Reviews

Very enjoyable, great performances.

This was a great little movie. Note that it starts off in B&W, but switches to color shortly. While in large part a comedy, it deals with a few serious matters also, and does so very well. The performances of the two leads portraying each other were superb, in my opinion,...their mannerisms, vocals, and responses to different situations. Side characters were present, but not really developed much. I think this was the right call, as the time was much better spent focusing on the two main characters. I tend to really like Japanese cinema from the early 80s, and this somewhat quirky little film epitomizes it. Thumbs up.

Leia Mais

One of the best movies with a excellent acting I've ever seen!

I am unable to be interested in watching movies since a long time. I watch like 2 or 3 movies a year but I could watch this movie in one go. The emotions and acting made me cry a lot throughout the whole movie. The main lead did an awesome acting (I want to say this 1000 times) , I could feel his emotions deeply. The little girl also slayed her acting. Not to mention the whole supporting characters did very well too. The story was very well written. I'm not good at writing reviews but had to write it anyway cause it's too good! Thanks a lot to the whole cast and crew of the movie! I found this movie a very inspiring and motivational.

Leia Mais

Slow, non-linear story, but still engaging

Desert of No Return was a slow paced, non-linear (very non-linear) story about two people in dire financial straits who hooked up one night leading to tragedy. The film felt dragged out by bouncing back and forth in time and telling the story from both main characters' points of view. Soo Eun's story was far more compelling and Ha Yoon Kyung did a superb job bringing her to life.

Tae Shik is a divorced father who lives with his mother and can't make ends meet providing for both households. He collects junk from sellers and illegally from abandoned houses. His ex-wife takes every opportunity to denigrate him as well as people on the street. He goes with a friend to a karaoke bar where girls are provided for companionship. Soo Eun wants to own a nail salon but is short of the cash needed. She is in a loving relationship with a female musician and promised to never sleep with the clients during the "second round." Tae Shik and a reluctant Soo Eun end up in a hotel room which sets a terrible chain of events in motion.

Tae Shik was a man incapable of properly handling adversity or confrontation. If there was any effort to make him sympathetic it did not work with me. The more I discovered about him the less I empathized with him. All I learned from the film was that even ahjussis can be deadly dangerous if provoked or steal from you when your back is turned. Soo Eun made a choice she paid for in multiple ways. Though she worked to be a good human being she lost everything due to a desperate decision. The film bounced not only between the two characters' points of view but also back and forth in time which could be confusing.

Tae Shik's story tried to explain his rage which Jo Sung Ha portrayed well. Ha Yoon Kyung brought out Soo Eun's vulnerable side as well as her fierce side. She was beautiful whether made up or sans free of makeup and gave a lovely performance as the doomed young woman. The music was quietly moving though I disagree with her lover, even musicians have to pay their bills.

I didn't particularly enjoy the first part of the film but found myself engrossed in Soo Eun's romance and story. Many synopses made her out to be a prostitute. I don't think one time brands a woman for life. I felt the ending was unsatisfactory, but that could be because I do like my endings tied up with a bow one way or another. Had the rest of the film felt as complete as Soo Eun's story I would have enjoyed it more.

9/19/23

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Curious concept and cute fantasy costumes are the only good thing here

To be honest most of my rating went down because of the ending, had they dealt with that differently this would have been a passable 5 surprisingly. It would have been one of those bad movies that are still surprisingly entertaining with its many flaws.

I went with very low expectations and only started watching it to kill some time, only by the preview I already thought it was going to be cringy and bad, and I was generally not wrong, but surprisingly I did find it more entertaining than expected because of the plot.
The whole vibe this was giving me was school play, flashy costumes, everything clean and staged, exaggerated acting or amateur acting and so on, even the premise is kind of weird since it's mostly Cinderella but Red Riding Hood is there just because. It's fine, I could get at some points not even themselves were taking it too seriously, especially towards the beginning. They didn't seem to have high expectations and nor did I have them, so I just chilled and watched.

Plot became interesting with the crime and the changes to the different characters compared with the most known story version of Cinderella but then they just went with a classic detective Conan move of revealing everything at the end instead of taking us with them for the ride. I enjoyed Conan when I was a kid but it would get repetitive and boring after a while because he would only solve everything in the last two minutes bringing evidence that no one, not even the spectator, knew about. This was very similar in that respect and I could still have given it a general pass if it wasn't for that victim blaming right there.
Sure, Cinderella shouldn't have done what she did (especially with her sister), BUT the guy was assaulting her plus everyone else knew that guy had been doing it for a while to other women as well... sure, he was powerful but considering he was not in good terms with the prince either you would think that power would be deminished by that single fact and she would get a sentence based on the nuance of the situation. Either way, I'm going here on details when the movie didn't care much for them at all, what makes that ending as bad as it is. Moral of the story is don't defend yourself when a guy is physically assaulting you I guess.
Although moral of the story is don't judge people by their physical appearance according to them, but they all had thick makeup on (maybe just me but especially the prince, wow, it was not subtle at all), hair with a tone of hairspray and pristine clothing, including Red Riding Hood eventhough she wasn't even a local. I guess at the end we got the message that we shouldn't discriminate against people with face scars and freckles, what is already an achievement considering many people in Japan think freckles are ugly.

I'm only giving it a two because the concept wasn't that bad even with the whole cringe fest of everything, but that ending and its morality deserves a zero.

Leia Mais

Does this movie actually deserve a 10? No. But it was really enjoyable and interesting to watch. And I wanted more of it. I wish it was a series instead. So, the 10 I give is not because this movie is a 10 but because the enjoyment it gave me is 10/10.
After watching it I really wish Japan would adapt more of those webnovels and manga based on western fantasy where everyone is Japanese but has English names and set in fictional western based countries. They could just be fun little series and I would really enjoy watching them a lot. Korean ones would do too but they can be more serious and Japanese ones more light hearted. There are so many great stories in those webnovels, webtoons and mangas. I wish I could watch them as live action series.

Leia Mais

Overall cute, but Ando was the protagonist

To be honest, while watching the film I wondered whether Ando was the real protagonist of the story or not.

To begin with, Ninako confessing her feelings at the beginning of the movie was refreshing and cute. I really liked her and Ren's character. Mayuka's character wasn't as bad as I expected, I feel sad for her because it seems to me that she still loved Ren a lot when she decided to break up (I think that she even mentioned that, didn't she?). When it comes to the other characters, except for Ando, they're so forgettable... Neither Ninako's friends nor the boy who confessed to her had so much screentime. I don't know about the original work, but I believe they should had more opportunities to support her or show the boy's crush on her.

On the other hand, when it comes to Ando's character I found him quite annoying almost for the first half of the film. Even though, I think he's the most important character there? He had his own trauma and character development, he was the obstacle for the protagonist to date and also the person who made them date at the same time. It was as if the story was about Ando's unrequited love stories. I came to like him at the end of the movie, but if it weren't for him I don't think NinaRen would have had that story...

Anyways, overall it was a cute shojo movie to watch. I enjoyed it, though I'm not into triangle-love-stories.

Leia Mais

Lovely. This is why I support the "Public Domain" movement (and CC-BY and CC-BY-SA as well), it gives writers the freedom to create new stories based on characters we are already familiar with. It gives us the "legal right" to present the "what-ifs" and let other people enjoy the adaptations.

A must watch if you are a fan of fairy tales and curious about the what-ifs of these stories. Recommended for family watching, especially with the coming holidays. It may be a modern adaptation but it still have moral lessons in it just like the originals.

Now, when are we going to see the sequels?

Leia Mais

As crazy as it is, i find it good and I THINK I WANT MORE

At first i thought i was watching the wrong kanna hashimoto movie, but then i realized it really real hahahaha like what the fuck of fever dream this is... I guess it was my mistake too since i didn't look at the tags and i just immendiately went head on to the movie after seeing kanna hashimoto.

But yeah beginning of the movie might be rough cuz of the anime acting and all of its cringeness, but you'll get used to it and find it really funny and interesting.

I think it has its own charm, once you'll stuck with it. It's really a nice unique spin of the princess fairytale

Leia Mais

Angst!!!

Honestly I wasn’t expecting this movie to be so short and have such an abrupt ending.

I think it definitely should’ve been a bit longer and the ending should’ve been more solid.

The story between the two main characters completely broke my heart, the fact that they both spent years yearning for each other and never getting together…

The tension between them whenever they were alone..I felt a bit guilty for the husband, he could tell his wife also felt something towards her childhood sweetheart.

Really broke my heart…even if the movie seemed short, it tugs on your heart. They both wanted each other but couldn’t. Heartbreaking and bittersweet. No matter who they end up marrying in the end, they will always have each other in each others hearts.

Leia Mais

It defends horrible people

The movie starts out funny and takes a dark turn. I typically don't view a lot of Japanese live action media, unlike anime, I just don't like a lot of the humor, so I stepped out and tried it, since it was a movie not a show and I was highly upset at the message at the end of the show, there was nothing that was going to save it. Honestly if you defend the message in this story I would like to see your defense of Weinstein, it's the same thing.

Cinderella did nothing wrong in this story and it's a great to see how many think self defense is "wrong" as if anyone would honestly do anything to men in power who violate women.

The spoilers is that the hair cutting is an allegory for S.A. and Cinderella was a victim who defended herself against a predator leading to his death, but he somehow isn't the bad guy even though everyone knew he was violating women, but as long as he keeps the ruling class looking pretty who cares how many women he violates. Never again. Honestly

Leia Mais

a fun time!!!

Definitely a perfect movie to have a fun time with family or friends as it contains plently of wholesome scenes between characters that will surely touch your heart. Nothing too extraordinary but just good enough to make two hours of your life spent well.

As for criticisms, the run-time of the film dragged the quality for a little bit. Some of the scenes could have been cut or shortened to create a more concise storytelling. IU's character not being explored further is a mistake as the character shows interesting premise that could have been fleshed out and make her character fully-developed

Leia Mais

Outstanding KMovie. Daunting. Blunt. Galvanizing. Impressively staged. Yet rather painful to watch

"Silenced" is a 2011 movie production. The KMovie is based on a book and this in turn is based on a true story that happened at Gwangju Inhwa School. For a change, it's not about bullying among students, but about repeated sexual abuse by teachers and school staff against their underage wards. In this case they were also deaf.
"Silenced" is an outstanding, moving film production - in several respects.

The story is impressively staged.
Horrendous abuse. Repulsive in its unbelievable brutality. Blunt.
There are the children left at the mercy of pitiless adults, left alone in their helplessness - speechless in every respect. What else can they hope for in this world?
There are the adults - the perpetrators and also those who knowingly close their eyes to injustice for their own benefit. (I have no idea what they do with their ears and their conscience, though...)
And there are the two protagonists - neither of them exactly the epitome of promising heroes...
With a top-class Gong Yoo, who personally and actively supported the filming of the story. He read the book during his military service. But it was only later that he found out that these were true events. He met with the author and the idea for the film was born. He embodies the main role of the initially quiet, perhaps somewhat wimpy, indecisive teacher; a widower and a father who is absent due to his job and who relies on his mother's support to look after his sick daughter. Yet, it is precisely this tangible, silently screaming human weakness of his character, his uncertainty in dealing with the unfathomable, his own initial shock of cautious, perhaps naive reserve that contributes to the authentic strength of the KMovie. (If the world were full of determined, courageous heroes, then there would be less such terrible incidents, repeatedly taking place over the years with impunity - like those in that South Korean boarding school for the deaf in Gwangju...or that Odenwaldschule in Germany, or far too many other schools worldwide.) The heroic in our protagonist must first be born and then grow. This is a process. Step by step, stumbling, helpless, hopeful and yet again discouraged, but then unbendingly getting up again - and finally on a path of no return...

The KMovie “Silence” is shocking.
Grim. At times it may be reminiscent of a horror movie like 'The Shining' or something similar. The story is daunting. Its social dimensions are sobering. There are hardly any words for this parallel world. What people are monstrously capable of... and then also: that time and again, in the face of blatant injustice, people let themselves be bought and silenced for their own benefit.
Nevertheless, the message at the end is (I think) quite wonderful: "...it makes me think, that the reason we are fighting so hard is not to change the world, but instead to not let the world change us." Resistance takes on an encouraging new dimension that doesn't have to give in, even in the face of a Goliath. Great!


The KMovie was and is galvanizing.
“Silenced” shook up the masses in 2011 in a spectacular way. Over 4 million horrified cinemagoers saw the movie, which was number 1 on the South Korean cinema charts for three weeks in a row. The book by Gong Ji-young was storming the bestseller lists.
What the regular jurisprudence was previously unable to do was actually subsequently made possible by the pressure of the shocked masses: 1.5 months after the KMovie was first broadcast, the so-called 'Dogani Law' was passed. (Dogani = "Crucible", the title of the book and film). Since then, the new law has suspended the statute of limitations for sexual abuse of people with disabilities and for rape of minors under the age of 13.
Therefore, some of the perpetrators at that school in Gwangju who had previously gotten off with lax sentences were subsequently summoned again and sentenced to long prison terms and/or electronic ankle bracelets.
Lastly, at least THIS school was closed.

Respect!
For taking up the issue.
For not giving up and thus using other means (a movie on the big screen).
For the sensitive handling of a tough topic.
For the often extremely unpleasant, painful, however nevertheless coherent film adaptation of a fantastic script.

Leia Mais