Every Movie I've Watched In 2023 [39/?]:

Perfect Days (2023) dir. Wim Wenders

okay but why are there such good roasts in crime and punishment? like oh my god, they're all so petty and the conversations are gold! it's so ridiculous but at the same time i'm so entertained. it's like watching a reality show in book form if that makes sense.

house of hummingbird (2018)

house of hummingbird is a coming-of-age tale of how an ordinary 14 year-old girl finds herself amidst the relationships she develops with the people around her. in doing so, the film draws on themes big and small, which effectively paints a scarred national psyche and depicts the struggles of normal people as they try to keep apace.

the film can be described as a quiet feminist criticism of gender inequality in a “modern” society. eun-hee and her good friend, ji-soo, are victims of domestic abuse by their older brothers, who have been conditioned by patriarchal notions that empower them to assault their sisters as a means of “reprimanding” them and keeping them in order. when eun-hee and ji-soo are caught for shop theft, ji-soo trembles at the fear of being hit by her brother back at home. when eun-hee bravely tells her parents over dinner, in the first third of the film, that her brother had hit her, her older sister gives her a glance. initially i thought the glance was a glance of surprise and reproach, as if to tell eun-hee to remain silent. but i later realise the glance meant that she herself was a victim of her brother’s abuse, and the glance was a pleasant surprise at her courage. the uncomfortable coexistence of domestic assault and women’s education empowerment (the daughters are enrolled for after-school tuition), points to how society’s claims of modernisation will always ring hollow if women cannot even have basic human rights.

the exhortations of gender inequality are constantly woven in the film. eun-hee’s mother knows that her father is having an extramarital affair, but never explicitly addresses it. nonchalantly asking eun-hee “what was your father wearing when he went out today?” and then checking his closet to see whether he wore his best suit out on a date, eun-hee’s mother is the film’s closest representation of the virtuous traditional asian wife. eun-hee almost walks in her mother’s footsteps - even after seeing her boyfriend flirt with her schoolmate, she takes him back immediately with little questioning. it is only with young-ji’s advice that she needs to not live her life passively that eun-hee starts to assert herself and retaliate. when eun-hee is caught for shoplifting, her father tells him he would rather the shopkeeper send eun-hee to the police station than send some rice cakes over as a “favour”. this is in contrast with her father’s treatment of her brother, offering him money to buy burgers to bribe his schoolmates to vote him as school president.

eun-hee’s relationship with yoo-ri, her junior at school, is less significant as an exploration of sexuality but rather an example of how eun-hee is desperately trying to find true companionship in the people around her. contrasting her friendship with ji-soo (they had a falling out but later reconciled) and her relationship with yoo-ri (yoo-ri fell out of affection and ended the relationship coldly), eun-hee learns that lasting relationships need to be built and are hard to come by. this is why her relationship with young-ji, a teacher at her chinese hakwon (after-school tuition), is extra special. 

it is easy to see why teacher young-ji is a figure of admiration for the impressionable eun-hee. young-ji lives a quasi-ascetic and independent lifestyle - she dresses in baggy linen, brews oolong tea in a set of china, and in their first meeting teaches eunhee “out of all the people you’ve met in your life, how many of them really know you?” in hanja. she quits her job at the hakwon out of the blue, because she felt like it; she is on a long break from her undergraduate studies at Seoul University, because she felt like it. of course, this independence is afforded by young-ji’s privilege (her family is well-off). but her non-traditional behaviour teaches eun-hee that there are ways to live without conforming to society. she never talks to eun-hee with condescension, but treats her as a mature equal and genuinely cares for her in ways that eun-hee has never received.

in terms of style, i very much appreciated the sensitive directing of kim bora, which drew the viewer very close to the protagonist. there were very clever tricks deployed. there is a moment when eun-hee is caught shoplifting and the shopkeeper asks for her father’s number, to which she whispers “555-2589″. when eun-hee frightfully presses this number into the public phone after she sees the bridge collapse, kim borrows this memory, as the viewer knows who she is calling before she even says a word.

but the best moments were always personal. as a 24 year-old asian female, even the slightest scenes were poignant. when eun-hee ended off her never-delivered letter to young-ji with “when will my life start to shine?” i just started crying, because i wanted to tell eun-hee that her beloved teacher probably doesn’t know. i don’t know too. when the film ended with eun-hee having found an internal peace, through young-ji’s words of advice, that would help her navigate life’s tribulations - big or small - i started to cry again. we have all struggled to find ourselves, amongst the many expectations placed on us in the different roles we play in society. even though not all of us have a figure like young-ji when they were growing up, the answer to finding life tolerable is always the same.

i love this film - i really, really do. i am eun-hee when i was 12, i am young-ji now. i love this film with a camaraderie that is shared between all asian women who have struggled and are struggling to find their places in society. –10/10

Messi the Dog as Snoop in Anatomie d’une chute (2023) dir. Justine Triet

What’s the right way to live? Some days I feel like I know, but I really don’t know for sure. I just know that when bad things happen, good things happen too. And that we always meet someone and share something with them. The world is fascinating and beautiful.

House of Hummingbird, 2018 dir. by Kim Bora

reason why frasier is such an underrated show: whenever niles tries something to stop daphne from dating another man (and his flare-ups of jealousy are never done as much as corresponding nice guys on friends or himym) it's not played off as cute or acceptable or something that's justified because he's 'the nice guy who was in love with her all along'. in fact, in most of the examples I can think of, after getting some sense slapped into him niles always ends up supporting daphne in her romantic relationships because he knows it's the right thing to do.

and even though niles is the archetypal 'dogged nice guy' trope, the show makes him actively examine the flawed lens he's regarded daphne through all these years, before he actually gets the girl (at least, in a sexual sense). it's not a case of 'nice guy gets rewarded because he's nice and was a stalker with a crush', it's a case of niles only being able to be in a full and healthy relationship with daphne once he's sorted through those years of longing and come to see her as a fully fledged human being, not just an object of adoration.

My Thoughts About Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Fantastic. Mr Fox is my FAVORITE film, ever. There is so much I could say about it… I don’t even think I can cram it into one post, so I’m not going to.

There’s so many relationships that I could analyze and give my opinions on.. but for this post, I’m going to focus on the relationships between Ash, Felicity (Mrs. Fox), and Foxy (Mr. Fox).

I believe that Mr. Fox never wanted a serious relationship with Felicity. At the very least, he wasn’t ready for one.

Mr. Fox gets an honest job to provide for them (writing newspaper articles), their home is fine, and they seem to be making enough to get by… but it’s clear to me that he never wanted to settle down and take the responsibility of being a husband or a father in the first place. (This was forced onto him with the unexpected pregnancy). Felicity makes him promise her to stop doing what he loves (stealing birds), because it's too dangerous for the situation that they're in now.

I think Mr. Fox knew from the start that he’d never be satisfied living this "simple life". He needs the approval of others to feel good about himself, and he didn’t feel like he deserved any praise for what he was doing. He needed to be doing something "fantastic". This is what pushes him to not listen to his lawyer and buy a house that they can’t even afford.

When they move to the bigger house, it never seems like Felicity has strong feelings about the change. She was happy with the simple life they had, and she thought he was too.

Mr. Fox is one of the most selfish main character’s I’ve ever seen portrayed in film. Even when their home is shot at, all he can think about is himself. He takes no accountability for bringing trouble to their door, he doesn’t apologize, and he doesn’t listen to anyone. Even Kylie told him it was a bad idea to start stealing birds.. and he completely dismissed him.

In my opinion, Felicity put up with his nonsense for far too long.

When they’re forced to dig underground, Felicity is furious (rightfully so). Mr. Fox, once again, takes no responsibility for what he’s done, and he says it’s just how he is (he’s just a “wild animal”). I know there’s a lot of symbolism behind them referring to themselves as wild animals, but this just proves that he is unbelievably self-centered.

Throughout the film, his son, Ash, has spent his time trying to live up to the image that he has of his father (someone fantastic, someone to be proud of). Which is ironic, of course, since Mr. Fox isn’t even proud of himself.

Ash’s view of his father has destroyed his self-esteem. His father is dismissive and distant; not appearing to think highly of him, or paying much attention to him. This is especially clear when Kristofferson starts staying with them. Mr. Fox praises Kristofferson and pays more attention to him than Ash. He invites Kristofferson on their heists and is angry at Ash for trying to go too. This causes Ash to treat Kristofferson with little to no respect, because he’s jealous.

In my opinion, the way Mr. Fox thinks of his son is clear. Ash is why he had to stop doing what he loved, and he resents him for this. He can’t be proud of Ash, because he isn’t proud of himself.

The turning point in this film, (not only for all of their relationships with one another, but also for Mr. Fox’s development), was when Kristofferson was taken hostage by the farmers.

Mr. Fox finally apologizes to Felicity for what he has done.. he realizes that he has caused so much harm to not only his family, but the entire forest. He questions why he is the way that he is, and he understands that he needs to change. Felicity loves Mr. Fox so much, but the damage has already been done. She realizes that she never should have married him, and she regrets doing so.

Instead of blaming Ash for Kristofferson getting caught, Mr. Fox realizes how his distant behavior has affected Ash. He tells Ash that it’s not his fault and that he is proud that he’s his son. Ash is so happy to hear those words from his father that he starts crying.

This film is such a heart-wrenching painting of a dysfunctional family. Mr. Fox makes amends with his wife and son, and accepts that he needs to do better. He may be selfish and stubborn, but he is trying to change. He has the ability to change! This is what I love so much about this film. Mr. Fox is a realistic character and this is the story of a real family, full of flaws and mistakes.

The film ends with Mr. Fox making a toast about change and hope. Things are going to be very different, but he doesn’t think that’s a bad thing. He’s apologized to Felicity and Ash. He knows that he needs to be a better husband and a more supportive father, (especially now that he has another child on the way). He knows that he needs to learn to be happy with what he has. Most importantly, he’s learned that he already has something fantastic, a family that loves and cares about him.

I chop you down, hack at you with scissors like I greet the most evil character in a story. What power could a cluster of dead cells possibly hold over me, I think. Until I look in the mirror and see a stranger staring back. You keep growing, month after month after month, relentlessly like you are obsessed with caressing my neck. Others envy the liking you have taken to my collarbone and praise the fast paced journey you take to get there every month. But I know. Oh I know how cunning you are. I know how you plan to coil around my neck like an alive rope choking me tighter and tighter with every passing day and with every growing inch. I chop at you and you keep growing back, till the nape of my neck itches till it bleeds. But it's the ghost of an itch, and I really can't place it. My mom taught me to make beautiful braids out of the same rope that clutched my windpipe preventing me from breathing. I thank you mother, to have taught me to create something so beautiful out of something so horrible. But no mom, it doesn't help and it isn't me who you see in those pretty braids. No mom, you have ceased to know me from the moment you molded me out of your expectations and immaturity. No mom, I'm not going to hell for choosing to do what makes me happy. I choose to exist as I am, as I have been, and as I will be. I choose to breathe free. And I will not let anyone choke me dead for that matter.

The village needs sacrifices. That's how it's survived. ヴィレッジ VILLAGE (2023), writ. & dir. by Michihito Fujii

Fallen Angels (1995) dir. Wong Kar-wai