Violent pessimism washes over Toshiaki Toyoda's strikingly dingy feature debut which inventively uses one man's psychotic path of aimless destruction to shine a light on the emptiness spreading throughout an entire generation. Similarly to many other Japanese films from the time, the economic disparity and social unrest that had been simmering away in the country during the previous decade plays a crucial role in shaping the bruised outlook; for people like the unhinged Arano (played with chilling intensity by Chihara…
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Breathless 2008
The candid manner in which this film looks at the lingering effects of childhood trauma and emotional abuse should be commended. It pulls no punches in portraying its lead character Sang-hoon as an unstable figure consumed by his past who lashes out at anyone in his vicinity, aptly capturing the disturbing depths people can plunge to when battling their inner demons and the violent cycles they inadvertently perpetuate. Broken individuals will always gravitate towards those who share their pain as…
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The Empty Man 2020
Aptly named because it certainly left me feeling empty.
I don't get the underground buzz that this has received at all; the scatter-brained merging of occult mystery, cosmic horror and police procedural is so half-baked on every front that it falls to pieces as soon as its ideas start to solidify. The root of the narrative has potential as some sort of paranormal puzzle, but it just descends into stupidity the longer it goes on before reaching a third act…
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2046 2004
Although 2046 contains all of the visual splendour and poetic romanticism that you'd expect from a Wong Kar-wai film, I'm surprised by how hollow it left me feeling. It's effectively the spiritual companion to In the Mood for Love, presenting a sort of alternative look at Tony Leung's character as he slides into cynicism because he cannot accept anyone who doesn't live up to his idealised image of the love that he lost. It plays with the idea of living…
