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.

Violence Voyager (Japan, 2018)

Following an end-of-term school ceremony, the American boy Bobby decides to go with his friend Akkun into the mountains outside their village to a place perfect for a secret base. On the way they step into a mysterious amusement park. They have fun there, but are attacked and realize the park manager never intended for them to leave.

Violence Voyager is director Ujicha's follow-up to his amazingly strange The Burning Buddha Man (2013), and once again we're exposed to his twisted fantasy where the horrors come to life using tons and tons of unique paper-craft characters. It sounds silly, but the mature tone and the very thought out movements of the characters makes it a joy to watch. The story is part David Cronenberg, part Junji Ito; body horror, gore and the innocence of youth gets introduced to a dark world where there aren't any happy endings. 

The power of friendship is in focus, and while the film is surprisingly punishing towards its characters the strength in cooperation and and defeating evil together are what's in the film's message. A gem of demented, disgusting (and lovely) horror.

Genre: Animation/Horror. 1h 23 min.

In Search of Ozu (US/Japan, 2018)

 

In this documentary, filmmaker Daniel Raim delves into Yasujiro Ozu's remarkable late work, in which the master made the leap from black and white to color. In his stirring tribute to the great filmmaker, Raim examines Ozu's life and work through archival treasures such as his diary and the red teakettle from the family drama "Equinox Flower" (1958); sits down with Ozu's nephew and the producer of the director's gently elegiac final film, "An Autumn Afternoon" (1962); and interweaves many scenes and images from the vibrant and humane films with which the director capped his career.

If you're a fan of Ozu, you really should set aside some short quality time (it's only 46min long) to watch this documentary, and learn a lot more about one of the most important directors in history. We're treated to a treasure trove of still existing objects which have appeared in Ozu's films so many years ago, and his family gives some insight into what motivated Ozu to make the kind of family focused films he was best known for. The fact that he stayed single and never married was news to me, and people speculates wether it's because he saw too many failed marriages around him to tie the know himself. I also love the fact that he personally designed a lot of the sets and everything that went into the scenes themselves, like bar signs and posters, etc. He also seemed to be a big joker and drank a lot of sake.

A short and sweet, really informative look at the man behind many films that will be remembered forever.

Genre: Documentary

Melancholic (Japan, 2018)

Kazuhiko, a graduate of a prestigious university, wasn't enjoying his life, until he takes a job at a bathhouse. Then he discovers that the baths are used as a space for killing people after closing hours.

Melancholic tells the compelling story of how a somewhat socially awkward man, Kazuhiko, gets involuntarily thrown into the belly of the Yakuza killing business. It's a working blend of dark comedy and tense atmosphere, with some small amounts of well-directed action in-between. All while also following the believable, bittersweet love story between Kazuhiko and Yuri, a young woman who frequents the bathhouse.

The film stands out due to the original approach it has to the Yakuza genre by not dealing with warring families, but of how to take care of the mess after the killing is done, and the director makes some good decisions by focusing more on the moral struggles of the characters rather than just tryin to make a shallow, bloody spinoff Yakuza flick. 

Genre: Crime/Drama

Killing (Japan, 2018)

Set during the tumultuous mid-19th century Edo period of Japan, Killing is the story of a masterless samurai or ronin named Ikematsu Sosuke. As the prevalent peace and tranquility are sure to be replaced by war and conflict across the land the swordsman feels restlessness creep upon him.

When you hear such promising words like "Shinya Tsukamoto's first samurai film", it's hard not to get a little misty-eyed. I've gushed enough over the director of Tetsuo: The Iron Man in the past so let's just say I was ecstatic when I heard he was working on a jidaigeki film. Apparently it was something he always had wanted to do so it could be seen as somewhat of a dream project of his. It's a fairly short affair, clocking in at barely 1 hour and 20 minutes, but Tsukamoto takes his time portraying every aspect of his samurai story with two warrior's clashing morals, the unstoppable need for revenge and sacrificing one's personal code of justice in the name of someone else's bloodlust. 

Tsukamoto has spoken about how he wanted the small cuts from the sword to feel very real and not just be beautiful slashes like you would see in the classics, and early on I personally thought he achieved that when a characters hand gets cut open and it looks realistic and painful as hell. Killing (a.k.a. Zan) proves to be an interesting, slightly gory new way for Tsukamoto to express his wonderfully insane self.

Genre: Action/Drama

Microhabitat (South Korea, 2017)

Mi-So has worked as a housekeeper for the past 3 years and she makes 45,000 won ($40) a day. Mi-So loves drinking whisky and smoking cigarettes. Her boyfriend is Han-Sol and he wants to become a webtoon writer. Even though Mi-So is poor, she is happy as long as she has whisky, cigarettes and her boyfriend. Unfortunately, the prices of cigarettes go up on the first day of the new year. Mi-So has to give something up and she decides to give up her apartment.

In my ongoing search for female directors I discovered this lovely work by Go-Woon Jeon, where she tackles the disconnect in urban society and focuses on a struggling woman, Mi-So. The setbacks keep piling up but Mi-So manages to stay afloat, moving from place to place and taking one day at a time. A film that deals with relatable, modern problems 

Genre: Drama

House of Hummingbird (South Korea, 2019)

Set in 1994 in Seoul, a touching coming-of-age drama centered around the quiet, unexceptional eighth-grader Eun-Hee. Struggling to make passing grades and subject to non-stop screaming at home, she spends her time finding meaning in the love and friendships of her peers, in shoplifting, and in karaoke bars. It's in her cram school professor Yong-Ji, however, that Eun-Hee finds the answers that she seeks, as the two form an unlikely friendship.

Female director Bora Kim drew a lot of inspiration from her own childhood when writing the coming of age drama House of Hummingbird, and she wanted to highlight the all too rapid modernization of South Korea through the eyes of a young woman going through her own early stages of womanhood. The cinematography was carefully designed to evoke the correct time period and when talking about camera techniques in an interview, Kim gave the following statement: "In terms of camera movement and shot size, we followed her face and emotions and her body movement. Eun-hee’s way of seeing life was our intention and we tried our best to be very honest about camera movement and camera language throughout the film because this film is a realistic film, and we didn’t just want to zoom in and move in the camera to make it fancy". 

A lot of film makers definitely has a very pretentious way of shooting their films so it's great knowing Kim didn't want to overthink it but instead rely on the characters to express themselves. House of Hummingbird won a slew of awards at film festivals around the world and hopefully paved the way for not only Bora Kim but other female directors as well in a male-dominated industry.  

Genre: Drama

An Elephant Sitting Still (China, 2018)

In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, a longed-for escape from the downward spiral in which they find themselves. Among them is schoolboy Bu, on the run after pushing Shuai down the stairs, who was bullying him previously. Bu's classmate Ling has run away from her mother and fallen for the charms of her teacher. Shuai's older brother Cheng feels responsible for the suicide of a friend. And finally there's Mr. Wang, a sprightly pensioner whose son wants to offload him onto a home.

An Elephant Sitting Still is one of the most moving  and memorable film experiences I've had in a long time. It manages to say so much about human nature, and accomplishes to flesh out the extremely exposed and vulnerable characters we get to follow through one whole day. There's a big chance the 4-hour running time will scare people away, I know I certainly saw the film way later than I could've, but it's wild how I actually can't think of anything they should have left on the cutting room floor. Every scene builds up towards a goal and every character are a thread which the viewer will follow until their inevitable convergence. Together with the carefully planned, long continuous shots there's a beautiful and melancholic post-rock inspired soundtrack so the themes of guilt, bullying and alienation are in a happy marriage with cold, melodic guitars and atmospheric ambience.  

The bleak and oppressive atmosphere hangs over the film like grey, never moving, ever-present rain clouds. The saddest thing though, is the fact that the films director Bo Hu ended his life during the post-production at age 29, making Elephant his first and last feature-length film. The testament to his skill and attention to detail shines in every scene, and how he made all the characters truly come alive is awe-inspiring. A masterpiece from a visual artist who left us all too soon.

Genre: Drama

The Third Wife (Vietnam, 2018)

In 19th century rural Vietnam, fourteen-year-old May is ready to become the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Little does she know that her hidden desires will take her by surprise and force her to make a choice between living in safety and being free.

The Third Wife marks an amazing debut by director Ash Mayfair, who for 4 months lived in a rural village in preparation for the film and to get all the customs and details right. Ash commands the camera with great confidence and you could never have thought that this is her first feature film, but she perfectly blends a disturbing tale of underage marriage with the beautiful countryside of Vietnam. The tempo is consistently composed, yet the emotional waves inside of young May are growing higher and higher. 

By some it would be considered art-house, but I hope that term doesn't scare away people from experiencing a film which is in the vein of Tran Anh Hung (Cyclo).

Genre: Drama

Long Day's Journey Into Night (China, 2018)

Luo Hongwu returns to Kaili, the hometown from which he fled 12 years earlier. As memories of an enigmatic and beautiful woman resurface - a woman he loved and whom he has never been able to forget - so, Luo Hongwu begins his search for her.

Here's a film which was caught in a bit of controversy at its release. It was marketed as a film for the general public, and nothing more of its contents were disclosed, so after the premiere there was an outrage from mislead viewers. You see, Long Day's is an art-house film and not at all the quick-paced detective drama people first thought. Film critics loved the film though and it won  a prize for Best Cinematography. That award was an obvious choice given how this movie shines with beauty. Some shots are a wonder to behold, and there was a huge buzz surrounding it's last 59-minutes which amazingly is a single no-cut tracking shot. 

For film fans in search of that kick you get when watching a fantastic director put his soul into his film. More mainstream viewers should approach with care, due to the film's tempo and overall long, lingering shots. 

Genre: Drama/Mystery

Shadow (China, 2018)

In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a "shadow", a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want.

Zhang Yimou, director of visual spectacles such as House of Flying Daggers (2004) and Hero (2002), is back with another film that unleashes itself upon its viewer rather than getting watched. Zhang uses his usual style of amazing looking battles in slow-motion, rain drops which gets cut in half and sword strikes with terrifying precision. This is a film where brutal martial arts are being treated as beautiful poetry, and every punch flows as smooth as a stream through a bamboo thicket. The color palette rarely moves out of the gray, black and white so that the feeling of watching an old Chinese ink painting only gets stronger. Hand in hand with these jaw-dropping fight scenes we're treated to a bombastic Shakespeare-like historical drama, both intimate and epic in scope with political intrigue, and affection between fighters. A true return to form for Zhang.   

Genre: Action/Drama/War

Burning (South Korea, 2018)

Jong-su, a part-time worker, bumps into Hae-mi while delivering, who used to live in the same neighborhood. Hae-mi asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When Hae-mi comes back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met in Africa, to Jong-su. One day, Ben visits Jong-su's with Hae-mi and confesses his own secret hobby.

Straight from the head of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami we get Burning (based on his short story Barn Burning), a heavily character-driven story which dips its toes in both slow-pace drama as well as creepy mystery. If you've ever read a Murakami novel or short story you're bound to recognize a few of his more prevalent plot details such as a well, cats and disappearing people. Being a fan of his works I'm glad we see more adaptions of his books, and though Burning isn't as good as Norwegian Wood (2010) in my opinion it's still a great story and a beautifully shot film. 

Genre: Drama/Mystery

The Night Comes for Us (Indonesia, 2018)

Ito, a gangland enforcer, caught amidst a treacherous and violent insurrection within his Triad crime family upon his return home from a stint abroad.

To call The Night Comes for Us an action flick would be a huge understatement. Halfway through, the film starts to feel like the longest fight sequence you've ever seen. Arms are breaking like nobody's business, necks are snapping and blood is gushing almost constantly. Due to the main focus on the action I would strongly recommend it to martial art film aficionados, and every one else, well, let's just say that it's not only thugs that gets a severe beating but the plot as well. Yes there's talk of betrayal and our hero suddenly comes across a child he needs to protect, but this all really just amounts to padding between one spectacular brawl to another. 

An adrenaline rush no doubt, and superbly choreographed, but can be exhausting if you're not in the mood for this kind of film. 

Genre: Action/Thriller