-asian films/dramas-

Soredemo Boku wa Yattenai

Casts:  Ryo Kase, Asaka Seto, Kohji Yamamoto

Release Date: 2006

 

“Please judge me the way you would want to be judged.”

“Somewhere in my mind, I believed a judge would be able to discern the truth.  No matter how many times I told myself how tough trials are, I really didn’t do it so I can’t possibly be found guilty.  That’s what I thought.  I heard a judge once said “only God knows the truth”, but that’s not true.  At least I know the truth, that I didn’t do it.  Then, I am the only person in this trial who is fit to judge.  At least, I can judge the judge.  You have made a mistake.  Because I am absolutely innocent.  I realized for the very first time……A courtroom is not a place where truths are uncovered.  A courtroom is nothing more than a place where they speculate whether or not the defendant is guilty based on collected evidence.  And the speculation is that I’m guilty.  That is the judgement by the court.  Even so…..Even so, I didn’t do it.” 

 

This is a story about a young man Teppei (played by Ryo Kase) being falsely accused of molesting/groping a high school girl on a train.  Before watching this movie, I thought that this is just gonna be one of those dragging films with a single theme (in this case, the groping theme)……but i was wrong.  While the movie focus indeed on a single theme, somehow the director was able to inject a sense of masterpiece in dealing with the theme.  With regard to the casts, all i can say is, brilliant!.  Ryo Kase is an awesome actor.  I am not a fan of his but after watching this movie, I must say that he really played his part well.  Such convincing performance that you can’t really help but feel his pain as well…..with suffering evident in his face, with the pleading look, with the downcast eyes, and the way he deliver his lines….it was so very good!  And the other actors playing protagonists really did well also.  The lead attorney who handled his case, his was great acting with finesse.  With the female attorney, at first you would really feel irritated and angry the way she believed Teppei was guilty, but after a while, she really did have a change of heart, and the acting transition, even if it wasn’t done in a kind of like a great turn-around, it was still good.  The first judge, with justice written all over his face was also good and Teppie’s friends as well.  And of course his mother…..she really did well showing such devotion and love for her son and believing in him…..going to lawyers asking for help, going to the subway station everyday just to distribute flyers.  My favorite part was on the night before the verdict and Teppei could not asleep and his mother said that it will be a not guilty verdict.  It was such a simple scene really but the mother’s words say it all, she really believes in her son not committing the act.  Part of the movie’s convincing effort are also of the actors who played antagonists.  There’s the second judge, whose addition managed to turn the story upside-down and back-to-nothing again for the protagonists.  And of course, the police force………whose portrayals in the movie would really evoke thoughts of fear and questions such as “what if they do that to me too?”, “what if I am in Teppei’s situation too?, what will they do to me?” and the likes……..or for others, like me, the feelings of anger and hatred for them for abusing their authorities and for not being just and fair.  As for the victim, in as much as I would like to sympathize with her, I just really can’t, partly because of the unjust treatment of the police to Teppei.  If the police had just given Teppei a fair treatment, then my sympathy would have been a hundred percent to the victim………..

To sum it all up, I say that this is one great movie by one great director.  The screenplay is awesome.  The director was able to present what he wanted to convey to the viewers and at the same time was able to evoke the emotions that he wanted to see from the viewers…………

“Please judge me the way you would want to be judged”.

 

 

 

Sarangttawin Pilyoeopseo

Casts: Moon Geun-young, Kim Joo-hyeok

Release Date: 2006

 

“After meeting you, I learned that coffee and cigarettes must be together.  And that cigarettes must be with a lighter.  I learned that lighters must be on top of a desk.  If I was sitting at a desk now, while smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee, as if I’m taking you in, pushing down the smoke deep in my chest, I could’ve written down letter by letter that I love you.  I love you.  I love you.  I love you.  I love you.  I love you.  I love you.  I love you.  I love you.  I could’ve written it 1000 times and shown it to you.  Then what would you have said?  You can think of whatever I say as a lie.  Because I’m just adding one more to the countless lies I said to you.  If it was fate to meet you, then could you come to where I am?  I will wait for you.  Until the day you come to me, even if you never come, I will wait for you.”

 

A not-so-typical love story with a touch.  The male character Julian (Joo-hyeok) has been living his life with lies and parties but when everything goes wrong (such as an unpaid debt nearing its deadline), he must think of a way to pay his debt inorder to save his life.  And enters Min (Geun-young), a blind heiress who has been looking for her long-lost brother.  And you figure it out, Julian pretends to be the long-lost brother.

What i like about this movie is the unconventional love story of the two…..Julian’s dilemma of focusing on the solution of his problem and of his sudden change of heart toward Min as they begin to bond with each other.  Min, who at first was very bitter over his brother abandoning him begins to open up with the idea of starting her life anew, with his brother by his side.  But this is not as simple as it seems, some factors added also contributed to the development of the story.  These includes Julian’s large sum of debt and the debtor’s threat, the people surrounding Min, her illness, and of course the lies…….

With the storyline, I can say that the development of the story is pretty good, the pace is really set.  But with the actors being paired to play the part, i’m kinda in a limbo in this.  Sure Geun-young is a great actress and Joo-hyeok not far from perfect either but there is just something about them being paired in this movie that bothers me.  No chemistry? not really…..but i think they are both very conscious with the age difference in some scenes such as in the one where Julian, pretending to be blind, was walking toward Min and Min walking toward him as well, meeting him halfway…..in that scene, i feel that Geun-young’s face somewhat didn’t register the needed emotion……and also in the scene at the park when Geun-young caressed Joo-hyeok’s face…..it’s just the connection thing between the two that is lost in some scenes.  But in other scenes you can really feel the connection, such as the scene in the tunnel, where Min confronted Julian about his absence from her life and then returning to her life all of the sudden.  And my favorite scene, the one in the last part where Min was crying holding Julian’s hand and saying that it was usually warm…I just gotta love that scene……..

One thing I also love about the movie, are the designs, the set designs and the wardrobe designs, I really love them.  Min’s house is beautifully designed with a unique look….the staircase, man, I wish my house has that exact staircase ^_^ ………and Min’s wardrobe, I so love the fur hat she wore in the last part, the white dress she wore when she bought the ring, and the black dress she wore near the last part.    

Overall, this is still one of my favorite korean movies of all time because of its not-your-typical storyline build-up……

I’ve read though that this movie did not really fair well in the theatre, but even so, I still think this is one good of a movie………

 

 

 

Isa pang pagkakataon

Casts:  John Lloyd Cruz, Bea Alonzo, Maja Salvador, Derek Ramsey

Release Date: 2007

 

“Basha:  I feel so horrible.  Because the truth is, I’m still hoping that you’ll tell me that it’s me, that it’s always been me, that it’s still me you love. 

Popoy:  I love Trisha. 

Basha:  I know. 

Popoy:  She loved me at my worst.  You had me at my best.  And you threw it all away. 

Basha:  Is that what you really think?  I just had to make a choice. 

Popoy:  And you chose to break my heart.”

 

This has got to be one of my all-time favorite filipino movies.  This is a story about two lovers who has been together for five years and decides to break up.  At first i was doubtful whether the director and the cast would be able to give justice to such a simple story about love and breaking up, after all, a lot of films have this type of plot.  But lo and behold!  The movie is simply one of the best! 

The movie did not rely much on the plot but more on the human emotions needed to make the plot stand out.  For such a simple storyline, the director was wise enough to put more importance on the human emotions and through the casts, make those emotions outshine the plot itself.  The actors’ mature take on their given roles are just superb!  With every line delivered, you can really feel as if it’s their own story and it’s their own emotions showing.  Playing the male lead character Popoy, John Lloyd was able to give justice to the role.  Such a fine and talented actor.  His boy-next-door look did not hinder him from playing a very mature role.  Well I know that he has already played a lot of mature roles but this has got to be his finest so far.  And Bea, playing the character of Basha is equally talented as well.  She really has the talent, no doubt about it.  Even if the roles they play in this movie are way too far from their “Close to You” movie, the turn-around of roles from cutie-tweetums to mature serious individuals were handled with so much ease that you sometimes wonder if they have been in such dilemma in their real lives, with the way they portrayed the role.  Such chemistry they have is so hard to find among celebrities playing lovers in reel life but not in real life.  They simply have so much talent to offer. 

Also, what made the movie a success were the lines used.  I salute the scriptwriter in this one.  Even if the scene just involves a simple conversation about a simple topic, the conversational lines used are so lyrical that you will really find them hard to forget.  They simply get into your head and without knowing it, you are already reciting the lines of Popoy and Basha among your friends.   

The other actors also contributed much to the movie’s success.  There’s Mark, played by Derek and Trisha by Maja.  Now about Maja, i think that she still has a lot to improve with her acting.  Throughout the movie, I can feel that she is still conscious on how to really play her part.  But she has talent, we can see that.  I like her especially on her last scene with Popoy, it was just so heartbreaking.  She made that scene her own I should say.

However, there are some factors of the movie that i don’t like, such as Bea and Maja’s wigs.  Well, it kinda looks good on Maja, but on Bea, her wig somehow distracts me because it seems to cover her other eye in almost every scene.  Another is Maja’s not-so-natural speaking voice.  I don’t like it.  She speaks in a very low voice and seems to drag what she’s saying that it makes me feel sleepy.  There is also her reciting the poem to Popoy inside the car.  I think the movie could do away without it.  Or if not, at least try to let her recite the poem but in a line or two and not the whole one.  

All in all, I still have to say that this movie is a must-see.  And I can guarantee that people will love this movie. 

 

“Mark:  Sometimes it’s better for two people to break-up….for them to grow-up.  It takes grown-ups to make relationships work.

Basha:  You think I’m a grown-up?“