Adi's Reviews

Dare mo shiranai (2004) (Nobody knows) - Hirokazu Koreeda

This film is based on a true story from 1988, known as the "Affair of the four abandoned children of Sugamo"; 4 children (one brother aged 14 and 3 sisters aged 7,3 and 2) are abandoned by their mother and left to fend for themselves, which has tragic consequences. The mother had 5 children, but the youngest one died and seeing as how none of them existed officially, she wrapped the body in some plastic and put it in the closet of their apartment. After their mother leaves them to live with her new lover, the brother gets involved with some kids one of which ends up killing the youngest child. The brother then wrapped up the body and took it to some neighboring mountains to bury it in a shallow grave.

The film's story is less gruesome. It starts off well enough, you see a loving mother and her 4 children, Akira aged 12, older sister Kyoko, younger brother Shigeru and youngest sister Yuki. Things are not perfect, their mother has to work late so the kids are left to fend for themselves most of the time. But soon, the illusion starts to dissipate. We find out that none of the kids go to school, they are unregistered with the authorities and therefore must hide their existence, only Akira is allowed to leave the apartment to get groceries. The mother, a seemingly sweet woman, starts to show her imperfections, staying out late, sometimes leaving for days, leaving them some money and Akira to take care of the others. Then one day, she leaves to live with her new boyfriend, and never comes back...

What follows is one of the most harrowing viewing experiences I have witnessed. This is Grave of the fireflies multiplied by 50. During almost two and a half hours we see how the children slowly lose control over their life. The pacing of the film is brilliant, it spends a lot of time establishing the previous, semi-endurable situation where there mother appeared to be a very caring creature, then the gradual disillusionment, her departure and their initial response to it; hopeful as any child would be that their mother will return, they deal as well as they can, they stay within the rules their mother has set for them (never let others see you, don't go on the balcony, stay quiet)...and then eventually their childish nature prevails as we see the apartment gradually becoming dirtier, they slack off on their duties, forget the rules and break them. As desperation slowly sets in, they become more frustrated and their once perfect relationships deteriorate.

The director handles the underage actors incredibly, these are the most realistic performances from child actors I have ever seen. If I didn't know any better, I'd say these children were really made to stay in that apartment for a long time, while the camera just observed their behavior and reactions. The casting itself was incredible; Yûya Yagira that plays Akira has won the best actor award at Cannes, Hiei Kimura that plays the younger brother is an incredible young boy, he seemed to be completely unaware of the camera and just acted as any young boy his age would . Ayu Kitaura is perfect as the older, shy sister that essentially replaces the role of her mother, and finally the adorable Momoko Shimizu as the pet sister.

This is precisely what makes this film so difficult to watch; seeing these 4 adorable children go through a situation most of us can't even imagine, watching them struggle to have a normal life and being shunned by their peers. It's a wonderful study of how children behave faced with such a demanding situation on their own. A brilliant film that will undoubtedly get overlooked because of the "foreign" curse...

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A good film indeed, you've reminded me to watch it again soon.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Great review addi, sounds very sad

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Me and you and everyone we know - Miranda July

This is one of the biggest surprises for me in recent months. An independent film at it's best (and thank God for it, I was beginning to lose faith in American independent cinema). It won loads of awards at the Cannes film festival and numerous others and yet somehow managed to slip under my radar.

Right from the start it was clear this film will be like nothing I've seen before. None of the characters act in the way they're supposed to.

Miranda July not only wrote and directed the film but also stars as Christine Jesperson, a struggling artist, empath and a romantic at heart. She meets Richard, a shoe salesman going through divorce, gradually they become intrigued by one another and eventually fall in love...sounds standard doesn't it? Far from it. Just when you start thinking this is a beautiful love affair a la Amelie (although I'd say they do share some similarities), the main protagonists get thrown back into reality.

Maybe that's what makes this film so fresh and original, the fact that it seemed so much more real than most other romance/comedy type flicks. And not just with regards to the central characters, all the supporting ones act unexpectedly real. For example, Richard's colleague Andrew, who looks like a retarded jock, is actually a fairly intelligent creature. But here's a quote to illustrate it, the scene is him meeting two underage girls that flirt with him as a challenge: "Andrew: I would love to believe in a universe where you wake up and don't have to to go to work and you step outside and meet two beautiful 18-year-old sisters who are also girlfriends and are also very nice people.". Now, normally, you'd expect someone like that to take advantage of the situation, but Andrew displays a remarkable amount of sobriety.

These are just a few of the characters that makes this film so interesting. We also follow the adventures (or misadventures) of Richards beautiful and naive children, one of whom, the six year old Robby (such a naturally played character, unlike most child actors whose acting is more constrained than relaxed and childlike) starts an (unusual to say the least) internet relationship with an anonymous woman.

For a debut feature, this film exudes maturity and functions as an incredibly well rounded whole. No excess scenes or dialogs, pinning you to the screen from start to finish, not with sheer excitement (although, judging by the opening sequence you could get the wrong idea, perhaps), but with its quirky comedy interlaced with incredibly beautiful, almost poetic moments (the gold fish scene, the scene at the park when Robby meets the anonymous woman, to name but a few).

Every single scene seemed so fresh and new, every piece of dialog like nothing I've ever heard before, yet I could relate to. An incredibly enjoyable experience....Unfortunately, I've read that July has put her filming career on a hiatus. Apparently "she found the promotion of the film too much of a grind, and too much of a strain on her life and art, and she told the interviewer that she was going to go back to smaller projects that were more manageable and more controllable." I do hope she changes her mind, she's obviously an incredibly talented young woman and a natural filmmaker...

Good review! I caught this movie last year after seeing it on Ebert & Roeper and MAN was I blown away. Right from that gripping opening scene, I was totally engrossed in the going-on's of all those great thoroughly likable characters that July had created. So yeah, steak sauce, fo sho.

I didn't know that she would be taking a break though... sad.

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"No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul." ~ Ingmar Bergman

She's a multi talented artist, apparently she does all sorts of stuff apart from filming, like multimedia shows and the like. That's probably why the character of Christine seemed so believable, she was probably just being herself. God I hate talented people...

Thanks for a great review, I have added it to my must see list

We are all talented in our way

Crónica de una fuga (Chronicle of an escape) - Adrián Caetano (2006)

First of all, let me begin by saying that this film is my worst nightmare put on screen. The atmosphere of absolute terror it portrays is matched only by George Orwell's 1984; an entire country imprisoned and ruled by terror. It's based on 2 true stories of political prisoners and their plight during the reign of the military "junta" in Argentina from 1976 - 1983; their wrongful imprisonment, physical and mental torture during 120 days.

It is the best thriller I've seen in years, it kept me on the edge of my seat and my heart racing 100mph, especially in the second half of the film. As if the real life story wasn't excruciating enough, the director enhances the experience in many ways, building up tension with music and long, drawn out, will-make-you-break-out-in-a-cold-sweat scenes where the main characters are on the brink of making crucial decisions.
It sucks you into the mental state of the prisoners so that 30 minutes in, you feel like you're one of them.


This is not your classic "americanized" story of superheroes that stay dignified and defiant through the most difficult of trials, these are regular people, made of flesh and blood, and willing to do anything to survive. The power of torture and mind games is displayed in its full terror; after a certain period of imprisonment and a continuous barrage of abuse, the main characters begin to buckle under pressure, they are continuously tantalized by their tormentors by promises of liberty in exchange for information...but soon enough, they realize liberation is not a likely outcome, and they have some difficult decisions to make.

The most incredible and frightening aspect of the film is of course, that it's based on a true story (or stories), that happened no so long ago, and that this kind of thing probably still happens (Iraq and Guantanamo being the most likely of places). All the more reason to see this film. It will make you remember just how fortunate we are to be living in democratic countries, and make you appreciate freedom (which we seem to take ever so lightly).

Glad you liked it, man. I've actually been looking forward to this flick for a long time. I wrote about it for the Chicago Film Festival and have been dying to see it since.

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Latest Movie Review(s): Too lazy to keep this up to date. New reviews every week.

How do you write about a flick without seeing it? Or do you mean you wanna see it again?*doesn'tknow*

Cool review!

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Thanks man. Hope you get to see it.

I just wrote the promotional materials - what they put in the newspaper/brochure to entice people to see the movie - from information on the web or from the distributor. I was only able to be there for the first weekend of the two week fest, so I didn't get a chance to see it.

That's a shame...it would have been cool to see it on the big screen.

Great review Adi

Bakha satang (Peppermint Candy) - Chang-dong Lee (2000)

In short, this is a story about a man and his road to ruin. It opens with a scene where the lead character Yongho, crazed, rambling and nearing a breakdown, stumbles upon a reunion of his friends from 20 years back. To their disbelief, he climbs to a railroad track and commits suicide shouting "I'm going back!". In the next 2 hours, we slowly discover what has lead him to that moment through a series of episodes depicting a crucial moment in his life. The episodes are arranged in reverse chronological order, which makes this film somewhat similar to Memento (although without the action/thriller aspect and much better character development).

The film is a slow burner and given the specific nature of the narrative, requires you to pay attention to certain details that (perhaps) don't make much sense at first, but as the movie progresses and we travel further into Yongho's past, start to connect incredibly well. This isn't just a story about how one man's life went wrong, this is also a very effective critique of Korea's society. Unlike most modern Korean directors, Chang-dong isn't afraid to deal with Korea's violent past (to those unfamiliar with it's history, after the Korean war, it went through a period of violent and repressive military dictatorships and has only (fairly) recently embraced democracy as we perceive it in the west), as well as it's ruthless version of capitalism.

Kyung-gu Sol, who plays Yongho, gives a performance of a lifetime for which he was awarded in the Bratislava international film festival and which puts many of the western, Oscar awarded performances to shame (that ain't no exaggeration, trust me )...absolutely mind blowing. I dare say, in some less capable hands, this film wouldn't have been such an impressive experience.

There is just one flaw I found in this film, the unmistakable misogynistic portrayal of women. All the women Yongho encounters during the 20 years are shallow, dim and "easy". All but one, his first and only true love, Sunim, a quiet, chaste and obedient country woman. On second thought, it may not be a flaw at all but rather an Asian cultural particularity. In any case, it doesn't really diminish the quality of this brilliant film. I can't wait to see Oasis.

Great review Addi, thanks

Fanks for reading Nebbs...

I like reading your reviews, they are really good

Milyang (Secret Sunshine) - Chang-dong Lee (2007)


Disclaimer: If you don't want to find out anything about the plot, please stop reading, it will get rather spoilery. Fret not, for those familiar with Chang-dong's work, you can expect another masterpiece. Now shoo, run along and see it if you haven't already, maybe we can talk about it (lol...as if).

Synopsis: Looking for a change of scenery after her husband's death, Sin-ae moves with her son Jun to Miryang, her husband's home town. She opens a piano school and starts getting to know the local people. She is pestered by Jong Chan, a good natured local redneck, single and rather desperate, that follows her throughout much of the film. Soon after her arrival, she is struck by another tragedy; her son has been kidnapped and later found dead. Desperately trying to find solace, she becomes a born again Christian, but soon she becomes disillusioned and continues on a downward spiral towards insanity...

Chang-dong returns after a 5 years hiatus with his 4th feature film and another incredible piece of Asian cinema. Once again he proves himself as an incredibly mature and intelligent director. His films develop slowly (of the three I've seen, all lasted well beyond 2 hours) and are infused with brilliant observations on the contemporary Korean society. Although I have to admit that Oasis didn't sit well with me. On a technical level, it's a brilliant film, but the main character's afflictions (it's about a mentally challenged man who falls in love with a women that suffers from cerebral palsy) were so difficult to watch, I couldn't immerse myself in it. Incredible performances from the main actors though.

Secret sunshine continues the trend of brilliant acting performances; Do-yeon Jeon has won the award for Best actress at this year's Cannes film festival (while Chang-dong missed out on the Palm D'ore ). I think most people have experienced or have come into contact with people who have lost someone. This is why the film and the reaction of the main character seemed so powerful, because it rang so true...after the initial shock comes numbness, after that, despair....hope...and the realization that nothing will ever fill the void. This is simply how things are and will continue to be, which is what the somewhat abrupt and seemingly unsatisfactory ending seems to suggest so perfectly. There is one minor fault in the film, the rather swift manner in which the director handles the kidnapping and subsequent arrest of the culprit. It's as if he was too impatient to get to the main part of the story. However, the rest of the film makes up for it in spades....Chang-dong once again proves that Korean cinema is going through its golden period.