The girl from Monaco

This is the sort of film that doesn't tell you anything new and yet you are nevertheless gripped by the storytelling and the magnetic performance given by its stars. In this instance, it is the dilemma suffered by the ageing attorney and the performance by enigmatic Roschdy Zem and sexy Louise Bourgoin that has made the whole experience so thrilling.

Eternal summer

It was a long while since I watched such a captivating Taiwanese film with a tight script and natural and convincing performance from the ensemble. I had seen it on the shelf many times and yet due to my allergy with Taiwanese media products as a whole, I had not been keen to watch it. This made me wonder what I have missed in the process.

Welcome to Dongmakgol

I tend to find 'blockbusters' dull and too eager to please but this one is a breath of fresh air.

People from different backgrounds and with conflicting ideologies had to stay together before going their separate ways. Gradually though under the influence of the pacific villagers, they found their inner desire for peace and learnt to appreciate each other as just human beings.

There are many clever use of minor characters or proms for character depiction purpose. The role of a 'crazy girl', the boar are just two of the most distinguishing ones that showcase how humour and humanity can be intertwined into a film about, on first appearance, conflict and war.

Art is a state of mind

That is what I learnt after two hours at the Art Stage at MBS.

Spring summer fall winter...spring

While I was watching the film, one of the things that amazed me the most was that there seems to be so many Korean films in the last decade that are so simple in format, with barely-there dialogues and few characters. The Way Home, A Brand New Life, Treeless Mountain, for example, all have minimalist plots and the power of the film come from subtle character depiction featuring non-professional actors.

Now that I know it has the same director for 3-Iron and Time, I am surprised I didn't recognise his signature styles straightaway.

Gloomy Sunday

A most captivating film, with one of the most memorable tune, played in many variations throughout the story. It succeeded in making me wonder whether the film was based on, at least loosely, on real characters.

Although I can never quite understand the characters, the story-telling is powerful enough to keep me stay tuned. I was surprised it was made in 1999... because it still feels rather fresh.

It made me dig out all of Billie Holiday's CDs!

Attack the gas station!

Having just finished Midnight FM, I was a bit worried at the first half hour if Attack the Gas Station! was another one of those films that depict extreme violence for its own sake. Indeed, although Midnight FM seems to suggest that the motive behind the violence and kidnap is 'heroic' and 'justified' because the taxi driver believes he is taking law by his own hands, it doesn't make much of an effort to convince us so. Though the film could feel compelling at points, you can never get rid of the bugging feeling there are far too many loose plots to make the story convincing.

Attack the Gas Station was quite close to reaching the point that it is one of those films. Yet the director has quite cleverly steered us away from this thought with two crafts: the depiction of those patrons at the gas station, and later on, the intermitting flashbacks of the four young delinquents. When their nonsensical criminal act was put in the context of the overall crudeness, greediness (of the police force) and violence, it does not only draw sympathy towards the delinquents but also gradually, made them appear human (the singer love music that much that he demand various people to sing for him), funny (in front of a 'beautiful' lady, one of them subjected her to take off a piece of garment every time when she loses in a word puzzle), and even dignified and brave (when the baseball player demanded payment from the police for the gas and sends away a gangster whose mum is 'ill'). Their success in the end at realising their dream and getting away from the punishment therefore seems justified.