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A Very Long Engagement (2004) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a very interesting movie that combines both the elements of Brutal Trench Warfare of WW1 with a noir style crime drama and manages to shine in both aspects.

It opens with five french soldiers being Court-Martialed to death for self inflicting injuries to their hands to avoid being sent on the suicidal death marches across the no man's land between the enemy trenches.

Then the story goes back and forth from present to past in a detective style investigative manner, showing small clues with every scene and making the viewers ready for the final big reveal whether or not the soldiers are alive or not.

A bonding love story of Mathilde(Audrey Tautou) and Manech(Gaspard Ulliel) also centres the plot where Mathilde is desperate and determined to find out whether her lover is alive or not, and is ready to face any difficulty just to find her answers despite being an polio patient.

The Cinematography by 'Bruno Delbonnel' is symbolising the 100W light bulb to showcase the older era with the central colour shade being of yellowish tint.

There is a stark contrast of locations, one being the deadly and brutual muddy trench filled western front and other being the various beautiful locations across France with most of them showcasing Paris. The Picture perfect visuals are a feast to the eyes which keep glued to the screen seeing the horrors of war and the joys of life unfold in front of them.

The Soundtrack by Angelo Badalmenti is grand and it fits the visuals and the scenes perfectly and makes the actors express their emotions brilliantly.

The Acting by every cast member is superb and they are able to express their emotions flawlessly.

A great movie that everyone should see!!!!!!

Composition Class (1938) by Kajiro Yamamoto can be easily sighted as the film which paved way for Akira Kurosawa in Cinematic History.

The legendary film director lists this film at no. 17 of his Top 100 favourite films, simply because it was due to Yamamoto's strict technique of teaching Kurosawa every small detail of filmmaking from Editing, writing script to deciding costume and make props, by making him do every single work, most of which not to Kurosawa's pleasure ; that made him a Competent director able to make any film on his own. Therefore Kurosawa addressed Yamamoto as Yama-San with respect for the great Director.

The Film follows the life of a 13 year old girl(Young Hideko Takamine), her family's daily struggles to manage meal for five people in tough times, and her desire to write articles about everyday life ; one of which gets her both appreciation and punishment.

Her teacher notices her talent of pointing out even the slightest details in her writings and encourages her and her family not to stop her from writing about things with full honesty.

Tough the film is simple and might garner interest among viewers now, but its subject matter is still true almost after 90 years of its release for various classes and parts of the world and not only Japan, the struggle against poverty is everlasting and breaking for many.

Hideyuki Hirayama's official entry of Japan for best foreign picture of the 71st Academy Awards, "Begging for love(1998)" a.k.a "Ai o kou hito, is a story of confronting the fears of your past while being a case study of mother daughter relationship.

The story starts when young Terue(Mieko Harada) leaves Japan for taiwan along with her sick father suffering from consumption. Her father dies after a few months and now she is left in the care of her mother who treats her like a piece of object, always hitting and scolding her. Her mother changes her relationships regularly but her and her lover's behaviour towards young Terue remains the same. She hits her with brooms, sticks, slaps etc and tells her that even her sight makes her angry and tells her that she was a result of a rape she suffered and she was not a child she wanted.

Young Terue suffers such fate everyday until one day when she decides to run away from her mother, which she is able to do with the help of her step-brother.

When she herself becomes a mother after many years, she decides to provide her daughter with every happiness that she was deprived of and love her unconditionally. When Terue begins her journey to find her father's ashes her daughter Migusa also accompanied her along her journey, They both reach taiwan where they meet their relatives and with the help of them begin their quest to find her father's ashes.

After many efforts they are finally able to locate the ashes and collect them, when migusa tells Terue that collecting the ashes was not her main purpose rather she wanted to find her mother and ask her questions and confront her fears of childhood.

They go to Terue's mother salon which migusa located, where Terue gets a haircut from her mother. She then cleaverly tells her that she is her daughter and leaves her after telling her that she always wanted to just hear 'You are Cute" from her mother.

On their return in the bus, terue tells her daughter that though her mother always hurt her, she still loved her and just wanted to be liked by her.

The Sountrack is really great and mellow and fits the mood of the scenes perfectly, The performances, especially by the actresses portraying young terue, were top notch, able to convey real emotions and pain of characters. The Pacing and camera moment were also beautifully done, almost like the taiwanese new wave movies of Edward yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien.

A really great film which was a surprise find but has become one of the best i had ever seen. Many people may not know about this film but it is a type of film everyone should at least see once.

The New Taiwanese Cinema movement started with 'In our Time(1982)' an anthology film with four short films by pioneers of Taiwanese new wave depicting the lives and struggles of the common folk of the newly independant and growing Taiwan with the progress of the country shown from 1950 to the 1980 in different segments by four Extraordinarily directors Edward Yang, Tao Te-che, Ko I-chen and Yi chang ; who will change the face of Taiwanese cinema from kung-fu movies and rom-coms to more serious films portraying the birth of a new Nation.

The first segemt portrays an innocent childhood, the second a curious and confused adolescent, the third a charming college student and fourth athe everyday struggles of a new relationship. They are all very funny especially the last segment and brings a great smile on your face.

With Similar theme and structure another anthology film consisting of three short films by three new talented directors depicting the economic development of the new country during the 'Cold War' period with aid from the United States of America called the 'The Sandwich Man(1983)' came out and it is regarded as a milestone in the new cinema movement and helped curate it into a country wide phenomenon.

1) The first story called "Son's big Doll" by Hou Hsiao-hsien ( credited as 'Hou Saou-Shan' in it) tells the story of a man who wanders around the town in a clown outfit, advertising movies for a cinema after pitching this idea to his boss after reading in the newspaper of a similar man in Japan who used the same concept to aid his business. For Just NT350 his boss agrees to his idea rather reluctantly.

His Uncle does not support his new venture but being an uneducated man this is the only job he could think of to support his wife and a new born child. After some time when his boss asks him to stop roaming around like a clown and ride a rickshaw instead he happily agrees but is conflicted when his son refuses to identify him without the clown makeup.

2) The second Story called "Vick's Hat" by Tsang Jong-Cheung tells us the story of two ambitious young salesmen, one of those who was in the army ; who sell pressure cookers for a Japanese company by going different places in their truck and bikes to sell the product to the local public who had never heard of such product which can cook their food which usually takes two hours in ten minutes.

The public thinks of the product to be too good to be true and when the young men are not able to sell their target they decide to go separately on different bikes, to cover more area and start demonstrating the product to gain the confidence of the people ; only to discover late that the product they are selling is defective and will hurt one of them severly when it will explode during a demonstration, leading the other to condemn the company and curse it.

3) The third story called " The Taste of Apples" by Jen Wan tells us the story of a poor man that has been hit by the car of an high ranking American embassy official, when he is going for finding labour, that breaks his legs.

The poor man has a family of 6 with 5 children and a wife, due to his low income and nature of the labouring job his family is not in a good state, they live in one the the last remaining slum districts soon to be converted into high rise apartments. Of the 5 children one is a new born, one girl his mute and of the three that go to school none of them are able to afford the fees and are regularly humilated in front of the class to submit the fees.

The accident comes as a blessing in disguise for the family as the embassy takes the responsibility to treat him in their own luxurious white hospital and the Official pledges to look after his family and treatment by providing ample money satrting with NT50,000 ; an amount it would take years for him to earn by doing labour.

His wife is happy that now they will be able to look after thier kids better and pay their fees and pay their expenses, while the kids are excited when they sit in the luxurious car of the American Official and show off in front of their friends.

Also in the hospital, the family tastes apples for the first time in their life and eat them with a smile of sweetness. The story ends with the a framed photo of the family hanging on a wall where everybody is dressed in new clothes and are looking happy.

These movies spanning from (1962- 1969), despite their minimalistic approach, portrayed the true feelings of the whole nation and put forward their struggles to different people throughout the world by participating and winning numerous film festivals and awards and somewhat helped put Taiwan on the world map, allowing many nations to recognise and aid this newly independant nation, which will eventually become one of the most advanced countries in the world in just a matter of decades, excellencing in various fields.

Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien will go on to make some of the most remarkable movies for not only taiwan but also world cinema like yang's magnum opus ' A brighter Summer day', ' Taipei Story', 'Yi-Yi', 'That day, on the beach', 'Mahjong' etc and Hou Hsiao-hsien making ' A city of Sadness', 'Flowers of Shanghai', ' Dust in the wind', ' Time to live and time to die', 'The boys from Fengkuei', 'The Puppetmaster' etc just to name a few.

Their movement will eventually lead to the world discovering new talents like 'Ang Lee', 'Sylvia Chang', Stan Lai' etc. Who will help in reviving the forgotten genres of cinema of taiwan and help expanding it greatly in the world, with ang lee becoming one of the most recognised directors in the world.

Ever came across a film that completely changed your mood and made you realise the power of cinema and why we still see movies, whether you be a film student or a casual watcher looking for a heartfelt, down-to-earth and a pure piece of Cinema, then 'The Fall(2006)' by Tarsem Singh is just the movie you were looking for.

It is a type of tale that gives you a feeling in your gut that it is going to be good from the very first scene. It has a certain innocence sprouting out beneath all the tension that you forget the pain of the characters but focus on their epic journeys of courage, valour and most importantly the will of never giving up till the very end.

Just as the little girl is anxious everyday to listen to the tale of the five heroes and thier quest to get revenge, knowing altogether that it is a made up story from characters and elements that we see in the hospital, yet we gladly forget about it and eagerly wait for the next chapter of the story just like the little girl.

Our lead hero who is a stuntman during the glorious and dangerous 'Silent Era of Films' is hurt in love and has broken his back in a filming accident, he has lost all his will to live, then the little curious and mischievous child enters his room and they from an friendly relationship where he tells her a made up story to make her leave but soon their friendship strengthens and takes different turns just as his story progresses to different chapters and angles.

It is because of this daily routine of progressing the story that we are introduced to different memorable characters and locations, and at the same time his will to live is ignited again. Just like the story, he becomes a father figure for the girl who has lost her father at an very early stage.

THE film has no major flaws, has excellent on location filmography showing us various historic locations all across the globe with brilliant Cinematography and an flawless music score that fits the scenes and brings out their meanings beautifully and gives us absolutely no reason to dislike this masterpiece of modern cinema showing us brilliantly the Dangerous era of experiments in cinema when people actually put their lives on the line for making movies and whose efforts need to be appreciated even more i.e "The Silent Era."

The subject matter is tragic yet it has a certain feel-good feeling to it like 'Secret life of walter mitty', 'The Diving Bell and The Butterfly', 'The Awakening' etc that tells us to live our lives to the fullest even in the most difficult times as good times shall definitely come to those who live freely.

Keisuke Kinoshita's "Twenty-Four Eyes(1954)" is an epic movie of all standards that deserves all the praise it could get. Despite just being a Simple and Normal Everyday type movie, it has a strong anti-war theme hidden beneath an outstanding and heart-touching performance from all actors.

Set between 1928 to 1946 it tells us about the relationship between a new teacher in a rural school and her twelve students (twenty-four eyes) which grows stronger as the years pass.

Hideko Takamine gives a very strong performance as the teacher Miss. Hisako Oishi, who not only is very determined for her job but also cares for the children just like her own.

Takamine shows here why She was Japan's one of most beautiful and Talented actresses who could play almost any character she was given the task to portray with utter perfection and dedication by which she made that character her own; from Mama in 'When A Woman Ascends the Stairs', Yukiko in 'Floating Clouds', Reiko in 'Yearning', kin in 'Carmen Comes Home' to the Fierce Oshima in 'Arakure' among many other great performances.

It was like she almost didn't do any bad roles or even if the film may be lacking structure, she always showed her Charisma and made the film worthwhile.

As soon as film starts and we see Hideko Takamine's Oishi riding a Bicycle in a modern dress to the school while people keep staring at her in shock; it shows as that her story though might seem simple, will have a lot of obstacles.

It also shows how as modernisation was taking over japan, people were still struck in the old way of thinking that a woman should not do such tasks.

Despite these challenges, Oishi is able to show great dedication to her cause of teaching the children and even the children started to like her after showing initial denial.

She taught them poems, songs, played with them, took them to local trips and tried to always make them happy while telling them to always remain friends. After Her accident and seeing the children's love for her, the village people also start liking her and gave her many gifts.

As the film progresses and years pass, their bond grows stronger even though some students were not able to study further.

As the years come closer to ww2, the concept of who is capitalist or who is a Communist kept rising, those who said or association with any cowardly or weak acts were considered enemy of the Empire. Miss Oishi Who also didn't like the idea of war and losing her loved ones; was also doubted for being a red, but these things didn't shatter her beliefs, that was also the reason she left teaching.

It would not be wrong to say Takamine cried a river in this movie as her character showed the most sympathy towards her fellow students and family.

Whenever anything tragic happened to them she was always there to help till the end while trying very hard to hide her tears but they gave way much to often.

When the war ended and she decided to teach again after 18 years, as now she could teach freely without being suppressed by authorities and found the children of her students studying in her class she was immediately taken back to memory lane and became reminiscent of the good old days before all the problems, before her students left her due to various family and personal problems, before her husband and daughter died, before war took everything from them.

"Auld Lang Syne" or a similar tune was used throughout the movie as a theme which was used correctly to show the respect for Mrs. Oishi and bid farewell to her students and family; and might be one of the best use of the song in movie history, along with one of the most beloved teachers in whole history of cinema i.e. Hideko Takamine's Miss. Oishi.

The words said by Jamie S. Rich that "If you don't tear up at least a couple of times in Twenty-Four Eyes, you apparently have rocks where the rest of us have brains and hearts." couldn't have been truer.

A perfect film in all senses that couldn't be hated by anyone and which is true from the heart as it in its intentions.

Farewell Mrs. Hideko Takamine and thanks for giving us Miss. Oishi, a pure hearted character like the pure hearted soul you were.

Arakure(1957) or 'Untamed Woman' by Mikio Naruse is a story that was needed to be told and it couldn't have been made possible without the brilliance of 'Hideko Takamine'.

Naruse was known to make movies portraying the Hardships faced by Women in everyday life during Post ww2 and pre war Japan.

Unlike Another Master 'Kenji Mizoguchi' who also portrayed Strong and determined Women facing hardships of Patriarchal Society in his movies , Naruse's era was somewhat more modern.

In Arakure, Hideko Takamine's 'Oshima' is also a repressed woman under Society's norms but Unlike Naruse's other Women, she will not take it anymore and will even fight for her rights and respect.

Takamine who was always seen as an sweet and elegent lady in other Naruse's movies, shows all the depths of her brilliant acting skills in one of her best roles in this film.

Oshima is a girl that is being suppressed since her childhood and always seen more as an service maid than an human being, while regularly forced by other how she should dress, talk, act etc.

When she decides to Fight for her rights, she is called an rebel and asked to leave.

She struggles throughout the film with unsupportive men, sickness, poverty, mockery ; yet at the end she is able to work and own her own Tailor-shop by her own hardwork.

Hideko Takamine is fearless in her portrayal of Oshima and and incorporates her whole body to deliver a performance that will use her every movement to express her character; from stark dialogue delivery, energetic performance, using just her eye movement to deliver a enormous depth to the scene.

It is one of her best roles that she portrayed, but is generally overlooked from her other great performances like in 'Yearning', 'Woman Ascends the Stairs', 'Twenty-Four Eyes', 'Floating Clouds' etc just to name a few ; because of the low reach and awareness of this brilliant movie.

A must watch for Any Naruse:s or Takamine's fan to know about the depths of both this brilliant director-actress duo.

Mikio Naruse's Yearning(1964) elegantly portrays the life in post war Japan where People's life were new but their problems were age old.

Hideko Takamine, a war widow, has built up a grocery shop on her own after the war in an struggling economy and is able to sustain herself and her brother and mother in law are also able to live on her expenses.

As the time changes, big supermarkets emerge, slowly crushing the smaller family owned shops out of competition, yet Hideko's Reiko is just able to meet her and her family's needs.

Her brother-in-law(koji) is her secret admirer and lover of her who doesn't show it openly but lives with that feeling everyday, just not able to express his feelings due to pressure of societies norms.

When he finally manages to tell his heart out, all her breaks loose in their small family and Reiko is left stranded in between her responsibilities as she herself also admires him.

Not to break his heart and maintain her dead husband's family name she decides to return back to her brothers home but Koji doesn't accepts it and follows her to give her last chance to accept her love for him.

When she finally accepts him after much thinking and deliberation of the heart it is a little too late as Koji has done something that she will never be able to forgive herself of.

These trivial yet grave matters were prominent in post war Japan and unlike Yasujiro Ozu's fantasy like world with little to no problems, Naruse's world is filled with struggle, commitments and broken dreams of the working class of Japan after the war.

Cha no Aji(2004) or 'The Taste of Tea' by Katsuhito Ishii is a movie you always wanted to see but never knew.

So simple and elegent you might just say it goes nowhere or has no basic plot but the way it is presented doesn't remind you that you even wanted them in the first place and are able to enjoy it with the flow.

The taste of tea does not tell us about the taste of tea as the name suggests rather it tells us about the vivid taste and stories of an eccentric family and all its members, with various small arcs going simultaneously telling us about their daily aspirations, dreams and hopes.

Unlike Nobuhiko Obayashi movies That have a lot of crazy and surreal visual gags and effects, this movie also incorporates the use of them but to a smaller more humanly extent so that it does become an LSD driven crazy movie rather a sweethearted piece of visual elegent storytelling.

The characters are simple, their dreams are simple and their lives are also pleasent but the way they are represented to us via ozu like Cinematography, Elegent Soundtrack and creative direction ; all makes these film worthwhile and not deluded in its own self and like films of Edward Yang, Yasujiro Ozu, Abbas Kiarostami, we don't even realise when the 140 min movie has passed and we sit there waiting for even more, just to live or experience the lives of the characters even more.

It may not be Poetic cimema or any other name you call art-house films or commercial or fight Cinema but it is a type of film that you should watch once in a while that makes you forget your tensions and provide you with nostalgia and calm.

Heart of Dragon(1985) by Sammo Hung could be called the Rain Man(1988) of Hong kong but it is different as it was made earlier and contains the real dragons of the East; Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung & Biao Yeun in another of their many collaborations.

The film is an excellent example which shows the wide range of acting talent of Jackie chan and Sammo Hung, whom people mostly consider Comedy Action Martial Art Stars, and it was the main reason of this film's bad reception in Hong Kong as the people were not familiar with this avatar of Jackie and Sammo.

The Film has many emotions from Brotherly love to Comedy to Well-Choreographed action scenes that do not take the focus away from the main theme of the movie.

Jackie Chan begged for better acting roles to showcase his wide range of acting skills which can be seen in later part of his career like in The Foreigner, Latter Part of Police Story Franchise; showing that he is a very talented and serious actor who can adapt himself according to the roles.

But these thing didn't worked well for him in the Golden Age of Hong Kong Cinema.

Sammo Hung played an mentally challenged man sincerely to the extent that viewers may sympathise with his character as well as Jackie chan who played his younger brother who takes care of challenged Brother while showing a side that he has lost his adulthood while caring for him and lost many career opportunities.

Yet his Brotherly love is strong and still will go to any extent to save his brother from harm.

This is masterfully showcased in the last action scene where Jackie chan, who is known to just make his enemies unconscious, is seen going after them with full anger even killing some in the process.

If proper support could have come from the audience and Production House, it might be more well known in the world.

Paper Moon(1973) by Peter Bagdanovich is a film everyone should definitely see once.

The Opening scene doesnt' give much insight of the past of our main characters but sets the stage for an brilliant piece of cinema which elegantly discovers the past and present of 'Addie' and 'Moze'.

Having seen it on a difficult day in my life, it provided me a much needed smile and happiness, which helped me forget the hardship.

It is a comedy that is not only entertaining for the children but equally entertaining for the adults too.

The duo of real life father and daughter into reel life partner in crimes is very charming but it is Tatum O'Neal's 'Addie Loggins' who steals the show.

She may have been an trouble casting for Director Bagdanovich who had to greatly cater her performance by taking many takes but at the end he is successful in bringing out the charm, innocence, wit and brilliance of Addie's character through her.

When we see the duo duping people by selling them bibles, money frauds, bootlegging mishaps e5c we are not against them but silently even root for them so that their lie works and they are able to make their living out of being petty con-artists, sometimes to their own delight.

Many thanks to Orsen Welles for insisting Bagdanovich to shoot in black and white as it beautifully highlights the essence of the characters and their Surroundings.

The ending is ambiguous and different from the book, which allows us to believe they will keep following their mischievous path till ends meet while being a happy a duo in the process.

"To Moze, From Addie"

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence(1983) by Nagisa Oshima is a POW movie like no other, If you know Oshima only through his notorious sexopolitan films like 'In the Realm of Senses (1976)' you will be amazed by his directing skills here and may form a different image about him.

The movie stars two big music stars from two different parts of the world, David Bowie(west) as Maj. Jack Celliers and Ryuichi Sakamoto(east) as Capt. Yonoi, along with japanese Comedic Genius Takeshi Kitano as Sgt. Gengo Hara, in one of his earlier roles and Tom Conti as Mr. Lawrence.

If you have seen Lawrence of Arabia(1962) you may immediately see resemblance between El Lawrence and Major Celliers Appearance and Personality which Oshima has paid a homage to.

Capt. Yonoi is a man of great honour and Strict follower of the Bushido Code, when he first sees and hears about Maj. Celliers he is highly impressed by his bravery and temperament in Java, Indonesia . When the sick Celliers is brought to the Camp, he sees that he is treated accordingly and arranges for medical aid.

In the Camp there is another interesting figure, Lt. Col. John Lawrence, who not only works as an interpreter of Language between the Japanese and British but also tries to broaden the differences between the two cultures.

Yonoi's main motive apart from his admiration for Celliers is to replace him as the POW camp commander to find out about skilled technicians among the prisoned soldiers to aid the Japanese war effort, which the existing commander Capt. Hicksley played by Jack Thompson, refuses to give.

The film is different from other POW movies as it does not focus on war or the escape of soldiers from the camp, rather on the relationship between the Enemy Capturers and the prisoned soldiers.

The Japanese follow a strict Bushido Code and beleive that if they have done anything disrespectful they should Commit Seppuku(honourable Suicide) while the British views are completely opposite.

The acting of David Bowei might be his best of film career which allows us to observe and dig deep in Celliers personality and Past.

Ryuichi's Yanoi is also not much behind in acting contrary to what he has stated in recent years, and tells us about his strict mindset when he too fasts for two days along with the prisoners as punishment.

Both Celliers and Yonoi are tormented by past events, Celliers by the fact that he neglected his hunchback brother during their childhood and did not save him from ridicule in school and neighbourhood leading his brother to stop his singing passion.

And Yonoi by the fact that he did not died along with his revolting brothers during the 26 February 1936 Incident.

This may be another reason for his admiration for Celliers.

The music of this film is made by Ryuichi Sakamoto himself and is one of the most powerful elements of the film.

The hypnotic and sensational music not only keeps viewers gripped but increase the suspense and impact of the Scenes, much like Ennio Morricone's masterful Score in Sergio Leone's movies.

Without this music score the movie might be completely different, and characters might not be presented to us as they are by Sakamoto's mesmerizing Score.

This movie may not be as accurate as the novel by Laurens van der post's novel "Seed and the Sower", as most books loose something in a movie adaptation, but still the movie allowes us to see the characters and their inner struggles during the time of war, while they make a friendship that they cannot show the world.

Nagisa also built an full fledged pow camp of 2-3 acre but only show certain sections of it in the movie, yet we do not feel that he is showing less and are able to step in the soldiers shoes and feel the depth and wastness of the camp from their perspective.

There is also a slight segemt at the end regarding showing the aftermath of the tokyo trials where kitano's characters tells mr. Lawrence he will take death happily tomorrow, but were his war crimes different from any other soldier, this statement also tells us about the nature of these war tribunals by the allied powers who were at no right to punish someone who had done the some crimes as them.

It is a type of film that is well made, well acted, with a deep and hidden meaning, and with stay with you for a long time, along with the mesmerizing soundtrack that you may listen again and again.

You may write on and on about this movie yet it still fells less, it may not be a character study along the lines of Taxi Driver(1976), but still it is no less.

When we look on a plane world map, we find Japan to be at the corner of it, so is the title of the film 'In this Corner of the World" but the subject matter it touches remains universal for any country that is torn by the ravages of war.

This film keeps aside the political aspects of war not diffrentiating between which army is good or bad ; is their cause just or not, but rather it focuses on the real casualties of War i.e the Citizens of the Country fighting their own internal war just to survive during these harsh times and that too bit by bit and regularly.

The struggle to provide for the family, do daily chores, cook adequate food, collection ration to store for future and also to cook nutritional food, wear same garments for many days to save water and other rations, educate yourself and the young ones, produce and stitch handloom, baskets, pots, sandals, scarfs etc; dig air raid shelters and stop everything you were doing and run towards it as soon as the sirens start, maintain good relationshions with neighbours and locals; above all this, Live with a constant fear that someone close to you may die anytime but still you have to be strong mentally and physically to cope up with your losses.

ALL these things are hard on their own even in normal conditions and imagining that people lived through them regularly during wartime just increases the respect for their loss and efforts.

All these above mentioned things are shown beautifully in the movie along with a naive and young love story of our heroine 'SUZU', who has married just after turning 18 and now is providing for her husband's family and struggling to survive the war keeping her mind busy in daily chores and drawing(in which she is naturally very good). Her drawing skills are praised by her fellows at the same time get her in trouble with the authorities, who in a silly mistake think that she might be giving useful information to the enemy.

The story and the setting remind us of another emotional story set during ww2 of survival of two children in war torn japan, "Grave of the Fireflies(1988)". We are quickly, by the power of an excellent narrative, sympathised by the lead characters of both these movies and when tragedy shakes their world, we also feel their pain and grief.

The soundtrack of both of these films is completely apt and helps us understand the mindset of the leads. Soothing and mellow and at the same time haunting. Cinematography and the use of colours is amazing along with historical acccuracy and facts, every frame is like a painting and the efforts of the artists is highly appreciated. It may have not shown the devastating effect of the atomic bomb and its aftermath on the people and surroundings as "Barefoot Gen(1983)" did but focuses on showing beauty among chaos. When Suzu sees the air raid for the first time she is not terrified, rather she is astonished by it and sees the brusting bombs in the sky as the brushstrokes of colour popping on a canvas and thinks of drawing the raided sky on paper. Also when the fire sticks are thrown by the planes, she sees them and even when one falls in her home she waits for a few moments before deciding to put it out. These examples show that she and anyone else willingly never ask to be in such harsh situations but are forced by contitions to live like this.

Sunao Katabuchi had no reason making this movie this Beautiful but Good Gracious, it is beautiful.

If the "Human Condition Trilogy" by Masaki Kobayashi helps us in understanding the dilemma of a soldier, this movie helps us understand and appreciate the struggle of the citizens.

There were many "Suzu's" whose efforts were as much important as their husbands, brothers, fathers fighting on the front; and this movie does justice to every one of their struggle and losses.

This film is gruesome and graphical but at the same time not high on crack and every fight and death is choreographed aesthetically. Like many other prison movies, it does not have prisoners shouting in the cells or at other inmates. The Atmosphere is mostly calm and then suddenly *wham* action starts, but that too only how much it is needed.

The Image Of Vince Vaugh as an comedy actor can be completely changed by this film as he Delivers maybe his finest performance here, which helps us experience the journey of his character better and to a full extent and his extreme violence becomes justified.

One may think why he went to the prison when he could have avoided it earlier, but things clear out pretty soon when he realises he could'nt have escaped his destiny even if he had stayed out.

S. Craig Zahler is a very overlooked director, even by me till now but now after seeing him pull such a great slow burner of a movie without the audience losing interest and building up to the climatic ending, his other works " Bone Tomahawk" and "Dragged Across Centre" becomes a must see for any fan of slow-burning movies that not only have a good story but are also visually pleasing.

The cinematography and pace of this movie are all perfect, which are even able to show the claustrophobic cells of a prison Beautifully and able to materialise the idea of showing minimal and producing maximum output.

Vaughan character if studied like taxi driver could even lead to the understanding that he may have undertook different paths if not for being threatened for his family in prison, and even couod have spent his jail time peacefully, thinking about the wonderful joy he will feel after he goes out finally, but his fate just changed in one moment.

The King of Slapstick Comedy, Stephen Chow is a man of different personalities but among them his Chaplin like Tramp persona has dominated all of his other images.

One may only remembers chow for his carrer of producing some of the best comedies of the Slapstick Genre but they should not forget that he is not only a comedian but a Very Capable actor too.

In this early Chow Film he is not only able to entertain us with his silly and on point comedy but also delivers a good performance as a new recruit of a triad syndicate following the footsteps of his idol, his hero.

Though it is not as good as John Woo's "Bullet in the head" 1990 but it also uses the concept of three friends trapped in a serious situation & chow gives a good performance while saving his friends life when they are trapped in Thailand.

One may not like it as it may not be that much comedy as chow other comedies that will be coming in the following years, but seeing chow act silly and good at the same time is a good experience while will become more prominant in the movies he made after 2000, showing his full self as an very capable actor, director and performer.

This is one of the best eary brigitte lin movies made during her taiwan film industry era. The plot is a simple story with a marriage plot with mother very eager to find a husband for her daughter(lin) who is in not so much rush for the same and the story keeps revolving around this topic.

Has a good soundtrack and that keeps repeating throughout the film, is short and fast paced and keeps you entertained. It also tells us about what Taiwanese cinema was back in the 70's and also about Taiwanese custom of arraigned marriages.

All and all a great entertaining short and simple movie. Also having Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen Reference and an subtle Ennio morricone reference towards the end in the form of his western theme.

It is my fourth movie after 1917(2019),Long Day's Journey into night(2018),One Cut of the Dead(2017); that consists of a long Single take and i have to say that it manages to deliver like these movies.

While these above mentioned movies had cuts but they were beautifully hidden that you could not even notice them, this movie was shot entirely in a sequence in one go.

Just have to give a hats off to the Technical team and Actors who not only deliver a consistent and amazing performance but were also able to incorporate so much in this 2hr18min of the movie, from bar parties, to rooftop conversations, to playing piano, to organising a heist, to getting away from police, to shootouts, damn that was neat.

Just watch it if you are not irritated by no cuts, as these movies are just great, as they have taken the concept of long cuts to a completely new level, allowing people to experience theatre on Screen.

Short, fast paced, funny as you will expect a hong kong flick from the 80's and 90's. It may not be a masterpiece but it has its moments. Good Slapstick comedy enough to give you a good time and genuine giggles, at last of which you will say yourself that time well spent.

The concept of the story is pretty straight where two schoolgirls falling in love with the same person, but though they become good friends he Prefers one over the other.

Then the story continiues in the future, leaving behind the school days in distant past. Now, story takes different turns where the three leads go different paths, eventually meeting once again by chance and they become reminiscent about the past and their lost love.

The Boy has become an Journalist, Maggie cheung's character an fashion designer, Cherie Chung's character has married an older businessman and is now in the stock market business(the one that somewhat killed her father in this film of stress).

Now, lost love arises again among the two leads whereas Maggie cheung's character still is looking for her perfect partner(which she somewhat finds in his co-worker). THEN the picture continues to explore these characters struggle trying to find a good conclusion.

It was good, the performance by the leads was also good, just the story somewhat was not too engaging or was sometimes repetitive and was not able to provide for a better picture.

It has kind of the Same Concept of Taiwanese legend Edward Yang's That Day, On the Beach (1983) of two childhood friends discussing about their lives after meeting each other later in their lifes. But this film was not able to produce Yang's Magic and falls short of Expectations set during the first half.

Should be rated between 6/7, has good camerawork and pleasent soundtrack and also Hong Kong Cinema's Best actors in their early years, so it might be really pleasent experience for a fan trying to go through their early filmography.

This film may have taken the concept of James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr's Come Live with me(1941) but that is done to masterfully with the touch of Hong Kong Style Slapstick Action and Comedy that does not become a Copy but an Independent Film on its own.

At first you may think that it will be a cheap and routine Hong Kong Comedy of the 80's and 90's, it may be in many senses but still it has good fight sequences and good boxing matches, along with witty humour.

Combined, it is a good package of Entertainment, it may not be best of Hong Kong Comedy Movies by a margin but seeing Maggie Cheung in her early years is always a delight.

This turkish movie helps you see through the boring and long nights and days of a policeman which most other shows or movies just skip.

At times you may be bored but that is the reality of police work, slowly solving the case. The film is beautifully shot with the apple falling scene being a highlight to the mesmerising and hypnotic tea serving scene by the mayor's daughter in the village home on a dark night with the only source of light being lanterns. The sound of winds, streams, fountains, cars etc may be ignored in other films but these sounds are the core of the storytelling of the movie. The story the wife that died on the day she said she will die is masterfully adapted from Anton Chekhov's short story "The Examining Magistrate", and gives the viewers in all the silence and boredom, something to look forward to hear in detail.

May be boring for some but may also be an experience of cinema for others.

Brat(1997) and Brat 2 (2000) are two smoking hot Russian neo-noir crime film coming straight from Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Unlike their American Counterparts with lot of glamour and spice, these two stay in the streets with the most realism you can find showing real street thugs and fights.

Calling it a mafia movie may not do these justice and shift the focus of the viewers completely from its realistic approach to show a normal person entering into the world of Crime.

The Search for 'Nautilus' s Wings' is strong and so is the blood for revenge. The movies don't show direct big action sequences or killings and cut right before them or change the camera angle, allowing for the viewer to interprete on their own, but not completely as it stratergically crafts the scene up to show most while showing minimum.

The Handling of Guns and their modification just before a hit are satisfying in a new scense, it is not like tuco making his custom revolver in 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", you get to see making of bullets, shotgun shells, bombs, sawed of rifles etc.

The second part like most other films is not an downgrade but in many sense an Upgrade, which gives you the feeling of' Coming to America' Russian Style.

The portrayal of Russians are also human, not like the americans showing a big man fighting bear while Drinking Vodka bare handed, Or an Mafia Manic with Ak-47 and shotgun, shooting everybody up in his path. Showing a Hitman movie like it should be Shown, with mlre tension and planning and not 'boom bam-over'. These along with Brothers(2000) by Takeshi Kitano, show us how an good crime movie set in America away from their Native land should be made while keeping their regional Essense.

Three women from three asain countries(considering hong kong seperate) meet in New york of all the places in the world and form a uncanny friendship considering they belong from different regions and share different professions.

One is a aspiring actress trying her hand in different acting auditions, One is a daughter of a chinese restaurant owner, herself working there; and one is a newly married trying her luck in love.

It may not be a "Eat Sleep Man Woman" by ang lee, or "Taipei Story" by edward yang but Stanley Kwan's this film sure does leave a mark.

The lives of the three leads could have been explored more but still how much is shown does a good job for us in understanding their situations and problems.

This is a type of movie that you may forget about after some time, but still remember in a vague memory that you had seen it. It manages to keep you entertained in its less than 90 min runtime, which is enough for it. Seeing it after knowing the leading ladies and their other works, especially Maggie cheung and Sylvia Chang will surely help you like the film better.

Golden Queen's Commando(1982) along with Pink Force Commando(1984) work only as a double feature of Taiwanese /hong kong early 80's crazy Fun films along the lines of Fantasy mission force(1983) which cannot be fit together in a single genre, as they are a mixture of all.

The use of Ennio Morricone's Music in these two Crazy Mixture of War and Western Asian Slapstick Comedy Action Wuxia Flicks tells us that Morricone's music is worldwide and was admired by people all across the globe, accessing it all the way in the East even before the days of Spotify or Youtube.

The Themes from Morricone's Westerns are recurring throughout the Runtime of these Taiwanese Easterns, along with nonsensical Action, continuous blasts, silly humour, ghosts, Nazis, Evil Plans............... Pretty much everything you needed from an 80's movie.

Taiwanese new wave was emerging at that time in the 80's with filmmaker's like Edward Yang, Ang lee, Hou Hsiao-Hisen, Sylvia Chang stepping into the game, getting ready to make some of Taiwan's, Hong kong and even World level Masterpieces of Cinema. At the Same time there were movies like these and other Rom-coms to keep the people entertained.

The main Cast of Both these movies is Basically Taiwanese with names like renowned Brigitte Lin( who was on her way to make transition from Taiwanese to Hong Kong cinema, and be a legend there as well), Sally Yeh, Hui-shan Yang(Basically every beautiful Taiwanese actress of that time.)

THE english Dubbing is stupid and non-sensical which has its own merits and demerits depending on where you live or how you perceive these movies(serious cinema or Saturday Night Fun Flick), Jackie Chan's name is an attention grab with little to no involvement in this film.

The first film is still somewhat linear in its narrative and Brigitte lin helps make it a better film, whereas the second film loses all basic senses and is just going on along the success of the first with confusing and boring plot with un-needed dialogues and action, spilling it all over(actually why they even made it?).

All in All if you are going through Brigitte lin's filmography or early years, or just want to remember your childhood days when you saw it, not being bothered by whether it is not a masterpiece and is stupid, and silly and confusing and non sensical,

Then you will have a good time enjoying these two Hot messes of a Movie.

Carlos Saura 's 1976 film Cria Cuervous is a masterpiece in filmaking hands down.

Saura channels once again the innocent child of Ana Torrent, as seen in Spirit Of the Beehive (1973), in his film to portray an family of three sisters who have been forced to live with their aunt after Their parents die, one of adultery and one of cancer.

Though the Aunt tries to take care of them to the best of her efforts, young Ana cannot leave the side of her dead mother, using her imagination to fulfil her desire and see her alive again.

At one hand it looks like an ordinary movie where children are shown coping with grief but on the other the way it is shot and structured, completely stands it apart.

'Porque te Vas' or (why are you leaving me?) acts both as an great theme for the film as well as provide us with the desires of young Ana for the love of her mother who is not present anymore.

See it once to see for yourself why it is a great film despite being simple yet so intriguing at the same time. Young Ana and her song will surely be remembered by you for a long time.