Change Your Image
cindymusic-92226
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Kimitachi wa dô ikiru ka (2023)
continued miyazaki magic
The Boy and the Heron, or How do you Live, continues to cast on its audience the branded spell across all Miyazaki's films, where you are sure to be captivated by the awe-inspiring visualizations and strikingly meaningful imaginations and you are sure to be left speechless with poignant emotions and deep thoughts. The ability of the powerfully imaginative and evokative imagery in Miyazaki's flims to inspire endless thoughts in my mind and nudge my heart towards my inner child is exactly why I adore them.
I found the storyline of the flim to be interestingly similar to Miyazaki's renowed Spirited Away: In both masterpieces, we follow the young girl/boy as they delve into an otherworldly, liminal space, where boundaries between the animal and the human, between life and death and imagination and reality are blurred. The journey starts and ends in the 'real' world, but the otherworld is made equally real by the detailed animations. Entry into the other world is marked by the girl/boy's entrance into the a dark tunnel or corridor in an abandoned site, a site usually imbued with historical or spiritual meaning - this entry vanishes at the end with the total collapse of the otherworld, giving it another layer of mystery as it can never be accessed again. The protaganist is a young child, and so of course they appear scared and vulnerable at times, but as they confront and battle the crazy monstors, animals, and creatures, they also learn to receive help from them, growing in courage and becoming more steadfast in the values of goodness, which eventually helps them resolve the issue in the 'real' world when they go back. Throughout their journey, our protagonist try to find their way back but also cling onto reality through a common moral mission to save their family members.
Miyazaki seems to make sure the otherworld is an partially inversed world of reality: this is a world where the monsters may be good and helpful, the humans may be evil and deceitful. Humans almost always a transform into animals, whether or not it is a punishment. This is a world filled with good and bad creatures, where motifs and characters are reflective of disturbing realities (war, greed). This is world where, while there are monsters, there are also harmless, cute, amorphrous mystical creatures, and also helpful humans: these tough and experienced adventurers of the otherworld form immediate connections with the protagonist through their intimate connections in the real world, lending them help and kindness, offering them sympathy that help them overcome barriers in the real world.
Past Lives (2023)
unbelievably real emotions
I immediately felt like there were two refreshing aspects of the movie. One is the theme of navigating between cultural identities, which I feel is not frequently explored cinematically. The film, in its calming but emotionally heavy narrative, simply lays out the slow burn, tear, and underlying power of carrying two identities, without necessarily demonstrating any tension or emphasis, leaving lots of room for thought. Some have referred to this as a "restrained" narrative delibrately chosen by Celine Song , which I greatly resonate with. This leads me to the second most refreshing aspect, and seemingly the most controversial in the effect it leaves on its audience, which is the slow pace, long pauses, and simple, silence-filled dialogue. Personally, I found such portrayal to be unbelivably, refreshingly real. The restrained-ness of the characters in their emotions is pronounced through the gaps and silences, lending a solemn, thoughtful tone to a philosophical question that well-suits it: How do our relationships come to be? How could've our lives been different?
Vivant (2023)
Amazing plot twists and stellar acting; conventional themes
Vivant, as it turns out, is the name of an underground informational and military organization that will do anything, lawful or unlawful, to fulfill its mission to protect Japan. As the story carries out, we learn of how powerful and relentless this organization functions, but more importantly, as each character's story and motivation unfolds, they each play a part in the film's retelling of the unique Japanese values of patriotism and loyality, of sacrificing between family and for your greater moral responsibility to your organization and country, of seeking revenge as well as seeking repent.
Can't say film's interpretation of these themes are original or especially inspiring. However, I thought one of the most incredible part of the storyline is the totally unexpected plot twists. Each plot twists uncovers hidden details in previous episodes that left me in awe of the storywriter's genius plotting. The amount of plot twists was a real surprise and enjoyment for me in watching this series, and I was ok with being proved wrong - for example, some performances of the main protaganist that I previously thought were much too exaggerated became reasonable as more details were unraveled. In terms of these plot twists, there is a lot of information being given as the story turns and turns, as enemies become allies and allies become enemies in a short amount of time, but the information is presented to the audience in a very clear manner.
The main actor definitely deserves an award, just due to the fact that he plays himself and his alternate personality in such distinct manners that you have to start reminding yourself they are played by the same actor due to the exact same face. Moreover, he strikes a perfect balance between being emotive and human when enacting strong emotions and being superhumanly intelligent and deceiving and merciless as his character demands.
Blue Eye Samurai (2023)
Cinematic animation that touches on gender and history
Easily one of the most unforgettable pieces I've watched! Firstly, the elegant and well-crafted animation draws you into a realistic historical period with its attention to detail. Every frame could be a piece of artwork with its picturesque painter-like quality. Combined with a gripping plot, thought-provoking dialogue, and music choices that build into the scene, this show offers much thought on the themes of gender and history and evokes aweing emotions!
I appreciate how this is not just a melancholy and inspiring tale of revenge set in Medieval Japan. Each character and every dialogue is dripped in rich motifs of gender and historical issues. I also especially appreciated the VA for the colonizer aka Fowler...the mockery, indifference, cruelty and twisted nature of this character jumped to life on screen.