Tran Anh Hung on ICWR, Cyclo and Norwegian Wood

[katwoman64]

Hi!

I agree, people's life experiences do define them. So maybe we can add the last year's Banlieu War?

<And for Tony, we all know that he is very gentle and kind person in real life, but also he really gets into the character when he acts>

Well, in the same way can we say that Tran is a gentle and kind person that is a very effective director?

Both Paul and you were deeply affected by the film. And the writer above (Thanks Yuka) that shredded it in minuscule confetti.

< so (although sorry for Mr. Tran) I thought it was good and safe for Tony not to take any role in this movie>

I think that thanks God Tony only takes roles that are challenging and/or interesting for him. I never worry for him because I know that he is an experienced actor and has his ways, sort of rites, to go back into his own skin.

Bye
K
_________________
“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki

[Eri]

[mary]

[quote="katwoman64"]
Milk gives me the chance to tell a story about me and my position about gay rights
So far today I can't not ask myself why there are citizens like me, that pay the same taxes as me, that have a vote exactly like mine but still can't reach the same guarantees I have.
In the same direction is my convintion about gay couples adopting children. I ask myself: where are the scientific evidences that they would be worst parents than some etherosexual ones I know?

Hi Kat
We live in a world where people are judged because of their lifestyle choices, they maybe tolerated but never totally accepted. I suppose this is mostly down to ignorance or an unwillingness to understand.

I am heterosexual. Unmarried, by choice - his and mine living (as they say - IN SIN -) with my partner for many years. But at least if we want to get married we can, no laws to stop us. Whereas gay men and women don't have this choice, this doesn't mean their love for eachother is any less than mine for my partner. My motto is live and let live.

I have gay and lesbian friends with the same values and sense of priorities as myself, just our sexual orientation differs. They are not diseased just people trying to get through life the best they can.
I admire them alot as they are true to themselves living life their way being open and honest about it no matter any ridicule.

Being a homosexual or a lesbian is not something you choose it chooses you before birth somewhere in your genes. It's as normal as heterosexuality and should be accepted in all areas of life. It can't be caught like a cold or chill nobody can turn you gay. That's why it's ridiculous not to allow same sex couples to adopt, deny them the right to love a child. In some cases they may make better parents look at how many heterosexual couples have tortured their children, physically and or mentally.

People remain being offended by homosexuals and lesbians this attitude towards them will probably never dissolve. We should be kinder as they have as much to offer as heterosexuals....best wishes...mary

[mary]

Hi yuka
I've seen The Reader
I look forward to hearing your views.

Paul Gauguin was a great painter too.
I really liked the yellows he used in some of his paintings.
best wishes...mary


Hi Paul
Vincent van Gogh strikes a cord within most people.
He had alot to say through his art.
Just look at way he painted the oils onto canvas - so thickly, almost manic.
His self portraits paintings and drawings are haunting, you can see the pain in his eyes.

To this day people try to understand him through his art but he still remains an enigma partly due to the fact of dying so young and the way he died.

Contrary to popular myth it wasn't his whole ear cut off, just part of it...bad enough.
Recently historians studying his letters and papers came to the conclusion that it was Gauguin who cut his ear as they had a complicated friendship but there's no clear proof. Guess we will never know the whole truth about this complicated man, we should just enjoy his artwork.

I love Don Maclean's song to van Gogh... Vincent... it totally sums him up.
Such a heartbreaking tribute to a master...best wishes...mary

[Safran]

Mary O Mary - I agree with you.

To all Vincent fans - much fun !
It was THE song of my best friend and me - long long time ago....!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9ARdPHSBg

Safran

[Yuka]

Hello, mary,

I haven’t read the novel by Bernhard Schlink,but I really liked "The Reader" Very good plot.
I couldn’t stop crying when I saw the tapes with red numbered marks….
The casting is great too. I didn’t expect to see Bruno Gantz and Lena Olin in the movie. (They are great, too .)
I heard it’s little different from the original novel . I think I should read it !

About Gauguin, from July-Sep, his masterpiece "D'où venons-nous ? Que sommes-nous ? Où allons-nous ?"
will be exhibited for the first time(!!!) in Japan at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo!
I’m looking forward to watching some of his works, soon.

[Yuka]

On Japanese TV program called "Sma Station" (Tony appeared on this program on Oct.18 2008),
there's is one section of the program where Goro Inagaki, a member of SMAP
(Japanese Idol group, including Takuya Kimura (2046, ICWR etc.))announces his own movie ranking from
5 selected movies each month.
For this month, selections were (ICWR, Gama no abura, The Wrestler,Konyec,The Reader )

His movie ranking was:
(5) The Wrestler
(4) Konyec (Hungarian movie)
(3) The Reader
(2) Gama no Abura (Japanese movie, debut film(directing) for actor Koji Yakusho)
(1) ICWR
Surprise ,surprise….I knew he likes this kind of movie(he is a movie buff .He said it’s not nepotistic judgement ) ,
but didn’t think he will rank ICWR as No.1.

[katwoman64]

Well, to Yuka:

I confide in Tony's good taste.

To Mary:

I am especially happy of your words. Like me, you live in a catholic Country. So you can understand the problem better than the most. We are catholic, for education if not for other reasons. In us have to live both our two souls, the ethic one, tied to the values of our religion, and an atheistic one, the one of cityzens.

Even if I were the most homophobic person, nonetheless, as a cityzen, I would have to fight tooth and nails till all the civil rights are guaranteed to all the cityzens, no matter what their sexual orientation.

So far, this goal has still to be reached in my Country.

About me, I am just confused around gay people. I mean, I am a person with a knack for communication, sort of instict. But gay, they have both communication systems, the female and the male one. So I don't know which one of the two I have to use. They have both of a lot of things: intelligence, attitudes, sensitivity. Sometimes I feel more free, that I get to talk to a man of things that are pretty "girls talk", issues I would never even draw out with an ethero man. But most of the time I feel confused and on a slippery track.

Thanks for your words, they comfort me I am not "too strange" in fighting for what I think is right.

Kiss
M
_________________
“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki

[katwoman64]

Well, to Yuka:

I confide in Tony's good taste.

To Mary:

I am especially happy of your words. Like me, you live in a catholic Country. So you can understand the problem better than the most. We are catholic, for education if not for other reasons. In us have to live both our two souls, the ethic one, tied to the values of our religion, and an atheistic one, the one of cityzens.

Even if I were the most homophobic person, nonetheless, as a cityzen, I would have to fight tooth and nails till all the civil rights are guaranteed to all the cityzens, no matter what their sexual orientation.

So far, this goal has still to be reached in my Country.

About me, I am just confused around gay people. I mean, I am a person with a knack for communication, sort of instict. But gay, they have both communication systems, the female and the male one. So I don't know which one of the two I have to use. They have both of a lot of things: intelligence, attitudes, sensitivity. Sometimes I feel more free, that I get to talk to a man of things that are pretty "girls talk", issues I would never even draw out with an ethero man. But most of the time I feel confused and on a slippery track.

Thanks for your words, they comfort me I am not "too strange" in fighting for what I think is right.

Kiss
M
_________________
“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world”

Sadako Sasaki

[mary]

Hi everyone

I finally got to see I Come With The Rain a while back. To my knowledge it hasn't been shown in cinemas here so I had to watch it via the internet after finally tracking it down.

( Spoiler Alert )

I have to say I enjoyed the movie, didn't really enjoy the violence but could understand why Tran Anh Hung felt he had to include it. The violence gave a much darker insight into the characters psyche. Their badness is felt with each violent act. The viciousness is brutal to watch but sometimes compelling to watch you can't really bare to look but you don't look away. I just kept telling myself don't worry Mary it's not real just a film.

Eri don't worry about the dog scene, it was well done and did look realistic but I'm sure it's not.

I suppose Tran wanted to show there is bad things , really bad things happening in this world. None of us are saints even the good people are or could be bad. Evil exists in us all just most people don't have the compulsion to want or make others hurt. Some of the characters especially the Korean ( sorry can't spell his name ) didn't want to relinquish their evilness he was enthusiastic when nailing the Jesus character to the cross he enjoyed it and wouldn't renounce.

I'm afraid some of the religious meaning went over my head, I could understand it was a religious allegory, he was Jesus trying to save the world from it's sins. So many wanted to be cured of different inflictions selfishly ignoring the pain he went through helping others.

Art was a theme through the movie obviously paying tribute to Francis Bacon whose images I did recognise some images I didn't. Art is used here to physically show the killers mental thoughts just how grotesque he really is as art is usually a thing of beauty but he's totally malformed it. The serial killer was cruel playing a game enticing Josh Hartnetts character closer and closer. Tran borrowed a bit from Se7en maybe I'm a little sadistic (as I said we could all be evil) but I would have let the killer live, suffer in his own madness in prison.

The mixture of actors from different countries worked well for me I thought it was original, adding a new dimension to the film. They all spoke excellant English and played their parts well all convincing. It's a film you may not like or fully understand but one you will not forget, it was quite haunting.

Best wishes...mary.

[Safran]

Hi dear Movie-friends !

--Unfortunately haven´t seen "ICWTR" yet - I am so curious about, since the exciting comments of our Japanese Fellows, last year here in Forum - if ever it will be released in our Cinemas

--Here some stills from "Norwegian Wood" - Release in Japan Dec. 2010!

http://wildgrounds.com/index.php/2010/01/11/10-stills-from-norwegian-wood/

--My next movie: "Sin Nombre" by Cary Fukunaga (Mex./USA 2009)- Preview was promising !

See you !
Helga

[Yuka]

Hi Helga and everyone,

I saw "Sin Nombre"last month! I really liked it . It was a surprise for me to know it’s a debut film for the director.
I think executive producers Diego Luna , G. G . Bernal and Pablo Cruz has a good taste in choosing the director and script .
I like this kind of movie which makes you think and doesn’t rely too much on CG or famous stars.
May be that’s why I prefer"low budget" - Memento to Inception. haha.
With Inception, they didn’t use green screen(CG), shot in several countries and starring many many BIG stars…so it costs a lot..
It’s already a commercial hit so I guess there’s no trouble in recovering investments.

There’s a Japanese actor playing one of the characters in Inception.
Helga, you may notice a scene(shot from the sky) in Tokyo which might be familiar to you.........?? (my backyard haha...)
I think my grandmother’s house is in this shot...

I hate Monday . (Already Tuesday, here)
I wish I could rewind the time like Christopher Nolan’s movie..

Have a good week!

[NewWest]

Japanese actor in Inception: yes! I love his acting- Ken Watanabe...he's also in Memoirs of a Geisha and the Last Samurai, both films I loved! Is he popular in Japan?
_________________
Desiree

[Safran]

Dear Yuka and fellow fans

Thanks for your comment to "Sin Nombre" - the more I am looking forward to watch this film now !

Unfortunately I havn´t seen "Memento" yet (which you prefer), but "Inception" is playing in a Cinema in Vienna since this week - Once again not here in "Province" ( I guess more Movie-"Outback " - ggggrrrrrrr)

Yuka your "backyard "- I guess I know - starts to spell with an "R" ?
Must be funny to recognize familiar places in a movie !

Hottest days of the summer are over and it suddenly did cool down in the nights (for a better sleep) - within 2 days - 10-15°C less !!!!!(near mountains) But hope the August brings still another - beautiful summerdays and balmy summerevenings.

Only 1 day to Wednesday - and week ends soon
Wish I could keep you company for a after-work-drink in your backyard !

Wish you well !
Helga

[Yuka]

Hello NewWest,
Ken Watanabe is well known in Japan. He used be a TV /movie star before he develops leukemia.
I think he overcame his illness, now. His role in Last Samurai gave him a chance to be casted in other international films .
He also appeared in C. Nolan’s Batman Begins.
To me, he’s a kind of actor who doesn’t leave a strong impact in films (may be the roles he’s given , his acting skills etc.? I don’t know. )
But I like his Japanese film called “Memories of Tomorrow” which he produced and played the main role of a business man who suddenly develops Alzheimer's disease.

Hi Helga,
Inception is on world wide distribution, so I hope you’ll get to see it soon in
your theater. ( I like Sin Nombre much better.. ha ha)
You’re right . You’re are always welcome to my backyard !
But I don’t recommend you to come to Japan, right now . It’s so hot.
So please incept my dream that we’re drinking together in my backyard or a tropical island!

See you!