Decision to Leave (헤어질 결심)

Park Chan-wook's latest is best described as an erotic, noir-tinged crime thriller that lacked sex. Essentially mostly a two-hander between a gloriously enigmatic and magnetic Tang Wei and handsomely dignified yet befuddled Park Hae-il, Park is back with another deep dive into the minds and psyches of seemingly simple yet utterly complex characters but all presented.  

Co-written by Park, Decision to Leave, won him the Best Director at this year's Cannes and it was not hard to see why as this film was filled with extraordinary details - the detailed production design, and the immaculate costume and makeup, especially of Tang and Park's signature directorial flourishes - fancy editing, overhead god-views, unreliable narrators, flashbacks, dolly zooms, etc. In essence, a feast for the eye and the mind. 

This film, though ostensibly a crime thriller, was less of a whodunit or a why-dunit, but an intimate exploration into the minds of two lonely individuals and the complications of their somewhat-forbidden relationship. Park's camera lingered on their body (language) as the spoken word became less important than what was not being said. In particular, Tang's foreign-ness - Chinese in Korea - not only presented an additional air of mystery surrounding her character but allowed her enigma to become a character unto itself. 

However, before you know it, Park swerved hard left and the third act was almost another story. The slow burn of the first two acts quickly cascaded into a crashing denouement, and suddenly emotions were gushing forth and consequences were befalling. Yet, this third act never seemed rushed. It may have been unexpected (although on hindsight, much foreshadowing had been made), but it did not seemed out of place. 

And in the end, the conclusion was as emotionally powerful as it was enigmatic. A fitting end to a story that traded on the simple resonance of complex emotions.

Broker (브로커)

Hirokazu Kore-eda's latest Palme d'Or-nominated and Best Actor-winning Korean film was a simple, beautiful and tender film that explored big and difficult ideas. Similar to his Palme d'Or winning film, Shoplifters, this film was about family, the real biological ones, the chosen ones, the make-believe and the forgotten, and the complicated relationships that bind them together or drive them apart. However, on top of this, writer/director Kore-eda also used this film to explore other thorny and sensitive issues such as human trafficking, child abandonment, adoption vs abortion and parental responsibility. 

Thankfully, Kore-eda handled it all with the humanistic grace and gentleness that highlighted his films and it all never came off as overly preachy or conservative. The characters deftly discussed the complex morality and ethics behind these hot-button topics without forsaking plot and pace. It all flowed naturally and with a sincerity that never felt like an exposition dump leadening the film. 

Further, Kore-eda never forgot the humour. The film was peppered with humour but most of it arose from the naturalistic - and familial-like - chemistry between the cast. It was the friendly jibes between brothers, siblings, father and son, husband and wife, that brought on the levity and smiles. 

However, that was not to say that there was no drama. This was a Kore-eda film after all and there were moments of pain and heartfelt tenderness, but they never rallied into melodrama. Kore-eda, ever the empath, presented such moments naturally and with a sensitivity that felt honest and sincere. 

With all said and done, this film would not be as successful if not for the cast that Kore-eda had assembled. Like the makeshift family they represent, their chemistry evolved over the course of the film till the end where their familial bond seemed seamless.

Leading man, Song Kang-ho easily anchored the film with his everyman charms, but beneath that was a complex character that Song (and Kore-eda) slowly presented to the audience. Unlike a lot of Hollywood films, we are never spoon fed here, but the layers are there and we are trusted to be able to peel and reveal them ourselves.

Gang Dong-won and Lee Ji-eun completed the adults of the family unit and again, these two were complex characters, the latter more so. In particular, Lee, at the end, showed a range and depth that could not have been guessed from the beginning.

Donna Bae led the subplot which in the beginning felt superfluous and tiresome, but - trust Kore-eda - dovetailed beautifully into the main story and film's themes. Bae was as effortlessly engaging as always, and the film's standout moment - an homage to Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia - belonged to her. 

Broker was a beautiful film to watch. It may not be as powerful as Shoplifters but it still offered a tender and gentle, yet emotional, ride that promised hope and faith in humanity. 

Thor: Love and Thunder [IMAX 3D]

A short, just under 2-hours (119 minutes), runtime made Thor: Love and Thunder, a well-paced, tightly constructed and riotously funny, space adventure/rom-com. However, at the same time, the length also resulted in many moments of  plot holes and logic leaps, and also a distinct lack of emotional heft. In particular, the central romance between Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, could at times felt rushed and partially unearned. 

Taika Waititi's signatures were all over the film, from the brightly-coloured palette to the almost-cringey/awkward humour - but boy, did we love those goats and their screams! Waititi's New Zealand-accented voiceover, by way of, Korg, was also a perpetual delight. 

On the other hand, the worst of his impulses were also magnified here as with the film's budget, again the juvenile-esque humour, the over-cluttered imagination/set pieces, and the mishandling of the non-children dramatic sequences. Waititi excelled with depicting the emotional landscape of children, but when it comes to adults, his films always seemed to reduce them to binary terms and over-simplifies their relationships.

Visually, the film's biggest standout moment was the shadow realm/planet set piece. That was a stunning piece of cinematography and cinematic moment. Even the action sequence there was also the best of the film, the sequences before and after were generally unimpressive with some scattered standout hero moments (The Mighty Thor and Mjonir and the mass final battle scene), but on the whole was unexciting. 

There were also some CGI issues throughout the film from obvious green-screen sets to mismatched eyelines which was distracting, especially during the slower bits of the film.

Well, at least the needle drops were impressive and on point, and far less grating than what James Gunn did for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Although they did distract from Michael Giacchino's score which, other than the main themes, felt mundane and generic; almost a perennial problem with MCU films.

Hemsworth, like the other OG Avengers, has now clearly embodied Thor. Even more so after the character reboot from Waititi during Thor: Ragnarok. He clearly relished the comedic (read: himbo-ic) side of Thor and his comedic timing was golden. In addition, Hemsworth also nailed the dramatic moments, especially the final bit, except it was a shame he was relegated to bro-mode most of the time with no need to exude unnecessary drama. Nonetheless, obviously he and Waititi understood each other very well to craft a character that was entertaining and engaging. 

Now we just need to cast Hemsworth in a proper rom-com!

Portman, on the other hand, seemed unsure of the comedy. She, clearly, had no problems with the dramatic beats, but most of her Waititi-jokes did not land as well as they could. However, at least her chemistry with Hemsworth seemed to have improved. She also made a very fine Mighty Thor and perhaps with the right writer/director, her character could have a bigger/better impact.

Tessa Thompson was great too and had some good quips. However, she was shortchanged in terms of character arc/development, but at least she did what she could during her brief scenes.

Christian Bale was terrifying.  His Gorr may not make much sense (see above re: plot holes), but Bale was downright scary at most times but there were moments of empathy and sympathy too. That was acting.

And lastly, shout out to Russell Crowe who was a hoot! He seemed to be having so much fun chewing up the scenery. Orgy!

Thor: Love and Thunder may not be top-tier MCU, and did minimal to both deepen Thor as a character and expand on the MCU's grand plans for Phase 4 and beyond, but, nonetheless, it was a fun and entertaining ride. Fun in IMAX but 3D was not necessary.

As usual, stay for both the mid and post-credits stingers. Both seemed to suggest potential storylines for future Thor films.