BREATHLESS (DDONGPARI)

The 2009 Korean film BREATHLESS is dizzying, overwhelming, fantastic film making.  It’s a powerful tale of the cycle of violence that never lets up.

The two leads are superb.  Their chemistry is perfect, it feels very real, and the decision for them not to have a sexual relationship (she is a school girl, he is a man in his late 20’s) was an excellent one by the filmmaker.

While one may be inclined to say that this film overstates its point, it never feels over the top despite the constant violence which until the end is never really gory.  The violence here is stomach churning and unpleasant no more so than the scene where the anti-hero lashes out at total strangers after an issue involving his father.

How violence works its way down to the next generation is really the point here.

FOUR FILMS, - BLACKFISH, NOTHING CAN HURT ME, DARK TOUCH, PRINCE AVALANCHE

BLACKFISH

Powerful, tough documentary that explores every angle of Seaworld’s keeping killer whales in captivity and the bigger question of killer whale captivity in general.  The focus of the investigation here (but not near the only thing discussed) is a captive whale that has killed three people over the last couple of decades (two trainers and a guy who snuck into Seaworld afterhours)  Makes me want to go protest Seaworld right now!  A hell of an investigative documentary.

NOTHING CAN HURT ME

Since it dealt with music and a larger discussion of Big Star was in order, I’ve written about this quite good documentary on my other blog http://www.rgdinmalaysia.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-few-thoughts-on-big-star-documentary.html

DARK TOUCH

Unsettling is the world to use to describe this psychic abused child revenge horror film.  The young lead actress is really good and the whole film gave me the creeps.  The doll party scene – wow!  It is hurt though by a confusing ending that wasn’t on the same level of the rest of the film and seemed anti-climatic.

 

PRINCE AVALANCHE

Can’t decide if it wants to be a quirky indie pic or bromance frat pack film.  End result is inoffensive, tepid, dull.  Only worthwhile thing I can say about this film is it is the last appearance of dependable character actor Lance LeGault – he is the only good thing here.

   

Z AND STATE OF SEIGE BY COSTA GAVRAS AND THE ART OF MAKING A POLITICAL FILM

I don’t think I’ve seen a film with as many painful blows to the head as those given out in Costa Gavras’s  Z.  Gavras, aside from being one of the best political filmmakers of all time, also tells a great story.  You feel the intimidation applied to the opposition party as they attempt to bring in a speaker on nuclear disarmament only to be met with stonewalling in the form of potential venues canceling under government pressure and the creation of new laws hindering the right to assemble.

You share the sense of helplessness as the military government using secret societies, paramilitary groups bring big gangs of armed thugs to disrupt the talk and eventually kill the speaker by hitting him on the head.

You share the rage at the cover-up that follows – the intimidation of witnesses, the ridiculous story of their version of what happened.

You feel the sense of jubilation at the end when a dogged prosecutor finally runs down those who are guilty indicting the whole junta in the process.

Gavras is also not afraid of indicting America for its Cold War coddling of right-wing dictatorships.  Here the reference point is Gavras’s native Greece and the military dictatorship that ran at America’s behest under the fig leaf of fighting communists.

Gavras tells his story like a documentary filmmaker showing different versions of what happened during a particular event but also making it clear which one is the truth.

STATE OF SEIGE is even more direct in its tale, based on the true story of Dan Mitrione, of a CIA torture specialist in Uruguay (whose cover story is head of a US Aid organization)  kidnapped and interrogated by local guerillas.  The scenes of torture taught to Uruguay’s military dictatorship complete with scenes of electric shocks applied to people’s genitals are powerful because they are not presented dramatically but rather as if this was something real captured on film perhaps by hidden camera.       

SIEGE works because it shows us all the angles as the charming but evil CIA man (well played by Yves Montand who also plays the murdered political leader in Z) gradually breaks down under the probing of his questioner never actually completely confessing but finally stopping the denial of the horrible things he has done.

It is hard to make a good political film with preachiness and ideology getting in the way of a good story.  Gavras filters his narrative through a form of cinema verite that is very story based and very active.  The end result is two great passionate films that also serve to remind us of America’s negative anti- human rights policies during that time. 

FOUR FILMS - CHILLING VISIONS: FIVE SENSES OF FEAR, SEXYKILLER, HELLBENDERS, ALL HALLOW'S EVE

CHILLING VISIONS: FIVE SENSES OF FEAR

I like horror anthology films and this was not a bad one.  I especially like how the stories interconnected.  The best were the 2^nd story (absolutely ferocious) and the 5^th story (clever, imaginative horror).

 

SEXYKILLER

Spanish high energy future cult film combines MAN BITES DOG, zombie films, and everything but the kitchen sink.  Very fun and way out there but tiring – Constantly throwing stuff at you.

 

HELLBENDERS

Usually horror comedies suck. The comedy part here works well but the horror part would have been better with a bigger budget particularly the finale which felt like it should have been much bigger.  

ALL HALLOWS EVE

Tries very hard to be scary but muddled plot hurts.  Much that happens is not explained and ends up like a series of random disconnected images.  It does have a really disturbing evil clown – So there’s that at least.