review : Bleak Night

Director - Yoon Sung-hyun
Written by - Yoon Sung-hyun
Cast - Lee Je-hoon, Park Jung-min, Jo Sung-ha

Country - South Korea [2010]

Trivial is though the nature of emotions in high school, they give way to distortions in personality that may last years. As a father searches to understand the tragedy of his son's suicide the film follows a parallel narrative where incidents leading up to the suicide are seen. It begins with three friends talking and living as boys of this age will. Their minds are on girls and how best to have a good time till the rifts caused by the affliction of egos appear. As one boy becomes hostile towards the other two a writhing separation, rooted in misunderstanding, begins.
Although a high school story, at first glance, the film charms the viewer into this world which each of us has gone through with memories bitter and sweet.
The film received was nominated and won at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Pusan International Film awards & Asia Pacific Screen awards.

review : Udaan [Flight]

Director - Vikramaditya Motwane
Written by - Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap
Cast - Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Aayan Boradia, Ram Kapoor

Country - India [2010]

The most engaging of narratives are human in nature. As a teenage boy is expelled from boarding school he looks darkly upon the prospect of going back to a motherless home and a father he hasn't heard from in years. He reaches home only to see his room encroached upon by a much younger step brother he had no knowledge of and consequently vents his frustration on the younger child. Being forced to study engineering and work in his authoritarian father's factory, his only comfort is in his ambition to be a writer and the random nightly escapes. Incidents culminate towards a conclusion when his step sibling has to be hospitalized. The film gets back to realism in Indian cinema which had been lost in the mainstream for a decade, or 2, and is now in the process of recovery. With a stellar performance from the entire cast the film is premium grade soul food.

review : Aftershock

Director - Feng Xiaogang
Written by - Wu Si
Cast - Xu Fan, Jingchu Zhang, Chen Li, Daoming Chen

Country - China [2010]


The 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China is the backdrop for this film. A mother has to choose between her son and daughter both of whom are buried beneath ruble. From here the story evolves as the son grows up with his widowed mother and the daughter is brought up by her foster parents. The mother continues to live with the guilt of having chosen between her children and the daughter having heard her mother make the choice is unable to forgive her. Time goes on until paths collide years later and an emotional confrontation surfaces. The films is based upon a novel by Ling Zhang. Apart from the tragic events of the earthquake which form the heart of the story, the film also notes the changing landscape of the economically closed off China of the past to the present day industrial giant that it has become.

review : The Last Lear

Director - Rituparno Ghosh
Written by - Rituparno Ghosh
Cast - Amitabh Bachchan, Shefali Shetty, Arjun Rampal, Divya Dutta, Preity Zinta

Country - India [2007]

An eccentric theatre actor, Harry, is the gravitational centre of this film. He lives in a Shakespearean cocoon, shunning society and reliving the roles that he had played on stage. The film follows parallel story lines, one in which it is the night of a film premiere and the star actress has not shown up, choosing instead to visit an ailing co-actor. The other is where Harry is approached by a director, who convinces him to act in his film about dying art forms. The directors sense of realism in film brings the tale to a tragedy of sorts.
It is a slow moving piece making me think of the arts of puppetry, circus acts and even the theatre which future generations will only see depicted on the medium that killed them - film.
Based on a play by Uttpal Dutt, the film is notable for performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Shefali Shetty.

review : 2046

Director - Wong Kar Wai
Written by - Wong Kar Wai
Cast - Tony Leung, Gong Li, Faye Wong, Takuya Kimura, Zhang Ziyi, Maggie Cheung

Country - Hong Kong [2004]

From the visionary who gave us 'In the Mood for Love comes the next chapter of the story. A writer (Tony Leung) in the 60's of Hong Kong begins to write a novel set in 2046(a place where nothing changes). As authors will often do Mr. Chow begins inserting incidents of his own life into the novel. At the same time he leads a promiscuous life style full of heavy drinking, gambling and one night night stands.
The story unfolds in both the fiction that he writes and the life he is living. With strong characterization the film becomes great just for the artfully conducted direction and the score alone. A mercurial neighbour and interactions with his landlords daughter creates a plot that appeals to, pleases & satiates the intellect.

review : Swordsmen

Director - Peter Chan
Written by - Aubrey Lam
Cast - Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tang Wei

Country - China [2011]

It had been some time since I enjoyed a martial arts film out of Hong Kong. Set in a comparatively recent time, 1917, the film begins with a government official investigating two deaths in a village. Suspicion rests on a man with a clouded past and a broken link with the 72 demon clan. The plot unfolds with past misdeeds coming to light.  A thriller apt for kung-fu appetites.   

review : The Taste of Tea

Director - Katsuhito Ishii
Written by - Katsuhito Ishii
Cast - Tadanobu Asano, Tomokazu Miura, Anna Tsuchiya, Rinko Kikuchi

Country - Japan [2004]

A slice of life film. The story revolves around a family living in the countryside around Tokyo. A young girl bored with the futility of life, her older brother falling prey to the pangs of puberty. A slightly neurotic grandfather. A beautifully captured tale about not really anything except the unnoticed moments of life. Each character at a different age and consequently looking for something in their life.
A heart warming piece touching on one's own past that had been stored away in some sunny, smiling corner.

review : Battle Royale

Director - Kinji Fukasaku
Written by - Kenta Fukasaku
Cast - Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Kou Shibasaki, Masanobu Ando, Takeshi Kitano

Country - Japan [2000]

A dystopian future where teenagers are forced into a death game. Based on the book by Koushun Takami, it opens to a class of students moved to an uninhabited island. They are all given weapons and 3 days. With explosive collars tied to their necks, there's nothing left but merry killing to begin. The film is infused with a lot of red as the kids use arrows, shotguns, knives, sickles, automatics, grenades and axes. Friendships, loyalties and trust are stretched to a breaking limit. Let the games begin. 

review : Survive Style 5+

Director - Gen Sekiguchi
Written by - Taku Tada
Cast - Tadanobu Asano, Kyoko Koizumi, Jai West, Shihori Kanjiya, Sonny Chiba, Vinnie Jones

Country - Japan [2004]

It has been some time since I saw film that hooked you so completely from the first shot. There are 5 stories that loop in and touch each other at times. The purpose of the segments and actually the theme for the entire film has been given room for interpretation. Some audiences may find the comedy to be dark, but it has been done with clear vision and great aplomb.
A man who's wife beats him despite having been killed several times. A copywriter who gets brainwaves on advertising products. A hit man from Britain. A trio of jabbering miscreants & to tie it all up a man-chicken. The film, like the anime of Japan, continues to blast at the "limits" of creativity.

review : Caramel

Director - Nadine Labaki
Written by - Nadine Labaki, Rodney El Haddad, Jihad Hojeily

Cast - Nadine Labaki, Yasmine Elmasri, Joanna Moukarzel, Sihame Haddad, Gisele Aouad

Country - Lebanon [2007]


A film that exposed me to my ignorance. The lives of 5 women living in Beirut overlap in a salon. The film departs from the usual scene and story of a war ridden Beirut and displays the cities gentler, warmer side. Each woman staunchly battles her situation and is, at the same time, able to see the lighter, brighter side of things.
Nadine Labaki's direction tells of an organic love that each of us has for the city we grew up in. I look forward to more perception altering titles from the middle east.

review : The Servant

Director - Kim Dae-woo
Written by - Kim Dae-woo
Cast - Kim Joo-hyuk, Jo Yeo-jeong, Ryu Seung-beom

Country - South Korea [2010]

The film opens into feudal Korea with an outlaw recounting his tale to a writer. A rigid class system exists in a time when brothels are socially accepted as a form of entertainment, particularly among the royalty. This is the backdrop for a triangle between a royal, his servant & an ambitious singer at the brothel. The story runs a slow, melodious pace, punctuated with moments of levity as hearts change sides and events take their turns. An entertaining story with a mildly grim conclusion.

review : Owl and the Sparrow

Director - Stephane Gauger
Written by - Stephane Gauger
Cast - Cat Ly, Le Thu Lu, Pham Thi Han

Country - Vietnam [2007]


An orphan escapes her workplace to the city where she makes a living selling flowers on the street. A zookeeper leads a solitary life with animals as companions. An air hostess is in a curtained relationship with a married pilot.
This becomes the setting for a film about the everyday incidents that go unnoticed. The film also sheds a dim light on the child labor situation that exists in most asian countries and is sadly accepted as normal.
Well received at film festivals, the film makes for a emotionally moving tale.

review : Three Times

Director - Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Written by - Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Chu T'ien-wen
Cast - Shu Qi, Chang Chen

Country - Taiwan [2005]


As can be guessed from the title, the film is cut into 3 parts.The first begins in a pool hall, establishing the connection between a young man who has recently been drafted and his amorous interest in May who works there.
The second part is set in 1911 and is shot as a silent film, with dialogue appearing in text on slides.
The last part is set in modern times amid the tempestuous nature of youth.
The film reveals the promise of love to be one that reaches across lifetimes. Although love remains the theme in each part of the film, the setting or the environment in which love resides, changes. A slow piece, the film is more suited to a lazy, rainy sunday.

review : Harishchandrachi Factory

Director - Paresh Mokashi
Written by - Paresh Mokashi
Cast - Nandu Madhav, Vibhavari Deshpande

County - India [2010]

1913, British India. A man Dhundiraj Phalke, watches the motion pictures for the first time. The film narrates the story of this man , as he struggles to create the first Indian motion picture. From the sale of personal belongings to gather funds to comic frustrations with first time actors and the Phalke's trip to Britain the film keeps us in amused anticipation. Although with some sad turns the underlying energy of the film is highly positive.
Today the highest honor in the Indian film industry is named after this ambitious and enterprising man, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.

review : Kimjongilia

Director - N.C. Heikin

Country - South Korea [2009]

A documentary on the North Korean condition. We hear the stories of people who suffered under the Kim Family regime and to escape their misery defected. As we talk to ex military men, artists and people who were born and grew up in the North Korean prison camps, a sad and angry realization sets in. Some escape to China only to become goods of sale in human trafficking. Others seeking expatriation in Mongolia. Personal accounts of tragedies that hit the people of North Korea since its inception bring into focus the isolation of this country and more severely that of it's people.

review : Lust, Caution

Director - Ang Lee
Written by - Hui-ling Wang, James Schamus, Eileen Chang
Cast - Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Leehom Wang

Country - Hong Kong [2007]

It is near impossible to comprehend the circumstances of an individual unless their reality becomes your own. The western world is largely ignorant of the Japanese occupation of China, which is the premise of this period film. Set during the Second World War the Japanese Occupation disrupted, altered and manufactured a cascade of events, large and small, that would go unnoticed in the pages of history. The resistance movement in China operating in small cells tries to make headway by assassinating some of their own, who have become underlings of the Japanese to survive and further their own careers.This is the setting where a college going girl is aided and instructed to seduce the head of the secret police. But along the way the complexities of human nature are explored beyond the predictable. The ever mysterious nature of love and lust is once again revealed to be in the grey fog.  The emotional commitment of the actors to their roles is incomparable. The plot covers nearly 5 years of WW II from 1938 to 1942. I salute those who were part of this film and to the western viewers I say...

review : Outrage

Director - Takeshi Kitano
Written by - Takeshi Kitano
Cast -  Takeshi Kitano, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, Jun Kunimura [ & others]

Country - Japan [2010]

Another Yakuza story depicting the political maneuvers and manipulations within a Yakuza family. Although the film takes off to a slow start, which might be deemed necessary for the plot to mature. Midway the film picks up pace and the viewer is drawn into the machinations of the Yakuza. With the infamous tattoos, cutting off fingers as penance, murders with the right amount of gore and the police turning a Yen influenced blind eye the film makes for a satisfying 1hr 40 min. For those of us with a curious fascination for the underworld the film is a must. There are plans to follow up with a sequel in 2012.