殺し屋 1 - Ichi The Killer

"Put some feeling into it, already! If you're going to give someone pain, you've got to get into it!"Kakihara

☆☆☆☆☆ Masterpiece 

殺し屋 1 - Ichi The Killer  (2001) is a masterpiece of Manga cinema.

Directed by Takashi Miike.

Starring Tadanobu Asano, Nao Ômori and Shin'ya Tsukamoto among many others.

I've got to hand it to Takashi for creating Manga cinema. Miike took a cult Manga comic book by Hideo Yamamoto and brought it to life. Reportedly Takashi had approached Hideo to write a film script completely Manga form, but Yamamoto developed severe writers block and had to back out of the project.

The violence and sadomasochistic sex eclipses anything I've ever seen in a film or read in a book. The surprising part is that the violence is presented in such an over the top, surrealist style that it is actually quite humorous and Salvador Dali like visually. If you edit even one small violent or sex scene you destroy the perfectly laid out plot. The violence and sex are an integral part of the film as is the dialogue.

The scene below is one of many where Takashi employs an absurdly humorous situation to make the violence that ensues abstract and actually causes the viewer to disavow the cruelty. I love the Rock Star persona that Tadanobu creates for his sadomasochistic Yakuza character. The fact that Takashi has imbued Asano's character with the ability to blow his cigarette smoke from the sides of his face add to the absurdity of his persona.  The other outstanding performance comes from Nao who has to come across as a believable super hero, psychopathic killer with a child like personality and a bizarre sexual desire for his female victim. Ômori's difficult character reminds me of Choi Min-sik work in Oldeuboi - Oldboy (2003) who had to eat four live Octopuses in one scene.  

Film Scene

Trivia - Almost every member of the Yakuza in the film owns a gun, but only two shots are fired and no one dies by gunfire.

Film Trailer

Film Photos - Posters

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Film Transcript

 

Note - If you would like to view 殺し屋 1 - Ichi The Killer to rent or buy please click on the link below the comments. It is sponsored by Google, so it is the safest and most secure way to get a copy for your film library.

Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain - Amelie

"How many people are having an orgasm right now? ... 15" Amelie

☆☆☆☆☆ Classic

Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain - Amelie (2001) is a spellbinding romantic fairytale.

Directed and written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Starring Audrey Tautou, Matthieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Serge Merlin among many others.

Jean-Pierre's directing and co-written with Guillaume Laurant help to create a beautiful fantasy world that was as easy to disappear into as Woody Allen's, Midnight in Paris (2011). Both Woody and Jean-Pierre have a magic carpet that magically transports their audience into a fantasy world they created. Jeaunet magnificent use of color, especially greens, yellows and reds add to the romantic mythology of the film. The digital color correction to 2K resolution make the colors in the movie jump off the screen.

Audrey single handily runs away with the film. Tautou takes Jeunet script and makes Amelie come to life. Tautuo handles the comedy with a light touch that helps Jeunet's daft directing. I found myself laughing without the aid of English subtitles or dubbing. I was able to follow the story by just focusing on Audrey facial, eyes and physical expressiveness.

In the scene below I love how open Audrey is. She starts the scene scared of what might happen then she allows herself to be carried away in the sensual moment. It's always a joy to work with actors who are open and vulnerable with their scene partners.

Film Scene

Trivia - Amelie was originally written for Emily Watson.

Film Trailer

Film Transcript
 

Monsoon Wedding

"I don't think you're ready for marriage." Ria

☆☆☆☆☆ Classic

Monsoon Wedding (2001) is a beautiful story that opens the many facets of matrimonial nuputials in India.

Directed by Mira Nair.

Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shetty, Parvin Dabas, Vasundharah Das among many others.

Monsoon Wedding is a wonderful film directed by Mira Nair. I spent over 2 years in NYC's Times Square AMC theaters every Saturday morning watching Indian Films from Bollywood. They were all entertaining and fun to watch. For me it was like going to an exotic world every Saturday morning. It baffled and amazed me that whatever the the film genre, be it an action, an adventure, a comedy or drama, suddenly without warning the actors would all break into an elaborate song and dance number. Reminded me of the musicals from the 1930's and 1940's in Hollywood. It was truly puzzling until an Indian audience member explained to me that when they break into a song and dance sequence its their version of a love scene. What he said made sense to me.

I'm always fascinated by foreign films. Brought up in America, films from abroad allow me to see someone else's perspective on the human themes we all share. Mira's film has this humor that is subtle and yet instructive on Indian culture. Nair's directing style reminded me Coline Serraeu's social comedy, La Belle Verte - The Beautiful Green (1996).

Monsoon wedding snuck up on me. I was expecting the normal Bollywood fun, escapist film. Instead Mira showed me how Indian culture deals with family, relationships, marriage, love, pedophile family members and members of an entire extended family and neighbors who come together to celebrate a couple put together by their family elders. Arraigned marriages in India depicted in this film and from my Indian friends who have shed a light on this subject seem to strive to find mates for their offspring that take into account the strengthens and weaknesses of each couple.  If anyone can shed more light on this practice please leave a comment below.

Film Scene

Trivia - The wedding scene and other scenes in the completed movie were ruined by an airport x-ray scanner. Additional funding had to be secured to re-shoot the lost footage months later. 

Film Trailer