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Chinjeolhan geumjassi (2005)
best Xmas film ever!
There is no better movie about bloody, female revenge and mother/daughter reunions, filled with time-jumping story lines and camera shots, brilliant acting, and a little Paganini, than 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance'. This film shines brighter under repeated viewings and has become one of my holiday viewing traditions (along with 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'the Godfather' trilogy).
The story is detailed and moves quickly. Maybe a little too quickly, as some of the flashbacks - and later, flash forwards - might be disorienting at first but this only deepens to the experience when seen again, much like certain Quentin Tarantino films and Chris Nolan's 'Memento'. Most impressive is the leanness and economy of the storytelling: there isn't a wasted frame in the lot, though there certainly are some beautiful ones.
The film is roughly arranged into two parts. The first is concerned with the the road to revenge, while the second features the end of that suddenly horribly twisted road...and beyond. The tempo of the first section is near-frantic, filled w/flashbacks, reunions, and dark humor. The second act enters darker territories and moves at a steady, somber pace until vengeance is meted and we stagger to the end. This is the script Dennis Lehane wished he'd written.
Throughout the film the main character, Geumja, is consumed with thoughts of revenge, but also ones of beauty and utility, and in this regard seems to speak for the director. 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance' is a thing of beauty, the most compassionate of Park Chan-wook's "Vengeance Trilogy". To think that 'Oldboy' and this film exist due only to an off-the-cuff remark the director made during an interview about 'Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance' still amazes me. If 'Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance' showed how completely destructive revenge can be, how good intentions pave a golden slide to Hell, and 'Oldboy' that life could go on for the vengeful but at a tragic cost, then this film offers a glimmer of hope, that those good intentions can finally be resurrected and realized. In the same spirit and just as convincing as 'Kill Bill's message that motherhood is better than being an assassin, is 'S4LV's that revenge is best left to the past.
Domino (2005)
you know, for kids
This film is under-rated and under-cranked and underneath the jump cut, modern feel of the film is the oldest story told: the one about love and sacrifice.
Though I have repeatedly enjoyed how Quentin Tarantino's script for 'True Romance' was directed, certain scenes make me wish QT had shot it; however, in the case of 'Domino', the script by Richard Kelly ('Southland Tales', 'Donnie Darko') is realized with a gonzo energy that keeps the plot and layers of subplots humming along like an well-oiled but over-wound clock.
'Domino' is a sheep in wolf's clothing and it's this tough-girl exterior that saves the it from sappiness. It might also be the distraction that obscures the point for some viewers. Like 'True Romance', this film benefits from a large ensemble cast who's interweaving narratives build toward the point that the young are the world's future and no sacrifice for them is too great.
District 9 (2009)
In like a lion...
I enjoyed the first half of this film a great deal more than the second. This has to do with the screenplay being very inventive in it's set-up but becoming diluted by the audience-pleasing trope of having your main character run and shoot and blow stuff up. The first 45 minutes are expertly directed and motored along nicely as I got caught up in the main character's story with it's occasional twists and flashes of heart. I wanted to know what happened to him next. I even leaned forward in my seat a little...but I saw the direction the climax would take, however, I began to care less. Whatever emotion I had invested was left with nothing to do but evaporate. All the character defining moments get bulldozed aside by a sort of mecha love-fest which takes you loudly all the way to the sequel-made ending.
Revoloution (2006)
DIY satori (NYC style)
'Revoloution' is a beautifully paced film that hooks you from the opening scene and never bogs down in New Age cheesiness but hews closer to the Buddhist mandate of seeing things as they are and doing what has to be done. It reminded me of my first experience with yogurt: I thought I would be put off by the experience and ended up happily surprised.
There are plenty of things for the serious film fan to savor: 'Rocky' references and re-workings (including music by Bill Conti, a cameo by Burt Young, and the whole 'Rocky' of the soul vibe), lively camera work (including some great shots of NYC locales), and engaging and believable performances.