Shadows: Arthouse Films 03
A SNAKE OF JUNE | SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE
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More mainstream art films have their own pages.
Even more offbeat films are at the SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL.
last update
14.Jun.03
DARK WATER
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dir Hideo Nakata; scr Yoshihiro Nakamura, Ken-Ichi Suzuki with Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno, Fumiyo Kohinata, Mirei Oguchi, Asami Mizukawa, Yu Tokui, Shigemitsu Ogi, Isao Yatsu release Japan 19.Jan.02; UK 6.Jun.03 02/Japan 1h41  REVIEW BY RICH CLINE see also: DARK WATER (2005) |
Murky water is everywhere in this film, and it's an integral part of the plot as well, giving us clues and images that propel the story and hint as to what's happened and what's coming. Nakata is an expert at generating quiet menace, and this film very quickly gets under our skin with its grimy set design and unsettling music, plus insinuating glimpses and characters who all seem so disturbed that it's hard to trust anyone. As a result, we really get into Yoshimi's head and feel her combination of fear and defiance. At the same time, anyone who has seen Ringu will feel several steps ahead of the plot here--it's very familiar, with similar scenes and even the same shocks and climaxes (although they will get you again!). This aside, it's still one of the more effective thrillers around ... much scarier than the loud, effects-heavy nonsense Hollywood throws at us. [15 themes, suspense] 21.May.03
FRIDAY NIGHT [Vendredi Soir]
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dir Claire Denis; scr Emmanuele Bernheim, Claire Denis with Valerie Lemercier, Vincent Lindon, Helene de Saint-Pere, Helene Fillieres, Gregoire Colin, Micha Lescot, Florence Loiret-Caille, Gilles D'Ambra, Nicolas Struve, Gianfranco Poddighe, Jerome Pouly, Nausicaa Meyer release US 23.May.03; UK 22.Aug.03 Canal+ 02/France 1h30  REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
The team of director Denis and cinematographer Agnes Godard is a potent one. As with Beau Travail, they elegantly capture the moods with telling details, clever angles and intriguing editing. There's something ethereal and naughty that makes the film feel like an extended fantasy in the mind of a woman stuck in a traffic jam (there are lots of mini-fantasies here and there, as well as a couple of wacky special effects). The camera work is close-up and very intimate, rarely letting us get the whole picture of what's going on, and the effect is insinuating, sexy, and more than a little bit dull, since it moves at a snail's pace and feels heavily padded out. Performances are superb from the central duo as well as the rest of the cast, who are limited to cameos (Lescot's hotel receptionist brings a welcome blast of humour). But more than a narrative film, this is a current of emotion washing across the screen for 90 minutes. Not terribly engaging, but surprisingly moving. [15 themes, language, sexual situations] 13.Jun.03
FULLTIME KILLER
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dir Johnny To, Wai Ka-Fai; scr Joey O'Bryan, Wai Ka-Fai with Andy Lau, Takashi Sorimachi, Kelly Lin, Simon Yam, Cherrie Ying, Suet Lam, Teddy Lin release HK 3.Aug.01; US 21.Mar.03; UK 27.Jun.03 01/Hong Kong 1h40  REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
The action spans much of Southeast Asia, as the characters travel between Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Macau and Thailand, speaking a mixture of Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese and English. And this multi-cultural approach makes the film much more accessible and contemporary, especially when combined with To and Wai's pacey, colourful direction and a cheeky script that keeps us intrigued by never going where we think it will. The cast is also very good, with Lau's flamboyant, arrogant, acrobatic Tok contrasted nicely against Sorimachi's technophile loner O. You can easily see why Chin is attracted to both men, and why her choice is so difficult, and yet Lin makes the character even more compelling than just that. When both Tok and O violate their own rules, the film takes a turn that is both much more involving and a tiny bit disappointing. The final segments are somewhat over-egged, trying to wedge a lesson in and refusing to let it emerge organically. But until then, this violent film is one of the most suspenseful, unpredictable and entertaining anti-hero thrillers we've seen in ages. [18 strong violence, themes, language] 27.May.03
A SNAKE OF JUNE
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dir-scr Shinya Tsukamoto with Asuka Kurosawa, Yuji Koutari, Shinya Tsukamoto, Susumu Terajima, Mansaku Fuwa, Tomorowo Taguchi release Japan 24.May.03; UK 13.Jun.03 02/Japan 1h17 REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
Shot in black and white then washed in blue, the film is absolutely soaked in water--constant rain, sinks and showers, all running down into various drains. This is a wet, wet film; well, June is the rainy season in Japan, apparently! It's also an extremely arty film, with experimental-type camerawork and editing that makes it occasionally inexplicable and hard to follow. Still, the visual style sets the tone for a terrific story at the centre that first touches and then launches an attack on several taboos in Japanese society. This is not an easy film to watch. The thematic elements are deeply disturbing as they probe into relationships and sex; and the violent/thriller aspect of the film pulls no punches at all. It's thoroughly horrifying without getting too explicit on screen. As each character begins to lose the ability to control their own actions and destiny, writer-director Tsukamoto taps into our fears so deeply that he leaves us strangely both shaken and cleansed. [18 very strong adult themes, violence, sex, language] 3.Jun.03
SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE
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dir Chan-wook Park; scr Jae-sun Lee, Mu-yeong Lee, Yong-jong Lee, Chan-wook Park with Ha-kyun Shin, Kang-ho Song, Du-na Bae, Ji-Eun Lim, Bo-bae Han, Se-dong Kim, Dae-yeon Lee release Korea 29.Mar.02, UK 30.May.03, US 19.Aug.05 02/Korea 2h01 See also: OLDBOY (2003) | SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (2005) And also: INTERVIEW WITH PARK CHAN-WOOK REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
This is stylish, witty filmmaking--it looks fantastic and is directed with skill and inventiveness. And the acting is excellent as well. But as the story progresses it gets increasingly hard to watch, simply because it's so grisly. There are several sequences of unspeakable awfulness; much (not all!) of the gore is off-screen but it's still devastating. As the film slips from desperate to bleak to horrible to sad, it's actually quite telling, like a black satire about the violent nature of society. There's a lot of humour laced through the film, although it's often hard to notice amid the carnage. The real problem here is with the narrative, which is extremely convoluted, choppy and frankly unbelievable, while all the characters all get less and less likeable as they sink into ruthless animalism. But I guarantee it will get your adrenaline going! And leave you shaken for quite a while afterwards. That's something a lot more movies should do, really. [18 very strong adult themes, violence and gore, sex, language] 23.May.03
R E A D E R R E V I E W SMatthew Bingham, Cambridge, UK:
"The very concept of a deaf mute as a main character would never appear in any Hollywood studio. Considering that Ryu can neither hear nor speak this film is alive with sound even when it seems silent. Machines buzz, footsteps resonate along circular passages, men are clubbed with baseball bats, all in glorious technicolour sound. Which is I suppose both ironic and amazing since Ryu hears none of it. However the sound aside the film is packed with interesting and unusual visual ideas; the stairway sequence is a particular favourite, and may well represent Ryu's distancing from his life earlier in the film, although no-one's quite sure.
The acting is sound and well thought through. Even though Bae is played in a rather exagerated manner, and may appear hammy, it is all in keeping with the style of her character.
I don't know what else to say except this film is sheer brillance on a stick, is the best thing since celluloid was invented, and in my opinion is just a cut above the rest." (20.Jul.04)