"Nabi" means butterfly in Korean. The film is definitely very Korean with its pathos and pervasive sense of doom and gloom.
It is also a very experimental film shot in DV giving it a rather rough look.
The look suits the film fine as it is a curious sci-fi about the near future, where an unnamed Korean city has acid rains falling constantly. Among this backdrop, tourists from the world flock over to get infected with the Millenium virus. This virus erases people's painful memories.
Anna (Kim Ho-Jung) is a German Korean who had a painful miscarriage and wants to earase this memory and comes to the city seeking the disease. The tour guide Yuki (Kang Hye-Jeong) is pregnant and also has lots of pains in her life. The third character is the taxi driver K (Jang Hyeong-Seong) who is in search of his birth parents throughout the city. This joins the three characters together and they begin to bond and discover some happiness among all the dreariness going on.
Director Moon Seung-Wook studied in Poland with Polish auteurs and this film evidently shows much of Polish Cinema's influences. However, its pathos, doom and gloom are definitely Korean. Does Anna get to catch the disease and take the easy way out or does she learn her lesson and choses to face life? The anwer is not as easy as it seems as there is some plot twist near the end.
It is exciting to see a rather original film. It is not a masterpiece but this film does make one think about the mysteries of humanity.
Not Rated with some nudity and language
Aspect Ratio 1.85
Korean
Monday, November 19, 2007
"Serenity" Review (2005)
I must admit that I have never watched the "Firefly" television series. Therefore I went into this film not knowing anything about its universe other than it looked like an interesting science fiction film. To be fair, "Serenity" is a decent sci-fi with some interesting ideas and pretty well made, considering that it was not a big budget production. "Serenity" reminded me of the original "Planet of the Apes" and Issac Asimov's Foundation novels.
On the other hand, "Serenity" does not really stand out in the realm of sci-fi as it has elements of "Start Wars", "Star Trek" and "Dune" among others. Joss Whedon has made a solid entertainment. Nothing truly memorable though.
The plot deals with a group of futuristic swashbucklers taking a couple of special people who has secrets the bad guys want as well. Shades of "The Hidden Fortress" and Han Solo abound.
Rated PG-13 for some violence
Aspect Ratio 2.35
On the other hand, "Serenity" does not really stand out in the realm of sci-fi as it has elements of "Start Wars", "Star Trek" and "Dune" among others. Joss Whedon has made a solid entertainment. Nothing truly memorable though.
The plot deals with a group of futuristic swashbucklers taking a couple of special people who has secrets the bad guys want as well. Shades of "The Hidden Fortress" and Han Solo abound.
Rated PG-13 for some violence
Aspect Ratio 2.35
"Vital" Review (2004)
Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo, Gemini) is an exciting filmmaker. All of his films, good or bad, are interesting and fascinating.
"Vital" is no exception, and it is a great one. Much more than I expected from a film about medical autopsy on corpses.
Tadanobu Asano stars as a medical student who loses his memory after a fatal accident where his girlfriend was killed.
On the positive side, he becomes a better student and seems to be really interested in being a doctor whereas he was not so enthusiastic about his future profession before. In class, he meets an oddly bright girl (Kiki) who becomes obssessed with Asano. However, Asano is much more fascinated with a female corpse. This leads to some pretty grisly revealations about the two main characters plus another person from Asano's past....
"Vital" has a morbid subject matter. It is not really a horror film but a rather creepy drama. The film is somewhat downbeat but not overtly so like David Cronenberg's "Dead Ringers" for example. In fact, the film makes a statement about how we should move on from grief and loss. It also urges that people should appreciate life more and enjoy it to the fullest. I know that uplifting does not sound like something Tsukamoto would normally endorse but once you see the film, you will know it is him at the helm. Uplifting or not, "Vital" is a strangely emotional one. Asano gives a rather expressionless performance, yet you could see his eyes coming alive as the film progresses. Definitely highly recommended.
Rated R for disturbing images and aberrant sexual behaviors
Aspect Ratio 1.85
Japanese
"Vital" is no exception, and it is a great one. Much more than I expected from a film about medical autopsy on corpses.
Tadanobu Asano stars as a medical student who loses his memory after a fatal accident where his girlfriend was killed.
On the positive side, he becomes a better student and seems to be really interested in being a doctor whereas he was not so enthusiastic about his future profession before. In class, he meets an oddly bright girl (Kiki) who becomes obssessed with Asano. However, Asano is much more fascinated with a female corpse. This leads to some pretty grisly revealations about the two main characters plus another person from Asano's past....
"Vital" has a morbid subject matter. It is not really a horror film but a rather creepy drama. The film is somewhat downbeat but not overtly so like David Cronenberg's "Dead Ringers" for example. In fact, the film makes a statement about how we should move on from grief and loss. It also urges that people should appreciate life more and enjoy it to the fullest. I know that uplifting does not sound like something Tsukamoto would normally endorse but once you see the film, you will know it is him at the helm. Uplifting or not, "Vital" is a strangely emotional one. Asano gives a rather expressionless performance, yet you could see his eyes coming alive as the film progresses. Definitely highly recommended.
Rated R for disturbing images and aberrant sexual behaviors
Aspect Ratio 1.85
Japanese
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