Citizen K (2019) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The rise and fall of one Russian Oligarch

Posted on January 23, 2023 by kaist455

Alex Gibney’s documentary “Citizen K”, which is available on Amazon Prime, presents the rise and fall of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was once one of the most prominent Russian oligarchs in the early 2000s. While never overlooking a number of questionable things in Khodorkovsky’s life, the documentary enlightens us a lot on how his country fell into another authoritarian regime not after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and that is alternatively chilling and compelling to say the least.

Via a number of various interviewees including Khodorkovsky himself, the documentary initially gives us a brief overview on how bad things were in Russia during the 1990s. When the country attempted its own capitalistic experiment, everyone in Russia was hopeful about possible changes to follow, but, alas, the result turned out to be disastrous, and Boris Yeltsin, who was the president of Russia during that time, soon faced the big possibility of losing the upcoming election in 1996.

Seeing that their country might go back to good old communism due to Yeltsin’s rapidly decreasing popularity, a group of Russian oligarchs including Khodorkovsky were quite concerned for good reasons. They had earned lots of money and power thanks to their close connections with Yeltsin’s government, and they certainly wished that Yeltsin would remain to be the president at least for a few more years.

And they did have the power to boost the support for Yeltsin considerably. Mainly via the mass media under their control, they tried really hard in presenting Yeltsin in a lot more positive ways, and, what do you know, their media strategy worked much better than expected. Yeltsin eventually succeeded in getting re-elected, and he certainly rewarded the Russian oligarchs for that. As a result, these rich dudes came to have much more power and wealth than before, and they were naturally willing to support whoever would succeed Yeltsin, as long as that guy would maintain the status quo for them.

When Vladimir Putin quickly and suddenly rose as Yeltsin’s successor during next several years, Khodorkovsky and his fellow Russian oligarchs had no problem with supporting Putin from the beginning. Once he became the new President of Russia in 2000, Putin seemed to be ready to work along with them for their mutual benefit, and it looked like they would be left alone without any interference if they just did not meddle with his political business in exchange.

However, Putin gradually began to show his true color during next several years. As a former KGB officer, he was quite adamant about having everything under his absolute total control, and Khodorkovsky soon came to clash with Putin a lot as he gradually became one of the most vocal critics of Putin and his government. He was well aware of what Putin and his government might do for silencing him once for all, but he often went all the way for criticizing Putin and his government, and Putin eventually decided to crush Khodorkovsky by any means necessary.

What followed next is an utterly absurd tale of political prosecution. Khodorkovsky was accused of ordering the murder of the mayor of one small Siberian city who happened to be in a serious conflict with him, and then his company was indicted for failing to pay the taxes to the government. In case of the former case, there are some dubious aspects associated with Khodorkovsky, and Khodorkovsky is also rather vague about the case in his interview. In case of the latter case, it is clear that Putin wanted to show who is the boss to Khodorkovsky and other Russian oligarchs, and there was nothing Khodorkovsky could do except showing some defiance before eventually sentenced to the 10-year imprisonment in Russia.

During that imprisonment period, Khodorkovsky came to find more will and resilience, so he did not step back at all when he was charged for another thing around the time he might be paroled. This time, he came to get much more support in public as Putin’s public image became less positive than before, and he responded to the following trial with cynical sarcasm before sent back to the prison with more imprisonment time as expected.

Anyway, Khodorkovsky was eventually released several years later mainly because Putin wanted to improve his public image inside and outside Russia more for the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. After immediately leaving Russia, he eventually settled in London along with his family, and he became one of the most well-known anti-Putin Russian figures as being quite active about exposing the dirty and unpleasant sides of Putin and his government, though both he and the documentary recognize how limited he and his fellow activists are in many aspects. Having the total control on many things besides the mass media, Putin and his new Russian oligarchs are ready to do anything for continuing their authoritarian reign, and, as all of us know, they are still reigning in Russia despite their big current problem with Ukraine.

Overall, “Citizen K” is worthwhile to watch for getting more insights on what has been going on in Russia during last three decades, and Gibney and his crew members including editor Michael J. Palmer did a splendid job of presenting their main subject with enough interest and fascination. In short, this is one of the better documentaries in Gibney’s stellar filmography, and I am glad that I belatedly checked it out today.

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Devotion (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): One black US Navy pilot in the Korean War

Posted on January 22, 2023 by kaist455

“Devotion”, which is currently available on Netflix in South Korea, is about one real-life black US Navy pilot who deserves to be known more for his barrier-breaking efforts. Although he is often regarded via a white figure who happened to fight along with him, the movie thankfully avoids clichés expected from its main subject, while mostly working as a somber but engaging war drama about race and comradeship.

The movie opens with the arrival of Lieutenant Junior Grade Tom Hudner (Glen Powell) in Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island, US in 1950. He is assigned to Fighter Squadron 32, and he soon meets the members of the squadron including Ensign Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors), who is incidentally the sole black soldier in the group. Although their first encounter is rather strained, Hudner gradually befriends Brown, and Brown lets Hudner come a bit closer to him even though he usually remains guarded to others around him.

As the movie often shifts to Brown’s viewpoint, we get some glimpse into what Brown has to deal with everyday. While everyone in the squadron treats him as their equal partner, there is always a certain gap between them and him, and he always hardens himself as often throwing racist insults to himself in private. He is certainly one of the best pilots in the group, but he should keep himself discreet and watchful, and we feel more of the constant pressure upon him especially when the movie indirectly implies how he is regarded by many of white soldiers.

Hudner does not have any particularly serious prejudice on Brown, but he recognizes how Brown looks lonely and isolated at times. Without any condescension, he simply approaches closer to Brown when Brown happens to need a little help, and Brown subsequently lets Hudner get to know him as well as his wife more. Once Hudner gains Brown’s trust, Brown comes to accept Hudner as a comrade of his, and Hunder also comes to respect Brown’s determination and devotion.

The screenplay by Jake Crane and Jonathan A. Stewart, which is based on Adam Makos’ nonfiction novel “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice”, thankfully does not overplay the racial aspects of the story. While it does not overlook at all how much Brown has to struggle with racism everyday, it also avoids presenting Hudner as your average white savior character. He and Brown simply come to develop their comradeship as getting to know each other day by day, and Hudner just does what he has to do as a comrade of Brown when Brown happens to be racially insulted at one point.

Nevertheless, the movie still does not ignore how much Brown is disadvantaged compared to Hudner, and that aspect becomes more apparent when they are put into the Korean War later in the story. During one mission, Brown makes an unauthorized move for the complete success of the mission, and Hudner writes that on his report, but then Brown points out how that will make him look pretty bad to those high-ranking officers and generals up there. As one of a few black pilots in the US Navy, he should always be flawless in his record unlike Hudner, who is much more advantaged due to his race as well as his better career background.

In the end, there comes a point where the comradeship between Hudner and Brown goes through its ultimate test, and the movie wisely maintains its rather restrained but dignified attitude while bringing enough tension to the climactic part. Although the action sequences in the film are relatively modest compared to the ones in “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022), they are mostly executed well on the whole thanks to the good efforts from the crew members including cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, who previously won an Oscar for “Mank” (2020).

The two lead performers of the movie are solid as complementing well each other throughout the story. Jonathan Majors, who has steadily advanced since his wonderful breakout supporting turn in “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” (2019) and will surely draw much more attention from us via “Magazine Dreams” (2023) and “Creed III” (2023) in this year, is often stoically intense as required by his role, but he is also tender and sensitive during several small private moments when his character opens up himself more to Hudner. On the opposite, Glen Powell, who recently became more notable to us thanks to his colorful supporting role in “Top Gun: Maverick”, humbly stands by his co-star without overshadowing him at all, and he and Majors deftly handle a quiet but poignant scene which functions as the emotional highpoint of the last act of the movie. In case of several other substantial supporting performers, Christina Jackson holds her own small place well as Brown’s loving wife, and Thomas Sadoski is also effective as Brown and Hudner’s no-nonsense squadron leader.

In conclusion, “Devotion” is a solid war drama film, and director J. D. Dillard, whose father was incidentally a Naval flight officer and the second African-American selected to fly for the Blue Angels, handles the story and characters with enough respect and care. Although you may be disappointed if you expect it to be as thrilling as “Top Gun: Maverick”, it will touch you in addition to enlightening you a bit on its main subject, so I recommend you to give it a chance someday.

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Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A singing crocodile in the attic

Posted on January 21, 2023 by kaist455

“Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” did not click that well with me somehow despite a number of nice things to enjoy. As a matter of fact, I got actually more interested when its end credits showed a series of drawings probably influenced by Bernard Waber’s two classic children’s stories on which the movie is based, and I even considered checking them out someday just for curiosity.

The story is about one singing crocodile living in the attic of one of the old brownstone houses in the middle of Manhattan, and the opening part of the movie shows us how he was adopted by a struggling magician named Hector P. Valenti (Javier Bardem). While looking for any animal useful for his magic performance, Hector happened to encounter a little baby crocodile who could sing pretty well, and he immediately took him to his residence for more practice after naming this small crocodile, yes, Lyle. Thanks to Hector’s support and help, Lyle came to develop his singing talent more and more, but, alas, he happened to have a stage fright during what was supposed to be a big breakthrough for both him and Hector, and, due to losing his residence as a consequence, Hector had no choice but to depart while leaving Lyle in the attic of his residence.

Several years later, a family moves into the house without any idea on who has been residing in its attic. While Mr. Primm and Mrs. Primm (Scoot McNairy and Constance Wu) are excited about living in the middle of Manhattan, their son Josh (Winslow Fegley) is rather nervous about adjusting to his new environment, and his loving parents certainly pay some attention to him when he goes to his new school, though that still does not lessen his constant anxiety much.

At one night, Josh happens to hear a strange sound from the attic. When he eventually goes up there despite his nervousness, he comes across Lyle, and he is certainly frightened at first, but, after having one accidental nocturnal adventure outside the house, he comes to befriend Lyle, and Lyle gladly shows him how he has survived during the ongoing absence of Hector (You may wince more than once if you have any aversion to food trash, by the way).

In addition, Lyle occasionally demonstrates his singing talent via the voice of Shawn Mendes, and that surely charms not only Josh but also his mother, who is also quite scared during her first encounter with Lyle but then finds herself becoming much more spirited than before as she and Lyle sing together. In case of Mr. Primm, he remains rather oblivious to what is going on in the house for a while, but then he also comes to meet Lyle in the end, and Lyle also makes Mr. Primm a lot livelier than before.

Around that point, Hector returns to the house, and the mood becomes a bit awkward between him and Lyle as well as the Primms, but the movie keeps bouncing as usual. While still hoping for that big break for him and Lyle, Hector also brings lots of fun and excitement for Lyle and the Primms, and the Primms come to accept Hector as a part of their daily life.

Of course, the situation becomes a little more complicated later mainly because of a grumpy neighbor living in the basement, who certainly does not welcome all the fun and excitement unfolded right above him. When his pet cat has some unpleasant trouble as spending more time with Lyle and Josh, this mean dude decides to take some action against the Primms and Lyle, and the following consequence certainly breaks Josh’s heart.

What follows next is pretty predictable to say the least. Yes, Josh becomes quite determined to help his dear crocodile friend as much as possible. Yes, despite betraying Lyle at one point, Hector also decides to help Lyle, and he soon comes to work together along with Josh. Yes, the climax part eventually culminates to a big moment when Lyle must overcome his persistent stage fright, and we all already know how this moment will end.

Nevertheless, the movie engaged me to some degree due to its likable aspects. Although I often regarded Lyle as a mere CGI figure during my viewing, he became more endearing to me along the story, and his several musical scenes are effective thanks to the solid songs by Benj Pasek and Justic Paul. While the songs in the movie are not that memorable compared to the ones from “La La Land” (2016) or “The Greatest Showman” (2017), they work in the context of the story at least, and Mendes ably handles them on the whole.

In case of the several cast members surrounding Lyle, they did an adequate job of filling their respective spots. While Javier Bardem willingly shows a more cheerful side of his talent, Constance Wu and Scoot McNairy have each own moment for our little amusement, and Winslow Fegley, who was wonderful in his first feature film “Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made” (2020), holds his own place well among his adult co-stars.

In conclusion, “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile”, directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon, does not reach to the level of “Paddington” (2014) and its 2017 sequel, but it has some fun and charm at least. While I do not recommend it for now, I will not stop you from watching it if you happen to some free time to spend, and, who knows, you may be charmed more than me.

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Phantom (2023) ☆☆☆(3/4): Catch the Spy

Posted on January 19, 2023 by kaist455

South Korean film “Phantom” surprised me more than expected. At first, the movie presents itself as a taut mystery mainly unfolded within a limited background, but then it suddenly shifts itself onto a very different genre mode later in the story. Although its second half is relatively less compelling mainly because almost all of its hidden cards are shown to us, the movie still engages us as deftly delivering its expected big finale, and I was certainly energized enough when I watched it with my sleepy eyes at a local movie theater at last night.

The story is set in Korea around the 1930s, which was the midpoint of the Japanese colonization era. When one prominent Korean Independence organization failed to assassinate the new Japanese governor-general of Korea in Shanghai, China shortly before he comes to Gyeongseong (It is the old name of Seoul during that period, by the way), the government-general understandably becomes quite watchful, and then there comes a big chance to undermine that organization once for all. It is apparent that there is a secret spy working for that organization somewhere inside the government-general, and Kaito (Park Hae-su), a Japanese captain assigned to the mission of flushing out this “Phantom”, is quite determined to accomplish his mission by any means necessary – especially when the Japanese governor-general of Korea manages to survive another assassination attempt not long after his arrival in Gyeongseong.

Kaito subsequently has certain five Korean persons gather at a big hotel located at some remote spot outside Gyeongseong, because these five people happen to draw his attention as likely prime suspects. They are 1) a Korean-Japanese police officer who may have chosen Korea over Japan; 2) a charming young secretary who has worked under the governor-general; 3) a nerdy cryptogram expert working in the communication department of the government-general; 4) a young female employee also working in the same department; 5) a young man who happens to be one of her co-workers.

Once these persons are assembled before him, Kaito makes his plan quite clear to all of them. Very confident that there is the spy among his prime suspects, he promises that he will eventually flush out the spy around the end of the day. If any of them does not come forward for revealing the identity of the spy before the day is over, he is going to “interrogate” them one by one, and that will certainly be very unpleasant for everyone.

Instead of toying with the numerous possibilities surrounding these five main figures, the movie reveals to us a bit more about some of the main characters in advance. This may feel a bit disappointing to you at first, but the screenplay by director/writer Lee Hae-young, which is based on Chinese writer Mai Jia’s novel “Sound of the Wind” (It was already made into Chinese film “The Message” in 2009, by the way), steadily accumulates suspense on the screen as the deadly cat-and-mouse game is continued among its several main characters. Under the constant treat from Kaito and his soldiers, each of his prime suspects tries to deal with their tricky situation in each own way, and the movie occasionally gives us some expected moments of humor including the brief but amusing one involved with a pet cat photograph.

Around the end of its second act, almost everything in the story is revealed in front of us, and then the movie goes for lots of sound and fury, but we remain engaged thanks to its good mood and storytelling. I particularly enjoyed how a couple of well-known Hollywood classic films are utilized in the story in addition of being nice period details to decorate the screen, and I also appreciate how the movie has a lot of unexpected fun with two certain main characters gradually coming to bond with each other despite lots of danger and uncertainty surrounding them.

The finale sequence is a little too long in my inconsequential opinion, but the movie is packed with a substantial amount of fun and entertainment at least. Although lots of things happen here and there across the screen, we still care about what is being at stake for several main characters at that narrative point, and the movie does not disappoint us at all in case of the cathartic payoff moment to be delivered.

The main cast members of the film are well-cast on the whole. While Sol Kyung-gu brings considerable intensity to his seemingly thankless part, Lee Hanee and Park So-dam remind us again of why they are two of the more interesting movie actresses working in South Korea at present, and I also enjoyed the solid supporting performances from Seo Hyun-woo, Kim Dong-hee, Esom, and Park Hae-soo, who functions well as an effective opponent whenever his character clashes with Sol’s character along the story.

Overall, “Phantom” is a well-made genre piece which has enough style, mood, and personality to be savored, and Lee Hae-young, who drew my attention for the first time with his likable debut film “Like a Virgin” (2006), and his crew and cast members deserve to be commended for that. Although the first month of 2023 is not over yet, here comes the first good South Korean film of this year, and that certainly makes me a bit more hopeful about whatever South Korean cinema will give us during the rest of this year.

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The Point Men (2023) ☆☆(2/4): A hollow hostage thriller flick

Posted on January 19, 2023 by kaist455

It was hard for me to care that much about what was going on in South Korean film “The Point Men”, which is incidentally inspired by the true events of the 2007 South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan. Sure, I and many other South Korean people would be much more horrified if all those South Korean Christian missionaries were killed in the end, but I remember too well how insensitive and thoughtless these misguided people were from the very beginning. After all, what is the point of going to Afghanistan if your main purpose is dying as a martyr for your god and then going to the heaven? Isn’t it exactly the same thing which drives those extreme religious fanatics around the world?

And, I tell you now, these people were truly willful and senseless in many aspects. Although the South Korean government did not allow any civilian to go to Afghanistan after the 9/11 incident, they managed to find a loophole and then go there without any preparation at all, and they did not even listen to any advice or warning from the start when they arrived there. For example, it was quite dangerous for them to travel together on a big bus, but they insisted that they should travel together, and they surely drew lots of attention due to their blatant missionary activities with no understanding or respect on those local people and their culture. Furthermore, even after they were eventually saved, they and their church did not show any substantial appreciation to the South Korean government, and this impertinent attitude certainly made a very bad impression on me and others in South Korea.

Anyway, the movie is mainly about two fictional characters assigned to the negotiation for saving these hostages: Jung Jae-ho (Hwang Jung-min) and Park Dae-sik (Hyun Bin). Once the news about the hostages came to the South Korean government, Jae-ho and his fellow diplomats are quickly sent to Afghanistan, but things have already been quite complicated for them. While they surely want to rescue the hostages as soon as possible, Jae-ho and his colleagues are soon sandwiched by the local government figures and the Taliban soldiers holding the hostages, both of whom are not so willing to step back a bit more for the ongoing negotiation.

That is why Dae-sik, a weary but handsome National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent comes into the picture as a hostage negotiation expert. While still haunted by one big devastating failure in Iraq, Dae-sik is ready to do as much as possible for the hostages despite his initial reluctance, but he only comes to clash a lot with Jae-ho due to their different viewpoints on the situation. Dae-sik believes that they must be prepared to do anything for saving the hostages, but Jae-ho is also concerned about the public image of their government even though he does care about saving the hostages. After all, negotiating with those Taliban soldiers will make the South Korean government look rather bad, and following their demand is nearly impossible to say the least.

Anyway, the situation becomes a bit better when Dae-sik comes with a possible solution for that. As assisted by a Korean con man who turns out to be useful as a translator, Dae-sik and Jae-ho approach to someone who may influence the ongoing hostage negotiation to some degree, and the mood becomes a little relaxed as they are invited to a local tribe party later as a part of their urgent mission.

Of course, things do not go that well for them later, and both Dae-sik and Jae-ho become all the more desperate just like several South Korean officials around them. As the clock keeps ticking, it is apparent to both of them that they need to do something quite risky to say the least, and the story eventually culminates to the narrative point where they confront those Taliban soldiers for themselves.

It goes without saying that the movie is an exaggerated and simplified fictional version of whatever happened during that urgent time, but it is still difficult to care because it is bland and superficial in terms of story and characters. While both of its two lead characters are flat archetypes without much human quality to engage us, many of supporting characters around them are more or less than plot elements or the mere parts of the background, and I also do not like the apparent whitewashing of the hostages, who are presented as almost blameless victims in the film.

The main cast members of the film do as much as they can do with their cardboard characters, though they are often limited by their respective roles. Despite looking intense and desperate as required, Hwang Jung-min seems to be stuck on autopilot as he has often been during last several years, and I only remember how frequently he raises his voice throughout the film. On the opposite, Hyun Bin tries to bring some gravitas to his taciturn character, but he only comes to look uninteresting on the whole, and Kang Ki-young, who plays the aforementioned interpreter, is unfortunately demanded to function as a rather distracting comic relief in the story.

“The Point Men” is directed by Yim Soon-rye, who previously made “Little Forest” (2018). Compared to that gentle film, “The Point Men” looks and feels quite different in many aspects, and I guess Yim wants to demonstrate here that she can also make a thriller film, but the result is rather tepid with a number of flaws which annoyed me a lot during my viewing. Let’s hope that she will soon move onto better things to come.

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Sick of Myself (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): A morbid comedy of narcissism

Posted on January 18, 2023 by kaist455

Norwegian film “Sick of Myself” will often make you cringe and wince for good reasons. Here is one narcissistic lass willing to go all the way for getting more attention from others, and the movie follows her pathological behaviors with detached humor and fascination while also gradually immersing itself in her increasingly warped viewpoint.

At the beginning, the movie quickly establishes the unhealthy relationship between Signe (Kristine Kujath Thorp) and her artist boyfriend Thomas (Eirik Sæther), who has a bad habit for creating his artworks. He usually steals one furniture after another just because he needs them for his artistic activities, and this unwholesome habit of his is continued even when he later comes to draw lots of attention as a new emerging artist in the town.

While Thomas is enjoying all the attentions he has received, Signe has just stood by him without much to do, but then something happens to her on one day. When she is working at a local bakery as usual, a horrible incident occurs right in front of the bakery, and she finds herself enjoying lots of attention as she later talks about the incident to others around her. After virtually addicted to feeling like being at the center of the world, she goes further for that, and there is a little amusing scene where she casually lies that she has a certain kind of allergy and then pretends to have a serious allergic reaction in front of her boyfriend and others.

As Thomas, who does deserve her considering how he is as narcissistic as his girlfriend, is just annoyed with her attention-seeking behaviors, Signe eventually decides to do something much more drastic than before. After learning about a certain Russian drug with serious side effects, she instantly obtains that drug in question via a young drug dealer who is your average pathetic momma’s boy, and then she soon gets what she wants. As showing a very serious medical symptom, she naturally draws much more attention than before, and she continues to make her medical condition worse and worse because, well, she is still craving for more attention from others including her doctors and her friends.

The most humorous moment in the film comes from when Signe is later transferred to a medical facility recommended by her mother. During her stay, she joins a group meeting attended by various patients not so different from her in terms of attitude and behavior, and we get more laughs as their counselor sincerely tries to help them while quite oblivious to how morbid and twisted his patients really are.

Although it seems that her medical condition is quite irrevocable, Signe is more excited when she subsequently gets an unlikely chance to pursue a modeling career. She is approached by a modeling agency interested in damaged or deformed people in the name of inclusion, and she does not hesitate to say yes as proudly showing off her medical condition as before.

However, things begin to get really worse for Signe in the meantime. It looks like that drug has more side effects than she thought at first, and her health condition becomes more deteriorated than she wants. In addition, as craving for lots of attention as much as her, Thomas becomes a lot pettier than before, and that certainly puts more strain on their problematic relationship.

Steadily maintaining its detached attitude as usual, the screenplay by director/writer/editor Kristoffer Borgli often has a fun with its heroine’s deluded state of mind. We are frequently caught off guard as a number of certain scenes turn out to be dream or delusion, and we even come to wonder whether Signe’s worsening condition later in the story is actually a part of another attention-seeking behavior of hers. As she goes deeper to the bottom of her madness and delusion, we naturally become more disgusted with her pathological behaviors, but she remains as a compelling cast study to observe from the distance, and we continue to watch her as more interested in how far she will really go in the end.

The movie depends a lot on Kristine Kujath Thorp, who is thoroughly uncompromising in her vicious comic performance. We do not feel that sorry for Signe even when everything is inevitably crashing down upon her later in the film, but Thorp ably conveys to us what makes her character tick, and we come to have some pity and understanding on Signe even during her most pathetic moments in the movie. On the opposite, Eirik Sæther is suitably obnoxious as Signe’s equally self-absorbed boyfriend, and several supporting performers including Fanny Vaager, Andrea Bræin Hovig, and Henrik Mestad are also effective in their small but substantial parts (You may also enjoy the cameo appearance of Anders Danielsen Lie, who was excellent in Oscar-nominated Norwegian film “The Worst Person in the World” (2021)).

On the whole, “Sick of Myself”, which was recently released in South Korea as “Hashtag Signe”, is certainly not something you can casually watch on Sunday afternoon, but I enjoyed how it handles its many uncomfortable moments with acerbic wit and sharp insight. The movie willingly tackles some unpleasant sides of human nature for generating some dark laughs, and you may go along with that even though you become quite disturbed from time to time.

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Wildcat (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): A troubled vet and his ocelots in Amazonian jungle

Posted on January 17, 2023 by kaist455

Documentary film “Wildcat”, which is currently available on Amazon Prime, left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, it is supposed to be about how one troubled vet reached for his mental healing via fostering ocelots in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon, and it certainly interests us as presenting a series of intimate moments observed from its main human subject’s solitary efforts in the jungle forest. On the other hand, it also tries to be the direct and honest presentation of mental illness, and there are a number of very uncomfortable moments which do not mix well with the gentler (and cuter) part of the documentary.

The documentary mainly revolves around Harry Turner, a young British vet who has struggled a lot with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental issues caused by his battle experiences in Afghanistan. After coming back to UK, Turner had a pretty hard time as often failing to adjust himself to normal life, and that was the main reason why he subsequently volunteered to go to a certain remote spot in the Peruvian Amazon. Quite comfortable with being totally isolated from the outside world, he worked as a member of one non-profit organization, and, what do you know, it turned out that he is very good at handling those rescued wild animals.

Along with his girlfriend Samantha Zwicker, a young American ecologist who is incidentally a founder of the organization, Turner began to work on an ocelot named Khan, and the early part of the documentary focuses on how eagerly Turner took care of Khan in many aspects. At first, we see him simply treating Khan like a little pet cat, but then we observe how he helped Khan adjusting more to the jungle environment outside their shelter. For example, there is one interesting moment showing him teaching Khan a bit on how to hunt for itself, and he certainly looks proud as Khan seems ready to be released several months later.

However, something unfortunate occurred on one day. Khan happened to be injured seriously by a booby trap installed by somebody, and, despite Turner and Zwicker’s efforts, Khan eventually died. Understandably devastated by this tragic incident, Turner became quite morose and depressed for a while, and that certainly made Zwicker concerned a lot about her boyfriend’s mental health – especially when she had to leave for her academic works in US.

Some time later, Turner came to handle another ocelot to take care of, and, what do you know, this ocelot, which is incidentally named Keanu, came to enliven Turner much more than expected. Based on what he experienced and then learned from handling Khan, he handled Keanu with more care and attention, and Keanu showed considerable progress besides growing up a lot during next several months.

Eventually, there came an inevitable point where Turner had to make Keanu more separated from him than before, and that was where Turner became very conflicted about what would happen next. While he surely felt much better than before as spending lots of time with Keanu, he was also well aware that he must let Keanu go as soon as possible, and it seemed that Keanu also sensed his growing hesitation. For example, it did not leave the shelter as much as Turner wanted, and that certainly made Turner frustrated more and more.

This ongoing conflict of his also affected not only his mental health but also his relationship with Zwicker. During one very disturbing moment, we indirectly observe how much she felt helpless and frustrated as he was showing usual signs of depression and suicidal impulse, and then we later get to know more about her toxic relationship with her frequently abusive alcoholic father, which is probably the main reason why she tried to stand by Turner as much as she could. Because she cared about him just like she cared about her father, she thought she could handle her boyfriend’s mental issues, but, not so surprisingly, she came to recognize that she must distance herself from him for herself.

The documentary does not hesitate at all as looking directly into Turner’s personal demons, but the result is rather blatant and heavy-handed at times while also lacking wider perspectives beyond Turner’s or Zwicker’s. They surely came into the jungle for their commendable cause, and they seem to find a vocation to which they may dedicate themselves for the rest of their life, but that does not change the fact that they are more or less than privileged white persons searching for the spiritual healing by the Mother Nature. As a matter of fact, we do not get to know much about any of the local members of their organization or any of those local residents living there, and the documentary actually seems to be more interested in what Turner’s family experienced during their brief visit.

Directed by Melissa Lesh and Trevor Beck Frost, “Wildcat” is a fairly solid documentary which will surely appeal to you as a story of personal healing just like Netflix Oscar-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher” (2020), but I am not sure about whether the documentary works as well as intended. Sure, you may be charmed and touched by many nice moments observed from those rescued wild animals, but I must tell you that, even at this point, my mind keeps coming back to what W.G. Sebald once said: “Men and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension.”

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Girl Who Dreams About Time (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): Dealing with her fateful vocation

Posted on January 15, 2023 by kaist455

South Korean documentary film “Girl Who Dreams About Time” follows the life story of one young female shaman who simply tries to live her own life. Although she was expected to follow the footsteps of her grandmother due to her ‘fate’, she really wants to explore other options for her life out there, and the documentary lets us have some empathy and understanding on her growing conflict between her life and her fateful vocation.

At first, the documentary gives us some background information on its two human subjects. After losing her parents when she was very young, Kwon Soo-jin lived with her grandmother during next several years, and now she becomes a senior high school student preparing for the upcoming college entrance examination, but there is one big personal problem for her. Even when she was only 4 years old, she showed considerable potential for becoming a shaman, and, as a well-experienced shaman, her grandmother certainly taught her a lot on shamanism. Because being a shaman is usually a social stigma, Soo-jin really wants to go to college for escaping her “fate”, and her grandmother respects her decision even though she does not approve of that much.

Anyway, things seem to be going pretty well for Soo-jin once she eventually begins to study in some good college in Seoul. We see her doing her little class presentation quite enthusiastically, and then we observe her having a little private moment with her boyfriend. She sincerely hopes that she will work in advertisement business after her college graduation, which will be her first forward step toward a normal life she has always wanted.

However, Soo-jin still finds herself tethered to her old world represented by her grandmother. Whenever she is not busy with studying or taking exams, she has to come to her grandmother’s house every weekend for doing various shamanistic rituals and activities, and that gradually puts a considerable amount of strain on her relationship with her grandmother. At one point, the camera merely watches their big argument from its static position, but this moment feels quite painful to say the least. She really likes to be in her college, but her grandmother and her fateful vocation keep holding her as usual, and we come to sense more of her ongoing dilemma via a subsequent close-up shot of her face.

In the end, Soo-jin makes a decision with which she will have to live for the rest of her life. After she finally graduates from the college as planned, she moves to a city near her hometown where she is going to work as a new shaman in the town. Every weekend, she goes to her grandmother’s house as usual, and we see how she tells fortunes to several people who come to her for understandable personal reasons (We never see the faces of these people as the camera only looks at them from the behind, by the way).

This is rather sadly fatalistic in my humble viewpoint, but Soo-jin is not so depressed about accepting her ‘fate’ at least. As a smart girl who is considerably savvy about self-promotion, she makes a YouTube account where she can eagerly talk about her profession, and she has enough charisma to draw more attention from those online viewers out there. Although I do not care much about what she says, I find her quite engaging with her outgoing attitude, and I even consider checking out her YouTube account someday.

In addition, Soo-jin’s grandmother is certainly ready to provide all the support and help she can give to her dear granddaughter. During the preparation for one big ritual to be held at their place, she willingly assists Soo-jin at every step of this ritual, and we get a little amusement as observing them with some fascination. Later in the documentary, they go together to a beach town for another ritual, and we feel more of the strong emotional bond between them as they go through the ritual in private later.

Nevertheless, Soo-jin still wants to live her own life as before, and that aspect of hers is clearly shown from when she happens to have a drinking time with several friends of hers. As she joyfully and comfortably talks with them, she feels a bit more normal at least for a while, and we come to sense that she will be all right regardless of whatever will happen next according to her ‘fate’.

Except several occasions when Soo-jin talks about herself and her life in front of the camera, the documentary sticks to its restrained attitude as a close but detached observer, and director Park Hyuck-jee, who has been known for his acclaimed documentaries including “Oh! My Papa” (2016) and “Speed of Happiness” (2020), deserves to be commended for how he slowly but effortlessly immerses us into the daily life of Soo-jin and her grandmother. Although I wish the documentary showed and explained more about their shamanistic activities, Soo-jin and her grandmother are compelling enough to hold our attention, and the documentary did a good job of presenting them with enough care and respect.

Overall, “Girl Who Dreams About Time” is a haunting documentary which gives us a close and intimate look on shamanism via its two plain but unforgettable human subjects. As your average agnostic, I only observed them and their spiritual belief with skepticism, but I was touched by their human moments nonetheless, and that is certainly enough for recommendation.

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Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): An intimate female drama by Martin Scorsese (No kidding)

Posted on January 13, 2023 by kaist455

“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” occupies a curiously odd spot in Martin Scorsese’s legendary filmmaking career. While sandwiched right between “Mean Streets” (1973) and “Taxi Driver” (1976), this little film is quite different from either of his two gritty urban masterpieces in many aspects. As an intimate female drama which tenderly and sensitively follows its plain heroine’s growth and self-discovery, this is surely something very rare in Scorsese’s filmography, and, that is why it should be cherished more besides being an excellent character study which still works well after many years.

The story mainly revolves around Alice Hyatt (Ellen Burstyn), a suburban housewife living in New Mexico. As reflected by the striking prologue scene tinged with fantasy and nostalgia, there was a time when she pursued her little aspiration of becoming a successful professional singer, but now she is stuck with her unloving trucker husband and their willful young son. Despite often being not so happy with her current living condition, she tries her best for making things better for her as well as her family, but she only gets frustrated again and again, and her only consolation comes from a fellow housewife who has been her best friend.

And then something quite unexpected suddenly happens on one day. Her husband unfortunately dies due to a horrible car accident, and Alice finds herself almost penniless as most of their money goes to his following funeral. For supporting herself and her son, she must find any possible way to earn money right now, and that is how she comes to decide that she should try to resume her old professional singing career in Monterey, California. While not so confident about her singing ability, she is ready to try her best nonetheless, and she soon leaves New Mexico along with her son, after saying a tearful goodbye to her best friend.

Not so surprisingly, things do not go as well as she wished. As staying in Phoenix, Arizona, Alice searches for any suitable bar where she can be employed and then hone her singing skill more, but that turns out to be not so easy at all. At one point, a callous bar owner shows more interest in her body rather than her actual singing ability, and that is when one of the sharpest lines in the film comes (“Well, look at my face – I don’t sing with my ass.”).

At least, Alice gets hired by some other bar owner later, but, alas, there comes another trouble for her not long after that. When she is approached by one seemingly charming guy in one evening, she is not so particularly interested in him at first, but then she lets herself charmed by him. As meeting him again, she considers becoming more serious about him, but, what do you know, he soon turns out to be much worse than her husband. Along with Alice, we are slapped with a sudden brutal moment of violence, and Harvey Keitel, who previously worked with Scorsese in “Who’s That Knocking My Door” (1967) and “Mean Streets”, is simply frightening in his brief but undeniably intense appearance.

Shortly after she and her son hurriedly move to Tuscon without looking back at all, Alice decides to put aside her aspiration for a while due to their poor financial status at present, so she begins to work as a local diner waitress. Although she struggles a lot on her very first day at the diner, she gradually gets accustomed to her new job mainly thanks to Florence (Diane Ladd), one of the two other waitresses of the diner.

Around that point, the screenplay by Robert Getchell slowly settles along with its heroine while further fleshing out a number of different characters around her. As the usual customers of the diner come and go during its opening hour, the diner is frequently brimming with a vivid and realistic sense of life, and we also get to observe more of the colorful personalities of Alice’s colleagues. My personal favorite moment is involved with Vera (Valerie Curtin), a shy and neurotic waitress who, to our little amusement, turns out to be more spirited than she seems on the surface.

When David (Kris Kristofferson), one of those usual customers, approaches to Alice for his little courtship on one day, Alice understandably hesitates, but she soon finds herself attracted to him as getting to know him more. As spending more time with him, she comes to consider living with him because he seems to be much better than her husband or that horrid guy, but she still wants to pursue her dream as before, and she keeps hesitating between her aspiration and the possible new love in her life.

While there subsequently comes a considerable conflict to be resolved in one way or another, Getchell’s screenplay wisely does not overplay that, and then it glides to an unexpectedly funny and touching scene between Alice and Florence. As a brash but no-nonsense woman, Florence gives a forthright advice to Alice, and Alice surely follows Florence’s sensible advice when she really has to make an important choice for her life. Her eventual choice can be regarded as a compromise, but she makes that choice on her own terms, and the very last shot of the film slyly implies to us that, regardless of whatever will happen next, there are still a lot of possibilities in front of her.

Scorsese was technically a hired hand in case of “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, but he was willing to demonstrate that he could be a fairly good mainstream filmmaker, and he turned out to be the right director for the movie as Burstyn felt after seeing “Mean Streets”. For subtly conveying to us Alice’s unsettled status, he and his cinematographer Kent L. Wakeford seldom let the camera become static throughout the film, and that also brings considerable verisimilitude to the screen. In addition, Scorsese often encouraged improvisation among his cast members, and they accordingly look natural and spontaneous in their interactions on the screen.

While she will be always remembered for “The Exorcist” (1973) and “Requiem for a Dream” (2000), Burstyn actually gave many other stellar performances including her breakthrough supporting turn in “The Last Picture Show” (1971), and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” is definitely one of the highlights in her respectable acting career. Effortlessly embodying the ordinary but palpable human qualities of her character, she subtly illustrates her character’s gradual growth and development along the story, and she deservedly received a Best Actress Oscar for that (A small trivia: Because Burstyn could not come to the ceremony at that time, Scorsese came instead, so that was the first time he went up to the stage for receiving an Oscar, though he had to wait for more than 30 years for winning the one for himself at last).

Around Burstyn, several other main cast members inject an extra dose of life and personality to the film. While Diane Ladd received her first Oscar nomination for her scene-stealing supporting performance, Valerie Curtin, Vic Tayback, and Kris Kristofferson are also believable as the more colorful figures in the diner, and Alfred Lutter, who plays Alice’s occasionally unruly son, holds his own little place well besides Burstyn. Later in the story, Lutter has a couple of humorous scenes involved with a tomboy girl who is played by none other than young Jodie Foster, and you may also be able to spot young Laura Dern, who briefly played a girl eating ice cream cone in the movie (This was her second film after “White Lightning” (1973), by the way).

Although it is relatively modest compared to many of Scorsese’s great films ranging from “Mean Streets” to “Silence” (2016), “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” shows a more sensitive side of Scorsese’s peerless talent like “The Age of Innocence” (1993) and “Hugo” (2011), and it surely shows how willing he was to go outside his artistic comfort zone even at that time. When he was approached by Burstyn before the production of the film began, Burstyn directly asked him about what he really knew about women, and he frankly replied, “Nothing, but I’d like to learn.” As far as I can see from the film, he learned a lot, and he certainly did his best from that.

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Argentina, 1985 (2022) ☆☆☆1/2 (3.5/4): A trial in Buenos Aires, 1985

Posted on January 12, 2023 by kaist455

“Argentina, 1985”, which was selected as the Argentine submission to Best International Film Oscar in last year and recently won the Best Non-English Language Film award at the Golden Globes, is a calm but powerful period drama surrounding one big historical trial in 1985. As following the long struggles of one plain prosecutor and his numerous assistants toward justice and democracy, the movie vividly takes us into that unstable time right after the end of the dictatorship during 1976-1983, and we are reminded again of how difficult it often is to restore democracy after such a terrible period like that.

At the beginning, the movie succinctly establishes how fragile the situation was in the Argentine society in 1984. The reign of the terror by a group of military leaders who crushed thousands of people by any means necessary was finally over, and the new government promised the new beginning for the country and its people, but there was a big legal matter involved with those central figures of the dictatorship. At least, they would be prosecuted at a federal court instead of a military court, but there was not much chance for sending all of them to jail, and that is why Julio César Strassera (Ricardo Darín) is not so pleased about being assigned to this rather tricky case. As a weary but dutiful prosecutor, he is ready to take the job as instructed, but he knows too well that the chance of winning is slim to say the least – and that he will be certainly humiliated in public if he loses as expected.

However, Strassera is also determined to try his best because, like many people in the country, he absolutely abhors the dictatorship even though he could not do anything against it during that grim time. As he begins his first day of preparation along with his young assistant prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo (Peter Lanzani), he looks for anyone willing to work under him, and he comes to interview lots of young employees mainly because they are more drawn to challenge in addition to being more likely to dislike the dictatorship.

In case of Ocampo, this passionate lad is in a rather awkward position from the beginning as the son of a prominent right-wing family connected well with lots of powerful dudes including a general who is incidentally one of several defendants of the case. While his mother, who is your average hardcore conservative, does not approve much of what he is about to do, she respects his professional choice at least, and she surely warns him a bit when they are going to attend a social meeting which is packed with guys not so amused about what he and Strassera are doing at present.

And it soon turns out that those supporters of the dictatorship are ready to stop Strassera and Ocampo as much as possible. As he feared right from the start, Strassera and his family often receive anonymous threats on the phone, and they even receive a short but undeniably disturbing letter which may really be sent from someone in the Argentine military. The police provide some security to Strassera and his family as expected, but the police cannot be trusted that much because, after all, they were closely associated with the dictatorship during that time.

The social/political pressure keeps accumulating on Strassera and his prosecution team even after they manage to succeed in assembling a hefty amount of documents and testimonies within less than 4 months. While the judges presiding over the case are not exactly helpful at times, the lawyers of the defendants are certainly ready to tackle against Strassera and his prosecution team in one way or another, and the defendants regard everything with aloof disinterest while fully expecting to be acquitted sooner or later.

Nevertheless, Strassera and his prosecution team do not step back at all as presenting one evidence after another during their long trial. As Ocampo pointed out in advance, they must sway the public opinion more to their argument, and a series of harrowing testimonies of the survivors of the dictatorship, which are incidentally broadcast all over the country, become quite crucial in their strategy. The camera simply observes what these survivors testify at the court one by one, but it is difficult not to feel their immense pain and sorrow, and we can really see how that emotionally affects many people around the country.

As the humble center of the story, Ricardo Darín, who has been more prominent thanks to Oscar-winning Argentine film “The Secrets in Their Eyes” (2009), steadily carries the film to the end without overshadowing his fellow cast members at all. While Peter Lanzani is certainly a standout in the bunch, several main performers playing the members of Strassera’s prosecution team are also effective in their respective supporting roles, and Alejandra Flechner, Claudio Da Passano, and Santiago Armas Estevarena provide some warmth and humor as Strassera’s supportive family members.

In conclusion, “Argentina, 1985”, which is currently available in Amazon Prime, is very engaging thanks to its restrained but passionate storytelling, and director/co-writer Santiago Mitre, who received the FIPRESCI Award when the movie was premiered at the Venice International Film Festival several months ago, deserves to be commended for making another notable Argentine film to be placed along with Oscar-winning Argentine film “The Official Story” (1985), which is also about the dictatorship during 1976-1983. Although nearly 40 years have passed since the end of the dictatorship, the movie powerfully illustrates why that terrible time should not be forgotten at all even at present, and the result is one of more interesting films of last year.

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