Il Mare

"Il Mare" is the name of a seafront house where two lovers reside in at two different times. Sung-hyun in 1997 receives a strange letter one day, reminding him to be careful of the snowstorm in 1998. But it is posted in the year 1999. Time travels backward again when Eun-joo sends him a letter of request, asking him to look for her lost cassette recorder at the train station where Sung-hyun finally gets a glimpse of her.




Beautifully written and painstakingly charming, Il Mare is a romance movie that breathes life into a genre that has too many similar plots. I don't want to come off as a cold-hearted moron who thinks romantic movies are too cliched, please don't think of me as that? Simply put it this way, Il Mare is the kind of movie that leaves you utterly breathless. When you're done watching it, you just sit there and ponder on things you never knew you would think about. After the "fade to black," I lied there on my bed just watching the ending credits because I didn't want it to end. I'm sure all of you have felt this way either after watching My Sassy Girl or Fly Me To Polaris. I know these two movies are considered to be far and away instant classics in Asian Cinema, but Il Mare also has that sense of prestige that made the other two movies so lovable. And after watching this movie, I guarantee with all my heart and soul, you'll love this movie as much as I did.

The most noteworthy reason why this film is so magnificent is the subtleness in the plot. The whole story revolves around a very surreal seafront house that seems hidden and aloof from the crowded world. In all ways is this splendid little house a magical dream come true. There's a long, winding boardwalk to the front door and an exit that leads to the ocean. I can't say enough about how unbelievably pure and perfect this house becomes throughout the movie. When the time comes to actually "meet" our couple, you're already caught in the folds of bliss that has engulfed your imagination. And to think, the house itself is just a mere backdrop, or backbone if you will, to the couples' substantial relationship. When I say "relationship," I get a feeling of irony. The couple never really meet up in the movie, instead, they are entangled in a love letter type scheme that dips its wet feet into the world of sci-fi. The couple are writing letters to each other while living in the same world in two different times. Sung-hyun (Lee Jung Jae) is an aspiring architect who moves into his new home only to find a "welcome" letter from the previous owner. Eun-joo, played by the beautiful Jun Ji-hyun of My Sassy Girl, is the previous owner of Il Mare. She receives a letter from Sung-hyun that simply turns both their worlds upside down. It appears Eun-joo lives in the year 1999 and Sung-hyun in the year 1997.

As farfetched as the plot may seem, director Lee Hyun-seung never seems to disappoint. At first I felt this was going to be too difficult to understand because of the whole "wrinkle in time" idea. However, the story does not dwell upon that too long. The film doesn't want you to go to great depths to understand the time barrier between the couple. What it does want you to come to terms with, however, is the idea that these two people are destined lovers that may or may not ever meet each other because of fate's weird obstacle course. And when you understand that, then you'll see how melancholic this cinematic exposure is. We see two people, two years apart from meeting one another, trying desperately to connect in other ways than writing. There are scenes where they seem to go on a date, but in reality, they are there alone only keeping the other in mind and spirit. I commend the beautiful arrangement, almost bouquet-like, of the director during these sequences. Viewers will begin to understand the true test of love and how it will conquer all. It was one of the most tantalizing experiences my eyes will ever know. It was almost as beautiful as Jingle Ma's superior work in Fly Me To Polaris. It was pure visual splendor and it will undoubtedly touch your heart in more ways than one.

I don't have to say anything about the performances of the two actors. But here's something that will sum it all up-Simply Amazing. The imaginative nature, the subtleness of the story, and the surreal love story between the characters is more than enough to make most of you buy this movie. Take into consideration the magical aura the film is manifested on and you got yourself a movie worth watching. In the past few months, thanks to Mr. Kwang and Korean writers, I've become a true-blue Korean movie lover. With entertaining movies like Il Mare, My Sassy Girl, and Guns and Talks under their belt, I hope we viewers are treated more to these soul-touching eye-candies. Believe me, Il Mare is another instant classic you'll want to experience at least once in your lifetime. And you'll probably say the same thing about the universal language of "love."

Battle Royale

Some time in the new millennium Japan falls into economical decay, mass unemployment reigns in the country. With no clear future available, the student no longer respect school, violence increases due to riots and many students drop out of school. With the chaotic situation the government enacts the Battle Royale act, which consists of selected one of the poorest performing classes and sending off to an island where they must fight for survival and only one student can leave alive. The students have 3 days to complete the game or everyone dies due to explosive devices on their necks, they are given random weapons and the only rules to follow is avoid the danger zone and don't cause any trouble or the army will kill them. Mistrust, fear and hate run rampant and chaos spread among the students and they soon give in to the fight for survival.

The story starts off on an immoral edge, simple to follow and keeps surprises to a minimum and most importantly gives you time to better understand the characters. Overall this is a very entertaining experience and very interesting to follow, there is only a slight detail slight hole in the story near the end but we wont mention any spoilers. The movie is taken from a manga, it is most probably that the producer cut out certain things from the movie version but in general the story holds together very well and there aren't any real slow moments.

The fact that the cast that is about to kill each other are all teenagers is a shocking factor. The ways the kids kill each other can be pretty brutal from a knife to an uzi or a crossbow, all for the fight of survival. This is the real reason for the controversy around the movie is that fact that kids killing kids, in North America with all the school shootings this is an especially touchy subject. If this movie was the fight of survival between adults instead, we don't think it would have generated as movie hype. There are about 30 students thrown onto the island but the story focuses mostly 5 or 6 students and we follow their fight for survival from start to finish. The acting is great and their emotions are really visible, the context is easily understandable, what if you were stuck there and you have to kill classmates and friends alike for your own survival. As for Kitano he still remains the king, each of his appearances on screen are striking and memorable.

It is true that violence has an important place in BR but to say that the violence is shocking and hard to watch is totally false. There is nothing new or extreme when it comes to violence in BR, what is shocking about the violence is who is doing it and to who. Having innocent students forced into a situation where they must kill each other is the troubling part of the movie. Fans of violence should enjoy this movie if you don't expect splattering guts every 5 minutes else you might be really disappointed.

Violence might have a strong place in this movie but there is one thing to know it is far from being senseless violence as most people have said. Not everyone may perceive this movie in this fashion but we find there are several strong messages in the movie, certain reflections of society or human nature, this is a movie with a point to it. This movie makes brutal and dark references of the incomprehensible moments of everyday life such as fear, shyness, deception, love, jealousy, humiliation and helplessness. In this extreme situation the characters have a way out from these trivial matters and make the better of themselves and maybe become or say what they really always wanted to or to come face to face with an enemy they must fight or be killed.

In conclusion Battle Royale has far more to offer than a orgy of blood and senseless violence as some would say. Some may not like this movie while others will completely adore it but one thing is certain this is a movie that will not be forgotten. If you like Japanese cinema which is not scared of showing true violence with the emotions that go along with it, then you will probably enjoy this one. If you are looking for a movie with shocking action you can give BR a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised and for sure entertained. Oh! and just for Kitano`s fans, this movie is worth it.