moar moo-vis
There's a lot of great stuff playing at the New York Asian Film Festival RIGHT NOW! For those of you who can't make it, though, but are still looking for something to watch, here's a few more flicks I've seen in the past couple months.
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Akihabara@DEEP (2006)
Generic pitch: five troubled young adults deal with their own problems while trying to make something great in the tech basement of Tokyo.
About a quarter of the way through this movie they give you the idea that each character is going to confront and somehow surpass their signature problem, but that's not how life works, and that's not how this movie plays out. Somet things can't be overcome; they just have to be dealt with. And in any case, the characters' individual issues become incidental as they realize more of what's going on around them, and they try to decide how and even if they can do anything about it. This is a movie about nerds and misfits, but it's not the glamorized fantasy of "ugly nerd gets hot chick" or "nerd becomes rich while jock works at Burger King".
It does feel like the writers kind of dropped the ball at the end, like they realized it was too long or too messy to do any sort of wrap up. But then again, maybe that doesn't matter. Watch it for yourself and let me know.
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Champion (2002)
Generic pitch: the true story of a poverty-born Korean in the 70s who became a famous boxer.
Even if you don't know the story beforehand, from the very beginning you know the climax this movie is building toward. This movie is really carried by the acting, with slightly extended takes allowing time for subtle facial expressions while the characters think. This isn't necessarily a feel-good sports movie. This is a slice of life, and really an exploration of relationships against the backdrop of a guy who gets punched for a living.
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High Kick Girl! (2009)
Generic pitch: based on a manga, a girl kicks people.
This movie is about 20% the title character kicking ass, and 70% her teacher kicking ass. Sorry to spoil it for you. Other than that, if you're watching a movie called "High Kick Girl" then you know pretty much exactly what you're getting. Maybe not as many panty shots as you'd expect, though. Instead, copious instant replays.
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Radio Days (2008)
Generic pitch: Koreans try to run a radio station in Japanese-occupied Korea in the 1930s.
You could say this movie is about making a choice between surviving and living, but even more so it's about the love of music and entertainment. Put more simply, it's about loving or wanting something, and having to deal with all the other crap that keeps you from that thing. really, that's what all these movies are about. Yes, even High Kick Girl. Although not so much.
But out of all of these, definitely try to catch this one.
_______
Akihabara@DEEP (2006)
Generic pitch: five troubled young adults deal with their own problems while trying to make something great in the tech basement of Tokyo.
About a quarter of the way through this movie they give you the idea that each character is going to confront and somehow surpass their signature problem, but that's not how life works, and that's not how this movie plays out. Somet things can't be overcome; they just have to be dealt with. And in any case, the characters' individual issues become incidental as they realize more of what's going on around them, and they try to decide how and even if they can do anything about it. This is a movie about nerds and misfits, but it's not the glamorized fantasy of "ugly nerd gets hot chick" or "nerd becomes rich while jock works at Burger King".
It does feel like the writers kind of dropped the ball at the end, like they realized it was too long or too messy to do any sort of wrap up. But then again, maybe that doesn't matter. Watch it for yourself and let me know.
_______
Champion (2002)
Generic pitch: the true story of a poverty-born Korean in the 70s who became a famous boxer.
Even if you don't know the story beforehand, from the very beginning you know the climax this movie is building toward. This movie is really carried by the acting, with slightly extended takes allowing time for subtle facial expressions while the characters think. This isn't necessarily a feel-good sports movie. This is a slice of life, and really an exploration of relationships against the backdrop of a guy who gets punched for a living.
_______
High Kick Girl! (2009)
Generic pitch: based on a manga, a girl kicks people.
This movie is about 20% the title character kicking ass, and 70% her teacher kicking ass. Sorry to spoil it for you. Other than that, if you're watching a movie called "High Kick Girl" then you know pretty much exactly what you're getting. Maybe not as many panty shots as you'd expect, though. Instead, copious instant replays.
_______
Radio Days (2008)
Generic pitch: Koreans try to run a radio station in Japanese-occupied Korea in the 1930s.
You could say this movie is about making a choice between surviving and living, but even more so it's about the love of music and entertainment. Put more simply, it's about loving or wanting something, and having to deal with all the other crap that keeps you from that thing. really, that's what all these movies are about. Yes, even High Kick Girl. Although not so much.
But out of all of these, definitely try to catch this one.