Watchmen (2009)

I recently watched Watchmen and if the question in the movie had been "Who watches Watchmen?" the answer would have been "Every fucking body!". The theater was crowded and the lines were huge. I'm the one to blame for trying to watch a blockbuster within two weeks of opening day, but hey, I loved the comic book so sue me.

I've heard Alan Moore has disowned this movie ("I'm never going to watch this fucking thing") and understandably so. Other adaptations of his books have been less than thrilling (remember this and that?). But I have the impression he'd be happy with this one. This movie is the most faithful Hollywood adaptation of a comic book I've ever seen. Within the limitations of time and media, I felt like I was reading the book again.

The characters were very well cast and shown in the movie as I remember them in the book, specially Dr. Manhattan. The only difference I see is that the character of Nite Owl II is a little too fit and manly if compared to the book. Well, I guess we had it coming since he is the "hero" in the movie (at least he gets the girl).

So, in this perspective, the movie rocked. It's faithful to the book and the ones in the audience who have read the book will love it. The tension of a possible nuclear confrontation is present at every moment and the ending makes total sense (although a little different from the one in the book). I wonder how it comes across to people who haven't read the book. I imagine they will be able to understand the reasoning behind Veidt's scheme but they may not be able to feel it. I don't know if 160 minutes is enough to create the necessary atmosphere.

"Happy End" (1999)

In 1999, Korean people were still under severe stress due to the broken national economic structure. Several companies had gone bankrupt and unemployment rate increased from 2% to 8%. Korea had been long enjoying the results of an economical boom and this crisis had a deep impact on the self esteem of the nation.

Amid the storm, there comes "Happy End". This movie tells the story of Bo-Ra. She's a successful career woman and mother of a baby girl whose marriage to the older Ki-Min is less than satisfactory on all levels. Her husband is an unemployed former banker who's finding more than difficult to find another job. He spends his days on domestic chores (taking care of the baby, buying groceries, cleaning the house) and in used book stores. Meanwhile, Bo-Ra is cheating on him with Il-Beom, her co-worker and former lover.

(From this point on, there will be spoilers.)

At some point, Ki-Min finds out about his wife's affair and for a while it seems like he's willing to accept that life. He never confronts her directly, which leaves the audience very unsatisfied. The only confrontational moment is when a somehow regretful Bo-Ra prepares dinner, during which Ki-Min utters "I only wish you will be a good mother to our baby", or something to that effect. But that same night, Bo-Ra gives their daughter some sleeping pills and goes out to meet her lover, which sends the baby to the emergency room. Then, Ki-Min has had enough. He stabs Bo-Ra to death in a extremely graphic scene, framing Il-Beom in the process.

To its credit, "Happy End" tries to portray all sides of this triangle in a fair way. It's easy to understand the motives of everyone involved. And although it shows that women can have the same disrespectful and abusive behavior when in the position of power in a relationship, it also "redeemed" Ki-Min's masculinity with its violent conclusion.

The greatest quality of the ending, in my opinion, is that it doesn't provide satisfaction to anybody in the audience. Ki-Min doesn't deserve what's happening to him and I believe Korean men were shocked to see the extremely graphic nature of the sex scenes between Bo-Ra and Il-Beom (I know I was). No man wants to imagine his woman fucking another man.

But she also didn't deserve to die for it.

Oldboy (2003)

A man is locked in a hotel room for 15 years. During that time, the only connection he has with the outside is a TV set through which he sees the changes in the world and the passage of time. It's also through the TV that he receives news that his wife has been murdered and that his daughter was adopted by somebody overseas. No reasons or explanations are given until he suddenly wakes up on the top of a building with a wallet full of money. From then on, he's on a quest to find out why somebody did that to him.

"Oldboy" is disturbing. The themes discussed are even more depressing and shocking than the violence displayed in some scenes. Which isn't an easy thing to do, since it has a fair share of gruesome scenes. Anyway, after the movie is done, the spectator will be feeling at least a little bit uneasy. "Oldboy" will violate you, it will break the notions of decency and morality you have kept during your life. Unless, of course, incest, hate and blind vengeance are no strangers and you deal with it on your day by day.

Despite some over the top performances by the lead male actors and the tendency for whining that the female lead has, it's a well built movie. It's powerful. It makes you think after you're done with it.

My Sassy Girl - Part II

I realize I wrote about this same film just a few posts ago. People may think I love it and guys will be saying that if I write twice about some chick flick I must be gay. Well, I enjoyed "My Sassy Girl" the proper amount and I'm not gay (not that there's anything wrong with that), but in the case of this post it could be replaced by any movie in the same genre.

Romantic comedies usually have happy endings. "My Sassy Girl" (little spoilers ahead) tells the story of a guy who meets a girl in the subway. They date for a while and due to some stuff that happened in the girl's past they have to take a break. Of course, after two or three years, through a few coincidences, they end up meeting again and living happily ever after. Beautiful. Love overcomes everything and if a couple is meant to be together, it doesn't matter what the difficulties are, the world will conspire for that to happen.

It seemed to be the case for Patrick Moberg and Camille Hayton. In November of 2007, Patrick saw Camille in the subway (the "My Sassy Girl" connection) in NY. He was gathering the courage to go talk to her when she disappeared in the crowd. He launched a search for her in the internet, based on a sketch he made of the situation. Like in a romantic comedy, he found her. Like in a romantic comedy, they got together.

For two months.

If their life was a romantic comedy, they'd be together now. They'd be in love with each other forever. Because romantic comedies are are supposed to have happy endings.

Well, just too bad that Patrick and Camille live in the real world.

My Sassy Girl (2001)

Movies like this always bring nostalgic feelings of my time spent in Korea and I believe it would be the same for any expat out there like me.

I left Korea pretty young but I went back there after college to re-learn the language I had long forgotten. And in that time I met a girl with whom I had a long relationship. I still remember the rides in the subway on my way to meet her, the way she used to hold my arm when we were walking in the busy streets and her cute shyness at any public display of affection from my "westernized" personality.

Our relationship wasn't platonic (and I doubt any couple in Korea would have such a relationship as shown in this movie, especially now) but it had much of the same innocence shown in the movie. We also went to amusement parks, we also took trips to the country, we also spent long hours just sitting in the park and talking. And, funny thing, we once went to a club in which the target patrons were a little bit younger than us. We just didn't have any high school uniforms to wear.

I don't specifically miss her (and it wouldn't be fair to my wife and my baby girl if I longed for a long gone ex-girlfriend), but I miss some elements of that relationship. And I'm definitely nostalgic about the only serious relationship I had in Korea. The moments we spent together, especially the moments we spent in Korea, were magic.