Change Your Image
h8er13
Reviews
Zatôichi (2003)
Great movie...unless you've seen the original.
Kitano's Zatoichi, in itself, is a great movie. Highly stylized, entertaining, humorous, etc. However, if you are expecting a pure remake of the original Zatoichi movies, this movie is probably not your taste. The original black-and-white Zatoichi movies seemed so much more subtle and "realistic," perhaps because of the dated technology, but the mood that was filmed was so appropriate.
Kitano's Zatoichi contains the quirky humor of Takeshi Kitano, but this remake is more for the purpose of resurrecting the legacy that was Zatoichi.
When comparing the two different Zatoichi time eras, the difference in style and psychology of Zatoichi himself is grossly apparent, but as stated before...this does not make a bad movie. Takeshi Kitano (who's movies are very similar in style, but are also very entertaining) recreates Zatoichi in a creative and entertaining manner. The original Zatoichi is sufficient enough to win over most viewers, but Kitano's Zatoichi does not disappoint, despite it not being completely loyal to its original.
Dalmaya nolja (2001)
Just slightly better than I was expecting.
First of all, a couple of notes: The American translation for this title is "Hi, Dharma," but the literal translation is "Hey Dharma, let's play." The term "Dharma" refers to the Buddhist principles of individuality, sort of.
Anyway, about the film...At first, I was expecting a gangster movie filled with predominately slapstick humor. This film is a bit more on the serious side though, but it can still be easily classified as a comedy. Basically, five gangsters running from the law decide to lay low at a Buddhist monastery, mainly because the gangsters figure that they will be able to easily manipulate the monks. However, discontent arises, and the rest of the movie is nothing special.
Conveniently, the number of gangsters equals the number of monks (not including the elder, who serves more as a passive character). Each gang member also has a unique personality, as do the monks, which oddly enough, somewhat parallels the gang members' personalities. The circumstances and sequence of actions just seem too contrived. I think I would have preferred an even more comedic approach to this movie.
There are lots of Korean gangster movies and lots of gangster comedies. Of these gangster movies, only a small handful are really great and worth watching. "Hi, Dharma" is one of those movies that falls on the more disappointing end of the spectrum.
Failan (2001)
Great Movie...Spoiler in Analysis section.
The summary:
Choi Min Suk (award-winning Korean actor) plays an aging gangster named Lee Kang Jae. Throughout the movie, he takes punishment from the younger gangsters and also from his boss, who used to be his good friend and also equal in rank. However, some gangsters strived, while others just lay stagnant...Kang Jae was one of the stagnant ones. Therefore, Kang Jae is left to carrying out petty jobs, such as running an illegal porn video ring and faking documents. On one occasion, he is paid to forge marriage documents, which would make him married to Failan, played by the ever-attractive Chinese actress Cecilia Cheung. This gives Failan a visa to work in Korea.
Analysis **Spoiler**:
Cecilia's character is not described in nearly as much detail as Min Suk's, despite the title being Failan, but that is because this movie is really about Min Suk's character. I agree that a deeper look into Cecilia's character may have made the movie more emotionally charged, but like I said, the movie is about Kang Jae. Both characters have nearly hopeless situations. Kang Jae is finally driven to tears at reading Failan's letters, because he realizes what a hopeless and worthless life he's been living. Furthermore, Failan's appreciation for Kang Jae's marriage is the only proof that Kang Jae has that he has some impact on the world; that he actually is important to anything. **Spoiler** At the end, Kang Jae tells his boss his decision, but he already knows what may happen when he says this. Even though Kang Jae packs up at his place at the end, he has already seen that his life had an impact. Plus, he already knows that if he goes home, he has nothing.
Great acting, great movie.