Asian movies

[richey]

I'd like to start a new thread here that turned out quite popular on another board: ASIAN MOVIES.
There are great Asian movies out there, and it would be interesting to know which ones you liked.

Let me start with this one here:

SAMSARA



Plot summary:
Tashi (Shawn Ku) is a young monk who has spent three years of solitary meditation in a remote location and this is his story. On his return to the monastery, he soon finds himself distracted by the outside world, and given the command to choose life as a monk, or to go out in the world, he chooses the latter. He soon discovers that satisfying one's desires does not always live up to one's expectations.

This is one of my most favourite movies - and it leaves you with many questions open, unlike so many kitschy Hollywood productions.
Did anyone of you watch it already? What were your thoughts about the end - did Tashi return to the monastery or his wife?

Trailer:

[richey]

Time for another Asian movie, this time a Thai one.

I suppose that some of the expats living in Thailand will remember "SHUTTER"?
A classic Thai horror movie as we (and especially many Thais) love it too mutt!




Plot: "A young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past."
On a http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0440803/ , a reviewer says:
"Shutter is a new horror film from Thailand, in the tradition of recent Asian horror films like Ringu and The Eye, and it scared the bejeevery-jeezes out of me! The directors are called Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom (it rhymes!) and this is their first feature, and looking at the movie, it's hard to believe so. It looks very professional and slick, and it excels in every aspect: from shot design to sound use to pacing. The atmosphere is bowl-clenchingly tight, the tension is almost never relieved, and the movie contains quite a lot of scares; they come in all shapes and sizes in this one, folks. This film has its share of boo moments, slow build-ups, genuine horror, and psychological scares following some very creepy and disturbing revelations. I won't spoil anything, but if you like horror do yourself a favor and watch it. I give this gem a 10 on my horrormeter. And I think I'll leave the light on tonight... "

SHUTTER hit the movie screens in 2004 and even found remarkable recognition in many Western countries. Indeed so much that a Hollywood remake (!) of it was produced in 2008.

Trailer:

[richey]

Bin-Jip

Bin-jip means 'empty houses' in Korean...

For anyone who hates love stories, here's a love story you will like.

Plot: A young drifter enters strangers' houses - and lives - while owners are away. He spends a night or a day squatting in, repaying their unwitting hospitality by doing laundry or small repairs. His life changes when he runs into a beautiful woman in an affluent mansion who is ready to escape her unhappy, abusive marriage.

Director: Ki-duk (who also was director of the acclaimed movie "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring.")
Also Known As: 3-Iron (English title) or Bin jib (South Korea)
Country: South Korea, Japan

Trailer:


Enjoy!

[richey]

Dai-Nipponjin
('Big Man Japan')



An eccentric man aged about 40 lives alone in a decrepit house in Tokyo. He periodically transforms into a giant superhero who defends Japan by battling just as giant monsters that turn up and destroy buildings.

A really weird movie dealing with the difficulties of a superhero living in modern Japan, like having to wear advertisements, sing Karaoke to keep his fans happy etc. This is definitely one of the strangest movies I have seen for a long time. But his manager is sexy!

Trailer:

[richey]

Same Same But Different

(Germany, Cambodia 2009)

IMDB 6.7/10 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1368443/

Based on the true story of Benjamin Prüfer and Sreykeo Solvan. The unexpected and uncertain love story of Sreykeo, a 21 year old bar girl in Phnom Penh and Ben, a young German student traveling to Cambodia on a post graduation summer trip. When Ben returns home to Germany he discovers that Sreyko is sick and he takes on the responsibility to save her. On the way he discovers a world where not everyone is dealt the same cards and where motivations are not always pure.

--

Remarks:

A nice real-life story. The way the various venues in Phnom Penh are depicted and with the 'farang hits SE-Asia together with his Hippie friends' vibes reminded me on 'The Beach' w Leonardo di Caprio in parts. Tragic love story of a handsome, blonde German twen who falls in love with a Khmer hooker in a disco, and who stays with her despite all the usual 'challenges' he has to deal with and not the least, the discovery that she got infected with HIV. Very picturesque in parts, and I especially liked the scene with the Elephant crossing a (potential) minefield, a scene that reveals its metaphoric character when you see it a second time closer to the end of the movie.

Unlike so many Anglo-American movies about SEA, this flick is relievingly not patronizing but stays with the story, which is based on the autobiographic book of 'Ben'(jamin Prüfer).

Trailer:

[richey]

My Darling is a Foreigner
(Dârin wa gaikokujin, 2010)

Based on the popular manga series "Darling was Gaikokujin." written by Saori Oguri, & first published in 2002, which has sold over 3 million copies. It is based on Saori Oguri's own life with her husband Tony Laszio.

The quirky story of a Japanese woman and an American man as they enter into a relationship and eventually marry. Saori (Mao Inoue) is a manga artist. She meets language geek Tony (Jonathan Sherr), who has arrived in Japan after falling in love with the language. As the couple become closer, Saori is inundated with strange questions about the language from Tony. Are these weird questions a trait of his foreign background? Or is it because of his linguist preoccupation? More importantly, can their relationship survive?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606197/ 6.7

Preview: