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.

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...