To Live is Hell - Bohachi, Clan of the Forgotten Eight

This is a twisted jidaigeki film from 1973, directed by Ishii Teruo. A ronin (well played by Tanba Tetsuro) has been terrorizing the countryside with his cruel acts of violence. The local government has sent men out to kill him, but the ronin defeats every man who tries to stop him. After a furiously bloody opening sequence, where blood sprays like geysers and limbs fly free, Tetsuro mentally grows weary of all the violence, and tries to kill himself by drowning, throwing himself off of a bridge and into the cold waters below. But he is rescued, by two lovely prostitutes who are members of a local gang, the Bohachi. The second in command shows the ronin around the premises, explaining their philosophy, which amounts to an anti-code of honor, denying God and spiritualism, showing no loyalty or friendship, embracing our animal instincts. Women are shown being publicly humiliated, tortured and debased as they are inducted into the clan. The ronin is asked if he would consider joining the group, and Tetsuro agrees. Part of his initiation is to help a member collect debts, and they go into town, finding a young woman who has not paid. She is captured and run through the wringer. After being defiled, she is to be sold off at auction to her first customer as a prostitute. The ronin is given 50 ryo for his initial services, which he uses to buy the girl after a frantic auction. But he does nothing to her. Morning comes and finding that he has not taken her, the Bohachi fails him in his initiation test -- apparently, the whole abduction was a set up, a test to see if he could be like them. Even the woman was in on it, herself a prostitute of the clan. He is sent out into the town, where soldiers are waiting. After a brief skirmish, an elderly man interrupts the action -- he is the Chief of the Bohachi clan, and to prevent further violence, he states to the official that the ronin is not only protected by the clan, he has been made a member. The Chief wields considerable political power, so the official has no choice but to leave, taking the soldier with him. Back inside, the Chief explains the local situation: During the construction of the city, there was great outbreaks of violence among the men. An official, reviewing the situation, came up with the idea of bringing thousands of women to the area, so the men could work their aggressions elsewhere. And so prostitution flourished in the city, with hundreds of groups and thousands of freelancers vying for business. The Bohachi, having one of the more successful groups, are seeking total control of the business. The Chief asks the ronin to be their hatchet man, going out to kill every man who engages with a woman of a certain group. The ronin consents, and in short order businesses are closed, men fearing for their lives, and women being assimilated into the Bohachi. Soon the red light district is deserted. They retaliate by attempting to assassinate the ronin; they fail. A government official later breaks up a fight between the two groups, stating that the chancellor will hear both sides and determine the outcome. There is a compromise, and the red light district is reopened, but to conditions that clearly favor the Bohachi. The Chief in return is forced to sacrifice the ronin. The Bohachi prostitutes seduce him with opium and their bodies, but he is more resilient than they thought -- he kills the group of women, and forces the Chief at gunpoint to smoke the opium. It is more than his system can handle, and the Chief is destroyed, tossed into a cell in the lower chambers, where a woman diseased with syphillis awaits. The ronin leaves the compound, and is attacked by the soldiers. The film ends with the ronin still standing, prepared to meet his end, but not before taking as many of them down with him.

This is a wild, visually arresting movie that suffers from a meandering plot. The first half hour is pure exploitation, with plenty of naked flesh and rutting bodies. The final hour runs like a variation of a classic samurai film - the ronin as a catalyst for the bubbling local unrest, though in this case it is taken to nihilistic ends; the Bohachi seeking total power through the destruction of its citizens. There is a lot of shifting moods in the film, and visually, it runs through so many effects, all gorgeous, at times theatrical, with color shifts of spotlight, fade to black, slow motion. I don't know if it all works. It is meant to show that the ronin's life on earth was indeed a living hell, and in that sense it works. I have problems with the Bohachi clan, as they are too one dimensional in their cruelty. They end up acting like any other high powered clan in a samurai film. Ishii's films during this period were of wild creativity, at the expense of story, and this is no exception.

300, Asian style - Battle of Wits

This movie is a pleasant surprise, given the mixed output of made in China epics of the past several years. Hero certainly stands out from the pack, while Seven Swords, the Promise, and others show plenty of gorgeous visuals but skimp on plot. Battle of Wits succeeds because its story is based on a classic scenario -- an oppressed group who, against all odds (and with the help of an outsider) defeat mightier invading forces. It is 4th century China, B.C. In one of the many attempts to unify a great country, the nation Zhao is on a campaign to conquer their neighbors, one of which is the city state of Liang. HK superstar actor Andy Lau stars as Ge Li, a member of the Mo-Tsu tribe, who are known for great military strategies, especially in defence. He is sent to Liang as a last ditch effort to save the city from the Zhao army. After proving his skills and worth as a leader, Ge Li is given temporary command of the Liang defences. To the Zhao army, Liang is a pit stop in the pursuit to a larger goal. However, they are rebuffed several times by the city, and many casualties are incurred. The Zhao army retreats, as they are called back to the main forces who are engaged against a much larger enemy. The city of Liang celebrates, and Ge Li is revered as their savior. However, not everyone is happy. The ruler of Liang and his court are jealous of Ge Li, and immediately plot to out him from the city. Ge Li also has developed a relationship with female cavalry captain Yi Yue (Fan Bing Bing), who is set to be bethrothed to the Liang ruler's son, also a fine soldier. Ge Li and the son had a disagreement early on, but after the battle the son grew to admire his rival. Yi Yue falls madly in love with Ge Li. Charges are trumped up against Ge Li, and he is exiled from the city. The soldiers attempt to assassinate him by flinging arrows at him and his supporters, but they fail. He is rescued by an African man who once served the Zhao army. Innocent people who supported Ge Li are killed, even Yi Yue is thrown into prison and sentenced to death for supporting him. On top of this, a thousand soldiers from the Zhao army are left behind to make one last surprise attack against the city. Their movements are detected by Ge Li and a band of men who remained loyal to him, including the ruler's son. The city is invaded,finally overrun by the army, and amid the chaos, Ge Li and his men manage to rally the troops and defeat the enemy. He searches for Yi Yue, who is trapped in her prison cell, which is being flooded by water that was seeping into the cells. But she is dead. He leaves the city, what is left of it, to continue to help others.

Yes, it is a pot boiler. An enjoyable one. A lot of comments have been made about the acting; while Andy Lau and Agn Sungki (the general) and others did well, there were a lot of thumbs down for the supporting cast, especially Fan Bing Bing and Nicky Wu. Perhaps so. But the whole movie felt like a blend of an epic and an old fashioned action adventure film, like the classic Hollywood films of the 30's and 40's. The story provides a lot of unique twists, and the battle scenes are well handled. I don't think they were aiming for the same lofty heights as House of Flying Daggers, yet this film provides more entertainment than that film. Recommended.

A question of love and identity - Time

Time, directed by Kim Ki Duk, is a fascinating look at relationships, between our loved ones and ourselves, and the value of identity. Ji-woo (Jung-woo Ha) and Seh-hee (Ji-Yeon Park) are lovers who have been together for some time, to the point that their relationship hovers between bliss and stagnancy. Seh-hee notices that Ji-woo has started to eye other women, and becomes incredibly jealous -- his assisting a couple of women with a car situation across the street from where he and Seh-hee were having coffee causes Seh-hee to break out in a very public display of anger, embarrassing Ji-woo and forcing them to leave the coffee shop. Seh-hee, fighting low self esteem and wanting to keep her lover, comes across a local plastic surgery clinic and decides that she needs a change. The doctor, incredulous, tries to dissuade her, as she is a naturally pretty woman -- even going so far as to show her graphic films of an operation to scare her out of doing it. But she insists. And the surgery is done, and Seh-hee suddenly disappears from Ji-woo's life. Stunned at her sudden disappearance, he looks everywhere for her, but she is gone. He misses her, and tries in a series of awkward and unsuccessful dates to try to move on. Then one day, at the coffee shop, he notices the waitress who is serving him, and finds her oddly familiar. The woman is See-hee (Sung Hyun-ah), who takes notice of him as well, and soon they are dating. Eventually they become lovers, however, their relationship is not an easy one. They fight, again very public displays of anger, reconcile, and fight again. See-hee is Seh-hee, however, she is no longer happy with her new face and the identity she thought would reinvigorate her life and relationship. Ji-woo feels restless as well, and he one day disappears, to have his face changed. See-hee is distraught. She goes to their old haunting ground, a surreal public sculpture garden made of figures and couples and lovers that are sculpture, public benches, etc. One day while visiting she sees a familiar man, wearing a mask. She is certain it is Ji-woo, but he refuses to acknoledge his old self, hinting only to come here after the required six months for the face to heal and he will reveal himself. They end up meeting at the coffee shop, Ji-woo a different man. But this identity shapeshifting has made See-hee upset and uncomfortable, and at the end of the movie she goes back to the clinic to have herself changed to as unrecognizable as possible. Once again, they are separated.

Kim Ki Duk is a creative and inventive storyteller who is unafraid to tackle hard questions about modern human condition, and as such, he is not a popular director in South Korea, but he has certainly gained attention here in the States. Familiar films to American indie movie buffs would be 3-Iron, Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter, or Samaria. Here he takes on plastic surgery and people's disatisfaction with themselves, but he takes it to an extreme level. Watching this film, I thought of Kobo Abe's The Face of Another, the book and the classic 60's Japanese film that detailed the life of a husband who had facial surgery, and given a new face, becomes deluded into thinking he has a new identity, and tried to live outside the norm of society, even trying to seduce his own wife. Here we have a couple who try to reinvent themselves as a means to reinvigorate their relationship and themselves. It is frightening logic. Recommended!

Subdued yet intelligent horror - Diary

Diary is the Pang Brothers' latest feature, and it is good one. Starring Charlene Choi as Winnie, who lives alone and is apparently suffering from a sudden breakup with her boyfriend, Seth (Shawn Yue). She records her thoughts and events in her diary, but it only serves as a painful reminder of their relationship. A friend, Yvonne (played by Isabella Leong), tries to help her, but Winnie is wallowing in self pity and misery. One day, Winnie sees Seth on the street and calls out to him. It is not Seth -- the man introduces himself as Ray, who looks remarkably like Seth. They have a dinner date, and Winnie reveals that her former boyfriend had died from cancer several years before. Showing pity for her, Ray grows closer to her, and they eventually spend the night together. But Winnie is showing signs of self delusion -- calling her new boyfriend Seth, talking about things that Ray and her never shared. Most disturbing of all, she goes to the market to buying fish, and gives the vendor grief about the change, only to return several minutes later to buy the same fish again. Yvonne is an uncertain influence on her, neither encouraging or dissuading her from dealing with the situation. One evening, as Ray and Winnie are having dinner, it becomes clear to Ray that Winnie is an unstable person, and is cold and distant to her. She becomes upset and has a screaming fit. Suddenly, unexpectedly, veils of her reality are lifted. Ray is tied to the chair, while Winnie recalls all the events that led to this point -- their nights spent together were of her living a fantasy relationship while Ray was bound and gagged. Then she snaps, and kills Ray. A neighbor, complaining of the smell, calls the police, and Winnie is found and taken to headquarters. Finding her diary, the detectives find that it is written in the future, telling of events that never happened. They break open a false brick wall to find another dining room table with a doll tied to the chair. In the diary Winnie reveals that Yvonne had planted the idea of murder in her head, and they bring Yvonne in, along with her boyfriend. Another veil is lifted -- Yvonne is actually Winnie, and Winnie is Yvonne, and the boyfriend is indeed Seth. Seth admitted to being Winnie's ex boyfriend, but now he was married to Yvonne. Winnie, completely delusional, recalls the past events which reveal her nutty state.

This is an effective, low key shocker. On the surface, Diary is filmed like another classic Pang Brothers film, the Eye, with dimly lit and greyish green colors, reflecting Winnie's state of mind. Charlene Choi, one half of the Hong Kong singing duo Twins, does a good job of portraying a unstable woman who becomes insane. Isabella Leung provides a small but important supporting role. But this film is all about the directing, of what they want you to see, then lifting the veils of delusion to reveal a more disturbing reality. The pacing starts slow, but by the 55 minute mark the viewer's patience is rewarded by the chain of events that follow. Clocking under 90 minutes, this is one of the better HK horrors to come by in a long time. A well done film. Recommended!

Family planning - Mission Sex Control

Sorry for the long delay. Let's start off with one of the funnier Korean comedies that has been released in a while, Mission Sex Control. Awful title, but it explains the plot of the film: in 1961, the South Korean government became concerned about the population explosion that was occurring (their version of the Baby Boom). They felt that they needed to take measures to curb the growth, so they initiated a family planning program that would make the citizens aware of birth control methods. The other point was to show that people could lead healthier and wealthier lives if they were not so busy having children, which kept them in debt. Hyeon-joo (played by Kim Jeong-eun) is an enthusiastic young woman
who is sent to a local village where it harks back to pre modern times - there is a village chief, but the real power lies with the land owner, who everyone in the town works for by tending to the land. All of them have large families, with no stopping in sight. Helping her to the village is a townsman named Suk-gu (Lee Beom-soo), who is having difficulties making payments to the land owner for rent on his house. There is also a matter of paying for tuition for the kids, and keeping her wife happy. Hyeon-joo introduces herself to the village, and gives a lecture on what the government want to do to help them. But they are horrified at the very idea of birth control - not only is it government interference on personal matters, it goes against the Korean notion of family. Undeterred, she returns, again and again, to the women of the village, to the men, the the village chief, and finally the landlord, all of whom refuse her offer. The only one who becomes receptive to her ideas is Suk-gu, who is now close to defaulting on paying his loans. He wants to end this cycle of debt, and agrees to listen, and manages to convince a few of his friends as well. She teaches them to use condoms, and gives the wives birth control pills. Slowly but surely, she makes progress, but runs into interference from the landowner's son, who sees her as a trouble maker. She gets around this by recommending that Suk-gu be appointed village head, and he does. He is a good leader, and manages to convince the others to fall in line with the family planning, convincing them that they will attain wealth this way. The sudden drop in births in the town catches the goverment's notice, especially the South Korean president. They are made the model town and citizens for conforming to the plan. It has a price though -- Suk-gu, in order to maintain their credibility, kicks out a couple for conceiving. The stress and the intense need to conform to this law drives everyone nuts, and then Suk-gu's wife is pregnant. Convinced that he isn't the father, he beats her and chases her out of the house. Later someone finds a shoe at a cliff known for suicide leaps, and Suk-gu is distraught. Actually, she is hiding at the landowner's house. They are reunited, and they leave the town as they have broken their own rule. Hyeon-joo goes back to the city, quits her job, realizing that there is a happy medium, of carefully planning for children with a loved one, but a couple at best.

Light hearted, silly and fun, this comedy entertains while poking fun at a well intentioned government plan to keep the population under control. The clash between country and city is well defined and delivered. Recommended!

Old School HK gangster action - The Exiled

Johnny To continues to deliver, on a high level. The Exiled takes place in Macau, in 1998 before the handover to China (a topic similarly used as a backdrop in Isabella) where a triad leader, Boss Fay (Simon Yam), wants a hit on a hitman Wo (Nick Cheung). To his house comes two paris of hitmen -- one, led by Blaze (Anthony Wong), and the other led by Tai (Francis Ng). Observing this is a policeman who is hours away from retirement, and Wo's wife, Jin (Josie Ho). Tai wants to let Wo live, as he did him a favor some time ago, and there is a job that Wo has to finish. Blaze though has his orders, and there is a terrific gunfight in the apartment, though amazingly, no one is hurt. Even more amazingly, all of them proceed to clean up the place, repair the damaged doors and furniture, cook a meal and sit down together! As hitmen they all have a common background, and we see a sense of comraderie that separate themselves from the triad. They head on over to a contact man, in a hotel/brothel where he gives them possible work for assassinating various figures. But they want something local, quick and big. He has a job for them: stealing a gold shipment from the government. Meanwhile, Boss Fay is angry that Blaze has not yet killed Wo, and goes to confront them. A shootout ensues, and both Fay and Wo are injured. The others manage to escape and take Wo to a private doctor, who attends to his wound. But Boss Fay and his men come, seeking the same medical treatment! The others hide while the gang is in the same room, although it is not long before Wo is discovered. Another shootout ensues, and Wo is killed. They escape and tell Jin, who is distraught. As they leave she takes one of the guns and straps her child to her back, seeking vengeance. The others go out into the countryside to do the ambush on the armored truck; however, their car beaks down. They fall upon a bit of luck when after a long hike they come across a main road where the truck is driving down. They ambush the truck, and not wanting to hurt any one, split the money among everyone present. Returning back to the hotel, they produce the money. Boss Fay is there with his men, as is Jin. Realizing that they are trapped, they engage in one final shootout in which all are killed, except Jin and her child.

Exiled is another standout film by Johnny To. It recalls the glory years of the late 80's and early 90's gangster films, but with a much more mature and highly skilled sensibility, that all those years of directing have provided. The fight scenes recall John Woo with the slow motion balladry. The acting is cool and reserved, except for the Jin character. For those seeking HK action, this is a well worth pick up.

Mitchum and Takakura - The Yakuza

The Yakuza is a 70's classic. A hybrid of Eastern and Western genres, the hard boiled mystery and the yakuza film, director Sydney Pollock created a film that shows the similarities and differences between the cultures. Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura star in the best roles of either man's careers as surviving ex-World War II soldiers from opposite side. Harry once saved the life of Ken's sister Eiko, for that he owes the American an obligation, one that tears him apart for twenty years, for he served on the losing side. Harry receives a call from an old war buddy, Tanner, who runs an import/export shipping business. Apparently he had been dealing with Japanese yakuza for gun running, and they thought he welched on their deal, as he had not supplied them with arms. So they went and kidnapped his daughter. Not wanting to deal with the police, Tanner wants Harry to go to Japan and recover his daughter, using some of his old connections. Harry goes, along with his Tanner's son who will provide backup, and they stay at a mutual friend's house. Before anything can start, Harry pays a call to Eiko, his old flame from when he was stationed in Japan. She was still running the bar that Harry had raised the money to start for her. In spite of the years, there is still a love for each other. Her daughter, now grown to a beautiful young woman, is reunited with him as well. Harry asks Eiko where her brother is, and she tells him that he is no longer in the gangster world, having withdrawn from it and is now a martial arts teacher in Kyoto. He goes there and meets Ken at his school. Harry calls in on the old obligation, and along with Tanner's son, they find out where the daughter is and rescue her. Unfortunately, they kill two men in the process, and the boss of that gang wants retribution. Ken goes into hiding. Harry, having done his job, says goodbye to Eiko and is about to leave the country, but realizes that he has left Ken in a tough position. He feels that he has an obligation to Ken to help him out. Meanwhile, the yakuza boss and Tanner have a meeting. The boss wants to know what happened to the money, and Tanner admits to stealing it and using it for his own personal interests. The funds were invested and wasted. As both sides still need each other to do business, the yakuza boss decides that he is willing to overlook the matter if only Tanner can do one thing: eliminate his friend Harry. Gangsters storm the house where Harry is staying, and Tanner's son and Eiko's daughter are killed. Ken and Harry flee. They find out that Tanner and the yakuza have made an arrangement, and they decide to take action. Harry finds Tanner at his foreign office branch and kills him and a bunch of his men. Ken, armed with a sword, along with Harry, invade the yakuza boss' den and proceed to wipe out the whole gang, in a long fierce fight scene. The men survive, debts paid, grudges dissolved, and they part with a new found friendship and respect for one another.

Mitchum enjoyed a resurgence in his career in the 70's. Films like The Long Goodbye and this one brought Mitchum back to the screen as an older, wiser, and more explosive hard boiled actor than in the 40's and 50's. Good scripts helped, and Paul Schraeder (who did the screenplay for Taxi Driver) wrote a fine tale of an older generation still struggling to survive their past. Pollock used a Japanese cast and crew to do the movie, with only a few American actors, and the result was a finely crafted, meditative work that delivered punches at all the right moments. The two major fight scenes -- one at the guest house, where the children of the main characters are killed, and the final battle at the yakuza house -- are excellent, with fast cuts and lots of movement. Ken Takakura was a major star in Japan, a la Clint Eastwood, and here you can see why -- he is Mitchum's equal in screen presence and acting, a tough, brooding, silent man who as the character Ken is still after 20 year past the war tormented by obligations that conflict with his values. Apparently there is a longer version that came out (though not on dvd), but really, this 114 minute edition is tight. I don't see how the 123 minute version could be better, but of course, in this day of restoration and completeness, there are a few who are disappointed in the release. I believe Pollock must have had some say in this version -- he gave the audio commentary. This may be one of those times where less is more -- there are a few films where I wish they left well enough alone. A great 70's film, one that finally is released on dvd. Highly recommended!