Tag Archives: Real-life story

The 2nd Repatriation (2022) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Still waiting for repatriation

Posted on October 3, 2022 by kaist455

South Korean documentary film “The 2nd Repatriation”, which is the sequel to director Kim Dong-won’s acclaimed 2003 documentary “Repatriation” (It won the Freedom of Expression Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, by the way), covers last two decades of … Continue reading →

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Repatriation (2003) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Waiting for repatriation

Posted on October 2, 2022 by kaist455

South Korean documentary film “Repatriation” simply follows the lives of a bunch of unconverted North Korean people who could not go back to their country even after being imprisoned in South Korea for many years. As observing their long struggle … Continue reading →

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Everything Went Fine (2021) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): A restrained but poignant drama by François Ozon

Posted on September 12, 2022 by kaist455

French film “Everything Went Fine” is restrained but poignant as simply observing a very serious family matter. While never overlooking its main characters’ emotional struggles over that matter, the movie thoughtfully lets us get to know more about them and … Continue reading →

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Thirteen Lives (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): A redundant but solid docudrama from Ron Howard

Posted on August 7, 2022 by kaist455

Ron Howard’s new film “Thirteen Lives”, which is now available on Amazon Prime, attempts to give us a close look into the events of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, and it succeeds to some degree despite its several inherent … Continue reading →

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Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): Epic, tense, and efficient

Posted on July 28, 2022 by kaist455

South Korean film “Hansan: Rising Dragon” is a war historical drama about one big sea battle which was a significant turning point in the Imjin War, which is also known as the Japanese invasions of Korea of 1592–1598. Although I … Continue reading →

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Elvis (2022) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Extremely excessive and incredibly superficial

Posted on July 16, 2022 by kaist455

Baz Luhrmann’s latest film “Elvis” is extremely excessive and incredibly superficial. Like many of his previous works such as “Romeo + Juliet” (1996), “Moulin Rouge!” (2001), and “The Great Gatsby” (2013), the movie is full of Luhrmann’s own dizzy stylish … Continue reading →

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Girl in the Picture (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): Who is she?

Posted on July 11, 2022 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “Girl in the Picture”, which was released in last week, looks into one infamous criminal case which will unnerve you a lot as the documentary doles out those disturbing details of the case step by step. Although … Continue reading →

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Rise (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): A wholesome family sports drama

Posted on June 27, 2022 by kaist455

“Rise”, which was released on Disney+ on last Friday, is a wholesome family sports drama based on the inspiring true story of one Nigerian immigrant family. While it is often quite predictable in many aspects, the movie is balanced well … Continue reading →

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Civil: Ben Crump (2022) ☆☆☆(3/4): A lawyer against racial injustices

Posted on June 24, 2022 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “Civil: Ben Crump”, which was released on last Sunday, mainly revolves around one African American civil rights lawyer who has fought against the racial injustices in the American society for many years. As observing how he handled … Continue reading →

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I am More (2021) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Meet More

Posted on June 24, 2022 by kaist455

I like documentaries presenting people different from me with care and empathy, and South Korean documentary film “I am More” is one of such cases. While its transgender heroine surely draws our attention right from the beginning due to her … Continue reading →

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