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andrewsterling222
Reviews
Last Ride (2009)
Beautifully shot, honest rights of passage piece.
Australian films and TV have never seemed to grab my attention. Being from the UK and only ever watching Neighbours or Home and Away. Maybe a few high school dramas. I always felt that the Australians were trying to act American, or British and could never really find their feet as to their sense of identity. Well how wrong was I. This film captures the brutal bleakness of both the outback and the sad situation of its lead characters while also showing fleeting moments of ernest love and understanding. The performances are spot on. Cinematography is perfect. Australia is shown in all its bleak but beautiful glory, culminating in an almost unbearable moment of redemption. I've since been watching a lot of similar films such as Walkabout and Tracks, and can't get enough of them. I'll continue to delve into the rich pot of Australian film in the near future. They deserve more recognition. So underrated.
Sonachine (1993)
A Superbly Shot Film- Almost Dream like.
This film is one of my all time favourites for chilling out to at night. The cinematography is beautiful, making full use of the lovely beaches of Okinawa, and the shots tend to linger on a face or a car driving off into the distance, which creates a sort of hypnotic effect on the viewer. The score is beautifully composed by Joe Hisaishi, who also gave you the music for Spirited Away. Personally, I think that the film wouldn't be half as good if it wasn't for the music.
Plot wise, it's quite basic. A group of Yakuza are assigned to Okinawa to make peace with a rival clan. Things go horribly wrong and they take shelter in a disused beach hut. I think the main subject the film deals with is what guys do to make the most of a bad situation. There is an underlying theme of helplessness and pessimism......Maybe self realisation. Although there is never any feeling shown by the main character, you get a perfect picture of the characters state through Kitano's relaxed acting style. He reminds me of an oriental mix of DeNiro and Keitel.
All in all, a classic film that speaks in whispers.
Andy