evetan00000 Reviews

Reverse Angle (2009 TV Movie)

The ending makes sense...

[6/10 · 3 March 2009]

This TV movie is about a retired scientist who invented a car that doesn't have an engine but runs on solar paint. Unfortunately as pro-green as it sounds, this invention threatens the petrol & gasoline industry and they didn't want this patent to exist in this world at all. 2 hit men are hired to kill him off but before they can do that, a popular TV crew arrived & had an interview with him. They then have to start getting rid of all things that are related to this invention and this is where the plot begins.

After a strange car accident, Eve seems to have lost her memory from the concussion. While trying to revive her memory, she looked for Harry, who's a motivational speaker at a seminar & she started to slowly regain bits & pieces of her memory. But while this is happening the hit men are already hot on her heels without her understanding why. Eve then roped in Harry and her cameraman to solve the mystery of what this conspiracy is all about.

A very Pro-Environment story which makes sense, make sure you watch till the very end where the scientist speaks...

The Reader (2008)

Feel free to have a read...

[7/10 · 24 January 2009]

Based on the novel by German writer Bernhard Schlink, The Reader (Der Vorleser) tells a story about a passionate affair between a 15-yr-old student and a 36-yr-old woman in the 1950s, post WWII Germany. Hanna Schmitz is the mysterious lady working as a tram conductor who loves to be read to by young Michael Berg during their trysts. Their affair lasted a summer and as intense as it started, Hanna left just as suddenly without a word. The next time Michael saw Hanna is 8 years later, in a courtroom where she is the defendant of a war crime trial and it is then where he finally finds out her secret she has fiercely guarded her whole life.

The director, of 2 Oscar-nominated films: Billy Elliott & The Hours, Stephen Daldry has once again highlighted the complexity of the main characters in this film. Revolving around Golden Globe winner Kate Winslet's portrayal of Hanna Schmitz, Kate's ability to create an image of a stout German lady is pretty impressive, packaged together with a German-accented English and she also bares all, both literally and creatively, in this film. David Kross, the newcomer as the young Michael Berg, is the true-blue German who in turn had to learn English to be able to act in this film and Ralph Fiennes does a fine job portraying the older & perpetually-troubled Michael, who couldn't forget the past that had created such a great impact to the rest of his life.

The Reader's premise surrounds the moments when Michael reads to Hanna every time they meet, mainly from works of German literature like The Odyssey, The Lady & The Little Dog and even The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It lightens up the pace a little bit with a touch of humour and also when it links significantly towards the ending of the film. The trip to the concentration camp is poignant and hits home the cold reality of the effects of the Holocaust; the people who worked in it, and the people who died in it. In this film, we get to view it from the point-of-view of the people who worked in it. To them, it's just work in which they have to be responsible in their assigned duties and if it involves selecting a group of people to be sent to the gas chambers, they will do it with diligence. The question posed to everybody else is: 'So what would YOU have done?'

Containing flashbacks of the past and present, the film is intermix with Michael's memories of the affair in 1958, his law student times 8 years later & to his present life in 1995. Unfortunately, the pacing of the film is slow and the plot's main twist was revealed too early on in the film and so it killed the whole build-up to Hanna's 'secret'. Also this being a German story by a German writer based in Germany but shot in English with English actress (Kate Winslet) & actor (Ralph Fiennes) somehow just doesn't seem convincing enough. As compared to the book itself, the inner struggles of Michael especially during the trials are not shown in its full strength to prove his guilt of betrayal to Hanna.

Overall, watch this film for the effects of post-WWII on the people left behind, to appreciate the changing years and landscape of Germany and most of all to experience award-worthy Kate Winslet, David Kross & Ralph Fiennes acting skills.

The Edukators (2004)

Fantastic twist to the end!

[9/10 · 3 January 2009]

One of the 2 films i manage to catch during the German film fest w my friend is The Edukators, incidentally both films has this actor Daniel Bruhl in it. The Edukators started off w 3 young adults who are very involved in protesting for their rights and opposing capitalism in their country, trying their own ways to influence the country into listening to their voices. Other than protesting on the streets, the 2 guys have another way of showing their capability in influencing the society. By breaking into rich houses and re-arranging the furnitures without taking anything and leaving a note saying 'The Days of Plenty Are Over'. One of the couple are lovers to start off with and slowly the plot reveals that the other guy acted by Daniel likes the girl too and started to involve her into their nite activities which ended in a very awkward manner: The owner came back! During this part of the film, i was getting a little bit irritated already due to the girl's clumsiness and inability to heed instructions. Then i slowly realise that actually this is the point the plot starts to become really really interesting and will end w a simply great twist. Dun really wanna reveal too much of the ending but highly recommended to watch this film for reasons like the great Germany hillside sceneries (beautiful!), cute actors (ok, towards the end of the film, i switched from liking Daniel to really liking Stipe Erceg (the chiselled-chin guy)), funny funny one-liners, and of course a fantastic ending. Overall a great German film not to be missed!

Oldboy (2003)

One of the most disturbing film I've come across...

[10/10 · 3 January 2009]

Old Boy is the 2nd instalment by the Korean director Park Chan Wook. After posting his 3rd film Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, my colleague lent me this DVD to watch and i must say this is better than the 3rd one.

The same actor for both films, Choi Min Sik was imprisoned for 15 years without him knowing the reason. He lived in a daze thruout these years and one day, he managed to escape and plot to seek who's his captor and to take revenge. A series of mind-boggling events started happening and it just threw me off once in a while trying to make sense of everything. Lots of plot twists and odd relationships in this particular film and by the end of it, i was clutching my head in emotional pain as everything became sickingly clear.

Physical torture is another form of the director's signature style, with scenes that depict blood and pain, I really cringed when the lead actor swallowed a huge live octopus and later cut off his tongue. Yup thinking back still makes me sick….But the worst pain of all would be the mental torture the story ended in. To imagine being in his shoes, i would just really kill myself to relief the eternal pain in my mind.

Highly recommended for viewers who like these violent scenes and able to take it visually. Now im left w his first instalment that i haven't watched yet: Sympathy for Mr Vengeance

Lady Vengeance (2005)

Revenge is Sweet!

[9/10 · 3 January 2009]

Having missed the first 2 installations of Park Chan Wook's films, i have to catch this much hyped-up last installation by him. This is also another film nominated for The Golden Lion in the Venice Film Fest but lost to Brokeback Mountain. A name for violence, the first glimpse i caught of the director's work is in Three…Extremes: A short film on oddities and he rep Korea amidst Thailand and Hong Kong directors. Very odd story about a man who wants to kill his ex-employer's family and ended up killing his own son instead.

Interestingly, realised that there's a thin line between violence and humour, and it was portrayed in a most tasteful way. Named Chinjeolhan Geumjassi in korean, it's about this lady who was accused of smothering a boy to his death when she was 19 and went to jail for it for 13 yrs. The story starts from when she was released from jail looking as stylish as ever w a retro look (love her clothes) w constant flashbacks of how the crime began. It's a pretty long journey for revenge and it really emphasizes the term 'Revenge is Sweet' to the fullest. Not for the ever-righteous viewers cos it teaches 'do harm to others what others do harm to u or your loved ones'.

Not a fan for horror but delights in physical pain, the visual feel of torture is pretty well-portrayed as it enhanced the sound instead of the sight which makes it even more painful. One amazing technique the director uses is dual sound: one in the foreground and one in the background happening at the same time. Background sounds are often too painful to hear but makes you want to strain and listen carefully while concentrating on the foreground sound at the same time. Amazing effect it has! The film has most of the elements well-linked together and it touches on the subjects of child abuse too right to the core. Acting is superb w Lee Ying Ai as lead actress, and Choi Min Sik as the nemesis. Finally there's a different film concept to jolt my film sense awake.

PS: Heard from my friend that Choi Min Sik is the 'Old Boy' lead character from the director's 2nd installment, and i rem seeing him is 'Fai lan' w Cecilia Cheung years ago.

3-Iron (2004)

Excellent Acting & 'Script'!

[10/10 · 3 January 2009]

The 11th film by South Korean director Kim Ki-Duk, this is one of the best film concept i've ever come across for a long while. The first film i've watched by him is Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…Spring and i am his fan ever since. 3-Iron is written by the director after he starting playing golf and the film concept was developed when one day after coming home, he noticed a promo leaflet stuck on his door knob and he starts wondering those homes where the leaflets remains stuck for days will mean that the owners are not at home. He also noticed that the golf club 3-iron is the least-used club and often neglected and he starts to consider those people in our society who are 'invisible' and gladly neglected.

Thus 3-Iron is about this guy who goes around leaving leaflets in people's doorknobs and coming back after a day to stay into the unoccupied homes, helping them fix faulty stuffs and washing their clothes and remaining as 'invisible' to everyone else at the same time. One day, he broke into this huge house and realised that there's an abused pretty wife in there, after witnessing the abuse, he decided to take her along in his road trip. From then on, they developed a mutual understanding so distinct it's just makes u feel comfortable watching them going about at their chores.

One major element in this film is the male lead's script has not a single word at all. Everything is based on pure emotional acting and for such a young guy, it's really amazing till it's frustrating cos at times of the film, i was like 'Speak at least a word!' But alas no, he remains silent with us constantly guessing what's running in his mind. As for the female lead, yup she has more words in her script 'i love you', that's all! (Damn, this film's scriptwriter has an easy job) Of course, the golf club 3-Iron serves as one of the motifs in this film creating a sense of violence and recreation at the same time, finally serving its purpose other than in the golf course. The leaflets too serves as an indicator of abandonment and neglect when the owners come back to their homes and just crush them up and throwing them aside. There's so many elements in this film to analyse that i can hardly know when to stop so this is highly recommended for all reasons. The ending is superb too!

Mysterious Skin (2004)

Great acting and memorable violent scene

[8/10 · 3 January 2009]

R-rated films have always gave me a sense of curiosity of why and what elements it contained to be rated in this way and this film is one of them. Not a very hyped up film and with differing reviews of whether it's good or not, I decided to give this film a try. Another reason is because of its topic in particular: Paedophiles.

Knowing very well that this is going to be a gay and paedophile film, me and my girlfriend armed ourselves mentally for a journey of visual shocks. It started about kids, little boys who are barely 10 years old, one of them already knew that he likes guys and the other blanks out at odd times when something happens to him. We were like, wow, do they really know which gender they like at such a young age? And then the scenarios got closer and closer to the crime itself and I was, truthfully, stunned by the reality of it. Kids! They are just kids! Innocence is lost at such a young age and why does the adults wanna take them away so quickly? What a selfish action i kept thinking…..and this is what's happening in the world now, reading newspapers of reports on men seeking underage boys in Asian countries and even another report on a Singaporean poly lecturer getting caught while trying to solicit from young Asian boys in another country. Ewww…..what a disgrace.

This film created quite a stir in my emotions towards men as it shows me full frontal violence and mindless cure for their satisfaction. Some of them are from married families w their own kids and this makes me wonder how many men left in the world are NOT like that instead as the ratio seems to be greater on the other end. The scene on the violent rape of the main character by this big size man was especially disturbing. Makes me quite sick to the stomach even thinking of it, but this also means that the main character's acting is really good too. He acted his diverse role very well and should be well-credited. Overall, it's a great eye-opener film to me plus great acting to top it off.

Sin City (2005)

Stellar casts w great lighting!

[9/10 · 3 January 2009]

Alert! One of the best films i've caught this year so far!! Highly recommended is all I can say and I'm crossing my fingers that it will be nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Lighting and lots more. Thank god to the Board of Censorship for not snipping anything off cos that's how it shld be to portray the 'sins' well.

While watching the opening credits, am surprised to find out that it has a stellar cast of great actors: ranking from top of my charts Benicio Del Toro (he's good!), Clive Owen (love his voice), Mickey Rourke (never say die), Bruce Willis (Mr Goody Paedophile), Elijah Wood (at his scariest!!) and even cutey Josh Hartnett (i dun mind dying in his arms). The girls didn't do too bad also but was sadly overshadowed by the guys: Devon Aoki (cool blades), the lesbian (nice boobs), Brittany Murphy (waitress waiting to be slapped), Alexis Bledel (gilmore gal became pro) and Jessica Alba (high pain threshold).

Poster_jack Shown in black & white, with splashes of colours once in a while for significance and emphasis, this is a film noir with beautiful lighting. 3 stories were told, with one split apart from beginning and end of film as it spans a few years. Bruce Willis as hero who became a paedophile was the first; Mickey Rourke as an ugly giant who really enjoys torturing others as well as himself; Clive Owen & Benicio Del Toro who forms an interesting partnership together while in a car.

Monologues form the main part of storytelling by the main characters and there were lots of blood and sadistic scenes being played out that is both sick and wonderful. The sickest scene I would have to give to Elijah Wood's character, extremely quiet but very scary. I love Benicio Del Toro in this movie! So funny trying to act tough but actually is a weakling who preys on women to prove otherwise.

Adapted from the comic created by Frank Miller, it's great to have him co-direct and also together with guest director Quentin Tarantino, this film was set to be a bloody great one literally so please all sadistic fans, watch it! PS: Ehmm….maybe the sickest moment was when Bruce Willis kissed Jessica Alba……ewww!!

The Classic (2003)

My Classic Korean movie

[10/10 · 3 January 2009]

The original Korean romantic story that spurred on a wave of soppy movies, hail to all die-hard romantics! I have always been a fan of Korean movies, not the TV series but the movies and the first time I watched this movie was with a more fanatic movie-goer than me. Didn't know that I would actually love it so much to watch it endless times cos my friend even gave the vcd to me as a birthday gift.

The director also directed 'My Sassy Girl' the ultra-funny movie and actually one of the stories the female lead from 'My Sassy Girl' wrote is part of 'The Classic': A scene of 2 lovers running in a field raining heavily and they took shelter in a wooden pavilion. Yes, I remember it very clearly as it was a very romantic moment.Photo766_1 The story spans from 2 generations and started with a rural conservative Korean village to a modern day university scene. It has the right mixture of humour, romance, plot, sadness and war, oh and it makes you wanna cry and laugh at the same time. There's especially one character who is really funny and always faints suddenly in the middle of doing something, and I love the plot twist of the modern lovers w the umbrella….so sweet! (always bring a smile to my face) OK, think I can go on and on….

Well, of course every Korean movie director somehow makes it a point in their life to squeeze as many tears as they can evoke from their viewers and this one is no exception. There's a very strong scene in the movie that is so real and sad that it never fails to wrench my heart, it's those sudden type of reality that just breaks you of how a happy-go-lucky guy is actually living in a world of torture without anyone knowing and he would be the last guy to imagine giving up on life itself.

Of course the ending is a little bit too much of a coincidence, but the overall story clearly makes up for it as the constant juxtaposition of the 2 generations love story gives it a classic evergreen feel that I can watch it again and again and it would just produce the same effect every single time.

Dolls (2002)

Magical Journey

[10/10 · 3 January 2009]

Visually one of the most outstanding films I've ever seen is the Japanese film 'Dolls'. My top favourite for last year's Intl Film Fest, this film says so much with just colours and its stunning cinematography. The film basically contains 3 different stories and it started with an arranged wedding. The groom ran away from it and visited his ex-girlfriend in the asylum who went mad when he was forced to marry into a rich family.

There wasn't much dialogue between the 2 characters as they embarked on the most bizarre journey, with the female lead always in a daze that the male lead had to tie a red string on her hand to keep her from wandering off. 6 They walked thru spring, summer, autumn and winter all the while intersected with 2 other side stories. One is about a woman who waited for her lover since teenage years till she's about 40+, preparing bento lunch for him everyday and waiting for him at the park. He finally came one day but ….sigh….The next story is about a popular singer and her number 1 fan, the pretty girl got disfigured one day and her fan, in order to meet her, decided to blind himself with his last vision of her poster. Pretty strong love huh….

We've reached winter and that's when the female lead finally remembers the guy and the scene was so heartwarming. She just cried and u can just feel their love after going through so much. Seasons transit in such way that they walk from red leaves to snow ground in a step, very beautifully done and the colour motif is splendid from bright red to pure white.

**Magical Journey**

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

Telepathic Love

[8/10 · 3 January 2009]

Long awaited French film for me since last September and finally reached Singapore shores this Feb 2005, I couldn't wait to watch this film and am glad that it sure didn't disappoint me. Jean Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amelie, uses similar casts and crew for this film and even though the screenplay is not as amazing as Amelie, the cinematography and soundtrack sure beats it.

Childhood lovers and engaged before the fiancé was called for war, the female lead got news that he died while being condemned for self-inflicting injuries to be pardoned from war. She showed the true meaning of telepathic love by not believing that he died and continued searching for clues of him for a really long time, thus comes the title of the film.

Shot beautifully in a small French village with the classic swirling sweep of a majestic lighthouse by the ocean, we were once again faced with the absurdities of the war and things that can go terribly wrong without warning, at the same time. Even though the female lead has polio and was in crutches since young, she exemplifies the hope and faith of an optimist, always challenging herself that if she can race faster than the car, then her wish will come true.

Oh but with a handicap to the French language, I had a difficult time trying to match all the different French names being mentioned in the film cos that was one of the main element to have a grasp on before you understand the entire plot. So halfway through the story, I was like…who is who again?

Blue Gate Crossing (2002)

Watched it cos of the music video by Cheer Chen

[8/10 · 3 January 2009]

The first glimpse of this lovely film was through its music video by Cheer Chen, one of my fav Taiwanese singers, and the footages just grasped my attention so much that I wanted to catch it for the longest time. Starring one of the cutest boy actors who were up and coming during that time, this was another good reason to watch too. But alas, it actually took me more than a year after the movie was released that i finally watched it, sadly thru VCD by a good friend.

OK, it's basically about an awkward love triangle story on 3 17 yr-old kids ,with lesbian elements in it to add to the flavour. But if you look at it in a different angle, it's just a pretty innocent love story and the chemistry between the 2 main leads are the main factor that keeps the attention going. With the boy's straightforwardness and the girl's sexual confusion, it brings you back to school days where crushes are aplenty and some peculiar actions done by you or others that are just not explainable at all.

There are some classic lines and performances by the 2 leads which are unforgettable and the story engages our attention with the tensions and struggles we face while growing up, lots of questions nobody can answer and lots of emotions waiting to explode out from our young minds. The music is great too with a sort of sorrowful touch to match the teens' loss, in terms of love, innocence and youth.

A simple story beautifully shot and strongly cast leads, makes it an unforgettable piece of work and lastly, I'll end with the classic line from the film 'If one day you start liking guys, please let me be the first one to know'. Sigh! So sweet.

Crying Out Love in the Center of the World (2004)

Love the nostalgia

[6/10 · 3 January 2009]

Flashbacks are mainly featured in this film as it's about nostalgia of lost love and memories. Not only we see cassette tapes back in style, there's the sony walkman, the trusty scooter, the loud bang of photo-taking machines and the chunky radio to bring us back to where the very basic of young and blossoming first love feels like.

Shikoku is the town where the young couple grew up in and where they spend their adventures of grave digging, exploring islands, and fantasizing about where the center of the world is. As the story unfolds, girl got sick and boy still continued loving her but the girl ended up dying alone due to some (co)incidence.

The story is fragmented in the sense that it tries to link up the present and past and at the end of the long film, it's finally connected but the link was too weak to even prove the strength of the scriptwriting. Maybe the novel that it was adapted from would be a better read as I feel that the film tried very hard to evoke the sadness out but considering myself as an easy cry audience, I didn't feel that sad.

The overall setting was there but still something was missing to complete the whole picture. Maybe the acting, or the script or it took too long to develop the love between the 2 youngsters until the final link doesn't seem that important after all and the rest just crumbles….that's sad by itself.

But still, I like the music, the location shots, the male lead actor (older one), colour treatment, and the concept of talking to each other thru cassette tapes so it's still recommended for Jap lovers and even better if your first love is as romantic and sad as them…..

The Diplomat (2009 TV Movie)

Confusing plot

[6/10 · 15 December 2008]

Shot in London & Australia. Ian Porter is the diplomat who got caught in the London's Scotland Yard & Russian nuclear terrorists way. Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard questioned Ian Porter for sealing the diplomatic containers that contains 23kg of heroin. He thought he's helping to counter-terrorism by acting as a middleman between the Russian mafia Krousov & the secret services so he's like the puppet being played by both teams but actually the secret services have other plans themselves. So Scotland Yard decide to whisk Ian & his estranged ex-wife, Pippa to Australia Sydney under a witness protection scheme and slowly discovered a deeper conspiracy that might kill thousands of people which Ian will have to decide who to protect. It's also about a family who lost their son & love by real life couple Dougray Scott & Claire Forlani.

A Man Who Was Superman (2008)

Wasted on me

[5/10 · 12 October 2008]

'If I Were Superman' is a fantasy comedy about this lady journalist who followed a man who claimed that he's Superman who has to help save the world. At first glance, he seemed to be mental but as the story goes, the journalist slowly found out why he became this way.

The story is supposed to be engaging and the characters interesting. But unfortunately I just didn't identify w any element in it at all. The lines were not funny if they are meant to be, the characters I can't connect with, the plot is messy and the tear jerking parts I didn't even bat an eyelid. Which means a big deal cos I really do cry easily in wherever the director wants the audience to. So overall, I dun feel a thing regarding this Korean movie so it's pretty much wasted on me.

Tokyo! (2008)

3 different stories in Tokyo

[7/10 · 10 October 2008]

Tokyo! is a combination of 3 stories by 3 different directors that centers around this metropolitan city. First up, Michel Gondry which is mainly why I wanted to catch this film, loved his 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'! 'Interior Design' is about this Jap couple who arrived at Tokyo to screen the boyfriend's film at a porno theater, they were crashing in their ex-schoolmate's tiny apartment and while the boyfriend is busy working as a gift wrapper and presenting his film, the girlfriend felt left-out and useless. Until something unexplainable happened one day...which I still cant get a grasp on the reason but I would say that's only when the story picked up and got interesting. 2nd story by Leos Carax (French director) called 'Merde' about a sewage man who will pop out of the Tokyo sewage and terrorize the Japanese citizens on the streets. Immediately I recognize how the director wanted to portray the Japanese concept of 'aliens' in their country. The sewage man represents a foreigner and how the locals will view them as always an outcast and treat them like monsters. So the saga continued when he decided to throw bombs onto the Tokyo streets and the authorities decides to catch him and sentence him to death. In retrospect, the 2nd story was too draggy and doesn't really make much sense to me in the end. Didn't engage me at all. Now the final one by Bong Joon Ho is my personal favourite, a Korean director, 'Shaking Tokyo' is about this guy who is a hermit in Tokyo, he has stayed in his apartment for more than 10 years without stepping out at all and his apartment is arranged perfectly w household items w years of practice. He has a certain routine everyday and particularly on Saturdays, he will order a pizza delivery. He has never made any eye contact with anyone who knocks on his door until one day, he looked at the delivery girl and then there was an earthquake at the moment. Girl fainted at his doorstep and he flustered for a while before managing to wake her up. He fell in love w her and when she didn't appear the next Saturday to deliver the pizza, he decided to finally step out of his house to look for her. I really enjoyed this last segment as the actor is superb, the story is realistic and very engaging. Kept me interested and amused throughout!

Nights in Rodanthe (2008)

Old-fashioned love story

[6/10 · 10 October 2008]

Nights in Rodanthe is based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks and I have read a few of his works which mainly involves 2nd-chance romance w a hint of tragedy behind it. I remembered 'A Walk To Remember', 'The Notebook', 'Message In A Bottle'. Starring Richard Gere & Diane Lane, it's a story about a housewife who just divorced her husband and was helping out her best friend's beach inn when Dr Paul arrived at the inn to stay for 5 days. Both had problems they had to face and through these few days they found each other and fell in love. Unfortunately they had to part but continued to keep in touch the old-fashioned way until... Initially, I was a bit reluctant to even make an effort to go to this movie but since it's Nicholas Sparks, I thought I should give it a chance cos Im no fan of Richard Gere nor Diane Lane. The story is pretty pacey w enough sexual tension between the 2 stars, I love the beach inn though, just what I would picture my dream beach house to be, except not that huge and prob not that close to the sea. Surprisingly I found myself mesmerized by Richard Gere, especially his eyes so I would say for his age, he's still very charming. This story is a tearjerker and even tho Im resistant to tearing, it did squeeze out a few drops and certain parts of the movie so it's still good. Overall, a so-so movie that makes you feel like you want to be in love again the old-fashioned way.

Brothers (2004)

Good even tho i dun understand the language

[8/10 · 19 May 2005]

My favourite pick for this year's Intl Film Fest is a Danish film of 2 brothers with totally different characters and life, who are at their crossroads. This was the only film i watched it alone as it wasn't really hyped up or anything so it's like a surprise hit to me and I like films that I will remember in hindsight after more than 1-2 weeks later (my memory is so bad).

Acting is the key element in this film and strong feelings are involved here for the 3 main characters and even the 2 children are good. I like the story twist between the 2 brothers and the underlying love/hatred/jealousy for each other can be felt when the tables are turned. The lead actress is very pretty, she's quite a well known actress in Hollywood acting in movies like Gladiator, One Hour Photo…though her acting is more forgettable.

The film intercuts between family life and war scenes, quite a big contrast in terms of familiarity vs estranged, quiet vs noise, stablility vs uncertainty, love vs hate. The elder brother who had a stable life and family suddenly toppled to the bottom and became a prisoner while the younger brother, a bummer and alcoholic, was presented with a responsibility and handled it with more composure than anyone think he would.

What would you do if you were kept from seeing your loved ones forever? People will do the most unthinkable actions and risk everything they had. Well, what seems to be a great sacrifice for you might not be one for your loved ones. Do keep in mind and this is what I've learned from this film, dun let your love turn into hate. This film ended with a well-deserved round of applause from the viewers.