As Tears Go By

Wong Kar-wai's debut film, As Tears Go By (1988), is more traditional than the film's later films. Essentially, it is the story of a gangster who has to deal with his attractive cousin and troublesome younger brother. The screenplay's poor quality is revealed from the get-go: the rushed opening leaves the viewer hugely disappointed. The characters are weak even by the genre's standards (action) and there is hardly anything tangible in the content so the film ends up being rather frustrating due to the bad writing.

Even Wong's form is very messy in the debut: the cinematography and editing work only occassionally. Sometimes his trademarks (like slow-motion) are used in a way too comical way so that you can't take the film seriously. The worst part about the form has to be the awful soundtrack that screams "80's!" in the viewer's face - in the most terrible possible way.

As Tears Go By is nearly a disaster - you wouldn't believe this to be a Wong film even though it bears some of his trademarks.

Score: 3 out of 10

Barry Lyndon

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Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975) is a three-hour film divided into two parts which in turn depict the title character's rise to wealth and his eventual fall. Even though Kubrick intentionally remains distant from the story's emotional side he somehow keeps the Baroque elegance intact. One could say that is the "most Baroque" film ever made, judging by the set and costume design. The film's reliance on a narrator gives the film a sarcastic tone - especially when you take into consideration that the narrator might not reliable.

The form is astonishing. Nearly every review already mentions it, but I have to say it again: nearly all of the film's shots look like great impressionistic paintings. The gorgeous scenery, delicate compositions and the calm and hypnotizing camera movement create a unique cinematic experience. Kubrick's use of music is flawless yet again - the classical pieces fit perfectly into the film's mood.

Barry Lyndon is a masterpiece in all aspects - one of Kubrick's best films.

Score: 10 out of 10

Voyage in Time

Andrei Tarkovsky's and Tonino Guerra's documentary, Voyage in Time (1983), takes a look at Tarkovsky's journey in Italy when he prepares to film his second last film, Nostalgia (1983). The documentary is shot and edited in a way that is similar to Tarkovsky's films: long takes, a calm pace and lovely imagery. Sometimes the camera wanders elsewhere while Tarkovsky and Guerra continue their discussion. The film's fragmented yet fascinating take on Tarkovsky's journey makes this documentary a worthwhile production for the director's fans. His speeches about cinema and his influences, his exploration of possible shooting locations and his interest in Guerra's poetry make this film surprisingly profound - even when it is considered that the subject is Tarkovsky.

Score: 10 out of 10

Mouchette

Robert Bresson's Mouchette (1967) is a heartbreaking story of a teenaged girl named Mouchette. Her mother is dying, her father does not care about her, she has no friends at school and she ends up being mentally and physically abused by others. Bresson somehow manages to find beauty in this tragic story - and creates one of the most subtly poignant films to date.

Bresson's form in Mouchette is similar to Balthazar. There is simply nothing to add to what I said about it in the earlier review. The minimalism works SO well.

Rewatching Mouchette and Balthazar made me sure of one thing: I need to see more of Bresson's films because he might be on his way to become one of my favorite film makers of all time. His minimalism is so refined in these two films that I'm left quite speechless.

Score: 10 out of 10

Balthazar

Robert Bresson's Balthazar (1966) is a film about a donkey and the people around him. The multiple narratives of the different owners are constantly intertwined and the final result is very dense and astonishing. Through these storylines Bresson gives us a strong depiction of what he considers to be the current human condition (a term I had to use even though it is quite pretentious).

Bresson's minimalism is unforgettable for me. The extremely restrained acting, simplistic editing, gorgeous photography and the elliptical narrative provide the viewers with a weird feeling: even though we witness horrible things, we are filled with lingering sadness instead of anger. The film isn't depressing, however, but it is haunting.

Balthazar is a film that I have to watch again once in a while. It is hard to digest and it took me a while to understand it, but in the end it is a really rewarding cinematic experience.

Score: 10 out of 10

Brazil

Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985) is one of the most famous cinematic utopias - and for a good reason. Sam Lowry is a bureaucrat in a perversely bureaucratic society. His life goes out of control when he tries to find the girl of his dreams while his mother tries to push him to a "better" job. Even though the film begins with a bland "chasing the girl" conflict it turns gradually into a brilliantly nightmarish story which digs deep into the main character's mind. Although the climax justifies the relatively mild first half of the film, I wouldn't consider the screenplay perfect.

Gilliam's form is often forgotten because his sets and costumes are so bizarre and fabulous. However, his cinematography is nearly as intense and fascinating with compositions and camera movement that make the film even more nightmarish, which is a feat in itself. The use of the song called 'Brazil' is almost magnificent - it's not only escapism for the characters, but also a damn good way to create a great atmosphere for the film.

Brazil continues the peculiar traditions of the directors while being a very good film at the same time.

Score: 9 out of 10

All About Lily Chou-Chou

If you have read my blog ever since I began, you'll surely remember my incoherent and enthusiastic review of Shunji Iwai's All About Lily Chou-Chou back in November. Even though I've spent probably more than 10 hours watching clips of this film afterwards, I haven't completely rewatched it until now. This time I intend to create a more sensible and readable review because the film is one of my favorites of all time.

Essentially the film is about a teenaged boy's life changing as he enters high school. The pressure, dreams, hopes and fears of adolescence are portrayed tangibly. The boy's alienation and implied coming-of-age are thoroughly explored as he is ripped apart from what he cares about. What is even "worse" for him is that he is like Neon Genesis Evangelion's Shinji - an extremely introverted and helpless kid facing problems too huge for him to grasp.

The boy attempts to find solace in the music of a Björk-like artist by discussing about his passion for her music on the Internet. That way the film also observes delusional fans and Internet behaviour. It is surprising how the film isn't judgmental about it even though it is implied to be dubious.

The growing distance between teenagers and adults is obvious throughout the film. The teachers remain distant in an exaggerated school world where violence and even prostitution exist. The boy's home is even more distant to him: in a single shot it is established that his mother has remarried to a weird guy with another problematic kid. His family doesn't really offer him shelter from anything - even his relationship with his mother is awfully strained.

Iwai's narrative is very elliptical and fragmented. It jumps back and forth in time, but it never does that without a proper transition. The signals for transition are mostly subtle - and that's why the film requires patience from the viewer. The unconventional narrative strikes deep into how it feels like to be an emotionally stressed teenager today.

Iwai's form is intriguing yet a bit challenging. Mostly handheld camerawork and internet messages flashing on the screen might be a bit hard to get used to - luckily the opening of the film makes the viewer ready for the rest of the film. Even though the film was shot with digital cameras, it is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen - the compositions and the colors are gorgeous. The haunting musical score featuring songs of a fictional musician is haunting: especially Salyu's vocals linger on one's mind for hours after the credits.

All About Lily Chou-Chou is a film I completely and utterly love because it is a complex portrayal of modern youth that hits me harder than most of other films put together.

Score: 10 out of 10

Come and See

In March 2009, I watched Elem Klimov's Come and See (1985) for the first time. I was stunned by its unflinching and intense depiction of war. Almost a year afterwards, I decided to watch the film again to see if it really was as great as I thought back then. Klimov's film tells about an innocent Russian boy who has to deal with terrible atrocities as Nazis wreak havoc near his hometown.

The screenplay is more or less a mess, no matter how I look at it. Its anti-war message is presented in an over-the-top, heavy-handed way - and never goes below the superficial level. The film alienates the viewer on many occasions (the film is all about being ridiculously dark - there is even no comparison to a better time to make the characters closer to the audience), which is only terrible because it relies heavily on the viewer's reaction. That way the film resorts to using only shock value as a means of exploring the themes. That's a sign of weak writing. However, the movie does portray war in extremely gruesome detail - something it does somewhat well. Sadly, that hardly makes the content satisfying.

The film's form is even more alienating: complex long takes, ridiculously melodramatic musical score, baffling sound mixing and the calm pace keep the viewer at bay. As a distant, cold observation on war the film utterly fails. Despite that, I can still applaud its ways to alienate the viewer - especially the noisy sound mixing is good at that. However, your ears will hurt by the end of the film because all the sound effects are used in really peculiar ways. You'll have to hear it for yourself.

Shamefully, the film is too enraged about its subject so that the movie is not capable of providing a sensible and complex take on anything.

Score: 5 out of 10

The Host

Joon-ho Bong's The Host (2006) continues the tradition of his earlier film, Memories of Murder, of turning the genre upside down - this time he does it to the monster film genre. And for better or worse, he blends different genres in a wilder way than in his other films. After an American military base pours toxic chemicals into the Han River, a dangerous mutated monster appears and begins to kill people. After its first appearance, it captures Hyun-seo, a schoolgirl whose dysfunctional family does everything to get her back alive.

Even by Bong's standards, The Host is very satirical. It mostly pokes fun at the genre and the film itself. The characters are wonderful and the way they change towards the end is fascinating - even though most of the development comes through irony rather than drama. The film keeps turning your expectations upside down all the time - even the ending feels weird because at first it seems way too dramatic and dark when compared to the rest of the film. But then I realised how it continued the film's subversive narrative perfectly. I figured out that it was more ironic than dramatic in the end - because it didn't release all of the tension the film had gathered earlier. Even though Bong handles the satire better this time, the film becomes too baffling for its own sake - the chaotic narrative tries to take a lot of paths at the same time, but ultimately it seems to be more lost than focused.

If there is something you can expect to succeed in a Bong film, it's the form. His form is similar to his other films: intensive and intriguing. Especially the long take of the monster's first appearance is a true masterpiece. The Host also features some of the best CGI I've seen in a long, long time. I don't know if it's more up to the design of the creature's movement or the CGI itself, but it was VERY effective.

The Host is very much like Bong's other films: it had the potential to become a masterpiece, but something went a bit wrong in the screenplay. I hope he can handle his chaotic screenplays one day so that he could deliver a masterpiece - because he seems to be very capable of executing one.

Score: 8 out of 10

Memories of Murder

Before I watched Joon-ho Bong's Memories of Murder (2003), I had heard a lot of good things about the film. There was even a guy who included it in his five favorite films of all time. So naturally, my expectations were high for the film even though I doubted a little whether the film could be so good.

Memories of Murder tells about three detectives working on a serial murder case in a small Korean town. The film subverts the viewers' expectations all the time by breaking the conventions of the genre. While it uses a lot of the cliched tropes (such as false arrests, torturing innocent people), the path these tropes take the story is vastly different from a conventional detective story.

Instead of focusing on the mystery completely, the film is more about the main characters. Their gradual yet complex character development is the driving force of the whole film. I read somewhere that there is a strong political subtext behind two of the detectives, but I'm not sure if it was only someone reading too much into the film or not. However, the film does have social themes along with the more personal ones so the interpretation of the two characters is probably not completely pointless.

The most confusing thing about Memories of Murder is its balance between comedy and drama. Bong is better when he focuses more on being satirical, but in Memories of Murder he leans more towards being serious and dramatic. And that's why the bits of hilarious comedy don't really fit into the film. The dramatic moments are also handled in a weird way because the film is emotionally quite confusing - and I don't see why this film should be so.

Formally Bong delivers again. His cinematography is simply wonderful to look at: the lighting and colors represent the psychological state of the characters (becomes darker and darker as the film goes on); the compositions are beautiful; the camera drives are impressive yet again in the long takes. Bong can create intensity to any scene with simple yet excellent camera movement.

Memories of Murder is a film that had the potential to become a masterpiece, but some of its brilliance was lost already in the writing process. However, the final result is an entertaining and thought-provoking film that I would recommend for anyone.

Score: 8 out of 10

Barking Dogs Never Bite

Joon-ho Bong's film debut, Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), is a black comedy about an unemployed college lecturer who decides to kill his neighbour's annoying dog. There's a bunch of colorful side characters that make the film so complicated and hilarious - such as the main character's strong-minded and pregnant wife. Even though Bong tries to balance the drama and the comedy, the film ends up being more comic than serious. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing because the film is at its best when it is funny. I nearly forgot how serious the film was with its social concerns and animal cruelty when I began to laugh uncontrollably during other scenes.

Even though the content is uneven, Bong's form is already quite refined in his debut. The cinematography switches between static and kinetic "phases" which are both finely executed. The camera movement is well handled, the occasional use of Dutch angles is good and the best thing about the cinematography was the brilliant use of close-ups. When I think about it, only Woman in the Dunes comes into mind when thinking about powerful close-ups in films I have seen recently.

Barking Dogs Never Bite is funny but flawed film which is certainly a strong debut for any director. I'll be looking forward to see Joon-ho Bong's other films.

Score: 7 out of 10

Tea Date

Mina Park's short film Tea Date (2005) was interesting for me for two reasons: first of all, it stars the always-lovely Doona Bae, and secondly, it can be watched for free on YouTube (the link below the review). The short film focuses on the relationship between a foreign student and her old tutor. Sadly, the film's screenplay is quite vague and it isn't able to say almost anything. It briefly pokes questions about relationships and old age, but in the end it is a completely forgettable film. The form never bothered me, but it is quite basic in all aspects so that it can not be praised either.

Score: 5 out of 10

PS: You can watch this short film on YouTube.

The Sixth List of Scores

The 80's

10/10

City of Sadness (1989)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Ran (1985)
The Shining (1980)

9/10

A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

8/10

A Summer at Grandpa's (1984)
Dust in the Wind (1986)
The Last Emperor (1987)
Wings of Honneamise (1987)

7/10

The Elephant Man (1980)

6/10

The Boys from Fengkuei (1983)

5/10

The Killer (1989)

---

Others

10/10

All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
Breathless (1960)
Eureka (2000)
Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)
Harakiri (1962)
Ikiru (1952)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Kwaidan (1964)
Last Life in the Universe (2003)
Letters to Father Jaakob (2009)
Love & Pop (1998)
Love Exposure (2009)
Maborosi (1995)
Mother of Mine (2005)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Spirited Away (2001)
Still Walking (2008)
The Idiot (1951)
The Wayward Cloud (2005)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Twenty-four Eyes (1954)
Ugetsu (1952)
What Time Is It There? (2001)
Woman in the Dunes (1964)

9/10

3-Iron (2004)
Audition (1999)
Children of Men (2006)
Dodesukaden (1970)
Elina: As If I Didn't Exist (2002)
Floating Weeds (1959)
Lady Oyu (1951)
Linda Linda Linda (2005)
Logorama (2009)
Nobody Knows (2004)
Persepolis (2007)
Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Stray Dog (1949)
Syndromes and a Century (2006)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1972)
Thirst (2009)Tokyo Sonata (2008)
Visitor Q (2001)

8/10

2046 (2004)
A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)
American Psycho (2000)
Amores perros (2000)
Antichrist (2009)
April Story (1998)
Cafe Lumiere (2003)
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on the Heaven's Door (2001)
Departures (2008)
Downfall (2004)
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
Gion Festival Music (1953)
Half Nelson (2006)
Hero (2002)
Ichi the Killer (2001)
Monrak Transistor (2001)
Suicide Club (2001)
The Man Without a Past (2002)
The Taste of Tea (2004)
Tony Takitani (2004)

7/10
 
Babel (2007)
Bad Guy (2000)
Cutie Honey (2004)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Rebels of the Neon God (1992)
Scandal (1950)
Take Care of My Cat (2001)
The Cat Piano (2009)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
The Kon Ichikawa Story (2006)
The Sea Inside (2004)
Tokyo! (2008)

6/10

A Letter to Uncle Boonmee (2009)
American Beauty (2000)
Dolls (2002)
House of Flying Daggers (2004)
Little Children (2006)
My Winnipeg (2007)
Perfect Blue (1998)
The New World (2005)
The Skywalk Is Gone (2002)
Tropical Malady (2004)

5/10

Address Unknown (2001)
Dreams (1990)
Kamikaze Girls (2004)
Shinjuku Triad Society (1995)
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)
Tales from Earthsea (2006)
The Isle (2000)
Une catastrophe (2008)

4/10

Crazed Fruit (1956)
Dogville (2003)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Time (2006)

3/10

21 Grams (2003)

2/10

A Conversation with God (2001)
The Boondock Saints (1999)
Täällä Pohjantähden alla (2009)

Kiki's Delivery Service

Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) tells the story of a 13-year-old witch who has to move out from her home for a year as a part of her training. Her quest to find a new home and to become accepted in the new community takes her to unexpected places. The screenplay's strengths are the characters and the dense narrative. On a thematic/metaphoric/symbolic level, the film is not as rich as Miyazaki's other films, but it is still satisfying.

As usual, Studio Ghibli's animation and art design are top-notch. Hisaishi's music is good yet again. Miyazaki's use of silence is fascinating yet again - and it also makes the musical score's effect greater.

Even though Kiki's Delivery Service is one of the "lesser" films Miyazaki has ever made, it is still a great film.

Score: 9 out of 10

Tokyo Sonata

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata (2008) is dysfunctional family drama at its best. The film tells what happens to an ordinary Japanese family when the head of the family loses his job and the values of different generations clash.

There's a lot of things in the film's screenplay that made me angry - and they were supposed to be infuriating so that the central themes could arise. The father's shallow pride drives the family's daily routine into chaos which explodes in an unexpected and surreal way. The social commentary is luckily not heavy-handed and actually works quite well. The film ends in an open, ambiguous way which is probably the best way for a film like this - at least on an emotional level.

Kurosawa's form is not spectacular, but it works very well: intriguing compositions and relatively static/calm camerawork create the needed atmosphere for the harsh drama. The film's emotional impact relies on the acting - luckily the entire cast is phenomenal.

Tokyo Sonata is a film that confused me by betraying all expectations I had for the last 50 minutes of the film. My opinion of it might change when I watch it again some day, but right now I consider it a bewildering yet great film.

Score: 9 out of 10

Tony Takitani

Jun Ichikawa's Tony Takitani (2004) is essentially a character study of the title character. He (and his wife, too) has to deal with grief and existential crisis as he begins to realise how shallow and wasted his life has been for a long time. The film's extremely dense narrative relies a lot on a narrator. The screenplay becomes a bit metafictional when the characters sometimes fill in for the narrative by speaking a few words (or even complete sentences) the narrator would say. Using a narrator is an easy (and heavy-handed) way to make the film focus on pretty much anything - however, the narrator is used so well that it does not become a problem at any point.

The alienation caused by the metafiction is increased by the distant form. Most of the time the characters are observed from a distance. A lot of shots from the first half of the film end up behind an obstacle (or alternatively, begin by coming from behind an obstacle) which makes it feel as if the viewer was peaking from around a corner to follow the life of the protagonist. The film's charming lighting and sentimental musical score are pleasant as well although they could have been a tad better.

Tony Takitani is a film in which everything works well, but it doesn't reach the masterpiece status because it doesn't manage to dig deep enough during its short running time (75 minutes). I recommend wathcing it even if only for Issei Ogata's magnificent performance (better known as Yi yi's Mr. Ota).

Score: 8 out of 10

The Shining

The Shining (1980) is Stanley Kubrick's legendary cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's horror classic. As a family takes care of an isolated hotel while it is closed in the winter, the father (Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance) gradually becomes insane. As usual, Kubrick's adaptation is harsh and vastly different from the original novel, but in my opinion he only changed it for the better. The buildup is gracious and mind-boggling - and the climax perfectly explodes all the tension the film has gathered up to the point.

Kubrick's inventive camerawork is fascinating: the Steadicam shots build a powerful atmosphere for the film. The long takes and beautiful compositions are also up to Kubrick's high standards: the film is visually awe-inspiring.

Kubrick's The Shining is one of the landmarks of horror in cinema: it delivers on all fronts.

Score: 10 out of 10

The Kon Ichikawa Story

Shunji Iwai's documentary The Kon Ichikawa Story (2006) chronicles the life of the legendary Japanese director, Kon Ichikawa (the director of films like Fires on the Plain (1959) and Tokyo Olympaid (1965)). It creates a warm and poignant portrayal of the director and his wife who often worked together.

The intriguing aspect of this documentary is how it is constructed. Most of the information is shared via white text on black backgrounds without voice-over narration. There are photos which have oddly been manipulated to move on some occasions (you have to see the film to understand what I mean). There are also clips of Ichikawa's films used once in a while as examples. The documentary ends with a clip of Kon Ichikawa working on his last film in 2006.

Iwai's appreciation for the director becomes more and more apparent as the documentary goes on. It was a great thing to shoot a documentary like this while Ichikawa was alive - he died 2 years after this documentary was finished.

Score: 7 out of 10

April Story

Shunji Iwai's April Story (1998) is a short but delightful film of a girl entering university in Tokyo. Initially the film seems to tackle with questions related to independence, but it eventually turns into a love story. The first half of the film seems a bit unfocused, but that is only for the better: it sets the tone for the rest of the story and provides the necessary background. The later half of the film is incredibly told. While the content might not be anything new or deep, it's enough to satisfy during the short running time of the film (67 minutes).

Iwai's form is exceptionally breathtaking: beautiful lighting, pleasant handheld camerawork, charming pacing and a poignant musical score. A lot of instrumental music is used throughout the film, but it never becomes too intrusive.

Appreciation of Iwai's April Story is more about how the film is told instead of what is told. Iwai's narrative and form are clearly the pros of the film. Spending an hour with this film will certainly not go to waste.

Score: 8 out of 10

Full Metal Jacket

At first I have to admit that I am a huge fan of the director Stanley Kubrick. He was a man who tackled on a lot of genres even though his filmography isn't large. He made two war films: The Paths of Glory (1957) and Full Metal Jacket (1987). While the former didn't focus on the war itself, the latter does exactly that. Full Metal Jacket takes place during the Vietnam War and we see the story unfold through the eyes of Private Joker all the way from training to the actual battlefield.

Kubrick explores the effects of war on soldiers thoroughly - although it isn't that hard to achieve, Kubrick makes a lot of out of the subject. He establishes a wide range of memorable characters effortlessly. The narrative works very well - and the climax is especially great.

Kubrick's form never fails: the long takes, amazing camera drives, spectacular sets/locations and magnificent use of music are precise and spot-on in Full Metal Jacket. My only problem with the film is the use of slow motion. Every notable hit is portrayed in slow motion - the more it is used the more ridiculous it becomes.

As with Kubrick's films in general, Full Metal Jacket is a worthwhile, great film.

Score: 9 out of 10

Eureka

Shinji Aoyama's Eureka (2000) reminds me why I love cinema as much as I do: sometimes I find something so unique and fascinating that tthis "something" lingers on my mind for a long time after seeing the film. I was expecting something a little offbeat from Eureka, but what it provided me with was a truly cathartic experience - and that's why it became one of my favorite films of all time.

Eureka opens with a violent scene: a man hijacks a bus, kills a few and then engages in a bloody shootout with the police. The rest of the film explores the aftermath of the incident through the eyes of the three survivors: the busdriver and two school children. Their lives begin to fall apart slowly and painfully as their alienation becomes stronger.

The tone of the film is dark and the pace is extremely slow - making the pain of the characters more tangible for the viewers. One would think this would be hard to digest because the film is so long (almost 4 hours), but it's almost the opposite. Even the beautiful visuals alone make the film worth watching. Sepia and widescreen are used effectively in the photography which offers a lot of fascinating compositions. The camera remains static for a great deal of time, but there is camera movement once in a while - and when there is movement, it's really complex and breathtaking.

The editing is intriguing as well. Mostly there are a lot of long takes, but ellipses and jump cuts are also used on a few occasions. Especially the beginning is very elliptica: the shooting itself receives only a short period of screentime and we only see the end of it. The immediate aftermath is also portrayed very quickly and instead of exploring that, the film focuses on what happens 2 years later.

The film is a mesmerizing take on recuperation, guilt and alienation. The characters often wander in the barren landscape, which describes their emotional state. There is a huge void they want to fill, but it is not easy. Shell-shocked trauma is not something you recover from easily. Especially if you don't talk - like the children in Eureka.

The movie is mostly quiet, but the silence is sometimes broken by a beautiful, haunting score which consists of simple piano tunes and sometimes strings join the piano. The visuals alone would be a stunning thing to witness, but the music just adds a new great layer to the experience. Jim O'Rourke's song Eureka is also used in a few scenes - and the song fits very well into the soundtrack.

The acting is reduced to such naturalism that it seems more geniune than most of the acting I've ever seen. This is especially the case with the two children (Aoi Miyazaki and Masura Miyazaki, they are siblings in real life as well). Koji Yakusho's tour de force performance is also magnificent.

Eureka is a stunning film that should be more known around the world. It might not be an easy film to digest, but it's very rewarding.

Score: 10 out of 10

Linda Linda Linda

Nobuhiro Yamashita's Linda Linda Linda (2005) migh seem like your run-of-the-mill feel-good film when you read the plot description: a group of girls decide to perform as a band in the school festival, but they have to face a lot of obstacles before the gig.

The film uses a lot of cliched tropes in its storytelling, but they are used in the best possible way - which makes them rather refreshing. The great build-up and an even better climax prove the narrative's power: it has been a long time since I've been so pumped up for the ending. The characters are properly developed (even the occasional lack of it is there for a reason) and genuinely interesting. This is a film that upgrades the term "feel-good" to "feel-great".

Yamashita's form is something you would not see used with a story as simple and unassuming as in this film: it is calmly paced with long takes, slow camera drives and absolutely gorgeous compositions. The instrumental music is a nice touch on top of the film - and naturally, The Blue Hearts covers performed by the fictional band are awesome. I never believed Doona Bae could sing that well in Japanese. The entire cast is great, but Doona really surprised me this time (even though I was a fan of hers even before the film) - her performance dominates the film in a good way.

Linda Linda Linda is flawless under its own restrictions, but I have to add a little bit of realism to my review: it's not a cinematic masterpiece thoroughly. However, I do admire the film greatly.

Score: 9 out of 10

The Last Emperor

Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning The Last Emperor (1987) tells the story of the final Emperor of China, Pu Yi. He became an Emperor already at the age of 4 and due to the changing world he had to give his title away.

Narratively the film isn't anything special when compared to the other biographical films - which is probably only for the better. While it provides interesting observations on how the Chinese value were changed and it is a proper depiction of Chinese history, the film never becomes anything truly memorable.

At least the film's form is fascinating: beautiful camera drives, fascinating compositions and the entire production is executed on a spectacular scale. However, the English dialogue and stiff acting distracted me a lot - it was hard to get used to them.

In the end, The Last Emperor is a film that could have been better, but it is quite good in its present shape too.

Score: 8 out of 10

Still Walking

Still Walking (2008) proves that the director Hirokazu Koreeda is the most fascinating Japanese filmmaker working today along with the infamous Sion Sono. Still Walking is an almost Ozu-like family drama which depicts a day in the life of a Japanese family when the grownup kids come and meet their parents with their own children to commemorate their dead sibling.

The film explores the contemporary family dynamics thoroughly - there's a LOT going on in the film. The dense narrative provides observations on generation gap (e.g. the values of grandparents are constantly put next to the modern ones), pride (e.g. the grandfather still acts like a doctor even though he's retired; the son doesn't want to reveal his occupational problems) and grief (e.g. the grandparents can't let go of their dead heir) among other themes. The characters are complex and fascinating - new layers are revealed gradually throughout the film. The conflicts within the family are handled in a restrained way which makes the film even more interesting.

Even though Koreeda's form reminds one of Ozu in the film with its static camera and similar framing, the film's editing patterns are vastly different. Most of the time there's a lot more cutting in Still Walking than in any of Ozu's films (there are a few longer takes as well). That way Koreeda makes the film his own so that it won't become "only" a tribute to Ozu. The form is very intimate and a bit minimal.

Still Walking is a wonderful, poignant film. I became so immersed into its world that I felt like I was a member of the lovely, dysfunctional family. There is something so poetic and lovable about each of the characters - they are so wounded and flawed even though they don't seem like that at first. 

Score: 10 out of 10

Departures

Yôjirô Takita's Departures (2008) won the Oscar award for the Best Foreign Language Film. In the film, a cellist is forced to become an "encoffinist", the person who prepares the dead for funerals. The film is a lot of things at the same time: a social observation on social stigmas related to occupation, a story of finding solace and dignity in the most unlikely place, and it is also about dealing with death and troubled relationships.

The film succeeds in being all of these things at the same time - although I did have one problem with the screenplay: the film was emotionally uneven at first because the comedy and drama didn't really mix together well. However, the film's last 30 minutes don't have this problem at all.

Formally the film is solid - even a bit fascinating in a few scenes. It works really well all the way from music (loved the cello) to editing (the montage after the first hour was brilliant). The form isn't spectacular enough to make the film a masterpiece - which is a shame because it has all the ingredients for that.

Departures deserves its Oscar because it is a very good film - sadly it doesn't manage to go beyond that. 

Score: 8 out of 10

The Elephant Man

David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980) is easily one of the most conventional films the director has ever made. Surrealism is almost non-existent and storytelling is rather simple. The flick is based on the true story of a badly deformed man who lived during the 1800's. It is a tale of discrimination and dignity. The film handled its themes properly enough to be satisfying. However, I found some of the characters to be a bit lacking. Even though the main character was well developed, sometimes I couldn't tell whether John Hurt's performance was brilliant or terribly over-the-top.

Lynch's form is very good: the black and white photography was beautiful and menacing and the editing was marvellous.  However, the musical score put me off on a few occasions by being way too dramatic.

Ultimately, The Elephant Man works well in all aspects even though it had its own flaws and it didn't impress me in any special way.

Score: 7 out of 10

Logorama

Logorama (2009) is an animated short film created by Francois Alaux and Herve de Crecy. I'm not going to review it because that would be ... futile in its own way. You can watch it online for free and you need to know only three things in advance: it features thousands of famous logos, it is nominated for an Oscar this year and it's AWESOME.

Score: 9 out of 10

Dolls

Takeshi Kitano's Dolls (2002) follows three different stories that have one theme in common - love. There is the story of a couple wandering in surreal landscapes after they face an emotionally drastic challenge in their lives. Another story focuses on an old yakuza boss who suddenly remembers a girlfriend he had decades ago. The third story tells about a famous pop idol and her obsessed fan who goes to great lengths to stay in touch with her.

Kitano has all the ingredients for a great film. The storylines begin in a promising way, but fall flat sooner or later. The first storyline is overlong and redundant, the second storyline is somewhat decent, but the ending is simply too abrupt and completely irrational. The third story ends up being quite decent and fascinating - I wish it would have been extended into a full feature film. Kitano gives us hardly anything tangible in the film - it's simply too vague. All of the characters are detached from the real world by love, but nothing is made out of that. Kitano seems to have run out of ideas for his "artsy film" - especially the terrible ending proves that. Dolls tells you how not to end a film. Even though I hate the glaring flaws of the content, it has a few redeeming qualities - such as the fascinating characters and observation on love (even if it's too distant).

Kitano's form is challenging because the film runs at such a slow and dreamy pace that it can easily make one fall asleep. However, it is fitting for the film. The delicious cinematography kept me interested throughout the film and the poignant musical score was a nice touch on top of the nice visuals.

Ultimately, Dolls is an intriguing film which is sadly flawed and at times frustrating.

Score: 6 out of 10

Breathless

The French New Wave is probably the most famous cinematic movement of all time. I'm ashamed to admit that my knowledge of the movement is far from sufficient and right now I'm trying to fix that. Along with Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows (1959), Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) is the most important and popular film of the entire movement. Initially the film seems like a thriller or a gangster film because a murder sets the story into motion. However, it becomes something totally different - and something so much more satisfying and fascinating - after a while.

The story is hard to get a grasp of. It is the "spontaneity" that makes the film as great as it is. There is no clear rising and falling action in the film apart from a few moments, which makes it more "anti-cinematic". There is a natural tone in the dialogue - partly because the actors didn't know the lines beforehand and partly because the dialogue doesn't drive the plot forward most of the time. Despite this incoherency the film manages to deliver us with something tangible that will linger on our minds for some time after we have seen the film.

Godard's form is even more bewildering and energetic than the content of the film. The camera moves in erratic ways and the editing is even wilder - you can figure that out when you know that this film created the jump cutting technique.

It was a weird experience to write this review: initially I thought I would give this film a 9, but the more I think and write about it, the more I love it. I ended up appreciating it even more after I wrote this review. This film is rightfully praised and popular. Go watch it. Now.

Score: 10 out of 10

Preparing for a new Top list

I have decided to make a list of my favourite 80's films by the end of June this year. For this project, I collected all the films I would put to the list right now, the ones I need to watch again and also the ones I want to see.

The films I consider eligible for the list right now 

A Summer at Grandpa's (Hou)
Akira (Otomo)
Aliens (Cameron)
Angel's Egg (Oshii)
Blade Runner (Scott)
Blue Velvet (Lynch)
City of Sadness (Hou)
Fitzcarraldo (Herzog)
Grave of the Fireflies (Takahata)
Koyaanisqatsi (Reggio)
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Miyazaki)
My Neighbour Totoro (Miyazaki)
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Miyazaki)
Once Upon a Time in America (Leone)
Pink Floyd The Wall (Parker)
Raging Bull (Scorsese)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spielberg)
Ran (Kurosawa)
Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back (Kershner)
Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi (Marquand)
The Color of Money (Scorsese)
The Meaning of Life (Gilliam)
The Thing (Carpenter)
This Is Spinal Tap (Reiner)
Wings of Honneamise (Yamaga)

The film I need to watch again

1984 (Radford)
As Tears Go By (Wong)
Blood Simple (Coen & Coen)
Brazil (Gilliam)
Come and See (Klimov)
Do the Right Thing (Lee)
Fanny and Alexander (Bergman)
Full Metal Jacket (Kubrick)
Kiki's Delivery Service (Miyazaki)
Mystery Train (Jarmusch)
Nostalgia (Tarkovsky)
Scarface (De Palma)
Stranger than Paradise (Jarmusch)
The Last Temptation of Christ (Scorsese)
The Sacrifice (Tarkovsky)
The Shining (Kubrick)
They Live (Carpenter)
Time Bandits (Gilliam)

The film I should watch (listed under the director's name)

Aki Kaurismäki
- Ariel
- Crime and Punishment
- Shadows in the Paradise

Akira Kurosawa
- Kagemusha

Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Santa Sangre

Bela Tarr
- Damnation

Bernardo Bertolucci
- The Last Emperor

David Cronenberg
- Scanners

David Lynch
- The Elephant Man
- Dune

Edward Yang
- The Terrorizer
- Taipei Story

Francois Truffaut
- The Last Metro

Hsiao-hsien Hou
- Daughter of the Nile

Jean-Luc Godard
- First Name: Carmen

Kon Ichikawa
- The Burmese Harp

Krzysztof Kieslowski
- Decalogue
- A Short Film About Killing
- A Short Film About Love

Louis Malle
- Au revoir les enfants

Mamoru Oshii
- Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer

Martin Scorsese
- The King of Comedy

Nagisa Oshima
- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

Nicolas Roeg
- Bad Timing

Robert Bresson
- Money

Shohei Imamura
- Black Rain
- Ballad of Narayama

Takeshi Kitano
- Violent Cop

Terry Gilliam
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Werner Herzog
- Cobra Verde

Once Upon a Time in America

Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America (1984) is regarded as one of the most important and brilliant gangster films alongside The Godfather and Goodfellas - and rightfully so. I would actually say that it is the best film made about mafia. Essentially the film is about 5 friends who commit crimes together as kids and the film reveals us how they end up later in life. The film is told in three periods: 1910's, 1930's and the 1970's. This film was Leone's last and it's a great ending for a career - only rivalled by Edward Yang's Yi yi in that regard.

Leone observes the twisted moral values of the main characters - especially how they change over time. He reveals just how corrupt and hideous these characters can be yet he makes them lovable in a peculiar way. The narrative is incredibly dense and even exhausting even though the film has a calm pace. The pace is certainly challenging, but once you get used to it you are rewarded.

The recreation of Brooklyn in those periods is painstakingly authentic - I wonder how they pulled it off so well for so many scenes on such an epic scale. Leone's cinematography is simply a wonder to look at. There weren't a lot of shots that didn't astound me in a way or another. Ennio Morricone's score is brilliant and reminded me a bit of Once Upon a Time in The West - which is only good.

When I saw the film for the first time I wasn't so amazed by it. I guess I watched expecting something else after I had seen Once Upon a Time in The West. However, this time I totally loved it and now I would call it one of the greatest American films I've ever seen.

Score: 10 out of 10

Letters to Father Jaakob

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Now that I've seen all the films Klaus Härö has directed, I can declare that his latest, Letters to Father Jaakob (2009), is his masterpiece. A pardoned convict Leila (Kaarina Hazard) is assigned to help a blind pastor (Heikki Nousianen) with his letters. As the film goes further, both of them have to deal with guilt, loss and even an existential crisis to a certain extent. Härö observes the two main characters carefully and closely. Their hidden complexities are gradually revealed and you can not avoid caring for them by the end of the film. Both of them are only broken souls barely coping, trying to find a way out. Härö's usual sentimentality is very underplayed until the end which is heartbreaking in its magnificence.

The form is refined even in comparison to Härö's earlier films. The cinematography is stunning, the editing is smoother and the music is poignant (a lot less dramatic than the music in his earlier films). The performances by the lead actors are pitch-perfect - even though both of the performances are rather towering, neither dominates the film. 

Letters to Father Jaakob is a vivid film that made me genuinely cry. I consider it the best Finnish film ever made - although that doesn't mean a lot when the film industry is in terrible condition in Finland.

Score: 10 out of 10

Mother of Mine

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Klaus Härö's Mother of Mine (2005) touches on a subject which is rarely discussed nowadays (even in Finland): during World War II tens of thousands of Finnish children were sent to Sweden to avoid the conflict by living with a surrogate family. In Härö's film, a 9-year-old boy's mother sends him to Sweden after his father dies. Initially he hates the surrogate the members of which are just as broken and vulnerable as he is. Eventually their wounds begin to heal and they bond.

The screenplay is magnificent because it handles the subject and characters thoroughly and honestly. Problems concerning coming of age, language and family are explored and observed in an unforgettably poignant way. The screenplay is simply top-notch in all aspects. Härö's form is stunning yet again - especially his cinematography is simply impeccable. The only gripe I had with this film is rather minor: the last 20 minutes had a few weird formal choices that could have been done better. However, that is still a really tiny problem in a fantastic film.

Klaus Härö's Mother of Mine is Finnish (albeit a co-production with Swedes) cinema at its best. Forget Kaurismäki: it doesn't get a lot better than this.

Score: 10 out of 10

Elina: As If I Didn't Exist

The Finnish director Klaus Härö has recently reached international fame with his film Letters to Father Jaakob (2009). I decided to watch his entire filmography and started from the debut, Elina: As If I Didn't Exist (2002) which I had seen once as a kid. It is the story of a Finnish girl who has problems with her strict teacher (played by Bibi Andersson, by the way) and coming to terms with the death of her father. The film shoots questions concering old-fashioned education, bilingual problems and coming of age. Klaus Härö makes most of the short running time (80 minutes). He creates truly wonderful characters and sucks the viewer effortlessly into his world.

Härö's storytelling and editing rely on basic tricks, but he uses them in the best possible way. While these aspects are rather ordinary, his cinematography is breathtaking by any standards. I was flabbergasted at the colors and compositions in pretty much every scene. The way the swamps and the school are portrayed is impeccable.

Elina: As If I Didn't Exist is one heck of a debut for any filmmaker. All of its aspects work well and Härö is able to make the film a truly emotional experience without falling for over-the-top sentimentality.

Score: 9 out of 10

Bad Guy

Kim Ki-duk's fans often describe his film, Bad Guy (2001), worse than most of his other films. I was surprised because the film is actually an effort more solid than Address Unknown (2001) and The Isle (2000). The film tells about a young woman who is forced to become a prostitute. The English title is a bit weird and I prefer the Finnish translation which literally means "The Pimp".

Despite the weak beginning and overwrought melodrama, the film's writing is quite decent. This time Kim finds truly poetic and beautiful moments in the harsh world. However, the film is quite uneven because there are scenes that stand out as brilliant and then there are scenes that are so utterly failed. The characters are decent enough to not distract me while watching the film - which can not be said of The Isle. The central relationship is explored in a peculiar yet successful way and the final result is intriguing.

Kim's form has become completely refined by now. His use of alienation through compositions is perfect and framing is magnificent in other ways as well. Music is nearly nonexistent apart from two songs which are used well.

Ultimately, Bad Guy is the first sign of true sophistication in Kim's films before he made 3-Iron (2003) and Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (2004).

Score: 7 of 10