The Man Named Sento

30 Day Promise - Episode Six
Family Issues

Films watched today at the film festival definitely has the similar themes and motifs relating to family issues. I really don't have any issues with my family, if there are any, it's more of silence and explosion. We spend days not seeing each other and then suddenly something of an explosion will happen and then we'll fight. Or more like they'll shout at me and I'll just ignore. The story of my life. In as much as I'd like to resolve these issues, they just don't have any time to do so or maybe I just don't want to resolve it. I'll regret it in the future, but I do show them that I love them. And sometimes maybe with so little of my successes, I just let them know so that they can be a little bit proud of me. That's why I'm actively pursuing my career path. I guess there's still this inkling feeling inside that I still do it for them. I really do. I'm already doing it for myself. Every time I pick up a camera or write or be on set or log or edit, I'm already doing it for myself. Succeeding is my gift for my parents to show them that they didn't fail by having me or having me freeloading offa them all these years...

Hanami ~ Cherry Blossoms
Director: Doris Dorrie
Genre: Drama
(Germany)

The Skinny: A heart-wrenching story about an old couple at the verge of dying. The wife, living her life for her family requests for one last trip to meet her children and more likely to go to the land of her dreams - Japan - for her to actually be close to her Butoh dancing. The husband - afraid to try out new things - goes with his wife's journey, and eventually life starts a cruel joke that ends into a spinning vortex of irony and regret.
The Germans, as frank as they are, created a very subtle drama of regret. As an audience, viewing the life of the couple and contrasting it with the non-understanding nature of their children (now all grown up living lonely lives) tackles on the ultimate questions with simple abandon and painful realization. Though it may feel like two movies in one and very episodic, it's more of a character study, delving into the breadth of their pain and staying there... building up like cancer and then leaving the theater dying with them...

Rating: ****

Christmas Tale
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
Genre: Drama
(France)

The Skinny: A family torn apart by each other's issues are gathered together as a whole when the matriarch - Junon - contracts a rare blood cancer that even though chances of transplant success are low, even if it succeeds, there's a high chance that the new blood cells will cannibalize her organs from the inside. Reuniting for Christmas, each family member not only deals with the fact that their matriarch is dying, would also have to deal with the issues regarding each other.
As an ensemble piece, the French does it a little differently than the British. I generally find the British ensemble dramas effective since they have pockets of stories that one can relate to, others that serve as comic relief, while others move the story forward. I find that the French vacillate around their petty in-fighting causing certain characters to act similarly while others lose themselves within the context or out of the continuum. A more-or-less engaging tale and more bearable than most of Rivette's artsy movements, aside from the zig-zag construction of the story, I find it a little more appealing than many French films I've seen as of late.

Rating: ***

( Current Ranking of VIFF Films Seen by Me this Year )

Keep Bleeding

Funny that the more I spend in Empire Theaters, the more I would like to work for it again. Though the more I think about it, the less likely I'd like to work for them. Girls are pretty and I like talking with the guys better than the other place where I work. People are less pretentious and friendlier, but I like what I'm getting from the other place where I work (OPWIW).

I saw Jessica again, kinda quit because of her. I found myself falling for her charms last year. She's still as bouncy and bubbly as ever, and she'd like to see me come back. I didn't like that. I had to push Janette away and the cougar away because of that reason. I guess I'm a serial unrequited lover, I'd rather love vicariously than get hurt. It's empty but at the same time safe. Safe for me to do my projects and safe for me to live my life without pain.

I guess that's why I cringe watching the many romances planted on film. They are always stilted and annoying when they consummate their love when it's not through sex. The only few love stories I felt real without sex would be In the Mood for Love and Last Life in the Universe. Maybe it's just Chris Doyle doing the shots and as seen in other deleted scenes - sex was involved anyway. Unrequited love filled with bitter tragedies and conflict really ups the ante and makes the story better. I guess it's better that way. That's why they cut it when they end up together or cue in "They Lived Happily Ever After"...

Face it, romance is corny. It takes a lot of skill and talent to not make it corny.

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