eit_666's Reviews

The Wayward Cloud (2005)

9/10

15 August 2005

Watching Tian bian yi duo yun ( The Wayward Cloud ) is a really weird experience. I didn't whether to laugh or cry, to celebrate the brilliance of the film, to recoil in shock from the grittiness or to wince at the absurd campiness.

Its amazing how Tsai Ming-Liang manages to get the cast to emote so much through so little dialogue, how he builds an electrifying atmosphere through minimal use of music (except for the campy nostalgic music videos ... really something else altogether, a see to believe phenomenon).

The brutal scenes of porn filming and the drought were really alluding to the director's favorite theme of alienation, which really works very well. The final scene which seems to disgust so many people into walking out is a really fitting conclusion to this treatise on estrangement and is certainly unforgettable.

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Crash (I) (2004)

8/10

Thought provoking, brilliant and accomplished

15 August 2005

This is a film so thought provoking, brilliant and accomplished that it just blows you away. Its really gritty and realistic.

Perceptions and appearances take centerstage in the film with racism holding the film together. One's perception of every character will change throughout the show, heroes stepping out from the shadow of the most unexpected characters, while seemingly minor misunderstandings explode into major events, exposing the worst side of certain individuals.

The intervening story lines and recurring themes showcasing the interaction of the various characters meshes into an intriguing film which should compel an audience to discuss every event.

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Before the Fall (2004)

7/10

Insidious normality

15 August 2005

The insidious thing about Napola is that you can actually see yourself and people around you as the characters in the film. Normality is the order of the day, everyone's just basically going about their lives, studying what they have to in school, with boisterous speeches the only slightly strange thing. However when you think about it, you realize that National Socialism's social genetic experiments were really subtle. The effort to create a master governing race pervades the whole film, and is the main driving force behind the story. Eventually, we see basic humanity winning a small tinny victory over a truly evil and brutal regime. And that is the beauty of the film.

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Fei yue qing hai (2003)

8/10

Moody, depressing but wonderful

1 April 2005

Warning: Spoilers

I came away from watching this moody film amazed by how good the music blends with the film. The visuals of everyday life in a Taiwanese fishing village gives a rare insight into a country most known for its computer parts. Anyway, the film revolves around San and Ying, two female cousins who haven't seen each other since young. Ying has always been convinced that she's a reincarnation of a legendary Chinese lover, and she's looking for her true love's reincarnation, and at first she believes its San. Unfortunately San doesn't remember much of Ying and Ying's severely disappointed. The show takes on a bisexual tone when Ying falls for San's supposed boyfriend Bin. Actually the director leaves a lot of gaps and doesn't really explain the relationship the characters are in, which suits the film. A twist brings an end to the film, but there's a sequel in Free as Love ( Fu sheng ruo meng ).

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