Artsy gay film with somber vibe
I watched this film yesterday at a special Q&A screening in Taipei. I was pretty stoked, since LGBT+ films, especially in Asia, are few and far between. I'm writing this review from the perspective of a gay guy who watches way too much BL, and not an indie film enthusiast, so if you are looking for an in-depth critique of the film, look elsewhere. I'd just like to give a short overview of what I watched to see if you would be interested in giving it a try.As the first major gay film released in Taiwan since Your Name Engraved, I couldn't help myself from wanting to compare the films. However, they couldn't be more different. Moneyboys is a character study, not a narrative-driven romantic film. Ko does an excellent job as the reserved, emotionally suppressed Fei.
The cinematography was beautiful, and a lot of thought went into the techniques and style of the film. The movie was set in southern China, but filmed in Taiwan, which might be jarring if you have been to Taiwan and recognize some of the filming locations. Additionally, some actors are Chinese, while others are Taiwanese; if you are familiar with Mandarin, you may notice the different dialects of Mandarin between the characters. Some of the mainland accents are faked, while others are real.
Should you watch the film? If you are a BL fan who just wants a cookie-cutter romantic film, then stay away. But if you enjoy artsy films, then I would definitely recommend it. I'm guessing people's opinions of this film will be pretty polarized. But it's worth giving it a shot. Personally, I felt like something was missing from the film, as many of the themes (rural vs urban life, Chinese family values, guilt and shame) are trite. But the lead actor's performance and his ability to make me sympathize with his character were enough to leave a positive opinion in my mind the next day.
I'm not sure if and when this will be released in other countries, but I think because it's a co-production with Austria, it should at least be shown in some European countries. Maybe it'll even appear on Netflix eventually. If you have any other questions about the film feel free to ask.
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The story of a day
“There is an elephant in Manzhouli. It sits there all day long.”And no matter how many people stab it with forks, offer it food, chide it or console it, it does not move. It remains stationary the whole time, throughout its life. It remains still even when life progresses. It remains still when time stops.
“An Elephant Sitting Still” is the first and last film by Hu Bo, who died by suicide soon after its release. It has definitely won "stuff" at film festivals but in terms of camerawork and filmmaking, An Elephant Sitting Still is hardly a masterpiece. It is bleak and grey, mostly the camera follows the heads of our characters as they walk. There is nothing special about it in terms of sound except when the elephant roars.
This entire story of 4 hours is based on a single day. It shows us four extremely different people: a high school boy with an unloving family, his friend who has an affair with the school dean, an old man who isn't given a home in his own house by his own son and a gangster man whose friend commits suicide. All these people are united in the bleakness they are trapped in, and all of them, on the very same day, witness death. And it's amazing how many deaths can occur in a day, and even more surprising is how plausible the story is.
At some point in the movie, I wondered if I was reading a suicide note. Something that is tragic and still and yet, moving forward with a purpose. The human life it fragile and fleeting, no matter what happens, no matter how much you are beaten down, life is forever going ahead and the elephant will still be sitting at Manzhouli.
Despite being bleak, “An Elephant Sitting Still” possesses a timeless grace. Despite having minimal dialogue where the characters seem to speak in broken sentences with even more left unsaid, the characters have a strange connection. Despite being 4 hours long, it is not boring.
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Beautiful backstory
I've said this in every one of my other Rurouni Kenshin reviews so far but I have to say it again: even though I didn't love the fight scenes in this movie as much as in the previous ones, this series still has the best combat scenes I've ever seen, in everything including cinematography, choreography, sounds, etc.The best part of this was undoubtedly Himura Kenshin's backstory and how it tied into the flashbacks we got in previous movies. I was so intrigued by the new pieces of the story we got and it also meant that we got a really good antagonist — one that had personal stakes. I did think the antagonist wasn't as strong as Shishio and it kind of wish this movie had the grandeur of the previous movies while keeping the emotional depth we got in this one.
I also really liked the scenes of our gang being together and as always, I wish we had more of that and of character growth in the side characters, especially Kaoru, who had the most personality during Part I: Origins and seemed to only get more bland and weak with every subsequent movie.
Apart from that, however, I think this movie was perfectly cast and it really makes me look forward to watching The Beginning!
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A special kind of film.
This film doesn't tell a story, it shows you its message instead. There is hardly any kind of development yet the mood is so overpowering and the cinematography is so breathtakingly beautiful that it leaves a profound impression nonetheless.The ratings are quite low, and in my opinion this is not surprising at all. This film is odd in that it has no real plot, there is hardly any dialog and if you expect romance you'll mostly be left disappointed. It shows you tiny snippets of characters' back stories, but leaves them unexplored and unexplained. The film gives you ideas about topics that are important and worth thinking about. However it doesn't explore them, only taking note of their existence and then leaves it to the viewer to come up with their own conclusions and thoughts about them.
This film avoids imposing opinions, it stimulates thought processes and thus it can be either very impactful or very boring, depending on how you approach it as the viewer and how much the addressed topics resonate with you.
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This review may contain spoilers
You know what I loved about this movie? Besides Shison Jun who was mah-rvelous again, of course? That there weren't any villains in this. There was no backstabbing, no hidden agenda, no spite. They were all honest to gosh good people, a sight rarely seen!Even though Mio loved Yuzu, she helped Alice and taught her how to sing. Even though Haruyoshi loved Mio, he wasn't jealous of Yuzu, he wasn't angry at Yuzu for Mio's lack of interest. Even though Yuzu's writer's block was hindering the band's breakthrough, his friends did not pressure him. And Yuzu and Momo, your usual rivals in a love triangle and yet, when Yuzu found out who Momo was, he wasn't angry at him and when he realized how much Momo cared for Alice, then despite loving her himself, Yuzu tried to make her dream come true and get Momo to acknowledge her! And then, when Alice confessed to Momo that in the meantime, while he was gone from her life, she fell in love with Yuzu? Momo stepped back with no drama and no pressure. That was so lovely and actually mature!
What a feel-good movie! It made me feel all mushy and fuzzy on the inside. Exactly what I needed tonight!
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Honestly one of the best movies i ever watched!!!! TW self harm and blood!!!!
I descided to watch this movie because i was bored so i didn't even read the summary i just dived in right away. Honestly at first i expected this movie to be very weird and cringe romance movie like most Japanese movies that i've watched but i was very wrong. This movie was so well made it was dark and twisted but at the same time very interesting with amazing plot. I must say the acting was on point and the movie was very very well made. This movie was so engaging that every minute i was so excited to see what will happen next. To sum up, i was not dissapointed at all, this movie was amazing and i would definetly recomment it to everyone who likes psychological and dark films. 10/10 :DDWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Started slow but beautiful
Truthfully I didn't know this was a sequel. I just watched this on whim so I watched it thinking a standalone movie.It actually started slow in story aspects but gained it momentum with both lead starting to open up.
The acting was good. I loved the little girl so much. I liked the ending. I loved that they put efforts on the character of Rena. She was cheated on and lied to. Her whole life was turned to a lie and her future she thought she'll have with her husband and daughter was burned to grounds. They tried well to portray her. I hated her when she was drunk sleep and lost her child. But then her husband had extra marital affairs too. So I hated them both equally.
But they seem to love their child do I had mixed feelings.
I liked that she didn't just gave up her daughter to her husband completely when she saw Sora's drawing of her and two leads. The husband and wife met in the middle of .
I loved the ending of them all playing with Sora.
All in well this worth the watch!
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Trying to forget an unusual girl
I'm quite like this film because, in this film an MC is presented who is left by his lover but as time goes on but he still can't forget that girl, the MC is like stuck in one time (his past) and can't move on. Especially the storyline in this film is also quite interesting because it ensures a film with a backward storyline, where the timeline for this film is 2020 to 199X. by using a backward storyline like this, makes viewers wonder what the real problem is between the MC and the Heroine. The story is also very interesting when the company where MC works shows changes from time to time (quite interesting).The set used in this film is also good, especially when it tells the story of 199X, it feels very retro-Japanese at that time, but there were a few minor misses during the scene on the toll road (when it was about 199X), on the opposite side of the road there was a Mercedes facelift and a New Range Rover (?), yes, but apart from that minor miss, everything seemed to match the time setting shown.
The cast in this film somehow feels right and have strong relationship between them, Ito Sairi as Kato Kaori can portray her character quite well as a girl who has an interest in the unusual things. Moriyama Mirai as Sato Makoto also plays his character very well as a character who can't forget his past and is confused to move on to the future. The other supporting cast also in my opinion are quite good at playing their respective characters. special mention for Sumire as Su and Shinohara Atsushi as Nanase Toshihiko, because these two casts played their characters very well and seemed to have a strong relationship with the MC, then the characters they played also had quite an impact on the MC's character development.
Verdict, this film shows good character development on all its characters (MC & supporting characters) and shows good visuals sets according to the time setting of the story, especially in the timeline before 2000, with sets and properties that are quite accurate and also supported by a cast that is mutually have a strong relationship. The story is quite reasonable to be related to viewers. Worth your time you watch and it's a must !
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Really enjoiable
A good movie that has balance between comedy and drama. The first half of the movie is a bit more comical letting us see how the bromance starts and grows with time, until they comically ends up in tragedy. The movie on its own isn't a huge product, but in its little things comes out as really good one. The boys finds themself facing little problems as how they're gonna find a girlfriend being stuck in academy, or just have a life outside, to questioning themself if that it's really what they want to do in life. They soon find the answer when they witness the kidnapping, they find the sparkling they seem to have lost.Anyway, the acting is good, the boys are really funny and give us some good action scene, in general everyone worked good, as I said the first part of the movie stays more in comedy, the second half focus on the investigation and action.
It's an easy movie to watch that doesn't fail to make you laugh but it still entertains you with the crime turn.
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This review may contain spoilers
Not happy at all with the ending and seriously over the top!
So basically I’m hearing from a YouTuber that this show is getting a remake by Hollywood which will instead include New York (seriously known to be garbage with originality) and I decided to give it a try. It was nice seeing Gong Woo from Squid Game take a different role as a father. I just can’t get over though that this movie had a stupidly abrupt ending like can we not see the little girl reunite with her mother? Can we not see at least a vaccine announcement and be able to find her father? Can we not see the pregnant woman name her child after the father? I mean. WHY DIDNT THEY FREAKING ADD ANY OF THOSE TYPES OF SCENES IN WTF MAN?!?!Can I mention that the zombies in this weren’t that scary like I just felt they were rather over the top! The blue eyes really makes them like they were possessed more than infected. If this was a demon or a supernatural type of film, I would’ve understood it more but yeah I would even call the zombies forgettable. Sorry I’m not part of the “Train to Busan” fan club..
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I liked it very much
Maybe I'm not as picky as some, but I liked this movie. I already like both of the lead actors and I came upon this film by looking for something else that one of them starred in and was happy to see who their co-star was.This is a lovely little film with an interesting premise. It's a feel-good story, at times heart-aching, with a magical twist and a sweet, satisfying ending. I could understand both of the main characters and what motivated them. I thought both of the lead actors did a good job (again). I recommend this movie.
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Now that I’m thoroughly disturbed…
I went into this movie knowing full well that it was explicit as hell, but nobody warned me that it would be REALLY REALLY explicit. I haven’t seen a proper non-asian production in quite a while and was therefore very unaccustomed to seeing sex scenes left and right. While I knew that Korean movies weren’t subject to nearly as many restrictions as dramas, I am left feeling like I spent the past two and a half hours surfing a porn website instead of having just watched a mature movie. Setting all that aside, the storyline was quite enjoyable and I really liked the little plot twist at the end as I actually didn’t see it coming at all. Even though the storyline was very slow, the nostalgia I felt towards early 20th century Korea from watching Mr Sunshine a little while back kept me entertained and the movie was therefore not too dull. Overall, The Handmaiden was a decent watch, albeit extremely racy and at times rather disturbing.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I love this movies for consistency between the plot and the title. It stars with the radio, and the it goes on with the radio program being the binding element between live events. It also reminds the viewer how fast live passes. Unspoken confessions, missed opportunities, love that hasn't been acted upon. Real life is full of such things. And then, this movie offers a reconciliation. This is why a loved it so much! Bittersweet movie, relatable, worthy of crying to! Adorable main character is noreworhy too.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was basically the kiddie version of the High&Low franchise. Oh, don't get me wrong, I liked it, but it was basically a rehash of the old plots just with high school protagonists. Genius friend studying in a good school, sister doing drugs, best friend falling in with the wrong crowd for the right reasons, big fight to bring said bestie back to his senses... yup, it was all there before. And it wasn't bad, it just wasn't, well, fresh.That's why my favorite moments were the bits that actually did feel fresh. Like Fujio and Sachi's relationship that started with them as complete strangers becoming friends becoming enemies becoming friends again, relieved that the other wasn't a bad guy, after all. That was cute! Also, the way Fujio looked at Sachi? Hot damn!
Also, Murayama's graduation. It pretty much mirrored Tatsuya's departure from Mugen, true. But I loved that it showed that change doesn't need to be bad, that when something ends, something else begins and it might be just as good. And that there comes a moment when you feel that, yeah, this is it, it's time to move on now. And you are happy about that closure, not sad.
My favorite scene of all? When Murayama called Cobra and asked him to hear him out this time because he just needed someone to talk to, an equal. That just gave me warm fuzzies.
I wish we got more info on Sachi, though. Because he was a badass and I'm not saying that just because Shison Jun is my favorite actor. Sachi was... hot damn! But he and his sister and Housen in general felt underdeveloped because most attention was given to Fujio and his gang. Luckily, Shison Jun could carry the part with what little he was given. Oh well...
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Cliche, falls flat
There were a few parts of this that were harrowing — the crane picking up bodies into the incinerator, for example. Other than that though, this movie just completely fell flat for me in terms of plot, characters, and everything else.I was first very put off by the characters; probably the only saving grace as Jang Hyuk as the male lead. The female lead was rude and annoying, and even though she was a doctor I felt like she made so many stupid decisions throughout the entire movie that made no sense. The child was continuously used as a plot device. It's hard to enjoy a movie when over half of it is about the main leads running around looking for a child (multiple times) who I couldn't care less about.
The last thing that really put me off this movie was unfortunately the cinematography; the camera just shook way too much during every single scene (even the peaceful, calm ones) and it made the movie difficult to get through without becoming nauseous.
All in all, this was exactly how you would expect a disease-based apocalyptic movie to go — incompetent politicians, abusive law enforcement, riots, etc. — but even with all these cliches, I felt like the Flu's downfall was its reliance on evoking the audience's sympathy with the little girl, a method that just did not at all work on me.
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