So Long, My Son (China, 2019)

 

Yaoyun and his wife Liyun once had a happy family - until their son drowned playing by a reservoir. And so Yaojun and Liyun leave their home and plunge into the big city, although nobody knows them there and they cannot even understand the local dialect. Their adopted son Liu Xing does not offer them the comfort they had hoped for either. Defiantly rejecting his 'foreign' parents, he one day disappears altogether. The married couple are repeatedly enmeshed in their memories.

So Long, My Son has everything that matters for me in a film. The outstanding performances by the actors hits every mark, and the actress who plays the mother is especially good. This story also demanded that high level acting to be as effective as it could be. So Long, My Son is an epic family drama about that big gap in our lives when someone passes away, set against the backdrop of China's tumultuous history and changing society. We're jumping back in time to get glimpses of events that will have such strong impact many years later, and after following the couple for so long the emotional weight of some scenes are absolutely devastating. All this would have amounted to a great film, but we also have the beautiful cinematography and composed camerawork which do huge favors for the heavy story. A long sit at barely over three hours, but well worth your time if you value true to life storytelling and what you get out of watching a film.  

Genre: Drama

I Just Didn't Do It (Japan, 2006)

An unemployed young man is on the packed Tokyo subway en route to a job interview when a schoolgirl grabs him by the wrist and fingers him as a molester. A man was feeling her up on the train. The young man is arrested and no one, not the station master, the public defender or the police, seems the least interested in his protestations of innocence. It would be much more efficient if he would accept a plea bargain.

When a court drama has to be good, it has to be really good. It takes a lot to keep viewers attention when you're portraying a rather dry and stale environment as the court. I Just Didn't Do It manages to be very engaging, following an innocent man all the way through a tiring, long process in Japan's legal system, fighting a seemingly hopeless battle for justice. The actors are great and Koji Yakusho was a pleasant surprise to see showing up as a defense lawyer. 

The director Masayuki Suo has previously made the wonderful Shall We Dance? so I shouldn't be too surprised at the quality of the film but still, I Just Didn't Do It makes everything needed for a good film click.

Genre: Drama

Karaoke Terror (Japan, 2003)

One member of a gang of karaoke loving middle aged women is murdered by a young man. In need of revenge, her friends track him down and kill him. This starts a war where killing one person means someone's going to be next...

With a plot like that it's pretty clear that you're not meant to take the film too seriously. Karaoke Terror escalates to the point of absurdity, and a particular scene with the blood-thirsty ladies was hilarious in the way they avenged another fallen member of their crew. At times you're wondering what the hell you're watching and later on you're cheering for one of the two rival gangs. 

Based on a book by Ryu Murakami who also wrote Audition which got a widely popular adaption by Takashi Miike.

Genre: Drama/Horror

The Net (South Korea, 2016)

Nam Chul-woo is a poor fisherman living a simple but happy life with his wife and daughter on the north side of a river that divide Korea. Every day he goes fishing on the river, where the checkpoint soldiers know him well and trust him not to cross the invisible border in the water. One day his fishing net gets caught in the boat engine, and Nam cannot stop himself from drifting into the south.

The Net is a fantastic film about a man who's caught in the limbo between South and North Korea, and must go through bureaucratic hell and investigations to determine whether he's a spy or not. Nam is a desperate character and piece by piece is revealed of him, the same with the enemies and friends he makes in the South Korean police force. None are one dimensional characters.

The Net was directed by Kim Ki-duk, and it is with a saddened heart I write that he recently passed away from complications brought on by the ongoing pandemic. Kim was always one of my most reliable directors, making different and way more thought provoking movies than what's usually out there. Pictures such as 3-Iron, The Isle and my personal favorite Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring ranks among some of the best films I've seen and they're described as unforgettable in every sense of the word and not just as shallow reaction bait. No doubt a tragic loss but we're lucky to be left with his surviving art. 

Genre: Drama

Zebraman (Japan, 2004)

Being a failure as a teacher and a family man, Shinichi tries to escape everyday life by dressing up as "Zebraman", the superhero. Although the TV series was canceled after only 6 episodes, this cannot stop him from acting out his escape fantasy in a self made zebra-suit. He gets more then he could ever wish for when his black-and-white dressed alter-ego seems to be the only thing to stand between absolute (green) evil and a happy ending.

Directed by Miike Takashi, Zebraman captures that Japanese oddball culture, while also being an entertaining film in its own right. Leaning heavily on the superhero satire sub-genre Miike is having a great time poking fun at stuff like Kamen Rider, while also reminding me of the film Big Man Japan (2007) with it's self-aware campiness.

It definitely could have benefitted from being 20-30 min shorter, I don't really think there's material here for a two hour film, and the first half gets it right with all the hilarious costumes which gets replaced later by silly CGI aliens. That aside, Zebraman is ridiculous and fun. 

Genre: Comedy/Sci-Fi

Cursed (Japan, 2004)

Employees at a convenience store must get to the bottom of supernatural goings-on occurring within their workplace.

I'll be the first to admit that Cursed is more passable than awesome, but when you're dealing with the J-horror genre you take what you can get. Basically it's a low-budget B-movie but if I'm going to be fair it had some genuine spooky  moments, more so than some other far more expensive films  I've seen. It never tries to be more than it is and always aims for that creepy atmosphere, nothing over-ambitious. I was surprised over how chilling a few scenes were, and that's a sign of a director who's only using what he has and not trying to compete with the greats within the same genre. 

With expectations in the right places, Cursed can be a good way to pass the time for the big time lovers of J-horror. 

Genre: Horror