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Reviews
Bam gua nat (2008)
a languorous unending masterpiece that is actually a shitty film
This is film is the most boring by Korean auteur Hong Sang Soo, but it's also his most consistently funny and amusing. It's one of his longest but is filled with episodes that seem too short and end abruptly. it features a dead bird that curiously hops around at the end of the film. despite being called "night and day," the film hardly features a night-time scene, but you know when its daytime here its nighttime on the other side of the globe. likewise, its's a film of contradictions. night and day.
the film features a real pig (not a figurative one as in hong's debut feature) but of course **spoiler alert** you realize the main character dreamt it **end of spoiler**. question: how real is that pig? the film was shot in Paris, but the city of light looks as bland as city of soju. this is one of hong's worst films, but because he's made only a handful its also one of his best. i give the film 1 star but really, i should give it 10. finally, its a film of contradictions (ditto) - hong always formulates his films in twos, as did i for this review.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
There will be open signifiers.
Both this film and 'no country,' are exemplars of contemporary American film-making because they both end with an open signifier, ambivalent closure that is neither a triumph nor a failure, neither a tragedy nor a drama, just an end (evident in the typically-rowdy-newyork-audience's reaction to the ending which was an awkward mixture of laughs, gasps, applause, and silent awe). major chunks in the story are told thru narratival ellipsis, which can either say more about the characters or leave you completely cold; so the audiences' understanding and emotional involvement of the film ultimately depends upon their imagination and intellect. if you possess neither you won't like it.
again, pta's latest bares resemblances with an altman, if only for its irreverence to convention and sheer dismissal of Classical good vs. evil dichotomy.