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Film: Hana-Bi
Release date: 26th February 2001
Certificate: 18
Running time: 99 mins
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Starring: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Ohsugi, Susumu Terajima, Tetsu Watanabe
Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance/Thriller
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Hana-Bi marks Takeshi Kitano’s seventh successive film, and as well has having directed and written the film, Kitano himself also plays the lead role. Since its initial release in 1997, Hana-Bi has gone on to win countless awards, including the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. The unexpected international success of Hana-Bi, coupled with Sonatine’s critical acclaim, established Kitano as a pioneer of Japanese filmmaking.
Kitano plays Nishi, a former police officer who is dealing with: the trauma of losing a friend on the job; the guilt that another colleague is wheelchair bound; the upset of caring for his dying wife; and debt problems – continually hounded by loan sharks.
Nishi takes it upon himself to help those around him by robbing a bank and borrowing more money from the debt collectors, before embarking on a road trip with his wife, which enables them to spend some long overdue quality time together.
However, Nishi’s wrong doings soon catch up with him, as the film heads towards an inevitable tragedy…
Hana-Bi is a masterpiece of filmmaking and, without a doubt, still Takeshi’s best piece to date. Almost every aspect of this film is unbreakable and unwavering. Much like the spirit or message the film carries with it, Hana-Bi is the unsung hero of cinema. A film that quite rightly set Kitano on his way to total success within the Japanese film industry.
Hana-Bi’s soundtrack is composed by musical genius Joe Hisaishi, a man familiar with award-winning scores, who has worked on many of Kitano’s other projects, as well as a number of Studio Ghibli pictures. The music captures the mood perfectly, and adds so much to a scene it becomes integral to Hana-Bi’s overall plot. The music often lends scenes a melancholic feeling, which is then enforced by the cast’s performances.
Takeshi gives an unforgettable performance as the sublime anti hero who is willing to sacrifice the rules in order to help others. Much like many of his other performances, Takeshi shows signs of knowing exactly what works and exactly how he wants his character portrayed - intimate and touching scenes with his wife during her final days, for example, really allow Takeshi’s raw persona to shine through, and allows the audience to experience the mind of someone who has to deal with the situation that surrounds him.
Other honourable mentions go to Ren Ôsugi and Susumu Terajima, both of whom have worked with Kitano before, and deserve a mention in their own right. They both make great use of the script, and give outstanding performances as the crippled wheelchair bound retiree and the young hot shot detective. Ôsugi, in particular, is granted a lot of screen time, and is often left holding the audience’s attention for lengthy scenes - one depicts Ôsugi contemplating painting, and the scene lasts long enough to really emphasise the point of Ôsugi’s isolation, and inability.
Another notable element to Hana-Bi is its cinematography, which is, at times, both imaginative and picturesque, but can change unexpectedly towards the shock and horror factor, depicting scenes of extreme violence – for instance, the shoot out in the mall that instigates Takeshi’s downfall has a bleak and long lasting image of Takeshi’s blood spattered face, which really drives the point through. Hana-Bi’s violence, however, doesn’t serve Japanese horror/gore fanboys looking for their next fix. Instead, Hana-Bi’s violence is used as a tool or instrument. Kitano has made this clear in past interviews, and persists that his films are not glorified violence but violence with a message.
Although extreme at times, the violence in Hana-Bi is distracted by its heart-warming sense of humour. The happiness of Takeshi’s life steams from the charming scenes of him and his wife on their road trip, where the humour is touching and sensitive. A sense of humour that can be found in most of Kitano’s works, and one that’s more than welcome when a film like Hana-Bi tackles dark themes and issues not often found in films with comedy.
Hana-Bi is a cinematic masterpiece. Its dark content balanced with light humour and amazing visuals gives the film a unique and original feel. Along with its imaginative and artistic style cinematography, and an ending that will truly leave an impression, Hana-Bi is a triumph not only for Kitano but for Japanese cinema as a whole. LS
Film: City Of Life And Death
Release date: 27th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 135 mins
Director: Chuan Lu
Starring: Ye Liu, Gao Yuanyuan, Hideo Nakaizumi, Wei Fan, Yiyan Jiang
Genre: Drama/History/War
Studio: High Fliers
Format: DVD
Country: China/Hong Kong
Writer/director Lu Chuan’s film, City Of Life And Death tells the whole harrowing story of the Massacre at Nanking in austere black-and-white, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.
For many, World War II began in 1939, but for China the war came to its doorsteps a lot earlier. City Of Life And Death takes place in 1937, a time during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese army have just captured the then capital of China, Nanking, and continue to control the city for a further six weeks.
The film depicts the times and troubles of the people of both the Japanese army and the Chinese and foreign refugees left stuck in the ‘Safety Zone’, set up by well known historical figure John Rabe. This is done through a number of different stories from a wide range of sources, some historical and some entirely fictional, including a Chinese soldier leading the last efforts against the invaders, a schoolteacher turned John Rabe’s secretary, and a Japanese soldier led to question his country’s actions…
When it comes to Asian films about the war, they have a tendency to attempt making amends or try to deal with their or other countries’ atrocities during the war - City Of Life And Death also keeps its thoughts and theories on the matter solidly within the rules of that said trend. Although a Chinese/Hong Kong film about one of the worst events to occur before the war, the filmmakers still give Japan a voice of reason through the Japanese soldier who questions the situation around him. The soldier is played by Hideo Nakaizumi, a new, young and upcoming talented actor, in the end chooses to defy his country and their intentions through some radical actions.
City of Life and Death is without a doubt one of the most shocking insights into an event which could be considered overlooked or untold. Some of the film’s scenes will shock audiences to a degree where they may not wish to continue watching. Although the film’s content may be off-putting to some audiences, and indeed quite hard to stomach, if seen all the way through City Of Life And Death’s resolution gives viewers an intriguing and stimulating viewpoint from which they are able to make their own conclusions, rather than being taught.
The use of handheld cameras during the film’s battle situations, and moments of panic and chaos are used extremely effectively. Much like with any war film or indeed any film with a car chase or fight scene, the handheld effect gives the viewer an immersive feeling of actually being there. Its use within City Of Life And Death, which although giving the viewer that same feeling, is also used in stark contrast with the scenes that follow the action sequences. Scenes such as the executions which almost immediately followed the battle scene, switch to steadicam, and use long lengthy shots with very few cuts or edits to elaborate on the horror and anticipation of what’s to come.
Another interesting technique used in the film is the director’s choice to shoot the entire film in black-and-white. Much like other feature films about war, this gives the story a simplicity which then, in turn, allows the audience to focus fully on what’s occurring. The lack of colour also hides a great deal of the physical violence and blood, which, if uncensored, would perhaps turn many audiences stomachs. The black-and-white contrast also gives the film’s message a stark and bleak tone, which is completely unaltered by bright colours or flashy exciting lighting. Instead the message comes across in its bare essentials, leaving nothing to distract the imagination.
Again to illustrate the tone and underlying message of the film, City Of Life And Death uses very little dialogue and, at times, sequences can continue for lengthy periods without a word. The lack of dialogue, which although enables the viewer to concentrate wholly on the horrific circumstances the people of Nanking had to endure, it also seems unnecessary to have any words at all. In fact, the entire film could have run completely on actions and had the exact same impact.
The film’s powerful images are either artistically beautiful or ruthless, unapologetic and astounding. City Of Life And Death’s most powerful images are of actions and reactions. The reactions are told through the facial features of a various people of all ages and, in particular, that of each character during their individual story.
The acting within the film is unfaultable and superb, and performances of particular merit go to Ye Liu who plays the Chinese soldier caught by the Japanese and sentenced to be executed. Ye Liu, who only speaks a handful of words, performs an intense and truly intriguing insight into the mind of a man brought to the edge having exhausted all abilities and outlets to resist becoming a victim.
City Of Life And Death is a powerful, outstanding and severe account of the stories and tales told through the victims and the oppressors during the massacre of Nanking. The film attempts to deal with the horrific and inhumane circumstances that the remaining people of Nanking had to endure. LS
Film: My Sassy Girl
Running time: 123 mins
Director: Kwak Jae-young
Starring: Cha Tae-hyun, Gianna Jun, Han Jin-hie, Hyun Sook-hee, Kim Il-woo
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Country: South Korea
Region 1 release.
Based on a collection of true stories that were posted on the internet by author Kim Ho-sik, My Sassy Girl was turned into a film by one of South Korea’s biggest movie directors, Kwak Jae-young, going on on to receive numerous awards and attention since its release in 2001, including a 2008 Hollywood remake, a Japanese television drama and being given the Bollywood treatment.
The film portrays Kim Ho-sik’s stories of a young student called Kyun-woo who comes across an attractive unnamed girl whilst she attempts to commit suicide in an underground station. The nameless girl ends up on the same train as Kyun-woo but is completely intoxicated and begins causing an assortment of troubles, including arguing with others and vomiting on a nearby passenger’s head. Soon Kyun-woo is forced into assisting the girl by passengers mistaking his identity as the girl’s boyfriend and is shamed into taking care of the situation.
Kyun-woo takes the girl to a nearby hotel where he plans on leaving her for the night, but soon the police burst into the scene and start accusing him of an array of offences. Kyun-woo spends an uneasy night in jail, deeply regretting his decision to help the girl and attempting to forget about the entire night. Soon after, however, the girl contacts him via mobile phone, and reluctantly he agrees to meet and explain the situation. He is soon flung straight back into a familiar situation from that of the night before, with the unnamed girl again becoming uncontrollable.
Once Kyun-woo takes care of her for the second time, he begins to ask himself questions as to why the girl is acting in such a way. He starts to develop an odd sense of responsibility for her, which in turn enables him to tolerate her exhaustive and rather abusive personality.
Their unusual partnership begins, and their adventure together ensues. They go through moments of being best friends, mortal enemies, betting buddies, squash partners and hostages. Their time together creates a great example of an odd and unlikely friendship that overcomes great odds and times of trouble to find nothing but forgiveness and compassion…
The film is sectioned into three distinctive parts. The separation of these parts allows for the narrative to continue at a steady pace, even whilst the plot takes twists and turns towards the unimaginable and unforgettable.
The performances from the main cast are immaculate, their portrayal of the characters described within the novel are right on par, and although Gianna Jun’s efforts as the anonymous girl are sometimes judged as overly brazen to the point of annoyance, to others she executes the perfect balance of compassion and tyranny that goes hand in hand with this film’s heart-warming core and content.
Cha Tae Hyun’s performance in the film is equally as memorable. His sense and ability to perform as a comedic actor are an accomplishment within itself. He generates the majority of the laughter and undoubtedly creates the film’s youthful innocent charm that is played well throughout. His role in this film actually made him one of Korea's ‘most wanted dates', according to a survey on Korean girls.
The script, being originally based on a novel adapted from the Internet stories, does extend the film into a full two hours twenty minutes, but audiences won’t be left feeling weary at the length with such a witty and intelligent script that perfectly reflects the feelings and reactions felt by the characters, and the circumstances that surround them. The script brings together elements of science fiction, romance, adventure and road movie, which makes for a diverse viewing pleasure that audiences may find unfamiliar. However, the film is so well written the story is at no point incomprehensive or confusing.
My Sassy Girl is a compassionate film with both a humane message and humane characters. Almost every scene in the film gives the viewers something to laugh, cry, or think about. There are no moments of silence or dead air, and every act within the film carries its own heart-warming blend of physical comedy, straight melodrama and emotional highs. LS
