The combination of Hirokazu Kore-eda and Song Kang-ho practically makes this a must watch and the unusual fact that Kore-eda has chosen to make a Korean film is even more intriguing. This one still shares the theme of being about parents failing their children and indeed is supposedly a companion film to Shoplifters. Unfortunately I found this one to be on the weaker side with moments that just a touch too sentimental. Even so you can see right from the opening shot what a skilled craftsman Kore-eda is and he can imbue meaning even to a deceptively bland phrase.
I’m in no hurry to get through the games in my backlog as usually production values are so high now that they’re just as good whenever I get around to them. But this is one case where I might have left it in the oven for too long. Playing a 2017 game in 2024 is kind of pushing it but I think this never looked very good even back then. I added this to my list a while back because it has a lot of many passionate fans and it adds old school shoot ’em up elements to the action genre. But I ultimately found it to be an underwhelming and overrated game.
This French film by German director Max Ophüls defies genres as it at times feels like a comedy and other times like a serious romantic film. It boasts superb production values with lavish sets, over-the-top period costumes and a very aristocratic atmosphere. As my wife noted, its opening title card with its music feels very much in the style of Hollywood. Yet it soon becomes clear that its conception of the proper relationship between a husband and wife and of the role of passionate style is very much in the European style. I don’t really get the humor in play here but I did enjoy its delicious subversiveness.
This documentary tells the behind the scenes story of the exhibition of the largest collection of Johannes Vermeer ever that was mounted in 2023. It was needless to say a tremendous success with its limited number of time slots being sold out immediately. We’ll never get to see its like in person but this documentary at least gives us some idea of what it’s like as well as a fascinating look into the kind of work that goes into organizing such events. The film does assume that one has already some basic idea of who Vermeer was and his significance and there are no grand revelations or new insights on offer but it’s an interesting and educational documentary all the same.
All of the articles this month relate to human health and well being, with the findings on mental health sure to be contentious.
Most should know about the growing problem of myopia in children but the extent of it is still shocking. The epidemic is global and was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which lead children to spend more time indoors. Previous predictions of the incidence of myopia are doubling or tripling, leading governments to scramble for solutions. As the article notes, as this cohort ages, the high incidence rates and increased severity of myopia may lead to increased susceptibility to conditions like macular degeneration, making this a serious health issue.
One health-related announcement that was viralled around the world is a new study claiming that sildenafil, the active ingredient of Viagra, appears to help prevent dementia. The claim is actually fairly modest, saying only that sildenafil is able to get into the blood vessels in the brain and hence improve blood flow. There’s no direct data yet on the drug’s effects on dementia patients but that study is sure to be coming.
There’s a tussle going on in the developed world right now over whether or not the mental health crisis among the young have cultural roots, either being worsened by social media or the normalization of having a mental health condition. This article covers findings from a survey of college students to say that liberal students have worse mental health than moderate and conservative students. Furthermore, liberal female and non-binary students have the worst self-reported mental health. I won’t go into the editorializing about the causes but I will say that I am sympathetic to the view that to some extent mental health issues seem to be contagious. The more you talk about them and raise awareness about them, the more students will report that they suffer from such issues.
Finally another paper claims that people’s satisfaction with their life correlates with their personality types, as classified under the Big Five domains. Emotional stability, extraversion and conscientiousness correlated with high life satisfaction while openness and agreeableness were not. These findings remained true across a span of ten years for individuals. This suggestion that life satisfaction is to some extent shaped by personality traits contradicts the belief that happiness is determined mainly by one’s lot in life.
A US election year in which Donald Trump stands a decent chance of returning to power is the perfect time to watch this political epic. I knew going in that this film won critical acclaim upon its release but it still exceeded my expectations and I wondered why it isn’t better known. I suppose it’s because it isn’t outstanding in any single aspect, with no stellar performances and no innovative visuals. It simply is a solid and honestly told political story. I am especially astounded that it manages to say so much and cover so much ground with a running time of less than two hours!
Here we go back to Tsai Ming-liang second feature film which my wife has watched before but I haven’t. It’s shocking to see how young Lee Kang-sheng looks here and I even noted how rough his acting is. He must have picked up the craft over the course of performing for Tsai’s films. This film also has more of a plot than the director’s later films and isn’t as artfully crafted. The themes of alienation and the strong sense of homoeroticism are plain to see, making it one of Tsai’s more lucid films. I can see why it caused a stir upon its release but it doesn’t touch the heights of sublimity he achieves in other films.
