Saturday, September 7, 2013

stoker (2013). directed by chan-wook park.


by regular chan-wook park standard, this film is mild. by regular hollywood standards though, this is pretty violent of the sadistic kind. 

i like his attention to details and the photography direction. it made us aware of how sensitive india stoker is to her surroundings, something that gives a clue to her predatory instincts. acting and direction are great - all three central characters are weird enough to exist in chan's universe of gothic family - my only complain is - the script is in wanting of greater, deeper motivations - something that chan's films often use as bait to keep the audience begging for each coming scenes. 

Friday, September 6, 2013

amour (2012). directed by micheal haneke.


this is not an easy watch. i think after watching micheal haneke, i appreciate more the movies of another director - yasmin ahmad, surprisingly. i used to hate the fact that she has this thing about placing a static camera and observing her actors from afar. 

micheal haneke did the same exact thing - observing the daily life of an old couple. they have been married for a long time, they had adult children who have their own lives. i don't know what he does, but she was a piano teacher. their apartment mirrored their life and passion. he is so gentle with her, she is a tad caustic, but i can sense their adoration is mutual and runs deep. 

but love, is not love, unless it is thoroughly tested. 

it makes me think why the film depicted an old couple, instead of a young couple like a lot of movies out there.  i think - in haneke's universe at least - love is something to be earned. it doesn't just exist out of thin air. it is earned with years of commitment, tested with all sorts of situations and challenges imaginable. 

the film doesn't sugarcoat the nature of old age and the challenge of illness that comes with it. it is very difficult caring for a sick loved one, especially when they descend to the level of children. sometimes it is not love anymore - it is a mix of despair, self pity and disgust. 

i don't know how i will handle it when the time comes.   

the hunt (2012). directed by thomas vinterberg.


watching this movie makes me think what a horrid tv show hannibal really is for reducing mads mikkelsen to a one dimensional psychotherapist-food enthusiast. 

i am happy with each proven pervert caught like the next person, but i am not happy when the said caught person is not a proven pervert. the subject of this film is deliberate social isolation - that rocked a small danish village, where everybody is friends with everybody - when a male teacher is accused of indecently exposing himself to a little girl.

it was heartbreaking to see used to be friends turned their backs on him, losing his job in an instant without any proper investigation done, his girlfriend doubting his innocence, even the grocery store he frequented refused to serve him - a paedophile. 

if only he were - all of this could be justified - only that he is not. i like the thomas vinterberg's taut direction - because what is at stake is a man's life. 

the white ribbon (2009). directed by micheal haneke.


there is no supernatural horror in this film and yet i was scared as if a ghost is going to jump on me, ju-on style. 

that is the genius of micheal haneke, amongst others. 

while the children seems to be mysterious and aloof, often subjected to unreal expectations of adults around them, i find the adults in the film are the ones who are the hypocritical enforcer of morality. while they all try to control the seemingly ordered life that is spinning out of control very fast - the only certainty is this - bad things happened and they don't need any reason at all. perhaps it was a sign that a bigger chaos is coming - in the form of the first world war.

god save us all.