Seven Years of Darkness Korean Novel Thoughts

 

   This novel is the second that I have read in English by famed Korean author Yon Jeong Jeong. She rose to fame after the release of her novel: The Good Son, which I really enjoyed. Naturally, I would pick up her second English translated novel titled, Seven Years of Darkness. A film adaption was released in 2018. 

  A man tries to find out the answers to the mysteries leading up to his father being accused of the murder of a young girl in a small dam villages years before.....

   I'm going to get right into the meat of the matter and say that I didn't enjoy this novel nearly as much as I did The Good Son. One aspect of this novel is it's a family drama that spends most of it's pages describing the family dynamic of the people involved. I won't give away who did the killing but, it doesn't take a genius to figure out. Then to top everything off, the characters are multilayered causing them to need a deep look into their backgrounds to fully understand them. Keep in mind that this novel isn't very long and by the time you get untangled from all the connections the characters share with the victim, you're just wanting the story to come to a close. These same Korean story elements of family values mixed into dark mindsets that turn to beating their wife or self harm have been done before. Mostly because I feel many Koreans can't take this element of over analyzing family out of their stories due to their cultural values. Sometimes always trying to bring the essence of family into a tale that didn't need it to be great wouldn't have had some readers strolling off the beaten path to get to the main point of the novel which is the darkness in people's hearts. I believe that the relationship between father and son was written well in the text that hit a home run into my heart however, I wasn't a fan of any of the other relationships in this novel at all. At least the build up to the end wasn't bad. Everything just didn't seem to blend together as well as things did in The Good Son in my opinion. Probably because this was Jeong's earlier novel before The Good Son. 

A Girl Missing(よこがお) Japanese Film Thoughts (2019)

      

   A Girl missing is a 2019-2020 film directed by Koji Fukada and stars Mariko Tsutsui, Sosuke Ikematsu, and Mikako Ichikawa. The film was entered into many international film festivals, where many audiences had mixed reviews. 

    A family nurse keeps the secret that the teenager who adducted the family's daughter is her nephew. One day the media uncovers this information to the nurse's dismay as everything around the women begins to fall........ Soon revenge toward the one who betrayed her is all that's left. 

     A Girl Missing's title might make you think that this film is about a kidnapping or a mystery of finding someone who has gone missing. Your thinking wouldn't be completely wrong however, the story doesn't focus around the idea of a girl missing. Instead you are forced to see into the side profile of the characters who the missing girl were left behind. The main character is pushed in the middle of a conflict that really has nothing to do with her outside of being related to the kidnaper. Her only mistake was not being straightforward about her blood relation and allowing the media to break her secret first. As a result, the whole last act of the film is her life being destroyed while her lust for revenge grows. Most of the film slides between the past to the present where you don't know which is which unless you pay close attention. Then, the film's paces waddles along at a turtle's pace but Fukada's films tend to showcase styles for simplicity. A Girl's Missing's final scene puts the main character had a crossroads where she had a choice to go down whatever road she chose. I believe that the audience was split on her decision but her choosing to walk away showed growth in character. I honestly would have taken her choosing the more darker choice too. It's just that that would have subjected the character to more of the pain that she already experienced. 

   Mariko Tsutsui was great to watch as a women blamed for something she didn't even do. You can see her character tries to make the best of the situation. Things only get worse though. She's not a perfect character nor is her plan for revenge perfect. Her acting makes me feel uncomfortable at times during the film as well. 

   A Girl Missing isn't a perfect film at all. This film isn't Fukada's best work either. I do however think that the concept of second hand blame was a good plot idea. Harmonium was a better film in my opinion. 

Raging Fire(怒火) Chinese Film Thoughts

 

   I haven't watched a Donnie Yen or a film starring Nicholas Tse in years. I'm just the type of person that gets bored after seeing the same tired selling point in action packed films: bad story telling. Raging Fire looked like the same old mechanics but at least the trailer managed to hold my attention. This film is also Benny Chan's last film before he lost his battle with cancer last year... I was so out of the loop of Hong Kong/Chinese cinema that I had no idea until the film gave dedication to the director in the film's ending credits. Raging Fire was a huge hit at the box office, staying number one in China for almost five weeks.

   A veteran cop  must jump into action after most of his squad is killed by their ex partner turned villain.... 

   What Raging fire has going for its success the most is the action sequences. Not once throughout the film do the action scenes slow down or bring the film to a place of boredom. It's quite the opposite actually since the action compliments the plot's progression and character building. Still, story telling continues to be the weakest element to films like this. We can sit around all day praising Donnie Yen for the wonderful job he does for stun choreography in his films however, that still can't cover up the fact that cop revenge stories have been played out for years in Hong Kong/Taiwan cinema. I know these themes tend to sell well but you pretty much go into these films only to see new ideas in the action and that's it. In no way was Raging Fire's story bad- In fact, I believe that the script was the more solid story building ideas I've seen in years. It's just that the story doesn't break the mold of what we as the audience already know this part of the world's cinema to be known for. 

    I found myself more wooed by the action than taking the time to care about the characters. Nicholas steals the spotlight as the film's protagonist. The look in his eye was the true "raging fire" here. Donnie shows that he still has that star factor as an action star, even has he gets older. He's just not as buff as he was in his younger years. I don't believe in the slightest that he will go down the same road as Jackie Chan..... The other cast felt like the typical chess pieces needed for a film like this. 

   Some artistic choices i\are made in the way some scenes are shot that I noticed. There was a death choke scene that shows the close up of the victims point of view and the one doing the choking. I never seen a scene feel so personal. Also, all the high flying car chases and gun fights.  

    Raging Fire is a film for action fanatics. Everything is here for you to love. I enjoyed watching the action scenes on the edge of my seat too.