ralph fiennes, a diplomat, meets and falls in love with rachel weisz, a human rights activist. their seeminly perfect relationship is crumbled when her snooping around about drug-testing on african children gets her killed. he sets out to find the truth out only to put himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy.
this remarkable film was directed by the dude who made the outstanding city of god, and ingeniously a love story, a drama, and a thriller whipped up together with a lil wee bit of documentary flavor. the great colors, the fantastic shots, and the fine switching of tones make better the simple yet gripping storyline. ralph fiennes did really well. the scene where he is tending a plant in his house and his friend tells him his wife had died, the reaction on his face, awesome. rachel weisz was just as magnificent, proving that her acting skill isnt limited (after seeing her last in constantine). that look in her eyes when she offered herself to a guy to get the papers she needed was classic.
i like it. it... moved me. it's a great movie with a great message and it gets that message across, depends on the type of person you are whether that message is gently absorbed into your skin and glows from within or you feel it slapped hard onto your face like a wet slipper (to me it was like a button was pressed and a new feature was turned on). however there is a tiny part of me that itches negatively about it (maybe because my companion had already seen it with someone else before me?). oh well...
the good: it inspires and makes you realize how you take so many things for granted.
the bad: eventhough i fully understand their purpose, the repeating videos were sorta annoying.
the ugly: the slums and the golf course separated only by a railroad track. depressing. consider ourselves lucky.
the verdict: 9.5 (out of 10)
let us all hope (and do our part as well) for a world without weeds...
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Monday, October 10, 2005
TODO SOMBRE MI MADRE by jaiskizzy
a single mom loses her son in an accident and goes off to find the boy's gay father to tell him about their son and meets penelope cruz who is a pregnant nun. the father? the same gay dude.
wonderful and definitely not boring. manuela, the mother, was very... well, motherly. i think this is the only film that is heavily gay but not offensive or disgusting. even the gay guy who screwed manuela and penelope cruz look so gay but in an okay way. you'd probably cry a bit in some parts if you watch this but then suddenly this agrado creature appears and makes you laugh yourself up. the movie maiden and i saw before this was so boring, we both fell asleep in the theaters but this woke us up and got our unwavering attention.
way better than any of the drama series local television has puked out. those hollowheaded "writers" oughta watch this and learn from it. a simple and unloud yet awesome storyline, characters as alive as my fartmeister neighbor, and cinematography to feast your eyes on.
bravo.
wonderful and definitely not boring. manuela, the mother, was very... well, motherly. i think this is the only film that is heavily gay but not offensive or disgusting. even the gay guy who screwed manuela and penelope cruz look so gay but in an okay way. you'd probably cry a bit in some parts if you watch this but then suddenly this agrado creature appears and makes you laugh yourself up. the movie maiden and i saw before this was so boring, we both fell asleep in the theaters but this woke us up and got our unwavering attention.
way better than any of the drama series local television has puked out. those hollowheaded "writers" oughta watch this and learn from it. a simple and unloud yet awesome storyline, characters as alive as my fartmeister neighbor, and cinematography to feast your eyes on.
bravo.
TESIS by jaiskizzy
while doing a thesis on audiovisual violence, a girl (who looks more like a woman) finds a snuff film that sends her and her eccentric friend into a suspense-filled investigation.
utterly brilliant. with zero knowledge of the existence of this movie, i nary had the slightest thought that this was a thriller. i was expecting something drama-ish like 8mm since they have resembling plots but just like that scene where a dude was getting candles and a hand suddenly shoots out from the darkness in a most unexpected timing, i was extremely surprised by the direction this film went. thanks for taking me there, amenabar!
the great shots, the rising tension, the effective frights, and a cool movie geek in the form of chema, i must give this superb film a sky-high recommendation (as if i were somebody, huh?) especially to my fellow horror fans out there. you'll not be disappointed. take my word. it scared the crap out of the maiden. gonna buy it on dvd.
utterly brilliant. with zero knowledge of the existence of this movie, i nary had the slightest thought that this was a thriller. i was expecting something drama-ish like 8mm since they have resembling plots but just like that scene where a dude was getting candles and a hand suddenly shoots out from the darkness in a most unexpected timing, i was extremely surprised by the direction this film went. thanks for taking me there, amenabar!
the great shots, the rising tension, the effective frights, and a cool movie geek in the form of chema, i must give this superb film a sky-high recommendation (as if i were somebody, huh?) especially to my fellow horror fans out there. you'll not be disappointed. take my word. it scared the crap out of the maiden. gonna buy it on dvd.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
DR. STRANGELOVE by jaiskizzy
(or how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb)
in this stanley kubrick black comedy masterpiece, a u.s. general goes insane and orders an aerial attack on russia. the president and his men gather in the pentagon war room to prevent a nuclear crisis. and a b-52 bomber crew will stop at nothin to accomplish their mission.
as serious as the plot may sound, this movie is darn hilarious. but unlike all-out comedies, the gags and jokes arent forced down your throat to get a laugh. they are really part of the narrative flow that you'd find yourself tickled by (unlike most pinoy comedy flicks that contain unnecessary out-of-story scenes that the writer heard as anecdotes from drinkin buddies). the dialogue is impeccable and realistically funny, with perfect delivery from the actors, such as the phone conversations between the american president and the russian premiere, without hearing the latter's voice. most of the sequences are plain talk and limited only to three locations (an office, the pentagon war room, and inside a b-52) but the story progresses splendidly.
i believe that it is, however, the actors that carry this wonderful film. this is the most colorful black and white film ive ever seen, due to their amazing talents. peter sellers plays three roles in the film (the dull captain mandrake, the gayish president muffley and the eccentric dr. strangelove) and he plays them all very well. he's really a great comedian with perfect timing and blend of physical and verbal comedy. but my favorite is general buck turgidson, portrayed magnificently by george scott, the one tasked to face the president and explain everything to him. his lines were awesome and he never fell out of character, always loud and obnoxious, a true anti-communist general, very much convincing and highly amusing.
i never really saw this movie as sexual as many critics said (it began with a coitus-like scene of a plane refueling another and ended with an mulit-orgasmic display of exploding bombs). what i saw was a remarkable fun film and its unique humor, unforgettable characters, and memorable scenes. absolutely brilliant. definitely another one of my favorites.
in this stanley kubrick black comedy masterpiece, a u.s. general goes insane and orders an aerial attack on russia. the president and his men gather in the pentagon war room to prevent a nuclear crisis. and a b-52 bomber crew will stop at nothin to accomplish their mission.
as serious as the plot may sound, this movie is darn hilarious. but unlike all-out comedies, the gags and jokes arent forced down your throat to get a laugh. they are really part of the narrative flow that you'd find yourself tickled by (unlike most pinoy comedy flicks that contain unnecessary out-of-story scenes that the writer heard as anecdotes from drinkin buddies). the dialogue is impeccable and realistically funny, with perfect delivery from the actors, such as the phone conversations between the american president and the russian premiere, without hearing the latter's voice. most of the sequences are plain talk and limited only to three locations (an office, the pentagon war room, and inside a b-52) but the story progresses splendidly.
i believe that it is, however, the actors that carry this wonderful film. this is the most colorful black and white film ive ever seen, due to their amazing talents. peter sellers plays three roles in the film (the dull captain mandrake, the gayish president muffley and the eccentric dr. strangelove) and he plays them all very well. he's really a great comedian with perfect timing and blend of physical and verbal comedy. but my favorite is general buck turgidson, portrayed magnificently by george scott, the one tasked to face the president and explain everything to him. his lines were awesome and he never fell out of character, always loud and obnoxious, a true anti-communist general, very much convincing and highly amusing.
i never really saw this movie as sexual as many critics said (it began with a coitus-like scene of a plane refueling another and ended with an mulit-orgasmic display of exploding bombs). what i saw was a remarkable fun film and its unique humor, unforgettable characters, and memorable scenes. absolutely brilliant. definitely another one of my favorites.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
GUMMO by jaiskizzy
kids was a great movie, ken park wasnt. and both had realistic sex. both were written by a fella named harmony korine, and gummo is his directorial debut. honestly, i still cant figure out if i liked or didnt like the movie. hmmm...
it's about a small town named xenia, ohio where people do abnormal activities as if they were normal. kids kill stray cats and sell them for glue to sniff on. a boy goes around wearing rabbit ears. girls put tape on their nipples and peel them off again. a mother shampoos her son while he eats spaghetti and milk in the tub. these and a bunch of other stuff you wouldnt normally see in town movies are told in a non-linear fashion, using different cameras, but with noticeably fine editing. the scenes (which are kinda like short films that could stand alone by themselves) are cut and spliced together almost perfectly, putting into mind that each scene is totally different from the others in many factors.
however, the praises end there. overall, the movie doesnt have a coherent storyline and i didnt know what everything meant collectively. when i finished watching the movie, i was like, "so what?". korine should have focused on the character of solomon. he's one of the cat killers, he's the boy in the tub, and in one nice scene, he tapes together spoons and forks and uses them as weights and pumps iron in front of a mirror to madonna's "like a prayer". but many scenes werent as good as this and kept me wondering why they were there.
i believe that a film should be good as a whole. so i guess gummo is a bad movie. harmony korine oughta stick to writing and let the good directors do their job.
it's about a small town named xenia, ohio where people do abnormal activities as if they were normal. kids kill stray cats and sell them for glue to sniff on. a boy goes around wearing rabbit ears. girls put tape on their nipples and peel them off again. a mother shampoos her son while he eats spaghetti and milk in the tub. these and a bunch of other stuff you wouldnt normally see in town movies are told in a non-linear fashion, using different cameras, but with noticeably fine editing. the scenes (which are kinda like short films that could stand alone by themselves) are cut and spliced together almost perfectly, putting into mind that each scene is totally different from the others in many factors.
however, the praises end there. overall, the movie doesnt have a coherent storyline and i didnt know what everything meant collectively. when i finished watching the movie, i was like, "so what?". korine should have focused on the character of solomon. he's one of the cat killers, he's the boy in the tub, and in one nice scene, he tapes together spoons and forks and uses them as weights and pumps iron in front of a mirror to madonna's "like a prayer". but many scenes werent as good as this and kept me wondering why they were there.
i believe that a film should be good as a whole. so i guess gummo is a bad movie. harmony korine oughta stick to writing and let the good directors do their job.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
ERASERHEAD by jaiskizzy
this is david lynch's first feature film and is about the nightmare of a life of a man named henry which takes an even more crooked turn when a freak-ass ugly baby is thrown into the picture, care of his girlfriend mary.
mulholland drive was the first (and only other) david lynch movie ive ever watched and, because of it was weird and messed-up, it instantly became one of my favorites. eraserhead is the latest addition to that list. this movie is sheer madness. mr. lynch took a simple little plot, ate it and puked out a dark disturbing dream-like flick with chunks of strange symbolism. each scene bears the director's surreal style, almost as if he is unable to depict an event the way it would happen in real life. there's the man in the planet, the sperm-like mini-monsters, the lady in the radiator, and other illogical things that are left for the audience to theorize the meanings. the imagery is obscure and detaching, but the message is quite clear.
a memorable scene in the movie is the first time the lady in the radiator appears. she dances (?) on a stage while sperm creatures fall from above. with a smile she smashes a few of them. there could be many explanations for this but i think that she (she has wrinkly bloated cheeks) represents a woman's egg and the sperm creatures are actually sperm. in another scene, she sings "in heaven, everything is fine", maybe telling henry to do something to take control of his life, which is suicide? i honestly am not sure if i am correct but whether i am or not doesnt matter. the movie speaks for itself.
in a way, i believe, the mutant baby symbolizes the whole movie. it was meant to be like that and it's up to you to love it or hate it. i, of course, loved it.
mulholland drive was the first (and only other) david lynch movie ive ever watched and, because of it was weird and messed-up, it instantly became one of my favorites. eraserhead is the latest addition to that list. this movie is sheer madness. mr. lynch took a simple little plot, ate it and puked out a dark disturbing dream-like flick with chunks of strange symbolism. each scene bears the director's surreal style, almost as if he is unable to depict an event the way it would happen in real life. there's the man in the planet, the sperm-like mini-monsters, the lady in the radiator, and other illogical things that are left for the audience to theorize the meanings. the imagery is obscure and detaching, but the message is quite clear.
a memorable scene in the movie is the first time the lady in the radiator appears. she dances (?) on a stage while sperm creatures fall from above. with a smile she smashes a few of them. there could be many explanations for this but i think that she (she has wrinkly bloated cheeks) represents a woman's egg and the sperm creatures are actually sperm. in another scene, she sings "in heaven, everything is fine", maybe telling henry to do something to take control of his life, which is suicide? i honestly am not sure if i am correct but whether i am or not doesnt matter. the movie speaks for itself.
in a way, i believe, the mutant baby symbolizes the whole movie. it was meant to be like that and it's up to you to love it or hate it. i, of course, loved it.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
CASSHERN by jaiskizzy
long years of war has laid waste a nation and a geneticist has discovered a way to counteract the suffering: "neo-cells" that regenerate human body parts. the experiments take time until an unexpected force intervenes, creating "neo-sapiens" out to destroy mankind. the geneticist's son, tetsuya, who died in the war, is revived and uses his powers to stop the neo-sapien menace.
eversince i saw its supercool mind-imploding trailer (despite having no sound) last year, i have been itching to watch this movie. japanese films always have a unique grandiose quality in them, and casshern is more than enough proof of that. this fantastic film is heavy in cgi put to good use. i felt like i was watching a 2-hour long video game fmv, waiting to take control of the main hero. it starts off slow, setting the stage, introducing the characters, yet never gets boring (however, this part could put off anyone who is not used to or totally unfamiliar of this style of storytelling). the visuals are stunning, and im not just talking about the cgi. the way the scenes were shot and presented, the flow, the editing, truly exceptional. there are quite a few sequences where characters are talking but we only hear their voices over a different scene, not showing any of them. it's nothing new but how it was utilized here was perfection of that method. the scenes with luna are enchanting, she had that anime-type of face and on two separate instances, my two companions commented that she looked like she was computer-generated (she resembles final fantasy x's yuna).
this isnt an all-out action flick, but when the action arrives, it hits and leaves a bruise. in anime, when a character performs a special move, streaks appear in the background. here, anime is made real, as tetsuya runs, fights, strikes and streaks appear behind him. he single-handedly obliterates an army of robots and duels with the neo-sapiens, wearing his cool white armor with a faceguard that comes out and retracts at will. each scene shows the cool things you can do with cgi with the right vision. pinoy movies that boast of "internationally-competent" special effects dont even come close to one seamless frame of casshern's.
i love war movies but i hate wars. nobody really wins. and that's what the core of this movie teaches us: that we are all here not just to exist, but to co-exist. living is not enough, life should be shared. the movie ends with tetsuya, luna, and the others transported to another planet to start anew. damn i wish i could do that.
eversince i saw its supercool mind-imploding trailer (despite having no sound) last year, i have been itching to watch this movie. japanese films always have a unique grandiose quality in them, and casshern is more than enough proof of that. this fantastic film is heavy in cgi put to good use. i felt like i was watching a 2-hour long video game fmv, waiting to take control of the main hero. it starts off slow, setting the stage, introducing the characters, yet never gets boring (however, this part could put off anyone who is not used to or totally unfamiliar of this style of storytelling). the visuals are stunning, and im not just talking about the cgi. the way the scenes were shot and presented, the flow, the editing, truly exceptional. there are quite a few sequences where characters are talking but we only hear their voices over a different scene, not showing any of them. it's nothing new but how it was utilized here was perfection of that method. the scenes with luna are enchanting, she had that anime-type of face and on two separate instances, my two companions commented that she looked like she was computer-generated (she resembles final fantasy x's yuna).
this isnt an all-out action flick, but when the action arrives, it hits and leaves a bruise. in anime, when a character performs a special move, streaks appear in the background. here, anime is made real, as tetsuya runs, fights, strikes and streaks appear behind him. he single-handedly obliterates an army of robots and duels with the neo-sapiens, wearing his cool white armor with a faceguard that comes out and retracts at will. each scene shows the cool things you can do with cgi with the right vision. pinoy movies that boast of "internationally-competent" special effects dont even come close to one seamless frame of casshern's.
i love war movies but i hate wars. nobody really wins. and that's what the core of this movie teaches us: that we are all here not just to exist, but to co-exist. living is not enough, life should be shared. the movie ends with tetsuya, luna, and the others transported to another planet to start anew. damn i wish i could do that.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS by jaiskizzy
here, jim carrey is count olaf, the eccentric scheming uncle of the three baudelaire children (the inventor violet, the bookworm klaus, and the biter sunny) who lost their parents in a house fire, leaving them a huge sum of moolah. count olaf wants the moolah for himself and does everything he could to ruin the orphans' lives, in a dark peculiar movie that, had i not seen the credits, id swear was directed by tim burton.
whenever i am in makati and have time to kill, i always pay a visit to powerbooks to do some skimming. i first stumbled upon the lemony snicket books there sometime last year and i was only able to read the synopses on the back covers, which were more like warnings that they werent happy books. the movie started off in the same vein, that it wasnt about a giggly little elf in the forest and that you can choose to leave the theater if you want to see that one. of course, i chose to stay and watch lemony snicket's with my lovely companion.
anyways, the movie is darn good. i liked it primarily because the sets, the shots, the costumes, the overall tone of the movie had a goth feel to it. it doesnt make itself cute (well, except for the baby), the jokes arent over-the-top funny, and people really die and stay dead. totally not your average sugarcoated kiddie movie. jim carrey, eventhough not that all-out, did great as count olaf, and like id always say about him, once you watch him portray a character, you'd find it hard to think of another actor who can fit that role. he practically steals every scene he's in (which is a joke in itself because he's playing the role of a bad actor who thinks he's the best there is). the kids, although virtually uknown to me, did pretty well. violet pulled off a believable young macgyver tying her hair whenever she had an idea. klaus i think was a bit underused but the close-up shots of books sliding out of the shelves was neat. but i enjoyed watching sunny the biting baby most of all. her "acting" was splendid. the quick scene where she was helping pull the strap back into the car was a brilliant moment.
the "putanesca." "what did you call me?" scene made me laugh real hard. im not sure if it had the same effect on other people, but simple, subtle, almost nonsense gags like that never fail tickle me.
my maiden said the movie made you wish it would never end and she was right. it never bores you. i found myself anxiously anticipating what would happen next, conflict after conflict, putting the kids in trouble, with no magic powers to use or superheroes to save them, relying merely on their wits and a little bit of luck. and when the film ends, you still carry that anticipation of knowing what the future holds for the baudelaire kids. a sequel perhaps?
whenever i am in makati and have time to kill, i always pay a visit to powerbooks to do some skimming. i first stumbled upon the lemony snicket books there sometime last year and i was only able to read the synopses on the back covers, which were more like warnings that they werent happy books. the movie started off in the same vein, that it wasnt about a giggly little elf in the forest and that you can choose to leave the theater if you want to see that one. of course, i chose to stay and watch lemony snicket's with my lovely companion.
anyways, the movie is darn good. i liked it primarily because the sets, the shots, the costumes, the overall tone of the movie had a goth feel to it. it doesnt make itself cute (well, except for the baby), the jokes arent over-the-top funny, and people really die and stay dead. totally not your average sugarcoated kiddie movie. jim carrey, eventhough not that all-out, did great as count olaf, and like id always say about him, once you watch him portray a character, you'd find it hard to think of another actor who can fit that role. he practically steals every scene he's in (which is a joke in itself because he's playing the role of a bad actor who thinks he's the best there is). the kids, although virtually uknown to me, did pretty well. violet pulled off a believable young macgyver tying her hair whenever she had an idea. klaus i think was a bit underused but the close-up shots of books sliding out of the shelves was neat. but i enjoyed watching sunny the biting baby most of all. her "acting" was splendid. the quick scene where she was helping pull the strap back into the car was a brilliant moment.
the "putanesca." "what did you call me?" scene made me laugh real hard. im not sure if it had the same effect on other people, but simple, subtle, almost nonsense gags like that never fail tickle me.
my maiden said the movie made you wish it would never end and she was right. it never bores you. i found myself anxiously anticipating what would happen next, conflict after conflict, putting the kids in trouble, with no magic powers to use or superheroes to save them, relying merely on their wits and a little bit of luck. and when the film ends, you still carry that anticipation of knowing what the future holds for the baudelaire kids. a sequel perhaps?
Friday, January 14, 2005
BEFORE SUNSET by jaiskizzy
on my last job endeavor (which didnt prosper despite hard work) , a would-have-been co-worker came to the office late after watching before sunset which she bragged about incessantly. it wasnt the first time i heard of the movie, i had seen billboards, read a few reviews, viewed trailers, but hearing it from a supposedly cold-hearted woman made me wonder: something about that movie kicked this witch on the head...
before sunset is about a novelist, jesse, who comes to paris on a book tour only to find, once again, celine, a woman she met years ago and shared with a half-day love affair, to which his best-seller is based upon.
well, indeed there was that something about this movie, but it didnt kick me anywhere. it's a great movie, a seemingly typical love story flick, but not quite. i guess it's safe to say that before sunset is a love story without love. there is barely any romance on screen between the two leads and all they do throughout the film (in real time) is talk nonstop. which works because, even if you never saw before sunrise, you feel for these two people and their past love affair that lead nowhere and how that single event affected their lives. now, having gone on with their lives, they meet each other again and, at first act like normal friends who missed each other but after some alleys, a coffee shop, and a boat ride, it was clear that neither of them had gotten over it. only in the very last minute do they shut up, ending the movie without a closure. again, a great movie but not the best romance movie just yet.
what i like best about before sunset is that the movie progresses the way time progresses in reality. there were no time lapses. it must have been quite a feat to shoot. amazing.
before sunset is about a novelist, jesse, who comes to paris on a book tour only to find, once again, celine, a woman she met years ago and shared with a half-day love affair, to which his best-seller is based upon.
well, indeed there was that something about this movie, but it didnt kick me anywhere. it's a great movie, a seemingly typical love story flick, but not quite. i guess it's safe to say that before sunset is a love story without love. there is barely any romance on screen between the two leads and all they do throughout the film (in real time) is talk nonstop. which works because, even if you never saw before sunrise, you feel for these two people and their past love affair that lead nowhere and how that single event affected their lives. now, having gone on with their lives, they meet each other again and, at first act like normal friends who missed each other but after some alleys, a coffee shop, and a boat ride, it was clear that neither of them had gotten over it. only in the very last minute do they shut up, ending the movie without a closure. again, a great movie but not the best romance movie just yet.
what i like best about before sunset is that the movie progresses the way time progresses in reality. there were no time lapses. it must have been quite a feat to shoot. amazing.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
TAEGUKGI by jaiskizzy
ive encountered taegukgi loads of times during my many dvd hunts last year but for some unknown reason, i didnt buy a copy. only recently, after seeing its title in top ten lists and reading some good reviews, did i realize how much i had missed. i have a special liking for war flicks and taegukgi just became one of my faves.
taegukgi is mainly about two brothers and the korean war. their simple happy life is suddenly shattered when both of them get drafted as soldiers to fight for their country. jin-tae, the older brother, wants his younger brother, jin-seok, sent home so he braves up and puts himself on the line so he could get a medal of honor and in turn have his brother discharged. as the war progresses, the brothers' relationship gradually crumbles, with jin-seok questioning jin-tae's real intentions.
the movie is magnificent. the drama is subtle but highly emotional and effective that i found myself fighting tears every now and then. the main characters were introduced in such a great way that you immediately feel for them. one strong scene is when the soldiers take jin-seok by force to the train and jin-tae goes in to retrieve him but both of them are taken away instead, much to the heartbreak of their mother and jin-tae's fiancee. at the camp, the brothers and their fellow soldiers could do nothing about the harsh conditions brought upon them. it was jin-tae's iron will that uplifted everyone's morale. he lead them against the north korean forces and prevailed, but with severe consequences. the battles scenes were hard-hitting and brutal, very realistic. but what affected me more was the "side effects" of the war. there's this one part about a handkerchief that got me cringing. king-size kudos to the poeple behind this wonderful film.
touching, thrilling, tragic, terrific. taegukgi. i now feel how lucky we all are...
taegukgi is mainly about two brothers and the korean war. their simple happy life is suddenly shattered when both of them get drafted as soldiers to fight for their country. jin-tae, the older brother, wants his younger brother, jin-seok, sent home so he braves up and puts himself on the line so he could get a medal of honor and in turn have his brother discharged. as the war progresses, the brothers' relationship gradually crumbles, with jin-seok questioning jin-tae's real intentions.
the movie is magnificent. the drama is subtle but highly emotional and effective that i found myself fighting tears every now and then. the main characters were introduced in such a great way that you immediately feel for them. one strong scene is when the soldiers take jin-seok by force to the train and jin-tae goes in to retrieve him but both of them are taken away instead, much to the heartbreak of their mother and jin-tae's fiancee. at the camp, the brothers and their fellow soldiers could do nothing about the harsh conditions brought upon them. it was jin-tae's iron will that uplifted everyone's morale. he lead them against the north korean forces and prevailed, but with severe consequences. the battles scenes were hard-hitting and brutal, very realistic. but what affected me more was the "side effects" of the war. there's this one part about a handkerchief that got me cringing. king-size kudos to the poeple behind this wonderful film.
touching, thrilling, tragic, terrific. taegukgi. i now feel how lucky we all are...
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