City of Life and Death / Nanjing!, Nanjing! (China, 2009)

City of Life and Death tells about the massacre of Nanking. the former capitakl city of China was in december in 1937 invaded by Japanese forces and in a few months (february 1938) they killed more than 200.000 chinese soldiers and civilians. It is called the massacre of Nanking because of the cuelties of the Japanese armies. Tens of thousands women were raped and children were murdered.

This horrible event still hurts the souls of the Chinese and that is why it is remarkable suddenly they seem to be a bit more open and show their wounds. The film is completely shot in black and white and this is the best way to capture this dark period. Performances are outstanding (though the foreign actors don't convince at all....)

When you don't know anything about it, the film can be a bit difficult to understand. Suddenly a German called 'John Rabe' appears and in the end almostevery chinese cries because he leaves the city. Why? Because John Rabe saved approximately 200.000 Chinese civilians by creating a safety zone. His diaries are published 20 or 30 years ago.

Are all Japanese monsters? In the eyes of the elder Chinese this is often the problem, but for the first time in history this films shows a kind of less sympathetic Japanese soldier who is having doubts about the killings. In the Chinese cinema's this was accompanied by applause...

City of Life and Death is a strong film about Nanking, which will weigh heavy on the heart, some scenes are horrific but it never turns into gore.

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami (Germany, 2008)

In this period of the cherry blossoms which movie could better be watched than one about cherry blossoms?



Cherry blossoms reminds us of love and romance but it also remnds of decay and death, cause when they are there and fill the world with their beauty the next moment you realize they withered, they are gone again. It is a perfect symbol for life and cherish this short period while you are there, and experience the beauty of this world. Maybe sometimes beauty is hard to find but it always is there, just around the corner. When you can't seem to find it only means you have to look for it another day and another...until the time has come and the first flower bloom.s

Well this film is about an elderly man who tries to live with the death of his wife. He never really understood her, why did she like this weird Japanese butoh-dance? He travels to Japan to look for his wife, maybe he can find her in this shadow dance? This is a small German film, but a true masterpiece of emotion and remorse. Never stop believing in your dreams, it's never too late.

Dance with the film and understand a little bit more why we should cherish the fact we are humans in this world, but most of all to see the cherry blossoms.

Komissar / The Commissar (USSR, 1967)

Almost completely filmed back in 1967 this film was completed in 1988 and showed on the festival of Berlin where it would win the silver Bear. This film is magnificent in its scenery! Though it is almost completely shot in black and white, the starting scene is immediately breathtaking with showing a statue of the Holy Virgin Maria.
We will see a woman (Komissar) called Valilova, who almost gives birth to a child, who is placed at a normal Russian family. Not only we will see a movie about the daily routine of a Russian poor family and how they manage to keep going with the use of flashbacks we also see the past life of Valilova when she was still in the Red Army. The story is highly intriguing and at times even moving.

Though it is a rather olf film, it doesn’t lack in any power!!

Caregiver (Philippines, 2008)

Caregiver is a Philippine movie by director, Chito S. Roño, and I have to say I am not really familiar with films from the country. I did not have any idea what to expect, except for the fact that I know it would be a drama.

And a drama it really is, sometimes even too much. Everything seems to be too much in this film some moments. Then again, it is not a bad film. Though it has its shortcomings…some acting of minor characters isn’t really great and some scenes seem totally be misplaced (When Sarah looks for the kite in the wood, you almost think you are in a B-horror movie) in the end it is an interesting production. Sharon Cuneta (Philippine mega star) acts really good! The cinematography is decent as well, better than I expected.
The story is about a Philippine woman who travels to London to liver with her husband and start a job as a caregiver. She faces lots of problems with her husband, but also in her work. She is being seen as ‘less’ or even as a ‘maid’.

To summarize: it is a story about finding your own place, the fighting against people who think you don’t belong there and live you life where you could be proud of. Sometimes too much, sometimes misplaced but in all a rather decent production with will leave its emotional impact.

Cyborg She / Boku no kanojo wa saibôgu (Japan, 2008)

Probably you never hear about a epic cyborg film, but ‘Cyborg she’ (Cyborg girl), by director Jae-young Kwak (My sassy girl, The classic), can not be described in another way This is one of the most interesting love stories I have seen in a while. It starts on 22 november 2008 in a restaurant in Tokyo where Jiro celebrates his birthday on his own. Because my birthday is on the 16th..I immediately was interested in it!

It all is about a boy (Jiro) who meets a girl (cyborg) from the future on his birthday. She saves him from a mad guy with a gun at the restaurant. Normally he would have been badly injured but this is why she comes from the future. The guy in the future created her so he could send her back to save himself.

After this scene, the expected funny part of the film starts. They start to live together and the girl has to learn how to act like a human. This part is really hilarious, one of the most memorable scenes is set in a dancing bar where a guy asks her ‘can you dance the 'robot'?
The next part of the movie is a bit more serious, it is about memories. Some really beautiful scenes about a trip back to the hometown of Jiro will follow and it even gets a bit emotional. And again the story of the movie chances entirely, the next part of the film is more like a disaster film when a earthquake hits Tokyo. Very impressive scenes of collapsing buildings I have to say! And after all this, expect a big surprise in the plot!

The acting of both Keisuke Koide and Haruka Ayase is outstanding, the clothing is stylish and the cinematography is fine as well.
I was stunned while seeing this movie. I did not expect anything of it but it made me laugh, totally surprised by the great scenes (I suspected a small film without any action) and I even felt the emotional part in my heart. A truly magnificent masterpiece!!

Together with Park Chan Wooks 'I'm a Cyborg, but that's okay' a total revival of this genre and better as ever!

The Cat returns / Neko no ongaeshi (Japan, 2002)

Another production of the famous Ghibli studio!

This time it isn't on a grand scale like Miyazaki's Spirited away or Howl's moving castle but Hiroyuki Morita has kind of it's own style, which created an interesting anime!

The cat returns is a film a bout a girl who rescues a cat and this isn't going unnoticed. The king of the cats wants to thank her for this, cause the rescued cat seems to be his son! She will be taken to the cat kingdom to marry the prince, but is this girl, Haru, wanting to become a cat for the rest of her life? I already see some cat-ears growing!!

Well I guess you should have noticed, maybe there is not too much depth in this story but that is fine because we deal with a film which is very humorous. Some scenes will really make you laugh and together with the good animation (do we expect different from a Ghibli production?) and sweet story it is a very enjoyable film to watch!

When you want to see a fat cat skydiving, and wallcarrying-cats falling like domino stones you sure should not miss this one!

Cherries / Yingtao (China, 2007)

Cherries (Yingtao) is a Chinese film by dicrector Zhang Jiabei.

It's a simple though very beautiful film about a mother's love for her child. In this film we will follow a mentally ill woman who is chasing children most of her time in her attempt to offer them cherries. wants to have a babyand finds an abundant one, a girl, in the woods. It should be realized that this movie starts in the '80s of the past century, a time when the birth control policy affected parents choices to abandon their child when it was a girl.

How difficult it is for this mentally ill woman to raise a child, but she manages. In the following part of this film the child reaches an pre-pubescent age. She starts to feel embarrased about her mother and is finding it difficult the way her mother shows her love, sometimes very inappropriate.

It's a movie about the love of a parent for her child. And it's not just a movie, it is a very good one! Zhang Jiabei catches the perfect mood. The cinematography is fantastic, beautiful landscapes and a slow pacing movie which style seems to be a bit like The road home. The acting of Miao Pu (who plays the mother) is almost beyond belief. She is disturbingly authentic in her role as a mentally ill mother. And maybe the most beautiful thing about this film, the thing that really makes it a bit more special, is the music. The music catches the emotions perfectly! Most of the time it's traditional 'Erhu' music, which fits perfectly!

Most of all 'Cherries' is a beautiful small, emotional film about the love.

City Sharks (Singapore, 2003)

Today I watched City Sharks by director Esan Sivalingam.
I didn't expect too much of it and when I just watched for about 15 minutes I thought the acting was really horrible. does it get better...no..do you get used to it... yes.
And when I stopped feeling irritated by it I really could enjoy it. Not that it is a brilliant movie but some moments it manages to be really hilarious.
It's about three boys who grew up in an orphanage. The orphanage has to shut down or.... they have to raise much money. Well our three guys want to save the orphanage and collect debts in Malaysia. A road movie is the result, with its very good moments.
No sentimental or sadness this movie (well it is a tiny tiny bit though) but just a movie to have a good laugh about. But still..... why did the director wanted the actors to act in such bad ways.....
I couldn't even find an image of this movie!

Curse of the golden flower

Tonight I have seen Zhang Yimou's Curse of the golden flower! After 'Hero' and 'House of flying daggers' Zhang Yimou wanted to complete his trilogy of films which take place in three different dynasties. It's like a Shakespearian story situated in the forbidden city of China. It's full of love, intruige, sorrow and power. This movie overwhelmed me completely, the scenes are so perfectly beautiful the music is outstanding and the story is so exciting that before you know it this movie is over.
The acting of Gong Li (I have to say she seems to act brilliant in every movie she plays, from 'Red Sorghum' to 'curse of the golden flower', she is in my eyes one of the best actresses of the last few decades) is just wonderful, she caps every emotion in the perfect way. Chow Yun Fat plays the emperor, well I think it's almost the same like Gong Li, he seems to play wonderful always too.

I was drowned into the beauty of the forbidden çity, in the madness of the emperor and the sad story which really gets a hrip on your heart. How is it possible that only Chinese directors seem to be able to catch this magic feeling, to show these magic camerawork? I am not sure but I am just happy they know how to portrait the beauty you long for.
If this is a little glimpse in Zhang Yimou's opening ceremony for the Olympic games in Beijing, I guess it will be magnificent, even beyond imagination.