Too Tired to Die (1998) User Reviews

This can be art, but it´s not entertainment

[Tumbarrancho · 5/10 · 17 August 2002]

I did not like the movie. It was a very promising one but I think it got out of the hands of writer/director. It could well be that writer director wanted to do exactly that, in that case I would say that writer director was not very well seasoned at that time.

Maybe the next one come out better than this one. Acting was very good, script very poor. Alas, it could have been a minor classic...

experimental

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 7 July 2017]

Kenji (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is a Japanese guy living in New York. He spends his days at a local coffee shop. He encounters his mysterious dream girl (Mira Sorvino). She is death and she reveals that he has twelve hours to live.

This is an experimental indie. There is some surrealism but it struck me as fake unreality. One thing that doesn't help is the guy's heavy accent. It actually grew to annoy me. The acting ranges from amateurish to some recognizable veterans like Jeffrey Wright, Michael Imperioli, and Ben Gazzara. This is strictly indie time. It would help to have some better cinematic style. Newbie director Wonsuk Chin tries a few moves but they come off looking amateurish.

interesting moments don't add up...

[parlo · 4/10 · 14 November 1998]

A film with a really interesting premise and obviously some provocative ideas behind it. Unfortunately it goes nowhere from there and particularly towards the end becomes tiresome and violent.

The best part of the film is by far the character of Death played by Mira Sorvino.

really really really.. strange.

[Raizok · 20 January 2001]

This movie is like a moving dartboard. details flash before you and as you aim your attention on a particular target, it quickly goes out of reach.

I just rented this flick among 6 others (saw Wall Street before this one, really good movie) simply because Mira Sorvino is a hottie and the premise of the film (guy gets 12 hours to do whatever he wants) sounded intriguing.

It turned out to be something a hell of a lot different.

From the opening credits I was impressed with the set-design, the actor and the way it was being filmed. Fantastic opening scene gave me the feeling I was going to watch something really unique. And I did.

Unfortunately, I cant quite find the words to describe what I saw. It seemed almost like an improvisation. Characters that didnt quite seem to fit in the story, conversations that didnt seem to hold any relevance, plot-twists that were inconceivable. This isnt your typical hollywood film.

Again, I was taken aback by the style of the movie, and I recommend this for those seeking something "different" to comment on along with their friends. Just like "Lost Highway" had an important message locked somewhere in it's tangled skein.

Oh well. That pretty much sums up my opinion of the movie, sorry I couldn't have done a better job. peace out.

Death ought to be more exciting

[stefan-144 · 5/10 · 14 January 2003]

It's about death, this movie, and the struggle to find meaning to one's life, when having only a few hours to do it. Big subjects, indeed, worthy of a great artist - needing one, really. Writer/director Chin doesn't suffice.

The film plays with classic themes, related to this topic - such as the chess game with the reaper in Bergman's 'Seventh Seal'. Bergman's knight loses the game, but wins the lives of those he has learned to hold dear. In this movie, nothing is gained, and so one wonders: is anything at all lost?

There's an interesting atmosphere in the film, sort of an arty New York setting through an immigrant's eyes, but neither that nor anything else is really followed through. What must be meant to have some profound undercurrent, remains just surface - and a quickly sketched surface, at that. It would have been better to make this film a pure comedy.

A sly, funny film with disturbing undertones

[Levana · 7/10 · 8 February 1999]

The aimless protagonist is an all too believable character, and therefore there is considerable empathy for him, even when his behavior is not justifiable. This film really gave me something to think about; how many people would do better than Kenji if given 24 hours to put their life in order? In traditional Hollywood, everything would miraculously work out fine, but of course Wonsuk Chin knows better than that. This is a case where I think a bitter flavor is better than sweetness. Not all of the loosely-linked scenes work, and Sorvino can grate at times, but on the whole the movie is very much worth seeing. The opening is wonderful.

Flawed but strangely touching

[jeebusenroute · 8/10 · 18 January 2005]

The premise for the movie has been done, or at least has been "heard" to have been done in films like "Life or Something Like it. The difference here is what happens, or more specifically what doesn't happen, and in my opinion, this film is far more superior.

Kaneshiro plays Kenji - the tragic hero of the movie, who is informed by Death that he has less than 24 hours to live. I forget the exact number. The subsequent actions follow him around for the next day, and allows the audience to see what he would do with that knowledge.

People may find this movie pretentious or more precisely that "nothing happens." And they're all right. However, if one were to take the time to digest the film after watching it, you will realize the deeper truths that it reveals. Please excuse me if this sounds artsy-fartsy.

If you were told that you had one day to live by Death, I think many of us would react very much like the main character: be consumed by disbelief and inertia and "waste" time by doing nothing. I think it's more hits closer to home than we would like to admit.

Unfortunately, life isn't just filled with earth-shattering revelations and exciting flashy monologues, unlike Scrooge in a Christmas Carol. It's mainly us - filled with our thoughts. We are not the consummate Shakespearian tragic hero with one huge flaw. People have many little ones. And the meaning of life and all our problems can't be solved in one night, no matter how romantic that ideal might be.

Oddly enough, I find this film to be a slice-of-life and quite realistic, despite the premise. Kenji goes into a coffee shop regularly to find a man sitting there alway reading a novel by some great author. Kenji often watches him but is afraid to approach him, to ask him what novel he is always reading. With his newfound knowledge of his impending death, Kenji does things he wouldn't normally do, which is obligatory in such films. However, the revelations that are "revealed" for a lack of a better word, are not big deals, but are instead, little insights to what makes us truly human - pretension, postering, lies and how we pretend to be more than we truly are.

I really liked the casting of Kaneshiro. He has that listless artist look to him, that fits the character very well. However, I really disliked Sorvino, as I thought her whole motive for taking the role was to showcase her knowledge of the Mandarin language.

So ultimately, this is a hard film to review and even describe. It is slow. It can leave viewers with a sad emptiness. For some reason, it reminds of the novel, "Flesh and Blood" by Michael Cunningham and maybe even "The Rules of Attraction" by Bret Easton Ellis. You see the flaws of characters very clearly. You feel as if you hadn't learn anything about them except that they are unmotivated and vain creatures - things which you already are informed in the opening sequence. Therefore, it came as a complete surprise at the end of the movie, the amount of emotion I felt. So I think the film succeeded in drawing emotions that I wasn't even sure were there, perhaps it is the empathy we feel for ourselves and each other.

Maybe some facts about the story would be helpful

[july-18 · 8/10 · 27 January 2008]

First of all, the movie's setting is a multi-ethnic New York City. Our hero,Kenji, is part of a great mix of foreign-born/U.S. racial minorities/gay & straight people. His Japanese accent and his best friend's Italian accent are just part of the fun. Ethnic stereotypes are jokes.

Kenji really, really wants to fall in love, but seems to be living just on handouts from his parents. His Italian friend fancies himself a filmmaker, but has a job selling movie tickets. They're living on dreams and illusions, but I wouldn't call that aimless, would you? (!)

Second point -- The story is told in a very interesting way. Part of it is dreams, part of it is real life, and in parts, the dreams sort of push into real life. It's not that hard to keep track of, tho. The story is told chronologically and only takes 2 days.

Third -- the actors are uniformly wonderful. The supporting roles, especially Ben Gazzara, are so memorable it almost seems crazy not to veer off on each one. Then there is a whole string of cameo bits that stick in your mind -- the "Balzac man," a pseudo-intellectual guy in the café, will make you laugh -- the transvestite hooker -- the fortune teller -- there must be 20 of these gems! Fans of Mira Sorvino and Takeshi Kaneshiro will not be disappointed. As a very sexy Death, Sorvino shares with us her viewpoint, one that's not so hard to understand after all. We can see that it's natural that Death would have her favorites (not that it would be any great consolation). Her interactions with her 2 assistants are pretty hilarious.

Kaneshiro's trademark blend of funny and intense makes him so rewarding to watch. No one can say he's weak or uncertain as an actor, and that was really important to this movie. He communicates a lot through his expressive attention to the other actors, but when it comes to the pivotal scene where he speaks out, his words are extremely powerful.

Last -- the ending of the story takes us by surprise, even though we have known how it would end through much of the movie. It happens in a way we wouldn't have expected.

Best of all are the interesting things that occur to us as we watch, like what does knowing you're going to die really change? There are lots of foreshadowings that prepare us for the main action (for example, everybody reminds the love interest, Pola, of someone else who turns out to be kind of relevant). It's hard for anyone to see this movie without suspecting there was more in there than they were able to catch.(Remind me to look up Pola Negri)

I think there are plenty of people who would love this movie, and hope this helps you know if you're one of them. It's a serious story but very enjoyable.

It was better than I thought...

[akairosa · 18 September 2011]

I was looking forward to seeing Kaneshiro Takeshi in an English-speaking role, because I've always wanted to see him in US Movies. Moving away from my initial reason for watching this, I was deceived by the "comedy" label attached to it (much like I was tricked by Spanking the Monkey) and was looking forward to a nice romp when it opened with an old Baghdad myth about Death.

The start was slow and I was a little leery about it, until Sorvino showed up after the chase and the film really sped up.

I have to say, I didn't like the "German" actress at all, although I was amused at Kenji's reactions to her. I did like the café guy and the Italian friend, but that's because their pretensions make them feel better about themselves, even if they're mostly falsehoods. Other than the German woman, the casting was interesting and very diverse. I bought it because it was New York City. If it had been somewhere else, it would have been more questionable.

Of all the characters, I loved Kaneshiro's awkward, rather withdrawn, and just clumsy self. Sorvino was also excellent, though, especially in the dream sequences. Personally, I was curious why she spoke the Chinese (yes, I know she speaks it), but didn't do the Japanese in the dream sequence. (Maybe because she looked awkward in the kimono?) The filming itself was interesting, mostly because it felt jerky, and awkward, much like the main character. It isn't as bad towards the middle and end, and I rather feel it's because it was trying to pick up momentum with the story.

The storyline is rather simplistic, but it seems right. Like mentioned elsewhere, Kenji dithers and wastes his time. He asks questions, but doesn't really listen to the answers. He now demands attention and affection, but he doesn't find it until the very end. Overall, the simplicity was all the better for the character and story. Complications were thrown in by showing shots of Death and her Minions' interactions with humans and their discussions about them and their role. I think it was interesting.

My other (small) annoyance was that the subtitles were not accurate in the DVD version I had. I mean, it was translating Chinese, Japanese, and French, and it did an adequate job with the Japanese, but somehow butchered the French.

Overall, it's not really a comedy, but it's hard to label it a tragedy either. The fleeting aspect of life is highlighted in this film, and how we should appreciate little things. How over thinking things can, in the end, can destroy us. I liked it. It was an interesting ride.

i keep spewing words, hoping i'll hit one that describes how i feel

[polgas · 10/10 · 20 September 1999]

i just finished watching "too tired to die" on cinemax. i had seen the commercial for it earlier today, and it looked like it was a good watch. basically, a japanese slacker, played by takeshi kenshiro (from 'chungking express' - another excellent movie), is approached by death, played by mira sorvino, and told that he has 12 hours to live. from that premise, i figured it would be your basic lark of a movie, seeing how a slacker deals with the fact that he has half a day left to live.

it wasn't quite the hour and a half of hijinx and hilarity that i'd expected.

not to say that it wasn't good. it was. i just --- it was one of those movies that ends and i'm not quite sure just what i'm feeling. one of those movies without an actual crescendo or climax or resolution, or anything. not your typical movie vehicle. and so, now that it's over, i have no idea what to feel. i mean, it basically followed his 12 hours, and the surreal, bizarre events that take place. i can't even discuss it or how i feel about it or talk about what happened, because i don't want to spoil it for whomever might be reading this. it was just one of those movies that leaves you hanging and yet, at the same time, doesn't. it was a little confusing, and a little ... i don't even know.

i can't help but feel that i missed out on something in the movie. like it was some art piece that somehow escapes me. that i can't quite understand. which is funny, because that exact premise came up in the movie, where kenji (the main character) is looking at a piece of abstract art and asks the artist if it's possible to like something without understanding it. i guess that's how i feel about the movie. i liked it, and i know it was a good movie, but i can't understand it. and i can't help but wonder if i'm missing out on something bigger because i can't understand it. for maybe it wasn't even meant to be understood. after all, isn't the purpose of art to create different meanings in different people? each person who views it, who experiences it, creates their own interpretation of it. maybe it wasn't intended to be understood. just watched, enjoyed (and i don't even know if i enjoyed it. if that makes any sense. i know i liked it, but did i enjoy it?), and appreciated.

maybe this is what the director had in mind. maybe this is what he wanted? for the audience, after watching it, to just sit and not know what they feel. whether or not they enjoyed it, or understood it, or even knew what the hell just happened.

i know i want a copy of it, though. i know that i want to be able to share it with people, and --

i just called a friend on his cell phone. told him to remember the name of the movie, and try to catch it on cinemax, or watch it. i need someone to share it with. discuss it with. someone to help me understand it, maybe, i don't even know. it's just too --- god. it's a mind f*ck, and emotion f*ck, a head f*ck. i couldn't even form coherent sentences on the phone, while trying to explain the movie to phil. i feel like i'm some sort of messed up, bizarre drug, that's how messed this movie has me. i don't get it. it was such a ... non-movie movie ... and yet it's got me so affected. it just WHAM hit me. maybe it's just me. just some weird emotional state i'm in that was triggered or enhanced by the movie, but i can't remember being this -- shaken, moved, affected, bewildered -- by a movie. i keep rambling on, spewing words onto the computer, hoping one of them will help describe what i feel, but so far none of them are even close to it.

Very interesting movie I happened upon on Netflix

[pojeremy · 10/10 · 20 May 2017]

Interesting film and perspective. Humor is off beat, more subtle innuendo than in your face but works. Knowing that it came out in 1998 far earlier than other now classic Korean films, TIRED probably has influenced Korean cinema in one way or another by paving the way in a rather great cast way and delivery. The quirky story which is far more typical of Korean cinema was probably not appreciated at the time but I think resonates much more clearly today due to greater exposure to Asian cinema and Korean cinema specifically. I liked the film especially seeing actors such as Jeffrey Wright and Takeshi Kaneshiro who have developed quite the career. It's always nice to chance upon films in Netflix archives that delight!

Woody Allen's Manhattan in the World of Tomorrow

[suchenwi · 9/10 · 11 November 2009]

Sure, in some ways this film is artsy-fartsy. Just imagine: a Korean director making a movie about a Japanese in NYC whose best friends are an Italian would-be filmmaker, and a German girl who eludes early on. And Death herself announcing she will take him in a few hours.

But still: I kept thinking of Franz Kafka's saying, "A book should be an axe for the frozen sea in us", and for me, this film was that axe. I had many "unbelievable" and a few laugh-out-loud moments. (Hint: the fortune tellers.., the Concorde and time-zone issues..) And quite some thinking afterwards. Oh, and the lovely films-in-the-film: one silent, one in 1950s Japan style..

Weird but so often quite plausible story, and so many hitting ideas (or just observations). I loved it very much. 9/10.