A Hong Kong cinephile.
Favorite Films = the last four films I watched with a rating of 4.5-5★
Favorite films
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Contempt 1963
Jean-Luc Godard’s sixth feature Contempt was his biggest film up to that point, an international co-production project with a large production budget and starring the biggest French star, namely Brigitte Bardot. It’s like a dream come true for Godard who had been fascinated by the Hollywood films and the ‘auteurs’ they labelled back when he was a film critic. But it turned out to be a production nightmare for Godard, the intrusion from the paparazzi and the interference of the…
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Monster 2023
Hirokazu Koreeda is easily my favourite director working today, I basically love most of his films and picking one Koreeda film to be my favourite is deemed impossible. Despite his latest film Monster does not fall immediately into the tight competition, it is still very close to the top, and I could see the potential of a higher rating after a rewatch when all the puzzle-solving mystery is deprioritised. Monster is Koreeda’s return to Japan after directing two foreign films (French and…
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Porco Rosso 1992
I would say I’m more intrigued by the mystery surrounding the ‘curse’ of being a pig (more like a self-wish blessing in Porco’s point of view), and the backdrop of an uprising Fascism, more than the actual ‘plot’ itself, particularly the climax. Still, it’s a blast rewatching it and experiencing the subtle nuances I missed in the first watch.
1 critic vote in 2022 Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time Poll
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Peppermint Candy 1999
Peppermint Candy >>>>> Irreversible
Flashes before your eyes, literally, before death.
IMO, the film never tries to justify the protagonist’s iniquitous behavior, it’s simply demonstrating, in reverse order, how his innocence was corrupted by the sociopolitical circumstances. The main character was supposed to be despicable here, and the film never disregarded the violence he imposed on the others, despite his own continuous agony and self-hatred, he should still be condemned. His sole redemption is his wish to go back, to go back to the beginning (that’s the end of the film), before everything turned horribly wrong. But would he able to take a different path? Nobody knows.
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The First Slam Dunk 2022
I was speechless.
I am not a sporty person, I don’t even play basketball much, and not really a dedicated fan of Slam Dunk. I remembered watching some episodes of the anime when I was a child, but only till I was in high school did I catch up and finish the mange. I love the story and all the characters, and the ‘regret’ of the ending has transcended the entire series IMO. The last game between Shohoku and Sanno… -
Yi Yi 2000
Added to: My 250 Favorite Films of All Time
Added to: Edward Yang RankedRanked 93rd (32 critic votes, 9 director votes) in 2022 Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time Poll
The Rearward View of Life
Near the end of the film Yi Yi, there is a funeral, the little boy Yang-Yang (Jonathan Chang) reads out the letter he wrote for his deceased grandma (Ruyun Tang), saying he would like to be a person of showing stuff others don't…
