Goro's Asian Movies and Stuff Blog

FINAL FANTASY VII short reaction

I just got the new FINAL FANTASY VII: ADVENT CHILDREN dvd (which is unsubbed but i grabbed an .srt file) and watched much of it last nite (as I couldn't bear to keep watching the Raiders piss away another game).

It's quite an interesting film.  Visually unbelievable at times, it's the ultimate in eye candy.  But it's also striking in that while some of hte movements seem very natural (my guess is motion captured), other movements are awkward and have that cg marionette-feel to them.  When cg looks photorealistic and then moves awkwardly, it is quite jarring b/c there is a disconnect there.  WHen CG looks cartoonish, then cartoonish movements are easy to accept.

Hair (which is probably a fair well-understood algorithm by now) looks particularly impressive and the wolf in the desert near the beginning is as amazing as the eagle at the end of the SPIRITS WITHIN film.

It's a truly remarkable piece of work, though, and marks a fairly distinct milestone in CG motion picture development.  It willbe interesting to look back on this in a few years and take note of how we've progressed from here. 

MR HANDY mini-review (KOR)

A light-hearted, moderately amusing romantic comedy that is somewhat similar to the Michael J. Fox movie DOC HOLLYWOOD.  Uhm Jung-Hwa plays YOON Hye-jin, a self-centered, hard-headed, picky, somewhat spoiled, high-maintenance Dentist with a taste for expensive wine.  After a falling out in her old dental office, she starts a practice in a rural area (because that's the only place she can afford).  Here she meets Mr. Hong, a local good guy who is a jack of all trades.  At any given time, he's a realtor, a food delivery guy, a convenience store clerk, a lounge singer.  The two polar opposites manage to get in each other's way, irritating each other to the extreme until, of course, romance blooms...

As with most RomComs, it's a vehicle for the female lead and the story is told from the female's point of view.  Yoon Hye-jin has a character arc, develops from snooty girl to well-adjusted woman while Mr. Hong plays the Perfect Guy (tm), just what she needs.  He does everything well, from fighting off a gang of ruffians to playing golf and Go with her dad.  He's got a "proper" world view and is wise.

Much of the humor lies in seeing Mr. Hong in his different guises, seeing him pop up unexpectedly in one attire or another.  This act grows a bit tiresome as it continues, though, and the lack of any real interesting personality makes him substantially less interesting than he should be.

Yoon Hye-jin plays the typical irritating female character found to populate romcoms.  There's really little to like about her (except that she's pretty) and as she struggles (and whines about it), it grows more irritating and tiresome than empathetic.

This movie is ripe for a US remake because it's basically a US RomCom already.  This is not a compliment.  It's a cookie-cutter romantic comedy with the one (rather stupid and contrived) concept that doesn't really go anywhere and the typical romance shoe horned in.  Throw Brittany Murphy or Kate Hudson in the female lead and voila...

Grade : 70 (C-)

YAKU SAN-JU NO USO mini-review (JPN)

ABOUT 30 LIES is a reunion/character study film masquerading as a caper film.  From the trailers, it looks like a cross between MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS and OCEANS 11, but in the end, it is a closer relative to THE BIG CHILL than the aforementioned films.

The caper (and the associated cash) is just a maguffin; the true focus of the movie is about the relationships between the main characters.  Previously, the crew got together for a big heist, but in the end, there was a double-cross, the money was lost and the team broke down and separated.  Now, three years later, they plan on one last job.  The job goes well, but the real test is to see if they can make it thru the train trip to the end and split the cash.

He loves her... and so does this guy.  She has a boyfriend... maybe.  And these two guys like this girl, who may or may not have betrayed them all before.  And she seems to like the guy that likes this other girl.  Meanwhile, these two have a plan to steal the money.  But so do these two.  And this guy plans to...

It's about double-crosses, hidden agenda, big-scale plans... no, actually, again, it's just about how these friends interact with each other in the context of being con-artists.

What makes the movie so successful is that it is engaging and fun to watch.  The characters are alive and banter with the same audacity and pointlessness that will take you back to those college days.  The actors do a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life, allowing them to fully breathe well beyond the boundaries of the screenplay. 

While the plot is fairly easy to discern, the more intriguing aspect of the resolution of the characters is far more in doubt. 

Though it was not without some problems, it was an enjoyable ride and well worth seeing.

BEAUTIFUL BOXER review (THA)

Sometimes there are movies with concepts that are so bizarre that it doesn't even register on the "I MIGHT want to see it"-radar.  For me, one of these movies was MY LITTLE BRIDE about a College student who is forced into an arranged marriage with a 14-year old girl.  Another is the thai movie about a transvestite muy thai boxer Parinya Charoenphol, aka Nong Toom.

While I'm not homophobic, I'm also not homophilic either.  While I don't mind watching a film that is topically about alternative lifestyles (I thought ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER was fabulous), I'm not one to actively seek these films out.  So when I first heard about BEAUTIFUL BOXER, my initial reaction was a highly ambivalent, "eh."  Later I read some reviews that stated what a wonderful film it was and that the muy thai scenes were excellent, which then put the film on my "Want to see" list. Now, thanks to abda, I've finally watched the film and can honestly say that it is a very good film that borders on excellent.

The film is based on the real-life story of Parinya Charoenphol, who was affectionately known as Nong Toom, and his life as a young boy who struggles with his desire to wear makeup and engage in feminine activities in a traditional thai family.  As he grows older and his body fills out, he finds that he is extremely skilled at fighting, in particular muy thai, despite the fact that he is repulsed by the brutality of the sport.  He fights, though, and wins... alot, ascending in the sport rapidly, even as his struggles with his sexuality continues. 

His trainer, catching Nong Toom in the act of putting on makeup, decides to use it as a marketing gimmick, making makeup and dancy-per-fight performance part of his stage persona and thus focusing a great deal of attention on the young fighter.  The blows come sharply and they are not all physical.  He continues to win, though, and finally he gets a (title?) fight in Bangkok.  That moment proves to be a turning point in his life as he realizes that his goal in life is not to be a champion fighter, but a woman, so he begins taking female hormones.  As a result, his strength decreases and he begins to develop breasts.  Naturally, he begins losing his matches, until finally becoming little more than a sideshow.  Finally, he takes a fight in Japan against the Japanese female pro-wrestling champion, which would possibly define his life from then on.

While overall it's an engaging, engrossing, and empathetic peice that is quite good, it is still fraught with several small problems.  The lack of any real established relationships in the film is the most troublesome problem.  There are a number of people in Nong Toom's life, each of which could have had a substantial presence, including his Mother, his Father, his Brother, his friend at the fighting camp, his female friend, the female cook, the trainer and the manager.  We get little snippets of their interactions, which hints at the elements that are there, but we never get the real strength of the relationships.  This is possibly because the secondary and tertiary characters themselves are extremely shallowly written.  There is little that defines, say, his Brother, even though there are substantial issues that he deals with including being a lesser fighter and listening to the snide remarks made about his brother. 

The movie, in attempting to cover most of Nong Toom's life, tends to be a little long and feels slightly dragged out. Trimming and tightening it up just abit would add more life to it. 

The movie focuses on Nong Toom and without a superb performance by the main actor, this movie would fade into irrelevence.  But it did have a superb performance by real-life muy thai fighter Asanee Suwan, ranked 5th in the World Muy Thai Council, and more than anything else, that carried this film.  The role required an extremely nuanced performance, providing the delicacy of the female trapped in the male body, the directionless frustration of such, and the raw power of a champion-caliber fighter.  Despite being a "delicate flower", Nong Toom could not appear weak and this duality, if not performed perfectly, will appear patently false to the audience. 

It's incredible that he managed to nail the performance, actually.  He naturally captures the explosive, angry fighter, showcasing his physical skills admirably, but he also seems to naturally capture the effiminate, almost sweetness of a woman.  It's not the "Queeny" or too-expressly in-your-face gayness that is altogether too much on display by US actors like Robin Williams, but rather  a feminine softness that prevades his entire body.

In a brilliant choice, the director and writer focus on sexuality but not sex.  That he's a transgender is obvious, but there's nearly zero focus on his desire for sex.  That is, of course, not the point.  The point is not with whom he wants to have sex, but the fact that he is uncomfortable in the body he is given.  With this as the focus, the theme of  "Being who you are meant to be" is easier to accept as we need to focus too much on our own sexuality.  This film doesn't have a gay agenda.  It's not espousing transvestites or transgenderism.  In fact, in a truly wonderful scene, we see that acting as a traditional man when you are truly a transgender woman is as painful as being forced to be a transvestite if you are a "normal" male.

What will certainly be the largest attraction of this film to the straight male population are the substantial muy thai fight sequences which are filmed nearly perfectly.  Asanee Suwan, as has been noted, is a professional muy thai fighter, and many of his on-screen opponents are also professional fighters.  The choreographer allows them to fight it out on screen much as you would see a true muy thai match, albeit with some flourishes, and the director, for the most part, uses a single camera with minimal editing.  As a result, the sequences look and feel very authentic, except even more dynamic and energetic.  It's the absolute perfect way to film such fights.  It's the way that US boxing movies SHOULD film fights. It's what elevates this from a good biopic to a very-good-to-great film. 

The strength of this film is the seeming authenticity, from the fights to the character to the very natural reactions of other characters.  What the film does is make you understand the person within and believe that he does these things.  If his physical prowess were false, it would be hard to accept him as a professional fighter.  If his effeminacy were false, it would be hard to accept him as a transvestite.  If his charisma were false, it would be hard to really care about him one way or another.  That everything feels natural and real(ish) truly brings the viewer into the world and that is truly the films biggest strength.

It's a wonderful film, filled with a strong character, with conflicts, with a strong theme of self.  Though it has a few problems that keep it from being as emotionally resonant as it could be and it runs just a bit long, it is still quite moving and invigorating.  In the end, it manages to accomplish something special, it makes you see-through and disregard a person's sexuality in lieu of the person he is.

Grade: 88 (B+)
Video : Anamorphic 1.85
Audio : English and Thai
English subtitles available

Here's the trailer [link]
The official US Movie site [link]
It appears that this movie will make a limited appearance in US theatres and will be released on US R1 NTSC DVD in August 2.  Amazon has it for $18 [link], $14 at DVDPacific [link]

K-Drama: PHOENIX - 3 ep initial reaction

I just received the DVDs of the MBC K-Drama series PHOENIX and have had the chance to watch the first 3 episodes.  I'll reserve my true judgement until I've watched the entire series, but so far, my initial reaction is "it's pretty good, but..."  in that it's caught my interest and kept me relatively entertained, but there are a number of elements that keep me from embracing it, although, to be fair, it's still so early, that I have a suspicion that much of these elements are intentional and will be resolved over the course of the series.

Spoiled, wealthy girl Lee Ji-eun meets honor-role college student cum gas station attendant Jang Sae-hoon.  They fall in love, despite their differences and the protestations of Lee Ji-eun's parents, and get married.  The difficulties in the living conditions proves to be too much as Lee Ji-eun can't stand living in the one-bedroom apartment in a shanty-town and Jang Sae-hoon refuses to accept any help from her parents.

It's a nice reversal of the idea of "Love will conquer all" as we see the realities of a clash of worlds.  What undermines this quite a bit, though, is that the attitudes, reactions, and motivations to the main chars are very superficial and somewhat contrived.  Lee Ji-eun is flighty, flitting back and forth between her family and her husband.  Her lack of earnest commitment as well as the perfunctory fashion in which they meet and "fall in love" undermines the idea that this is true love.  Jang Sae-hoon is far more problematic, though.  His one-note refusal to accept any help for any reason whatsoever, to the point of making his loved on absolutely miserable borders on ridiculous.  There's stubborn and focused and then there's pointlessly pigheaded.  It's difficulty to embrace a series when the lead male is nearly unlikeable.

The major reason that I bought it was for beautiful actress Lee Eun-ju, who I enjoyed watching in BUNGEE JUMPING and LOVERS CONCERTO (next on my list is SCARLET LETTER) and she doesn't disappoint.  What problems there are with the character (again, these may be defining characteristics and not problems) are overcome by Lee Eun-ju's wonderful portrayal; she manages to express an innocence and a likeability regardless of her actions.  It is easy to sympathize with her.  This is in far contrast to the really awful acting job by co-lead Lee Seo-jin, who manages to stand around looking bored (or constipated) most of the time.  He is like a black-hole of personality, so much so that Keanu Reeves, Kevin Costner, and Matthew Mahogany could give him acting lessons.  And he is still better than Lee Ji-eun's stereotypical angry dad.

It has a lot of problematic bits, much of which is not terrible and can be seen as part of the nature of the Korean melodrama.  Most difficult for me--and what I will list as its fatal flaw if it isn't eventually corrected in the series--is the terrible characterization of Jang Sae-hoon and the wooden acting given by Lee Seo-jin.  Still, the series has much to like and I've only watched 3 of the 26 episodes, so there's a huge amount of story real-estate to cover and it's intriguing and interesting enough so that I'll continue to watch.

Asian movie quick hits

Thanks to abda, i'm now inundated with Asian movies and there's no way I'd ever catch up with writing full reviews for each and every one of them, so here are some quick impressions of the latest films I've seen, with full reviews coming this week (hopefully):

SINGLES (KOR) - about 3 single 29year olds living in Seoul.  One male, one female are roommates, while the other female lives elsewhere.  It's a slice-of-life drama regarding romance, career and reconciliation of the two.  Good acting, adequate story and romance.  Somewhat contrived.  Somewhat shallow.  Distracting and diverting, but not particularly emotionally engaging.  77 (C+)

GTO - Great Teacher Onizuka - liveaction (JPN) - based on anime and manga.  Unconventional, borderline psychotic substitute teacher Onizuka comes to high school in northern Japan, where he makes a change in the lives of two students' lives.  Lead actor is manic and bizarre (good), story meanders (bad).  Problematic: teacher never teaches any scholastic subjects and predominatly ignores the majority of the students;  for most of them he is really SIJ (Self-Involved Jerk) Onizuka .  It's really very funny, though, and there's alot to like.  81 (B-)

LOVER'S CONCERTO (KOR)  - a romantic melodrama about a boy who sees two girls who are best friends and immediately falls in love with one of them.  Awkwardly, he introduces himself and the three of them begin to spend time together, quickly becoming fast friends.  Romantic love and friendship love blossom and struggle against each other.  This being a korean melodrama, there's naturally going to be a terminal disease or a death or an accident waiting in the wings.  Even though some elements are quite obvious, the emotional effect is still very powerful.  Performances by the three leads is uniformly excellent and the cameo by Moon Geun-young is welcome indeed.  93 (A-)

A FAMILY (KOR) - Above Average, if somewhat predictable domestic melodrama about a 20ish year old gang-banging daughter recently paroled from prison, her alcoholic, one-eyed, ex-cop father with a terminal disease, and her eight year old brother.  As she tries to right her life, she's in conflict with the disdain her father feels for her and the problems of her past actions.  Great performance by the lead girl and the subtle dynamic between father and daughter elevate this film.  88 (B+)

WHEN I TURNED NINE (KOR) - Excellent youth drama, best described as a less bleak 400 BLOWS.  In a poverty-ridden area of Korea, a nine year old boy has a one-eyed mother (accident in a factory), a hard-working father, and two fast friends.  He struggles to get thru the trials and tribulations of youth, facing bullies, a harsh teacher, and first love. The film is beautiful in the way it captures what it means to be 9 years old, easily transporting us to that time in our own lives.  Intertwining of ancillary stories (a man in love with a Piano teacher, the parents, the neighbors) are not especially well-done and weaken the film overall just a bit.  Overall this is a must-see.  96 (A)

MARATHON (KOR) - Solid, predictable, uplifting, fact-based story about an autistic 19 year old boy who runs and his mother who dotes upon him.  RAIN MAN runs marathons sums it up.  Some brilliant moments, but many banal ones.  The movie is uneven, at its best when it was about the boy and the coach and the mother, but quickly broke from that and suffered for it.  Has been celebrated and received favorably, but I found it a bit disappointing.  79 (C+)

CHAMPION (KOR) - fact-based story about light weight boxer who rises from poverty to become All-Asian champion and gets a World Title match against Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini.  Engaging and exciting drama that could have been better.  Elements of his youth and the cause for his drive and the source of his skills were glossed over too easily when those were the more interesting bits.  He ascended the levels very quickly and that also served to weaken the story as the struggles are the more interesting parts.  It's still a very good movie, but being so good, it made the weakness so very apparent.  This could have been a great movie.  83 (B-)

HAPPY ERO CHRISTMAS - Awful romantic comedy that had little romance and even less comedy in it.  The stars, Chan Tae-Hyun (MY SASSY GIRL) and Kim Sun-A (SHE'S ONE DUTY), would lead you to think that it should be a decent movie, but they're given so little to work with that it's pitiful; in particular, Kim Sun-A is wonderful and carried both SHE'S ON DUTY and S-DIARY but does little but stand around looking forlorn and being the object of desire and although she's quite beautiful, that's not really her forte.  Side stories of a Christmas porn movie shoot and of two high school boys looking to meet girls are borderline irritating.  There is no reason to watch this film.  Period.  50 (F)

BANLIEUE 13 - Found this at abda, but it's not asian.  It's French, produced by Luc Besson.  The story is fine for a B movie and the acting is a bit better than that.  But what elevates this is the action and stunt work.  Chase scenes are rewindingly incredible.  The fight scenes are choreographed and shot adequately but show some huge tricks (like a 540 dropping knee off a table).  It would have been nice if they would have just left the cameras to film it in a wide-view as the rapid edits detracts from the impact of the stunts.   Action fans must see this film.  88 (B+)

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST - Damning excellent romantic melodrama with a ruinous ending.  Slow subtle film excelling in depicting the nuances of falling in love; the focus is on the falling in love, not the being in love that movies generally take.  The collection of little moments, small touches make it an absolute gem.  An unreconciled ending is just painful and ruined it for me.  Am hoping that the Japanese remake will give a better resolution.  88 (B+)

S-Diary review (KOR)

Korean comedies, in particular, Romantic Comedies are tough movies to get a firm grasp on.  They typically shift tones quite a bit, with the latter segment generally being very melodramatic sans death of course and the earlier parts being more light-hearted.  Of course, there are tonal shifts within which provide for a nice moving target.  Often this works well, the stark juxtaposition of scenes being part of the fun and humor.  Often this works poorly as the harsh shifts can keep the viewer from embracing the story and/or characters.  And sometimes it's just a bit awkward and does not help the film much, doesn't hinder it much, but just makes things a little.. off. 

S-DIARY is a Romantic Comedy that works antithetical to the aforementioned approach.  The beginning plays like a straight Romantic drama.  Jini is a typical mid-to-late-20s girl is being dumped by her boyfriend.  In the course of this rather harsh breakup, he asks her if any of her boyfriends actually loved her.  She consults her Diary and relives her three previous relationships:  a church-going choir conductor and priest-to-be, an anal-retentive motorcycle rider, and a slacker college student mama's boy.  Needless to say, these are all problematic relationships and taken from Jini's viewpoint (as these are entries in her Diary) they are painfully one-sided ones.

The film takes a turn for the better as it becomes an interesting, revenge comedy for the latter half.  Realizing that she was basically providing "relationship services" for these men and that there really was no true love involved, she gives each of them a bill for services rendered.  Naturally, each of them  laughs it off.  And so she proceeds to extract her measure of revenge, which includes kidnapping a dog, planting a faux-used condom, and sneaking viagra into uncorked bottles of wine.

Kim Sun-A (also star of SHE'S ON DUTY) is very good in the main role, displaying a touch of the ingenuous likability for the first half as well as portraying the fortitude for the second half.  Each of the three men are suitably irritating to the point where you wonder why she's dating them in the first place.  They don't provide much in terms of depth nor are they likable.  Na Mun-hee as Jini's mother is woefully underused but is a wonderful presence when on screen.

The movie is nice if harmless and not entirely innovative.  The revenge sequences are by far the better parts but even those seem to lack much creativity and intricacy.  Revenge for past relationship transgressions is a rather humorous idea, though one that seems to be an entry of in a female fantasy, and seems like it should have played better than it did.  I expected more dynamic and reaction than what was given.  It was really just very straightforward and there was little doubt as to what was going to happen nor was there any surprise in the way in which it unfolded. 

What made the revenge moments rather uncomfortable is the bitter tone that the film embraces during that time.  It's not a sardonic black humor, nor a caustic wit, but rather a very biting, shrill and mean-spirited.  Granted, revenge in general is by definition mean-spirited, but moments like making a person think that their dog has been killed is pretty evil and undermines any sympathy for the heroine. 

The film overall is quite mediocre film, but is actually saved by a fantastic ending; it's not that the ending is actually so wonderful but that it is unexpected and redeems the aforementioned pessimistic tone; in fact, it's at this point that there is actually any romance displayed in this romantic-comedy.  The three scenes that play back-to-back-to-back just prior to the end credits actually stayed with me after the movie and are far more memorable than anything else. 

It's less than diverting for a while and as far as a romantic comedy, really won't match up to MY SASSY GIRL or even 100 DAYS WITH MR ARROGANT.  There's little romance, it's very mean-spirited, and predictable and somewhat boring.  Kim Sun-A and the ending are really the only reasons to watch and so if you've exhausted the K-RomComs, this might be worth watching.

Score: 75 (C)
Running time: 109min
Video : anamorphic 1.85
Audio : Korean
English subtitles available

available from abda, listed as SD
$28.95 at DVDAsian [link]
$27.99 at YesAsia [link]

100 DAYS WITH MR. ARROGANT review (KOR)

In the United States, since we're bombarded with ads for upcoming movies, we're highly aware of the fact that Hollywood has little creativity.  We know that for every successful film, there are dozens of knockoffs as well as at least two sequels and three parodies due out within a couple of years.  It's logical enough to believe that the same thing occurs in foreign markets, but since the less successful movies vanish before making it over to the United States and since we're distanced from the advertising hype of other countries, it's easy to be unaware of foreign knockoff films. The Korean romantic comedy 100 DAYS WITH MR ARROGANT is just such a knock off, being a derivative melange of any handful of Korean romantic comedies, best described as MY LITTLE BRIDE meets BAD GUY.

Kang Ha-young is a pretty high-school senior, just recently dumped by her boyfriend.  On her way home, she kicks a soda can, which strikes handsome, rich, arrogant 20-some year old Ahn Hyung-Joon's Lexus coupe.  To recoupe the $3000 cost of fixing the car, he forces her to sign a contract to be his slave for 100 days; in response to her fears of BAD GUY-esque ramifications, he immediately says, "Forget it, you're good-looking enough."  During the course of the enslavement, they naturally start to fall for each other...

RomComs depend a great deal on the leads and the chemistry between them.  Ha Ji-won is very good as the female lead (Kang Ha-young) and is given the most to do, as is typical for a RomCom.  She's suitably petulant, angry, silly, and ingenuous, while always remaining sympathetic and dynamically controlling the screen.  Kim Jae-won fares less well as the male lead.  He's good-looking enough (i suppose), but is rather flat and not very compelling.  What's missing is a layer of personality below the outer facade.  There is none, so he seems so very superficial and it's very difficult to find much sympathy for him.

The story is straightforward and dependable, with typical gags thrown in, some of which are very humorous, especially the SAILOR MOON moment and the neighbor/elevator gag, but much still seem so very programmed.  The romance's bumps along the way to fruition are typically contrived and the "protests too much" grows a bit weary at times.  Much of the story, though, works well with Ha Ji-won's acting or perhaps it is her peculiarities that actually make the awkward moments work.   When she puts on the air of a superhero getting ready for action when she's only really preparing to do the cleaning, it's humorous only because of her mannerisms. The ending has a "twist" to it that is almost painfully idiotic and really robs it of any real pathos. 

The movie teeters between good and mediocre, with several very enjoyable moments nestled among several very blase scenes.  The movie breezes along, quickly, though, spending little time dwelling on any plot items and this makes for an easy viewing.  Little of it is groan-inducing, except the twist ending and the light-hearted atmosphere makes for an overall pleasant tone. In alot of ways, this could have been a typical Brittany Murphy RomCom (that's not a compliment!).

In the final assessment, the only real reason to watch this movie is to watch Ha Ji-won and her myriad affectations.  She's fun to watch, but the rest of the film just doesn't give her much support.  If you are a fan of Korean RomComs and don't mind the formulaic plot contrivances, then this might not be too bad a movie for you.  I'd rate this below MY SASSY GIRL and MY LITTLE BRIDE and on a par with S-DIARY and above PLEASE TEACH ME ENGLISH.

Score : 76 (C)
Running time: 96 min
Video : Anamorphic 1.85
Audio : Korean
English subtitles available
Available from DVDAsian $26.95 [link]
YesAsia $22.99 [link]
and abda.

WINDSTRUCK Review (KOR)

WINDSTRUCK is the eagerly anticipated followup to the smash hit MY SASSY GIRL, reuniting the director (Gwak Jae-Yong)  and actress (Jeon Ji-Hyun).  Technically it is a followup but thematically, it works best as a precursor to MY SASSY GIRL.

Summarizing the plot is fairly straightforward and does not sound very interesting at all.  Jeon Ji-Hyn (who I first fell in love with in IL MARE) is Officer Kyungjin, an ass-kicking cop who has somewhat poor decision-making skills and a penchant for throwing her shoes at escaping crooks.  She meets high school Physics teacher Myungwoo and they manage to get handcuffed to each other for the night.  After that night, they are firmly in love and begin dating.

It sounds like the making of a fairly pedestrian RomCom, but it manages to be substantially more than that.  This movie avoids genre-categorization because it continually shifts emotional tones.  At times it is a light and frothy romantic comedy; occassionally, it is a wacky, bizarre, semi-manic slapstick comedy;  there are moments that belong in a LA FEMME NIKITA-esque actioner; finally, it is a heart-wrenching, tear-jerking melodrama.  That it manages to be watchable at all is a huge victory; that it is a very good film is unbelievable.  But then this should be of no surprise to people who have seen Gwak Jae-Yong's MY SASSY GIRL, as it also manages to shift between comedic romance to melodramatic romance easily.

The tonal shifts lend an air of unpredictability to the movie.  There are tacit rules for genre films; we know what to expect from a romantic comedy (there will be a breakup based most likely on a misunderstanding, the ending will be a happy reunion, etc.) or a melodrama (there will be a tragedy, one of them likely will have an incurable disease, etc. etc.).  When a movie shifts back and forth among genres like this does, you are not quite sure of what rules it will follow.  The events are not necessarily unpredictable (if you are paying attention, it's not especially surprising) but it's enough to keep you off-balance.

There's a difficulty in executing a movie that so rapidly changes; even as it shifts into different moods and styles, it must maintain the integrity of the characters and the story.  There still must be an internal consistency that makes sense.  Fortunately, director Gwak Jae-Yong manages to keep it all harmoniously working together and as a result, creates a really interesting movie, but one that is hard to pin down.

What helps greatly is the sheer charisma and chemistry of the two leads.  Jeon Ji-Hyun has the most difficult task as she plays the same character in slightly different fashions all throughout, but she pulls it off effortlessly.  Her screen presence is dynamic as she simply commands the camera in scenes as simple as when the two are dancing in the rain, holding little drink umbrellas above their heads.  Jang Hyuk as the physics teacher has the easier role as he is more constant in his lovable clumsiness, but nevertheless is excellent.

The movie has all the necessary pieces to be a great film; it has pleasant, engaging characters with charismatic actors; it has several flavors of humor; it has a beautiful romantic story.  These pieces are on display in many absolutely sensational moments that are just stunning.  There's a deus ex machina scene that is just perfect; there's a pinwheel scene that just sends chills down your spine; there's a dancing in the rain scene that is hilarious both on its own and as a parody of such scenes (I'm not sure exactly how to take it); the scene where they get un-handcuffed is priceless; and there are a few surprisingly excellently staged action scenes that could have been from a Crime film.  There are many great moments in this film.

The only thing that keeps this from being an absolute masterpiece is the tightness of the screenplay.  It's understandably difficult to write a good screenplay of ANY sort, but this one in particular because of the rapid changes in tone, must have been extremely difficult.  However, there are several key issues that still remain that detract from the overall film.

Officer Kyungjin is a twin.  Her twin sister died and that is why Kyungjin became a police officer.  This major character and plot point is handled almost perfunctorily, mostly with a simple exposition and flashback.  She also plays piano.  Sometimes.  It mentioned as a fairly important element in her life, but yet is often neglected. A element of the latter half of film is The Wind and how it affects Kyungjin's life.  Although it is mentioned earlier, there's really no reason why. If the screenplay could have been tightened to incorporate these elements together more naturally, it would have elevated this from a really good film to a truly memorable memorable one.

On its own, it's a very good film, but taken as a prequel to MY SASSY GIRL, it becomes an even better film.  Although the events don't directly correlate, thematically MY SASSY GIRL begins where WINDSTRUCK ends.  If you haven't seen MY SASSY GIRL and plan on seeing WINDSTRUCK, then I highly suggest that you watch them both (WINDSTRUCK first) back-to-back.  One of the major flaws to WINDSTRUCK is the rather odd and perfunctory ending; it's hard to take really, but gets cleared up in MY SASSY GIRL.

It's understandable why this was popular in Korea and Japan and I can also understand why people would dislike this film as it is a "moving target."  If you are able to lose yourself and not think too much, it's easy to love this film.

My Grade : 85 (B)
Running Time: 125 min (Director's cut)
Language : Korean
English subtitles available
Video : anamorphic 2.35:1
Cost :
$27.95 (2 disc) [DVDAsian] [yesasia]
$49.95 (4 disc LE) [DVDAsian]

TAMPOPO review (LINK) (JPN)

One of my absolute favorite films is TAMPOPO (the movie about the quest for the perfect bowl of Ramen!) and FireCracker in issue 6 has a wonderful review of it.  It's very much worth reading, so go check it out.

I have the current awful picture, non-anamorphic DVD that is now out of print and am waiting desperately for a new version.  The 2 Itami boxsets in Japan ($260+ each) are both also now OP so there's really no hope for Itami fans. 

Netflix still has it, though (apparently) [link]
But the amazon sellers are gouging it for $120+ [link]
But the price looks better on ebay. [link]  (be careful, most of those listed there are bootlegs)