are arresting as Wan and Foon respectively, two very disparate women who are brought together under one man's household. Drawn to each other despite Wan's jadedness and Foon's naivety, their friendship is touching with its depths of trust and affection, deepening--to a bit of confusion and wariness--as the film moves on. There are some things the film could have done without, especially touching upon a little point at the end, but it doesn't detract from some of the film's intense moments, one in particular that had me cringing and my stomach lurching. Yet if I had to choose between watching Intimates again or Butterfly (HK, 2004), I'd probably choose Intimates. (Note: The movie is on YT, but there are some chunks missing. Give Veoh a try if you want to watch this.)
Failan (Korean, 2001)
I kept seeing the title of this movie and hesitated to watch it because of its Chinese referent, but its an engaging film about an aging, down-on-his-luck gangster and the wife he never knew. Although I know I was annoyed a great part of the film because Kang-Jae is such an asshole who really is kind of an inept gangster and his mobster boss friend is even more of an asshole, the film did a good job in the second half humanizing Kang-Jae along his journey getting to know the wife he never met, Failan. I have a few complaints (do you really fall in love with a picture of a man whom you married through an arrangement in order to not be deported? And I thought the ending was too predictable and gave me serious American Beauty vibes), but I thought this was an affecting and touching film.
The Restless (Korea, 2006)
What a craptacular film. It's beautiful to look at, but the story is practically non-existent and the villains' motives are stupid, not to mention their plans and intentions not very clear, and it seems like no one put any real effort into acting--or maybe they put in too much effort. Badboy heartthrob Jung Woo-Sung's desperate, frantic eye movements which worked for him in A Moment to Remember and Daisy just come off ridiculous here and Kim Tae-Hee's "acting" consists of widening her eyes to convey emotion. Some might say the fights are thrilling, but I found them boring. I can't believe I sat through this entire movie (albeit not in one continuous sitting).
May 18 (Korea, 2007)
Whoa, this movie is intense. It depicts/imagines the May 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement and, good God, is it brutal in parts. I found it difficult to watch because of the brutality but nonetheless engaging, especially since I was unfamiliar with the events. I actually looked into this film because of interest in actress Lee Yo-Won (aka the "bitchy one" from cult hit Take Care of My Cat [2001]), but I actually found her performance here a little flat. Maybe it was the extremely repressed emotions in many of her scenes. To my surprise, heartthrob Lee Jun-Ki stars as the younger brother of the protagonist. Huh. Two characters, though, really detracted from my enjoyment of this film--they were so annoying that I sat wishing (wrong, I know) that they would get shot and thus would shut up. I wonder, too, if the film overstepped in making the commander of the troops such an arrogant, narrow-minded asshole. And the ending confused me. Did Shin-Ae also die? Or did she not and that's why she's unsmiling in the wedding pictures? I'm so confused! Not for the light of heart.
