Christian – Heroic Cinema

Wicked Woman (1958)

Christian — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:58:19 +0000

It appears that writings of the early Meiji era (around 1870s) of Japan were littered with popularised tales of dokufu or “poison women”; women who were violent criminals, thieves and murderers. A lot of the tales were based on real people and then the tales were mainly exaggerated through popular fiction, kabuki theatre and much later in films.

One of the most famous was Takahashi Oden who, in real life, was known to have poisoned her leprosy-riddled husband and stabbed … (read more)

Strange Circus (2005)

Christian — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 03:36:51 +0000

Since the advent of Ring in 1998, Japanese horror has been largely engulfed by the sub-genre popularly labelled as “J-horror” — with its eerie girls in white, faces hidden in black matted hair. These days the flag is still being vehemently waved by directors such as Takeshi Shimizu and Norio Tsuruta, but other sub-genres of horror are beginning to rise to the surface. It would be true to say that a blend of psycho-sexual horror has been gaining momentum in … (read more)

House of Mahjong (2007)

Christian — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 23:03:47 +0000

Well, you see there’s a “House” and it has, y’know… “Mahjong” in it. With little more than two shooting locations the title of the film certainly bares it all: a strangely customer-less shopping mall and the interior of a millionaire’s mansion. Everything about this film speaks of its incredibly low budget – from the script, the acting to the bland production and cinematography. But before you figure that you’ve read all you need to read, there is actually a lot … (read more)

Impressions of Zhang Yimou

Christian — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 22:41:55 +0000

Since graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in 1982 at the ripe young age of 32, Zhang Yimou has emerged as one of the most recognised film directors currently in China. With 16 films under his belt he is now the most prolific of the so called “Fifth Generation” film directors. While his films are quite well-known globally, very little is known about his recent divergence into stage production, which has ultimately led him to co-direct the opening ceremony of … (read more)

Full House (2004)

Christian — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 19:42:34 +0000

Figuratively riding the “Korea Wave” (or Hallyu) that saw a dramatic rise with the hit TV drama Winter Sonata in 2002, Full House is another Korean TV drama that became a major hit throughout Asia. Its success also launched the acting and singing career of Jung Ji-hoon, better known under his musical stage name of Rain (or “Bi” in Korean), whose immense popularity has seen him to be included in Time Magazine’s Top 100 list of Most Influential People … (read more)

Ermo (1994)

Christian — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 17:59:07 +0000

Since the institution of economic reforms beginning in the late 1970s, China has been a country that has seen a lot of change; even now more so than ever before. As more private enterprises have been allowed to flourish, the country has found itself in quite a dramatic transition from traditional Maoism to the materialist values of capitalism. While Ermo may comically tell a simple tale of a family from a small Chinese town, it finds itself deep within this … (read more)

South of the Clouds (2004)

Christian — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:57:55 +0000

The “road movie” is not a literal genre like, say, detective fiction, but more of a metaphysical concept of a journey and its destination. In fact, it almost always begins being defined by its illusory or even mythological destination and ends being defined only by the journey – transcending its physical state into something more emotional and spiritual. This concept has held the fascination of many filmmakers, particularly recently with Korean director Song Il-gon with such films as Flower Island… (read more)

Hua Yao Bride In Shangri-la (2005)

Christian — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:55:08 +0000

Aside from the occasional films that slip below or through the government radar, Chinese cinema appears to often suffer from the same nationalistic self-obsession that gripped Australian cinema in the 1980s, where it seemed every film needed to exalt national identity through rural tales of sheep dogs, criminals, horses, criminals on horses, etc. Rural China is not just a common backdrop for Chinese films but its cultural exponents are a crucial focus for many of its stories. Hua Yao Bride … (read more)

Apart From You (1933)

Christian — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 04:21:47 +0000

Mikio Naruse has often been attributed to the defining directorial triumvirate of early Japanese cinema; consisting of himself, Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi. Despite this illustrious comparison, the works of Naruse have remained relatively inaccessible and unknown to audiences both inside and outside of Japan.

Apart From You is Naruse’s 20th film, made during his most successful era of silent film. The story’s modest scope is serviced by a small principal cast consisting mainly of three characters. Kikue (Mitsuko Yoshikawa) … (read more)

Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (2006)

Christian — Mon, 22 May 2006 02:26:01 +0000

A current output of two feature films a year must feel like a holiday for workaholic director Miike Takashi, who pumped out an astonishing total of seven features in 2001 alone. If you do the maths — at that time in 2001, this equalled Wong Kar-wai’s output of feature films for his entire 13-year career since his first film in 1988. Despite his output, Takashi has not been content to stick to a particular genre and has tackled family dramas … (read more)

Scent Of Love (2003)

Christian — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 04:42:59 +0000

“Scent of Love”

Serves 1-2

1 grain (optional) character back-story
60g script, preferably used
½ cup of girl walking in slow-motion with musical crescendo
1 clove My Sassy Girl, sliced
1 tablespoon love triangle
pinch of unexplained event
2 mins of musical interlude
125g tragic event
1 scene involving rain
splash of happy times, followed by inevitable bad stuff

1. Combine ingredients in pan and simmer. It’s important that cooking takes place straightaway. Characters should have minimal backstory so … (read more)

…ing (2003)

Christian — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 07:07:05 +0000

On paper, a film mixing a terminally-ill main character with “first love, coming-of-age drama” might conjure all manner of images involving you reaching for a box of tissues. However, this proves to not be the case at all for …ing — a solid directorial debut for Lee Eon-hee, writer of Take Care of My Cat. While the film is certainly equipped with some emotional big guns, it chooses not to focus on any one aspect, balancing the serious tones … (read more)

My Lovely Sam-Soon (2005)

Christian — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 16:05:24 +0000

Whether you’re from the West or the East, most people are familiar with the entertainment medium known as the Soap Opera. It’s a world where anyone and everyone can be connected in some way, from the main hero to the dog crossing the road in the third episode. Such TV Dramas can usually be cliché-a-plenty and have enough cheese for a week’s worth of lunches but this, however, proves not to be the case for My Lovely Sam-soon (aka My … (read more)

My Generation (2004)

Christian — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 18:02:08 +0000

The world of DV filmmaking is a tantalising concept. Anyone can pick up a cheap camera, get a bunch of friends together arguing over a map and make their own Blair Witch Project. It’s affordable and offers complete control to the budding filmmaker, such that DV is sometimes also described as a “liberating” format by established big gun directors. Despite this dangling carrot of auteur-ship, the DV format seems to be something that these established film directors dabble … (read more)

Crying Out Love, In The Centre Of The World (2004)

Christian — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 05:03:14 +0000

Dante once wrote “Places that are empty of you… are empty of all life” as an expression of the void created by the absence or loss of a loved one. It is this obtusely tragic sentiment which is explored by Isao Yukisada’s seventh feature film Crying Out Love, In The Centre Of The World. How does one deal with the loss of a loved one? Do we face it head on or do we turn our back to it; … (read more)