Blue (Japan, 2002)

An introverted schoolgirl falls in love and starts a relationship with one of her classmates. Set in a small seaside town in Japan, the love of her life eventually leaves her for her boyfriend in Tokyo.

Another great drama film which relies on the acting abilities of fairly young people, and we see the blossoming of their love lives. The dialogue is delivered very thoughtfully and measured, making it much more realistic and emotional at times. You get the feeling there's a ton of weight behind the words, and the director did a great job at also bringing out the characters even when silent. Blue reminded me of another fantastic film dealing with same sex relationships; Like Grains of Sand (1995).

Genre: Drama/Romance. 1h 56min.

On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate (South Korea, 2002)

Actor Kyung Soo leaves Seoul to visit an old classmate. The reunion with his friend does not amount to much, but the trip does lead to some romantic encounters. He gets involved with two women, first a young college student whom he leaves without a moment's thought and then a woman whom he deems his fated partner. As Kyung Soo becomes increasingly invested in this second relationship, he begins to notice certain coincidences and similarities that recall past pairings, blurring his conception of exactly which woman, which relationship, he is so desperately holding on to.

Turning Gate is like a love story but without the love. Instead it's a more realistic take on what can happen when you fall head first for someone and it doesn't always go your way. It's pleasantly far from being just another sappy romance story you've seen a million times already.

Genre: Drama

Oasis (South Korea, 2002)

Jong-du, a young man just out of prison for manslaughter, is a social misfit. When released, he calls on the family of the victim; they send him away, but not before he has seen Gong-ju, a young woman disabled severely by cerebral palsy. Both are abused by their families, and both are used by them as well. Although their relationship begins with Jong-du's criminal behavior, a friendship develops. They talk of favorite things; they go out; in late night phone calls, he helps her past her fears of the dark. Is there a place in the world for these two inarticulate people?

Oasis features so strong performances that it can make you very uncomfortable watching it, and it has a bunch of scenes where the atmosphere is incredibly awkward. It's far from being a feelgood-movie, with its dark story and broken characters. It tackles subjects such as prejudice and selfishness, but also romance between those who stand outside the normal society. 

A tough watch from time to time, but a film that feels very genuine and real in its way of portraying love in a reality that's far from perfect.

Genre: Drama

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (China/France, 2002)

In 1971 China, in the lingering grip of the cultural revolution, two university students, Luo and Ma, are sent to a mountain mining village as part of their reeducation duty to purge them of their classical western oriented education. Amid the backbreaking work and stifling ignorance of the community, the two boys find that music, and the presence of the beautiful local young women are the only pleasant things in their miserable life. However, none compare to the young seamstress granddaughter of the local tailor.

Here's a winner. Balzac is based on a novel by Dai Sijie, and when the time came for a movie version, Dai himself chose to be the director. That was a great move, because Balzac turned out to be a beautiful and poetically stunning piece of cinema. There are many shots that looks amazing, especially those that incorporate the view from the small village and around it. Acting-wise it's nothing short of fantastic, the casting is flawless and at the end it's easy to get sentimental about the time spent with these characters in their youth. 

          

Genre: Drama/Biography/Romance

Unknown Pleasures (China, 2002)

Two unemployed slackers, neither with job prospects nor motivation, hang out in sheltered town in China trying to make sense of their aimless and uncertain futures. As youths, they struggle for individual freedom and the social responsibility that comes along with it.

With Unknown Pleasures, director Jia Zhangke (A Touch of Sin) wanted to portray the new generation that was emerging China, the so called "birth control" generation. These were kids who grew up in front of TV and computer screens and were fed with everything the media would allow. The whole film was shot only with a digital camera due to budget constraints, but I think it makes it more realistic without all the refining filters and whatnot. A great film showing how hard it can be growing up in a modern world, and not knowing where to belong. 

Genre: Drama

The Way Home (South Korea, 2002)

Seven-year-old Sang-woo is left with his grandmother in a remote village while his mother looks for work. Born and raised in the city, Sang-woo quickly comes into conflict with his old-fashioned grandmother and his new rural surroundings. Disrespectful and selfish, Sang-woo lashes out in anger, perceiving that he has been abandoned. He trades his grandmother's only treasure for a video game; he throws his food and he throws tantrums. But then something happens, and Sang.woo starts to change. 

The Way Home is sure to melt every heart, even those that are made of stone. This is a simple but great film were young and old meets, and shows us that you don't have to be a certain age to know the importance of family. One thing of note is that the 78-year old woman who plays the grandmother never in her life had seen a film, yet the film is graced with very good acting. Amazing stuff. 

Genre: Drama

Eureka (Japan, 2000)

Eureka tells the story of the lasting effects of a violent experience on three people, a teenage brother and sister, Naoki and Kozue, and a bus driver, Makoto Sawai. These three are the sole survivors when a bus is hijacked by a deranged killer. Naoki and Kozue looses their parents and do not return to school. The two children continue to live alone in the family home. Meanwhile Makoto is finding it impossible to carry on normal life, and short thereafter, Makoto moves in with Naoki and Kozue.

A great drama in many ways. Eureka follows a group of people who've experienced something horrible, and are trying to live again. Cinematography and acting are all fantastic. It should be said that it's quite a long film, clocking in at 3h40m, but it's an investment you definitely won't regret.

Genre: Drama  

Dolls (Japan, 2002)

A young man rejects his engagement to his fiancée to marry the daughter of his company's president. When his former fiancée attempts suicide and ends up in a semi-vegetative state, he takes her out of the hospital and they run away. Another young man is obsessed with the pop-star Haruna; he blinds himself when she is involved in a disfiguring car accident. An aged yakuza, who tries to meet a girlfriend from his youth.

Dolls is made up of three stories about undying love. Directed by  filmmaker/actor Takeshi Kitano (Battle Royale), it's visually a feast for the eyes and Kitano proves to be incredibly artistic in how present his story. The explosion of colors and the excellent screenplay is what I reflected upon the most. The story involving the couple bound together by a rope is inspired by one of Kitano's memories where two people were known as "the bound beggars". A unique film with a somewhat slow tempo, but great as heck.

Genre: Drama/Romance. 1h 54min.

Blue Gate Crossing (Taiwan, 2002)

Best friends Meng and Yuezhen share everything with each other. One day, Yuezhen wants Meng to give a message to the boy she likes and tell him she's interested. Things don't go according to plan and Meng finds herself in a confusing situation where her sexuality is questioned. 

A simple but warm coming-of-age drama about teen angst, lazy school days and relationships. 

Genre: Drama/Romance

The Twilight Samurai (Japan, 2002)

Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai, leads a life without glory as a bureaucrat in the mid-XIX century Japan. A widower, he has charge of two daughters and a senile mother; he must therefore work in the fields and accept piecework to make ends meet. New prospects seem to open up when Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. However, even as the Japanese feudal system is unraveling, Seibei remains bound by the code of honour of the samurai, and the turbulent times conspire against him.

During it's release The Twilight Samurai met an hailstorm of awards and praise, and rightfully so. Even though it's more focused on drama rather than fighting, it's one of the best samurai films I've ever seen. Director Yoji Yamada has, much like Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows), a huge talent for looking at family and relationships, and makes you really invested in the fates of the characters. You feel for Seibei more so than any bloodthirsty samurai, and it feels like a very realistic portrayal of a struggling mans life in Japan's Edo-period.

Genre: Drama/Romance

2LDK (Japan, 2002)

Nozomi and Lana share an apartment in Tokyo. They have both auditioned for the same role in a movie, and know that the shortlist has been cut down to just the two of them. As they wait the night before finding out who will get the role, their personality clashes erupt into an all-out battle.

It all started when two Japanese film directors met at a film festival, started drinking later at night, and a few hours later the Dual Project was born. 2LDK and Aragami were the results of the competition, were the directors goal was to make the best "Dual to the Death" film. The rules for the competition were as following: 1.) The script shall have no more than 2-3 characters. 2.) The film must be shot in seven days and on a small budget. 3.) The film can only take place in one setting, and most importantly, 4.) At least one character must die. 

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Hero (Hong Kong/China, 2002)

In ancient China, before the reign of the first emperor, warring factions throughout the Six Kingdoms plot to assassinate the most powerful ruler, Qin. When a minor official defeats Qin's three principal enemies, he is summoned to the palace to tell Qin the story of his surprising victory.

There's no way Hero wouldn't be on this list. A beautiful and jaw-dropping tale of epic proportions filled with so many memorable scenes and so much cinematography perfection that it blows your mind again and again. I dare to say that a dozen of the fighting sequences are the best I've ever seen, and must be some of the most amazing battles ever put on film. The sword fight over the lake comes to mind immediately, it's like beautiful poetry came alive and started fighting.

It's also hard not to like the cast, we have the awesome Jet Li, the always great Tony Leung (2046, In the Mood for Love), Maggie Cheung (2046) and Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). So it's quite a group of people. all coming together to form a perfect piece of cinema that's worth every second of your time.

Genre: Action/Drama/History

The Coast Guard (South Korea, 2002)

Kang Sang-byeong is a member of the South Korean coast guard who is eager to shoot a North Korean spy. One evening he shoots and kills a South Korean civilian who has strayed into a forbidden zone to have sex with his girlfriend. Kang and the girlfriend of the dead civilian both have mental breakdowns, while trying to hold onto friendship, duty and humanity.

A great story about the mental disintegration after taking someones life. The tragic and emotional ending left me filled with despair. In the best way possible. 

Genre: Action/Drama

A Snake of June (Japan, 2002)

Rinku is a suicide-prevention counselor, living with her husband Shigehiko. He's older than she, scrubbing things constantly, sexually indifferent. They sleep apart. During Tokyo's rainy season, Iguchi, a photographer Rinku has counseled by phone, sends her pictures he has taken through her skylight: she's wearing a short skirt, masturbating. He offers her the negatives if she'll follow his instructions.

Everyone who's familiar with Shinya Tsukamoto's work (Tetsuo, Tokyo Fist) will recognize his style from the start. Lots of close-ups and shaky camera-work, which could've spelled disaster for any director but Tsukamoto is in perfect control over the uncontrolled. 

The sexual themes run rampant with a common thread of voyeurism and Rinku is constantly being watched or used for someone's personal kink. The rain never seem to let up and must have affected the film's filter which is tinted in a grainy ocean blue color. Also, a long, seemingly self-aware metal penis makes an appearance. Mental.

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller

Phone (South Korea, 2002)

After writing a series of articles about pedophilia, the journalist Ji-won receives threatening calls and she changes her number. Her friend Ho-jung and her husband invite Ji-won to move to their house that is empty and closed. When the young daughter of her friends answers a call on her phone, the girl screams and changes her behavior, feeling a great attraction for her father and rejecting her mother. After investigating her phone number, Ji-won discovers that the original owner of the number had vanished and the two next owners of the number have mysteriously died in unusual circumstances.

Phone has that certain something that makes it a great horror film, without doing anything groundbreaking. Definitely give it a watch if your looking for good scare.

Genre: Horror

Graveyard of Honor (Japan, 2002)

A barkeeper saves a Yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However his fear of nothing soon causes problems. 

A sociopathic killer rapist is on the rampage and leaves piles of bodys in his wake? Yep, this is a Takashi Miike film, alright. Basically an out of control yakuza crime fest, and if you consider yourself a fan of Japanese ultra-violence, this is your cup of blood. It's a remake of Kinji Fukasaku's film from 1975 of the same name, based on the real life gangster Rikio Ishikawa, and even though Miike's film is a bit more cleaned up and controlled, it's still a brutal yakuza crime spree. Here we find some of the most realistic shootout scenes ever put to film, and it stops feeling like a movie and more of a situation where someone with  a camera got caught in a chaotic firefight. 

Even if one should be well-versed in action flicks, Graveyard of Honor still contains a lot of violence which can be tough to stomach, with an abundance of abuse toward women.

Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller

Dark Water (Japan, 2002)

After winning a custody battle for her daughter, Yoshimi tries to make a new start. The apartment she moves into seems perfect at first. Soon though, strange things begin happening. Huge water stains appear on the ceiling and drip constantly, more liquid oozing into the rooms every day. A child's red bag shows up in odd places and soon the child herself starts appearing.

After watching this film for just a couple of minutes, you just know that it's going to be a solid ghost movie. I love when that happens, especially with horror films because they tend to more than often be disappointing. Dark Water though, it has the right atmosphere, the right amount of story and scares and just looks great. It was directed by Hideo Nakata who also gave us Ringu (1998), so there's a ton of knowledge involved of what makes a classic horror gem. Great performance by the daughter too, and an overall presence of dread and malice makes Dark Water a film that shouldn't be missed. 

Genre: Horror/Mystery

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (South Korea, 2002)

A violent tale of revenge gone wrong. It tells the story of a poor deaf man who kidnaps a young girl to pay for his sister’s much-needed transplant. When the young girl accidentally dies, her bereaved father goes on a search for answers and vengeance.

The first installment in the Vengeance-trilogy and my personal favorite. Every actor are perfect for their role and the line between antagonist and protagonist becomes blurred behind the characters personal motivations. A tragic, bleak story about what humans are capable of when in absolute despair. 

Genre: Crime/Drama

The Eye (Hong Kong, 2002)

A blind girl gets a cornea transplant so that she would be able to see again. However, she got more than what she bargained for when she realized she could even see ghosts. So she embarks on a journey to find the origins of her cornea and to reveal the history of the previous dead owner.

If you're looking for a solid horror experience, you shouldn't be disappointed with The Eye, directed by the Pang brothers who would go on to make a couple of stinkers. This was their magnum opus, and if being watched at the right moment, it could be a really terrifying time.

Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller