Category: Watch Movies!

By Joe Bendel. By the standards of the Seoul police force, Det. Go Gun-soo is only moderately corrupt—a few minor payoffs here and there, no big deal. He is also a reasonably decent father, so we can root for him with a clear conscience while also enjoying every one-darned-thing-after-another that falls on his thoroughly compromised head in Kim Seong-hun’s A Hard Day, which opens Friday in New York.

This day has already been one Go would prefer to forget. He has just been served divorce papers from his soon-to-be ex-wife while preparing for his mother’s funeral. It is an especially inconvenient time for the service, considering Internal Affairs is breathing down his neck. In his rush to cover up some incriminating evidence, Go apparently runs over some mysterious derelict with his car. He feels real bad about it, but what’s done is done. To save his neck (or so he thinks), Go manages to stash the body in his mother’s casket just before the burial.

Of course, Go soon figures out that was no vagrant; that was a prime suspect, who was somehow in league with the crooked Lt. Park Chang-min. Park is not simply a little bent like Go. He is a full blown gangster and he makes it his business to torment Go.

Kim visits more trouble upon poor, meatheaded Go than Job himself endured, but his wickedly black humor makes it all sadistically fun to watch. Somehow he keeps topping himself with clever plot twists and super-charged fight scenes. It is slick, tense, and loaded with cynical attitude. Yet, it is the “gee-whiz-now-what?” face of Lee Sun-kyun (better known for Hong Sang-soo dramedies) that really sells the bedlam.

This is definitely a testosterone driven film, featuring a hardnosed ensemble that really looks like a shady police precinct, especially Jeong Man-sik and Shin Jung-kuen as Go’s exasperated colleague and his world weary squad chief, respectively. Cho Jin-woong is also just flamboyantly evil enough as Lt. Park, without ever going excessively over the top.

It is just impressive to see A Hard Day careen about at such a deliriously breakneck speed. The energy and the humor never flag, while it ends on a rather ironic but wholly satisfying note. For fans of action movies and police corruption thrillers, A Hard Day is indeed the real deal. Highly recommended, it opens tomorrow (7/17) in New York, at the Village East.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 17th, 2015 at 6:35pm.

By Joe Bendel. There is nothing more tiring than depression. Nobody illustrates that better than Terako. She sleeps away most of her days, waiting to act cute and shallow when she meets her married lover. That is how he wants things to be. It is most definitely problematic, but it is hard to judge him or her too harshly in Shingo Wakagi’s Asleep, which screened as a selection of this year’s Japan Cuts, the Festival of New Japanese Film in New York.

Terako has good reason to be depressed. Her best friend Shiori recently committed suicide and her lover will probably never be fully emotionally available to her. That is because she met Iwanaga after his irreversibly comatose wife’s accident. Clearly, he is still coming to terms with his wife’s state, but enough time has elapsed for him to seek companionship or whatever.

These are the sort of things Shiori always understood better than Terako. She was natural empathetic, yet it was she who took her own life. Ironically, her exotic line of work may have somehow taxed her psyche. Somewhat like the characters in Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty, she would sleep beside wealthy men in a non-sexual manner, to console them when they woke in the night. That meant unlike Terako, she had to force herself to remain conscious throughout the long dark hours of the soul.

Banana Yoshimoto’s source novel and Wakagi & co-screenwriter Kai Suzumoto’s adaptation are not called Asleep for metaphorical reasons. It is a languorous film that shows its star, Sakura Ando, in many states of repose and partial undress. Frankly, there is probably a little too much of that. Granted, Wakagi is trying to instill a sense of inertia, but the first two acts definitely have a vibe of stifling uniformity. However, when Terako engages with Shiori in flashbacks and tentatively challenges Iwanaga, the film is quite compelling. In fact, Wakagi more-or-less pays off all our waiting with a terrific borderline magically real confrontation in the third act. You just have to get that far.

Ando’s performance is rather gutsy, considering how strictly she closes off her emotions. Nevertheless, she vividly conveys all sorts of issues undermining the young sort-of mistress. Arata Iura is just as restrained as Iwanaga. When you see him walking with Terako, he looks like he might shatter if he tipped over. However, the expressive Mitsuki Tanimura truly haunts viewers as the doomed Shiori.

Wakagi’s disciplined aesthetic approach is impressive, but its lethargy is contagious. There are just a handful of moments that carry the film, but they are honest and deep. Respectfully recommended for those who with a taste for intimately raw relationship dramas, Asleep screened at the Japan Society, as part of the 2015 Japan Cuts.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on July 17th, 2015 at 6:35pm.

By Joe Bendel. L. Ron Hubbard would be impressed. The leaders of the God’s Water cult come from the advertising industry and they explicitly refer to the “religion industry.” They make no secret of their commercial ambitions, even when in the presence of cult members. Business is on the upswing thanks to their charismatic priestess, but her family issues will engulf the entire cult in screenwriter-director Masashi Yamamoto’s The Voice of Water, which screens as a selection of this year’s Japan Cuts, the Festival of New Japanese Film in New York.

Lovely and serene-looking, the Zainichi Min-jung is a natural fronting God’s Water. You could say it is in her blood. She hails from a long line of shimbang, women who practice a regional form of shamanism on Jeju Island. Everyone knows she is faking it, even their core followers, but there is something reassuring about her presence. However, Min-jung starts to maybe-sort of believe in her hereditary powers at an inopportune time. Internal dissension is on the rise and her own lowlife father Mikio/Mickey might pull the entire group into his chaos. To avoid his Yakuza loan shark, Mikio has been crashing in the God’s Water headquarters. He has even won over some of the office staff, despite her protests.

Arguably, Voice is the greatest, under-heralded find at this year’s Japan Cuts. You will be hard-pressed to find a similarly matter-of-fact, cynically business-oriented perspective on cults and their followers in a year of film festivals. It is particularly damning when showing how the need to belong trumps all common sense, keeping members blindly devoted even when they know full well it is all just a racket. The specifics of the Korean-Japanese Zainichi experience and the Korean shamanic tradition further enrich the film, grounding it in a very distinctive cultural context.

As a result, Voice could well be the definitive cultist film of the decade, but it is also a Yakuza film. In fact, sensitive viewers should be warned, there is at least one tough to watch scene involving Mikio’s nemesis. Yet, it makes the uni-named Hyunri’s lead performance even braver. She is absolutely riveting and acutely human (in every messy way possible) as the inspiring Min-jung. As Mikio, Akio Kamataki is also achingly tragic, while Kei Oda is unsettlingly sinister as Takazawa, the gangster.

Yamamoto draws out the punishing third act just a tad too long, but his patience and attention to detail creating the God’s Water universe is completely fascinating to behold. It is very different from Sion Sono’s Love Exposure, but it is just as powerful in its own way. Very highly recommended, The Voice of Water screens tomorrow night (7/17) at the Japan Society, as part of the 2015 Japan Cuts.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 17th, 2015 at 6:34pm.

By Joe Bendel. Think of it as a hikikomori Rocky, but we are definitely talking about the original, gritty and down-to-earth film—not the flashier sequels. Ichiko is a woman in need of empowerment, who looks for it in the boxing ring during Masaharu Take’s 100 Yen Love, which screened as a selection of this year’s Japan Cuts, the Festival of New Japanese Film in New York.

Ichiko is a drop-out/near-shut-in who is content to live off her bento box-making mother. Unfortunately, when her divorced younger sister moves in with her young son, the cramped and increasingly tense environment forces Ichiko to move out. To her credit, she also takes a job at the local convenience store. An excessively high self-image has never been her problem. Unfortunately, that also makes relationships difficult – but again, she gives it a good try with Yuji Kano, a thirty seven year-old boxer about to age out of the sport, who is almost as socially clueless as she is.

When Kano eventually dumps Ichiko, she finds solace training in his former gym. For the first time, she develops a real goal: attaining professional status and having an official bout before she in turn ages out (thirty-two being the magic number for female boxers in Japan). As is often the case, that drive helps her become more confident in other spheres of life. Does 100 Yen end with a climatic fight? You bet, but it still largely avoids most of the boxing movie clichés.

Watching 100 Yen back-to-back with Asleep really proves how chameleon-like festival special guest Sakura Ando truly is. In both films she is on-screen carrying the dramatic load nearly every second. They are each highly damaged characters, but in radically different ways, yet she is completely convincing in the two parts. Viewers should be warned, 100 Yen might sound like a quirky woman finding herself story, but Ichiko has to deal with some rough stuff, including a sexual assault. However, there is also real growth and unusual honesty baked into the mix.

Ando is rather extraordinary portraying Ichiko’s transformation. It is a quiet but violent performance. She also has impressive chops in the ring. It is her show and don’t you forget it, but she gets tons of support from a first class supporting ensemble. Saori Koide, Osamu Shigematsu, and Yozaburo Ito all have powerful moments as Ichiko’s sister, her boxing manager, and her father, respectively.

100 Yen is not a showy film, but periodically screenwriter Shin Adachi drops a line that will knock you back on your heels. It also features an awesomely funky soundtrack composed by Shogo Kaida with enough heavy drums to power several movies. Frankly, this film is nothing like what it probably sounds like. Recommended for fans of realistic underdog dramas, 100 Yen Love screens tonight (7/16) at the Japan Society, as part of the 2015 Japan Cuts.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on July 17th, 2015 at 6:34pm.

By Joe Bendel. Brinksmanship is always hardest on the soldiers and sailors who serve on the brink. Such has definitely been the case along the naval boundary that serves as an extension of the 38th Parallel, dividing South and North Korea. The ROK battleships guarding against incursions are forbidden from engaging DPRK forces first, regardless of their provocations. This ironclad rule of engagement is just fine with the North. In fact, they were counting on it during their sneak attack timed to coincide with the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. The resulting Second Battle of Yeonpyeong is dramatized with scrupulous respect for the historical record in Kim Hak-soon’s Northern Limit Line, which opens this Friday in the Tri-State Area.

Yoon Yeong-ha had only been captain of PKM 357 a short time before the fateful Northern Korean attack. As the ambitious son of Yoon Doo-ho, a former officer still respected by his colleagues despite his fall from grace, Capt. Yoon is determined his high-profile tour of duty patrolling the Northern Limit Line (NLL) will advance his career. For the crew of PKM 357, this means a whole lot of drills. Nevertheless, Capt. Yoon starts to warm to his men, especially his helmsman, CPO Hang Sang-guk. Of course, the South Korean team’s unprecedented World Cup drive also helps unify the skipper and his crew. Unfortunately, it also provided an opportune time for the DPRK to strike.

As is always the case, there were signs of the high seas ambush coming, but Kim makes it clear they were not adequately analyzed or acted upon. Needless to say, the men of PKM 357 did not give up without a fight. In fact, their heroic last stand is the bruising spectacle centerpiece of the film, running over half an hour’s worth of carnage. Arguably, NLL constitutes some of the best cinematic warfighting since Fury—and Kim does it on boats.

However, his screenplay devotes even more time to humanizing the men of PKM 357. Throughout the first half of the film, we learn in no uncertain terms, medic Park Dong-hyeok is devoted to his deaf mother, petty officer Jo Chun-hyoung has a baby girl who just celebrated her first birthday, CPO Hang has nerve damage in his hand and a soon to be pregnant wife, while Capt. Yoon and his colleague Capt. Choi are ambiguously attracted to each other. Kim’s sympathies are admirable, but a lot of the preamble to battle-stations could have been tightened up considerably.

Still, the cast is first-rate, including the appropriately youthful Lee Hyun-woo, who barely looks old enough to graduate from high school as Park the medic. Jin Goo and Kim Ji-hoon are also terrific as the intense CPO Hang and easy-going Jo, respectively. Not to be spoilery, but many of the primary ensemble have death scenes and they each carry it off convincingly, but also with dignity. Yet, it is Kim Hee-jung who really lowers the boom as Park’s mother.

Most of the naval action we get in movies happens below the water in submarines, so NLL’s clash of battleships is in itself distinctive. However, the real mind-blowing fact is that the dynastic Kim regime could launch such a blatant act of aggression and face no real consequences from the global community. That just guarantees they will do it again. NLL provides a timely reality check, as well as delivering some very human drama and smashing sea battle set pieces. Recommended as a very strong naval war film and a moving tribute to South Korea’s fallen heroes, Northern Limit Line opens this Friday (7/17) in Queens at the AMC Park Terrace, in New Jersey at the Edgewater Multiplex, and in Los Angeles at the CGV Cinema.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on July 16th, 2015 at 11:05pm.

By Joe Bendel. Kingo Shimura is sort of like a one-man 47 Ronin. He even references them himself. Unfortunately, Shimura outlived his times as well as his lord. The Edo Era is over, but Shimura’s disgrace continues in Setsuro Wakamatsu’s Snow on the Blades, which screened as a selection of this year’s Japan Cuts, the Festival of New Japanese Film in New York.

Lord Naosuke Ii was a high ranking Shogunate official, who was too moderate in his reformist and westernizing policies for some and too extreme for others. He cracked down on high ranking nobles who opposed him, but left plenty of disgruntled ronin at loose ends. In 1860, he really was assassinated during Sakuradamon Incident. That was exactly what Shimura was supposed to prevent as his recently appointed chief of security.

Disgraced by his failure, Shimura is forbidden from committing seppuku until he finds and decapitates at least one of the surviving assassins. Twelve of the ronin either performed seppuku there on the spot, or were accounted for shortly thereafter. That left five elusive assassins for Shimura to track. Unfortunately, as the years go by, the fugitives die off through subsequent misadventures. Eventually, the guilt-ridden Jyubei Sahashi is the only one still at large. However, formalized vengeance taking is banned during the Meiji Restoration.

Throughout all his tribulations and humiliations, Shimura’s wife Setsu loyally supports him. Similarly, Sahashi is guardedly devoted to the next-door widow and her young daughter, but he is incapable of committing to them, because he lives looking over his shoulder. It is exactly those human relationships that concern Snow more than hack-and-slash action.

Snow is a gloriously old fashioned tragedy, boasting genuine emotional depth and historical sweep. It also suggests a little bit of westernization is not a bad thing, while recognizing the value of tradition. In fact, that tension helps make Snow such a richly humanistic revisionist Jidaigeki film. Frankly, it is not hard to imagine Clint Eastwood remaking it as an early 20th century western.

As Shimura, Kiichi Nakai is appropriately both stately and hardnosed. Yet, he just knee-caps viewers in his tender scenes with Setsu, played with exquisite sensitivity and warmth, by Ryoko Hirosue. Hiroshi Abe (perhaps too closely associated with the Thermae Romae franchise) is severely reserved, yet expresses considerable angst and regret as the outlaw Sahashi. It is an impressive ensemble, especially including “Living Treasure” kabuki and screen actor Kichiemon Nakamura, making his return to film after a nineteen year hiatus as Lord Ii.

Everyone brought their A-game to Snow, including Joe Hisashi, who contributes one of his best non-Studio Ghibli scores. It is quite lovely, giving the film an acoustic vibe that is mournful but also hopeful. Sober and elegant, Snow on the Blades is a wonderfully satisfying film. Although the self-styled conflict-resolution industry is mostly bunky hokum, this really is a film that they could bury some hatchets with. Very highly recommended, its screened this past Tuesday (7/14) at the Japan Society, as part of the 2015 Japan Cuts.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 16th, 2015 at 11:05pm.