Philomena

A film with moments of comedy, co-written by and starring Steve Coogan, 'Alpha Papa' was released in 2013. But lo, I jest. 'Philomena' is perhaps a turning point in Coogan's career, having spent much of his time on the silver screen in self-admittedly poor films popping up alongside snorty-snorty friends in bit-part roles in Hollywood crap. While comedy is indeed an element in the film, 'Philomena' is potentially the start of a maturing for Coogan, as he moves towards making the films he'd probably like to make, rather than end up in.

'Based on true events', lead, Judi Dench, plays Philomena, an elderly Irish woman living in London who, on the day that would be his fiftieth birthday, wants to locate her son, taken from her and adopted while she was in a convent in her teenage years. Having no luck herself, a chance encounter with journalist Martin Sixsmith (Coogan) leads him to help her in her search; his career having taken a backward step.

As with any one-on-one film, the pair are opposites: Philomena a devout Catholic, believing in the good in people; Martin a cynical atheist, with little belief in anything. Seeing the story as a possible career boost, he uses his contacts to fund the search and publish the story, inevitably learning more about life than a simple 'human interest' story.

For Dench, it was probably always inevitable that the reviews would be strong and the award nominations would follow. Though for Coogan, the reception was a little less obvious, writing and acting in a much more serious role. In terms of acting, despite the odd slightly cringe-worthy moment, he does a good job playing a job role he so loathes, while the writing - alongside Jeff Pope - is strong, finding a good balance between sentimentality and comedy in adapting Sixsmith's book.

'Philomena' will add another strong performance to Dench's long list of roles, while 2013 has been a big year in terms of Coogan's career, possibly putting Partridge to bed with a film and moving into more serious acting roles in 'The Look of Love' and now 'Philomena' and it will be interesting to see which direction it moves next, though it seems clear he would like more critical acclaim than laughs from now. That said, intentional or not, one comes away feeling more entertained than heartbroken by the film's conclusion. 

London Korean Film Festival 2013

The annual London Korean Film Festival always brings with it the anticipation of which colour bag will be given out free when attending the films in London's ever-annoying West End. For this year's offerings, I decided to choose a theme of silly comedy, based partly on mood and partly on being too hungover to make a more serious screening. This year, I was content to merely squeeze two films in the week's packed schedule, making do with the chance to walk down the red carpet at a Leicester Square during the Closing Gala. And yes, my girlfriend won the sweepstake: the bag this year was blue.

Third Window are a London-based distribution company, largely specialising in a certain genre of Asian cinema: light-hearted, Japanese and Korean comedies. It's no coincidence that the two films I ended up seeing equate to the two that Third Window Films will in future be releasing on DVD in these British Isles, being that their logo features often along my pathetically numerous DVD shelves.

The first film - a last-minute choice - 'How to Use Guys with Secret Tips' fits almost perfectly into my favourite ever film genre: the Korean saucy comedy. Out-of-luck Assistant Director at an advertising company, Choi Bona, assesses her current situation, finding both her career and her love life stationary. Ever trying to be assertive, she is easily led into buying a good, ol' VHS video series of titular self-help guides. Hilariously working her way through them, she gradually puts the secret tips into practise, seeing improvements in her fortunes, welcome or not. With her luck improving, she finds that life proves even harder, as she struggles to deal with her new success.

Like many comedy films, this starts off well enough, with the tone of joke set early on. As the films progress and plot needs to come into it, sometimes, more often than not, they become a bit tedious and end with a horrific romp towards the inevitable happy ending. 'How to Use Guys with Secret Tips' is probably a film that goes the way of the majority, but doesn't become a complete bore towards the middle. The self-aware self-help guide is the real comedy here, with standard comedy Korean man-in-suit and the highly selective white couple featuring in them. The 'real world' is a bit more of a standard rom-com, that has its moments, but is fairly run-of-the-mill. But entertainment is the key here, and with a title such as this, the film delivers what it promises: an almost Korean saucy comedy.

The Closing Gala closed the Festival with the most likely hit shown during the week: 'Boomerang Family'. Another comedy, this features a more well-known cast and mainstream appeal , focusing on a dysfunctional family that have to put their differences to one side in order to overcome adversity.

With two, ever-bickering brothers - a failed film director and a low-level gangster - and a sister that can't keep her knickers up for long, the mother of the family goes about her business with dignity, trying to keep the family structure together, despite the constant problems surrounding her. Again, this isn't anything that hasn't been done before, with the characters quite stereotypical within family-orientated films: the black sheep; the favoured, yet flawed son; the easy sister.

Where 'Boomerang Family' is a little different is in its slightly more intense violence, though still not going as far as others; and some at times interesting slow motion shots while chaos is all around. With cast and crew on offer to take questions, it was clear that a lot of alcohol was consumed during the making of this film. This is clearly a film that was fun for them to make, and in the end, it's fun to watch.

Comedy is never a guarantee of a good film; generally it's a sign of poor quality. With two comedies viewed, neither were films that will break and grounds, smash any records, or destroy and pre-conceptions, but being that these were both watched when the mood at the start was never the best, the mood by the end was somewhat improved. 

Like Father, Like Son

There are many comparisons made between Hirokazu Kore-eda and one of the Twentieth Century masters of Japanese cinema, the much lauded Ozu. With each film that the modern-day equivalent makes, the comparisons will continue to grow and grow, as his films maintain the theme of contemporary family life in Japan.

Similar to the recent 'Kiseki (I Wish)', 'Like Father, Like Son' focuses on the lives of two young boys and their unconventional relationships with their parents. While, 'Kiseki' looked at the lives of two brothers, separated by the parents' divorce, 'Like Father, Like Son' looks at the lives of two unrelated boys who, after a hospital mix-up, were raised by a random couple. The mix-up coming out years later, once the boys have started to develop, leaves both sets of parents unsure as to how to proceed.

'Kiseki' looked very much at the lives of the young brothers and how they work behind their parents' backs to be reunited, only to learn the hard way that things have now changed. In his latest effort, Kore-eda focuses very much on the parents, particularly the straight-edged, hard-working salary man, Ryota, who is forever baffled by his son's meagre talent and work ethic in comparison to his own. His equivalent, Yudai, raising his biological son, has a more relaxed approach to life, raising his son in a loving, family environment.

Naturally, the polarised approaches of the two males to life and parenting is a clear plot device to make the inevitable life-lesson learnt more poignant by the film's conclusion, and perhaps a slightly more idealistic scenarios for the story. However, much like his previous works, Kore-eda offers no easy solutions. Torn between the boy he has raised and loves and his blood, Ryota looks to all possible permutations for a solution to situation, but each presents its own problems.

The family situation presented is one of blood versus upbringing, with Ryota convinced that blood signifies everything - an important aspect of Japanese culture, where blood-type can be thought to determine various aspects of one's life - and as such looks at an interesting aspect of Japanese culture, and while a strong effort, it never quite matches the nostalgia of 'After Life', the detachment of 'Nobody Knows' or the coming of age of 'Keseki'. But here, Kore-eda again affirms that there is a case for himself as the heir to Ozu's title. Fifty years on since the latter's death, the former tackles the changes of a different time, with more and more unconventional relationships and post-modern family structures. Where Ozu looked at emerging female independence ('Late Autumn'), Kore-eda looks at a love doll developing a soul ('Air Doll'). The times have changed, but like father, like son. 

57th BFI London Film Festival

This year, I amazed myself. Four films watched at this year's London Film Festival, and not one of them Japanese. Four films, in four different languages, from four different (sort) countries, spanning three continents. Once again, September was spent scouring through the Festival guide, highlighting all the films I am interested, only to find out that the 'must sees' are already fully booked, the main ones I want to watch are at times I can't see them, and that one man can't really watch over two hundred titles in a fortnight.

So, seeing as there's no Japanese to speak of, let's start with the home of the other language that I pretend to learn: Hungary. 'The Notebook', or 'Le Grand Cahier' or 'A Nagy Fuzet', is the story of two (count them) twin brothers sent to live with their battle-axe of a grandmother in a small village by the Austrian border during the Second World War. Before departing, they are given a big notebook (for those French and Hungarian speakers reading) to keep a record of their thoughts and learnings during the war years. As the war progresses, the two become more disillusioned as they grow older, finding few friends, other than a suitably pervy German officer, treated as bastards by many. It is in this that they learn that life is pain, as they start to inflict it on themselves, as well as those around them.

'A Nagy Fuzet' is, much like Hungary probably was during the war, an unpleasant experience. Regular scenes or torture, violence, fat people eating, racism and largely unnecessary, underage foot masturbation feature throughout its two hours, though any film set in the time and location could hardly be champagne and skittles. While not always speedy of pace, it draws you in, but will probably call you a nasty name.

From one scene of pain and suffering, to another: New York. Set in one of the lesser-known, slower outposts along the New York's coast, 'Stand Clear of the Closing Doors' is the story of autistic Ricky (played by Jesus...Sanchez-Velez), who one day decides to go on a bit of a wonder, getting no further than the New York Subway system, spending more time on it than the commute from Uxbridge to Balham.

The film has three major elements: the first is Ricky, the autistic son with a passion for drawing and unusual shapes. The second, Ricky's mother, Andrea, in many ways the lead character, whose determination sees her strive to locate her missing son, whether others help her or not. The third is that of the New York Subway. With a mix of staged and real-life scenarios caught on the city's trains. The first and the third combined are the most interesting element of the film, as Ricky tries to find his way in the strange network, confronting any number of dangerous faces and unique places.

A typical 'love letter to New York' in that 'isn't everything a bit crap, but we love it' kind of way, the film is set in the city's underground and a non-typical suburb, providing a slightly different portrait of the city. Yet more could have maybe been done here beyond a nice, little story about a vulnerable boy that goes wondering, leaving it more a scratch on the surface, rather than getting deep below it.

'A Touch of Sin' is the latest release form modern Chinese auteur, Jia Zhang-ke. In his typical manner of looking at the changing face of modern day China, here a host of loosely connected tales are told around the lives of unrelated characters and how one sin invariably leads to another, with Adam's sin-filled apple rearing its ugly head whenever necessary. The stories include corruption, greed, violence, adultery, lust and suicide, each committing their acts of sin for their own reasons.

Made with his signature claustrophobic feel and amateurish style, 'A Touch of Sin' isn't exactly him at his best, but works as a nice addition to his oeuvre. With moments of violence and comedy, there is a little more to keep the viewer entertained, compared to his more minimalist and silent moments, though his tackling of the subject matter has less depth here, with the 'sin' in question often coming as subtle as a brick. But, borne out of the numerous stories that seem to continually come out of modern day China, where small acts lead to outrageous moments, 'A Touch of Sin' keeps Jia Zhang-ke as one of the more vocal critics of modern day life in China.

'Bends' is a film that looks at the developing relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China, much like the sort of thing Wong Kar-wai did with 'Happy Together'. Much like Wong Kar-wai, director Flora Lau hired the services of Christopher Doyle as Director of Photography. Director Flora Lau has a friend called Wong Kar-wai, that isn't Wong Kar-wai.

The story focuses on two main characters: an aging woman, one of Hong Kong's wealthy elite, who finds her husband has disappeared, leaving her finances in doubt as she faces an uncertain future; the second is her driver, a young man living in the mainland that makes the trip across the border to work for her each day. With his young wife pregnant for a second time, he struggles to find a route for her into Hong Kong, so she can have the baby without any problems from the government.

The film is quite slow and languid, featuring lots of slow, still shots by Doyle, aided by the music in creating this feel. The film is one about uncertainty, with the financial future of those in Hong Kong put into question, as well as the new freedoms those in the mainland look towards. 'Bends' is a nice look at this relationship, but one that never pushes things too hard.

All four films viewed were good, solid efforts, but nothing that will really set the world alight. Maybe it's all about Japanese cinema for me. Scoff scoff. 

Pieta

A Kim Ki-duk film is one that will always bring with it a bit of controversy upon its release, if indeed it gets released at all. His films often border between the shocking, the strange and the sublime, taking the viewer through a range of emotions, often leaving them not knowing how to feel about them upon their conclusion. The appropriately-named 'Pieta' is a film that follows along these lines, switching between moments of extreme violence and revenge to tender moments between mother and son.

Gang-do is a no-nonsense debt collector for a loan shark, often taking extreme force to scare his debtors into work-based 'accidents' thus triggering the insurance claims that are used as a guarantee of repayment. No payment, no more hands, but no more debt. Unconcerned by his victims, or the impact his actions have on their families, the cold-hearted cripple-maker's life is turned upside down when a woman arrives at his door claiming to be the mother that abandoned him when he was born.  

Eventually accepting her story, Gang-do gradually begins to see the error of his ways, finally experiencing the love of a mother, and taking pity on those to which he is to inflict pain. But with his guard now down, the now vulnerable Gang-do leaves himself open to revenge, having the tables turned on his own life and happiness.

The film starts with an stream of torture inflicted on desperate men, unable to pay the always-inevitable-in-films high rate of inflation placed on loan repayments. All of those taking out these 'happy loans' work in small, independent workshops, complete with enough heavy machinery to cause rather a nasty 'accident' that any insurance company would believe. Though the violence is never fully shown on screen, building the anticipation and leaving it up to the imagination, it is enough to leave the viewer feeling a little uneasy.

The film then moves into more easy roads, as the transformation of Gang-do begins, becoming a vulnerable son, dependent on his mother, and by the film's final twist he is a pitiful character. As he seeks redemption, the film has become a vehicle for tender moments, a far cry from the violence of the start.

While there are inevitable plot holes along the way, the characterisation in the two leads is strong, in two strong performances from the leads, Jeong-jin Lee and particularly the relative unknown, Min-soo Jo, in the role of mother.

As with his previous works, it's difficult to know how to feel at the end of 'Pieta', as Min-soo Jo's character battles with her own confusion as to how she should feel towards Gang-do. Controversial; love him or hate him; pick faults at the lack of professionalism in the film-making or marvel at the way he can conjure up emotion, Kim Ki-duk is a director that will probably always divide opinion, but will always provoke thought.

KanZeOn

'KanZeOn' is an interesting film - interesting in that sense that you're unsure as to how to react to it once completing its eighty-six minutes. Filmed in glorious high definition, this British-made documentary from the start seems to be a random collection of interviews and demonstrations from a random collection of Japanese that have some connection to traditional Nihon no ongaku, divided into seemingly order-less chapters. But as it continues, themes start to emerge and the different personalities come to the fore.

Setting the scene, demonstrating their talents, then explaining their philosophies regarding music and art and their place in the world, three main characters form the basis of the documentary: a Noh theatre master; a player of the Chinese instrument, sho; and an interesting hip hop priest, who beat-boxes and DJs in his own unique way. Interspersed with lots of slow shots of scenery, temples and shrines, this is a film designed to get the viewer into the tranquil state that the music creates in each of its performers.

There are many ways in which to make a documentary, with the approach to 'KanZeOn' one that lacks any real narrative structure nor extended or in-depth interviewing. Instead, it leaves those featured to say their piece and demonstrate their art, making it a very personal account of the meaning of the sounds and religious beliefs. This is watching and observing, without attempting to intrude on the impossible.

The message here is that music means something different to everyone, and so doesn't try and form any universal conclusions, perhaps a metaphor for how 'KanZeOn' itself will be received.

Politic 22

Sounds, noises, spoken words, musical notes...all here

Mentor - Michita
Forte - Haiiro De Rossi
Force for Truth - Nomak
Rick it All - Fat Jon
Basic Instinct - Quasimoto
The Unseen - Quasimoto
Drawbridge - Aesop Rock and Dose One
When I Shine - The Herbaliser and Bahamadia
Spoon - Cut Chemist
A Whim - DJ Krush
1200 - DJ Krush and Hideo
Allegro Pt 2 - Michita and Haiiro De Rossi
Illegal Business - Boogie Down Productions
Credit is Due - Gang Starr
Moment of Truth - Gang Starr
Patti Duke - De La Soul and Guru
Alive - Beastie Boys
Soul Session - Michita and Haiiro De Rossi (in spirit only)
Modern Tribe - Haiiro De Rossi and DJ Keita
Yuuhi Ga Ochite Ikumaeni - Haiiro De Rossi

Every 14 Days...(17)

Re-agitator (Tom Mes)

A full decade ago, plucky Dutchman, Tom Mes wrote a full and complete work on the films of Miike Takashi: 'Agitator'. With the director's recent fame at the time from films like 'Audition' and Ichi the Killer' gaining him international acknowledgement, 'Agitator' came at a good time to fully explore the first twelve or so years of the Japanese director's efforts.

Fast forward ten years, and the international success of his work has seen him move from straightforward straight-to-video releases to bigger budgets and bigger ambitions, with his name gaining further respect throughout the world. Following him all the way, Mes has continued his writing on Miike and his films, culminating in the release of 'Re-Agitator: A Decade of Writing on Takashi Miike'.

From the outset, in Christian Storms' less than articulate foreword, it is made clear that this is not 'Agitator Part II'. And that it is not. Whereas 'Agitator' was an in-depth look at each of Miike's films to date and themes and patterns emerging throughout his work, 'Re-Agitator' is a selection of various random writings by Mes on Miike that have appeared on various websites, DVD sleeves and at international film festivals. And this is a shame.

While 'Agitator Part II' may have been a little underwhelming as a release, perhaps a re-release of the original book with a new second half, with analysis of the Miike films in the same vein may have been useful. 'Re-Agitator', while claiming not to simply be a fan-boy book, clearly is, with no additional analysis or interpretation really added, going over some old ground. Little criticism is offered, with digs more at critics of Miike themselves rather than any negative words said against the man.

'Re-Agitator' offers a couple of insights, such as his various trips to European film festivals that have subsequently started, but not much more. Each film he releases seems to be more of a masterpiece than the last, which is, of course, not true, making 'Re-Agitator' seem the mere work of a fan-boy it claims it will never be.

Days to read: 11

Days per book: 15.9

The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy (Mishima Yukio)

To say Mishima's magnum opus is a sum greater than its parts would be true. The four books written between 1964 and 1971 tell four separate tales of Honda Shigekuni, who in each encounters a different reincarnation of his deceased boyhood friend, Kiyoaki; each in turn dying at the age of 20. Each book looks at a different period of Twentieth Century Japan, and how the nation has changed over this time.

'Spring Snow' begins with the death of old Japan, with the aristocracy fraternising with the wealthy to their downfall. 'Runaway Horses' looks at the growing appeal of 'The League of the Devine Wind' in the build up to World War II. 'The Temple of Dawn' focuses on the importance of Buddhism in Japan, focusing on the tetralogy's key theme of reincarnation. The final book, 'The Decay of the Angel', completed on the day Mishima would commit seppuku, examines the awareness of the self. In each, Honda tries to save the Kiyoaki-incarnate from their certain fate, each time to fail, as they move on to their next life.

Individually, none of the books is a masterpiece in its own write: the intention that there would be a following chapter leaving no satisfying conclusion, until the end of the last. None particularly work as a standalone piece either, and so all four have to be considered as one. What you're essentially left with, then, is a four-figures of pages long novel which begins to drag and struggles to maintain the interest. Each of the books feels like an over-long chapter in a greater story: that of Honda and how his life evolves over a sixty year period.

Mishima, at times, adds far too much detail into the works. Throughout there are long break-offs including extracts from diaries and pamphlets that are long-winded and feel poorly done. At times, Mishima can write well; at others, he is far too detailed, over-explanatory and has his characters mull over things to the last. The motivations of the characters are a point that sits a little badly with the reader at times, never fully believing in them. Though this is something that would match with Mishima himself: a married gay man, he was a nationalist who travelled and dedicated much of his time to bodybuilding; a right-wing radical that modelled.

But with the ambition of 'The Sea of Fertility', Mishima has taken an interesting look at the life of his home nation. With his political views, the work is a reflection of his thoughts about the changing nature of Japan; thoughts that would prove his legacy.

For fun, with each next book, I chose to read an earlier edition, as a sort of reincarnation reversal.

Spring Snow

Days to read: 17

Days per book: 15.9

Runaway Horses

Days to read: 26

Days per books: 16.1

The Temple of Dawn

Days to read: 16

Days per book: 16.0

The Decay of the Angel

Days to read: 19

Days per book: 16.1

Yuuhi Ga Ochite Ikumaeni (haiiro De Rossi)

A new video for the first time in a while: 'Yuuhi Ga Ochite Ikumaeni' by Haiiro De Rossi from the album 'Forte'. Not sure what it means, but think it's something about '...before I go.' Pictures from around Hokkaido and that, mainly Sapporo, Wakkanai, Asahikawa and Biei...

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

So goes with any popular comedy character(s), a film needs to be made to essentially kill them off,  in a 'we won't be making any more of these' sense, as well artistically. Most inevitably succeed financially, but are often poor attempts at transferring a character that works in a thirty minute format to the big screen.

And so now comes one of the great British comedy characters: Alan Partridge. With the previous incarnations of Alan Gordon Partridge, it would be easy to suggest that the character wouldn't work on the big screen: spoof news show sports reporting; chat show; claustrophobic, fly-on-the-wall account of a man's life crumbling; and web-cam radio show. Turning a much-loved character from intentionally un-cool scenarios into the more dramatic setting required for cinema is a different-shaped potato altogether.

Well, to start, the three original writers, all involved here, have all have experience working in cinema, albeit inconsistent, and as such know how to work within the medium. The problem is, would this be one of their hits rather than misses?

While not a corking, copper-bottomed hit, 'Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa' is one of the better conversions. Quite nicely, they have put the character in the sort of scenario he dreams of, though would be unable to cope with should it occur. Unless of course, there is quality broadcasting to made. But with Partridge, it's the mundane nature of the situations that make it so good, and so while the film doesn't completely disappoint, it isn't the best incarnation of the character to date, and is arguably, the worst.

It's disappointing that there are fewer of the regular Partridge faces from the past included within the cast, though this is probably a compromise that had to be made when moving to cinema, with the likes of Colm Meaney and Sean Pertwee drafted in. Compromise is probably what saves the film from becoming the depressing romp that comedy films can often descend into, with endless horrible afterthoughts thrown in at the end as the film concludes. Enough balance has been made to ensure that it is a film that can stand up on its own merits, but also not completely disappointing worshipers of Partridge.  

There are some good Partridge moments, like his choice of vehicle, though there is nothing particularly here to add to the endlessly quotable lines delivered by Steve Coogan. Instead, it is an enjoyable enough ninety minutes of comedy that builds the Partridge character further, leaving some possibility that the old dog isn't quite dead just yet.    

Method Man Performing Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Brixton- 26/07/13)

Method Man getting Dirty and doing ODB's 'Shimmy Shimmy Ya' with the Wu in Brixton. All 8 surviving members turned up, though the sound quality didn't match the performance...

Like Someone in Love

Crossing cultures and language barriers is something happening more and more in cinema, with well-known directors establishing their name for making films from their homeland, looking abroad to try out their skills in a different culture. With 'Like Someone in Love', Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami heads to Japan to work with a Japanese cast and crew to look at the concept of love from various different angles and perspectives.

Akiko, a young student working as a prostitute, ignores both her grandmother and fiancé to let herself be talked into working the night before an exam. But her client, an aging academic, seems more to simply want an evening's company than full sex with a woman. Seeing her off to her exam the next morning, both Akiko and her client, Takashi, are left to deal with the consequences of her deceit.

'Like Someone in Love' is a film that is lacking in many respects, but indulgent in others. Various plot holes leave the audience having to make their own deductions as to how things developed, rather than making it clear on watching. Time that could have been spent on this is instead spent on lengthy shots with little actual action. The first two scenes consist of one half of an extended phone conversation, followed by a close up of Akiko in the back of a taxi listening to all seven of her voicemail messages. With this the case, the audience can be forgiven for thinking that the next two hours will be excruciatingly long.

The film, despite lacking in plot, is more an analysis of the different relationships Akiko has with the people in her life: her dutiful grandmother, whom she ignores; her prone-to-aggression fiancé, Noriaki, whom she deceives; and her client, the aging Takashi, whom she turns to in crisis.

The most likable of the three main characters is Takashi, whose bumbling around Akiko provide some humour and his earnest assistance to her show him to simply be a kind man that is lonely. His discussion with Noriaki is perhaps the film's most important, indicating that neither Noriaki and Akiko are ready for marriage.

But while humour and wisdom come from Takashi in parts, other flaws lead 'Like Someone in Love' to miss as much as it hits. While the question is asked as to what Akiko sees in Noriaki, the question could also be asked with the roles reversed, with the  only good relationship Akiko appearing to have one with someone she has known less than 24 hours, making her less of an appealing character than required in the lead; coming across more as a spoiled brat than abused victim. The sudden development in Noriaki's anger requires assumptions to be made rather than good storytelling.

The intentional sudden and abrupt ending shows the problems that misguided love has brought the trio to, and in that sense the film works in getting its point across. Though one could argue that Kiarostami takes too long to get there. Having made many shorts in the past, perhaps 'Like Someone in Love' would have been better made in a much shorter format, with the idea good, but the execution, like the film's characters, somewhat misguided and indulgent.     

Politic 21

Here ye, hear ye

Ready to Die - Notorious B.I.G.
Edan vs. Edan - Edan
Superstarr - MC Solaar
Monstermoviematineeonibus - Delegates of Culture
Monkey Dot - Money Mark
Nouveau Western - MC Solaar
Sights in the City - Guru and Carleen Anderson
Wrong Side of the Tracks - The Slew
hip hop - Dead Prez
Build and Destroy - Boogie Down Productions
Gimme the Loot - Notorious B.I.G.
Crossover - EPMD
That's When Ya Lost - Souls of Mischief
Just Say Stet - Stetsasonic
DBC Let the Music Play - Stetsasonic
Underneath it All - Money Mark
Never Lost Control - Nomak
Prose Combat - MC Solaar
Mr. Sandman - Method Man, RZA, Inspectah Deck and Street Life
Daydreamin' - MC Solaar
What If? - Shabaam Saadiq, L-Fudge, Mike Zoot, Talib Kweli and Skam
A.F.R.I.C.A. (Norman Cook Remix) - Stetsasonic

Young Gun in the Time

With sold-out showings and being out of the city for a key part of it, I couldn't fit in many films from this year's Terracotta Far East Film Festival, their fifth to date. With the spotlight on Indonesia still to come, I've only managed one film from the offering: 'Young Gun in the Time'.

The title makes little sense, but is to be expected coming from Korean director Oh Young-Doo, whose previous two efforts are 'The Neighbour Zombie' and 'Invasion of Alien Bikini'. With names such as these, both are films that are clearly working on low budgets and, as such, are not films I have resulted in seeing. Being the UK Premiere, this is perhaps an introductory point for Oh in the British Isles.

So, plot: Detective Young-gun (played appropriately by Hong Young-Geun) is a debt-ridden private detective being forced to market his detective agency by his creditor, Sa-Jang.  Bumbling about, he stumbles upon Song-Hyeon, an academic seeking justice over the murder of her colleague and mentor. This opens up a world of violence, mysterious characters, time travel and murder with sex toys; a far cry from his usual role of hunting missing beetles. Wondering the streets of the city in his inconspicuous outfit of hat, Hawaiian shirt and Gary Neville 'tache.

Billed as a science-fiction action comedy, despite a step up in budget from previous efforts, the money is still not enough to stretch to much science, with computer hacking of unexplained proportions. The other elements clearly deliver, with enough fighting and bouncing about to warrant the 'action' tag and consistent enough laughs for the 'comedy' tag.

Perhaps the best element on 'Young Gun...' is the editing. '24' style split screens feature throughout in the use of montage sequences, coupled with Hong's goofy character to create some, at times, slick moments, though always with an element of silliness. 

In 'Young Gun...' silliness reigns, stopped only for moments of violence, but there's nothing wrong with that, when it's done in earnest, Adam Sandler. 

Every 14 Days...(16)

Something Like an Autobiography (Akira Kurosawa)

Aww, relief….

After the long and enduring read that is ‘Mao: The Unknown Story’, I needed something light, entertaining and easy to read. Kurosawa’s sort-of-autobiography was the perfect tonic.

Like Ronseal, ‘Something Like an Autobiography’ does exactly what it says on the tin (cover). Written in 1981, Kurosawa believed that his life from 1950 onwards, when corking, copper-bottomed hit ‘Rashomon’ brought him international acclaim, was nothing more than making films, and as such a documentation of that period would be of little interest to any. Of course, this is harsh self-criticism, but the man himself believed that his films would be a better reflection of his life from that point on – he is a film director, after all.

The book, therefore, follows his childhood upbringing from a samurai family, through school and into his starting in the film industry as an assistant director under Kajiro Yamamoto and Mikio Naruse, before directing his own films. Focusing on some of his earlier and lesser-known works, ‘Rashomon’ is the cut-off point where he stops.

Written well over thirty years after the events for much of the book, it reads more like a collection of short anecdotes from an aging man as he looks back on his youth. The films are looked at, but not in any great detail, as he focuses more on the relationships he had with the cast and other crew and what he learnt from them, such as how to drink.

‘Something Like an Autobiography’ feels like a taster of what was to come later, when his career as a director really took off and he made many of the films he is known for today. But, it is an enjoyable read of an old man and his musings.

Days to read: 12

Days per book: 15.9

The Japan Journal: 1947-2004 (Donald Richie)

For years, Donald Richie was little more to me than just an American who wrote a lot about Japanese cinema. The leading foreign voice, writing celebrated books on Ozu and Kurosawa, I didn't know too much about him beyond writing about 'Seven Samurai'. His death earlier this year, prompted new light to be shed on his life, and as such I proceeded to delve further. 'The Japan Journals' is what resulted.

Started when he first moved to Japan after the Second World War, 'The Japan Journals' is a cobbled together collection of some of his diary entries over the years of his life spent living in Tokyo, looking at his life as a translator, film maker, writer. Structure is not a term appropriate for the collection, being that Richie was not meticulous in his maintaining of the journal, nor keeping it in an ordered manner. To read, it is, therefore, inconsistent, with several year leaps in places, and new life stages reached without any build-up.

At its best, 'The Japan Journals' sees Richie comment on the social, cultural and economic changes in Japan over his time there; at its most boring, it is anecdotal about the various artists that he served as interpreter and guide for while they visited the country; and at its worst, it is preoccupied with his sex life, focusing too heavily on any young boys he met and to whom took a fancy. Pointed out by close friends, while not a complete reflection of his life, the collection makes Richie out to be sex mad, often picking up men, hanging out in sex cinemas and brothels, regularly conversing with prostitutes. While this paints a picture of both his and Japanese life, it does get a bit tiresome after a while.

But, when the focus is on cultural differences and the changing face of his accidentally adopted homeland, it shows a love affair with a rapidly changing country, for better or worse.

Days to read: 26

Days per book: 16.1

The Roads to Sata (Alan Booth)

Set off from Cape Soya, Japan's northernmost point, and walk the 2,000-mile journey to Cape Sata, the southernmost  point of Japan's four principle islands, and you're probably mad. Well, I am mad and I like this idea.

Born in Leytonstone, like the much-travelled David Beckham, Alan Booth is an English writer who moved to Japan after his time at the University of Birmingham to study Noh theatre. Married, he clearly got bored and decided to wonder off for a few months in the Japanese equivalent of Land's End to John O'Groats. 'The Roads to Sata' is his account of the four month journey, documented the people he met, the places he saw and the alcohol he drank.

Done in 1977 at the age of 30, a white man from East London meandering around the Japanese countryside was probably an unusual sight, made even more unusual by his ability to speak the lingo. Booth was often met with 'full' ryokan, hostile receptions and cries of 'gaijin!' alongside friendly drinking companions, offers of lifts from drivers and calls for his head to be examined. 

'The Roads to Sata' is a witty account of his journey, with numerous drunken tales, but also shows a changing Japan, away from the bright lights and big cities. The differences in human geography as he makes his way further south are noted, as well as the various history lessons offered as he searches for the 'real' Japan.

Days to Read: 13

Days per book: 16.0

Three books, from three different perspectives, all about the Land of the Rising Sun: An elderly Japanese, not giving too much away; an American in search of his identity; and an Englishman that likes to drink beer, all entertaining and educational in their own respects. 

Gimme the Loot

‘Yes Love, love your fucking attitude, ‘cos the nigga that play pussy, that’s the nigga that’s getting screwed’

Notorious B.I.G. ‘Gimme the Loot’

Sometimes, it’s not always good to read too much about a film before you go to see it. When entering the cinema, I was already at the point of expecting a film with some good graffiti action, with a plot thrown around it. But, as the film went on, I became more and more disappointed.

The plot is simple: Adam Leon starts with a clip from ‘All City Hour’, in which writers talk about tagging the Mets’ apple at Shea Field, sorry Citi Field. Seeking revenge on a rival gang, two writers, Sofia and Malcolm, look to make a name for themselves by achieving this very feat. Needing $500 for a blind eye to be turned to gain access to the stadium, the pair take to the streets to try and hustle up the money.

What follows is a two-day journey around the city in a similar style to ‘Kids’, as the duo repeatedly struggle to raise the cash. This is where my expectations went missing. What I’d read about the film made me expect a lot of graffiti, a bit of a tagging war and maybe a bit of Notorious B.I.G.. Instead, the film is more about the failings of the two leads – and for me, this is the film’s failing.

The two leads, Sofia, played by Tashiana Washington, and Malcolm, by Ty Hickson, don’t particularly live up to their image: Sofia, while described by Malcolm as being hard and tough, spends a lot of her time naively getting scammed and played for a fool by people of all ages, with whiney shouting her only reaction; Malcolm, among fellow taggers, seems to command respect and sometimes fear, as if he got the juice – to use a Nineties phrase – though again spends much of the film foolishly, coming across as a bit of an idiot. Being that this is such a character-led story, it needed some stronger characters.

Though, with this, perhaps Leon is trying to create more realistic characters, full of flaws and inconsistencies, making them seem like the ordinary idiots you know. With the cast and director not having the longest careers in film on their CVs, there is a slightly amateurish feel throughout, that gives it a charm, but also some drawbacks. ‘Gimme the Loot’ is not a bad film, and has its moments, though by the end it’s not wholly satisfying and leaves one feeling of ‘gimme a little more.’

The Look of Love

With the recent release of the UK’s rich list in The Sunday Times, the timing of the release of Michael Winterbottom’s biopic of Paul Raymond, one of Britain’s very own millionaires, seems appropriate. With a cast reading like a UK comedy rich list, led by ‘the man who thinks he’s it’, Steve Coogan, a film about one of Britain’s most famed smut peddlers has the potential to go any number of ways.

Charting his rise from lowly entertainer to Britain’s richest man, the focus of much of the plot is on his relationships with the most important women in his life: his wife, Jean Raymond (Anna Friel), his lover Fiona Richmond (Tamsin Egerton) and, most importantly, his daughter, Debbie (Imogen Poots). While riding the wave of success his money brings, gradually, each of these relationships breaks down as he fails to leave the clubs, magazines and women behind and form a normal life.

Starting in black and white, in what seems like a slow-paced montage, WInterbottom adds colour to the screen as the Soho nightlife begins and the female clothing ends. The film then dives into a world of sex and drugs and every hole’s a goal, as the money builds and Raymond’s fancies change.

While the main plot focus is on Raymond’s relationships, these are often interspersed with scenes from his various nude shows or photo shoots for magazines that leave little to the imagination. These could, perhaps, have been toned down a little, or even left out, but being that this is a Michael Winterbottom film, there is a sense of trying to push boundaries, though this lacks the ambitious nature of ‘A Cock and Bull Story’ of the ground-breaking release of ‘9 Songs’.

The juxtaposition of music gigs and full sex scenes in ‘9 Songs’; the dialogue between Coogan and Rob Brydon and English countryside in ‘The Trip’ manifest here as love and lust in Raymond’s life, with his love of the women in his life sabotaged by his lust for looking at beautiful women naked and results in a decent little film, but never pushing too far beyond that. More could have been done to add humour into the script or put more into his troubled relationships, rather than filling time with scenes that result from the BBFC’s more relaxed governing – a situation Winterbottom helped create.

The performances here are good, though you do want Coogan to let out an ‘ah-ha’ every now and then, showing he is yet to fully shake the monkey off his back. Imogen Poots is convincing enough in making you believe she’s the annoying result of a slightly warped upbringing; and Chris Addison shows he is perhaps more method actor than stand-up comedian. Though Dara O’Briain will never pull-off an 80s Alexei Sayle.

British films featuring a cast of comedians with a slightly raunchy theme come from a long line in tradition of being neither sexy nor funny. ‘The Look of Love’ does not follow a similar path, though perhaps here, much like with Raymond himself, lust slightly overpowers love, leaving neither fully satisfied. 

Every 14 Days...(15)

Clockers (Richard Price)

‘Clockers’, the 1995 Spike Lee film, is one I have not seen for a while. The book of the same name pre-dating it by 3 years is written by Richard Price, a regular contributing writer on ‘The Wire’. Since I have a liking for both, I decided to take it for a spin, a rather long spin.

Split in two halves, alternate chapters focus on ageing homicide detective, Rocco Klein, and drug dealing lieutenant, Strike. After being given the duty himself, Strike discusses with his estranged brother that a local restaurant manager and low-level drug dealer has ‘got to be got.’ But before Strike can fully whimper out of his murderous responsibility, he is shocked to find that the deed has already been done and that his brother has turned himself in.

Put on the case, Rocco finds himself at odds to explain why a decent, hard-working man would hand himself in over the murder. Believing his brother Strike has to be involved somehow, Rocco presses hard to put the young clocker under pressure to take responsibility for the murder and clean his brother’s name.

The bold David Simon quote on the front cover reads ‘The Wire wouldn’t exist without Clockers’ and is one that can be taken as true. Written at a similar time to Simon’s books, it has a similar vein running throughout, focusing on individuals and building up their character and traits slowly. Many ideas, themes and characters from this book feature in ‘The Wire’, which Price would later write on.

It’s a long read and an intense one, focusing largely on the two main characters, but is well written, engrossing and asks some interesting questions about what would drive a man to kill.

Days to read: 26

Days per book: 14.5

The Box Lady and Other Pesticles (Richard Herring)

Following on from where ‘Bye Bye Balham’ left off, this is the second instalment of paper publishing of the second longest online blog in the world.

Looking back at himself a decade down the line, he sees himself starting to set-up his new life in Shepherd’s Bush following having said ‘bye bye’ top Balham. It’s more of the same, showing regret and shame at some of his previous actions as an older, wiser and now married man.

Being that this blog has now made its mark on Mr Herring’s ‘Warming Up’ blog, I can’t wait to see my name in print in 20 years or so time.

Days to read: 15

Days per book: 14.6

Mao: The Unknown Story (Jung Chang and Jon Halliday)

Back in August, 2008, I bought and started to read ‘Mao: The Unknown Story’. But by September, only just over one hundred pages in, I got bored and chose to start something else instead. Ever since, the seemingly never-ending book has remained on floor piles or shelves in the various accommodation I have since inhabited. But, seeing as everything else on my bookshelves had already been read, I thought it about time that I finally finished the bastard.

At some 765 pages, if you remove all the appendices and index, and small print, this is a long old book. Upon starting it, I whizzed through the first hundred pages again on train journeys, but beyond that, found the book to be slow and plodding. The book starts off at a pace you feel you can keep up with, but when getting to The Long March, you feel like you might have actually been part of it, as it seems to read in a ‘and then this happened’ manner. Motivation to keep going, therefore, soon started to decrease.

Reading ‘Mao: The Unknown Story’ is a bit of an ordeal, struggling through a long-winded book, feeling less motivated and as if you aren’t intelligent enough to care about some thing that happened loads of years ago.

The book, however, does not always sit amazingly well with me. While a history book – looking into ‘facts’ – it feels written in a story-like manner, as if first-hand experience. While all sources, etc. are cited at the back of the book, they are not always linked to the text, and the little inflictions and adding of ‘our italics’ seem more like the authors painting the picture they want you to believe, rather than leaving you to conclude your own opinions based on evidence.

Much of the book is undoubtedly true and it uncovers some previously unknown information, but with the style in which it is written and the negative attitude towards the subject from the outset, it feels less an academic text, and more a biased television documentary. This is a book that will divide opinion, but one thing that is for certain is that this is not the most comfortable read.

Days to read: 91

Days per book: 16