A few weeks ago we left for Asia - at least metaphorically speaking - to discover new tv series must see (dorama, kdrama and chinese dramas): now it's time to explore the movie category, equally charming and full of interesting products.
I admit that I am not as experienced as the TV series category, but I can say that I have seen some great films and I am here to suggest you. Let's find out together i 5 Asian films not to be missed (at the moment!).
5 Asian movies: only one will remain with Battle Royale
The first film I want to suggest is also one of the very first Asian-style films I've ever seen: Battle Royale. It is a Japanese film from the early years of 2000 directed by Kinji Fukasaku and inspired by the novel of the same name by Koushun Takami.
We are in the near future, in a dystopian Japan in which the authority of the adult population has drastically decreased over time: adults no longer control society and are unable to transmit valid teachings to young people.
This subsequently results in an increase in juvenile crime.
To prevent this from continuing to increase further, the authorities decide to approve a particular law, the Millennium Educational Reform Act. This law consists in drawing lots for a group of high school students who will then have to participate in the Battle Royale, a horrible survival game.
Here the boys, transported to a desert island, will have only one task: to kill each other and be able to survive to defend their own safety at all costs, and then return home. Only the strongest, or the last remaining in the race, will be able to obtain such recognition.
If at the end of the set days more students are left alive, the committee will kill them all through an electronic collar that they wear around their necks. Who will stay alive?
Taking this journey into the world of Asian films was a lot illuminating as particolare. The first time I saw this movie I was totally amazed at what my eyes were actually seeing.
Hunger Games comes much later. And, by comparison, it looks like a title for boarders. The theme is similar but in key much more violent and raw, almost without human feelings. The film is old so the streaming I used at the time was not the best but, despite this, I still managed to have a lump in the throat for the duration of the film.
The settings are head, almost dirty and the only hints of color are seen with the splashes of blood that will frame the scene when we least expect it. Colors they are not beautiful and turned on, from the beginning there is a prevalence of soft colors, dull, which go a bit to anticipate the events of the film.
What probably conveys the most concern, besides the main topic of the film, is the radical change that some characters undergo: after all they are teenagers, catapulted into a reality that they would never have imagined living.
Some are weaker and seek refuge in suicide: it is better to die by my hand than to kill and be killed. Others, however, will discover a hidden side of themselves, combined with the unhealthy taste of killing for fun. No one is friends anymore, they are all enemies.
The director highlights one society that has lost its way, in which the errors of adults necessarily fall on the children, forcing them to act horrible, unimaginable.
Did you know that it is thanks to this film that the battle royale mode video games? This mode, as we all know, has two main characteristics:scouting and survival. The player will subsequently be forced to fight, in a certain area, against hundreds of players and will have to manage to survive.
Here too, as in the film, he will have to remain only one able to clinch the victory.
The element was also taken from the film equipment: Movie characters, like video game characters, will start their adventure with very basic equipment. As the game progresses, they will be able to explore the map and find additional resources, including weapons, ammo, and everything else they need.
And it is from this film that the now famous battle royale mode was born, which have been so successful in some of the Video Game most famous in recent years, including Fortnite, Call of duty warzone ed Apex Legends.
It is a mode that in our eyes is very funny, especially because it gives us a particular sense of omnipotence when we manage to reach the final peak. In reality, however, it is good to remember that this idea was taken from a raw novel and film, without shame or feelings, totally devoid of humanity and that, despite this, it still remains one of the best films I've ever seen.
You will find everything inside and it is good that you see it. In addition, the ending, after what you have been able to see from the first minutes of the film, will be able to amaze you intensely.
5 Asian films: Old Boy, the film that Tarantino "wanted to make"
The second film that I want to suggest is also very particular and it is Old Boy and it is a Korean film from 2003 directed by Park chan-wook. The protagonist is Oh Dae-su, a normal man who is kidnapped on his daughter's fourth birthday. The man subsequently wakes up in a small cell, from which he cannot escape: here he has everything "necessary" to spend the days in peace, bed, bathroom and a TV with some channels.
One day, while watching a newscast, he learns that his wife is dead and that the authorities attribute her murder to him. Dae-su is destroyed by the news and during his long imprisonment, he attempts suicide but is saved each time by those who have kidnapped him.
The years continue to pass and Dae-su tries to do his best not to go totally crazy. Furthermore, he cannot stop thinking about why he was kidnapped or who could be the author of such a horrible gesture. Then years later, suddenly, Dae-su is freed from his captors ...
Old Boy left me even more amazed than Battle Royale did. It is one of the films more raw and chilling I've ever seen. There plot is one of a kind, is not at all trivial and is characterized by unexpected twists and intense.
After seeing this movie, my face was quite shocked. I couldn't believe what I had just seen.
It is a film based on the revenge (and if you like Old Boy, I invite you to see all the unforgettable and celebrated Revenge trilogy by the same director) and on violence, often and gladly free. The way in which the director manages to transport the viewer within his personal vision of the world is disturbing and fascinating at the same time.
It is a film capable of unrest, disorient and sometimes even disgust the viewer, but all of this is enveloped in an atmosphere of almost dazzling charm which will keep you glued to the screen for the duration of the film. You will get goosebumps, I'm almost sure of it.
It is one of those experiences that cannot be described until you try it firsthand. Even today, I am amazed by what the director was able to create.
Tune in for Love, a flower that is slow to bloom
The next movie is Tune in for Love and already from the title you can deduce that it is a different product than the previous ones. It is a South Korean film of 2019 directed by Jung Ji-woo and that you can easily see on Netflix.
The film is set in Seoul in the 90s and reflects on the Asian financial crisis that hit the country around 1997. The protagonists of this new Netflix film are two young guys, so different yet similar that they meet in 1995: from there to then their paths, despite the obstacles of life, will always end up crossing each other.
The two remember and rethink with pleasure, despite the passing of the years and the unexpected events that prevent them from being together. The protagonists Hyun-woo and Mi-soo will mature and grow over the years. About 10 years later, the two are now young adults who work and live a particular life.
Destiny will give us a hand again and will make them meet again: will the two be able to put aside the past problems of their lives and open up to each other?
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By now you know me and you know that I can't live without romantic films. However, what characterizes the Asian ones is the weight of feelings sweetness with which they are represented and the tenderness that unites the protagonists in the most intense moments of their lives. The whole thing is so delicate and intense that, personally, I can't help but be moved and daydreaming.
All the best love stories are troubled: after all, what's the point of a perfect, flat story without a bit of adventure? This is what is portrayed in Tune in for Love, along with the famous saying: if two people are meant to be together, no matter the time and the obstacles, they will always end up finding each other.
Koreans, you know, when they have to represent poignant and intense love stories, they are always in the front row and they do it very well. The plot is interesting and for two hours of viewing it will totally make you travel with the mind. It is one of those stories pure, genuine, a small spring flower which, however, due to some obstacles, is slow to bloom: however, this does not mean that it will not.
Also you will find one really very nice soundtrack. If you need something to revive you in love after the first two Asian films recommended, this is for you.
5 Asian films: The Host and Madre, two little pearls by director Bong Joon-ho
The last two films I'm going to suggest to you have both been made by Bong Joon-ho, director of P. Before this Oscar-winning film, the director worked on other films, in particular these two which I will now tell you about.
The first is The Host, film set in South Korea in the 2000s and available on Netflix. In a morgue, an American pathologist tells his Korean assistant to throw formaldehyde, as it has expired, down the drain in the sink. Despite being opposed, the assistant carries out orders by polluting the Han River with gallons of chemical.
Years pass and inside the river there is a strange amphibious creature: after being sighted, chaos is ready to reign. The creature is huge, odd-looking and attacks passers-by and then hides in the depths of the river, taking the victims with it.
The news is spread throughout Korea where a state of alert is declared, with the army preparing to defend its citizens.
The plot will seem banal, already seen and known but trust me: during the film, you will realize that what you are observing is nothing more than a small masterpiece. The director's skill is immediately evident, he manages to make the malleable film and to go from comedy to tragedy and action in a few scenes, without disfiguring the product.
La soundtrack is unsettling, in the most positive sense of the term, and the cast chosen (in which we find Bae Doo-na, protagonist of Sense8) seems to have come into the world mainly to make this film. The actors are spot on and perfect for their role. The film is complex and tremendously well done. The mastery of Bong Joon-ho is there and you can feel it.
A more animated film than the previous ones but still interesting and captivating.
The latest Asian film, also made by Bong Joon-ho, is called Mother and it is a film of the 2009. The protagonist is Yoon Do-joon, a mentally impaired boy who lives with his mother in a small town in South Korea.
One day the body of a student was found on a terrace in a very strange position: the country was suddenly shocked. The evidence is few and incomprehensible but all lead to Do-joon, who is immediately accused of murder because he doesn't even have an alibi.
However, the mother knows that her son is innocent and will do everything she can to expose the real culprit.
Right away you can breathe an intense atmosphere of mystery e violence which, with the passing of the minutes, will become more and more prickly e concrete. Here too the director highlights characters out of the ordinary, apparently weak, and who have always had to do that extra effort compared to the other.
The character of the mother is apparently sweet, harmless but in reality she embodies strength and determination to discover the truth: nothing can get in the way of a mother who is willing to do anything for her child. This determination, however, will risk, more often than not, to become pure obsession.
It is a strong film, interesting and that cannot be missing from your list of Asian films. The peculiarity that is hidden in this category of films is unique in its genre and deserves to be known all over the world. Dare and immerse yourself in this distant but fascinating world.
Don't let the subtitles scare you and do as our Bong Joon-ho said: "Once you cross the one inch subtitle barrier, you will be introduced to many more amazing movies."
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