Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1000 “Millennium Actress” Cedar Park, 2021
I was browsing Amazon Prime Movies and came across the Satoshi Kon movie Millennium Actress so I made some popcorn and settled in to watch it.
I enjoyed it a lot! The story was cool and imaginative, following the story of a veteran actress Chiyoko’s career, with flashbacks to different genres of movies in various historical settings. The scene where Chiyoko appears as a scientist/doctor in a kaiju movie was one of my favorites, even though it only lasted a few seconds. But the transition between the genres was so cool. There was also a nice amount of action and fighting during the ninja-assassin scenes which was very well-done.
I’ve never thought that the character style in Satoshi Kon’s movies were to my liking, but I might finally be coming around. Some of the expressions in Millennium Actress were fantastic. Definitely a recommended anime to watch!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000 “Aki” Cedar Park, 2021
******** SPOILER ALERT *********
Tonight I watched the 2004 Japanese movie Crying Out Love in the Center of the World / 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ, which was the breakout movie for my current actress crush Masami Nagasawa. I love melodramatic tear-jerkers these days and I knew going in that this was a sad story (you find out early on that Aki passes away), but I didn’t know that the story’s time period would also include a lot of nostalgic interest for me.
The story switches between 2004 (present day) and 1986, when the characters were in high school, which means the characters are the same age as me and Mariko. Adding to the nostalgia, Aki (Masami Nagasawa) and Saku (Mirai Moriyama) exchange messages to each other via cassette tape and it’s fun to see the old Walkman models and compact boom-boxes in action – it almost makes me want to find an old cassette player. 😁
The plot is more interesting and complex than you might expect, and there’s a bit of mystery as to who the character Ritsuko (Kou Shibasaki) really is, and how the cassette tapes connect the past to the present. But it’s the acting that really impressed me. Most of the scenes are quiet are drawn-out, so all attention is on the acting and I am happy to say that it does not disappoint. A+ from the entire cast.
I really liked that the story Crying Out Love in the Center of the World is so pure and innocent, yet can still be so moving. There’s no controversial, disturbing, or uncomfortable scenes – it’s just a story about love, loss, and trying to move on.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO2000 “Watching Minari” Cedar Park, 2021
Last night we watched the film Minari / 미나리. I was really looking forward to this movie because of all the glowing reviews, and although I enjoyed it, I didn’t connect with it on the level that many others did, mainly because my childhood experience was much different than any of the characters in the movie. It also makes sense because there are probably many nuances in the film that only people of Korean descent would identify with (Korea is not part of my multi-ethnic background).
I thought the family dynamic was interesting and realistic – not over-the-top, but typical of a slice-of-life story, which I enjoy. My favorite character was grandma, and I would have liked to learn more about her story. The rest of the family seemed one-dimensional compared to her. It felt like her age and history shaped her character to a greater extent and there was a lot of mystery to her motivations, whereas the others’ motivations seemed straightforward.
In short, I thought Minari was a good, but unremarkable, movie. As always, YMMV.
My rating of Minari / 미나리 is 7.5 out of 10.
Shout out to the JACL for making tickets to Minari available to members!
Today I watched the 2009 film Mulan: Rise of a Warrior / 花木蘭 starring Zhao Wei. I read some good things about this telling of the Mulan story and I like Zhao Wei so I was really looking forward to it.
The story of Mulan is one that most of us are familiar with, but in this version, the plot focuses more on her time as a general in the army, and the romance between her and a fellow soldier who also rises to become a leader. I found this spin on the story somewhat interesting, but I felt they didn’t spend enough time developing the relationship, and kind of left it to the imagination. Lots of tears were shed on-screen, but that emotion didn’t quite connect with me. I often get teary-eyed when watching movies, but not for this one.
Of course, the tale of Mulan has to have a lot of fighting in it, and this movie has its share of battle scenes, however, I was a little disappointed in the quality of them. I guess I was expecting a more epic feel along the lines of Lord of the Rings or Avengers, but that was not to be. I’m sure the budget for Mulan was only a fraction of those blockbusters, so it’s understandable. The fighting here is pretty much all live-action actors and extras as far as I could tell and nothing special or memorable in the martial arts world. It makes sense though since the focus of the story is on Mulan’s emotional struggles rather than the physical battles.
The overall look of the movie is washed-out and gloomy (in contrast to the vibrant colors of the live-action Disney version) and not pretty to look at which is kind of a bummer, because I’ve seen movies where dark and depressing can look slick, polished, and amazing, such as in Shadow 影. I’m pretty sure a touch of CGI could have given Mulan: Rise of a Warrior that extra boost visually that it needed.
On the other hand, you could say the movie had an authentic, historical feel to it (although having a white character in the opening shot was an odd choice). Contributing to the authentic feel were the costumes and armor. I loved looking at them and although I am no expert, they felt accurate to the time… as if I were looking at the real armor from a museum. The colors were muted and not flashy at all. I didn’t once feel like this aspect of the movie was unrealistic. And the clothes that the characters wore in Mulan’s rural village at the beginning of the movie seemed authentic as well. It really establishes that this isn’t a fantasy world, but part of history, even if Mulan was most likely a fictional character.
If you want to watch a wartime romance movie, Mulan: Rise of a Warrior might just be for you. Just don’t expect anything super-epic, which is a shame since the story of Mulan I think deserves that kind of scope. Still, it’s a good re-telling of the story and worth a watch.
My rating of Mulan: Rise of a Warrior is 7 out of 10.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5, 1/75 sec, ISO6400 “Last Letter” Cedar Park, 2020
I watched Shunji Iwai‘s latest movie Last Letter (ラストレター) this afternoon and loved it. I’m a huge fan of both Matsu Takako and Hirose Suzu, so I knew that even if the story wasn’t so good, I could at least enjoy their acting. But I was captivated by the plot, which unfolded beautifully and culminated in a satisfying and emotional ending. (Have the tissue box ready 😭)
And I found the cinematography to be fantastic… a lovely film to look at just for the visuals, but combine that with a great plot and incredible actors, and Last Letter is a winner.
I love melodramatic movies, and this one fits the bill for sure. Recommended if you can find it! My rating is 8.5 out of 10.
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