[movie] cape no. 7
so yes, cape no. 7.i caught the movie today at amk hub:D
i thought it was good,really. initially i had the impression of it being kinda overhyped.
basically it conveys the age old messages about love, friendships, passion for music and the pursuit of dreams - how a bunch of entirely different and varied bunch of people come together to put up the biggest performance that they have ever dreamt of in their tiny village.
there is Aga (Van Fan) who is basically the only experienced one in the band who used to be an aspiring rocker but after failing his dreams, he now lazes in his bed watching time pass by while his stepfather(Ju-Lung Ma),the town council representative, gets him a job as a postman. instead of sending them, he brings them home, and curiosity led him to opening a returned mail consisting of loveletters from almost half a century ago from a japanese man to a taiwanese woman during world war II. - the man who decided to leave the woman due to his worry of resentment and the barrier between him because of his nationality.
on the other hand, the need to form a local band to perform in one of the biggest gig ever in the tiny viilage for a japanese singer (Kousuke Atari) introduced Tomoko (Chie Tanaka) who has to organise and supervise the band to ensure that the gig will progress smoothly. in the midst, Aga and Tomoko fall in love, while the two of them sought to seek out the elderly Tomoko-chan whom the loveletters were addressed to. the rest of the band members meanwhile, face issues of their own :
Guitarist Rauma (Ming Hsiung), a short-tempered policeman whose pinning for his wilfe who had left him when he was in the SWAT team too caught up in his job.
Uncle Mao ( Johnny CJ Lin), an 80-year old uncle with a passion for music with his traditional instrument of yueqin
Drummer Frog (Ying Wei-Min), a worker in a motocycle shop in love with his boss's wife who has 3 children caught in an unsatisfying marriage with a husband who likes drinking.
Keyboard player Dada (Joanne Yang), an interesting and quirky ten-year old and
Bassist Malasan (Ma Nien-Hsien), a Hakka wine salesman Malasun who works too hard.
so at the end of the movie, we see all of them coming from different backgrounds and in the end, come together to put up a successful and riveting performance:)
the issues and the plot are nothing new, definitely. but what makes this movie become such a hit, one will understand when you have watched it.
it's hard to put it in words....i guess the film had heart and soul in it. the kind which can touch you (if uh i am making any sense?!)
it's very real and relevant to us, average people with average lives who may like something very much but we make choices along the way which later on in life, we may regret. they enjoyed music, and this was something that brought them together, something common in them that gave them their shot at doing what they loved best.
the cast (largely unknown to me i only recognized Van Fan and Shino Lin),i thought put on an honest performance which connected with the audience. they were candid, sincere, and real, common folk, like all of us with our aspirations, our occasional faltering when we encounter challenges, of course, the lost souls in us. humour, of course was peppered all about in the show, light-hearted moments which made the film really (i mean REALLY) endearing and enjoyable.
the main characters and supporting characters are all unique, all of them representing a type of people that we find around us, perhaps a friend, a parent or a neighbour. you come to learn more about them and actually know their story. i guess this made it really..close to the heart and that was probably what made it such a hit.
the picturesque moments, wonderfully shot and its simplicity really emphasized some of the very beautiful landsapes made it a very gorgeous film to watch. (though some parts i thought was a bit over-indulgent like Aga floating in the water)
most of the time though, it was beautiful (the images of scooter running on the sandy path, the sunset, beach and the nuances of close companionship when the few of these villagers were just sitting quietly by the beach)
not too many words, just enough to convey what's needed to keep the story moving and also some humour.
though i did feel that the romance between Aga and Tomoko wasa bit unconvincing (hahaha). i had no idea why it seemed to progress so quickly.
so in all, effective humour good characters (the supporting cast was rather awesome)+ picturesque moments + good music and soundtrack and more importantly, SOUL, made it a very very enjoyable movie indeed and i really liked it :D (much better than what i've watched recently, notably madagascar and highschmusical-.-)
you know, kinda like the feeling i get when i watch spirited away or my girl (the thai movie), but less intense hahaha because those movies are like, very awesome in my opinion :D
SO, that's that about the movie. after which i hung out at the mall, ate subway for lunch, ate toastbox for dinner, walked around shopped about and talked:D sigh i've been feeling kinda...lost-.-
oh, i really really want to watch the curious case of benjamin button!:D :D
(and hmmmm when is harrypotter the movie coming out it's been kinda long since order of the phoenix i've been waiting-.-)