Second Life (South Korea, 2018)

Seon-hee, a high school girl, starts a small lie to attract attention from her friends. But when the truth gets out, her friends start to leave her out and avoid her. To get back at Jeong-mi, who had been her closest friend, Seon-hee sets her up as a ring thief. Suffering greatly from rumors after the incident, Jeong-mi ends up committing suicide. Seon-hee flees Seoul from the shock of witnessing Jeong-mi's death to the countryside where no one can find her.

Second Life addresses bullying and exclusion among young students, and what a lonely young girl is willing to do to be a part of a group. It's a relative short film, but manages to tell the complete story of the devastating consequences of lies. The direction is respectful of the themes and characters of the film, never trying to bash you in the head with a melodramatic message. The young lead actress is great and makes it easy to sympathize with, even when making desperate decisions. 

Genre: Drama. 1h 11min.

Taipei Suicide Story (Taiwan, 2020)

A receptionist at a suicide hotel in Taipei, Taiwan forms a fleeting friendship over the course of one night with a guest who can't decide if she wants to live or die.

For its short running time, Taipei Suicide Story ambitiously tackles some difficult subjects. What makes it work is that it doesn't overdo it, but focuses more on the personal emotional depth of only two characters. In an environment where dozens of people take the most extreme action to end their pain, a young woman is hesitating. Slowly we're getting to know her more and more, but also knowing in the back of our head that the end of the night could spell the end of that friendship. 

A melancholic exercise in figuring out someone on the edge, but not without its subtle tenderness. 

Genre: Drama/Short. 45min.

Isao Takahata and His Tale of Princess Kaguya (Japan, 2014)

A documentary about the making of The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Isao Takahata's first feature film for 14 years.

This film is a treasure trove for fans of Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata and his masterpiece The Tale of Princess Kaguya. Very similar to another Ghibli documentary; The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013) in how we get to closely follow the production and inner thoughts of the creators while struggling to get the movie done. Takahata is candid and open to talk about pretty much everything concerning the film, and it's a privilege to walk through the doors of his animation studio. He speaks up about things he regretted doing in earlier films, and describes how the most non-exciting movements are the hardest to animate. 

One scene shows Takahata driving over to Hayao Miyazaki who's in the middle of making The Wind Rises (2013) and just happen to walk in when he's trying to figure out how fast he should portray the spinning of a vinyl record. Small moments like that makes the film really feel personal and while the production eventually starts to feel like a battle for Takahata, it becomes clear that he put his soul into this film he knew would be his last.

Genre: Documentary. 1h 25min.