Change Your Image
joaoantonioasodias
Reviews
Embers (2006)
War is truly hell
This story got me sad from the beginning to the end. It is a powerful tale, with a beautiful scenario and a deep silence. The movie begin by showing as young wife alone tending to the house where she is alone, until her husband comes back from fighting in the Pacific during the second world war. In the beginning we get a brief felling that this will be a lovable story where a separated pair of lovebirds comes back together after the hard times of war. That is a really grave mistake. The sad greatness of this movie is that it shows the reality that we want to forget above all: War changes people; it is like diseases that once it takes hold of you and your heart it is impossible to get rid of it completely intact. War is a hell where with time most of the people fighting on the harsh frontline just stops caring about country or justice, and truly starts fighting only by the deep desire to survive ad come back to the idyllic pre war world.
This couple, mainly the wife, ended up as victims of this situation as the husband is not the man she used to know and love anymore.
Porcelain Unicorn (2010)
Nazi unicorn
I had a curious perspective when seeing this movie, as in a class we had to fast create a possible short story with the same parameters I really wanted to see the winning plot and to be honest; I thought our story if more polished could be the winning one. "Pride is truly my favourite sin" as a good actor said once.
I was really surprised when the topic of the movie was not a fantastical tale or a futuristic scenario, but a small rope of light in a really dark age. Through the use of the simple words given as an option the director tells of choosing and how this can affect many a live, but most important it can save us of our greatest enemies: Ourselves.
Fish Out of Water (2005)
Poor feelow
Who has never been tricked or taken advantage for just being nice or a bit smitten by the nice specimen of the opposite sex smiling to you? This short movie spins a tale that almost anyone can relate too, and take some poetic justice. Is the simple tale of a worker going through his daily routine to go to work, but the way the scenes are displayed tell tales inside of tales that together help the viewer to fully appreciate the karmic aspects of the movie. By the use of a really linear story they fully develop the sequence of events to magnify the emotions of the protagonist.
Through a charismatic humour and a "hero" that anyone can relate too-depending of the person the "villain"-it connects to you in a really nice way, it will not generate any deep philosophical question or change your life in any drastic way, but it will surely end a tiring day with a smile.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
New perspective
The saga of King Arthur and his knight companions is one the best know mythic cycles around the world. The Arthurian Cycle is for many people the traditional image of the chivalry world, where proud knight would go around the land seeking to defend the righteous, slay some dragons and save beautiful maidens in the name of a good/righteous king. But the most famous quest of this cycle is perhaps also one of the most unknown, as the greatest quest that the Round Table took part was the quest for the Holy Grail, one of the three holy relics of Christianity. Is a serious tale that speaks a lot of bravery, disappointment and mostly about Christian virtue and the worth of a pious life.
On this masterpiece of movie, we see a complete new view of this classical world purely with one mentality: being hilarious! From small jokes only understood by fans of the cycle to generic jokes that will make you fall on your behinds laughing. Perhaps one of the most striking features for me is the fact that it was not made by foreigner, but by the greatest British comedian group (Monty Python). They were able to break away from the local lore to a completely new and amazing perspective.
O Homem Que Desafiou o Diabo (2007)
Wonders of the Sertão
One day I was just doing nothing in my house when my father stomped on my room and said "My son! We have a good to see today!" making me quite surprised as I really seen him so excited about a random movie. After reaching the end of the movie I must say that I could not fault him as the movie was really that good.
The movie is a mix of various folk tales from the "Sertão" region of Brazil on the history of the semi-mythical Ojuara, a bohemian hero born of the mistreatments done to a common fellow. He travels around this region looking for the "end of the world" in a quite literal and non literal meaning of the world.
It shows a rarely seen side of Brazil with an optimistic view, as what most of the foreigner people now about this area and its people is about misery sadness and other tragic feelings, as they like to forget all the magic and happiness that surrounds and enshrouds these places. From the Baianas to the Orixas and from Our Holy mother of Aparecida to Padinho Ciço, the wonders and magic of this region will completely and utterly capture the heart of anyone that sees it.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Childhood back again
It is a fact that Tolkien is the father of modern fantasy literature, through his marvelous work he practically redesigned the gender and served as an example for the entire author community who came after to follow. When I first heard about this movie I was really skeptical, as the original story was a really childish tale and I thought they would not be able to make the feeling of the original "Lord of the Rings" get out of me.
But...As soon as the movie started I found myself again as a small child discovering the wonderful universe of books together with the crown jewel called Middle Earth. Even with the adaptations so the movie was more mature were a bit over in some cases, as soon as you hear the poems from the book singed by the dwarfs on a sad tone it is impossible to judge then bad.
The plot flows so well that is can even be seen before than the original franchise by a stranger to the series without losing meaning, they will only lose some really god references. But without a doubt the biggest point of the movie is the fact that is another trilogy, because it shows to the fans that the dream of Tolkien is still alive.
Terry Tate, Office Linebacker (2002)
Great Terry
This is a really funny one. A lot of time in my life, and I think everyone else too, I found myself wanting to punch or just physically harm someone who is not doing the job properly. In this short movie they take this matter that is so common to appear on our minds and use a culturally "traditional" approach to the location where it happens. This NFL player Terry tae is introduced to the white collared world, but not as a normal deskman but truly as a linebacker of the proper work ethic/space. He makes use of his powerful physic and tackles together with a "polite" and graphic speech that makes the entire unruly crowd that composed the firm members submit to his guidance and becoming proper employees, on the sight of the patron. But I guess that the most important point that they make is that he is not only this figure of authority that is responsible for the workplace, no...Terry is also a member of the work community, being seen participating in a great number of common work friendship scenarios as a truly centerpiece, not lacking to any of them and in some cases leading/representing the situation.
The Errand (2010)
Sinfull father
This is another excellent movie about Japanese society that in the end happens to make me quite angry, but in this particular case is not with society by itself but with the way the father of the story treats his daughter. Is not that he is an abuser or any kind of violent man, but because of his addiction to smoking he ends guilt trapping his daughter in buying him cigarettes. That by itself is bad and it is made worse by the fact that he is dying of cancer and his wife had forbidden the daughter of buying it. Because she keeps buying it as she wants her father to be happy, more and more she ends up fighting with her mother. This kind of action ,by my seeing, is clearly a great sin where he is making his daughter go against the mother wishes-thus fighting- to keep the addiction that is killing him and is going to eventually separate him from both of them.
It is in general a good movie with good encounters and a great insight of the sadness/despair with the child searches for a cigarette for her father, as she was made to believe that her family if going to be together like the good old times if she get it.
The Crush (2010)
Childlish feelings
The most common thing in the world is for children-not mattering the gender- to have a crush with an figure you respect as a teacher or an adult you know, but particularly on the case of boys as they tend to do as adults too they are prone to do idiotic things. On this story we see how a small boy's crush can mess people life a lot, even with the ending being a good one.
The protagonist is a small British boy who has a crush on his school teacher, but becomes disappointed after finding that she is dating-and later engaged- to a fellow who is quite a schmuck. Because of that he makes use of a bit of childish deception and a toy gun with the intention of proving to he's loved one that even if she did not choose him she still should not be with this particular guy. By using suspense a quite a bit of thriller "aura" he makes the trick a scene that keeps you completely focused and fearing that childish innocence may cause a disaster , as sadly we see that is too much common to happen. Quite a good movie if I must say.
J'attendrai le suivant... (2002)
Love or Hate
Who has never been inside a subway or train coming back from a tiring day of work and wanting only to get some sleep but has been kept awaken by the noisy of someone doing something that requires the attention of all the "Mr and Ms" inside of it. In this movie we see how a simple case of this can really make the day of a person even worse. On a normal day a man inside the subway attracts the attention of everyone inside so that he could find any woman that still believe in love and was willing to give it a chance. A small and a little touching speech later we are sure that this story shall have a loving ending to renovate our faith in love. But, as we see it was not meant to happen as we thought and it leave us at the end with really hateful ideas about a continuation for this movie. As we say back in Brazil, "We desire to our enemies a long life so they can see our victory".
Three Days in Kamakura (2012)
Another view of Kamakura
Kamakura was always a place of special interest for myself because of its deep importance for Japanese history and so a made my expectations of the movie to fall a bit short. Because of this I really had the hopes that the movie would show the viewer more of the city itself, of its history and charm. But do not mistake this by me saying that the movie is of low quality or that it is boring. No! The movie completely focus on the tale and so it is not "swallowed by the scenario, it is completely about the tale in the script.
It tell the story of a middle aged interracial couple that lives in Kamakura and face a small crisis with the subtle case of a difference in perspective born of the their personal interpretation of complete familial happiness. It is a simple but moving tale that speaks a lot in the silence of the characters.
Father and Daughter (2000)
Crying a lot
This short movie tell the touching story of the love a daughter has for its father and the persistence in sustaining against the passage of time.
The movie was shown to me on a class, and I must say that it was particularity because of it that I decided to attend the class in the end. I-and I believe any one reading this review-has lost someone dear to him at some moment of life, this story with its makes through the use of simple animation and a profound "silence" makes remember or loved ones and the separations that life has put as through. I have no shame in saying that I was crying a lot when the story ended and could not concentrate in class for the next few minutes, it was a crying full of sadness of lost but at the same time full of the remembrance of the "good old times".
I truly believe that anyone seeing this story shall heave his hearth touched.
Born with It (2015)
An important trut
On this movie we can properly see in a minor scale the main troubles of the Japanese society. When Koutarou start at this new school he is faced with a lot of childish prejudice, a fact that remembers us how children can as or even crueller than adults sometimes, because of how his skin colour and traces are more of African than Japanese descendant. They refuse first to accept his Japanese identity and then impose upon him a disease that they themselves do not properly understand, worst is that they do it with such a normality that scares a bit.
This movie is an important lesson for Japanese and foreigner a like to remember us of the troubles that children will be children does not matter the side of the world, only showing some local peculiarities. It makes as see how is important for parents to talk properly with their children and for both the children as the parents to recognize the true reality of the situation without an illusory sugar-coating.