Tetsuya Nakashima's Confessions opens with Yuko Moriguchi, a middle-school teacher, giving a lecture to her class. Yuko has recently been dealing with the death of her four-year-old daughter, but has recently returned to her classroom. Yuko is a good intentioned teacher who believes in her students but this isn't the typical Yuko, as she believes two of her students are responsible for her daughter's murder. Fully intent on getting revenge on these two teengers who she believes are responsible, Yuko begins an intricate game of psychological warfare, intent on destroying these two children the same way the did her. Confessions is one of the most brutal revenge films to come out of Japanese cinema, walking a fine line between sentimentality and brutal revenge. Told in a truly unique way, Confessions is a narrative the jumps from between various perspectives, spending time with Yuko, and both the students she believes are responsible. Nakashima injects confessions with a heavy dose of style, with heavy use of jump cuts, kinetic editing, and slow motion, that effectively create a unique, visceral experience. Visually the film is stunning, with Nakshima using ominious gray skies and dimly lit environments that emulate the dark nature of this film. A brutal experience, Confessions is a film full of great tension, that slowly reveals how people can only be pushed so far before they reach their breaking point. This is a film that captures how psychological warfare can be fare more destructive than actual violence, with Yuko's sorrow turning her into a sociopathic character.
0 Comments
Dr. Robert Verne, an inner-city physician and humanitarian, has dedicated his life to helping others. He is approached by the EPA to mediate a dispute between Native American tribes and a corporate paper mill in an isolated stretch of Maine. Accompanied by his wife Maggie, who is pregnant unbeknownst to him, they journey deep into the woods where they meet with both a representative of the mill, Mr. Isley, and John Hawks, the leader of the native american tribe. While in the midst of his negotiations, Robert discovers that the paper mill is poisoning the local water supply with mercury, causing illness and mutations. John Frankenheimer's Prophecy is a relic of the time period, a half-creature feature, half social commentary which works far better as the former than the later. This is a very strange, very uneven film, with over half of its running time being completely drenched in important social issues, beating the viewer over the head with its message about evil money hungry corporations and the importance of being a good humanitarian. It isn't until about the 70 minute mark that we are introduced to the creature-feature aspect of the film, a giant, mutated bear. Frankenheimer really does a good job with the horror aspect of the story, giving the film a great amount of tension and overall schlock. He uses juxtaposition to great effect, trying his best to make this film a relevant experience, with a few memorable aesthetic decisions, particularly the scene on the foggy lake towards the end of the film. Unfortunately, the film's biggest problem is that it takes itself far too seriously for far too long, spending too much energy on its message instead of simply supplying a self-aware, schlocky good time. Simo, a 14 year old boy, lives in a cramped apartment located deep in the concrete jungle of Helsinki, Finland. Along with his big brother IIkka, they share an apartment with their helpless, broken down mother, with their father no where to found. With IIkka starting a prison sentence the next day, Simo is convinced by his mother to join his older brother for his last night of freedom on the town. Pirjo Honkasalo's Concrete Night is very bleak, providing a dream-like journey into the darker side of humanity. The film takes place in a single night, primarily following the two brothers as they encounter various characters and situations. Simo is a vulnerable young boy, and when his brother is forced to leave his side, due to unfinished business, Simo's perceptions of the world come to fruition - it's unbearable. Things culminate during an encounter with a photographer, whose intentions are much darker than he implies. This leads Simo into a blind rage, a moment that changes Simo's viewpoint on himself forever. Concrete Night is a film that argues the world is essentially made up of love and fear, with all other emotions being derived by these extremely powerful forces. Simo is a young boy who begins to realize that he falls more on the later side, a slave to his own fears and distractions, which ultimately sends him down a path of no return. While Concrete Jungle is a fascinating experience, the film left me more detached than it should, as I never found myself as emotionally invested as one would expect. Even keeping that in mind, I still found Concrete Night to be a profound exploration of humanity and the fragility of youth. This is a film full of lots of beautiful ideas and observations about humanity as a whole, but what really sticks out is Simo's bleak self-discovery. There is little doubt that the film's strong suit though is its aesthetic. Using crisp, digital black and white cinematography, Concrete Night delivers a dream-like journey into the psyche of a fragile mind, with beautiful imagery that evokes an emotionally response from the viewer. Pirjo Honkasalo's Concrete Night is a film that slowly consumes the viewer, encapsulating them in this bleak journey into the plight of young Simo. Taking place years after the Shibuya riots, which took its toll on the streets of Tokyo, the various Tribes aka Gangs of Tokyo, find themselves enjoying a relatively peaceful existence. That is until a power-crazed Yakuza, Buppa, and his trusty right hand man, Mera, form a diabolical plan to destroy the various Tokyo Tribe's once and for all. Sion Sono's Tokyo Tribe is a one of a kind film, a hip hop fueled musical that draws inpiration from a wide array of films including West Side Story, Clockwork, Orange, and Escape from LA, among others. As one would expect from a Sion Sono film, Tokyo Tribe is a highly stylized film, featuing an incredibly amount of energy from start to finish. Featuring beautiful production design, Tokyo Tribe creates this gritty yet colorful world, giving a unique vision of Japan that is not quite like anything you've ever seen before. With nearly half of the dialogue being delivered by authentic hip hop artists, Tokyo Tribe is a great music experience by its own right but the way the film blends these energizing musical numbers with highly provocative action sequences and absurdist comedy is what makes it truly special. Tokyo Tribe excels in nearly every facet it tackles, feautring extremely well-crafted action scenes, outlandish comedy, and even a subtle commentary on masculinity that somehow works no matter the absurdity of the narrative. In a time where too many films are called unique, Sono's Tokyo Tribe is truly one of the most unique films of the year, delivering a truly unforgettable experience. Taking place nearly 70 years after a masked murderer terrorized the small Texas town of Texarkana, a new string of homicides by a similarly masked man, sends the town into a panic. Whether it's the same man or a copycat isn't particularly clear to the authorities but when Jami, a high schooler with her own personal demons, is attacked and left alive, she may just may provide the key to solving the mystery behind this murderer. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a clever update of the classic horror film that is a somewhat meta experience. This isn't a remake at all but a film that uses its predecessor as a tool to craft it's own narrative. The Town That Dreaded Sundown seperates itself from the original by acknowledging its existence, baking it into the story in a way that not only provides homage but also makes this version less derivative in the process. This is a horror film that stands out because of just how well crafted it is, using kinetic editing, impressionistic lighting, and detailed camera work to create a tense and atmospheric experience. As most horror films go, I never felt very emotionally invested in Jami's story, but the film does a great job at not just being a slasher flick but alao capturimg the psychological state of fear this killer creates in Jami and the town as a whole. The Town That Dreaded Sundown isn't an exceptional horror film but it is certainly a well crafted one, making it absolutely worth seeing for any fans of the original or slasher genre in general. On the day of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne returns to his house to find an empty home. With what appears to be a crime scene, Nick reports that his beautiful wife, Amy, has gone missing. With unparralel scrutiny, Nick finds himself under constant pressure from not only the police but the media, who slowly begin to suspect that he may be the man responsible for his wife's disappearance. David Fincher's Gone Girl is a expertly crafted thriller, that slowly reveals itself as a portrait of a deeply fractured marriage. Gone Girl is a fascinating film that is bound to raise discussions among its viewers, with people's own biases and perceptions playing into how they will ultimately judge its characters. Gone Girl is a film where even the slightest details about its two main characters, Amy and Nick, are the difference in how the viewer will ultimately judge them. While Nick nor Amy would be characterised as "good people", Gone Girl creates an intimate portrait of both these characters, capturing how their past childhood and present marital problems have shaped the type of person they have become. Amy is a complete sociopath, but the film does a fantastic job of making her a somewhat sentimental character, showing her publicity-whore parents using her childhood as a way to sell books. She is a woman who gave up her life in New York for Nick, and while what she does is not even close to justified, Gone Girl paints a convincing portrait of how she became so mentally unstable. On the otherhand is Nick an archetype of a primal state of man - a cheating, weak individual who can't control his carnal desires. Fincher's Gone Girl is thematically rich, capturing not only the male and female psyches but more importantly in how it exposes the power of perception and image. Both Nick and Amy are slaves to how others percieve them, with Fincher using the media as a way of capturing how they are truly slaves to how they are perceived. While not nearly as forefront, the critique of capitalism and how one's success is derived by money is a subtle undercurrent running throughout the narrative, working in conjecture with the more pressing theme of perception. As serious and intense of an experience that Gone Girl can be at times, the film works mainly because Fincher never forgets the type of film is making. This is a sleazy, pulpy story and Fincher embraces it with open arms, having fun with its more "soap opera' type tiwsts and turns while delivering a truly engaging, timely, and powerful film that is a lot of fun. Dom Hemingway is a crude, volatile safe-cracker who has just been released from prison after serving twelve years. On his release, he reunites with his old partner in crime, Dickie, intent on collecting the fortune he is owed for keeping his mouth shut and protecting Mr. Fontaine, one of the most powerful criminals in all of Europe. After a car accident almost takes Dom's life, he attempts to re-connect with his estranged daughter, Evelyn, but his old criminal lifestyle won't seem to leave him alone. Richard Shepard's Dom Hemingway is a stylish, crude and very funny film that succeeds primarily because of Judd Law's tour-de-force performance. Equal parts funny and terrifying, Jude Law completely transforms into this volatile character, giving a performance that is really like nothing he has ever done before. What I found so interesting about Law's performance is how masterfully he portrays a man wrestling with himself constantly, attempting to hold in his demons from exploding out of his body, often violently. Even towards the end of the film, as he tries to reconnect with his daughter, Dom completely struggles to express his regret and guilt for being a terribly father. There is no doubt that Dom Hemingway works better as an obnoxious comedy, wearing its crudeness as a badge of honor, but when the film does become more intimate it offers brief moments of poignancy. While Dom Hemingway is a little uneven, sometimes struggling to balance its comedy and drama elements, the film succeeds at transforming this vulgar, volatile man into sympathetic character. Born in 1900, on the fourth of July, John Sims is encouraged by his father from an early age that he is destined for big things. John's father passes away at an early age but John never forgets his father's words, fully believing he will be "a man of importance". Fast-forward 27 years, Sims lives in New York but things haven't exactly gone to plan. He is a underpaid clerk in a huge New York skyscraper, who still hasn't lost his optimism. On a blind date, John meets Mary, and they quickly fall in love, getting married and raising two children in their tiny New York apartment. While most films elevate their protagonist in an effort to make him/her someone special, King Vidor's The Crowd is an outstanding achievement in that it doesn't sugarcoat life, providing an earnest and realistic portrait of human struggle, full of happiness, sadness, tragedy, and hope. The Crowd captures the ups and downs of life like few films ever could, delivering a profound and emotionally resonant experience. John Sims is a highly relate-able character, a man who desperately wants to be something in his life, unable to realize how truly thankful he should be for what he does have. Sims never feels accomplished in his professional life, leading to trouble in his family life, unable to accept that he is not special. The Crowd is a film arguing that no one is special in the grand scheme of things, capturing how the personal relationships and love you share with family is what makes you feel special. From a artistic standpoint, The Crowd is full of amazing sequences, with the scene where Sims first arrives in New York standing out. Victor shoots this sequence from extremely low points of view, capturing the daunting skyscrapers that tower over our main protagonist, illustrating how insignificant he truly is in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps the final sequence of the The Crowd sums up the film perfectly, with Sims and his wife in a theater, enjoying ones company. The camera slowly pulls back, further and further, reminding the viewer that he is just another face in the crowd. Hong Khaou's Lilting tells the story of a Cambodian-Chinese mother, Junn, who was recently placed in a elderly community by her son, Kai, in London. Kai lives with Richard, who he is madly in love with, though he never had the courage to come out to his mother. When Kai dies in a tragic accident, Junn's world is flipped upside down, sending her into mourning. Soon after, Junn has an unexpected visitor in Richard, who feels responsible for making sure Kai's mother is taken care of. Unaware of her son's sexuality, Junn blames Richard for taking her son away from her, wanting nothing to do with her son's "friend". With no common language between them, Richard hires a translator to help communicate, hoping they can both find solace in each other over the memory of a man they both loved. Hong Khaou's Lilting is a pensive study of love and loss, looking at how two characters from very different cultural backgrounds struggle to connect. Both these central characters have their own unique pain, stemming from Kai's death. Kai could never grow the courage to come out to his mother which now leaves Richard struggling to put into words how much they cared for each other. He wants Junn to understand, but struggles with the idea of revealing Kai's sexuality to his mother, something Kai himself was never able to do. Junn on the otherhand feels abandoned by her son, questioning her own son's love for her. Lilting takes these two characters from extremely different cultures and shows their ever-evolving relationship, capturing the clashes and eventual harmony that forms around these two people. Lilting is a film that understands that most angst and aggression stems from emotional pain, showing how Junn's anger and jealousy towards Richard stems from her fear of aging and being forgotten by her son. It's a touching film about the most unlikely connections and how tragedy has a way of bringing people together. |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|