Reviews

Hell hath no fury....

Nov 2023

TW: Sexual assault, suicide references

Very fast paced, violent, bloody, with a couple of real "OH!!!" moments.

The background story is provided whilst playing out in the present. The character of the Ballerina in question, Min-hee, is sweet, quirky and never came across as weak, but an incident in her relatively young life proved too much.

I got a strong feeling that the seemingly lonely girl she befriended, Ok-ju, actually loved her. There was just something in the way she looked at her at times.

That friend, an ex bodyguard with no ties and seemingly nothing to lose, takes up a challenge left by her friend and, basically, WW3 breaks out not long after!

At its heart this is purely an action thriller, not deep or realistic. However, the seedier side of life that Min-hee gets tangled up in, over the last few years in S.Korea (and elsewhere), has proven to be all too real, in one form or another. That makes for a very uncomfortable and quite sickening watch at times.

In many ways it's also quite a satisfying watch, especially when the main characters are women who take no 5hit, are tough, capable and exceptionally determined.

My brain didn't even have time to register when things got OTT, because it was too busy being stunned!

Jeon Jong Seo, as the Best Friend, Jang Ok Ju, was superb. God she must be fit, as it was a very physical role. She rarely smiled, wasn't noisy or overly emotional, yet neither was she miserable, depressing or emotionless. Her immediate reaction to loss was very real to me.

Kim Ji Hoon, as Choi Pro, is an actor I've come to love. He is so much more than his looks and unlike many actors, isn't typecast, so when he appears, one doesn't know if he's friend or enemy. He has no qualms taking on really unpalatable characters, or sweeter, fluffy roles.

Whilst adding a little dark humour to proceedings, which I like, at the same time I found the weapons dealers suggested to Ok-ju by her ex-boss, to be a bit daft in terms of what they were offering; was her ex-boss trying to get her to fail?! It didn't sit right, even though it was amusing. Great supporting role for Kim Young-ok, however. I love this senior actress.

There were references to corrupt police and powerful people in this, but they were not seen or, more annoyingly, held accountable, as is too often the case in K-dramas and film. That, as usual, irritated me.

Overall, it felt like a very quick watch and, I felt, quite different in its story and vibe; but it certainly won't be for everyone.

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Great Sci-Fi Idea But No Character Growth.

GENERAL SPOILERS below.
What the hell was the point of what they went through? The relationship arc could have been the exact same even if there had been no cyber lover. You could just jump from 7min into the movie to the last scene because the characters are pretty much emotionally and psychologically at the same point regardless of the stuff in-between. "Happy ending" my foot. *They didn't re-learn to love each other, didn't even put any effort into doing so*, but somehow they're back together at the end anyway. Mutually grieving the loss of their happy early days does not equal a good reason to stay together.

I wasn't able to root for any of the characters because they were unlikable without enough reasons/examples to make it understandable why they were that way. I did end up feeling the most pity for Wen, but that didn't translate into liking, and I really couldn't understand the last couple of choices he made for his own sake at the end.

The ideas in the movie are definitely new and intriguing. That's what kept me watching all the way through. Unfortunately, the exploration of themes felt shallow to me. The main characters started, stayed, and ended sadly reminiscing about the beginning of their relationship. They were stuck regretting that their relationship was no longer like that *without actually doing anything or taking any steps to make it better going forward*. Even at the end! Lots of regret but very little shown of their growth (individually or as a couple). That's what frustrated me the most about this story.

The sci-fi stuff does require a lot of suspension of disbelief but they do an okay job world-building their own rules with what's possible.

The timeline is so unrealistic. It took 2 days to "love" a cyber "person" with no real personality of their own; he was like a 1-dimensional puppy. The story jumps around abruptly and simultaneously doesn't give enough build-up to either the past human relationship or the current cyber one.

There are some hot intimate moments and there is kissing and making out. Unfortunately, the intimacy lacked emotional depth, so it felt flat and unsatisfying to me.

The audio track was really low quality. Most of the time it sounds like listening through a phone call or under water, especially whenever Wen played music. It's bearable, but definitely noticeable. It's so bad I'm wondering if it was an issue with where I streamed it from or if it is indeed the original sound? (Found on GagaOOlala Nov 2023).

Other than the idea of the plot and the decent acting, this felt like a waste of time.

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As much as I enjoyed the short film (shown here), the same goes for this feature film. In terms of the story, these young men only had a few days at the Higashikawa Resort in Japan, each arriving from different motives. Toey came here to heal a broken heart after a five-year relationship with his girlfriend, and Oat, on the other hand, to enjoy the last days before the wedding. Very nicely produced (albeit in Thai with a slow fall) and also played, especially the more mysterious Oat impressed me and the overall tone, except for the twice rather loud music, was pleasantly sad, especially the ending after a while when Toey tried to take on "the form "Oat.



Tak jako se mi líbil krátký film (zde uvedený), tak to samé platí i pro tento celovečerní snímek. Z hlediska příběhu měli tito mladí muži na sebe jen pár dní v rezortu Higashikawa v Japonsku, kam každý přijel z jiných pohnutek. Toey sem přijel vyléčit zlomené srdce po pětiletém vztahu s přítelkyní a Oat naopak užít si poslední dny před svatbou. Moc hezky vyrobeno (i když thajsky s pomalým spádem) a i zahráno, především tajemnější Oat na mě zapůsobil a celkové vyznění, až na dvakrát dost hlasitou hudbu, bylo příjemně smutné, především ten závěr po čase, kdy Toey se snažil na sebe vzít "podobu" Oata.

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Another manga made into a movie, this time a Korean adaptation, and as the reviewers before me have already said, it's a very cute comedy that caresses the soul and puts you in a good mood. And the four main characters give it the right twist and even though it was originally aimed mainly at Japanese girls and women, it has already entertained many viewers around the world, including me.



Další zfilmovaná manga, tentokráte korejská adaptace a jak už hovoří recenzenti přede mnou, jde o hodně roztomilou komedii, která pohladí po duši, navodí dobrou náladu. A čtveřice hlavních hrdinů tomu dodá ten správný šmrnc a i když původně byla především směřována na japonské dívky a ženy, pobavila už mnoho diváků po celém světě včetně mě.

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It is a completely original film, where I was especially attracted by the main character - actor Cha Seung Won. The uniqueness and strangeness of the combination of the two themes and the main character completely overcame everything, and I rate it very highly overall, and I don't mind at all that the theme is combined like this (a tough cop and an operation on a woman) and many viewers probably won't take it. I definitely recommend it to others.


Je to naprosto originální snímek, kde mě upoutal především hlavní hrdina - herec Cha Seung Won. Jedinečnost až divnost spojení dvou témat a hlavní postava naprosto přebily všechno a hodnotím celkově velmi vysoko a vůbec mi nevadí, že námět je takto skloubený (drsný policajt a operace na ženu) a mnozí diváci to asi nepoberou. Pro ty ostatní určitě doporučuji.

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This film is not intended for ... most Central European audiences. It was made for Japanese people (rather, for Japanese women), and quite precisely according to the yaoi manga of the same name, and that's why those who don't get the Japanese style of humor from the manga should go look elsewhere, otherwise many people will have a seizure, so I don't recommend the film to local users.
My rating is slightly above average. I tried to look at the picture through Japanese eyes, to perceive what can make the inhabitants of this country, where they live to the highest average age in the world, laugh. In this context, the film is really funny, cutely naive, with a manga-like character, and I would never have thought that this piece, which I would have "punished" five years ago, like the users here, could entertain and warm me like this. With Tsuburaya, I was totally freaked out by the resemblance to Takumi-kun from the fine 5 part Japanese series (we have it here), but they are only so similar. But Tsuburaya's rival - Ozaki (Tomita Sho) got me as an actor, who in my opinion was really worth eating. I will not look for negatives, because I think that I would harm the film with a one-sided view of the viewer from Europe, and in fact they did not want to film it otherwise, the Japanese, after all, there are as many of them as a hundred capital cities of the Czech Republic ....



Tento film není určen pro ... většinu středoevropských diváků. Byl vyroben pro Japonce (spíše pro Japonky), a to dost přesně podle yaoi mangy stejného názvu, a proto ti, kteří nepoberou japonský styl humoru z mangy, by měli jít hledat jinam, jinak chytnou mnozí záchvat, proto film zdejším uživatelům spíše nedoporučuji.
Mé hodnocení je mírně nadprůměrné. Snažil jsem se dívat na snímek japonskýma očima, vnímat to, co obyvatele této země, kde se dožívají nejvyššího průměrného věku na světě, dokáže rozesmát. V tomto kontextu je film skutečně zábavný, roztomile naivní, mangovsky postavičkový a nikdy by mě nenapadlo, že toto dílko, které bych ještě před pěti lety "trestal" podobně jako uživatelé zde, mě dokáže takto pobavit, rozehřát. U Tsuburaya jsem se úplně lekl podobou s Takumi-kunem z jemné pětidílné japonské série (máme ji zde), ale jsou si jen tak podobní. Herecky mě dostal ale Tsuburayův rival - Ozaki (Tomita Sho), který byl dle mě opravdu k sežrání. Zápory hledat nebudu, protože si myslím, že bych filmu ublížil jednostranným pohledem diváka z Evropy a vlastně oni to ani jinak Japonci natočit nechtěli, vždyť je jich tolik, jako sto hlavních měst Česka ....

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I recommend the film to those viewers who are looking for a deep experience, because when they gradually penetrate into the characters and their fates through the long beginning, the film absorbs them and they find that they have touched something wonderful and several victories and awards for the then two teenage representatives of the older characters (Tong + Mew) just confirms it, although in my opinion it is not a purely BL film. Tonga's mother - Sunee is also a prominent character in the film, sometimes I thought that she is perhaps the most important character with worries about her sick husband, lost daughter and son, whose sexual orientation is coming to the surface and she won't even have grandchildren. Gradually, however, the fates of the individual characters wrap up, until everything finally culminates, and not only at the end. The last scenes are very touching and in connection with the family drama and despite the sometimes a bit lengthy shots and sometimes a minor touch of processing, it still leads me to the conclusion that this is one of the best Thai films of those years.

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The very depressing film surprised me considering I am not used to this topic from Taiwan. Full of alcohol and drunken stupor (mother, as if deranged younger son Rat), cigarettes, then disability (prostitute Ya Ba), dysfunctional families. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the acting was probably the strongest point of the film (already mentioned, but also the elder son of Shanghe, Ren Shuo). I also didn't mind the sound-music. Processing was the worst for me. I understand that the creators wanted to "darken" the sex scene between Shangh and Shue a bit, but half of the scenes in the movie are so darkened that it hurt my eyes, so I think, not this movie again, at least as a demonstration of very solid acting. Taiwanese Chinese is spoken in the movie and not Mandarin.


Hodně depresivní film mě překvapil na poměry, kdy nejsem na toto téma z Taiwanu zvyklý. Plno alkoholu a opileckého otupění (matka, jakoby pomatený mladší syn Rat), cigaret, dále zdravotní postižení (prostitutka Ya Ba), nefunkční rodiny. Přesto herecké výkony byly dle mě asi tou nejsilnější stránkou filmu (už dříve vyjmenovaní, ale i starší syn Shanghe, Ren Shuo). Rovněž zvuk-hudba mi nevadil. Zpracování bylo pro mě nejhorší. Chápu, že tvůrci chtěli trošku "ztmavit" sexuální scénu mezi Shanghem a Shuem, ale takto ztmavených scén je ve filmu polovina až mě z toho bolely oči a tak si říkám, tento film příště už ne, max. jako ukázku velmi solidního herectví. Ve filmu se mluví taiwanskou čínštinou a ne mandarínštinou.

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Right from the start, it was obvious that Koreans belong to the more northern Asian races and many have very high cheekbones (not all of them), which squeeze the eyes into two slits. Both boys were likeable from the beginning, just friends from school fooling around. The girl seemed a little goofy to me at first, but that's how the story wanted it to be. And suddenly it happened that a friend turned out to be a friend. Very nicely, simply and truthfully rendered in a few minutes and together with the music and processing at a very solid level, I am pleasantly surprised in the end and thank karcikarl for his further translation and selection of a pleasant film.


Hned na začátku bylo vidět, že Korejci patří už k těm severnějším asijským rasám a mnozí mají hodně vystouplé lícní kosti (ne všichni), které stlačí oči do dvou štěrbin. Oba kluci byli od začátku sympatičtí, prostě přátelé ze školy blbli. Holčina mi zezačátku připadala mírně praštěná, ale takto to děj chtěl. A najednou se stalo, že z kamaráda se vyklubal kamaRÁÁÁD. Hrozně hezky, jednoduše a pravdivě vykresleno v pár minutách a spolu s hudbou a zpracováním na velmi solidní úrovni jsem nakonec mile překvapen a děkuji karcikarlovi za jeho další překlad a výběr příjemného filmu.

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Those Taiwanese never cease to amaze me. First, erotic scenes of five men who have gathered to have sex with each other through a dating app, of which Sun is the most shy (the main character of the student) and Roger (the host) the "erotic-acting" best, later a cinematic "dissection" of this action from the psychological point of view of these actors (through small dialogues, silence) and followed by a beautiful panorama of Taipei at night. Exactly as a reviewer on one world server called it: "softcore art house". Overall satisfaction from me and whoever thinks about the film and doesn't just skim the surface and the lessons we all know well, namely that sex and love don't always have to go hand in hand, even if they are closely and inherently related ... and that it's what the creators wanted to convey and I appreciate that through the skin of eroticism and the "slow down" in the second half.




Ti Taiwanci mě nepřestávají překvapovat. Zprvu erotické scény pěti mužů, kteří se sešli zasexovat si spolu prostřednictvím seznamovací aplikace, z nichž Sun je ten nejostýchavější (hlavní postava studenta) a Roger (hostitel) "eroticko-herecky" nejlepší, později filmové "rozebrání" tohoto jednání z psychologického hlediska těchto aktérů (prostřednictvím malých dialogů, ticha) a následováno krásným panoramatem nočního Taipei-e. Přesně jak to nazval recenzent na jednom světovém serveru: "softcore art house". Ode mě celková spokojenost a kdo se nad filmem zamyslí a nebude klouzat jen po povrchu i poučení, které všichni dobře známe, a to, že sex a láska nemusí být vždy ruku v ruce, i když spolu úzce a neodmyslitelně souvisí ... a to je to, co chtěli tvůrci sdělit a toho si cením přes slupku erotiky a v druhé půli i "zpomalení".

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The film is an adaptation of the manga of the same name by the author Hideyoshico, for which she won several awards at the Chil Chil BL Awards 2012. For me, it's a perfectly fine Japanese-edited film, sophisticated, well-paced and excellently acted by both main protagonists. Even to the point that I really believed Momose that even though it's his first love, he acts like a proper seme and tried to almost "rape" Yashiro according to the yaoi without ever doing it and it came from inside the character without that he could somehow influence it. A very good episode indeed, in which, surprisingly, this time I was disturbed a bit by the music, which was not to my taste, to underline the emotionally correct scenes.


Snímek je adaptací mangy stejného názvu autorky Hideyoshico, za kterou sklidila několik ocenění i na Chil Chil BL Awards 2012. Pro mě naprosto fajn film japonského střihu, vychytaný, mající spád a výborně zahraný oběma hlavními protagonisty. Dokonce tak, že jsem Momose-mu opravdu věřil, že i když je to jeho první láska, tak se chová jako správný seme a pokusil se dle yaoi Yashira téměř "znásilnit", aniž by to někdy dělal a vycházelo to z nitra postavy bez toho, že by to mohl nějak ovlivnit. Opravdu velmi dobré dílko, u kterého mě překvapivě tentokráte trošku rušila hudba, která nebyla dle mého vkusu, aby podkreslila pocitově správně dané scény.

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A film that lances the rage and exasperation that can mark a family relationship

At the centre of this very touching social study are a mother and her daughter. They share the apartment mentioned in the title of the film. Besides that, their bond is rather loose. Indeed they could be as well some random flatmates – some that don't get along well. The more Yi-jung (Im Jee-ho) tries to win her mother's affection, the more fiercely Su-kung (Yang Mal-bok), the latter, rejects her.

It's nearly embellishing saying that the relationship between the two is tense. They can't communicate without being passive aggressive or snappish. Yi-jung clearly gets on her mother's nerves, but there doesn't seem to be a particular reason for it. Her mere existence seems to provoke Su-kung. Their mutual frustration unloads itself from scene to scene. One of the first confrontations escalates when the two argue, Yi-jung leaves the car and Su-kung in anger steps on the accelerator and hits her daughter from behind.

As a spectator we could have been prepared for this. The camera sits in the car, we have the same perspective as Su-kung watching out of the front window. We feel the tension, we see the contracted muscles of the protagonist. Still her reaction comes unexpected. Why doesn't she come down as most other persons in her situation would have? But no, she really does it. And this is a feeling that stays with the audience during the whole film.
Su-kung doesn't match our expectations. She does not act like we would like a mother to behave. She contradicts the, in most societies nearly holy, ideal of a mother. There is no trace of tenderness towards her daughter. At one point, Yi-jung says to her colleagues from work that she believes her mother would be capable of killing her one day. That evokes an embarrassed silence among the present ones. And they are heavily relieved when they suppose it was only a joke. But in reality it's not that easy.

Yi-jung's situation is desperate. It is difficult for outsiders to relate to her. The love of a mother is considered by most as one of the few things in life on which we can count unconditionally. It is sure a taboo to scratch this certitude. We feel pity for Yi-jung. She has nobody to whom she can turn to. No father, no friends. She longs for affection. In the relationship with her new colleague at work, it appears clear that she doesn't know how to cope with closeness. At the slightest sign of friendship, she tries to hold on to it with all her might. With the result that she scares away the person in front of her.

Director Kim creates with Su-kung a very complex character. She is not only selfish and childish, it is also clear that life wasn't easy on her and that, as a single mother, she faced a lot of criticism from society. She built a cold façade to protect herself. For her friends, she is an entertaining bird of paradise. They envy her supposed freedom. But at the same time, they can't hide the fact that they look down on her. For them not having an intact family life is like failing life's purpose.

Being the portrait of these two women, the cast is of essential importance. Yi-jung is played by Im Jee-ho with a lot of sensitivity. She shows the fragility of the character and the scars that leave its unanswered needs. Still Yi-jung is not a victim, she knows she has to part ways with her mother and finally finds the courage to do so. Even though at some points we would like Yi-jung to react a bit more, to be more combative, we can relate to her at all moments. And this is exactly due to the capability of the actress. It was indeed not easy to stand up to her counterpart. Yang Mal-bok as Su-kung is namely a force of nature. She has recently played in the series “Squid Game”. She manages to evoke contradictory emotions in the spectator. Her character has something despicable, but also touching. Yang whirls through the film like her character through her life. In the moment of calm, we see in her eyes the deep sadness that lies in Su-kung.
Even though the “The Apartment with Two Women” lasts for 140 minutes, it doesn't feel particularly long. This is thanks the precise script containing a density of narrative motifs. The pace of the film is basically calm and not excited, but still each scene has its statement. The framing is well balanced, the camera under the responsibility of cinematographer Moon Myoung-hwan follows the protagonists closely. But it still keeps a certain distance that is necessary to reflect on your own life experience and the evoked emotions.

There are several apartments that are of importance in the film. The first one is the one shared by mother and daughter. Private space is difficult to obtain there for them. The rooms are very close to each other, there is a lot of personal stuff piling up and giving the impression of suffocation. Little light comes in, and the dark furniture supports a gloomy atmosphere. In contrast to the women's apartment, the flat where Su-kung wants to move to with her new boyfriend is brighter and bigger. Also the home of Yi-jung's colleague, even though small, is much more friendly than Yi-jung's and Su-kung's.

Concerning the décor and the setting, director Kim shows the same sensitivity as for the development of her characters. She creates a particularly intimate movie, which is at the same time uncomfortable and often besetting, but also immensely touching. “The Apartment with Two Women” is bewitching. A fantastic first feature from a talented young director, that hopefully will produce more.

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At first it doesn't even look like an erotic film, but everything develops. I was impressed by the actors of the main roles and also that the erotic scenes were very solidly and convincingly processed, which were really erotic, soft. And very truthfully, no sarcastic kisses and the actors (not porn actors) had to really slap each other, body to body, I was surprised by the Japanese "cheeky" tongues. That's why I give the highest rating to the acting for the persuasiveness. I already liked less the enforcement scenes full of violence, cruelty, torture, but that's my problem, not the movie's problem, brrr. The sound was also solid, classical music, sometimes piano, very soft, sometimes almost inaudible and surprisingly well colored the scenes where it was appropriate. And indeed, the link from tomase106 is with both versions at the end, the blanc version ends at 1:10:37 and the noir starts, but it has no subtitles, so I prefer karcikarl's links.
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Zezačátku to ani na erotický film nevypadá, ale vše se rozvine. Zaujali mě herci hlavních rolí a též, že byly velice solidně, přesvědčivě zpracovány erotické scény, které byly opravdu erotické, soft. A velice pravdivě, žádné štítivé pusinky a herci (ne pornoherci) si museli pořádně máknout, tělo na tělo, překvapily mě japonské "šmejdivé" jazýčky. Proto za tu přesvědčivost dávám nejvyšší hodnocení právě za herecké výkony. Už méně se mi líbily vymahačské scény plné násilí, surovostí, mučení, ale to je můj problém, ne problém filmu, brrr. Zvuk byl též solidní, klasická hudba, někdy klavír, velmi jemná, někdy téměř neslyšná a překvapivě dobře podbarvila scény, kde se to hodilo. A opravdu, link od tomase106 je s oběma verzemi na konci, verze blanc končí 1:10:37 a začíná noir, ale je bez titulků, proto raději doporučuji linky od karcikarla.

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