Paging MOVIE ZOMBIE...

[FireGoddess]

MZ, I''m curious...

This past weekend I watched a movie and it was so "holy crap" that I had to watch the interview with the filmmaker on the DVD....and lo and behold....the phrase from your sigfile was uttered. I immediately thought of you.

The movie was Oldboy.

I have never seen a Chan-wook Park movie before and it was a complete mindbender to say the least. What did you think of the movie, and have you seen the others in his ''revenge trilogy''? I must say, a friend told me to watch Oldboy, and by the description he gave me, I would never have expected what unfolded!!! It was quite disturbing...but definitely interesting and conversation-provoking.

Anyway, I figure it moved you at least to the point of having the sigfile, so I thought I''d ask!!

 

[movie zombie]

thought provoking, indeed! and yes, i''ve seen the entire triology....and parts of it more than once!

i started with the first: SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, then saw OLD BOY, and in september at TIFF i saw SYMPAYTH FOR LADY VENGEANCE.

the first film is a little rougher around the edges but makes its point....vengeance never has any rest and has a life of its own no matter how ''right'' that revenge may seem to be and the end comes out of left field.
the 2nd film, OLD BOY, is a ride and a half! did he learn his lesson?
and the 3rd film takes us into the realm of female bonding, female revenge, and a well thought out plot but the end makes it very clear that revenge may not be the satisfaction that one seeks.

or so that''s my take on them all!

i have become a great fan of korean film. an earlier work of Park''s, JOINT SECURITY FORCE [2000] is very rough in some ways but is worth a watch to see how he developed over the course of his films.

glad you got the chance to see it and appreciated it. i recommend seeing then in order if you can...which means seeing OLD BOY again but its amazing what a repeat viewing reveals.

right now i''m on a Beat Takeshi/Takeshi Kitano [japanese] kick...he goes by both names. his films go from yakusa gang killings [BROTHER] to something as sweet and wonderful as HANA-BI, Kikujirô no natsu, and Dolls which use color like a painter and have the most beautiful soundtracks. also, for some fun on japanese samuri genre film he made Zatoich: The Blind Swordsman.

i''d love to know what your friend told you that got you to see OLD BOY....?

movie zombie

 

[FireGoddess]

Interestingly, my coworker came into work one day and said, "I saw this really interesting (and messed up) movie about this drunk, PITA kind of guy who gets kidnapped off the street and is imprisoned and tortured in what looks like a weird version of a cheap motel room for 15 years. He has no contact with other humans and has no idea why he''s in there. Then one day, 15 years later, he gets released and tries to find out who did this to him, and why."

That was all I was told! I won''t go further here so as not to spoil the surprise for anyone who might want to watch, but suffice it to say, that doesn''t even begin to explain what the movie is about!!! I thought I was following along until the person who had him imprisoned says, "You have been asking the wrong question - the question is not why I had you put in there, the question is why I let you out." And then everything that unfolds...is unreal.

Did he learn his lesson? Maybe. I thought the ending was okay, but not what I was hoping would happen. But after all that went on...what could I really hope for the characters?!

 

[movie zombie]

that is the genius of Park''s characters and movies: they stay in your mind for a long time and even with the cultural differences, they get us to think and perhaps not take anything that happens at any point in the movie as trivial....it usually comes back...pardon the pun...with a vengeance! very very true in SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE, also. Vengeance is a very very busy individual and walks the streets with us every day.

movie zombie

 

[FireGoddess]

I definitely think you have a point. When I was watching the movie I went through the emotions of shock, and dwelled on disgust for quite a long time. Even after the movie was over I couldn't decide whether I really liked it or not. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, about what drove the characters to do what they did, and so on. So in that respect, whether you love the movie or hate it, it definitely gets you thinking and talking.

It was also interesting to think that you may do something to someone and think nothing of it, but it affects that person's life in such a fundamental way that they are never the same, and what lengths they will go to to make you feel the pain that you caused them. Scary.

I did put the Mr. Vengeance movie in my Netflix queue and the Lady Vengeance movie as well when it comes out on DVD, so we'll see...!!!

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 4/4/2006 12:10:55 AM
Author: FireGoddess
I definitely think you have a point. When I was watching the movie I went through the emotions of shock, and dwelled on disgust for quite a long time. Even after the movie was over I couldn''t decide whether I really liked it or not. But I couldn''t stop thinking about it, about what drove the characters to do what they did, and so on. So in that respect, whether you love the movie or hate it, it definitely gets you thinking and talking.

It was also interesting to think that you may do something to someone and think nothing of it, but it affects that person''s life in such a fundamental way that they are never the same, and what lengths they will go to to make you feel the pain that you caused them. Scary.

I did put the Mr. Vengeance movie in my Netflix queue and the Lady Vengeance movie as well when it comes out on DVD, so we''ll see...!!!

you got that one right!

there is a thai film you might like:

Ruang talok 69 (1999)
Directed by
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

i saw it under the title of "69" when i saw it as a midnight maddness offering at TIFF 2000. however, it is an interesting film that is funny at times even....but the punch is there at the end.

from imdb.com: "A woman, fired from a financial coorporation during the Asia crisis, returns home with no money. However, she finds a box with a fortune in front of her door, and decides to keep it. However, the people that left it there soon want it back."

another from thailand: BANGKOK DANGEROUS. based on a true story about a deaf hitman in bangkok....don''t be put off by the beginning. another one of those films that i thought oh, this is too bloody for me but the story is so compelling and the most blood is in the first scene.

isn''t netflix great!?

movie zombie

 

[FireGoddess]

I will put those in my queue! Netflix has definitely given me access to movies I never would have found in the old days at Blockbuster, that''s for sure!!! LOL

 

[movie zombie]

well, anyone that is game for OLD BOY certainly can handle a variety of ''unusual'' movies...and netflix has them.

let me know what you think once you''ve seen the others.

movie zombie