피에타 Pieta

Hugely disappointed by film as story was unbelievably predictable -very early I could tell you how film was going to end-, production values are not on the good side and has a Kim Ki Duk playing with metaphors in perhaps his most commercial film to date. Film is very similar to many Hong Kong movies, the kind I see sometimes but mostly avoid as tell grim/dark tales in very unpleasant ways.

Vengeance is the obvious story but he presents us with metaphors to his vision of what money does to people; have to say that tragedy is not one of Kim Ki Duk fortes as also is not his filmmaking in close environments. For me he is a poet and nowadays there is not much poetry in films or at least like he masterly did in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring, Dream, Breath and The Bow. That's the Kim Ki Duk that leave me breathless in total awe. In this film the poet is gone and just hope is not gone for good.

The impressive movie poster is just a poster with a clever image that is not in film. To me that's kind of cheating viewers by offering a scene that they will not find in movie plus doesn't reflect the filmmaking and storytelling style at all.

If you are not familiar with Kim Ki Duk this is NOT the film to see, no matter if has been honored in major festivals that probably celebrate more his body of work than this film. If you are a Kim Ki Duk fan, suggest to skip film as you probably will be as much disappointed as I was.

Sigh.

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다른 나라에서 Da-reun Na-ra-e-suh (In Another Country)

Not very familiar with Hong Sangsoo filmmaking and storytelling style but according to what I read seems that anyone familiar with his peculiar style will easily identify its presence in this film and possibly will be surprised to find that is about the first time the director tells a story from a female point of view. Some say that this is a good film to introduce us to his work and if that is true then I am not sure I will explore his other films.

I liked the movie but honestly wondered why was screened at 2012 Cannes in competition as fest does not characterize for including any kind of experimental cinema in its main competition and this film seemed to me like "playful" experimental cinema. Not a big fan of experimental cinema but there are many exceptions that I highly enjoyed; then this film is all right for an entertaining moment but nothing more.

Film uses the excuse of a mother and daughter that to escape debt-collectors go to small coastal village where the girl kills boring time writing a movie script. We get to see how the same actors act the script she is writing about three different foreign women (all called Anne and all acted by Isabelle Huppert) that go to the village where the writer is staying. More than a story or three stories, we find explorations of themes like infidelity, loneliness, odd/awkward romance, being a foreigner, cultural differences plus more related subtleties. But there is a beginning (not related to the writer) and there is an end where the circle is closed as in the two last segments there are little details from previous ones that if you blink (or get tired of seeing the same interpreted differently) perhaps you could skip them.

Since I am a huge Isabelle Huppert fan highly enjoyed her performance as the three different women meant three great and very different Huppert interpretations; but all had something in common, they were quite "playful" and lot less dramatic than her usual roles. Yes, watched movie because Isabelle Huppert was in it and I'm glad as was a refreshing surprise to see her doing everything she does here and surely if she was not the star probably will not have liked film that much.

Believe that film is suited only for those that enjoy Isabelle Huppert performances and enjoy minimalist experimental cinema.

Enjoy!!

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돈의 맛 Do-nui Mat (The Taste of Money)

Cannot understand why this film was in competition at 2012 Cannes and only assume that organizers invited film because the success of Im Sang-soo's previous film Hanyeo (The Housemaid) but maybe they didn't watch film before the invitation. Can tell you that this movie is no sequel to The Housemaid and maybe can be considered as a parallel story told from a male point of view.

According to what I read Im Sang-soo mentions that while The Housemaid was about the women, The Taste of Money is about the men. Indeed we can say that lead is one man, Joo Young-jak ( played by Kim Kang-woo), but his performance absolutely is diminished by one woman Baek Geum-ok (played by Yoon Yeo-jeong) that in my opinion steals the movie to make it her own. So, to me this was another women story that unfortunately was not as interesting as The Housemaid story; still, what both movies have in common is a soapy melodramatic story.

Somehow I imagined that story was going to be a melodrama, so no surprise to be right; but I was expecting great visuals as good as in The Housemaid. Trailer and stills promised that could be similar but NO was not similar as this movie moves inside another high class house that was not as great as in The Housemaid. In other words, set design quality was inferior here; so no matter how the camera moved, visuals were not that much impressive. If you have a so-so repetitive story plus inferior visuals then movie becomes less interesting and more mainstream entertainment.

Film tells another "power corrupts" story but here is more clearly stated by showing how elites are above the law, which maybe if director explored more this story film would have been a bit more memorable. Instead he chose the path of presenting the so common dysfunctional family where husband cheats, wife gets mad and seeks revenge, start killing people and ends like nothing happened, everything is back to normal.

Film is also marketed because the sex scenes but again can assure that scenes are nothing special and a lot tamer than in The Housemaid, so if you wish to see film for this reason maybe you'll be disappointed. As you can see comparisons between both films are inevitable but if you have not seen The Housemaid maybe you will enjoy this film, still have to suggest you watch The Housemaid instead of this one. Sigh.

Watched the complete film and is okay to kill sometime and have an average entertainment moment.

Enjoy.

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