Reviews

A beautiful and Inspiring story

When I stumbled upon the trailer of this new movie on Netflix ,I absolutely expected a sad movie where one of them ends up dying or worse both ends up dying.

But never have I been so happy to be wrong .This movie is abt 2 amazing people with such vibrant and infectious personalities. The actors have done such an incredible job breathing life into these characters .

Their story is inspiring .Both the main charcters have been dealt a bad card in life .While one of them is ready to give everything to fight this disease ,one of them have already given up.
How they both deal with their disease and their love for each other is the premise of the story .

Truly one of the best movies I've seen this year

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A Beautiful Look at Desperation

I have to be honest- I've been looking forward to seeing this since it was announced, and I was so fortunate to be able to attend TIFF and go to the first public screening! Boss Kuno and One Pongsittisak were also in attendance, and did a little Q&A after the film which gave us a little insight into the filmmaking process and character motivations. They also had some freebies for some of the audience, and Boss stayed to talk to the fans after which was incredibly kind of him!

With that out of the way, let's get to the review!

If I had to sum describe The Paradise of Thorns in one word, I'd use the word "desperate." There is no such thing as good vs. bad with this movie; all the main characters are layered and complicated, and they all do objectively bad things to achieve their goals. The film focuses on Thongkam, the co-owner of a durian orchard with his husband Sek, who is left with nothing after Sek passes away since the government won't recognize their marriage due to the law. Because of this, the land passes to Sek's mother Saeng, who moves in with her adopted daughter Mo as they try and claim Thongkam's farm for their own. Thongkam doesn't take this lying down, and he plots to do whatever he has to in order to reclaim the farm and evict Saeng and Mo.

Based solely on the trailer, I would have called Mo the clear antagonist- she lies, cheats, and does whatever she has to in order to ensure the farm stays with her and her mother. But Mo's character is so much more than that: she's desperate to be accepted by her mother who only sees her as a caretaker, and she's frustrated that life has given her this hand. Because of her life (and largely due to Engfa's fantastic acting), I spent a lot of the movie thinking that she was definitely *an* antagonist, but almost all of her actions are understandable because of her past, which makes her a polarizing character: you don't like her because of her choices, but you can empathize with the situation she is in and understand to an extent why she is the way she is.

Thongkam is also a complicated character, largely because of the number of twists and turns this movie throws at him in terms of the relationships he's had and where he stands in them. He starts the movie with a simple life: he loves Sek, and they own a durian orchard. However, over the course of the movie we find out there's so much more happening than that, and it's easy to feel for this man who's had his entire life turned on its head. Of course he'd do anything to get back his durian farm- it's the only thing he has left of the man he loves, and it belongs to him as much as it belonged to Sek.

Saeng, in my mind, represented the older generation and the mentality often shared between them. Children are born to take care of their parents, end of story. One of the things I liked most about this movie was how different people interpreted Saeng's character- I have a Canadian background, and I firmly disagree with that concept, making me see Saeng as an objectively bad person. She's rude and demanding to Mo, and never thanks her for anything. But the person I watched this with is from South Asia, and they said they could think of multiple people in their life who fit Saeng's personality, so they could understand Mo's character better and the resentment she must be feeling. Not that I think Saeng is evil or anything- she was raised with certain beliefs and expects others to follow them. It creates a good conflict for the movie to explore: old vs. new.

From a visual perspective, this movie was STUNNING. I'm not by any means going to call myself a film buff, but even I could see how beautiful and rich the colours in the movie were: the dark green and brown of the orchard complemented the bright colours of the characters really well. There were a few shots in the movie which I thought were incredible from a symbolic perspective, really showing the dichotomy between Kam's character and the relationship with Saeng and Mo.

THIS PARAGRAPH HAS SPOILERS! My favourite scene from the movie was the wedding scene near the end of the film, with Mo getting married at the same time as Thongkam and Jingna. Hearing the "official" wedding steps in the background as Kam and Jingna did the same using a durian gave me goosebumps- it was such a clever way to juxtapose how Mo could legally get married while Kam and Jingna don't have that ability. The word "mockery" makes it sound very negative, but it's all I could think of while I watched that scene (and while that scene was my favourite it was also the one that made me the most upset with regards to LGBTQ+ rights in Thailand/other Asian countries). Mo gets to have the fancy wedding with guests and money, while Kam and Jingna are forced to perform a bastardization of the ceremony since they wouldn't be legally recognized as spouses.

The music in this movie was also very well done, albeit minimal- there's not a lot of "songs", but every now and then there are some violin notes/chords which emphasize character's thoughts and turning points in the movie. It honestly felt uncomfortable at times, but I think this was the best decision that could have been made, because this movie is not supposed to make you feel comfortable. The only actual song I can recall is Jeff's song Rain Wedding during the end credits.

My only problem (and I use that word only because I can't think of a different one) with this movie would be the build up to its ending. The movie did feel like it was building to a final confrontation, but I was not expecting it to go the way it did. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's a different ending that would have made sense, but the way the characters got there was a bit difficult for me to process in the moment (I'll talk about the ending with spoilers in the next paragraph for those who don't mind them).

ENDING SPOILERS! The last 15ish minutes of the movie are a lot more graphic than I had anticipated, so content warnings for lots of violence and blood and knives and such. My biggest grievance with the ending was Kam trying to sexually assault Mo because he was so desperate to get the farm back under his name. I know he was going to do it solely out of desperation, but it came out of nowhere and didn't sit great with me. Immediately after that, Mo's new husband tries to murder Kam (fine), only to be almost murdered by Jingna (made a lot of sense), and then Mo's new husband DOES murder Jingna, before robbing her and running away. I thought Jingna's death worked well in regards to symbolism- Kam is now exactly where he started, with a dead husband and no claim to the durian orchard. The same goes for Mo- they've ruined all the durians and her husband has fled with their money, so she's also essentially back to square one.

I had honestly expected the ending to just be Mo vs. Kam, so the other characters came as an absolute shock to me. But I understand why the film had to end that way, I just wish it... didn't? If that makes any sense.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed this movie from both a plot perspective and a visual one. It was an absolute roller coaster of emotions, and is absolutely worth rewatching because of all the details you'll pick up on the second time around. Like Boss said in the Q&A, the thorns talked about in the title don't only refer to the thorns on the durian- it also refers to the thorns of emotion you'll feel while watching these characters' lives unfold.

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"Being new is all about not getting old"

The Munekata Sisters is an Ozu Yasujiro film based on a novel serialized in a newspaper which gave it a slightly different flavor than the typical Ozu film. There was still his usual battle between a traditional lifestyle and the encroaching modernized world. This time the conflict between old and new took place between two sisters.

Energetic Mariko lives with her older sister Setsuko and drunken, sullen, unemployed brother-in-law Mimura. After reading Setsuko’s diary she realizes that her sis is not only in a loveless marriage but lost out on her true love 15 years ago. True love Hiroshi is back in town and Mariko begins spending time with him. While Mariko wants Hiroshi and Setsuko to reunite, her very traditional sister would never consider such a thing.

Tanaka Kinuyo played the mature, well-spoken, dutiful wife in a kimono. Despite the fact that her husband barely gave her the respect the lowliest servant would receive she kept her cool and served him politely. Takamine Hideko turned on her 100-watt smile and injected Mariko with boundless effervescence. Mariko wore high heels, nail polish, and western style clothing and hated old-fashioned things while Setsuko loved visiting gardens and temples. Uehara Ken’s Hiroshi was harder to pin down. He was amiable but not terribly decisive and tended to go with the flow. Dependable Ozu regular, Ryu Chishu played the father but was only in a couple of scenes. The father’s most important advice was for his daughters to be true to themselves whatever that might be. Ozu never was concerned with actor’s ages, Ryu was only 5 years older than his “daughter”, Tanaka. With 15 years between them Tanaka’s relationship with Takamine felt more motherly than sisterly. I kept hoping one of Ozu’s trains would run over Yamamura So’s Mimura. “A wife’s the epitome of stupidity…just a convenient tool. Like a doorbell...The problem is drinking and doing nothing is hard to give up.” I cheered when fearless Mariko stood up for her long-suffering sister. The old ways were simply too deeply ingrained in Setsuko which could be incredibly frustrating for a modern viewer.

The Munekata Sisters stretched Ozu a little out of his comfort zone with more overtly emotional scenes. The comedy worked for the most part with the exception of Mariko’s overused kodan style of storytelling. Still in play were Ozu’s meditative scenes of architecture and a father quietly appreciating a nightingale’s song. Ozu tried to show that both the old and new had value and that fads that changed within a short time were not as important. As Mariko said about she and her sister, “We grew up in two different worlds.” With the ending Ozu provided I’m not sure he made the case for outdated things still being relevant, though the impacted character was true to herself.

9 September 2024

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mudou minha vida

todo filme de ação eu sempre vou com um pé atrás pois mesmo sabendo que existe uma grande chance de eu me divertir assistindo no final costuma ser só mais um filme de ação. estou totalmente impactado com esse daqui, todo esse contexto pós guerra e as consequências dela são tão humanamente bem retratado e comovente. agora sobre a ação, de cair o queixo total, os efeitos são incríveis e as cenas de guerra/destruição são extremamentes bem construídas. fiquei muito feliz com o final e foi uma felicidade muito merecida, espero que nunca tenha uma continuação pra não arruinar minha cabeça

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A heartwarming film about love

Even though it is Shunji Iwai's simplest film, it does not lose all its symbolism behind a beautiful film. We meet Uzuki, played by Takako Matsu, where she moves from her city to another because of college. Uzuki goes through difficult times, as she is alone all the time, faces difficulties at school and spends almost the entire film alone. Like all Shunji Iwai films, it is extremely beautiful and comforting to watch. Obviously, it is a very simple film, different from his other films.

But, I think he just wanted to make something comforting to watch, for me it needs more time for much more development. But, 67 minutes is already good enough, it is very comfortable to watch, especially if you are with someone else. We see the journey of a person facing the problems of adult life alone, until at a certain point she manages to make friends and in the end finds her love. In the rain, with a red umbrella.

"When I entered university, my school teacher said it was a miracle. But if this was a miracle... want to call it a miracle of love."

Direction and soundtrack, as always, are very beautiful and gorgeous, made by Shunji Iwai himself, he is such a genius, there's no way.

This film is meant to make you feel warm, to be happy with the character. Even though she doesn't have any major conflicts in her life, you feel happy to follow her journey.

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The love that is lost because of obsession

"Undo", an average film by Shunji Iwai. Things that won't change in his films are the great soundtrack and photography, I think 47 minutes was a reasonable amount of time to have in a story, it's crazy and fast.

The performances are simple, but very convincing. I think the person who stands out the most is Tomoko Yamaguchi (Moemi), she manages to convey the feeling of a person who is going through an obsessive syndrome.

The knots are very important to this film, being the main reason for the plot due to Moemi's obsession, they are also important to describe the love that will be lost with the couple, until Yukio, played by Etushi Toyokawa, will want to restore this love. Until in the end, he will be trapped in knots, without his Moemi. As Moemi had said to Yukio before:

"I'm really stuck"

Until he himself ends up being tied up by the knots, the obsession cannot be undone, no matter how hard you try.

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Beauty in the shape of snow

There's nothing else to say, other than that it's very beautiful. It seems like every Shunji Iwai film is beautiful and melancholic. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't review this film. I think I have few words to say how beautiful this film is. The lack of knowledge that Itsuki's ex-wife had with another woman with the same name as her husband becomes something so melancholic. Fujii realizing that he loved Itsuki even though he realized it so late. Hiroko trying to overcome her past in order to move on with Akiba. The last scene of the film was the best for me, with Fujii realizing that Itsuki drew her on the back, saying that he had an appreciation for her, and her crying knowing that she really loved him. There's nothing else to say, it's beautiful and melancholic. Snow is present in this film, both in the deaths and in the melancholy behind it.

The music is spectacular as always, the direction, the cinematography, everything in this film is literally very well used and spectacular.

The snow and the cold are present, but you feel warm throughout the film.

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The spring that is blue

I don't know what to write about this movie.

This was the movie that left me most speechless, I have no idea what to write during this review.

This was a crucial moment in my life, it was a perfect time for me to watch this movie. It came at an exact moment (I'm using the word "moment" a lot), this is perhaps one of the most important movies for me so far. This movie captures the feeling of despair in high school better than any other movie.

What if you just don't know what to do or just don't care?

Kujo shows this, even though he is the leader, he shows that he doesn't know what to do in certain situations, in fact everyone there doesn't know what to do about everything. It's easy when we're kids to define our dreams, but as you grow up, you realize that it's not as easy as it seems.

This movie is something much more personal to me than I feel in any other movie, this movie basically defines my life very well. I'm lost, I don't know what I want to be, I'm actually afraid of everything.

The movie is much more than just a movie, it goes further and shows you that your life will depend on your actions, it will depend on your choices. Your childhood dreams will be changed when you reach adolescence.

"- Sensei, are there flowers that never bloomed?
- Flowers were made to bloom, not wither! At least, that's what I believe"

Kujo is an extremely relatable character, even though he's not a person who doesn't talk much, just by his actions you can feel empathy and identify with such a character. The same goes for Kujo's friends, they all have dreams that in the end they won't be able to achieve, because in addition to following different paths, they no longer have the purpose they once had.

- Spoilers for the ending of "Blue Spring" in this paragraph -

I was left open-mouthed with the ending, I followed Kujo's journey the whole time and that of his childhood friend Aoji. Obviously, the two are great friends, but Kujo doesn't give Aoji the real importance until the end when Aoji makes a "joke" or a kind of "championship" to decide who will be the leader of the gang, something that happens since the beginning of the film. Aoji dies at the end, and Kujo realizes the real importance of his friend, but it was too late.

- Conclusion about everything -

I have friends, family and everything, but I'm still afraid of something, I'm afraid of the things that can happen to me. I don't know what I really want in my life, I just want to have a peaceful life.

This film shows how much I'm afraid of something, this film will be very important to me from now on. Even if I watch it several times after I'm an adult, it will always have a huge affection in my heart.

I have so much to say but it won't come out in words. I can praise the soundtrack and the direction, which are truly spectacular. The acting is also beautiful. I can't express how I feel about this film.

It's definitely going to be on my top favorites list.

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The madness that has a symbolism behind it

"Picnic" is about 3 patients in a mental health clinic where they believe the world will end, so they go on a journey until the day of the "end of the world".

-Spoilers for the film ahead-

The first few minutes of the film are pure madness, you don't understand what's going on, you see a girl being taken to a strange place, a guy having hallucinations with a puppet and another jerking off (??), at a certain point you feel confused, hallucinating about everything. Shunji Iwai works a lot on the madness of all the characters, especially Coco who is the very definition of "faith in crazy people".

We meet Tsumuji, a young man who has hallucinations with a puppet that keeps pissing wherever he goes... (yes, it's crazy), at a certain point Tsumuji and Coco end up finding themselves on the fence, along with Satoru.

Tsumuji and Satoru wear the white clothes from the clinic, while Coco dyes her white dress black, which in my interpretation can deduce that she is the most "rebellious" among the 3 young people, the one who disrespects the rules the most. Them sitting on the fence can mean the freedom they have, on the fence, they are free, if they fall at some point, they can lose their freedom. That's why Tsumuji didn't want to climb down the wall when Pastor asked him to. Because, he thought he would lose his freedom. "Climbing the wall" Satoru falls off the wall, what happens when he dies is so beautiful that you don't understand, he fell off the wall. Satoru lost his freedom, and ended up dying. "I killed someone" Two identical young people who killed someone in their past, this is basically the sin they committed in the past. A sin that remains with them to this day. Coco is condemned to hell, since she doesn't believe in God, in this case, Tsumuji's God.

"Hell is hot, isn't it?"

This scene is so beautiful, the movie is almost over and we are happy that they (Coco and Tsumuji) have finally achieved their freedom. But, it all ends in a gunshot. Coco frees herself from Tsumuji's sin by committing suicide.

Satoru lost his freedom after falling off the wall
Coco lost her life to free herself from her partner's sins
Tsumuji lost Coco to finally be free

"I will free you from your sins"

-Final Thoughts-

Okay, I don't know what to say about all this, this was my first Shunji Iwai movie, and I simply loved it. What I liked most about this film was the beautiful photography, it has an aesthetic that I find beautiful and that brings a melancholy behind everything. A symbolism behind it. When Coco dies, you see this happening and you simply admire her death while the beautiful photography is there...

The acting is good, I think the boys don't bring as much emotion as the actress who plays Coco (Chara), but it doesn't change the fact that the acting is still good.

The soundtrack is simply beautiful, especially when Satoru dies, the singing behind the children, the piano playing in the background. Simply beautiful.

Maybe I didn't get everything the film wanted to convey, but I'll definitely watch this film again at some point.

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Tired and stagnant

On paper, the premise for Disciples of the 36th Chamber probably sounded promising, sadly this is a disappointing finale to the 36th Chamber trilogy. There's little of the inventiveness and vitality that figured so heavily in the previous films, instead, we're given a sub-standard kung-fu revenge plot tinged with the occasional comedic beats. It feels like a product of yesteryear, marking the passing of the torch when it comes to populist Hong Kong action cinema. One that relegates Gordon Liu to a mere supporting role and focuses on the most annoying Fong Sai-Yuk in the history of Hong Kong cinema as played by Hsiao Ho. That being said, Lau Kar-Leung's direction remains particularly strong but it's his script where the film falls apart, with a few tweaks here and there, it could have been a winner. The usual production values that so epitomise a Shaw Brothers production are all here but ultimately it's at the expense of awfully sluggish pacing, this is the shortest film of the trilogy and yet it feels the longest to the point at which I felt I was zoning out. Sadly, there's not a lot to distinguish Disciples of the 36th Chamber as its own unique experience. It feels tired and stagnant, even with all its traditional Shaw Brothers style, signifying a changing tide for audiences.

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IT IS MY FIRST REVIEW!!!

I would rate Confession of Murder an 8 out of 10 for its thrilling narrative, intense performances, and well-executed suspense. The film does an excellent job of keeping viewers engaged with its clever twists and the dynamic tension between the detective and the alleged killer. The action scenes, especially the car chase, are standout moments that add to the film’s excitement. However, some plot twists feel a bit over-the-top, which slightly affects the film's believability. Despite this, its gripping story and emotional depth make it a strong and memorable entry in the crime thriller genre.

Confession of Murder (2012) is a gripping South Korean thriller that masterfully blends suspense with emotional depth. The story revolves around a detective, Choi Hyung-goo, who has been haunted by an unsolved serial murder case for 15 years. Just after the statute of limitations expires, a man named Lee Doo-seok publishes a bestselling book claiming to be the killer, detailing the murders in chilling detail. The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat as it unravels a complex cat-and-mouse game between the detective and the supposed killer, with layers of mystery and deception that constantly keep you guessing. The intense pacing and unexpected twists make it a standout in the genre, while exploring deeper themes of justice, guilt, and revenge.

The performances are another highlight, particularly by Jung Jae-young, who plays the dogged detective, and Park Si-hoo, whose portrayal of the smug, charismatic killer adds an eerie charm to the character. Director Jung Byung-gil also deserves praise for his stylish direction and ability to maintain tension throughout the film. The action sequences are thrilling, especially a spectacular car chase that stands out as one of the best in Korean cinema. However, some of the plot twists may feel overly dramatic or far-fetched to some viewers, which could detract from the overall realism. Nonetheless, Confession of Murder offers an entertaining and suspenseful ride that fans of crime thrillers will thoroughly enjoy.

Story 9.0/10

Acting/Cast 9.0/10

Music 7.0/10

Rewatch Value 1.5/10

Overall 8.0/10

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