Tag Archives: Non-English

All reviews for foreign films and shows.

Movie Reviews

RRR (2022) Review – This Movie Has Everything and Then Some

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Movies like RRR are the biggest reason to appreciate how we live today, respectively, in the age of the Internet and streaming. Despite all the problems and issues with the film industry, let alone the world, I don’t think a film like RRR could get as popular as it had in the middle of 2022, even ten years ago. But now, because it’s streaming on Netflix and word of mouth still works (albeit to an extent), we all get to enjoy something we would hardly stumble upon on our cinematic journey. And what a movie this is.

As hinted above, this was nowhere near my radar until many people started to talk about how insanely entertaining this film was. And the little I heard about it, I knew I had to watch it, except for one thing – that dreaded three-plus hour runtime. That was the only reason I kept putting it off until a later day. One evening, I found myself scrolling through my watchlist on Netflix and had enough time before going to bed; I finally cracked and pressed ‘Play’ on my remote. What followed was a mix of everything, from CGI to music, attacking most of my senses; almost immediately. And for the better part of this film, I loved it.

I won’t beat around the bush; the runtime was my biggest hang-up about RRR. The film opens, and everything happens fast; you are in it, and once the introduction to our two main protagonists concludes, the film slows down. If you watched this film, you might find it odd for me to use the phrase “slows down” to describe this film because something (mostly insane, epic or a mix of both) is happening almost every five minutes. But I was kind of out of this film until the “Naatu Naatu” song. That was the breaking point where the film officially pulled me back into it and didn’t let go of me until the end. I would say; there are good 30 minutes (at least) you can shave off easily, and RRR would have become an even more cohesive film.

But as mentioned, the runtime was my only complaint. Everything else was so vivid, silly, and CGI-heavy but earnest at the same time you can’t help but fall in love with the film. And admire the physique of both N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan Teja; they not only brought the muscles but the acting chops to sell everything that happened in this film. That might be one thing I didn’t see discussed enough when reading about this film online. Because of these ridiculous, big set pieces, both protagonists need to be on their A+ game to sell this movie to you. If either of them fell flat in dramatic moments/scenes, the film wouldn’t have worked. The same applies to moments of levity; if either couldn’t convince you they believed in every single line they delivered, the film would fall apart quickly. It would have become a clip on YouTube that showcases how Bollywood can be wild, and we all have seen those magnificent clips full of outrageous CGI. But where RRR differs are the actors who can do it all. Who surprised me by being here and what role she took was Alison Doody, who most will remember as Elsa from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Her character was, without a doubt, the most villainous character in the film, and her performance was delightfully evil. She and her on-screen husband, Ray Stevenson were the appropriately evil “power couple” you can’t wait to watch them die. That’s not a spoiler; you know they will die; they play their parts so well you are coming up with all the ways these two will, eventually, die as the movie happens because you wish them nothing but slow and painful death, and that means they understood the assignment.

A large part of what makes this film enjoyable is the music and over-the-top CGI effects/set pieces. But instead of trying to describe my favourite scene, I will say you have to watch it to believe it. And unlike other films, regarding RRR, talking about any big set pieces would feel like talking spoilers about any other movie because what makes this film, so fun is you truly never know what crazy idea they will go with in the next scene. I have an undeniably favourite action set piece that happens pretty much in the middle of the film, so if you saw this film, you know instantly. For the rest of you who haven’t seen this film yet, I would strongly recommend not watching anything, not even a trailer, and going into it as blind as possible. Sure, there is a caveat of you having just over three hours to spare, but do yourself a favour and make the time to watch this film. Because you won’t see anything bigger, crazier and full of life as RRR in 2022 and 2022 was an awesome year for movies.

I think that is the key to “unlocking” this movie – no matter how crazy the set pieces have gotten, how much was happening on the screen or how unbelievable that CGI looked, the film always found a way to feel genuine, despite everything. That pure joy, despite some dark scenes, that feeling of “let’s make this movie honouring real-life Indian heroes, but nothing about it will be real” was intoxicating. By the way, you read that correctly; both protagonists were based on real-life people, two legendary freedom fighters who never met. And S.S. Rajamouli took a camera and decided to tell this insane story of how it could look like if they were best buddies, but it never felt wrong. Throughout the entire film, even the first hour I struggled with the film has always felt earnest. I don’t know what kind of magic that was, but I enjoyed it.

Overall, RRR is one ludicrous film. It’s based on history, but not really; the CGI feels fake, but somehow it works; it has several dance numbers that also fit within this story well even though they should not… and it works. It all, somehow, works. And if the editor managed to cut a few scenes down a bit (and believe me, there was plenty to choose from), we could have had the most epic film of 2022. As the movie is now, it’s still excellently fun, and I hope there might be some Oscar love too. Again, the song Naatu Naatu not only brought me back, but it would also deserve a nomination at least, and I would love to see it performed live during the broadcast by our main heroes. If you have not heard of this film by now, please do yourself a favour and watch it ASAP. Don’t sleep on it, like me.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

The Bacchus Lady (2016) Review – Old People Need Some Love Too

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I am not going to lie the only reason I’ve watched this film is the “groundbreaking” Yuh-Jung Youn. As believe it or not, she’s the first Korean actor ever to win an Oscar (she won it for her performance in the movie Minari (2020) that is on my ever-growing list of films to watch). Plus, The Bacchus Lady managed to combine two topics seemingly nobody wants to see/think about – older people struggling financially and having sex. This film combines these two issues into one – what if we made a movie about older people having sex for money BECAUSE they are struggling financially? Yes, it’s true, and apparently, it is a thing in South Korea.

You know I don’t usually post plot synopsis, but in this case, I think it’s a must, as I don’t believe this would become my “most read review ever” by any means because the film is as niche as it gets.

The Bacchus Lady looks into the issue of elderly prostitution in South Korea. So-Young, an elderly lady who provides sex services to the male senior citizens using the pretext of selling Bacchus (an energy drink) to them. When So-Young picks up a Korean-Filipino boy named Min-Ho from the clinic she visits after Min-Ho’s mother stabs the doctor (Min-Ho’s father), she takes care of him while seeking a living through prostitution. From her interactions with her former clients, she finds that the golden age in their silver years may not be that bright after all.

Source: IMDb.com

And that is precisely what the film is about. We follow Yuh-Jung, who is superb in this film and see her “stumbling” upon this kid. And you can tell she knows she shouldn’t just take him. But she is worried for him, and she just wants to help. So she starts to split the little she has with him. Luckily, she’s got some friends who also stand by her (from a one-legged man to a transwoman who is also a prostitute and the one-legged man secretly loves), so we get to see her interactions with the little kid. And her life, struggling to get by, doing what she does.

But believe it or not, this is merely a “B plot”. The main storyline is her working, and us, seeing what she needs to go through. The Bacchus Lady never felt cheap or exploitative. It deals with sex work and Yuh-Jung’s storyline very well. It never goes into details; it gives you “enough” so you don’t get to romanticize anything but never takes it over the top. And more importantly, it shows you something we don’t want to think about – how we treat older people and sex workers. And now, combine these two.

But even though this movie will make you think about these issues, it never feels preachy or over-the-top. It is subtle; it takes its time to tell the story it wants to tell, leaves you with some questions (mainly about Yuh-Jung’s family, I thought that storyline was done very well), but most of all, it leaves you almost wanting more. Which is a weird thing to say, considering this is not a cheery movie by any means. But it deals with every topic it touches with such gentle touch of humanity, it slowly gets to you. Or, at least it got to me.

The only thing I would say “against” this film – sometimes the pacing was a bit off. Not often, but especially towards the end, I could see trimming about ten minutes or so from the film would improve it. But that’s just a tiny nitpick.

Overall, The Bacchus Lady is a movie like no other. Sure, that’s because it primarily deals with a topic like no other film would (at least I don’t remember a mainstream movie about a senior citizen having to be a prostitute to support themselves). If that previous sentence didn’t deter you, I would highly encourage you to search for this movie and watch it. I don’t think it matters if you like it or not, because it’s a film you won’t forget any time soon. It stays with you. And to be clear, Yuh-Jung Youn was absolutely superb in this role. I can’t wait to finally watch Minari.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

Wife of a Spy (2020) Review – A Really Quiet Drama

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Wife of a Spy (in Japanese Supai no tsuma) is a film that is hard for me to review. Not because the story is confusing or the movie would be weird by any means, no. Everything in here is pretty straightforward, it is shot well, and the actors are also great. But the movie has a real issue with pacing and length. It’s almost two hours long, but truth be told, it felt like double that. And I don’t know if you can read it in my tone, not in a good way.

But everything about this film seemed so intriguing! Just see this summary below and tell me you wouldn’t want to watch this film right now:

A Japanese merchant who leaves his wife behind in order to travel to Manchuria, where he witnesses an act of barbarism. His subsequent actions cause misunderstanding, jealousy and legal problems for his wife.

IMDb.com (summary of Wife of a Spy)

And to tell you the truth, the story was compelling enough to watch, but… this might be that type of film which needs to be “dramatized” a bit more. And this film is uniquely Japanese, in a sense that it’s really quiet, really subtle, to its fault. I won’t pretend I am an expert on Japanese cinema or Asian cinema (or even cinema; after all, I am just a cinephile who loves movies no matter where they are from). And I have seen some Asian movies (Korean, Chinese, Japanese), and for the lack of better terms, they all can be divided into three groups for me:

  1. The “unique ones” – these are the films that have their own style, stories and themes you would never see outside of Asia. Most of those I love.
  2. The “Americanised ones” – these are the movies that closely resemble your stereotypical mainstream film. Arguably, the smallest group (but again, take this with a pinch of salt, I need to see more movies from Asian countries).
  3. The “quiet ones” – these are films that can be a mix and match of the previous two. Sometimes, they can be quiet and unique and sometimes, they can be pretty straightforward but not well-paced movies. Precisely like Wife of a Spy.

And even though I always call for originality and not doing things “by the book”, this film could have definitely used somebody with a bit of outside perspective to improve it by cutting at least 15/20 minutes out. Because that is the crucial thing for me – I can see a great movie entangled in here. But unfortunately, the run time doesn’t do the film any justice. The more I think about it, the more I believe if somebody shortened it, it would not need any other pacing improvements, as it is a drama after all. And they tend to be on a slower side anyway.

Wife of a Spy is the movie equivalent of: “This whole meeting could have been an email!” Because at its current length, it absolutely doesn’t have the story to justify it. And that drags down the film altogether. Everything else about it is good. The cinematography is excellent; the soundtrack is nice and subtle, performances are brilliant. I am not kidding when I say I would have enjoyed this movie much more had it been shorter by 20 minutes or so. And judging by the IMDb rating (currently sitting at 6.5/10) and some reviews I quickly glimpsed over (I try not to read any reviews so I can form my thoughts about the particular film), I am not alone on this.

Overall, Wife of a Spy is a hard movie for me to recommend but at the same time criticise in any significant way. It’s frustrating when you can see precisely what this film could have been. What the director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira) intended and how just because of the bloated run time, didn’t land. I understand Asian cinema is different and has its unique way of thinking about stories and pacing. I get that. But in this specific instance, even though I was on board with everything, I was still bored throughout the film because it was way too long. If you are more into Japanese movies and dramas, in particular, give Wife of a Spy a try and then come back and tell me why I was wrong. 🙂

Rating: 3 out of 5.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

TV Show Reviews

Squid Game Review (Season 1) – Lived Up To The Hype

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As the old joke goes: “Squid Game. Squid Game is everywhere. I open Twitter – Squid Game. I open YouTube – Squid Game. I’ve bought a tin the other day. And I am afraid to open it.” So after this hilarious and pretty old joke that can be used for anything that’s currently trending, let’s talk about this show. For the past month or so, it was impossible to escape it. It seemed that everybody in my immediate surrounding was talking about it (friends, colleagues). I have seen countless memes about it (because that is one way, how you know what is currently hip and trendy, people immediately turn it into memes), so I have finally cracked. I had to see it for myself, what the hype was all about.

I won’t lie, from what I have heard, it seemed like Battle Royale (2000) that is an excellent movie and well worth watching, by the way, but instead of school kids being kidnapped and taken to an island to fight for their survival, it’s poor people now. And as far as over-simplifications go, it’s pretty accurate. Except, of course, not really, because there is so much more. Sometimes a bit too much for its own good. But I will get to that.

Squid Game definitely took some “inspiration” from existing properties, and the creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, managed to put his unique twist on it. I liked the concept; I enjoyed the performances and the message/parallels about society, the class system. But I couldn’t help but feel that this show sometimes went a bit too much into the “let us explain this to you clearly, so you understand the message here”. Especially in the VIP episode, I understand what the intention was, what the show was trying to highlight, but sometimes a whisper is louder than yelling. Also, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the longer the show went on, the more predictable it became.

I think you know where this is going; I will have to discuss some spoilers, so before that, let me just say this. If you are like me and it takes you a while to watch the “trendy” stuff, give Squid Game a go. I would 100% recommend watching it in Korean with English subtitles, as from what I have seen, the dubbing is awful. So, with this out of the way…

Beware, SPOILERS are coming!

Let’s talk about the “twisty” nature of this show. In the second episode, where the survivors of the first game vote to leave, I didn’t expect them to vote to leave. It felt like a Brexit referendum – it was really close, it ended surprisingly, and, predictably, it still led to a disaster. Politics aside, I enjoyed that decision. Even though I knew we had to come back, it was interesting to see how many people managed to change their minds and came back when invited back. That was the first difference between this show and any other property dealing with “a bunch of people killing each other for a big reward”. They were given a choice to leave, and they left no strings attached. And yet, when they had the time to think about the reward (as the show states), 93% of people came back to compete, fully realising what they were in for. Even though the majority voted to leave at that moment. I liked that aspect.

But I felt like that was the last “big” surprise of this show. And not for the lack of trying on their part, definitely not. But the more complex the story has gotten (organ harvesting? VIPs? Looking for a brother?), the more predictable those twists and turns became. I didn’t mind it too much, as I still have enjoyed the show overall, but it sometimes felt like the creator put himself in the corner, and the only way he knew how to get himself out of there was via cliches. For example, I could do without the entire “Where is this random policeman’s brother?” storyline. And don’t even talk to me about the reveal who the Front Man was or the fact our policeman is not dead. That wasn’t confirmed yet, by the way, but I am telling you this as an avid TV/movie watching person, I have not seen a character to be “fake dead” like this in a long time.

The concept itself – “let’s make poor people play kids games, but if they lose, they die” is intriguing, as some games, we can all relate to (marbles, tug of war) and some, like the squid game itself, is… to be honest, I still don’t fully understand what is so appealing about it, but I think I get it…? Anyway, it’s not about the games; it’s about the metaphors. It’s about the age-old (or however many decades it’s been since we’ve invented currency and a proper capitalism) question: “How much would you sell your soul for? Would you kill or participate in an activity that kills others if it meant you’d be rich? Of course if you are “lucky” enough to survive?”

Because underneath all the games, all cliches, I believe the universal appeal of this show is how much we believe in ourselves. Respectively, in our inept goodness and that we would have made the correct decision. That we, faced with a massive amount of money in our faces, would have done the right thing. I can see a lot of people watching this show, asking themselves: “How much would it take for me to end up like this?” Because it’s easy to discuss morality, laws and all that good stuff from the comfort of your couch, in your flat, house, where presumable, you have heating that’s working, electricity, and your basic needs are met. And that is why I was surprised by the ending. Not so much about the “who was behind it” bit, but the fact the “good guy” won.

If you think about it for a moment, Squid Game presents a world where evil people come on top. A world where if you are good, that is great and all, but people will take advantage of you (see Ali’s character played by Rama Vallury). He was on the “too good” end of the scale, and that got him killed. So it would make sense for this show to have a darker ending. The ending that should have happened, in my opinion. Where the last two guys are fighting, everything happens precisely, as it had in the show, except Park Hae-soo‘s character doesn’t have the sudden change of heart. He takes the knife next to his head and kills Lee Jung-jae‘s character. As I believe that would have happened. Would I love it? No, but yes. Because that would make the most sense in the world and the story we’ve been presented thus far. And most importantly, it would be in his character.

Because this show managed to do one thing absolutely perfectly, and those were the characters – throughout the entirety of the show, you love people, you love to hate others, but even with them, you could see why they would act the way they had. And Park’s character had sacrificed his soul (or morals or whatever you want to call it) long before that fight. I know why they went with the more “viewer-friendly” ending because it ties everything up nicely with a bow and the scene in the very last episode with the drunk guy and whether somebody would help him. What I am trying to say is this – I honestly believe there are genuinely amazing people walking among us every day. Selfless, helpful people who want to make this world a better place. But this “change of heart” of this particular character… I just didn’t buy it. Within the show, he would have taken the opportunity to kill his friend; he would take the money and then try to be better, maybe use the money for charity purposes to make himself feel better, justifying the choices he’s made.

And I guess this right here – this is why Squid Game became such a phenomenon. It gave us something interesting to talk about, to examine one’s morality, our thoughts. Because here’s the thing – I know people will disagree with me, saying how I didn’t understand what this show is about, how I am wrong about Park’s character etc. And this, to me, is a fascinating debate. I can’t be wrong because I can’t be right. There is no right or wrong answer here. It all goes down to whatever your moral compass is set to, what your core beliefs are. Everything plays a part. Your upbringing, your experience… kind of like in these games, right?

Overall, Squid Game managed to do something I was positively surprised by. It managed to deliver on a massive hype. I tried to approach this show with no preconceived notions, as that is not the best mindset to see something that’s supposed to be “the best thing ever since the sliced bread”, even though that was difficult, as it was literally everywhere around me. What I have gotten was almost a perfect show that provided me with something new-ish to think about, offered me some cool visuals, and left me wondering about morality, humanity and all that good jazz. My only complaint was that sometimes, the less you tell us, the better and the more I think about how the “final game” went down, the more I am convinced the show should have had the balls to make the “antihero” the real winner. It will be interesting to see whether this will get any second season, what that might look like and more importantly, how it will be received. For my money, I wouldn’t be mad if there was never any other season. Sometimes, less is more.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

Audition (1999) Review – Chillingly Mesmerising

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This movie became kind of a legend for me. I’ve been hearing about it from all different sources on the Internet, and unfortunately one of them managed to spoil one of the key scenes for me. At the time, I didn’t think of it that much, as I thought there will be more than this, but no, it was actually pretty important thing. Because Audition is not what it seems to be, and even though you know the basics gist of it, the movie still manages to surprise you.

And since I want to break the cycle and not spoil anything for anyone, who hasn’t seen this movie (even though it’s been out for over 20 years now) I will need to put a spoiler tag, as this movie is impossible to discuss without talking about everything that happens, so…

Beware, SPOILERS are coming!

You might have heard the plot line of this movie, where a guy is auditioning for his new wife (hence the title of this movie) and the one he chooses turns out to be bit more psycho than one would appreciate. So far, nothing too unexpected, right? But what I was genuinely surprised by was how little we see of the actual torture (which I am NOT complaining about, just to be extra clear here) and how basically 90% of this movie is dedicated to everything that happens prior to it. For example, the audition process actually takes time, we see the father’s relationship with his son, we see him going about his life, you know, the usual. What I am trying to say is if you are watching this movie just for the “cheap thrills” of just another “torture porn” movie, this is only it for the last 10/15 minutes or so and this movie is much more than this.

Prior to that, the movie deals with plenty of stuff, like how it is to loose your wife and trying to “get back there”, how dangerous it is to trust some random person who you’ve just met, even though they might seem like the most polite, non-threating person under the sun… this movie was truly ahead of its time. Also, I expected for her to move in with him straight-away, but no, after the first night together, she disappears and he is trying to look for her, but all the information he’s got about her turn out to be dead ends. The movie is really great when comes to subverting your expectations of what is to come.

And yet, towards the end, I felt like I needed more. Like something was missing from the overall enjoyment. And I think I might know what. The thing I had spoilt for me was the scene where Eihi Shiina (chillingly great performance) is using the string to cut Ryo Ishibashi‘s foot and that imagery alongside the sound effects, to me that’s the key moment of this movie. That sheer, raw brutality of that moment, that was unfortunately spoiled for me long time ago. And I know this is going to sound really weird, but I honestly expected something worse, when came to the actually torture scene.

Now I am not saying everything that happened in that scene wasn’t shocking, it was, but unfortunately as a person, who sat through all the Saw movies, who have been influenced to a certain extent by this movie, it takes a lot to stun me. So because I had the “main” scene spoiled for me, I was kind of expecting there to be more and there wasn’t. Which is not to say this movie is bad because of it, not by any means, it just unfortunately I’ve seen it late, I’ve had it spoiled and that unfortunately takes its toll on my overall experience of this really, really disturbing movie.

Audition is definitely one of the “granddaddies” of the term I’ve used prior – “torture porn”. As it shows you something most movies shy away from and it almost bathes in it. But in here, it’s not actually done over the top, like in Saw franchise, where they had to one up every upcoming sequel with more horrifying/disgusting traps. In Audition, it’s pretty straightforward, and mainly – the torture porn aspect of it is almost a by-product! Yes, the movie is famous because of it, but at the same time, it’s much more than that and I think that’s the main difference between this and every other movies in this genre. Audition is a mix of drama, comedy (yes, surprisingly there are funny scenes, mainly during the actual audition part of the movie) thriller, where the movie might have been better, had they given us bit more. Maybe additional 30 minutes, to explore more of Eihi’s background, because from what we’ve been shown, there was a reason she acted in such a way and even though I get not showing us too much, to let the audience be more engaged, I wanted more of her backstory.

Overall, Audition is definitely a movie, that’s not for everyone. It’s still (after 20+ years) a chilling, yet mesmerizing movie that takes its time, it’s meticulously crafted with some great performances, mainly by our main duo. And if you can handle a bit of the “good old fashioned” torture and you love a film, that takes its time, there is a bit of a mystery, drama, comedy and thriller all wrapped up in one AND you haven’t had it spoiled by anyone, this might be something worth checking out.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

Dutch Wife in the Desert (1967) Review – A Trip Without a Plane (Or Drugs)

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If you haven’t heard about this movie until now, you might know it as Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands, as that is another title this movie is apparently known as in the USA and… yeah, believe it or not, that title actually makes more sense, even though it might be slightly on the spoiler(y) side. I don’t usually do reviews, where I would just copy and paste the summary of the story, as anybody can google that, but with this film, I can’t help it, as I will explain soon.

A private detective is hired to find a woman who has apparently been murdered in a snuff film. It turns out the woman’s not dead, but very much alive, and he gets sucked into a torrid affair with her that leaves him questioning his sense of reality.

Summary of Dutch Wife in the Desert (Source: IMDb.com)

There are two reasons I felt like I needed to include the summary for this film. The first one is I understand this is as indie movie as it get (I mean I couldn’t even find a nice enough poster, that is why I had to use a screenshot I found), so plenty of people won’t be familiar with the story (I certainly wasn’t before watching it). The second, and more important reason is… I still don’t know what I’ve seen and I have watched the entire film!

Dutch Wife in the Desert is truly one hell of a trip, where you can understand the very basics of the story, that there is a detective, that gets hired to investigate murder, that might or might not have happened. But everything else around that is just one wild fever dream so big, even David Lynch would get lost in it. And unlike him (or his films), there didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for this… Or, maybe I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I would his movies…?

You might have also heard about this movie that this was “the very first NC-17 rated film to be released” (according to IMDb’s Trivia section) and I am guessing they mean in USA…? I was trying to look for a bit more information, but couldn’t find any. And yes, that means there is some nudity and some sex and even rape, so the rating is justified, even though by today’s standards, the movie seems pretty tame, or respectively, I expected slightly more…? To me, had I not known that piece of trivia, I would have guessed R rating right after finishing the movie, not NC-17.

It’s hard to write about this hallucinogenic trip kind of a movie, as plenty of things you just need to go with. It’s almost the epitome of Guerrilla filmmaking, where you either go with everything that’s happening, or not. And I have gone with plenty of stories/movies prior, I honestly love weird, low budget movies, that are easy (or difficult), straight to the point, “don’t have money for bullshit, let’s cut to the chase” kind of thing, I love those movies. But when they don’t make sense and they leave you wondering what the fuck just happened and you are not really sure what you’ve watched, but to the point you don’t even know whether you’ve followed the story correctly, something is wrong. There is one thing having a movie that’s open to interpretations, that might be on the wilder side, and then there is Dutch Wife in the Desert, where it seems like the director just wanted to shoot some beautiful naked ladies and materialise a really weird dream with no meaning he had that one time.

Overall, if you are into really low budget, indie, “makes you feel like you are tripping on acid” kind of movies, this might be right up your alley, but I am afraid it wasn’t right up mine. Some plus points for the ending, that caught me by surprise, even though I am not sure whether I understood it correctly. I mean, that is one how to describe the entire film – caught me by surprise and not sure whether I understood it correctly.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

The Skin I Live In (2011) Review – Disturbingly Great

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There are filmmakers who make great movies, that are not for everyone. For me, David Lynch is the perfect example of an artist, whose work is not easy to recommend to the “normal” audience, even though he is one of my favourite directors of all time. But even his movies pale in comparison to some of Pedro Almodóvar‘s work. That is why I like him too (can’t say love him, as I still haven’t seen as many of his movies as I would have liked). The Skin I Live In (in original La piel que habito) is yet another example of twisted brilliance, I desperately want to recommend to everybody, but at the same time, I can’t, as I fear some people would just stop talking to me after watching it, fearing for their safety. 🙂

Which is fair I guess, as this movie is… unique? Even that word doesn’t do this film justice. What I loved about this movie were the slow reveals of the necessary information. If this was an American film, there might have been a narrator, there would have been the awkward dialogue like “Of course, Mother, because that is how I always address you” to make sure everybody understands who is who, and what is happening. I think that is the main difference between American x European cinema, as plenty of European filmmakers give you information as the movie goes, trusting the audience and their intelligence. This movie is no different. Every time you think “I see where this is going now”, the movie makes a different turn, making you either really invested into the story, or really frustrated. Luckily, I was in the first group.

I love when movies treat you with some respect, allow you to guess, but at the same time, provide you with some answers, so you can put everything together, piece by piece. In this case, it is literally piece by piece… without going into spoilers, I can’t say more and for this review, I won’t go there, as I would love for you to watch it without knowing anything about it. Because this movie takes you places. And sure, plenty of them are uncomfortable, but to me, that is why I love unorthodox filmmakers/art.

Especially lately I subscribe to a theory that good art should shake you up a bit, make you think, show you something that might be slightly unsettling, on the edge or just slightly over the edge of what some might call a “good taste”. Why? Because art should evoke emotions. But nowadays, people seem to shy away from anything too… negative. Nobody wants to “make waves”, everything feels the same, sterilised. And I am not saying art needs to be just negative things about bad people doing horrible things, of course not. But just because a movie displays something, that is wrong, outrageous or on the edge of “good taste” (whatever that means) that doesn’t mean that the artist(s) like that bad thing. Or that people who like that type of art, like it because of that element. Plenty of times people gravitate towards something different because they want to be exposed to something they wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise. That in return might start conversation about certain topics, that otherwise would stay off the table.

And I think this is what Almodóvar is doing here. He’s bored of normality, things being the same, he challenges the world. He’s forcing us to have a conversations about topics, we probably wouldn’t have. Like in this example – where is the line between good and evil? Does one horrible act justify another one? Is there such a thing as morality, or is that just set of rules we force upon ourselves? What makes human? Is that the skin they live in, or is it a soul? If it’s the soul, can you destroy it…?

The Skin I Live In is definitely one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. It’s really strange to say I would highly recommend it, given it will make some people really uncomfortable, but I honestly would recommend it, as it’s not something you see everyday, that’s for sure. It also makes you think, treats the audience with respect and showcases talent of Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya who were both magnificent. This was a wake up call, that I do need to watch more of Pedro’s movies, as even some of his films I didn’t love as much are still worth seeing. Again, when somebody has such a unique vision, they tend make unique art. Sometimes, that art misses you. And sometimes, it hits you in a way you’ve never expected.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

Woman in Chains (1968) Review – The Passion and The Art

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This is the perfect example of why I love old, foreign movies! As with most of them, I knew next to nothing about this movie before I watched it, and I was mesmerised. Woman in Chains is a great showcase on how to make “steamier” movie without going over the top with nudity.

The main story focuses on 3 very different people – Stanislas, Gilbert and Josée. Stanislas is the “main” figure, where he’s a mysterious artist, who is really into what he’s doing and (among other things) into domination, where he takes pictures of woman in (what would be back then) scandalous settings/poses. Gilbert is an artist who knows Stanislas, as they showcase their art in the same gallery. Josée is Gilbert’s wife, who ever since she meets Stanislas, is intrigued by him, ever so slowly, yet passionately. And that scares her. The movie explores their bond, and whatever is happening between them is getting stronger and stronger, where it effects Josée’s relationship with Gilbert.

I’m not going to further into details, but I will tell you this – the movie is not as shocking as it was in 1968, as everything about sex and this particular subculture (it’s not exactly BDSM, but it’s definitely on the verge of it, as it’s about dominance and submissiveness) have been demystified in media, from books to movies. This is what Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) should’ve aspired to be, as throughout the movie, Laurent Terzieff (Stanislas) oozes some sort of charm, mysteriousness and certain attraction, where you believe him to be THAT kind of artist, that would take those pictures and not only would enjoy controlling women, but the women would let him control them.

One of the main things this movie does well is the way it shoots certain scenes, mainly in the art gallery. The camera work could’ve just been simple pan and occasional zoom over the art pieces, but this movie puts you in the artist perspective, where some of those visuals are stunning, some of them make you feel you are on some sort of trip, but everything fits so well with the atmosphere of this movie. To me, it makes you think about the art pieces the same way the artists thought about them and that was definitely something you won’t see in every movie.

The main “selling” point of this movie is the relationship between Stanislas and Josée, where first, she doesn’t know what to think of him, as he talks and behaves like nobody she’s met before. She’s slightly scared of him, but there is a part of her that’s fascinated with him, so she keeps coming back, slowly realising he made her discover something about herself she might have not known otherwise. It’s always fascinating to see how “older” movies deal with topics like these, and yes, towards the end the movie is slightly driving the point to overdrive, but for the most part, I’d imagine the movie nailed how would that be, in late 60’s, suddenly discovering you enjoy something, that’s so shamed upon. Something that to a degree, disgusts you too, but you just can’t help yourself.

Woman in Chains is definitely an interesting study into some not-so-conventional people, and how they perceive everything, from the world around them, to intimacy, art… It’s also a movie, that can build sexual tension without any excessive amount of nudity, or being sleazy and that is the thing I was surprised with – how, even though it can be seen as a “dirty” movie, there isn’t that much nudity or sleaziness. Because the film is more interested in the characters and how they navigate relationships, art and everything, rather than trying to shock you.

Just a side note, if you were to watch this movie and the already mentioned Fifty Shades of Grey back to back, it’d strike you even more, how bad of a film it actually is, and they had the upper hand of coming out in 2015, exactly 47 years AFTER this film! Everything about that movie still puzzles me to this day…

This is the last movie of Henri-Georges Clouzot, so talk about going out on a high note. Just another side note, if you don’t know anything about this director, do yourself a favour and watch The Wages of Fear (1953) and Les Diaboliques (1955) (and of course, this movie too), to appreciate his legacy. All of those are great movies, especially The Wages of Fear will give you anxiety attack throughout the entire movie like no other.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke