RECENT WATCHING - Rest of OCTOBER

like most weeks, i watch movies. here is a recent rundown of things that have appeared on my screen that didnt make enough of a mark on me to warrant its own blog entry:

CRIMINAL LOVERS - this french francois ozon dark twisted thriller from 1999 isnt as affecting and unique as swimming pool or under the sand but it definitely has its most moments of sexual power plays and murder. im a huge fan of ozon and his unique style but this one didnt really jump out at me. still pretty good though

LITTLE DORRIT - with no disrespect to the great derek jacobi and alec guinness, this was dull. this 1988 adaption of dicken's little dorrit is painfully slow and very uninteresting. without question though, both actors still deliver fantastic performances in this 6 hour borefest.

SOUTH PACIFIC - having seen this classic rogers and hammerstein revival on broadway a few months ago, i was curious to watch the original film version from the 50s. directed by josh logan, who directed the original show on broadway, it was an honest and direct adaption from the stage complete with the same wonderful songs (some enchanted evening, gonna wash that man right outta my hair, bali hai etc). acting was kinda meh but the broadway cast spoiled me a bit

ATANARJUAT (THE FAST RUNNER) - well. this 2001 film was shot on digital video, is 3 hours, and filmed entirely in innukitit (the innuit language of northern canada). that being said, it was pretty good. with all these things going against it, the fact that it was an interesting revenge tale means it was pretty outstanding. i need to give major to lead actor Natar Ungalaaq. he is completely naked running through the canadian snow and glaciers for about 10 minute running from people trying to kill him. that being said, his penis looked TINY especially after falling in ice cold water. its not a fair statement on him due to shrinkage but man, it take guts to be out there that naked and that cold. or perhaps it takes bal---nevermind.

THE UNINVITED - the version i watched tonight from the 2009 horror film; a remake of the superb korean film 'a tale of two sisters,' one of my favorite films of all time. what suprised me the most about this is that i didnt hate it. in fact, i kinda liked it though it was not nearly as good as the original. however as far as remakes go, this is probably among the best. the cast of david strathairn (sp?), emily browning, and elizabeth banks really sold it though. so yeah, this is definitely a pleasant surprise.

NIKKATSU NOIR BOX SET - this 5 disc collection of rare crime noirs from 60s japan has a few real gems. nikkatsu is a studio in japan which in the 60s was known for putting out edgier fare to connect with younger audiences looking to break from the japanese film traditions of ozu and kurosawa. basically, these films are japan's attempt to make their own stylized film noir a la the US and france. of these rusty knife and cruel gun story are a bit underwhelming. a colt is my passport looks pretty damned cool and has a quentin tarantino-ish feel to it though is more style than substance. the two true gems of this collection are i am waiting and aim at the police van which i will go into more detail below.

- I AM WAITING is a superior film noir about a washed up disgraced boxer, a mysterious dame with a sordid past, and a cafe where people go who have nothing left. this is a film that could stand up to any film noir, japanese, french, or american. definitely recommend for fans of the film noir genre

- TAKE AIM AT THE POLICE VAN was directed by the japanese noir master seijun suzuki and was a superb, intense, and twisty noir thriller. i see a lot of parallels between melville and sam fuller in this film. suzuki was definitely one of the finest cutting edge directors in japan at the time and in this early work, it shows how great he would become

masaki kobayashi's the human condition: reissue of the year

over the years, ive made no secret of my opinions on gritty war films, especially japanese ones. kurosawa is one of my favorite directors of all time and i find ran, kagemusha, and seven samurai to be masterpieces. i love kon ichikawa's fires on the plain and am a sucker for ozu's sentimental tales of japanese post war insecurity.

when i initially heard about THE HUMAN CONDITION, a 9 1/2 hr 6 part epic from masaki kobayashi (director of the outstanding SEPPUKU), i was intrigued but daunted by the undertaking of yet another epic film. but since this one starred tatsuya nakadai, i rolled up my sleeves, ordered a disc a week and dove in.

since i became an extreme cinephile, i can tell whether or not im going to fall head over heels in love with a movie in the first 20 minutes or so. and with this one, i was entranced in the first few minutes. ever since i met kaji, the main character (played by nakadai), i knew that i was going to enjoy spending 10 hours with him.

kaji is a pacifist, a socialist, and incredibly naive. he seems himself as the voice of reason and humanity in an insane time. he is madly in love with his wife, michiko but not enough to go back on his ideals. throughout the ten hours, we follow kaji through being the boss in a chinese labor camp to being sent to the front of the war for his ideals and finally, as a POW in a russian war camp. in each step of his harrowing struggles, we see the pain and frustration of war and what it does to a human being. each part of the film, he has to endure some crisis of faith and conscious.

while the things kaji is doing are awful, it is all in the name to return to michiko and to find a good life for the both of them. despite all the killing and struggle to survive, never does kaji waver from his central core of beliefs. what is painful is watching him see that humanity isnt as good as he thought. throughout the first 3 parts of the series, kaji believed in the communist philosophy and that his new life was meant to be in russia with people who were more civilized and fair. but like the japanese and chinese, the russians too were brutal and violent. so he continues to search and make his way back to michiko despite all these forces against him.

SPOILERS BEGIN

he doesnt make it but the final scene of him lying dead in a desolate plane is so heartbreaking and beautiful (in a sad and gut wrenching way)

SPOILERS OVER

the execution of the above is painful to watch and left me feeling incredibly empty inside. i was so moved by the final scenes and the love in kaji's heart. i didnt cry. i couldnt. i just felt cold and empty. i needed to cuddle a cat but there werent any cats so i watched cartoons.

however, what the movie taught is that love can survive in the hardest and lonliest places. at the same time, since kaji never betrayed his own ability, one cant help wonder if things would have been easier for him. but then again, i guess that this isnt the point of the movie. the point is to embrace the struggle of humanity.

if you cant tell, i was completely floored by this movie. im not sure how its been out of the mainstream for so long but THE HUMAN CONDITION needs to return to the collective conscious of the movie-going public. or at least be fawned upon by critics and filmies alike (which looks like its happening!) this is definitely my favorite DVD watch of 2009 and among my favorite films of all time. absolutely amazing.

i need to go cuddle a cat.

maybe i shouldnt watch films i loved twice...

kon ichikawa's THE BURMESE HARP struck a chord with me immediately. it is a beautifully shot, intense, and well acted Japanese anti-war film from the 50s. the film centers around Mizushima, Shoji Yasui, a soldier who stumbles upon a loot while fighting in Burma. he learns to play it and his music inspires his unit but his convictions keep him from going home and he remains in Burma to live as a monk.

when i first saw it, i was floored by its intensity. i had just seen ichikawa's mesmerizing fires on the plain which was one of the darkest war films ive ever seen and a powerful statement on war in general. harp was a pleasant surprise after seeing fires and the visual imagery remained with me for a couple years. when it popped up on ifc, i DVR'd it to watch it again.

unfortunately, it didnt have nearly the same effect on me as it did the first time. i find that this is an occasional problem and has prevented me from watching certain films twice. i really want to watch lilja-4-ever and make way for tomorrow again but im afraid that a second viewing would take away the magic from the first watching. i would already know what was going to happen and some of the power would be removed.

granted, ive rewatched most of kurosawa and bergman's films and my appreciation of them has only grown. while i still maintain that the burmese harp is an outstanding film, it might not have been as brilliant as the first time i watched it.

the first impression of a film is important to me and