alisonc-1 Reviews

Journey to the West (2021)

Heartfelt and Contemplative in the End

[7/10 · 6 August 2023]

Tang (Yang Haoyu) has devoted his life to the search for extraterrestrials, both as the editor of a magazine devoted to space exploration and as an explorer himself, following up on leads that take him to remote spots where people claim to have seen aliens. As his efforts to keep the magazine afloat are failing, he hears of a mass sighting in a small village in the mountains, and he recruits three others to help him investigate. Once there, he finds an eccentric young man who appears to be the conduit of alien communication, if only he can find one specific location....

This is billed as a "mockumentary" and serves to send up one of the foundations of Chinese literature, which involves a man traveling to the West to locate and bring home Buddhist teachings; here, the tale seems at first a more pitiable and hollow version of the story, but as it develops it becomes something much more, ending as a meditation on the Universe itself. Be warned, however: as a "mockumentary," the filmmakers chose to use hand-held cameras for filming much of the movie, so if you are subject to motion sickness, this movie might not be for you. While I was at first put off by this, by the end of the film I felt very touched indeed, and I'm very glad I saw it.

Killing Romance (2023)

Completely Marvelous

[10/10 · 5 August 2023]

Yeo-rae (Lee Ha-nee) is an up-and-coming celebrity, moving rapidly from record-breaking sensation to singer to actress, and all the world loves her madly. Until, that is, her execrable acting in a terrible movie, complete with faux-pas gesture, makes her a laughingstock. She flees to a remote island, where she meets wealthy and handsome entrepreneur Jonathan Na (Lee Sun-kyun). In no time at all, they are married and seven years later, return to Korea for a business venture of his. However, he has shown himself to be a controlling narcissist who views Yeo-rae as a possession, which makes her very unhappy. She does not know how to extract herself from this situation, until she meets young neighbour Bum-woo (Gong Myoung) who turns out to be her biggest fan, and together they hatch a plot - or two....

It is almost impossible to exaggerate how charming this film is - part musical (complete with great choreography), part comedy, part poignant love-story, part adventure; well, part everything, really! It is easily the most enjoyable movie I've seen in years, and I know for sure that I will never look at tangerines or ostriches in the same way again! And yes, you must see the film to understand that last sentence; highly, highly recommended, and kudos to the filmmakers for their wonderful work!

The God of Cookery (1996)

Stephen Chow Shines

[7/10 · 4 August 2023]

Master Chow (Stephen Chow) is the self-proclaimed God of Cookery, a chef whose standards are so high that when he serves as judge in a cooking contest, he almost always awards zero points to all the competitors, disqualifying them all for minor flaws in their work. He treats his employees and hangers-on in much the same way, delighting in humiliating them, particularly a new assistant, a Chinese Cooking School graduate who fairly quickly usurps Master Chow. Now an outcast, Master Chow meets Twin Blade Turkey (Karen Mok) in a shady neighbourhood; she is a super-fan of his and together they create a new dish that might just return him to fortune. First, however, he must train at the Shaolin Temple - if he can survive their practices!

Stephen Chow became a star in the West with Shaolin Soccer (2001) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004); this film predates those, but showcases his martial arts talents, comedic chops and general all-out zaniness. I'm not sure how well it might be received in modern times, as a lot of the humour involves putting down various people for who they are, but if the viewer can remember that the 1990s were a very different time, you can be sure to have fun with this film!

The Night Owl (2022)

Well Done Historical Intrigue

[8/10 · 3 August 2023]

Kyungsoo (Ryu Junjeol) is a blind acupuncturist whose skills are so good that he is hired at the royal court, where the Crown Prince has just returned from 8 years of captivity by the Qing dynasty. The two bond over shared interests, but Kyungsoo's skills are not able to prevent the death of the young Prince, according to the chief physician of malaria. Kyungsoo, however, knows more than he lets on, and sees more than others do, which puts his own life into danger....

This story is based in Korean history, which records that the Crown Prince was poisoned in 1645, but the perpetrator was never conclusively determined, which leaves room for filmmakers and writers to imagine their own solutions. This is a beautifully filmed period piece, a genre in which Korea has long excelled, and the details of life at the royal court in that period are rendered with great precision; but the real meat of the story is the suspense of the various court intrigues at play. Neither our lead character nor the audience has any idea who to trust, given the political machinations and shifting loyalties of high-placed individuals at the court - not dissimilar from politics in any era or country, really. Very well done.

Kurayukaba (2023)

Visually Stunning Anime

[6/10 · 29 July 2023]

Sotoro's detective agency isn't doing very well, so when a newspaper reporter tells him about mysterious disappearances and his suspicion that the kidnappings are related to doings in the Dark, the underground city, Sotoro is willing to look into it. Or rather, to have his child sidekick Saki do so, since kids manage dealing with the Dark better than adults. But when Saki also goes missing, it is up to Sotoro to venture into the scary realm and find out what's really going on....

I'm not sure that I could say exactly what happens in this anime, except that there are lots of different gangs, cops, explosions, guns and trains that are capable of growing legs and leaving the tracks - also some quite odd choices for musical accompaniment. Despite my confusion, I will note that it is absolutely stunning to look at, just a sheer joy visually! I expect that people better versed in Japanese culture, anime and various symbology unique to that country than I am will understand this film much better than I did, but even an uneducated slob like me can appreciate its sheer visual artistry and style.

River (2023)

Charming and Hilarious

[10/10 · 29 July 2023]

Mikoto (Riko Fujitani) works at a remote inn located in the mountains north of Kyoto, where she has congenial co-workers and usually pleasant customers. While gazing at the river bordering the inn one day, she suddenly finds that she and the other inhabitants of the inn have fallen into a "time loop," where every two minutes she is inexplicably back at the river as if the previous two minutes had never occurred! Fortunately one of the chefs at the inn was a "science major," and he goes to work at deducing the cause of the loop with the aim of restoring proper time to the inn; in the meantime, all of the people there must find ways to cope with their strange predicament....

Two years ago, Montreal's Fantasia Festival (online that year) showed "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes," one of the most hilarious films about time loops ever made; "River" is director Junta Yamaguchi's bigger-budget follow-up, and like its predecessor it is both charming and hilarious for the entirety of its short (82-minute) length. I don't want to say more because the film should be experienced with no preconceptions, so let me just note that you are unlikely to find anything more visually beautiful, with more exquisite and perfect timing from both the actors and the scenarios being enacted, anywhere in this or any other universe. Highly, highly recommended!

A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)

A Classic

[7/10 · 26 July 2023]

Ning (Leslie Cheung), an unfortunate tax collector, finds himself without shelter or money to pay for a room, so he braves a deserted temple, not realizing that it is haunted. While there, he meets Tsing (Joey Wong), a beautiful young woman with a secret, and Yen (Wu Ma), a master swordsman and cynical Buddhist; together, the three of them must take on a Tree Demoness, Tsing's mistress, and overcome all the evil in the place - ghosts, ghouls, and things that go bump in the night!

This is a joyful romp through wuxia, fantasy and marvelous swordplay, along with the trademark rising up through the trees, onto rooftops and the like, with a humorous edge to the whole affair. Don't try too hard to keep track of the plot, but instead enjoy the sumptuous visuals, the evil villains, the path of True Love and, not the least, a kinda-rapper swordsman!

El fantástico caso del Golem (2023)

Ribald and Absurd, and Very Funny

[7/10 · 24 July 2023]

Juan (Brays Efe) is a typical 30-something guy in Madrid - unemployed, spending his days and nights hanging out with his best buddy David (David Menendez). One night they are playing charades on the roof of Juan's apartment building when David, over-enthusiastic about his miming, falls off the roof - and shatters into a million ceramic pieces when he lands on the roof of a car. Thus begins Juan's journey to discover where the golems came from and, more important, who they are - and a corporate conspiracy is only the beginning!

Fans of the absurd will enjoy this comic venture; it is ribald, full of sexual jokes and situations so not for children, but the film is replete with bizarre incidents that, well, you have to see to believe. Don't try too hard to figure out the logic of this universe, just go along for the ride and have a good laugh!

Apocalypse Clown (2023)

Clowns to the Left of Me, Apocalypse to the Right

[7/10 · 23 July 2023]

When a legendary clown dies while berating Pepe (Fionn Foley), a hapless wanna-be clown, the remaining clowning community in Ireland gathers for his funeral, including lovelorn Bobo (David Earl), pompous The Great Alphonso (Ivan Kaye) and the thoroughly crazy street clown Funzo (Natalie Palamides) who has already made enemies of two human statues after she bit off the ear of one of them. In addition, journalist Jenny Malone (Amy De Bhrun) attends the funeral, thinking it's at least a step up from the filler material she had previously been given. Before the funeral is over, the human statues have found Funzo and a fracas results in them all being jailed overnight. Come morning, their cells are miraculously open and the streets are empty - and none of their electronic devices work. Could the end of the world have happened while they were out of commission? If so, what could the world possibly need more than a group of clowns, ready to bring joy and laughter amidst the chaos?

This is a hilarious comedy, full of clownish humour and a few scary bits too - just what you want in a movie starring clowns! There is a fair amount of satire, and some of the gags are rather broad, which might be a problem for those liking more sophisticated humour, but again - it's about clowns, of course it's going to be broad! Definitely worth seeing, particularly if you're starting to freak out about the real end-of-the-world scenarios playing out around the planet these days; this will at least let you laugh for an hour and a half.

Mami Wata (2023)

Magical, Hypnotic and Beautiful to See

[8/10 · 22 July 2023]

Mama Efe (Rita Edochie) is the Intermediary for the village of Iyi and the Goddess Mami Wata, but she is unable to prevent the death of a small child or, indeed, other calamities. Some villagers want to be rid of her, because they know that other villages have modernized, with electricity, schools, hospitals and roads, but other villagers are content to follow the ways of Mama Efe. When a young man is cast up on the sands of the ocean, near-dead, Mama Efe and her daughters Zinwe (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) and Prisca (Evelyne Ily) bring him back to health, but he repays them with evil, not good. And finally, the women must call upon Mami Wata for aid or face utter destruction....

I saw this at Montreal's great FantAsia Festival, and it is a breath-taking film to absorb; done in black-and-white, with intricate facial decorations, seashell adornments and gorgeous images of the sea, the land and the people, the story itself re-creates a mythological realm, where present and past and future all commingle; the ending of the tale brought tears to my eyes (but I won't spoil it by telling you why). There's not a lot of film from Africa that comes to North America in general, so I don't know how available this might be; but it is utterly beautiful to look at and utterly heart-filling to see.

The 12 Day Tale of the Monster That Died in 8 (2020)

Informed By the Pandemic

[9/10 · 25 August 2021]

Sato (Takumi Saitoh) is stuck at home like everybody else while the coronavirus pandemic rages; on a whim, he buys a capsule monster online and decides to spend his time raising it. But the creature keeps changing - sometimes it's three monsters, sometimes it looks like it has horns, other times roots. He talks to his director friend (Shinji Higuchi) about it over Zoom chats, and also connects with friend Non who is herself raising an alien, and with other people out in the world. What he wants to know is, is the monster he is raising a danger to human life, or a boon?

This is the first completely pandemic oriented film I've seen, and it's quite lovely - very whimsical and gentle. Takumi Saitoh is essentially playing a version of himself, and the other characters also all seem to be doing the same. Told in black and white, there's little movement or change in the story, but that's what's lovely about it: we were all bound to our homes, not knowing what might happen next and just trying to get by from one day to the next, with the long-distance Zoom-mediated help of friends, and this short film encapsulates that pandemic time really well. Something of a gem, I think.

Hand Rolled Cigarette (2020)

Very Violent

[6/10 · 25 August 2021]

Kwan Chiu (Gordon Lam) is an ex-soldier left behind when the Brits handed Hong Kong over to China in the late 1990s; he and his former mates must make their way as best they can in a brutal, uncaring place. Mani (Bipin Karma) is a South Asian vagabond eking out a living any way he can in Hong Kong, looking after his small brother and trusting his cousin to help him. When Mani's cousin steals drugs from Boss Tai (Ben Yuen), Mani is chased by the Boss's thugs and he holes up in Chiu's apartment. Meanwhile, Chiu has made a deal with Pickle (To Yin-Gor) without the awareness of his employer, Boss Tai. Soon, everybody's after both of them....

The film is very much a "dark underbelly of the big city" type of noir, only with a *lot* of violence - one of the thugs in particular seems to delight in thinking up new ways to torture, well, anybody at all really. It's very tense and the acting is very good, but it was just a bit too lurid for me. Which isn't to say fans of ultra-violent movies won't like it, it's just not my cup of tea.

Return of the Bastard Swordsman (1984)

Sheer Psychedelic Martial Arts Mayhem

[7/10 · 23 August 2021]

Yun Fei Yung has mastered the Silkworm Skill, but Dugu Wu Di controls his Fatal Skill and both are in a struggle for pre-eminence in the world of kung fu. When Mochitsuki, head of a Japanese clan, decides to take them both out with his Phantom Skill, the world of martial arts will never....

Aw, to hell with the plot, this is a Shaw Brothers movie, and plots are simply a device for bringing non-stop over-the-top kung fu fighting - preferably with random crazy psychedelic "special effects," which were cheesy even back in 1984 when this was first released upon the world! I don't believe there's longer than a 3 or 4-minute stretch in this film where at least two and usually more people are fighting, jumping over each other and otherwise creating constant mayhem! For what it's worth, the good guys win in the end, but you knew that would happen and it really doesn't matter, it's the gloriously loony special skills that steal the show! As hilarious as it sounds, lots of zany fun!

Collectors (2020)

Caper Flick, Korean-Style

[7/10 · 22 August 2021]

Dong-goo (Lee Jehoon) is a thief, but an elite one: he robs tombs and monasteries of their treasures. The difficulty lies in finding buyers, many of whom feel they can just take the loot from him, although they learn differently quickly. After proving himself with one job, he's offered another - to raid a supposedly empty tomb that is scheduled to be "restored" and make off with its treasure - so he puts together a team including Dr. Jones (Woo-jin Jo) and Shoveler (Im Won-Hee), and soon the race is on....

This is a lively caper flick with a dozen twists and turns as one expects from caper flicks; think a Korean Ocean's 11 with a little Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure (there's a reason one of Dong-goo's team is called Dr. Jones)! Part comedy, part action and all side-switching and racing to beat the bad guys, the film also leaves the possibility of a "further adventures of" sequel, which I for one would go to see!

Martyrs Lane (2021)

Atmospheric

[8/10 · 21 August 2021]

Leah (Kiera Thompson) lives in the vicarage with her father Thomas (Steven Cree), mother Sarah (Denise Gough) and big sister Bex (Hannah Rae); as the vicar's family, life is constantly busy with parishioners coming and going at all hours. But at night, the big house feels gloomy and full of shadows, and when Leah is visited by a young girl (Sienna Sayer), she feels comforted by her and the little games that they play. As time goes on, however, the games get more dangerous and Leah might perhaps learn more than she wants to know about her family and herself....

This is a very atmospheric film, full of small moments in shadows and in quiet, too quiet, woods. There's a lot to take in as the movie unfolds, and while the viewer may well come to understand things fairly early on, the way the story moves at its own quiet, elegiac pace is just beautiful to behold. You may be left feeling melancholy, but you certainly won't be unmoved by this simple story, gracefully told.

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)

Fascinating Documentary

[10/10 · 19 August 2021]

This is a documentary about the history of folk horror; while a good number of writers are cited (M. R. James, H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King), the focus is primarily on film and, in some cases, television programs. Starting with an exploration of such films in the UK and moving on to the very different origins of American folk horror, the film spends its last hour or so talking about folk horror films around the world, particularly in Australia, Brazil, Japan and parts of the former Soviet Union. It's a *very* long film, more than three hours, but the interested viewer will not feel that time drag at all, so engrossing is the topic and so fascinating are the talking heads - and, of course, so terrific are the film clips. I've been interested in folklore and mythology for, oh, 40 years or so now, but this is the first time I've seen such scholarship applied so rigorously to films, many of which were considered schlocky in their time, some considered classics now. Absolutely riveting - but watch at your own peril, because you will find yourself wanting to track down a massive number of films after seeing tantalizing moments from the hundreds referenced here!

Kratt (2020)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice in Estonia

[7/10 · 18 August 2021]

Mia (Nora Merivoo) and Kevin (Harri Merivoo) are sent to stay with Grandma (Mari Lili) in the country while their parents are on a retreat. Bored without their smart phones, the children ask their grandmother for a story; she tells them a story she heard from her grandmother, who heard it from *her* grandmother, about the making of a kratt, a servant that will do all its maker's work as ordered. The children are thrilled when they subsequently come upon the Count's journal, a long-lost volume that includes explicit instructions for making a kratt; they immediately do so with the help of twin neighbours, but of course they don't bother to check the instructions for how to undo the creature....

The two leads in this film are played by the children of the film's director, Rasmus Merivoo, but this doesn't seem to be a matter of nepotism as they do quite well as the two bratty, spoiled characters who are, in the end, just little kids after all. The setting of the Estonian countryside is entrancing, especially populated as it is with somewhat eccentric inhabitants and even a sacred forest that is under threat. There may or may not be some sort of commentary on religion underlying the story here; if so, it's rather opaque and it's best to just sit back and enjoy the mayhem. You may never look at pizza quite the same way again!

Mill of the Stone Women (1960)

Entertaining, of Its Time

[6/10 · 16 August 2021]

Hans (Pierre Brice) is invited to the studio of Professor Wahl (Herbert A. E. Bohme) located in a windmill, where he has been restoring *his* father's mechanical carousel consisting of famous women in their death poses. There he meets the mysterious Dr. Bolem (Wolfgang Preiss) and, more enticingly, Professor Wahl's daughter Elfie (Scilla Gabel). He is told that Elfie is very ill and she has been kept away from the outside world for much of her life, but even though Hans is in love with another woman, Liselotte (Dany Carrel), it is hard for him to resist Elfie's charms. Until he learns the secret of her illness, that is, and how Dr. Bolem and Professor Wahl have been treating it....

This is a very highly coloured film, which I would have thought had been made in the mid-1960s at the earliest, rather than 1960 itself. The plot and scares are not terribly intriguing by modern standards but probably were quite innovative in their time; the acting is delightfully hammy, especially when Professor Wahl channels his inner Bela Lugosi. I enjoy old horror movies, from the 1930s to around the time slasher flicks became popular, and this one fills that niche, albeit in a very theatrical way.

Alien on Stage (2020)

What a Hoot!

[8/10 · 11 August 2021]

A group of bus drivers, mechanics and sundry workers from Dorset form an amateur theatre company and decide to create a stage play based on the movie "Alien," complete with full monster suit. Not only is their inventiveness and tenacity showcased, but the production in their small community is "discovered" by a London impressario, who brings the whole cast and crew (the latter frequently but not always being part of the former, amateur theatrics being what they are) to stage a single performance of their show in the West End, where of course it receives much acclaim and love. "Alien on Stage" is a documentary about this fantastic feat, and as such is a real treat for movie and theatre lovers alike. My only regret is that I saw this as part of Virtual Fantasia 2021, which means at home without the brilliant Fantasia audience - this would only be better if seen with a full house of like-minded cinephiles. Great fun!

Seobok (2021)

A Poignant Meditation Wrapped in An Action Film

[8/10 · 10 August 2021]

Former special agent Ki-hun Min (Gong Soo) is dying of a brain tumor, but when the company asks him to take on one more job, he agrees. It is necessary to move a secret specimen called Seobok (Park Bo Gum), a cloned being that scientists created in a lab with the aim of an immortal source of cures for all human disease. But such a valuable specimen draws the interest of many, many other entities, and Ki-hun is charged with protecting Seobok from them, if he can....

I've read a lot of science fiction in my time, and some of this reminded me of "Beggars in Spain," Nancy Kress's meditation on what a "super-human" strain of humanity could mean. It also reminded me (especially toward the end) of "Carrie." Also a number of men-on-the-run action films, and a more nuanced thought-piece about Things Man Was Never Meant To Know. A bit all over the map if one takes each of those threads separately, but I felt it all held together quite well, in large part because of the excellent acting of the two leads, who believably inhabit the psyches of a dying, regretful man and a manufactured but longing adolescent. Very poignant in the end.

Love, Life and Goldfish (2021)

Sweet and Full of Joyous J-Pop

[7/10 · 8 August 2021]

Tokyo-based bank clerk Makoto (Matsuya Kashiba) has been banished to a backwater village after insulting his boss; he realizes that his problem is that he has kept his emotions so under wraps that they burst out of him against his will. In the village, he meets Yoshino (Kanako Momota), a lovely young woman whose job involves helping customers "scoop" goldfish, a task that gives them great joy; and Asuka (Nicole Ishida), an exuberant pub owner who takes a shine to him. But Makoto only has eyes for Yoshino, who has her heart set on someone else....

This is a sweet and tender musical - yes, musical, people burst into song every few minutes, when they aren't scooping fish, that is! It's based on a manga and has the kind of visual appeal of that genre, being full of colour and light, a physical joy to watch! But it's the music that steals the show. It probably won't take your fancy if you don't like musicals, but if you do this is a sweet and lovely confection to behold.

Not Quite Dead Yet (2020)

How To Wake the Dead

[8/10 · 8 August 2021]

Nanase (Suzu Hirose) wants nothing to do with the pharmaceutical company run by her father (Shinichi Tsutsumi), especially when they are working hard to invent a drug that restores youth. But the chemists there have also invented a drug that causes the user to die - for two days only. When her father "dies," and a rival company tries to take over in order to profit from the youth-restoring drug, Nanase must enlist the help of near-invisible employee Ghost (Ryo Yoshizawa) to save the day....

I didn't mention that Nanase's biggest interest, besides insulting her father, is singing in a death metal band, and this film is replete with concert scenes of her band, complete with totally inane/hilarious lyrics and devoted cult following; these elements play as important a part in the film as, well, the chemical elements that Nanase knows as well as her father does. Part comedy, part family drama, part musical, and wholly quirky, this is definitely a film to wake up the dead!

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020)

Time Travel Was Never So Goofy!

[8/10 · 5 August 2021]

Kato (Kazunari Tosa) lives above the cafe he owns, a small space in a small life. One evening, he returns home from work to find that his image is on his computer and, even more, he's talking to him! It turns out that Kato-in-the-computer is Kato two minutes into the future, and that the television monitor in the cafe shows the same scene two minutes in the past. Before too long, Kato and several friends are literally playing with time, trying to figure out how to profit from this bizarre form of clairvoyance - before things begin to spin out of control....

This short (70 minutes) film is quite as goofy as the premise suggests, with a very loopy heart to it. Filmed on a smart phone by a first-time group of players and crew, using quite minimal sets, I was laughing within about five minutes of the opening, always a good sign. This year, Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival is mostly online again due to the pandemic, which is a shame - this is exactly the kind of film that our festival-goers embraces with open arms. Having to watch it on a smaller screen at home isn't quite the same, but I'm very pleased to have been able to see it at all - and FantAsia 2021 is off to a good start!

Legally Declared Dead (2019)

Can Insurance Underwriting Be Suspenseful? Yes!

[7/10 · 3 September 2020]

An eager and honest insurance broker is drawn into difficulties in his work: a son has died, apparently by suicide, but he's not so sure that's the case. The father is very, very adamant about receiving the insurance payout on the child's life insurance policy, and our insurance broker just doesn't think it's proper, until he knows more about what happened. In the meantime, the mother of the child is disabled in that she's partially blind and getting blinder by the minute; might she be at risk next? And is the father exactly as he seems in this complicated moment?

I loved that this story-line turns itself upside down in so many ways, while still maintaining a lot of uncertainty about what's really going on. It took the comments of my husband, though, to bring home to me the real point, which I won't reveal here, except to say that there are many ways that can lead to moral destruction. Recommended!

Beotigo (2019)

Something of a Romance, Something of a Slice of Life

[7/10 · 2 September 2020]

Seo Yeung (Woo-hee Chun) is a contract designer at a company in Seoul, the offices of which are high up in a high-rise downtown. She's having a secret affair with the very good-looking senior in her division, Jin Soo (Teo Yoo), about whom all her female employees are always gossiping. She's also dealing with having hearing loss and vertigo, and a mother in another city who's on her third marriage with an unrelenting list of grievances when she calls Seo Yeung, usually drunk. Given the precarity of her life, when she sees Seo Gwan Woo (Jeong Jae-Kwang), a window washer, hanging outside the window of her workplace 40-odd stories above the ground, she notices his precarity. Seo Gwan Woo has a propensity for acting as a mime, using interesting face paint and otherwise not acting "normal," and when he notices her too, there's a beginning of an intricate dance, about relationships, love and romance; which is, of course, not without perils....

Not quite sure why this was a Montreal Fantasia Film Fest movie, it's mostly a slice-of-life and partly a romance, not usually this festival's cup of tea. But hey - I'm not a young and beautiful Korean woman, but I do have serious hearing loss and very serious vertigo* (the scene where she is walking through the office while having a major attack is portrayed exactly as the real thing feels, believe me) and those elements made this movie very relatable for me. It's not my favourite film at Virtual Fantasia this year, but it kept my attention, so worth a look.

*Vertigo is not a fear of heights, it's a lack of balance usually from problems of the inner ear, which regulates balance, such that one feels off-balance as if listing to one side or the other or always on the precipice of falling down. Not a pleasant condition.