CHINJEOLHAN GEUMJASSI (2005) - Chan-wook Park

Korea is producing some great films as of late. Films that cover many different genres. Films like Gwoemul (monster movie The Host) and Taegukgi Hwinalrimyeo (Brotherhood, a war film similar to Saving Private Ryan). One of the most famous filmmakers to come out of the Korean film industry in the last few years is Chan-wook Park. His film Oldboy made his name with western audiences, and since then, he has completed his ‘revenge trilogy’ with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and 2005’s Sympathy For Lady Vengeance.

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance focuses on Geum-ja Lee, a woman who has just been released from prison after serving thirteen years. Geum-ja was sent to prison for the murder of a young boy. However, Geum-ja never actually killed the boy. She took the wrap for another man who kidnapped Geum-ja’s daughter, forcing her to take the fall. While in prison, Geum-ja makes plenty of connections, friends she develops by doing them favours, including murder. Once she is freed from prison, Geum-ja calls in these favours in order to help her exact her revenge on the man who forced her to go to prison. She also sets about tracking her daughter down and seeing if she can make amends for their lost years.



I’ll admit, I went into this film with preconceived notions of what it would be like. Having seen Oldboy (but not Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), I thought it was going to be a pretty violent, blood-soaked affair with a protagonist who cared not about consequences, only revenge. It was to my very pleasant surprise that the film proved to be quite deeper than I had first imagined. Instead of being a fast paced violent flick, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is instead quite a slow burner. We’re not immediately told what Geum-ja’s intentions and motives are. Instead, the film employs flashback to show how Guem-ja developed into the devious and determined woman she is when she leaves prison.

The film is excellently paced and directed by Chan-wook Park, and while I found myself thinking things were going to wrap up pretty abruptly as the second half of the film played out, the film takes a bit of a twist, as it enters the last act. In fact, it’s the last act that really elevates the film above what could have very easily been a run of the mill thriller. In this act, a few characters are introduced, and the film becomes somewhat of an ensemble piece with some terrific acting and scripting. The acting throughout is excellent, Yeong-ae Lee plays Geum-ja, manages to create a character who is absolutely sympathetic, but at the same time, has a side to her that is extremely dangerous. Oldboy himself, Min-Sik Choi plays Mr. Baek, the object of Geum-ja’s vengeance, and is brilliantly creepy and loathsome.



Chan-wook Park isn’t interested in showing the kind of violence that he displayed in Oldboy, and instead focuses on the psychology of revenge, and the consequences it has for those who seek it. And it’s in this that the film succeeds. Another great film from Chan-wook Park.


8/10

SERENITY (2005) - Joss Whedon

In 2002, Joss Whedon created Firefly, a television series that crossed sci-fi with a western sensibility. After 14 episodes, Fox dropped the show and left legions of it's fans wanting more. After overwhelming demand, a film was put into production and in 2005, Whedon gave us Serenity.

Serenity takes place 500 years in the future. Folks packed up and left Earth and set up shop in another solar system. After a civil war, the facistic government, the Alliance emerges victorious. The Alliance conducts experiments on psychic humans and one such subject is a seventeen year old girl by the name of River. After breaking her out of the Alliance facility, River's brother, Simon seeks refuge on a ship named Serenity, captained by Malcolm Reynolds. It soon emerges River is carrying a secret the Alliance wants nobody to know. A secret so dangerous, the Alliance sends a cold-blooded assassin known simply as The Operative to track down and retrieve or kill River. Mal and his crew seek refuge while protecting River and her secret, but trouble is thrown at them from all directions.



Serenity is a great, sci-fi adventure movie. Joss Whedon's universe is fully realised and quite detailed as you'd expect from a writer/director who has had an entire television series to create a canvas for the story. I do think that there is something to be said for viewing the series before watching the movie. I myself have done this, so I was quite familiar with the characters when it came to Serenity. That's not to say it's essential. Whedon has been careful enough to create a stand-alone story that wont leave the uninitiated scratching their heads. And the movie delivers exactly what you'd expect from a sci-fi adventure movie. The crew of Serenity are a lovable bunch of rogues.
Mal Reynolds is essentially Han Solo, with the mannerisms and quick wit of the iconic hero. Nathan Fillion is great as Reynolds, and is clearly the heir to Harrison Ford's throne. Veterans from the series, including Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres and Alan Tudyk are completely at ease with their characters and provide a great ensemble. The only major newcomer is Chiwetel Ejiofor as The Operative. Ejiofor is a great character actor and plays The Operative, a cold and calm murderer excellently.



After three pretty poor Star Wars prequels, Whedon shows George Lucas exactly how to craft a space-adventure film worth a damn. The essential ingredient are characters the audience cares about. Whedon provides plenty of humour in the script, and the action scenes are exciting and never get repetitive. While some have lauded Serenity as the new Star Wars, I think this may be a little premature. It's a far better film than the prequel trilogy, but still doesn't come close to the original movies. However, it's by far one of the better science fiction films of recent times, and when seen with the Firefly television series, makes for one thrilling ride.

8/10

TIDELAND (2005) - Terry Gilliam

Poor old Terry Gilliam. If there's one director in the industry who just cannot catch a break, it's him. Constant battles with studios, films getting critically panned, even a feature cancelled mid-production. Gilliam doesn't have it easy. In 2005, he released Tideland, his most critically attacked and poorly received film to date. Is this because this film is as anti-Hollywood as you can get? Or is it just a horrible piece of work?
Jeliza-Rose is the 10 year old daughter of a junkie musician, Noah (Jeff Bridges) and his junkie wife (Jennifer Tilly). When not cooking up heroin for her father, she's looking after her mother. When her mother dies, Noah takes Jeliza-Rose back to his childhood home on the prairie. There, Jeliza-Rose is isolated from almost all human contact except for a lobotomised epileptic by the name of Dickens and his older, psychotic taxidermist sister, Dell. Jeliza-Rose's behavior becomes increasingly erratic as she retreats into her own fantasy world inhabited by the voices of her four disembodied doll's heads.

As you can well imagine, this film is a hard sell. Gilliam himself appears before the movie and warns us that many viewers will hate the movie. It's not surprising that he offers this caveat, as Tideland is a very strange, dark but comic film about a twisted, horrible series of events seen through the innocent eyes of a ten year old girl. There are undertones of paedophelia and necrophelia that run through certain parts of the film, and while these tones are seriously played down by Gilliam, it will leave some viewers feeling slightly uncomfortable.
However, Tideland is yet another brilliantly crafted film from Gilliam. He is one of the most unique directors working today, and Tideland is just further proof of his talent. Despite the obvious dark subject matter, Gilliam manages to create a brilliantly twisted, yet somewhat light-hearted world that echoes the style he has shown in his previous films. Gilliam himself described the film as Alice in Wonderland meets Psycho, but there are also echoes of Terrence Mallick's Days of Heaven, and even Andrew Wyeth's painting, Christina's World thrown in for good measure. Special mention must be made of Jodelle Ferland's performance in the central role of Jeliza-Rose. She is the gateway into her fantasy world, and her performance is fantastic. Despite the horrible events Jeliza-Rose witnesses, Ferland portrays her innocent character with enthusiasm and a massive amount of energy.

Tideland is possibly one of the hardest films you'll ever try to sell to someone. I can say without a doubt, the average Joe Popcorn will hate this film. But for fans of Gilliam's work (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) it is another fantastic work of art. Criminally underrated? Yes. But understandably so too.

GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (2005) - George Clooney

As well as being a world famous, Oscar-winning actor, George Clooney also dabbles with directing. After 2002's Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, 2005 saw Clooney approach the subject of journalism and the McCarthy Witch hunts in 2005's Good Night, And Good Luck. Set in 1953, Good Night, And Good Luck tells the story of CBS journalist, Edward R. Murrow who, being disturbed by Senator Joe McCarthy's attempts to expose the Communist threat in the US, set about taking on the Senator and his paranoid, bullying tactics. Backed up by his team of reporters, led by producer Fred Friendly, Murrow put many noses out of place with his reports on McCarthy, which eventually led to a showdown between the two figures. A showdown which cost many people their jobs and careers, including Murrow's own.

Good Night, And Good Luck is a fascinating character study of a group of people who deviate from the usual style of balanced journalism to tackle a subject they feel strongly about. What they see happening to their country outrages them, and despite their own careers, they dive into action to inform people using a medium Murrow himself is worried is descending into a tool that only 'entertains, amuses and insulates' the people. I get the feeling he'd be somewhat appalled at the state television is in now, as news corporations cannot be trusted to bring the people the whole truth. Indeed, the film itself draws some very interesting parallels with the question of freedom of speech and the presentation of fact on the news within the US nowadays.

While Clooney is the star player in the production, as director, co-screenwriter with Grant Heslov and playing Murrow's producer, Fred Friendly, the stand out performance comes from David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow. He delivers Murrow's television broadcasts with intensity and urgency, while never descending into the sort of desperation that may come with such a character. Off-camera, Strathairn shows us a man who used his brain as his weapon, never vitriol or slander. Clooney surrounds Strathairn with a cast of strong actors including Robert Downey Jnr., Patricia Clarkson and Frank Langella. Some of these actors are given subplots that aren't quite fleshed out enough, however the central story is excellently realised. Clooney shoots the film in black and white, matching the era. The scenes where the team brainstorm are staged with a realism that gives you the feeling you are sharing the room and the urgency of the situation with the characters. Clooney uses actual footage, including that of McCarthy himself, for the television reports. A decision that is well made considering the subject matter of the film. Overall, Good Night, And Good Luck is an excellent depiction of an era where television was in it's infancy. And a film that has some very interesting parallels with the state of the world today.