Asian Film Hall of Fame

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Just watched Black Rain, but probably won't write anything about it for awhile since it's getting late, and I'll be busy tomorrow.

It reminded me of some other film about the same subject that I saw some time ago, but I don't remember enough about it to look up what it was.



It reminded me of some other film about the same subject that I saw some time ago, but I don't remember enough about it to look up what it was.
Hiroshima Mon Amour?



I also watched Black Rain a couple of days ago, but I find it difficult to write anything about it. And I'm not overwhelmed or devastated or anything, but I just don't know what to say. I'll try to scribble something today or tomorrow to finally get that review out of the way. For short, it was okay, bordering on good even, but I didn't like it nearly as much as @cricket.
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I also watched Black Rain a couple of days ago, but I find it difficult to write anything about it. And I'm not overwhelmed or devastated or anything, but I just don't know what to say. I'll try to scribble something today or tomorrow to finally get that review out of the way. For short, it was okay, bordering on good even, but I didn't like it nearly as much as @cricket.
For you, that's a glowing endorsement of a movie



I didn't care for Hiroshima Mon Amour...my review
So I hope it's not like Black Rain (which I haven't seen yet).
Black Rain reminded me of it, but there's no comparison to how I feel about them.




Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa 1950)

A great film, or so they tell me. I have no complaints and it seemed to hit it's mark and it delivered just what it aimed for...But what it was aiming for eludes me. I'm guessing what people like is the enigma of which of the four stories are correct? Perhaps Rashomon is meant to be a mind puzzle where one uses logic and insight to find similarities in the four stories and then decipher the truth from that. If that's the allure of Rashomon then it's worthy of it's praise.

For me I've never enjoyed mind puzzles and when I watch a movie I like to lose myself in the narrative and characters lives. Rashomon gives little up about the forlorn Samurai and his wife. We never really get to know them except from second hand stories. We do glimpse a bit more of what lays beneath the thick skin of the bandit. The priest and the woodcutter both seem to have inner turmoil that drives the story.

I wonder if Rashomon is meant to be a critique on outdated Japanese beliefs? We have the Samurai's wife being raped and then she's told she needs to die as she has been with two men. Talk about blaming the victim! OR was she the perpetrator of the murder of her husband? I guess those questions are why Rashomon is so highly esteemed.
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Hiroshima Mon Amour?
I don't think so because I saw that just a few years ago for a Hall of Fame. I'm thinking of something that was shown to us in school, specifically the scene where...

WARNING: "Black Rain" spoilers below
there's a kid who has strips of skin hanging off his arms and body, who is trying to get his big brother to recognize him.

I don't recall anything like that in Hiroshima mon Amour, but then again I primarily only remember the romance of the main characters.



I don't think so because I saw that just a few years ago for a Hall of Fame. I'm thinking of something that was shown to us in school, specifically the scene where...

WARNING: "Black Rain" spoilers below
there's a kid who has strips of skin hanging off his arms and body, who is trying to get his big brother to recognize him.

I don't recall anything like that in Hiroshima mon Amour, but then again I primarily only remember the romance of the main characters.
I don't remember that specifically, but there are horrific scenes from the bombing's aftermath.





Black Rain / 黒い雨 (1989)
Directed By: Shohei Imamura
Starring: Kazuo Kitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Etsuko Ichihara

Black Rain is a film about the physical, emotional, and social turmoil caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. It is presented through the eyes of a ground zero survivor, his family, and the small community he lives in that will forever feel the impact of that tragic day. The bittersweet drama that exists at the heart of the film is incredibly engaging, and you really want the Shizumas and their niece to find happiness, despite the odds stacked against them.

The sets and costumes are all fantastic. The make-up effects on the primary bomb victims, as well as the charred corpses seen throughout Hiroshima are as impressive as they are horrifying. I appreciated that the film's recreation of the atomic bomb's aftermath was not overly sensational, and instead allowed the imagery to speak for itself. There is confusion and agony, as no one understands what happened, and everyone just keeps moving forward trying their best to survive.

An overall brooding atmosphere, and lack of closure in the final scene mirror the uncertainty the survivors of the bomb faced. They didn't know when they would begin to show signs of radiation poisoning, or how severe it would get. They could never be sure of how much time they actually had left - even the Shizuma household clock foreshadows this, as it always seems to fall five minutes behind. Though quite dour, the film does not rob viewers of all hope, and it ends in what I believe to be an incredibly appropriate manner.

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I watched Mother (2009), directed by Bong Joon Ho. When a devoted mother's son is accused of murder, she will do whatever it takes to prove her son's innocence. This was really well written film. It told the story in an engaging and effective way. Hye-ja Kim is excellent as the obsessed mother and Won Bin is very good as the son. Their relationship is very complex and multi-layered, portrayed in an interesting way, believable and non-judgmental. Bong Joon Ho did a great job directing the film. Mother is a clever and satisfying film, which entertains and challenges the viewer. For me, this is his second best film after Parasite. I rate Mother a high
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The trick is not minding
Tears of the Black Tiger

Going into this, I knew very little of it. All I knew was it had been in the BFI too 100 Western films and was intrigued. To see it nominated here, I thought was an interesting choice. Left to my own devices, it probably would have been quite some time before I watched it of my own volition.

I’m glad I didn’t have to wait. This movie is a trip! Full of vibrant, pastel colors, and enough over the top violence to make even Tarantino blush, this film never lets up. And all the while, it moves ain’t with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek.

It’s obviously meant to be a parody of sorts, with its over the top action, over wrought scenes and over acting. That’s the point of course. I’ve seen a few other westerns that took themselves too seriously while trying to be too cute and fail at both. The Quick and the Dead springs to mind and could have taken a lesson from this, while Django, and The Hateful Eight weren’t nearly as bad off, but were still guilty of the above.

No, TotBT keeps its head up the clouds. It can get a little too silly at times, but it never falls off the rails regardless. Not completely anyways. And it borrows quite a bit from the Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960’s, in a nice homage.

The story is pretty simple. Young man falls in with a gang for vengeance over the death of his father. He quickly becomes the leaders right hand man, much to the jealousy of the former right hand man. He meets his childhood girlfriend and sees a chance at a redemption of sorts. They rekindle their love, but the gang and her impending marriage to a police captain, who incidentally is after his gang, stand in their way.

Very fun to watch, I must admit I laughed at how ludicrous it all seemed. But that was the point of course.



黒い雨 (1989)
aka Black Rain

For some reason, I have very little to say about Black Rain. I do like its retro feel (it doesn't only look like an older film, but the writing feels old, too). I kinda get the Ozu references, but it's more hectic and stylistically mixed than his work (maybe closer to something like Humanity and Paper Balloons). I think it tries to fool the audience to feel like their watching a more immediate response to the bombing than it actually is.


The scenes in 1945 are harrowing (and more brutal than I'd expect from a @Citizen Rules nomination). They have sort of a horror film feel to them with the shambling ragged forms crowding the ruins. The devastated city is like a setting from a 50s SciFi movie. The vintage style mostly works, and it helps the film to focus on the people. Black Rain isn't about the bombing but how the lives of these people were changed by it.

The five years later part of the film looks like an Ozu film. The feel is different, though. Black Rain isn't as introverted as Ozu. Its struggles and crises happen in the real world instead of being just issues of the soul. I think it was easier for me to relate to these people than, for example, the father and daughter in Late Spring. On the other hand, I didn't like how the PTSD guy was turned into comic relief (those scenes of him attacking the bus just didn't fit the overall tone).

I'm not entirely sure of my rating yet, but I think Black Rain hovers somewhere between OK and good. If I figure out more to say, I'll just reply to someone else's review, but this is it for now.



I watched Dust in the Wind (1986), directed by Hsiao-Hsien Hou. The film is about a young couple who leave their hometown and their experiences and struggles. The film is competently made, but I found the story and the characters uninteresting. It didn't really engage me and I had a hard time caring about the characters or their experiences. The actors did a decent job, but I felt that the writing fall flat. The film felt longer than it was. I wouldn't consider it a bad movie, but I don't think it was sufficiently entertaining or interesting. My rating is a
.




Mother (Bong Joon-ho 2009)

I liked this...I was transfixed by the performance of Hye-ja Kim who played the mother. She doesn't even have a name and that tells you something about her identity. She seems to only exist to nurture her mentally slow son (Won Bin). They have a bond that transcends the normal parent/child relationship. And it was this relationship and the ends that 'mother' would go to, to protect her son that caught my attention. The first 45 minutes or so were amazing! I love first hand story telling with deep character study that captures the very essences of living. Watching the first part of the film was special and I was hooked.

The later part of the film didn't work as well for me as I wanted the personal story of 'mother' and her son. I liked the framework of the wrongly accused son and his mother trying to find the killer. But I don't think we needed the son's friend to act a mentor and helper to the mother. I think that weakened the story some. Still a good watch.
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