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Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is Park Chan-wook’s first installment of his “Vengeance Trilogy”, followed by the near masterpiece of a Oldboy and the last installment being “Lady Vengeance”. None of the films are literal sequels of one another but all contain the same overall theme of a likeable character with a guilty conscience having to resort to violence. Similar to his other films, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance contains some deadpan humor packed with horrific violence and told in a way that makes it impossible to look away. |
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City of God
Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles created possibly the most compelling foreign crime drama to date with City of God. It is based on actual events of the life of Wilson Rodriguez who is a famous Brazilian photographer. The storyline is comprised of many subplots that follows a young boy’s journey into adulthood from a ghetto filled with crime. Complex character development is present amongst the many characters we are introduced to. The story is told and unfolds beautifully with each passing chapter. |
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Fish Tank
Fish Tank is a British film done by Andrea Arnold who wrote and directed it. The story is peppered with characters all of which share the major flaw of poor decision making. The main character is a young female teenager who has no guidance in life and is full of anger and cursing most of the time. Yet somehow the film makes us root for her to succeed. |
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Oldboy
Oldboy is a powerful Korean film that is as mesmerizing as it is disturbing. It is one that would not be able to be distributed in America because of the nature of it’s sexuality and violence. It is about a man who seeks revenge after being captured and imprisoned for 15 years without knowing why. When released he is given 5 days to figure out why. They say that revenge is a dish best served cold, I think after 15 years his dish was still frozen. The plot may seem simple but it is told in a sophisticated, and at times extreme, manner. |
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13 Assassins
The director Takashi Miike, who may be most famous for directing the horror film Audition, is the director of this epic samurai period film. 13 Assassins is set in 1844 toward the end of the Edo era that Tokyo Japan once was, when finding a true samurai warrior was growing more difficult. It is a remake of the 1963 film done by Eiichi Kudo that shares the same title. 13 Assassins is a foreign film whose premise is similar to that of the film 300, but overall they are on a different playing field, this one is much better. |
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Last Train Home
Last Train Home is a documentary by Lixin Fan that follows a family of factory workers over the course of three years and shows the struggle between factory life and family life in China. The film starts off saying, “There are over 130 million migrant workers in China. They go home only once a year, during the Chinese New Year.” It is the largest human migration in the world. |
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Incendies
Incendies is a French Canadian film directed and written by Denis Villeneuve, which was adapted from a play by Wajdi Mouawad. The film, whose title is translated to Scorched, is a dual narrative about siblings uncovering their families past and the mother’s struggle for survival in times of political conflict. The very opening scene that plays Radiohead’s “You and Whose Army?” in the background, gives off a haunting feel as a room full of Middle Eastern boys are getting their heads shaved. The camera pans to a boy’s tattoo, which means little until later in the film, but it is obvious foreshadowing. |
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A Prophet
A Prophet (Un prophete) is a French gangster film set in a prison divided largely by Corsicans and Arabs in a fight for power. Director Jacques Audiard gives a gritty and authentic look at prison life and that is full of racism and crime. The film does a good job on putting some original touches on a familiar story, making it a solid French film to see. |
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Dogtooth
Dogtooth is disturbing anti-social satire that is shot in an art-house sort of way. After the conclusion of most films, you can form an opinion fairly soon after the final credits roll. But there are some films that are so unique and different that you must let them sit with you for a bit before you can approach a final opinion. Dogtooth fits in the category of the latter. It is possibly the most original movie of the year, perhaps second only to Enter The Void. |
