Marxism on acid.

Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” deserved more than Palme D’Or. After getting 8 minutes of a standing ovation in Cannes, this movie was just more than an award. But, I’m grateful to finally be able to watch this film and this is probably one of the best and insane movies in 2019. There is so much to talk about this movie, not just about Marxism, class consciousness, and social hierarchy, but more than a symbolism. The genius doesn’t prove we become bourgeois, but neither does the proletariat. There is a tradeoff between the two and in the satire comedy thriller drama, Joon-ho takes us into the depressing picture of a social class.

Bong Joon-ho always pokes issues about social class and hierarchy like one in “Snowpiercer", about a ruler’s fight for prosperity. In “Parasite”, Joon-ho places his audience in a unique but unusual circumstance. We try to move and also struggle to “sneak” and “alight” in the fertile flower. A detailed sequence shows the plan of deception so that this poor family is able to control the rich family. However, there is no root in this movie. Instead, we laugh at the richness of a rich family with this poor family. “Parasite” makes a serious incident into a funny yet ridiculous situation.

“Parasite” is not just a home invasion film but there is a lot of symbolism and satire both in society and country. Like for example the life of Ki-taek’s family, no more than poor families but the world has never looked at them. They are only more concerned with status, social class, and wealth compared to poor communities. The film is terrorizing its genre in horror, not just about socialism yet about people. The ladder is a strong symbolism, where the Ki-taek family may temporarily enjoy rich family wealth. When they go down a ladder, it’s not separated from the fact they still remain as a poor family.

This movie is like a rollercoaster, you want to breathe but you can’t. This is a sad experience. Seeing the Ki-taek family and other families is a suspense of the main plot. In fact, back again to a stereotypical of the rich and the poor. Poor people can be geniuses but not rich people. Conversely, rich people can have all but not for the poor. The house is a temporary place where you want to look after and care for but makes you feel comfortable about the house.

Not on intelligence but on chance. There are up and down, good and bad. But, this movie combines all of these so it’s difficult to know which ones are worthy of pity. There are just unworthy characters, jumping up one flight of stairs to another, trying to find a way up but it’s so easy to fall. Business and work aren’t shortcuts but in order to be successful, live prosperously, and become rich, there is a process. And finally, the characters in this film fail to keep their “ladder” each. All of the characters are free, as well as actors and actresses, whether a dialogue is on their expression, we really stand and easy to understand.

The acting, the camera, the tone, the symbolism, the case for this movie is just everything and I still think about it when the end-credit appears. At first, you laugh but then, between feeling sorry and sad. Bong Joon-ho presents an idea that’s easy to understand. “Parasite” is fantastic in terms of criticism, messages, plot, tone, performance, score, etc., deserved more than anything. This is a “fun” movie.

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Japan as the country you never know.

A lot of people say that if you don’t know Hirokazu Koreeda, it’s a pity for yourself. And apparently, it’s indeed a fact. It’s quite embarrassing when I was new to Koreeda in “Shoplifters”. It won Palme d’Or in Cannes Film Festival, 2018. Koreeda became the first Japanese director to win the award in the decade since Shohei Imamura’s “The Eel” in 1997. This movie is about the ironic and gloomy side of Japanese society. When you know Japan about its cultures, you know you feel guilty when you watch this film. Honestly, when watching this film, I remember the days of my stupidity when my first day in college. I acted like a Japanese, spoke in Japanese, and really “liked” anime.

After watching this film, for some reason, I became a bad guy in this situation and I can’t regret it. I can’t regret it for two reasons. Firstly, it’s because of the past and I don’t want to remember it. Secondly, I’m the same person in the present and the past. “Shoplifters” is about one poor Japanese family making a living. Focusing on isolated people and trying to patch up each other’s flaws in a bond called “family”. They believe the drive to survive together would create a good neighboorhood. However, when they are far from the norms of society, they act unreasonably.

Koreeda loves to explore a complexity about a family from a different perspective. The movie is gloomy, ironic, and quite depressing about the bitterness of life. He likes to explore gray color, not just black and white. The theme of the movie discusses the meaning of a family. Just like one of the characters in this film when she talks about irony yet true about family. She said that a family isn’t about blood relations. It’s not about how the kid was born from the mother’s womb. And when she spits the word, I’m just speechless; either impressed with the sentence or feeling sorry to her.

Koreeda also loves a slice of life wherein each of his films, a touch exists compared to films in general. The plot in this movie, gradually, reveals how each character has certain reasons. Just like the opening sequence of the movie. A boy and a father entered a supermarket but spoke through hand gestures. We don’t know who they are but it’s interesting because we know this will continue over and over again. We will see how they both do the same thing. However, it’s not just about the boy and the father. It’s about these characters struggling to fill each other and connect why they do all this in the first place.

Morally speaking, all the characters in this film are very doubtful. But, we understand why they do it and prefer to take the consequences first. We know why a young girl earns a living in a sex club. We know why the father prefers shoplifting rather than making a living normally. The whole situation the characters choose to create themselves. Finally, you know there are no black and white in this film. It’s smooth, simple, natural, depressing, and beautiful at the same time.

Every actor in this movie is amazing especially when they are not over-the-top different from drama films in general. Their performance is so natural and very emotionally strong but raw. They aren’t too sentimental or tragic. They just act like normal people and go through many moments from bitter, sweet, to sad. There is a joy on the way to the beach to a pressure between one character. However, character development is very, very small to notice thanks to the script. The movie is just mindblowing to say at least, an exaggerate word to use. The relationship between characters, the black satire humor, and the moral message is more than about family and togetherness. Back to the first main question, what is a family?

“Shoplifters” is a complicated yet melancholic movie, gloomy, but important in providing a perspective about the theme. It’s about a contemplative about choosing a family. This movie explores the big questions about life and society. It’s about modern Japanese society but also not about Japan itself. It’s about everybody, every one of you who watches this movie. Koreeda cares about people, cares about his country, and everything. This movie has a pessimistic view as if to tell that this is just impossible.

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What does it mean to be yourself?

Cinema is an art. It’s a form of art. It combines a medium that is different from other media. Cinema is just not about pictures. But, it’s about the message and the voice. While speaking about cinema, the mainstream audience always thinks cinema is a part of the entertainment. It’s a medium people would enjoy so much more than this world. However, cinema is more than entertainment. Even a blockbuster movie, you never notice there is something the director wants to convey. Cinema created many other mediums. It creates a new study of films such as visual literature, film criticism, and essays. But, to think of cinema is a voice to everyone, one more thing to say at least is unique.

Without the cinema, you cannot understand others. You convey your opinion, struggle, and voice through cinema. Another uniqueness is also why I like cinema. It makes you feel you are a unity of a movie you watch. Speaking of cinema too, in this era, you get a lot of films about other races. You get a film about the struggle for individualism to survive in the era of war. But you also got a film about criticism. However, it’s even more unique when talking about LGBT and cinema at the same time.

LGBT in cinema has a long yet unique journey. Hollywood has almost recognized the theme since Jonathan Demme’s “Philadelphia” and Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain“. Long before Hollywood was still in doubt with the theme, you have to go further back in 50 years before. In Japan precisely in 1969, a movie called “Funeral Parade of Roses” appeared. It later became an inspiration from Stanley Kubrick to make “A Clockwork Orange”. It’s an arthouse drama about a day in the life during the Japanese New Wave of the 60s and 70s. Toshio Matsumoto directed and write a story about Eddie (Pîtâ) and other transvestites in a gay bar struggle with identity.

“Funeral Parade of Roses” acts out of the box and feels like a combination of Kubrickian and Lynchian. For an arthouse drama like this, you think if the story would be monotonous or predictable. If you have watched “A Clockwork Orange” then you understand how weird this movie is. Stanley Kubrick borrowed and took strong inspiration in this film. Both movies play similarly. The humor, the visual, the time-lapse sequence, and so on, it’s everything. It feels the movie also plays weirdly like it just chopped up and down like a potato. The movie also has a sequence where one scene to another moves with a unique transition. Like most in Kubrick movies, this movie plays similarly.

“Funeral Parade of Roses”, besides being unique because of the cinematography and editing, is a complex movie. The movie presents a story about identity, love, hate, and feeling through visuals. There is a sequence where everyone becomes high and doing random things. Other times, the movie also acts seriously. There is so much layer to tell about especially in our main character, Eddie. But, the movie has a marvelous impression and ahead of its time where you think you feel hypnotized. Sex is the main key to this filmmaking. For Eddie too, she quiet enjoy why she likes being a gay boy. I think there is not a logical question of why. It’s like saying why do I like this thing and why don’t I was born to be this guy. It’s simple, to begin with.

This movie is a stone for everyone. Many times I feel the effect of how the movie gives you a dose of drugs with the sequence. It’s a little bit weird when Pier Paolo Passolini’s “Oedipus Rex” inspired this movie. There is a sequence where five posters appear on the screen. But, the sequence also comes to a significance similar plot. Above all, this movie confronted a limitation because it alienated the characters and everybody. Just like what Eddie feels and other characters. There is no one straightway to introduce yourself. And Joji Yuasa’s experimental ambiance score feels like you are close to the entire question. It’s an authentic theme with the beautiful visual all come close to one question. Why do they become gay boy?

“Funeral Parade of Roses” is an experimental movie, very ahead to its time, and very contemporary to this day. Through jarring, horror, and disturbing editing, you don’t even know where you should laugh. It’s like a manipulation, like the editing, and it makes you feel you are watching two films. It’s a hard experience and emotionally an aesthetic of movies. Matsumoto, on the American side’s struggle with LGBT cinema, was there to voice what he wants to convey. You may not understand them. But, you understand the world they see is no more than humans as well in general. In a nutshell, a profound cinema like this can make you feel like you don’t belong here.

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Our own inner demons.

Besides Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirô Ozu, there is one more influential director in Japanese filmmaking and the world. And he is Masaki Kobayashi. In terms of genre, samurai is a sub-element of a genre. It’s not a genre but a side element of a movie. It’s like westerns but the genre has its own genre, not sub-genre. People know Kobayashi with his work “The Human Condition” trilogy. He also worked on “Samurai Rebellion”, one of the best samurai films as well. Yet, “Harakiri” was also one of the best of all time.

“Harakiri” captures an innocent life, our ancestors passed down hereditary. Difficulties in the economy and also in finding work have existed even in modern times. But, the Japanese are so afraid of being ashamed, ashamed of failure, ashamed of status, and ashamed because of so. Therefore, they don’t want to live ashamed forever. They just want to end their lives with respect by doing harakiri. However, harakiri isn’t as easy as it imagines, not just stabbing our vital and stomach. So that many consider our actions to be condemned, then we must borrow a clan’s place. Many clans refused because just doing harakiri must have an exchange.

Masaki Kobayashi always criticized and explored deeper about a Bushido Code, a Japanese collective term of honor and idealism. And one of them, besides “The Human Condition”, which is led to World War II, is “Harakiri”. This movie is about honorarium, loyalty, evaluability, in situations where the values of humanism have been abandoned. It’s more like an anti-samurai movie with humanitarian values and the Bushido Code, but more to a different perspective. However, we witnessed it as a witness. One of the members of the Iyi clan witnessed the same story as the main character.

Similar to Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” where the scene, both, opened with a man located or coming at a gate. In the view of Nakadai’s Tsugumo, we know that the story of the main character indeed real and correct. Just as he shows evidence from three master swordsmen’s hair. But, we see this view from Kagyu Saito (Rentarô Mikuni). He trying to exploit Tsugumo and Chijiwa himself. Still, he assumes this is all just for the sake of the clan. On the other side, Tsugumo tells the story in so many details, reveal isn’t Saito who only saw harakiri.

There is a scene when Tsugumo interrupted the action. It’s not because he was scared or whatever, he just wanted to choose the master swordsman to beheaded him. Since we never know what Tsugumo was like, he seems like he is the mastermind. He controls all of these situations from the beginning. He has control but doesn’t have enough strength because we know how he will end up. Tsugumo’s ideal of philosophy reflects on its own way. To conclude, he always prevents and avoids the actions of his opponent. So, he would take any chance, to begin with, death in a respectful way.

This is a black and white movie, taking lots of beautiful pictures, the point of view shot, with a lot of attention in the corner. Like watching an old painting, painted by hand and watercolor. In fact, the harakiri scene itself looks terrifying not because it feels but because of the empathy and emotion. “Harakiri” involves cultural values, the sentiments of life, and the purpose of doing harakiri. Is it for an image? Are there other meanings? Or is the impulse from the guidance of tradition forcing people to do it?

There are not many action scenes besides the magnificent duel scene and the great swordplay scene. Both of the scenes use hand-held cameras, have patterns, and are resistant to the Tsugumo’s point of view. However, we often look at Saito’s first-person view, like he listens to Tsugumo’s story or because he is the highest in his clan.

“Harakiri” shows the pain of reality, harakiri culture, and Japanese culture into the minds of viewers, raising many questions while interpreting the symbol of the tradition. There is a parallel, creating a symbol of exposition from a different perspective but we still see him as we listen to him. Easy to draw a line, with more political debates about morality. There is a good reason why humans suffer too deeply. Because, as we know, especially in this pop culture era, samurai isn’t just about sword and sword. It’s about identity, personality, and a sense of Japanese discipline towards themselves; for the sake of the name, for the sake of the clan, in order to maintain honor and dignity.

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The nature of human complexity.

When I watched Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival”, something delighted on me. Unlike the extraterrestrial films in general or you could just say, aliens. The movie brings you down how to understand such creatures. It’s not about exploiting aliens to humans who want to destroy the world. However, the theme covered with the use of the other side of a coin. So from that, I’m just quite excited when I watch this Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Before We Vanish”. Similar to “Arrival”, this movie gives a different touch in such tropes. Movies about alien invasions turn into a complex exploration of relationships.

Actually, this film plays quite hard yet structured in a satire way. It’s truly not too deep but always happens in our surroundings. Anyway, the premise seems a bit of a confused if you think there is a logical way. If we think that alien absorb their concept and become crazy, we will unbelieving as well with the words speak by Sakurai. Sakurai sees Akira as an unusual teenage girl. That’s what makes him not stay silent even for the Japanese government itself. However, a scenario played just for their own desire but not for Sakurai.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa provides a truly unique illustration. The concept of the image in human brains are indeed far more modern than a machine. The concept then becomes one of the benchmarks of why humans always went through complicated things, complex, and difficult to understand. In fact, for each individual not necessarily. But what if its concept lost? Humans then turn into nothing. They look like people with a loss. On the other hand, they exiled in normal life. Aliens are representations of those who have nothing to do with humans when dealing with concepts. However, they could be ‘outsiders’ who are able to understand the bonds between humans.

A great appreciation of character development and actors. Ryuhei Matsuda was successful in bringing his emotionless flat-faced alien like a ragdoll. The parts of the actors who cast as aliens, besides Matsuda, are an entertainment even though they were at first quite funny. Nagasawa also successfully built her character as a wife who was so caring with her husband. This film is a pure drama where it doesn’t focus too much on romance. The existence of characters and chemistry between both characters is full of gray. The music has an ambient impression. A few dark humor that isn’t too pushy sometimes makes this film not too boring. A combination that tends to be sarcastic with full of drama stories.

The cinematography seems simple but simplicity is impressive. A dish that is quite simple, fun, but rather difficult to understand. “Before We Vanish” is a spectacle that is so intriguing, full of drama, but a plot that tends to be in slow. In some scenes, there is an obvious plot hole and there is so much waste of times. For the rest, this is a horror, thriller, and drama movie. A film about understanding the nature of human complexity and what’s actually missing.

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Excellent, superb, Kurosawa's amazing masterpiece.

The final sequence of the movie just caught me up. While Akira Kurosawa and the crew put the budget in the last blood, there is so much tension when talking about this scene. The atmosphere was silent but Sanjuro had to part with the people he had helped. However, once again, he just doesn’t want to ruin everything. Be he must leave everything. If not, the sharp sword would only keep everyone out of control. And the best part of the sequence is the tense. It’s just so quiet but there is no exaggerated cut or close up; the Sergio Leone style. The image was just there, didn’t move and the audience just waited for who would take out their swords as soon as possible. It’s a battle between dead or alive.

Kurosawa and Mifune, a true combination, worked together again in a sequel directed by the original director. While not excessive to say this is a masterpiece as well as “Yojimbo”, “Sanjuro” is a fantastic underrated motion picture by the director. The story star with a group of young samurai is in a political game. The Superintendent of a clan is plotting to take the clan by implicating the Chamberlain to do corruption. The plan included killing the staff of the Chamberlain and other defilements. Enter the famous ronin from behind to help them. In this case, the ronin tried to question who was really right and himself, after all, that had happened in “Yojimbo”.

The story is quite confusing, different from “Yojimbo” where the main characters move from one party to another. The story is a bit of complicated but still interesting and unpredictable because of various twists in it. Sanjuro is a cunning yet genius, not too hasty, but also lazy. He puts a lot in his plan and motion in order to take this clan collapses little by little. At first, Sanjuro always mocked them because of their ignorance and impatience made Sanjuro’s plans fall apart. But, as soon as Sanjuro went through a lot of things with them including meeting the Chamberlain’s wife, he tried to question. Whether he had become a good person or was still not enough intake to his redemption in “Yojimbo”.

The story takes a serious drama with its complexity and the main character actions in learning one to another clan. While these serious things, the movie has a lot of comical moments and comedy as well. It’s a Kurosawa universe, sad, action, and drama in one story. Kurosawa is trying to make you believe this is still a film about Sanjuro. But, the comedy is what makes me feel comfortable. He didn’t try to ruin these serious moments but kept its tone as much as possible which is not too serious too. Kurosawa, when it comes to comedy, is hard to believe when you laugh with a serious tragedy but you still deal with it.

This is a not-rated movie. This movie is action and violence. The final sequence of the movie literally goes to this even though it’s still funny why the rating is like that. Although it’s presented in black and white, the sequence is so effective. The shocking and the most amazing yet beautiful final moment in magic carried out by the director. The movie, besides the final sequence, also has great choreography. One of them was when Sanjuro had to fight 10 people while protecting the 4 clans he helped. All of the moments focus mostly on the tactics and intelligence of this and another clan. They don’t just always face and fight.

“Sanjuro” is more like a Kurosawa style movie than the spaghetti westerns of “Yojimbo” in a visual presentation but more polished. “Yojimbo” has a more mixed bag and “Sanjuro” is more to a solo movie, more bright but still gorgeous. There is nothing wrong with both movies because I prefer “Yojimbo” which still shows a lot of visuals rather than this film. Both movies work very well together in the first and final Mifune’s Sanjuro trip. It gives a little more complex and in-depth in its character.

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Passion, purpose, and violent.

I’m not one of the Korean movies fan, especially Asian drama. My enthusiasm was so high about the influence on Hollywood while watching this film. “Oldboy” is a very, I mean, very good film from any angle. The audience continues to be excited about the storyline. The ending is just freaking me out with such an unexpected twist. Most Hollywood movies, especially thrillers, are often modifying concepts like this. Given this Korean movie, Park Chan-wook is the director of many who have succeeded beyond the level.

“Oldboy” also feels like watching David Fincher’s “Se7en”. A similar format about crime, mystery, suspense, and thriller. But, it’s all about the psychopath. The psychopath makes the victim or protagonist face two very difficult choices. Both choices forced him to do it but with such high consequences. Dae-su openly wants to do his 15-year revenge. But that will make him lose. His curiosity appeared and turned into the psychopath’s counter attack. He keeps thinking about how he can finish this psychopath’s game. Or, how can he get out of the game? On the other hand, such high curiosity made him keep thinking why. A trap on two sides of the same coin.

There are no such things if you’ve never watched this film, not the Spike Lee remake. The point of this movie is from a mystery into a tragedy. But, there are so many twists contains a lot. So many clues that the character gets. An amazing sequence, which reminds me of “The Raid”, is the corridor scene. I mean, it’s one of our favorite things if you want to talk about this movie. The camera movements work very well. The one-shot is really intriguing and gorgeous. The choreography as if they put a lot of stakes and consequences. You’re fighting a man with revenge. Infinitely, a driven person who eats you alive. And by the way, I also like the title sequence.

“Oldboy” providing a deep element and complexity from a transformation of the character’s amazing personality. The ending is just one of the best things with ambiguous elements, natural yet happy ending but not. We need thrillers like this or even more than this. So many thrillers are stuck or even more than a thriller that is just an action movie or something else. But, “Oldboy” has its own passion, purpose, and violent as well. The music is phenomenal, the actors, the director, the writer, all of them have a pretty great job.

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Is this world a hell?

We really know well who Akira Kurosawa is. The one who has the most inspiration and influence of films industrial from all kinds of directors. Make him as a role model. “Rashomon” received a critical response by many people because the story was so different from other movies. This movie receiving many awards including Oscar nominations in the Best Art Direction by Takashi Matsuyama and H. Motsumoto in 1953. “Rashomon” became one of the movies raised the name of the director himself. It becomes one that destroyed the film industry. Introduced a term called a Rashomon effect. Directors such as Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini, and Christopher Nolan took inspiration from this film. For movie-lovers, especially cult-classics, “Rashomon” became one of the influents with a new innovation at the time.

It was based on two stories by Ryûnosuke Akutagawa, “Rashomon” and “In a Grove”. Kurosawa didn’t take much in the form of material and frames. He takes every perspective later we would face a philosophical question and answer. Who is righteous and who is a liar. Here, you are the “police” where the audience is the perspective. The actor is directly facing the audience’s on-screen. This is life and death. It’s a “guilty or not” situation. A bandit just killed the husband of the wife he raped.

The way of Akira Kurosawa takes every of the shot as well as when I first watched “Seven Samurai” where he used the weather and fixed cameras more often become his own trademark. The rain at the beginning of the scene really tells us a sense of confusion in so deeply felt by the two characters which seem confusing and has been amazed by such a full-of-twist story.

In the end, the movie ends with redemption and humanity appear on the woodcutter’s character along with the rain that gradually stops and the sun appears as if it’s a symbol that there is still a kindness that arises in humans. It’s a philosophy about what the true means of a human being is. The rest of the backgrounds used in this film are just three: the Rashomon gate, the scene when the perpetrators and victims retell their stories, and the forest. Various kinds of memorable scenes in this film are like the choreography from one on one between Tajômaru and Takehiro, a medium segment, and various kinds of out of character from the actors and actresses.

Toshirô Mifune is Akira Kurosawa’s favorite actor. When his character as one of the most memorable yet respected characters in “Seven Samurai,” we got Toshirô Mifune as a bandit who felt scared, tried to convince us, and the police. There is a small scene when he ran down on a hill in the forest without any fear prevented him. He ran as if no one could block him the same as in “Seven Samurai” which you can look closely and a close-up from his expression there is no fear of it.

Fumio Hayasaka’s score is great and the comical one, makes each scene compelling in a few moments and sometimes, some little segment of being a silence is really needed for certain scenes. The actors and actresses also performed perfectly especially Machiko Kyô and Masayuki Mori along with Toshirô Mifune because those who dominated the most in this movie. They did various changes of characters from various points of view where in the end, they were the major focus.

“Rashomon” seems like a courtroom drama movie but it’s not about finding the truth. You’re stuck on a Kurosawa’s philosophy about human beings, who can be trusted and if there is nothing to be trusted, is this world a hell? It’s a movie that puts a lot of influences, for now, a story which feels new and original at the time and becomes a new innovation. With truly beautiful and brilliantly shot visuals, the greatest acting performance, the visual, and the score, “Rashomon” deserves to be called art along with the best film ever. In fact, it’s difficult to parallel with the today films where creative seems to be gone. “Rashomon” is a film yet more than a film.

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