A Korean TV Jewel - Dae Jang Geum

I've spent the better part of the past couple of months being entranced by this wildly popular television series from South Korea, which has led to not as many reviews as I normally do. But it has been a well worthwhile diversion; one of a handful of series that I am sorry to see end. Dae Jang Geum, the title character played by Lee Yeong-ae (seen in Lady Vengeance, a much different character), who we follow from birth to her 30's. A kitchen court lady, Lady Yun, of the Chosun king was sentenced to death by her peers, a victim of court politics as she was a witness to a doctoring of food served to the Queen Mother, who fell ill. Jang Geum is her daughter, who endures and survives incredible challenges to enter the palace as a young girl, work in the court kitchen, is exiled, returns as a physician lady, and becomes the highest ranking woman in Chosun history, being the king's physician, scandalous at that time. Running at 54 episodes, I would suffer hand cramps from detailing a full synopsis, but there is a decent one on Wikipedia, which is fairly detailed. This historical drama came out in 2002-2003, and commanded one of the largest viewing audiences of all time in several countries. Apparently the sets formed the basis for a Jang Geum theme park, which I find odd, as you see a lot of the palace and not too much else. What elevates this above the standard drama or soap opera is partly the movie serial qualities -- how Jang Geum gets in and out of trouble is almost laughable, like a political Perils of Pauline -- and the heroine being an idealized person infused with both traditional and modern ideas. She is the one person in the court who is devoted to family and work without using it for personal gain or power, and it is this naivety that gets her into trouble, especially from the evil Lady Choi, once her mother's friend and now a main threat to the harmony of the palace. Towards the end of the series, Jang Geum has accomplished so much, defeating the Lady Choi and other elements in the castle, that she ends up being the physician to the king -- the motivations for which are explained by several of her friends in oddly modern talk for women's rights. She eventually leaves the castle, forced out by the court officials who saw her as an affront to tradition and authority, and marries her sweetheart. At the show's worst it can get repetitive and weepy (gallons of fake tears must have been used), but it never steeps down to the level of tawdry soap opera gunk. Courtly politics has always been a good plot device, from shows as diverse as I Claudius, Dune, Shogun, to Upstairs Downstairs. The pacing is mostly well done, with lots of cliffhangers, but also smartly the resolutions and directional changes are made in the middle of the hour long episode, so things are given a chance to unfold. There are a huge world of characters, most of whom are well developed. High points are the kitchen court lady battles for Head Lady supremacy, with its Iron Chef camera angles and savory food shots; the death of Lady Han, Jang Geum's mentor and friend, the "revenge" on Lady Choi and her family, after which everything becomes an extended epilogue, as Lady Choi was an incredible foil to her. The music got to be annoying, even though they did try to change it several times during the series, and they only served as emotional or dramatic accents. Having done a little bit of research, it is clear that 99% of this historical fiction is just that, fiction, it nevertheless is very entertaining and worth the enormous viewing time. Highest recommendation!

Corporate warfare - Black Test Car

Fantoma continues to reissue the films of Yasuzo Masumura, this time with the splendid film Black Test Car, released in 1962. Hideo Takamatsu stars as Onoda, a corporate official who works for the Tiger automobile company. He is asked to create an espionage division, to find out what car the rival company Yamato is creating, as well as protecting Tiger's assets. Both companies are competing to develop a sports car, Tiger's the Pioneer, and Yamato's Mypet. The opening scene of the movie shows a car wrapped in black fabric performing a test drive, which ends badly with a crash on the test road. It is the Pioneer, and its development has been uneven, as there has been great pressure on every department to make this car work. Yamato has sent agents to find out about the rival car, bribing engineers and threatening contractors into revealing Tiger's secret information of the car. Onoda has two of his best men, Ashahina and Hiraki, set up a task force to find out about what car Yamato is making. They employ tactics that are no better than Yamato's -- kidnapping contractors and bribing company men involved with the car's production. Even worse, Ashahina coerces his girlfriend into being a bar hostess where Yamato's executives hang out, and date the head executive. She and Ashahina are engaged, but his obsessive drive to help out his company, and his increasing immoral acts begin to drive them apart, her being his moral conscience which drives doubt into his soul. The schemes and action on both companies escalate, rivaling yakuza tactics. Yamato's new car looks exactly like the Pioneer, to the Tiger company's dismay. Ashahima learns that the corporate executives on both sides -- including Onoda -- were soldiers in Tojo's army during the war, many of them committing many war crimes, which explains their callousness. Finally, the Pioneer is put into production, trying to come out before the Mypet, and there immediately ensues a price war. Tiger makes the mistake of settling on a price, which Yamato matches, minus an x amount to be determined on the day of its release. Ashahina, in a desperate final attempt to find out the price, bullies his girlfriend into sleeping with the executive to find out what the amount is. She does, at the cost of ending their relationship. The Pioneer sells well early on, but a rigged car crash of one model owned by a corrupt official causes controversy. Yamato conducts a secret campaign against the Pioneer, only to have it backfire as their attempts are exposed, and the company disgraced. Ashahina, finally seeing the amoral ways of his boss and coworkers, leaves the company, and in doing so regains his girlfriend.

This is an excellent film by Masamura, whose place in cinema has increased with each dvd reissue. Voicing the moral conscience against an increasingly corrupt world, Masamura's films explore the mindsets, strategies and relations of people in modern Japanese society. Directors like Juzo Itami must have been influenced by his work. It was filmed in black and white, which lends a kind of noir aspect, as a lot of action was done at night or in claustrophobic interiors. Cinematographers have to take a look at this film; every scene is composed masterfully. If you like films like Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well, or Itami's Taxing Woman, this is a must see.

A Tale from the Floating World - Ooku

Released in 2006, Ooku is a period film that examines courtly intrigue and one woman's fleeting moment of happiness in a life of service to her Emperor. It is based on a hit television series of the same name. Ooku is a section of the Edo Castle where the Emperor's women reside - concubines, family, servants. During the Tokugawa era, it was believed to be a source of political intrigue. Nakama Yukie (Shinobi) stars as Lady Eijima, a court lady who is best friends with Lady Gekoin, the mother of the current Shogun Tokugawa, who is only 7 years old and of frail health. Lady Gekoin is romantically involved with Lord Echizen, a court advisor, and rumors of this relationship threatens to cause chaos in the inner court. Lady Tenelin, the widow of the former Shogun, is scheming against Lady Gekoin. Aware of a possible affair, Tenelin sets a trap by planning to use a Kabuki actor to seduce Lady Eijima, and using that affair as leverage to force her into exposing her friend's affair. But Lady Eijima is savvy to her schemes, and proves to be a loyal and honest court lady. Until the Kabuki actor, through circumstances (a fire in the theater) and some well planned events, manages to finally seduce her in an evening of bliss. What the actor didn't count on was actually falling in love with her. He refuses to carry through with the plot, even though Tenelin exposes their affair, and he his crucified. Eijima is expelled from the castle, saved from being executed by Gekoin's intervention, but Gekoin's affair is never revealed, even when the young Tokugawa dies. Eijima lives holding on to the short but beautiful memory of the love and happiness she felt that one evening.

This is a gorgeous film to look at. Not since Kurosawa's Ran have I been mesmorized by the colors and textures in a film. They went all out to portray a living breathing "floating world," and it works. The acting is above average, and the plot is decent enough. The only thing that prevents me from deliriously raving about this film is the directing, who I understand was the television director for the series. Not that he did a bad job; it just needed a firmer grip on the pacing and direction of the story, which does slow down when it pays too much attention to itself. I'm being very picky, of course, and it is nice to see a top quality Japanese film tackling period history with care and detail. Recommended.

Tazza: The High Rollers

A hit film in 2006, Tazza: The High Rollers is a quality drama from South Korea. "Tazza" is Korean slang for a gambler, dealing with the card game hwatu - palm sized cards with black backs. It looks like a combination of poker and blackjack -- each player gets a pair of cards, and the highest combination wins. Based on a Korean comic book, director Choi Dong-Hoon (The Big Swindle, yet another clever crime film) delivers a complex, well-paced 2/1/2 hour epic story of Go-Ni (Cho-Seung-Woo), from wannabe player to master hustler, told in flashback by ex-girlfriend and vindictive rival Madame Jung (played by the stunning Kim Hye-Soo, who won an award for her role). Go-Ni starts off as a small time gambler who loses everything to a better player. Realizing that he was swindled out of his family's savings (stolen from his sister), Go-Ni seeks revenge, but knows he has to become a beter player. He meets Pyeong (Baek Yoon-Sik, from Save the Green Planet), a master player, who becomes his teacher. Pyeong shows him the psychology of the game as well as playing the cards. He introduces him to Madame Jeung, who organizes the games, and assists him in hustling the opponents. They also become lovers. Soon, Go-Ni becomes an excellent player, and is seduced by the thrill of play and deceiving the opponents, as well as the financial rewards. That worries Pyeong, who has been there, and tells him not to get addicted. But Madame Jeung's influence over Go-Ni is to strong, and he leaves Pyeong. Pyeong is later killed on a train leaving the city, the murderer unknown. Go-Ni and Madame Jeung become a formidable pair, becoming successful wherever they go, only to be busted by the cops during one session. Madame Jeung is arrested, but Go-Ni, along with another player, One Ear, who actually beats him in a game. One Ear turns out to be, along with Go-Ni, one of the three best players in South Korea, the other being a man called Agwee. Madame Jeung serves time, and becomes bitter at being abandoned by Go-Ni. Time passes, and she is released from prison, and starts anew by seducing a wealthy businessman and setting him up for a big hustle, as he is an enthusiastic card player. She reforms a network of people who enforce her will, all the while pretending to be a demure and sweet girlfriend. Go-Ni, in the meantime, has fallen in love with a woman who runs a local bar/cafe. She is the polar opposite of Madame Jeung, and some one who hates gambling. Go-Ni wins a match against a businessman, who turns out to be a local mob boss, and knows that he had been swindled. He sends his men out for payback, and they find the girlfriend's business and disrupt it, holding her and her friend hostage. Go-Ni, in hiding, strikes a deal with the boss and agrees to work for him if he lets them go. Amid all this, Madame Jeung finds Go-Ni, and with Agwee, sets up a card match which becomes a final showdown for all involved on a ship. Her boyfriend finally becomes aware of what is happening, but loses his shirt, and can only watch as the others battle it out in the ultimate high-stakes game. Agwee stops Go-Ni from winning the match by insisting that he was dealing from the bottom of the deck, and that the card drawn was to favor Madame Jeung's hand with a matching pair. They each bet their hands -- Go-Ni insists that he did not cheat. Madame Jeung has her enforcer, the assassin who murdered Pyeong on orders from her, to tie their right hands up and to chop off the hand of the loser. Agwee is stunned to find out that Go-Ni was telling the truth, and loses his hand. Go-Ni beats up the assassin, and sets fire to the huge pile of money, to Madame Jeung's astonishment. He leaves as the cops arrive, the ship in flames.

One of the best Korean dramas in a long time, Tazza is a well told, beautifully photographed noir-like tale that grabs the viewer from start to finish. The acting is excellent and the direction tight and well paced. Kim Hye-Soo is outstanding as the seductive and cold blooded Madame Jeung; a femme fatale for the ages, slinking across the screen in form fitting and low cut outfits, oozing sexuality and yet the deadliest woman one could come across. Cho-Seung-Woo as Go-Ni does a fine job as well. Highly recommended!

My Wife is a Gangster 3

My Wife is a Gangster 3 is the latest in the financially blockbuster comedy action series from South Korea. This installment has nothing to do with the other two -- Eun-kyung Shin is not even in this, instead Shu Qi does the honors. She stars as Aryoung, the daughter of a Korean woman and a Hong Kong gangster, who at the beginning of the film causes an incident when while performing a sword dance in front of a gathering of triads. There was already tension between the international gangs, and Aryoung stabbing one of the other henchmen didn't help matters. So for protection, she is sent off to Korea under the custody of a major gang there. The Korean boss entrusts her to Ki-Chul (Beom-Su Lee), a loyal yet simple minded henchman with his two bumbling sidekicks. They hire a translator, Yeon-Hee, who is stunned to learn that she has to work for a bunch of mullet headed lowlife thugs. But she does do her job, mastering the fine art of translation by not exactly saying things word for word, but to make nice between the two parties. Aryoung is a guest; however disinterested and pushy she seems to be. Ki-Chul and his men can't figure her out, though after a drinking binge, Aryoung demonstrates her martial arts mastery by dispatching a couple of men from a rival gang. Word gets around. Her "secret" is revealed, and in Hong Kong, a group of assassins are sent to dispose of the woman. Ki-Chul and Aryoung have a series of comedic misunderstandings, with most of the jokes on Ki-Chul, until they are all brought in before a gang that wanted payback for Aryoung's beatings. Ki-Chul gamely tries to defend her, but he's simply all bark and no bite -- he gets his ass kicked. Aryoung again saves them by defeating the rival gang. This beating of the gang gets Ki-Chul promoted in rank within his own group, much to everyone's surprise, probably due to his taking care of Aryoung. Eventually they find that the other groups know where Aryoung is, and they go into hiding, Ki-Chul and Aryoung separating from the others to hide in Ki-Chul's family house with his parents. The father, knowing how to write Chinese, talks with Aryoung, and finds that she has a passing interest in his son. The assassins find them and try to kill Aryoung, but are easily dispatched. Aryoung's father is mortally injured in an explosion at a Hong Kong restaurant, after meeting with the rival triad boss. She leaves for home, taking a pendant from Ki-Chul, a gift from his mother, and he confesses his love for her. In Hong Kong, Aryoung and the remaining members of her father's group are hiding in the slums. She resolves to kill the rival boss. During the boss' son's wedding ceremony, Aryoung poses as the bride to be, and tries to assassinate the boss. Carnage ensues, with her father's gang backing her up, along with Ki-Chul, who arrived to see her, under the pretense of returning her mom's photo, whom she had finally met in Korea, but only from a distance. Ki-Chul distracts the boss long enough for Aryoung to kill him, but Ki-Chul falls over the top of the building and manages to land in a dump truck, much to her relief. Ki-Chul heads back to Korea, but is stopped by Aryoung, who wants to marry him, and he accepts.

This movie is all parts and no whole. It feels overmanaged; that they had to include so many things to hide the fact that there is no plot, no strong character interaction, nothing. Shu Qi and the always good Beom-Su Lee have nothing to work with, and they seem lost at times with their characters. Their relationship never really develops, in spite of the screen time they have together. The bonding moment -- when Aryoung is sitting on top of Ki-Chul while driving down a hill, both gasping in erotic delight because he's sporting a hard on, is just silly. What she sees in him we never truly understand. Really, the best person in the film is the woman who plays the translator, Yeon-Hee, who is a riot, starting off as a timid translator to a loud mouthed, gorgeous fireball who rightfully puts down the men for their antics and attitudes. The assassin fight scene was a waste. The ending was by the numbers. Having said that, this film is a lot better than #2 in the series, which was atrocious, but still pales to the classic first movie. Shu Qi fans will be entertained by her presence, and she is great eye candy, but she has proven that she can act, though not here. She was much better in So Close. Rent on a rainy night.

Classic Kobayashi - Inn of Evil

Coming on the heels of the classics Kwaidan and Samurai Rebellion, Kobayashi's Inn of Evil was released in 1970, centering on a small group of rogues who live in an inn on a small island near a port city. The inn provides harbor for the transport of goods from foreign ships and local officials, who provide them cover in return for a cut of money. Nadakai Tetsuya stars as a ronin who has fallen on hard times, and spends his time running errands for the innkeeper and drinking. A young man finds refuge there. He is mourning for the loss of his fiancee, who was sold into prostitution by her father to pay off debts. He ends up helping around the inn, but his yearning for his love, and the attempts to try to get her back against all odds touches Nadakai. He takes up the cause even though the attempt would be suicide -- the brothel has high class connections. The innkeeper sees that the time is coming to a close for the inn -- new officials have taken over the city, and the inn is no longer under any protection. Calls to wipe out the island of its bad elements are strong, and plans are made by the officials. Nadakai convinces the others to take up the young man's cause; to do something noble even though there is nothing in it for them. The initial attempt to free the woman is a disaster; out of the three sent, only Nadakai survives. The innkeeper kicks everyone out of the inn, to save their lives. But they all return, one by one, to fight on their home ground, as the military forces surround them. The rogues pitch one terrific battle, protecting the young man, so he can be reunited with his love. All are killed, but the young man gets away. The following day, the reunited couple returns to the inn and sees the devestation.

This is a good film that has yet to see the light of day on dvd in the States - check out the usual ebay or internet dealers who have an amazing ability to find and subtitle obscure films. Kobayashi again delivers with a tightly plotted film that takes time to develop, as most of the first hour takes place at the inn. It has a Lower Depths feel to it; a one set drama piece with people coming in and out, dealing with people who live under poor circumstances. The murder of the official by Nadakai is startling for its frankness. When the young man appears, things pick up, leading up to the visually stunning battle scene at the end of the film. The use of black and white photography, quite late at this point in time, really creates an atmosphere of isolation and foreboding, especially when right before the battle, the lanterns appear around the inn, as the officials close in to subdue the rogues. Thematically it is similar to Hara Kiri and Samurai Rebellion, as the rogues try to fight against the established corrupt system, to assert their individuality, but as in the other films, they are suppressed, though not without taking a whole bunch with them. Recommended!

Destiny or Foretold? - Death Note

Based on an enormously popular manga, Death Note was made into a motion picture in 2006, directed by Shusuke Kaneko (known for his 90's Gammera films, Pyrokenisis and Azumi 2). A series of murders are occuring all over the world, especially in Japan, where criminals are mysteriously dying. A name is linked to the deaths -- Kira (a derivative of the English word Killer). The authorities are on a massive manhunt for Kira, but all attempts to find him fail. In reality, Kira is a young college student named Light Yagami, who has recently passed a bar exam. He wants to join the forces like his father (played by Iron Chef emcee Takeshi Kaga), who is assigned to the case. Light stumbled across a mysterious book one day that had the words "Death Note" written on the cover, and opening it, he discovers that it is a blank notebook, except for the endpages, where the rules for using the book are written. The possessor of the book can kill anyone, just by writing the name in the book. But he or she must have a vivid picture of the person in their head when writing it, unless someone with a similar name will meet an untimely end. The means, the manner, the time of their deaths can all be predetermined, just by writing it down. Light, once discovering that he has this power, decides to use it for the good of mankind by getting rid of as many of the criminals that he can, by watching the television or meeting the people in person. His girlfriend, Shiori, is also a student, who is disturbed by Kira's actions and her boyfriend's sympathy towards Kira's cause. There is a side effect to using the book - Light can now see a demon called Ryuk, the god of death. Ryuk had lost the book, but seeing that it had a new owner, let Light keep it, and became an observer to how he would bear this tremendous responisbility. As the deaths keep piling up, the police are still baffled, until a senior official presents to the task force assigned to the case L, a mysterious figure who talks to them through a laptop computer. L is a mastermind who accurately narrows down the location of Kira by setting up a situation where Kira kills the head of the International Police, only to discover that the man was a criminal acting out the role. It was broadcasted only in Japan; therefore, Kira must be in Japan. Also, through some amazing leaps of deduction, L discovers that Kira must be a college student, based on the times of the murders, which take place during the evening and early morning, times when a student would be at home, and not at school. Light discovers that he is being tailed by a man, the reasons are unclear, but later it turns out that L had reasons to suspect him, as Kira knew things that were only known to the Task Force. Being the son of the chief, as well as having the skills to access the police server, raised L's suspicions. He asked for and got FBI support. The agent follows Light and Shiori onto a bus, where it is promptly hijacked by a criminal on the loose for bank robbery and murder. Light calls the agent's bluff of pretending not to know him by attempting to subdue the robber, but the agent -- revealing his name as Ray -- stops him. The hijacker threatens to shoot them, but is terrified by the sight of the demon, whom he sees after touching a piece a paper torn from the book. He is killed while fleeing the bus. Ray is later lured by Light/Kira onto a subway, where Kira manipulates him into revealing the names of all the FBI agents involved in the secret investigation. Ray is killed once he leaves the subway, only to be found by his fiancee, Naomi (Asaka Seto, from Bullets of Love and One Missed Call 2). A former agent herself, and having worked under L, she is determined to find her lover's killer. Meanwhile, the consequences of the FBI killings forces the Japanese task force to thin down to only those who are willing to give their lives to catching the killer. Those remaining, including Light's father, are introduced to L, who turns out to be a young man Light's age, who does not give his real name, and requests that the others do the same. L is convinced that the killer is related to one of the members of the task force, and has bugs and cameras implanted in all their homes. They spend a week studying, L especially concentrating on Light. It becomes clear to the others that L suspects Light, but there is no proof. Naomi is convinced, after doing an investigation of the bus incident where Ray was involved. She finds out about Light and Shiori, and tries to confront them about it, but Light refuses to acknowledge it. Naomi survives only by giving a false name to him. At the end of the 7 days a murder does finally happen, but closely watching Light, who was studying at the time, with the tv off, L fails to prove his guilt. But Light did kill a man, by secretly having a mini tv in a bag of chips that he was eating, and writing the name on a scrap of paper torn from the book. Naomi brings things to a head when she forces Shiori at gunpoint to ask Light to come meet her at the art museum. Light suspects something, but arriving at the museum (also being closely monitored by L), refuses to acknowledge that he is Kira, even when Naomi threatens to shoot Shiori. The police arrive, and Shiori escapes, but is shot by Naomi. Light is distraught, and Naomi suddenly realizes that she could have been wrong all the time, and confronted by the police, kills herself. All of it was planned by Light, who had written not only Naomi's death but Shiori's as well, a fact that amazed even the demon Ryuk. The film ends with Light asking his father to join the task force, and he reluctantly agrees, and Light and L finally meet, L eating a bag of chips -- the same kind that Light had been eating when he made his kill during their observation period.

Death Note and its sequel (released later in the year -- I'll do a review soon) came out within several months of each other, generating a lot of notice and were box office successes. I'll have to admit I was very surprised by this film, expecting yet another Ringu or Ju-On ripoff. What I got was a clever and original story, with one foot based on Japanese mythology, and the other in modern drama. Part ghost tale and mostly police procedural, Death Note plays on the notion of fate and control over one's life. The subplot dealing with Naomi's vengeance reveals that power can corrupt even the noble and idealistic Light, as well as demonstrating that even when he plots her demise, he has no idea how it would be carried out. There is still the element of chance and choice in how one lives one's life, no matter how predetermined. It was a kick to see the Iron Chef in a serious role, and Tatsuya Fujiwara in another prominent role after starring in Battle Royale. Kudos for the director Kanedo, who keeps a steady and even tone throughout the entire film, without resorting to hysterics or cliché, as well as putting Asaka Seto in a leather cat suit, bringing back fond memories of Diana Rigg as Emma Peel in the tv Avengers series. It's nice to see a straightforward big budget Japanese film that does not resort to monsters in big rubber suits, immature comedies, or demon girls with long black hair spilled over their faces. Recommended!