This is another Taiwanese film that is a recommendation from our cinephile and though it was directed by a new guy, Huang Hsin-yao, it’s visibly from the same team as the ones who made Godspeed. The addition to the plus symbol which forms part of the title seems eccentric but apparently is meant to represent that this film is an expansion of the director’s previous short film bearing the same title that was nominated for a Golden Horse Award.
Since we’ve both watched and loved Armando Iannucci’s In the Loop, seeing this was inevitable and we already know what we’re in for. It’s a little strange to see all those British actors with their accents playing supposedly Russian characters while Steve Buscemi plays Nikita Khrushchev but it’s easy enough to grasp who’s who especially with the convenient title cards when each character is introduced.
After watching The Shape of Water, I thought it might be amusing to follow it up with another fantasy film, this one from South Korea. As far as I can tell this is director Um Tae-hwa’s first real feature film and the young actress who plays the female lead is a newcomer as well. This is a piece of mass market entertainment and not an art film, so with my expectations calibrated accordingly, I found it to be perfectly cromulent fantasy film.
Given the Oscars it won and the fact that it was directed by Guillermo del Toro, I feel obliged to watch this though I wasn’t enthusiastic after reading some very disparaging comments about it on Broken Forum. Unfortunately, those reports turned out to be very much correct. This is a beautiful film in terms of production values but an abject failure on every other level.
This is another Chinese film that came as a recommendation from our cinephile friend and as it appears to be the debut feature of its director Zhang Dalei, is probably far too obscure for me to come across it in the ordinary course of things. It won a bunch of awards and except for a short sequence at the end, is entirely in black and white.
I added this to the list because it has so much mindshare and cultural influence even though I thought I probably wouldn’t like it. There was supposed to be a television series based on this film earlier this year but it seems to have been delayed indefinitely due to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. After watching this, it’s pretty obvious why its subject matter doesn’t feel like anything to joke about these days.
After being acquainted with director Takeshi Kitano from A Scene at the Sea, it’s only right that I pay some attention to what is likely his best known work, especially in the west. Sonatine bombed in Japan when it was released but it gradually attracted the attention of critics and other filmmakers in the west who were intrigued by its unusual style. In fact, the Japanese seemed to be so embarrassed by the film that they were reluctant to license it for distribution.