The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil(악인전) Korean Film Thoughts

    The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil is a 2019 film that was shown at the Cannes Film Festival during the Midnight Screenings and is considered apart of the festival's official selection. Lee Won Tae wrote the script as well as directed the film. There is said to be a remake in the works that's re-casted lead actor, Ma Dong Seok(Train to Busan) who originally starred in the Korean film alongside Kim Mu Yeol(Bad Guys), and Kim Sung Kyu(Kingdom, The Outlaws).




    A murderer who fakes car accidents on the road then kills the person in the other car is on the loose. Cops are trying to be on his trail but have no luck until the murder tries to kill a big time gangster on a rainy night. One of the lead cops on the case is an unleashed hot head who will do anything to solve this case. Even team up with a revengeful gangster for a competition of who can catch the murderer first. Do you think this devil can outwit the two men?

     This is the type of film that you can watch mindlessly if you choose to. The script is very easily laid out for the viewer to understand as a "chase the killer thriller". Won Tae attempts to give some kind of substance in the story, especially when the film arrives past the midway mark of the film. Here is when the film talks more about the legal laws that would put the murderer behind bars. Still, nothing feels to me like a dull moment. The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil quickly goes from one point to another without taken a breather, making the film experience a fun one. I wouldn't say that this film brings anything new to the "Gangster" genre coming out of South Korea though. Instead we are reminded of the reasons why South Korea has given the world such amazing hard-hitting  Gangster films such as Bittersweet Life, A Dirty Carnival, and, Real World.

    Won Tae sets the foundation in the introductions of the characters. It's not something you think too much about while you're watching the film but you don't get a lot of background about the characters. The script writing gives you just enough through the character's actions to create an imagination of what the characters were doing before we got to know them. For example, We get to see a picture of the murderer before he started killing people and you understand him a bit more just from that piece of information. Ma Dong Seok playing a gangster is a dead give away role for the actor. His looks embodies a gangster by themselves. What I will say about Ma's performance is that he sparks fear in you while still also showing an essence of humanity. The complexity his character makes you want to figure him out. Kim Mu Yeol might as well have been a gangster wearing a police badge. His acting blurred the lines between what is a cop and what is a gangster in my opinion. Outside of a few times that Ma's character had to put a person in his place, his character was much more cool, calm, and collected than Mu Yeol's hot head behavior he used constantly to get his points across. The character was literally a corrupt cop who would do whatever it took to catch the criminal. Both him and Ma bounce of of each other's performances for a chemistry that's comedic, yet sometimes down right insane. Lastly we have our "Devil", Kim Sung Kyu. The performance he gave was riveting to the point that he put me in mind of other Korean actors who gave stellar performances as murderers in other Korean films. Korean actors know how to get into a dark frame of mind when approaching these roles. I've never seen so many actors looking just cray cray. Seeing a character smiling as that crazed look comes into their eyes gets me every time. One last thing I want to make note of about the characters is that they all had violent tendencies. At the end of the day not one of them were angels either. It was more about the simple fact that the lesser of two evils had to come together to put a greater evil away. In another life all three characters might have been friends had the situation and positions been different.

     Dark, gritty films must be shot a certain way to maximize the effect. I noticed when watching this film how Won Tae makes smart use of shots at various angles to shows the scene to viewers. He loves  shooting from above the action so you feel a sense of being an observer witnessing something you shouldn't. Artistically he also zooms the focus out from far back in shots like a scene done in an alley way. This was one of my favorite scenes to look at in the whole entire film.

   The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, was hands down a good film. If you want a film containing the right amount of action packed storytelling then you've come to the right place. It's the kind of film that has a high replay value and is easy to recommend to fans of the action genre.

 

The Road Not Taken(未择之路) Chinese film Thoughts(2018)

    Directed by Gaopeng Tang, The Road Not Taken is a film that was shown at many foreign film festival. I've heard various opinions ranging from people enjoying the film to people complaining that the content was a bit too much. Either way, this film was well talked about last year. The film stars Wang Xuebing, Yili Ma, and child actor Zhu Gengyou.



   A man driving an animal transporter truck is given the job of looking after a little boy as they drive through the lonely dessert. Where will the road take them? And for the enrichment of who?

   The Road Not Taken can actually be viewed as a very strange film. Especially if you compare all the other Chinese cinema that were coming out at the time of this film's release. I have to agree with some of the comments about the content. The opening scenes of animal violence and child frontal nudity did nothing for me except make me cringe. What direction this film wanted to go was as uncertain as the outstretch of the dessert the characters were in. One part of the film is a comedic adventure containing a man and a boy. Some backstory is given on the boy for a relatable connection which doesn't actually make you like him. You instead want this boy to get to where he's suppose to be. There's so many twist and turns in the plot as the characters travel from place to place that I don't know what to classify The Road Not Taken. Script writers finally settle on this film being a gangster ransom thriller. Nothing new is brought to the genre with The Road Not Taken's conclusion but at least people who are into East Asian films like these won't feel like they are on unfamiliar ground.

    I found another film where I didn't care about any of the characters. My heart felt nothing for the  situations the characters were subjected to. Mostly because they did it to themselves. Well… not the kid….. The acting performances defiantly played off of each other. For example, if the child actor Zhu wasn't talented enough to give a performance that got something out of the adult actors and actresses that he had scenes with, this film would be nothing. Those vibes of tension then release as the two characters become closer throughout their journey are the golden moments of The Road Not Taken. Zu's character actually grew the most out of everyone. I believe the director was trying to show that all three characters had some sort of growth but one was more visible than others. Nothing was wrong with the acting and they did a good job using what they had.

    The camera shots give The Road Not Taken a raw artsy feel. Much of the film takes place in a dessert. I didn't even know that China had desserts like this. Still, taking in the sights were made a much better experience because of the fashion of the shots. A hawk eye's view from above gives the viewer a whole span of the land as the truck went into the horizon. Far off shots were also used for a scene where the main character has a confrontation in an apartment with gangsters. Not seeing the action up close gives the viewer a sense of urgency at the sound of gunshots. The cameraman plays with shots that are unconventional or not right for a scene, however, he makes it work. This is another different trait that The Road Not Taken has over other Chines films.

       I would watch The Road Not Taken again. There's something about the film that makes me want to watch it again. Even thought I wouldn't call it my favorite film.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?(きのう何食べた?) Japanese Drama Thoughts

 

    What Did You Eat Yesterday? is a Japanese drama based off of the manga of the same name created by Fumi Yoshinaga who is well know worldwide for her earlier series titled Antique Bakery which gained her wide spread acclaim and many awards. This drama also was received well in Japan along with the manga as both won prestigious awards, such as the Kodansha Manga Award and many television academy awards. A book of recipes from the drama was released this year in Japan as well, titled "Shiro's Simple Recipes". The drama stars Hidetoshi Nishijima(Mozu, Creepy) and Seiyo Uchino.





   Two men in their late forties live together as a couple in Japan. One man is a lawyer and the other is a hairdresser. Both men must face the conflicts of living as a gay couple on top of other life problems but at least they can look forward to having a meal together at the end of a hard day.

    I was shocked inside of my delight when I saw that this series was made into a television drama. It didn't seem like something that would happen but here it is. Plus that cast is top tier actors in Japan, automatically bring the spotlight on the production. Japan is in this phase where gay themed dramas now being broadcast on primetime television which is a good thing in a way. What Did You Eat Yesterday has a pretty simple premise dealing with cooking as the core foundation of the storytelling. The drama follows the manga much of the time except for a few minor changes. So if you're a fan of the manga or have read the manga, you are in for a treat consisting of a trip down memory lane. What's most interesting for fans is how the retelling of this series was to be done. I didn't know if I would accept anything less than perfect and the drama honestly gave me that in a realistic way. Many of the cooking actually takes the viewer step by step into the recipes used to make the food shown. Also the food looks good in real time causing you to run get pen and paper to write down these Japanese food recipes. Outside of Shiro's daily cooking, other side stories happen that involve that people around the two main characters. A lot of the issues are normal human problems which turns into an equal balance when talking about gay issues that arise in the story. You get the opportunity to see how issues involving couples of a man and women aren't much different from the issues that involve gay people. Differences they do have are painfully relatable even if you're not gay because anyone who can't be who they are out of fear can't help but be a shared connection we all have among one another. Still while addressing all of this, What Did You Eat Yesterday manages to keep an air of simplicity. The show doesn't try too hard to be a social avenger to answer all the problems gay people face. Instead the drama is a informer, shedding light on Japanese gay life surrounded by food. I'm not sure how much of the manga the drama covers because the English version has been halted after volume 11. I believe volume 12 will be released next month and I know that there are 15 volumes in all so far.  What Did You Eat Yesterday won't just fill your stomach with all the tasty recipes, it will also fill your heart warmly.

   Hidetoshi and Seiyo make this adaption the smash hit that it was. Many of the scenes require a certain connection between the two characters. They both couldn't be more different, however they're various personalities balance each other out well. This is actually addressed in the story(both the manga and drama) on how they have a strong relationship despite not being each other's normal types. There's also a lot of comedic moments making light of some situations that if not acted out correctly, would of fell flat in a live action adaption. Fans might remember the " this is Shiro and he's gay!" line from the manga. Seeing it retold in the drama was even more hilarious than reading it in the manga thanks to the performances. Let's also not forget Shiro shopping habits or Kenji's teasing tendencies. Wacky situations like these happen often to give a release from the serious times that occur. Watching both actors get emotional comes as a cold hard slap since you don't want to see the laughter end. As a gay couple in Japan, problems are going to come. That's life. At least they can always look forward to a hot meal to keep them grounded. Oh, I forgot to mention the masculine verse feminine thing. Stuff is switched up when you think about who you stereotypically think the top or bottom would be. Seiyo does a wonderful job blurring the line by changing his voice from light to deep depending the situation. I don't know how some of the other cast looked better than their manga counterparts. Well, not Gilbert. He was better looking in the manga in my opinion. Can we talk about how Gilbert's boyfriend put his manga counterpart to shame? Fun cast overall though. [INSERT ME LAUGHING.]

 

    What Did You Eat Yesterday is highly recommended in both manga and television format. Especially if you love to cook.  Inside the story is a huge recipe book waiting for someone to try them out.

Penguin Highway(ペンギン・ハイウェイ) Japanese Animated Film Thoughts

   Tomihiko Morimi wrote Penguin Highway as a novel before it was adapted into a manga and animated film. Morimi's other work titled Night Is Short, Walk On Girl has also been translated into English along with an animated film. Both works has received critical acclaim in Japan as well as internationally. Penguin Highway took the tenth spot at the Japanese box office during it's release. Mega star singer Utada Hikaru's song "Good Night" was used as the film's insert song.

    A young boy goes about his life experiencing much of the same things a boy his age experiences. Suddenly a crowd of Penguin come running through the town, None knows where they came from and they seem to always leave trash in their wake. Soon the boy's investigation leads to a women who can somehow produce Penguins out of objects……..




   The biggest charm that's brought by the story of Penguin Highway is the growing pains of becoming an adult. Sometimes we try to grow up too fast instead of letting the process guide us along smoothly. There's also a hint of science fiction that's not easy to figure out. It might take you two or three watches to fully grasp the complete picture of what's transpiring in this wacky film. It's a cute story about a boy's school life that gets crashed by Penguins who's appearances feels youthful and lighthearted in themselves. My problems with this film comes from the pacing. I understand after finishing the film, why Penguin Highway takes so long to get to the meet of the matter but it doesn't mean that I didn't lose interest a few times either. Holding out to get to the meat is defiantly worth all the smart boy maturing conflicts the main character has with himself however. Mainly because you find that what you waited through ties deeply into the story. I will say that Penguin Highway takes a turn that I didn't expect as far as storytelling which takes place during the latter half of the film. Some science fiction takes a front seat to the story making Penguin Highway a different experience from other animated films. Then the ending makes you want to rack your brain after the credits roll. You kinda experience an "AH HA!" moment. If you don't then watch the film again. Here you have the fun of Penguin Highway folks. [INSERT ME LAUGHING.]

    Penguin Highway's cast of characters are ones to remember. Certain characters end up having a bigger role than I thought they would. I'm not sure all elements of this film are for kids though. The main character shows signs of maturing as a boy who takes interest in women's breasts. Audiences even get a good view in one scene. Still this film is considered a child's film. Well, to me I would consider it a kid's film with slight adult suggestive themes. I like the relationship between the main character and the woman. They cared for each other without putting a definite label on their feelings, making the ending all the more emotional.

   The animation is a strong contender for the one of the best looking films in recent years. Especially when the science side of the film comes up front. A Penguin Highway actually makes an appearance in the film using computer CGI. I defiantly consider this scene one of the best in the whole film. The way that it's done just brings to life all that this film stands for.

   Most people might see the flaws I pointed out when watching Penguin Highway. This doesn't mean that these flaws totally ruin the film. I went away from Penguin Highway wanting to watch it again for the film's original content not to be compared to other animated films out there now.