Throw Down 柔道龍虎榜 2004 // Hong Kong // Johnnie To 杜琪峯 Letterboxd (LINK) Despite being a recent first-time watch, THROW DOWN immediately takes up the second place of my favorite Johnnie To film, closely following THE MISSION (1999). Asides from the explicit homage to Akira Kurosawa’s SANSHIRO SUGATA, the playful editing (the cross-cutting between interactions… Continue reading Throw Down 柔道龍虎榜 (Johnnie To 杜琪峯, 2004)
Joint Security Area ‘공동경비구역 JSA’ 2000 // South Korea // Park Chan-wook Letterboxd (LINK) Started out as a mystery of a bloodshed incident taken place at the North Korean border house in the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone) where two North Korean officers are killed, Park Chan-wook’s breakout hit ends with a poignant, sombre truth… Continue reading Joint Security Area ‘공동경비구역 JSA’ (Park Chan-wook, 2000)
Paranoia Agent 妄想代理人 2004 // Japan // Satoshi Kon 今敏 Letterboxd (LINK) This animated TV series is one hell of a psychological ride. It’s ecstatic, thrilling, bewitching, delightful, piercing, satirical, and appalling. It’s the pinnacle of Satoshi Kon, the genius who died too young. I would herald it alongside Fassbinder’s BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ (1980) and Lynch’s… Continue reading Paranoia Agent 妄想代理人 (Satoshi Kon 今敏, 2004)
The Beaches of Agnès 2008 // France // Agnès Varda Letterboxd (LINK) Seldom an autobiographical documentary about a filmmaker made by herself could be so life-affirming, heart-warming, and exhilarating all at once. It’s not the first time Agnès Varda incorporates herself, her voice and appearance, into her own films. Yet THE BEACHES OF AGNES feels playful and… Continue reading The Beaches of Agnès (Agnès Varda, 2008)
The Gleaners & I 2000 // France // Agnès Varda Letterboxd (LINK) In retrospect, THE GLEANERS & I basically announced the beginning of the last chapter in Agnès Varda‘s filmography and her personal journey of life. Here she picked up a digital camera, allowing herself to freely interview the person she found intriguing on the… Continue reading The Gleaners & I (Agnès Varda, 2000)
Mother 마더 2009 // South Korea // Bong Joon-ho Letterboxd (LINK) Kim Hye-ja is the eponymous mother whom we first met during the opening credits when she dances (swinging her body and arms and finally covering her face by her hands as in an attempt to hide her emotion) on an opening field of high… Continue reading Mother 마더 (Bong Joon-ho, 2009)
The Host 괴물 2006 // South Korea // Bong Joon-ho Letterboxd (LINK) Rewatching THE HOST after the recent GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS made me realize how much I miss a good ‘monster movie’. In a way, THE HOST is a cross of multiple genres with seamless tonal shifts throughout, the result is a poignant,… Continue reading The Host 괴물 (Bong Joon-ho, 2006)
Paprika パプリカ 2006 // Japan // Satoshi Kon 今敏 Letterboxd (LINK) PAPRIKA was Satoshi Kon’s last feature film made before his untimely death in 2010 at the age of 46. He had made 4 main animated features only, yet they are all masterpiece in my opinion, and MILLENNIUM ACTRESS (2002) is one of my all-time… Continue reading Paprika パプリカ (Satoshi Kon 今敏, 2006)
Barking Dogs Never Bite 플란다스의 개 2000 // South Korea // Bong Joon-ho Letterboxd (LINK) Bong’s Joon-ho‘s full-length debut feature is an offbeat dark comedy that, in its best moment, offers some barking sounds but fails to bite deep enough for a sustainable impression. The threads of plot are loosely and idly mangled in various cinematic… Continue reading Barking Dogs Never Bite 플란다스의 개 (Bong Joon-ho, 2000)
Memories of Murder 살인의 추억 2003 // South Korea // Bong Joon-ho Letterboxd (LINK) MEMORIES OF MURDER not only defied the conventional tropes in police procedural, more importantly it aligned the serial murder with the historical context of South Korea and scrutinized on the fatalistic void. The void is an abyss, if you stare into the… Continue reading Memories of Murder 살인의 추억 (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)
The Films in My Life (OnCriterion) 