Our Love Story (South Korea, 2016)

Yoon-ju is a graduate student of fine arts and is working on her graduation exhibition. One day, while she is searching materials for her project, she runs into Ji-soo at a junk shop. Watching Ji-soo in an odd place, Yoon-ju finds herself drawn to her. After their initial encounter, Yoon-ju once again runs into Ji-soo at a convenience store, and the two eventually start dating. Never having enjoyed dating men, Yoon-ju finds Ji-soo fascinating and becomes completely infatuated with her.

Our Love Story portrays the journey of a relationship between two women and all the little bumps in the road that every love story has. It's very intimate, and the film feels like a window in which the viewer peeps into, watching private moments. I love that the film doesn't go near melodrama-territory, keeping it more real and grounded. 

Contrasting this show of great film making and understanding of the imperfection of a relationship is the fact that director Hyun-ju Lee retired from the business in the wake of being guilty of sexual assault against another woman. She was stripped of her awards and received a two-year jail sentence. 

Genre: Drama/Romance. 1h 39min.

Himeanole (Japan, 2016)

Getting two stories in one, Himeanole depicts the story of co-workers where one of them is gunning to make a cafe's waitress his. When the co-worker visits the said cafe to see the waitress his friend is yearning for, he also meets an old class-mate he has not seen in some time. In a twist and transition the waitress tells the visiting co-worker that she is being stalked by a man. That man is none other than the old class-mate.

In this genre-bending, raw and disturbing film you're forgiven if you laugh at inappropriate times. It's a dark, sometimes shockingly brutal crime fest but the director did a great job at throwing in some amusing characters and entertaining moments without overdoing it. In one moment you're giggling at a date between a somewhat awkward guy and a cute waitress, the next you're terrified that a relentless killer is going to slam through the door. I love it. 

Genre: Crime/Thriller/Comedy

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

Crosscurrent (China, 2016)

A young cargo ship captain named Gao Chun pilots his boat up the Yangtze River and ponders the recent death of his father. During the trip, he encounters numerous symbols representing China's past, present and future, including a mysterious woman who is present at every port along the way. 

Crosscurrent became one heck of a water divider (no pun intended) after its release, where one side praised the arthouse approach to a slow ride along the Yangtze river, and the other half didn't have the patience for what it wanted to show. I've read that this film was 10 years in the making, and while I don't know how much of that time was spent on shooting or writing, I'd say it was worth it. For me personally, Crosscurrent was an absolute shattering experience, and after some time I was swept away by Gao Chun's ambition to see the end of this seemingly never-ending, awe-inspiring river. 

To help portray the most breathtaking parts of China's nature and locales around the river, director Chao Yang had the help of Mark Lee Ping-bing who's responsible for the beautiful cinematography in Norwegian Wood (2010) and In the Mood for Love (2000), and it's obvious early on that the both lush nature and the eerie and empty ghost cities along the river are meant to be main characters of their own. The story can be seen as both minimalistic and hard to grasp with all the Buddhistic views on life and death, alongside the personal journey of a man dealing with the passing of his father while also bumping into a woman during his long voyage. It is all capped off with one of the darkest and most atmospheric cello-based soundtracks I've ever heard, where the orchestral strength reaches new heights with the help of melancholic, dark waves. This is a score worthy of a billion-dollar movie, but instead hides away in this rarely talked about film about a man going up the Yangtze river. An amazing film, which I'm sad to see being swept aside by other more accessible ones, but at least it's out there and showing what cinema can be at it finest moments, an unforgettable journey.

Genre: Drama

Survival Family (Japan, 2016)

When a blackout occurs an ordinary family in Tokyo believes power would be restored shortly. As the lack of power persists and all sources of energy show no sign of returning to functionality the family heads out south to reunite with the parents of the wife and mother. The family learns and bonds as it treks south on its bicycle, which is the only alternative to being on foot.

I read somewhere that Survival Family is a family friendly disaster flick, and that's actually kind of accurate. It stirs up a lot of own thoughts of how one would react in a similar situation, and shows how survival instinct can make people overcome a lot of hardships without modern technology. The film makes it clear on how falsely dependent we are on certain technical conveniences but still inspires a lot of hope. A road trip worth taking, which doesn't loose itself in melodrama.

Genre: Drama/Family

In this Corner of the World (Japan, 2016)

Set in Hiroshima during World War II, an eighteen-year-old girl gets married and now has to prepare food for her family despite the rationing and lack of supplies. As she struggles with the daily loss of life's amenities she still has to maintain the will to live.

If you want to take a trip to one of Japan's toughest times in history, here's your chance. At first glance the film might look like a children's movie but that would be dead wrong, though it's definitely a story that resonates with your emotions and should be seen by both young and old. You feel so much for the main character and at the same time know what awaits at the end of the war. It could easily have gone overboard with melodrama and tearjerker-scenes but instead focuses on a precocious teen who's just trying to get by in the turmoil. Tons of cute moments and scenes that for the time being makes you forget there's a war out there, but In this Corner doesn't shy away from being gritty and dark either.

In 2019 an extended was released with the title In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World, with over 30 minutes of additional footage. The director and crew did a vast amount of research to get the era and all of the details  just right.  

Genre: Animation/Drama/Family

Antiporno (Japan, 2016)

Japan's oldest major movie studio asks a batch of venerable filmmakers to revive its high-brow soft-core Roman Porno series.

Antiporno is Sion Sono's (Suicide Club) colorful venture into the erotic, wildly artistic and slightly soft-core pornographic. The film company Nikkatsu commissioned five films for the "Roman Porno Reboot Project" to mark the 45th anniversary of Nikkatsu's pink films produced from the 70's well into the 80's. The story revolves around a novel writer who shuts herself in a room painted in bright colors, and has a  temperamental relationship with her manager Noriko. 

Antiporno is of course nothing like sleazy pink film with unmotivated nudity. Sion Sono paints with one of his most mature palettes yet, and creates a picture which looks gorgeous and throws a cool surprise at the viewer. You have to have the "right mindset" for the film, for it's unconventional narrative and isolated story, but once you get swept away it's a wild ride.

Genre: Drama

Harmonium (Japan, 2016)

Toshio hires Yasaka in his workshop. This old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.

It always amazes me how radically a film can make me feel about it in just a short period of time. In the beginning of Harmonium I didn't have the highest of all hopes, but after a while it delivered the goods without hesitation. Heartbreaking yes, but the film honestly earns it by having such a captivating story and believable characters. Also, fans of actor Tadanobu Asano should really give it a watch because here he plays a sinister man that gets under your skin, and someone you love to hate.

Genre: Drama

The Red Turtle (Japan/France/Belgium, 2016)

A man is shipwrecked on a deserted island and encounters a red turtle, which changes his life.

The Red Turtle isn't entirely a Japanese production, but you'll thank me big time for giving it a pass. Directed and written by Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit, and with help from Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, we are treated to some of the most gorgeous and heartfelt animation I've seen in a long time. Being completely free of dialogue, the film relies on stunning visuals and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack to express its narrative. Watching it feels like taking part of another's life, another's amazing experiences and their sorrow and happiness.

It's one of those films that stays with you for a long time after having seen it.

Genre: Animation/Fantasy

The Long Excuse (Japan, 2016)

A recently widowed writer whose wife died in a bus crash comes to terms with his grief, or lack of it, in caring for the children of a working man who also lost his wife in the same accident.

The Long Excuse doesn't specifically do anything that's been done before, but it still manages to feel very gripping and bittersweet. Masahiro Motoki from the fantastic Departures (2008) plays the main role, and I got a serious urge to watch all his films because he feels like a very charismatic and engaging actor. 

The film starts off pretty basic and feels like your standard melodrama, but it gets more and more interesting and really delivers, and towards the end you've worked up a genuine care for the characters. A sort of quiet, sorrowful but yet carefully optimistic, well-acted drama.

Genre: Drama

The Handmaiden (South Korea, 2016)

1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to elope with him, rob her of her fortune, and lock her up in a madhouse. The plan seems to proceed according to plan, until both girls discover some unexpected emotions.

I'm very late to the party with this one, and everyone has basically praised it enough, but one more recommendation can't hurt. Extremely well shot, full of memorable scenes (keep an eye out for the giant octopus), and a superb direction by the legend Park Chan-wook all makes it one of those films you just need to experience. You'll quickly notice how every scene is fine tuned to perfection and nothing was left to chance. It's based on (or loosely inspired by, if you ask the novels writer) an English novel called Fingersmith, which is set in London's Victorian era and you can really get the sense of that and not only because of the mandatory comedic scene involving a corset. Beautiful visuals and cinematography which is to expect when watching a film by Chan-wook, and even compared to his previous feats such as the deliciously edited Stoker (2013) and the fantastically written J.S.A. (2000), The Handmaiden ranks as one of his finest works.

My curious eye for art also picked up some interesting things, like when one of the characters is reading from an actual existing woodblock-printed book erotica, painted by the Japanese artist Hokusai. One of his most famous pieces include The Great Wave off Kanagawa, but the fact that he drew erotic art was news to me. In the film, his piece The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife is featured, and it's quite something. It has some sort of horrifying beauty to it and you get the feeling that it could be part of a much bigger mythos.  A fascinating flashback to old art.

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Romance

Creepy (Japan, 2016)

Takakura is a former detective. He receives a request from his ex-colleague, Nogami, to examine a missing family case that occurred 6 years earlier. Takakura follows Saki's memory. She is the only surviving family member from the case. Meanwhile, Takakura and his wife Yasuko recently moved into a new home. Their neighbor, Nishino, has a sick wife and a young teen daughter. One day, the daughter, Mio, tells him that the man is not her father and she doesn't know him at all.

Finally a new film from one of my favorite directors, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse, Tokyo Sonata), and he's back in the genre that started my fascination for him: horror. Though! As its title quickly tells you, Creepy is more of a slow-burning, very uncomfortable portrayal of a growing suspicion between two neighbors. It's basically void of jump scares and cheap methods to frighten you. Not one of Kurosawa's best, but still an effective and dark experience.   

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Terra Formars (Japan, 2016)

In an attempt to colonize Mars, 21st century scientists seed the planet with algae to absorb sun light and purify the atmosphere, and cockroaches who in turn spread the algae as they feed. 500 years later, the first manned mission to Mars loses contact with Earth, and a second ship is sent to investigate.

Terra Formars is one of those films you need to see to believe. It's so bad it's good. Directed by Takashi Miike, Terra Formars lets us follow a group of super soldiers to fight cockroaches who're all built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Every protagonist can morph into a personal insect and gain its individual power to fight the aliens. But be ready, the costumes often look so bad that it's hard to believe the film is not fan-made. I've seen cosplay that looks way, way better but this is all part of the fun. If you see it together with someone it's so easy to have a blast and wonder what crazy sh*t gonna happen next. 

Genre: Action/Horror/Sci-Fi

Godzilla: Resurgence (Japan, 2016)

An unknown accident occurs in Tokyo Bay's Aqua Line, which causes an emergency cabinet to assemble. All of the sudden, a giant creature immediately appears, destroying town after town with its landing reaching the capital. This mysterious giant monster is named "Godzilla".

The King of Monsters is officially back. There hasn't been a Japanese Godzilla movie since 2004, but now, everyones favorite nuclear powered 380ft tall lizard is here to be a huge pain for the people of Japan once again. In the directorial seat we have Hideaki Anno, known for his Evangelion-franchise, and his love for practical effects shine through every city demolishing scene in this film. Unlike the American entry from 2014, directed by Gareth Edwards, Resurgence (a.k.a. Shin Godzilla) very rarely cuts away from the action and often just basically gives the viewers what they want. Halfway into the film it loses some steam, and there's a lot to be explained by men in suits and while it isn't as fun to see a board meeting about Godzilla than it is to see trains being thrown into buildings, the film is commenting on the failing bureaucracy during the 2011 Fukushima disaster. A promising new beginning, and I'm looking forward to the the upcoming sequels.

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama

The Wailing (South Korea, 2016)

A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter. 

From Hong-jin Na, director of the intense thriller The Chaser (2008) comes this wildly disturbing tale of exorcism and spirits hell-bent on vengeance. The characters immediately reminded me of Memories of Murder (2004) and other South Korean murder mystery films where they often use clumsy and sort of goofy protagonists. I could easily see actor Song Kang-ho be the main lead for this film. 

The movie builds up really well, and from what started as a mysterious murder case, the story don't pull any punches when evolving into the most nail-biting and gruesome piece of cinema I've seen in a long time. I caught myself sitting with my eyes wide open on several occasions. This is a jaw-dropping and visually stunning thriller about a peaceful, rural village's dark descent into evil. 

Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Horror