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Some of the violence - the torture especially - was uncomfortable but then I think it is supposed to be; it’s torture after all.
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The Age of Shadows
I watched this for the first time only last week after seeing the trailer by chance. I picked this for the hall of fame because I think it could be a future classic. A lot of the better known foreign language films are on lists already, but sometimes it’s hard for new ones to break into that, especially if they don’t get wide release or publicity or win many awards outside their country of origin. The Age of Shadows, for instance, was put forward for the Oscars but wasn’t nominated.
I’d sum this up as Jean Pierre Melville meets Park Chan Wook - cool, brooding tension meets high production values and random bursts of violence.
[...]
Altogether it gets the thumbs up from me for sheer grandiosity, bravado and style.
This was the first movie I had viewed where I felt "educated" on the state of the South Koreans during the Japanese occupation, and I had a lot of sympathy for them. Now, when I watch films and shows about the Japanese during this time period and during WWII, I wonder... were they aware of how terribly their government and military was treating the Koreans?
Afterwards I had seen "Dongju: Portrait of a Poet" and this further underlined the indignities to which the Koreans were subjected - being forced to attend Japanese schools, and change their names and so on, all while being carefully observed by traitorous "informers."
Anyway, I give "Age of Shadows"
★★★★.
I watched la famille Bélier yesterday, I thought it was pretty good, I had a good time. I wouldn't say that it is a very profound film that has a lot to say about the world, but I don't think it aims at that. It's an enjoyable comedy with some nice singing and a charming main character. I don't have much else to say honestly, my favorite parts of the film are when Paula sings with the teacher and tries to improve herself.
SPOILER remarks
- I find weird that Paula's friend has sex with her brother that seems to have 13 years old or something like that
- I liked the scene when the sound suddenly stops and we experience Paula's performance through the lens of her family, it was well done.
- Some of the interactions are quite weird and felt unnatural, particularly when her mother overreacts when Paula tries to subtly show her that she's menstruated, no human being would do that.
SPOILER remarks
- I find weird that Paula's friend has sex with her brother that seems to have 13 years old or something like that
- I liked the scene when the sound suddenly stops and we experience Paula's performance through the lens of her family, it was well done.
- Some of the interactions are quite weird and felt unnatural, particularly when her mother overreacts when Paula tries to subtly show her that she's menstruated, no human being would do that.
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I do not speak english perfectly so expect some mistakes here and there in my messages
I do not speak english perfectly so expect some mistakes here and there in my messages
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The Sword of Doom (1966) - Kihachi Okamoto
The film is a jidaigeki (historical film) starring the great Tatsuya Nakadai (Harakiri) and Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo). The synopsis: "Japan, 1860. In the twilight of an Age, we follow the bloody journey of an amoral samurai who kills without compassion or scruples, dedicating his life to evil." Unlike many chanbaras and jidaigekis that accompany the journey of a samurai to the top or questioning ronin, or the unfolding of a mission, we have a dark and cruel story about a ruthless samurai named Ryunosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai) who kills without hesitation. The central character of the movie would be the villain in an ordinary play but Kihachi Okamoto shows us this amoral samurai at the center of the story making us follow his bloody journey. The film is based on a serial novel released through a newspaper in the 1910s and followed for several years. Written by Kaizan Nakazato, the serial novel never had a resolution and likewise The Sword of Doom did not either. Although the film covers only a few parts of the novel, the film is abruptly ended and part of that decision was made by the fact that the film was initially intended to be the first part of a trilogy but has never been continued. The ending that may have irritated many people in its launch works very well from the artistic point of view. Creating a 'climax' and an 'anticlimax' at the same time.
The film (which is in black and white) is wonderful to see, the battle in the forest around the fog, the battle in the snow where Toshiro Mifune kills dozens of enemies in front of Ryunosuke and the violent final sequence in the brothel give us a aesthetic beauty typical of the samurai films of the 60s. If after seeing Harakiri (1962) there is still some doubt that Tatsuya Nakadai is an incredible actor, The Sword of Doom will end this doubt! Although his character here is not as complex as in Masaki Kobayashi's classic, his performance delivers cool cold expressions. Only with the eyes, Nakadai manages to demonstrate his evil personality. Undoubtedly a very versatile actor, watch his performance in The Human Condition to compare. Hiroshi Murai who has worked on photography for so many other films of the genre, such as Samurai Killer for example, delivers here one of his most remarkable works in black and white. The beautiful restored version makes all this even more beautiful!
Little can be said of Toshiru Mifune in the film, he looks great, and although his character does not add anything new to him (as an actor), it is always very enjoyable to see him acting, arguably one of the greats of the genre ! The Sword of Doom may not be the best gateway to the genre but it is undoubtedly an essential movie for movie lovers in general!
★★★★★
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There is also a 60's trilogy directed by Kenji Misumi (Lone Wolf and Cub film series) and Kazuo Mori (Samurai Vendetta), called Satan's Sword, which is an adaptation of the same literary work.
I feel like just hearing his voice any movie becomes more powerful.
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I do not speak english perfectly so expect some mistakes here and there in my messages²
This apply to me too.
This apply to me too.
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I feel like just hearing his voice any movie becomes more powerful.
Especially when he says "待つ" (Matsu) that means WAIT!
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Samsara
This didn’t get off to a great start for me when the rock fell out of the sky and hit the goat. Sorry. I don’t usually find goat death amusing, but something about the way that was filmed just seemed funny.
There were times when the film looked good, the warm colours, the use of candlelight and the landscapes, and the way they used light to make the main character look purified when he came out of the cave, but other times when it looked pretty cheap.
I feel like someone who knew more about Buddhism might get more out of this film, but his speech about needing to unlearn things, about having been in this isolation since he was 5 makes a certain kind of sense. What value is there in this religious seclusion if it is not chosen? Choosing to renounce the world it one thing, not being given a choice makes it meaningless. Is seeking enlightenment for yourself alone rather than participating in the cycle of life pointless and self-absorbed?
But then in the end I feel like he made the wrong choice.
WARNING: "Samsara" spoilers below
He was running away from his responsibilities. His wife and child are people, not material objects he can discard when it suits him. I also felt like he was running away from the failure and guilt of having had an affair rather than choosing the seclusion for the right reasons. Basically I thought he was a bit of an idiot and I liked his wife’s speech to him. 
I thought it was interesting that when he lives in the village it is not at all anti-religion, they are ordinary people following religion in their own way. It would have been easy to contrast his monk life with the sinful city, but the film doesn’t take that route.
Everything about this film was slow. Chanting. Farming. People sit in caves and slurp from bowls. When he looks at the pictures that when you tilt them show skeletons - one would have been enough but he looks at about six, all essentially the same thing. It seemed to labour the point a little. The sex scenes are another example - they’re not excessively graphic but are fairly gratuitous.
Altogether, I felt like it had good and interesting points to make, but it took too long to make them.
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In the 3 days since I revealed the nominations, we've had 10 reviews posted. Great work everyone. 
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The Sword of Doom (1966) - Kihachi Okamoto
The film is a jidaigeki (historical film) starring the great Tatsuya Nakadai (Harakiri) and Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo). The synopsis: "Japan, 1860. In the twilight of an Age, we follow the bloody journey of an amoral samurai who kills without compassion or scruples, dedicating his life to evil." Unlike many chanbaras and jidaigekis that accompany the journey of a samurai to the top or questioning ronin, or the unfolding of a mission, we have a dark and cruel story about a ruthless samurai named Ryunosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai) who kills without hesitation. The central character of the movie would be the villain in an ordinary play but Kihachi Okamoto shows us this amoral samurai at the center of the story making us follow his bloody journey. The film is based on a serial novel released through a newspaper in the 1910s and followed for several years. Written by Kaizan Nakazato, the serial novel never had a resolution and likewise The Sword of Doom did not either. Although the film covers only a few parts of the novel, the film is abruptly ended and part of that decision was made by the fact that the film was initially intended to be the first part of a trilogy but has never been continued. The ending that may have irritated many people in its launch works very well from the artistic point of view. Creating a 'climax' and an 'anticlimax' at the same time.
The film (which is in black and white) is wonderful to see, the battle in the forest around the fog, the battle in the snow where Toshiro Mifune kills dozens of enemies in front of Ryunosuke and the violent final sequence in the brothel give us a aesthetic beauty typical of the samurai films of the 60s. If after seeing Harakiri (1962) there is still some doubt that Tatsuya Nakadai is an incredible actor, The Sword of Doom will end this doubt! Although his character here is not as complex as in Masaki Kobayashi's classic, his performance delivers cool cold expressions. Only with the eyes, Nakadai manages to demonstrate his evil personality. Undoubtedly a very versatile actor, watch his performance in The Human Condition to compare. Hiroshi Murai who has worked on photography for so many other films of the genre, such as Samurai Killer for example, delivers here one of his most remarkable works in black and white. The beautiful restored version makes all this even more beautiful!
Little can be said of Toshiru Mifune in the film, he looks great, and although his character does not add anything new to him (as an actor), it is always very enjoyable to see him acting, arguably one of the greats of the genre ! The Sword of Doom may not be the best gateway to the genre but it is undoubtedly an essential movie for movie lovers in general!
★★★★★
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There is also a 60's trilogy directed by Kenji Misumi (Lone Wolf and Cub film series) and Kazuo Mori (Samurai Vendetta), called Satan's Sword, which is an adaptation of the same literary work.
BRAVO!!
I enjoyed the film as well, though I have to agree with you that the pacing could have been smoother at some points.
This was the first movie I had viewed where I felt "educated" on the state of the South Koreans during the Japanese occupation, and I had a lot of sympathy for them. Now, when I watch films and shows about the Japanese during this time period and during WWII, I wonder... were they aware of how terribly their government and military was treating the Koreans?
Afterwards I had seen "Dongju: Portrait of a Poet" and this further underlined the indignities to which the Koreans were subjected - being forced to attend Japanese schools, and change their names and so on, all while being carefully observed by traitorous "informers."
Anyway, I give "Age of Shadows"
★★★★.
This was the first movie I had viewed where I felt "educated" on the state of the South Koreans during the Japanese occupation, and I had a lot of sympathy for them. Now, when I watch films and shows about the Japanese during this time period and during WWII, I wonder... were they aware of how terribly their government and military was treating the Koreans?
Afterwards I had seen "Dongju: Portrait of a Poet" and this further underlined the indignities to which the Koreans were subjected - being forced to attend Japanese schools, and change their names and so on, all while being carefully observed by traitorous "informers."
Anyway, I give "Age of Shadows"
★★★★.
Since China surrendered, somewhat quickly, Japan saw that as an act of cowardice and weakness, and therefore, saw the citizens of China as less than human and fully deserving of the worst atrocity inflicted upon them.
It was like a month or two, somewhere around January, some time in the 30s (and I'm sure someone of far better knowledge can produce a far better accuracy on this) but, and I won't go into details, they visited such horrendous, volatile abuse and atrocity upon the citizens during that initial invasion. And, back in Japan, the numbers of deaths and atrocities were celebrated like scores from a sports event.
So, I believe - from my limited knowledge - Japan citizens had a good idea of what was going on. Though I won't paint a wide brush and say it was cheered by everyone and I'm sure there were soldiers who, doing what they did, were horrified at their actions and it haunted them to their graves.
As the norm, enjoying your insight into Age of Shadows and Samsara, @Thursday Next
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The Age of Shadows (2016) - Kim Jee-woon
I've been following Kim Jee-woon's work since I first saw A Tale of Two Sisters back in 2005. Every new film, a new surprise.
I'm a bit of a fanboy of Song Kang-ho so I'll not focus on him, but what about Lee Byung-hun? Ok, I'm a bit of a fanboy of him as well but this film really upset me with the absense of him. His character looked so interesting/smart, but okay, that's not a flaw, what I want and what the sript needed are two different things.
My favorite aspect of this movie is the cast. Good actors from all sides. Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) seems to me so fluid, he is one of those actors who achieve the feat of looking natural (this is great for an actor), I was very surprised to see Shingo Tsurumi ('Dead or Alive' and the great PS4 game 'YAKUZA 0') but the best was Uhm Tae-goo (I Saw the Devil), a totally unpredictable character, I really liked him.
The plot of espionage is very simple and the whole social context of the time is not special for the plot as an important factor to know before seeing the film, and in fact this is another aspect that pleased me. Most of the spy movies these days try to be complex, with twists all the time, and in the end always becomes a big mess (Note: Simplicity is something that I appreciate within a multilayered context like in this case).
By Jee-woon standards I was a little disappointed with the lack of extreme violence as in his last two or three works, again, I think this is not a flaw, just one more wish of mine.
If the film had finished right after the train sequence, I think even with the holes that would remain, the film would have been a bit better.
★★★★
I've been following Kim Jee-woon's work since I first saw A Tale of Two Sisters back in 2005. Every new film, a new surprise.
I'm a bit of a fanboy of Song Kang-ho so I'll not focus on him, but what about Lee Byung-hun? Ok, I'm a bit of a fanboy of him as well but this film really upset me with the absense of him. His character looked so interesting/smart, but okay, that's not a flaw, what I want and what the sript needed are two different things.
My favorite aspect of this movie is the cast. Good actors from all sides. Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) seems to me so fluid, he is one of those actors who achieve the feat of looking natural (this is great for an actor), I was very surprised to see Shingo Tsurumi ('Dead or Alive' and the great PS4 game 'YAKUZA 0') but the best was Uhm Tae-goo (I Saw the Devil), a totally unpredictable character, I really liked him.
WARNING: "The Age..." spoilers below
The film lost its tension and power after his death.
The plot of espionage is very simple and the whole social context of the time is not special for the plot as an important factor to know before seeing the film, and in fact this is another aspect that pleased me. Most of the spy movies these days try to be complex, with twists all the time, and in the end always becomes a big mess (Note: Simplicity is something that I appreciate within a multilayered context like in this case).
By Jee-woon standards I was a little disappointed with the lack of extreme violence as in his last two or three works, again, I think this is not a flaw, just one more wish of mine.
If the film had finished right after the train sequence, I think even with the holes that would remain, the film would have been a bit better.
★★★★
Last edited by Ultraviolence; 07-12-18 at 04:07 PM.
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Assassination
This is a tough movie for me to get a grip on. I'm not the biggest fan of political or spy films, but then this is part action as well. Sometimes I would say the movie doesn't know what it wants to be, but on the other hand maybe the action saved it for me. I'm not really sure. As with many politically themed films, I had trouble following what was going on, and I really didn't enjoy the first half. There's an excellent action sequence at the midway point, and from then on everything seemed to fall into place a little bit more. The plot became more clear and the characters more interesting and distinct. We also end up getting several scenes that are shocking/surprising. So fortunately I ended up enjoying the film. On the downside, this movie is not the type I watch foreign or independent films for. I actually felt like I was watching the average big budget American film. I think many will remark about how good the film looks and how well made it is. I can't argue with that, but it's not what I prefer. It is filmed so well and so clear that I believe it lacks an identity, or at the very least any type of atmosphere. Again, it looks like an American film. It also sounds like one. In the end I felt like it was a decent movie but nothing more. Sorry Ed, I usually agree with your posts but it seems I haven't loved most of your nominations. Just an unfortunate coincidence I believe.
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My first Kim Jee-woon film was The Good, The Bad and The Weird, and to see two of the main actors in this was an utter win for me.
A little sad to hear Lee Byung-hun has a very small part. And, yeah, a fanboy of the Director Jee-woon and the actor Lee Byung-hun and this is the first time I've see Kang-ho Song in a more serious, AND leading role. So thoroughly liked that.
A little sad to hear Lee Byung-hun has a very small part. And, yeah, a fanboy of the Director Jee-woon and the actor Lee Byung-hun and this is the first time I've see Kang-ho Song in a more serious, AND leading role. So thoroughly liked that.
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Assassination
This is a tough movie for me to get a grip on. I'm not the biggest fan of political or spy films, but then this is part action as well. Sometimes I would say the movie doesn't know what it wants to be, but on the other hand maybe the action saved it for me. I'm not really sure. As with many politically themed films, I had trouble following what was going on, and I really didn't enjoy the first half. There's an excellent action sequence at the midway point, and from then on everything seemed to fall into place a little bit more. The plot became more clear and the characters more interesting and distinct. We also end up getting several scenes that are shocking/surprising. So fortunately I ended up enjoying the film. On the downside, this movie is not the type I watch foreign or independent films for. I actually felt like I was watching the average big budget American film. I think many will remark about how good the film looks and how well made it is. I can't argue with that, but it's not what I prefer. It is filmed so well and so clear that I believe it lacks an identity, or at the very least any type of atmosphere. Again, it looks like an American film. It also sounds like one. In the end I felt like it was a decent movie but nothing more. Sorry Ed, I usually agree with your posts but it seems I haven't loved most of your nominations. Just an unfortunate coincidence I believe.
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It is rare for us to completely enjoy a nomination from the other person, so I never ever take it personally or feel slighted if you don't care for a nom of mine. And, like you, I do feel pretty bad when I do likewise.
So, it's all good.
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Just going by the screenshots, I wonder if I'm going to have a similar reaction to Age of Shadows. I was going to watch it this week but I think it may be wise to push it back a bit.
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Just going by the screenshots, I wonder if I'm going to have a similar reaction to Age of Shadows. I was going to watch it this week but I think it may be wise to push it back a bit.
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Just going by the screenshots, I wonder if I'm going to have a similar reaction to Age of Shadows. I was going to watch it this week but I think it may be wise to push it back a bit.
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Will start watching this week at some point. I'm especially looking forward to Phoenix, The Belier family, The sword of doom and Benny's video. I made a Trakt playlist if anyone's interested, as sometimes it helps to find films online this way through various devices:
https://trakt.tv/users/smallclone/li...e-hall-of-fame
https://trakt.tv/users/smallclone/li...e-hall-of-fame
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I'm a bit of a fanboy of Song Kang-ho so I'll not focus on him, but what about Lee Byung-hun? Ok, I'm a bit of a fanboy of him as well but this film really upset me with the absense of him. His character looked so interesting/smart, but okay, that's not a flaw, what I want and what the sript needed are two different things.
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Age of Shadows and Assassination aren't looking that appealing to me, but you guys' reviews are definitely making me have hope. Then comes cricket...yeah I think I will have a similar reaction to his, but hopefully not.
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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."
"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."
- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke
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Will start watching this week at some point. I'm especially looking forward to Phoenix, The Belier family, The sword of doom and Benny's video. I made a Trakt playlist if anyone's interested, as sometimes it helps to find films online this way through various devices:
https://trakt.tv/users/smallclone/li...e-hall-of-fame
https://trakt.tv/users/smallclone/li...e-hall-of-fame
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Scarlet!!!!
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