Inbox: 비열한 거리

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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I was impressed when I watched A Dirty Carnival last year, so I was pleased to have a copy of the movie on DVD in my possession. I had believed that, since the adoption of Blu Ray as a medium for Korean film had been slow and only new releases seemed to be getting the high definition disc treatment, that I would never see films like A Dirty Carnival on Blu Ray, but it seems like CJ Entertainment is, at least, going back into their biggest hits and producing a few limited edition Blu Rays to go with them. For this, I'm grateful as Korean home entertainment wings usually do a respectable job of creating transfers (and some handsome editions as well), certainly more consistently than their Chinese or Southeast Asian counterparts and at more reasonable prices (and with English subtitles) compared to their Japanese counterparts.

As such, I was glad to be able to pick up a nice high definition edition of this handsome and evocative film, even as the price wasn't exactly cheap.

Progress Report: Dollhouse, Season 2, Episodes 1-5

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

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Despite the first seasons legs getting wobbly towards its end, the second season starts out strong, now using the doll's assignments as a means of building the underlying story as well as, yes, providing means of character development. Oh, how I do love character development, even if it is spread a little thin.

In the opening episode, "Vows", we see Paul Ballard, driven by his well established obsession with Caroline/Echo to work with the Dollhouse to nab a major arms dealer. We also see the beginnings of a bigger season story with the introduction of Senator Daniel Perrin (Buffy/Angel veteran Alexis Denisof) as a man who wants to take down the Rossum Corporation.

In "Instinct", Echo takes on an assignment as a mother and sees some more development in terms of her memory retention. On the more intriguing side, we have more developments with the Senator.

In yet another plot developer, "Belle Chose" sees a serial killer imprinted onto Victor to discover the whereabouts of his victims, leading to some major complications when some unexpected turns end up involving new technology and Echo on her romantic assignment.

The episode with the aforementioned character development and exploration is "Belonging" where we both get to explore the past and present of Sierra, formerly Priva Tsetsang (Dichen Lachman) as well as Topher's involvement with her in the past and present. Also smaller moments with Echo and Boyd that advance plot and show character development as well. Good episode for that plus some of the exploration of morality and identity in light of the Dollhouse technology.

Things with Senator Perrin come to a head in "The Public Eye" when he gets a surprise witness and the implication that the Dollhouse (global) is somehow manipulating events around Perrin. We also get a little bit more of a glimpse into Caroline's past and finally encounter another Dollhouse, Dollhouse DC and see some more of the tension that was hinted at in "Epitaph One" between Adelle's LA Dollhouse and the larger entity of Rossum. A satisfying serial episode that should lead into a very interesting episode following.

I like that Dollhouse now finally seems on a roll, mixing greater plot with the episodes focus well and further exploring actual science fiction questions. I especially like seeing the character development as characters struggle with decisions--something that this show does tend to streamroll over as characters seem to be acting to archetype more than character--so the nuance is appreciated when it shows up. But the mystery/thriller elements of Dollhouse are done well enough that it keeps moving the show forward, as much as I miss some of the intrigue from the first season that seems to have been lost as the scope of the series moved beyond just what's going on in the one Dollhouse. I'm hoping for some more interesting episodes between this and the finale!

Links:

• Season index

Inbox: Dollhouse, Season 2

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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I only started watching the first season of Dollhouse after I had ordered the second, when I found it for a decent price. Sure, there was no guarantee that I'd like the series, but knowing how I've felt about Joss Whedon's past series, it was a worthwhile gamble. Being secure that I'll be able to watch the whole series continuously, I felt like the second season was a worthwhile purchase too.

The packaging for the season season is no frills, coming in a simple multi-disc Blu Ray case. The artwork on the cover differs noticeably from the first season, which is a little disappointing, even if I do think it's more attractive, just because it's nice for the sets to be similar to each other. Also, while "Epitaph One" was shot in the first season, it didn't air until the end of the second season and I think that was probably the best way to see that episode as well, so it's a little strange that "Epitaph Two: Return" is here, but not part one and you'll have to swap between the last disc of the first season and this season to watch them back to back.

The second season is, overall, much more solid than the first and sets up a lot of great intrigue as well as character and story development. Tragically, the series got cancelled partway through the season leading to hasty conclusions to storylines and more than a couple dropped threads, but it all does lead to a surprisingly satisfying finale, considering the time press to finish up the whole storyline.

Still, the rushed nature of the last few episodes does sap it of some of its emotional resonance, so I find that the first half the season was, in some ways, more interesting on a level exploring the characters and the science fiction of the world, as well as the larger questions the series raises. All the same, I'm glad Season two was as successful as it was in telling the story it was able to. If only the series could have gotten off to a brighter start, we might have seen all the threads built into this series mature. 8/10.

Disc List:

• Disc 1: Episodes 1-5
• Disc 2: Episodes 6-10
• Disc 3: Episodes 11-13

Links:

• Series review
• Series Facebook
• Series Hulu
• Available at Amazon (Blu Ray) / (DVD) / (Instant) and iTunes

Progress Report: Dollhouse, Season 1, Episodes 11-13

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

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Two of the final three episodes moves the show forward in a big way and gives a face and background to the mysterious Alpha, which somehow actually makes him seem less threatening and smaller. The other episode, which went unaired during the original run (aired at the end of the second season as part of the two-part series finale), is rather surprising and really felt out of place in its context.

In episode 11, "Briar Rose", while Echo helps a young girl with a past, Alpha turns up and predictably causes havoc in the Dollhouse, involving Echo.

Following directly after in a kind of two-parter, is "Omega", where Alpha continues with his "master" plan and faces off with Echo.

Finally, "Epitaph, Part 1", is set in a dystopian future (well, 2019) where the imprinting technology has both gotten out of hand and has become a weapon setting the world in flames. A group of "actuals" who have survived search for refuge and stumble into the Dollhouse and look to unlock its mystery while we are treated with flashbacks as to what led to this future mess.

I can't say I was particularly impressed with where the series went with its season end. After all that hyping up of Alpha, he really doesn't turn out to be as interesting as I had hoped, even less interesting than Sylar of Heroes Season 1. It does shed some light on the series but I also didn't liked how the show ended up spinning the fate of Agent Ballard as well--I really liked the tantalizing "messages from the inside" that he was getting and I feel like that element might not come to fruition with the end of the events of episode 12.

As for Epitaph, I thought it was an interesting take, but to set an episode in the future is kind of like playing all the cards in your hand and so the show loses the suspense of what's going to happen next, since now we know where the plot will lead. I think it was wise that the episode went unaired until paired with its second part at the end of the series, although I still would say it's questionable that these episodes were even made, since they really seem more like a spin-off than Dollhouse.

Anyway, with some of the promise undone, I am concerned about the direction of the series, but the development in Echo's character is interesting enough to keep following. I'm hoping that the show is able to refocus on the more interesting aspects built into the backstory while building towards an interesting conclusion. I worry, however, knowing that the show was cancelled halfway into its second season, that the plot will end up spilled in a rush and without a meaningful conclusion.

As the show has yet to really provide any truly memorable episode in its first season, I can only hope we get there in the second.

Links:

• Season index

Inbox: 兪賢穆 Collection

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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I've been a big fan of the Korean Film Archive's director's collections and general work in preserving Korean film history, so I like to support their work by purchasing the occasional box set. I was actually saddened when I discovered that their Kim Kiyoung Collection went out of print, so seeing that the Yoo Hyeon Mok Collection was available and my budget could account for it, I picked it up with Lee Man Hee's collection next in line.

Now, I don't know much about Yoo Hyeon Mok, but I do remember that one of them, The Daughters of Kim's Pharmacy was actually screened near me once but I was unable to attend due to work obligations. The one film I was able to see, Obaltan, blew me away with its stark (and depressing) Italian neo-realism influenced depiction of post-war Korea. And Obaltan was the main reason why I decided to purchase this collection. It looks like Yoo worked with a number of different writers, so I'm not entirely certain whether or not any of his other films will resemble Obaltan in story, but I am curious to see them regardless.

The collection comes in a handsome and sturdy outer slipcase. The four discs are stored on a beautifully designed fold out case and a nice booklet in both Korean and English is also provided. Like other selections from the Korean Film Archive, the Yoo Hyeon Mok collection is all region, so anyone can play them, although the subtitles are only in Korean, Japanese and English. I actually prefer having single cases (like the Shin Sangok Collection) rather than full fold outs holding all the discs, so that it's easy to take out just one movie at a time and also see all the titles at once from the spines, but if you're going going to do a fold out, this is an aesthetically pleasing way to do it. 8/10.

Disc List:

• 그대와 영원히 (1958) (Forever with You)
• 깅약국의 딸들 (1963) (The Daughters of Kim's Pharmacy)
• 막차로 온 손님들 (1967) (The Guests of the Last Train)
• 장마 (1979) (Rainy Days)

Links:

• Available at YesAsia

Progress Report: Dollhouse, Season 1, Episodes 6-10

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

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I think once we get past the "mission of the week" format and start incorporating more backstory and what's going on with Dollhouse as well as the greater show arc, the show becomes much more intriguing, even if it's still a little uneven. I also like that Echo/Caroline is becoming a little bit more of a character, but still believe it would've been to the show's benefit to build a little bit more of her character in the pilot as it really isn't easy to get to these more developing episodes in the previous format.

In episode 6, "Man on the Street" the show starts looking more deeply into both the Dollhouse and Agent Ballard and reveals a twist that any savvy viewer could have seen coming from a mile away--but it's still interesting because the rabbit hold is very deep. But the show does raise some moral questions with both the "mission" of the week's internet tycoon's love affair as well as the internal issue of what's been going on with Sierra.

In "Echoes" we go even further into the world of Dollhouse as a strange chemical is released at the Rossum laboratory on a college campus leads to some degree of madness resulting in investigation by the Dollhouse. I almost feel like the episode is a bit of a (unintentional?) homage to the Star Trek episode, "The Naked Time" as the campus and the Dollhouse fall under the contagious effects of the inhibition destroying drug. Unfortunately a gigantic logic hole kind of ruins that episode for me.

With "Needs" the show turns inward again as some of the dolls wake up aware of themselves but without their memories. This episode is an interesting case that also reveals some backstory, but the logic of the episode is a bit soft.

Finally, showing evidence of building all this to a head is "A Spy in the House of Love", where a sign of a spy in the Dollhouse is discovered by Topher while DeWitt is away on some business and, under the command of Reed, the house programs Sierra to break into the NSA to discover who it might be, but Topher and Echo come up with other plans.

In a characteristic move of Whedon and company, "Haunted" actually returns to the more "mission of the week" format (but hints as what is to come), as Echo is imprinted with DeWitt's friend after her passing so that she might attend her own funeral and discover a thing or two about her own death.

All in all, things do get more interesting, but I feel like the story telling is still a bit messy and unfocused and while I like the hints of the greater story being pulled together (especially the secret messages coming from inside the Dollhouse to Ballard), I'm still struggling to really see the big picture. Still, the development of all the players in the Dollhouse is nice and certainly makes the show more interesting to watch. I'm hoping that the show starts making all these parts come together into a better focused story by the show's end.

Links:

• Season index

Inbox: 전우치

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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While I've always been skeptical about Korean historical fantasies, I've always wanted to see a good one. And even though Jeon Woochi's story flaws are really too significant to really place it in the "good" category, I think its charms keep it working enough to make it a reasonable passing form of entertainment, one with few compelling counterparts.

The titular Jeon Woochi (Kang Dongwon) only shows up after a lengthy introduction to the fantasy world where goblins (in animal form) and wizards all live. He's a trickster apprentice wizard who happens to stumble onto a bigger matter when he gets his hands on a legendary flute that can either bring peace or destruction to the world. Oh, and he meets a widow that he takes a liking to. And and then things go wrong and five hundred years later, he is summoned by some gods into the modern day world to deal with a resurgent goblin threat.

It's apparent immediately on that the film is both too long and that there's too much going on in the film, which might be fine if the film were more epic or if many of those loose threads got tied up, but inasmuch as the film builds an interesting world and setup, it fails to really put a meaningful storyline in it nor actually earn any of its character development, resulting in some very contrived twists throughout the film, some of which, like more than one character's betrayals not having any meaningful effect in the end. And, in some ways, the film really just wanders, like with its extended coda that really reveals nothing for the sake of linking up with some older scenes and comes off as both redundant and not very well thought out.

So, with such an unimpressive story, why did I still manage to enjoy the film a little? Besides the interesting setup, the action, production, art and even a measure of the directing is engaging and interesting. And the actors manage to inject a good amount of levity into the movie, which all ends up being fairly charming. Enough to get look past the horrible mess of a story and enjoy the crazy battles and somewhat madcap goings on between the various eccentric characters.

In the end, however, Jeon Whoochi is still a huge mess and even the direction sometimes gets confusing (note a scene in a club near the very end). It emotes instead of building genuine emotion, it contrives plot turns and character development and a whole lot of stuff happens without purpose, meaning or resolution. It's only fortunate that it does it in a fun enough manner and with an interesting enough setup to tolerate it all. Take it or leave it. 6/10.

Links:

• Additional Reviews: Far East Films, Hangul Celluloid, Kimchi Popcorn, KoreanCinema.org, Koreanfilm.org
• Available at YesAsia (Blu Ray) / (DVD)

Progress Report: Dollhouse, Season 1, Episodes 1-5

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

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It would be entirely accurate to say that I have an appreciation for the creative works of Joss Whedon. So it wasn't a far stretch for me to try Dollhouse when it first aired (well, timeshifted thanks to Hulu). Anyway, the first episode, "Ghost", was really really rough and, as a result, I put the whole series on the backburner only to see it cancelled in its second season. At least it got that much. Having purchased it later, I finally got around to starting it and I realized something. My expectations, based on my existing bias in favor of Whedon, were very high. Watching it again with low expectations, the first episode got marginally better and the rest of the first few episodes were actually quite tolerable.

"Ghost" introduces us to the world of Dollhouse, quite bluntly at first. The first few minutes of the show are the most awkward and strangely placed. And then came the ridiculous motorcycle race scene. I could see Fox's influence. Then we follow with our hero, Echo (fka Caroline) (Eliza Dushku) on a mission to help negotiate a ransom. It's all quite introductory and while it works, it seems much more like a "middle" episode rather than a proper beginning.

"The Target" is where Whedon's tendency toward camp manifests itself as Echo is sent on a romantic escapade with an outdoors enthusiast and then things go bad as Echo ends up being hunted.

In "Stage Fright", Echo is tasked to be a bodyguard/backup singer for a pop star who's life is threatened.

In "Gray Hour", Echo becomes Tappy, a well trained thief who works with a few other thieves to steal something for a client.

Finally, on "True Believer", Echo becomes Esther, a blind prophet who infiltrates a cult for the ATF without her knowing that her vision is being used.

The underlying plot deals with the actives, Echo, in particular, developing a residual memory of sorts and improvising in their assignments. Meanwhile, Agent Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett), an FBI agent, struggles to find some real evidence of the Dollhouse, which is considered a long lived urban legend. There is also some degree of intrigue going on even within the Dollhouse as Boyd Langdon (Harry Lennix), who bonds with Echo as her "handler" clashes with security chief Laurence Dominic (Reed Diamond) and Dollhouse head Adelle DeWitt (Olivia Williams). And then there's Alpha, a doll that went wrong, slaughtering many at the Dollhouse and escaping, only to continue to meddle with the Dollhouse, both directly, with proxies and via Agent Ballard.

The storytelling at this point is pretty cheesy, especially the main stories. I do think it might've worked better with a stronger first episode really establishing the world and its rules before getting a anthological, but I do appreciate that enough season arc story is sprinkled throughout keeping the episodes from feeling hollow, which the individual stories in the episode kind of are. But I do think that the intrigue that's being set up behind the scenes is pretty interesting and I'm hoping that builds while the individual "assignment" stories have more interesting impact, either for our characters and season arc or just in themselves.

Fans of Whedon's past works will find a number of familiar faces here, like Amy Acker and fans of Battlestar Galactica get their Helo as well as Mark Sheppard, so there is a conflux of science fiction friendly faces all over this series. I also noticed that Agent Ballard lives in an apartment that was previously used as the set for Cordelia Chase's apartment from Angel.

Links:

• Season index

Inbox: 내 깡패같은 애인

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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A funny thing happened while I was watching My Dear Desperado. I was reminded of another Korean movie I remembered watching a long time ago: Failan. While I'm not going so far as to say that My Dear Desperado is necessarily an echo of Failan, it shared a lot of traits with the older film, but still stakes its own identity and manages to be a quiet, yet entertaining pic in the end.

The similarity to Failan exists in the setup, where an innocent newcomer to Seoul falls in with a pathetic excuse for a gangster and changes his life. In this case, smart country-girl IT engineer Han Saejin (Jung Yoomi) moves out to Seoul only to find the company that hired her collapses shortly thereafter. Out of a job, she moves into a tiny basement studio while she starts searching for a new job. Her neighbor is the titular gangster, Oh Dongchul (veteran Park Joonghoon), a senior gangster who is so ineffectual at what he's supposed to do that he barely scrapes by on his seniority. With both characters mirroring each others' low condition, they end up forming a bond with each other and Dongchul slowly gets involved in Saejin's life, even as trouble stirs for his gang.

What I like about My Dear Desperado is that it manages to point out the state of employment and getting employment in Korea, especially for women, while putting together a tale about a good-for-nothing who discovers his secret heart of gold after encountering a young idealist. It's actually quite believable as his pathos as a gangster is what makes him, in part, such a poor example of one. Her story, especially her relationship with her autocratic father, however is a bit more troubled by a lack of believable setup--why would she, who ended up defying country-girl expectations and get excellent scholastic credentials, be the kind of woman who would end up being still so submissive to her father? Especially when she can be rather outspoken multiple times in the film. Still, the development for Dongchul progresses nicely and the film provides moments for chuckle-worthy comedy (especially early on) and the film largely dodges high melodrama (except in the end, as expected for a gangster film), but even at the end, it twists things around a little more.

I think I really appreciated the director's low-key, naturalistic style as it gives the film a great cinematic space to explore what's essentially a character driven story, that a high value production might have slicked up too much. And both actors really do a great job with their characters, with Park being an old hand at somewhat pathetic characters at least his turn in Chilsu and Mansu. Jung Yoomi, who I discovered in the drama "Que Sera Sera" has a bit of practice also playing idealistic youthful characters who get crushed and she brings her well practiced vivacity and angst to her Han Saejin well, giving her character more depth than I think the writing would allow and pulling of some wonderful character-based comedy.

I think My Dear Desperado's low-key nature is a strength of the film, but it kind of makes it a film one could overlook. It's not a must watch by any means, but at the same time, its charms are strong enough that those who watch it will be likely satisfied that they watched an entertaining film which has more than just the fluff of mainstream high-concept romantic comedies. Not a bad way to spend two hours. 7/10.

Links:

• Additional Reviews: Koreanfilm.org
• Available at YesAsia

Progress Report:Replay: 椿三十郎

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

Replay revisits what I've seen in the past.

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While his later counterpart, Eastwood's Man with No Name, would go on in search of A Few Dollars More, Toshiro Mifune's iconic masterless samurai with a capricious name, would get involved in clan politics with the movie named after him, Sanjuro, this time adopting the last name Tsubaki in a pinch. And, expectedly, we get another tale of plots and turns where our surly ronin takes on a cause not his own and outwits his adopted enemies.

In this adventure, Sanjuro happens to be napping as a small group of samurai decide that they must work together to purge the corrupting in their clan. Unfortunately, their course of action exposes them directly to the mastermind of the corruption and almost seal their fate, except that Sanjuro takes pity on them and saves their hides. Unfortunately, the circumstances get worse because now their uncle, who was actually trying to root out the corruption and exposed by the brash action of the young samurai, is taken hostage and under pressure to take the blame for the corruption or die. So our clever Sanjuro gets involved and plots amidst the counter-plots to help these reckless young samurai save their uncle and restore the right in their clan.

While Sanjuro began as an adaptation of a short story called "日日平安" ("Peaceful Days") by Shūgorō Yamamoto, it was turned to fit the popular character of Sanjuro. I'm not certain how much of the story was adapted, but the fit is rather perfect as the cunning samurai fits the machinations of the story well. Sanjuro's surly character clashes even more with the straight clansmen of Sanjuro than the gangsters of Yojimbo, resulting in some amusing comedy. The turns of the plots and counterplotting between Sanjuro and his young charges and the corrupt conspirators stays tight and interesting and perhaps even sharper than the machinations in Yojimbo. Another notable element is the greater presence of comedy in Sanjuro, which actually got me chuckling at times. All an all, everything you could possibly want from an entertainment oriented story.

Released just a year following Yojimbo, Kurosawa is clearly still at his long peak here. While we don't have any mind-exploding moments of purely visual bravura, the film looks tight and takes advantage of its closer city quarters for some rather pretty shots, like the ones taken with Sajuro's namesake, the camillias. On the other hand, the action here is just as tight on Sanjuro and, in fact, the final showdown at the end, obviously influenced by Western gunslingers, is so tense and thick you have to cut it with a knife (which, with samurai involved--it does happen). All the actors play their parts well and, I think, with a touch less caricature than on Yojimbo, which again befits the more civilized setting of the story.

This makes Sanjuro actually just as tight and enjoyable as its predecessor, which absorbing a touch more sophistication thanks to its less frontier-like setting. If you're looking for quality entertainment with actions (in the form of sword fights), twists and turns, comedy and one heck of a badass samurai, Sanjuro is most definitely a film you want to catch. Excellent. 9/10.

Links:

• Set index
• Available at Amazon (Blu Ray) / (DVD)

Inbox: 과속스캔들

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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Scandal Makers (aka Speed Scandal) ended up being a lot more fun than I expected. A popular hit in 2008, writer-director Kang Hyungchul's first feature takes a high concept and manages to pull together a comedy that not only manages some light mainstream friendly comedy, but even a little drama and all with charisma and style. While some of the characterization leaves a little to be desired, I think the end result still manages to be enjoyable enough that Scandal Makers could make a solid watch for greater audiences and still be plenty tolerable for critics.

Nam Hyunsoo (Cha Taehyun) is a minor radio celebrity with a very active love life, while keeping a low enough profile as to avoid a career ruining celebrity scandal. One of the most popular callers to his radio show is Hwang Jungnam (Park Boyoung), a young single mother in search of the father she had never met. As they prepare for an on air singing competition, he encourages Hwang to both find her father and enter their competition. To his surprise, that evening, while preparing for a romantic rendezvous, she appears at his doorstep, child Hwang Kidong (Hwang Sukhyun) in tow and declares that he is her long lost father. Barging into his previously meticulous life, they throw everything upside down.

There's a lot to enjoy about this story. Nam himself, due to his prolonged bachelorhood, is both single and lonely and so it's actually quite nice watching the two Hwangs change him. The comedic elements aren't really ever gut laughs, but are amusing smirk inducers and primarily rely on characters rather than gags, which is nice, especially for Korean comedy. And I like how the characters are drawn at first--each of the members of their family has their quirks and their interactions are often amusing. And the film manages to balance the fun, comedic tone, with enough drama to give the film weight. However, some of the weakness also comes in the drama--especially since Nam is often ridiculed for being such a minor celebrity that he's not even worth a scandal, it really cuts the stakes that he risks for his newfound family and makes him seem even more shallow and unlikeable when he makes a fuss. Also, I feel that although Hwang Jungnam has some amount of character conflict that keeps her character from being completely flat, I still think she's very underdeveloped, limiting how much you believe in her desire to be reunited with Nam.

One of the things that really do make these somewhat limited characters work, however, is the charm injected into them by the actors. While Cha isn't exactly a broadly talented actor, his turn here makes full use of his goofiness and he still delivers his more serious lines believably, even if his character's credibility is at stake. I also loved both the interaction of Cha and Park with little Hwang as both really have solid chemistry with the little kid. Their own interaction with each other, I felt, wasn't as strong. But, with good pacing and zippy, mainstream friendly direction, that goes a bit silly at times, the film keeps a relatively consistent tone and is perfectly accessible, without ever going so far as to be excessively cheesy. And, with a very musical family (Nam previously had a short-lived, but popular musical career and those genes got passed to his children), the soundtrack has plenty of fun musical moments as well, without becoming focused on the music.

In the end, I came out enjoying Scandal Makers and could see how it delighted audiences in Korea. I actually think that, thanks to its zippy comedic tone and excellent production values, as well as its character-focused comedy, it is a Korean comedy that will travel well to many audiences. That's not to say that it couldn't have used greater characterization overall or that it would have been better to make Nam's conflict more meaningful, but I think it's fun enough that I can recommend it as a fun mainstream film. It's not the kind that will linger nor does it aim for any kind of greatness, but it's like a nice frozen juice bar on a warm summer day. 7/10.

Links:

• Additional Reviews: Far East Films, Otherwhere
• Available at YesAsia

Progress Report: 用心棒

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

Replay revisits what I've seen in the past.

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Yojimbo is kind of one of the many children of director Akira Kurosawa's magnum opus, Seven Samurai. Taking the taciturn wandering, but helpful, masterless master swordsman and giving him a movie of his own. Inspired by a number of Westerns, Kurosawa's Yojimbo manages to replicate the visual grandeur and high entertainment value of those films, now re-set into feudal Japan. And if there's any doubt, the impact of Yojimbo is enormous, being remade into hit spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars, which would itself go on to become a legend.

The film centers around the titular yojimbo (bodyguard), Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune), who by chance wanders into a town which has been largely shut down by two rival gangs. He begins plotting to take down the gangs by pitting them against each other and making himself desirable to both gangs as their bodyguard/enforcer. But both his plans and the gangs' own machinations don't go as planned.

The story is tightly written and perfectly plotted, probably why the film got remade so many times. It's a clever conceit and Sanjuro is an iconic character, one that would continue to appear in other forms and visages in cinematic history, as well as in a companion film under his own name, also by Kurosawa. Granted, I don't know how much depth there is to the story overall, but I don't think that Yojimbo was ever made to make the kind of greater statements than its parent, Seven Samurai, was making, so that wasn't ever on my radar while watching Yojimbo.

It's the directing where Yojimbo flexes its cinematic muscle with some rather stunning visual setups. Just watch an earlier scene where Yojimbo sits on a belltower and observes the two gangs approach each other with drawn swords. That gorgeous image as the swords slowly appear on both sides will remain burned into my mind forever. And yet, even on top of his masterful use of framing and shot composition, Kurosawa pulls together some impressive performances from his actors. Granted, we're not looking at the subtlety needed for drama as many of the characters are rather stereotypical, but that Yojimbo and the colorful cast of secondary characters remain memorable even after the credits roll is a testament to strong character building, both in Kurosawa's direction and the many actor's enthusiastic interpretations of their characters. Even the music perfectly evokes the moods of the scenes.

And, in the end, all this results in a marvelously entertaining work of cinema. It's carefully constructed plot, memorable title character and supporting characters, tied with masterful direction by Akira Kurosawa ensure that viewers will have a rollicking good time. 9/10.

Links:

• Set index
• Available at Amazon (Blu Ray) / (DVD)

Inbox: 순정만화

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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After the credits rolled for Hello, Schoolgirl, I wanted to hate it, but really, it didn't do anything to earn my hate. There is a lighter-than-air quality to it, which might not be impressive, but manages to repel ill-will, reminding me a lot of 2007's My Love, which also shares a star with Schoolgirl, Lee Yeonhee. The film is so slight that the main criticism really comes from its slightness and perhaps the greenness of some of the actors.

Perhaps the most controversial element of the film is the unusual age gap between the paired leads, with a thirty year old man, the humble nice guy Yunwoo (Yoo Jitae) paired with eighteen year old high school senior Sooyoung (Lee Yeonhee) and twenty-two year old civil servant Sook (Kang In) paired with the twenty-nine year old heartbroken photographer Hakyoung (Chae Jungan). And within the movie, we basically watch as these pairs get closer (or not).

The age issue only seems to play for the Yunwoo/Sooyoung's relationship and acts as possibly the only real source of conflict in their relationship. That is to say, we mostly only see the fun courtship phase of their relationship with the headstrong firebrand of Sooyoung playing contrast to the laid-back nice guy of Yunwoo before the age issue shows up. The other pair is more frustrating because for a large part of the film we are stuck with their start-stop non-relationship, which I was never once convinced of. What's worse is that their conflict isn't even something that Sook can do anything about and Hakyoung magically gets over it without any meaningful push for character growth. Oh, and it's an enormous Korean dramatic cliché that I guessed a mile away, which further took the air out of ti. And for that, the film is slight. There's no tension and barely any meaningful character development. The little bit it does have going for it is its upbeat and fun nature, but without actual drama to anchor it, it kind of floats off and becomes meaningless.

The other part that keeps me from hating the film is its general production values. It looks wonderful and while the direction isn't especially notable, it's more than adequate for this kind-of-cute story, keeping things clean and spending plenty of lovely time on the courtship process. The soundtrack also manages to pulse with a little liveliness from the pop song selection the one or two times it shows up. As for the acting, veteran Yoo Jitae does fine with his nice guy act, but isn't given anything even remotely that would stretch his acting chops so it almost seems like he's there for a cash grab. Lee Yeonhee does manage a little spark, but her character doesn't really require much more than that. The other pair is much less convincing and just seem to be wandering through their characters, with Kang In seeming particularly green and lacking screen presence. Chae also doesn't manage to skate by on her pretty looks, but again, all these characters are about as deep as a sheet of paper, so I can't fully fault the actors.

There are a couple magical mushy romantic moments in the film that might manage to squee the hearts of still-idealistic and young romantic comedy seekers, so they might be able to find something to appreciate in this weightless film. And, because of its rather good natured approach, it's hard to hate, but at the same time, this is a confection. There's nothing of considerable substance to this film despite its "taboo relationships" premise. As such, I can't actually recommend that anyone go out and seek this film out. But as a way to pass a couple hours on a plane or other tedious non-activity, it works. Especially if you don't expect anything significant. 6/10.

Links:

• Feature website
• Additional Reviews: Koreanfilm.org, Otherwhere
• Available at YesAsia

Progress Report:Replay: 송환

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

Replay revisits moving pictures that I have seen in the past.

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At the time that I saw it, Repatriation instantly became one of my favorite documentaries of all time. My first review:

This was an amazing documentary. Maybe it was because of the subject matter and the open honesty with which director Kim Dong-won presents his work. He has no problem making himself an active participant in his work and almost turns it into a video diary, with his running monologue.

I really liked it a lot and the film spoke a lot to the problems of ideology, the power of faith and the depravity of society. I think the best part of this film was that director Kim was unafraid to show himself in it and get reflexive from time to time. In fact, it made it more honest, instead of pretending that the camera isn't there. I can see why he's a respected documentary filmmaker.

After this film, I got a chance to ask director Kim about a few of the film-making-related issues that I saw come up in his film. But I got so caught up in the film, to be honest, I forgot to ask whether or not it would be available on DVD! I left the theater with my heart and my mind racing. I felt inspired. I was reminded again why I wanted to make movies and that it was entirely both plausible and possible to do it. I feel so inspired and impassioned that it's like I'm in love. And I want to run across the world with a camera in my hand! So, it was a really powerful movie and it's really hard to find in the US so catch it if you see it. Recommended. 10/10.

My opinion of Repatriation hasn't changed much after a second viewing. I spent a chunk of time in college studying documentary film with an intent to become a documentary filmmaker and came out with something resembling an ideology of what it takes to make an honest documentary. Going through Kim's older documentaries in his box set, many of those rubbed me wrong, but with Repatriation, from 2003, he actually escapes every one of my criticisms.

Having been in the making for over a decade, Repatriation started as a chance encounter that Kim had when one of the priests he knows took him to meet some North Korean ex-spies that were released from prison and he brought his camera. Since then, director Kim had developed a relationship with one of them in particular and continued to document their lives post release from their prisons. Repatriation took shape as a documentary to advocation for the titular repatriation of these North Koreans back to North Korea, but in the process of its making became something quite more than that. With director Kim slipping into the narrative and serving as its voice, it marks his relationship with these men and also serves as a moving portrait of their lives.

The element that becomes most convincing about Repatriation is that Kim never once obfuscates or hides that this film is edited and shot from his perspective, serving as the film's narrator and appearing a few times in front of the camera as well. His approach tells of both his relationship with these men, who were the few who were released from prison, having survived torture to "convert" and remaining unconverted, but never idolizes them as Kim remains critical of their own ideologically backed blindness. And never once in its almost two and a half hour running time, did I ever feel like it was getting too long. Kim manages to capture a very intimate human side of these men even as he laments over narration how they often were unable to open up to him because of his camera.

Kim clearly benefits from his many years of documentary filmmaking in Repatriation as over the years, both the technology used to record video improves, but also his capacity as an interviewer strengthens over the years and he captures some almost stunningly intimate moments with many of these men. Like many documentaries, his is a mix of personally captured footage, archival footage, b-footage, images, text and audio recordings over images. I like his guts to also have filmed his own arrest by the Korean government for allegedly breaching the National Security Act (simply for his association with these North Korean ex-spies and his progressive filmmaking). The musical choices are still a touch on the low-production value side, but the sound field is otherwise interesting as Kim captures a wide berth of diegetic sound and music and his own narration is open and intimate.

Repatriation retains all of the power that it held when I first saw it back in the winter of 2004. It is both a personal story from the documentarian, avoiding issues of authenticity of voice, but at the same time an intimate portrait of these complex men and their relationship both with people (including Kim) as well as their society. At the same time, it manages to make some larger statements about problems in inter-Korean relations without resorting to political propaganda or throwing blame around. For that, Repatriation keeps its spot in my heart. A truly fantastic documentary worth seeing all two and a half hours of. 10/10.

Links:

• Set index
• Additional Reviews: Koreanfilm.org

Inbox: District 9

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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I found District 9 to be a breath of fresh air during a time when science fiction films tended to be tepid cash-ins that disappoint even their fanboy bases. And while District 9 wasn't free of flaws, I found that the greater vision of the film and its tense and exhilarating execution as well as its flawed protagonist was enough to keep the whole experience quite enjoyable.

Consequently, when I saw the Blu Ray available at a good price, I jumped on it. Certainly one of the better films of 2009 and among the best science fiction films of the last few years.

Progress Report: 끝나지 않은 전쟁

Progress Report provides ongoing impressions of serials or sets I view them.

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Documentary director Kim Dongwon's most recent documentary, 끝나지 않은 전쟁, or 63 Years On, is yet a second documentary looking at a potent political and social issue, this time the cause of "comfort women", who are the victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. This is a rather powerful effort showing an assured hand by Kim whose documentary style has matured over his filmography and sheds light on a historically relevant issue while providing a considerable spark of discussion for related issues.

Provided in both Korean language and English language versions, 63 Years On tells the story of five women who were systematically captured, detained and raped by the Japanese military in Korea, China, Indonesia, and the Phillipines. Kim sensitively gives the women the opportunity to tell their stories at their homes, but also follows them as they revisit the "comfort stations" set up by the military. The reactions of these women who bravely tell their stories is both heartbreaking and outrage provoking. In addition to their stories, the film elaborates on the larger situation regarding the global campaign by these former sex slaves to get a satisfactory official apology from Japan in addition to greater efforts by activists and historians (including interviews with academics in China, Japan, Korea and the US) to get exposure for this issue and documenting efforts by conservatives in Japan to erase these and other war crimes from their history books.

This documentary also features a narrator, like many of Kim's previous documentaries, but there is a twist on the narrator that makes it more acceptable to me and helped me to understand why I had such trouble with the narrator in his documentaries before. This narrator speaks in third person about what we're seeing on screen, making it more easy to discern that we're listening to a written narrator whereas his previous films have the narration in first person, recounting the events in the film, which, I can understand the rhetoric of it, but it felt dubious. With third person narration, it feels more informative and it's more clear that it's the perspective of the documentary we're observing, rather than the documentary "taking" the voice of the subject.

I like that the documentary doesn't work to demonize Japan on the whole like how other more vitriolic sources might have, rather providing perspectives of those in Japan who actually want to fight for the truth too and the documentary ends on a visit of Japanese civilians to the Museum of Sexual Slavery in Korea where they leave apologies, words of hope and encouragement as well as vows to fight injustice for these aggrieved women. Kim, as I've seen in his other films, has become great at producing sensitive, but revealing interviews and that's no different here. Granted, these women, by this point, have all been noted for giving interviews about their experiences, but that they still never come across as jaded or insincere is impressive and convincing.

This might be Kim's finest looking film to date and while the version I saw was not in high definition, it was clearly shot in high definition video and the image really benefits from that. Kim's editing is pretty tight and the hour long film never really feels bloated at any point, although it doesn't feel lean either. There's an ample mix of documentary footage, archival footage, photographs including some documented evidence of the military's complicity in the building and operating of these "comfort houses" and the interviews with the various historians is illuminating and reasonable. I would say that the English-language narrator is a bit stiff, but fortunately her reserve does keep 63 Years On feeling balanced and reasonable.

63 Years On, meshes well with a handful of other documentaries and journalism regarding comfort women, in providing a significant, sensitive and well told account of the greater issue. It never feels like a political attack film or propaganda as its greatest interest is keeping with the perspective of the interviewed women and amplifying their voice. As such, I can handily recommend this accessible documentary to anyone who would even be remotely interested in the issue. 9/10.

Links:

• Set index