Saturday, October 30, 2010

My Sassy Girl (2001)

Genre : Romance, Comedy, Drama.
Language : Korean
Country : South Korea
Cast : Jun Ji-Hyun, Cha Tae-Hyun.
Directed by : Kwak Jae-Yong
Run Time : 123 min
Release Date : 27 July, 2001


Synopsis :
“My Sassy Girl” (Korean: Yeop-Gi-Jeog-In Geu-Nyeo; Literally means, ‘That Bizarre Girl’) is a 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film, in which the lead protagonist's chance meeting with a drunk girl on the train changes his life. It is based on the true story told in a series of love letters written by Kim Ho-Sik, who initially posted them on the Internet and later adapted them into a best-selling book!
The film revolves around the typical relationship between a kind-hearted and naive college guy, Gyeon-Woo (Cha Tae-Hyun), and a gorgeous and crazy unnamed girl (Jeon Ji-Hyun), and the funny incidents caused by the girl. Most of the humour stems from Gyeon-Woo's constant state of confusion as he submits to the succession of trials that his wilful and crazy girlfriend puts him through!


Plot :
The film tells the story of a college guy, Gyeon-Woo, and the Girl who is never named in the movie. Gyeon-Woo just cannot seem to catch a romantic break. His prospects are so pathetic that even his mother tries to help, telling him to visit his aunt for two reasons. Firstly, because Gyeon-Woo remind his aunt of her son who drowned recently; secondly, because there is a girl his aunt wants to introduce him to. Gyeon-Woo repeatedly put off going to see his aunt.

The movie begins with Gyeon-Woo on top of a mountain, speaking wistfully about a girl he knew two years ago that had buried a time capsule with him at that place. She had never returned like she'd promised! Next, one sees Gyeon-Woo at a photo studio, having his passport photo taken. He is called by his aunt so that she can finally introduce him to the girl she's been trying to set him up with. The movie then flashes back to the past!

At dinner, Gyeon-Woo is interrupted by a call from his mother, telling him to visit his aunt and meet a potential date. He refuses and continues to eat with his friends. On his way to his aunt's place, he observes a drunken girl standing precariously close to the edge of the subway tracks as the train approaches; he pulls her to safety just in time. Inside the train, Gyeon-Woo cannot help but stare at the girl wavering back and forth. He is slightly attracted to her but repulsed by her drunkenness. Finally, she pukes on a passenger and faints but not before she calls Gyeon-Woo "honey". The passenger aggressively chides him and tells him to take care of his girlfriend! Gyeon-Woo, completely flustered, carry her all the way to the nearest hotel. While he is showering, her cell phone rings. Stark naked, he runs out to answer it and informs the caller of their location. Just as Gyeon-Woo realizes there are no towels in the shower, a pair of women police officers burst into the room and arrest him!

After getting out of jail — where he was bullied by gangsters — he goes home. His mother beats him with a vacuum cleaner for not turning up at his aunt's place and there is a brief flashback of his lifetime failings as a student! He receives a call from the Girl demanding him to meet her and explain why he was naked in bed with her. Both met at the takeaway point and she drags him to a bar where she tells him to order, criticizes his choices and then tells him what to order. Over the drink, she cries, admits to breaking up with her boyfriend the day before and gets thoroughly drunk, resulting in a second trip to the same hotel!

After this second overnight stay at the hotel, she begins to become a more active part of his life. She visits Gyeon-Woo in school and pulls him out of class, telling the teacher that Gyeon-Woo is the father of her soon-to-be-aborted baby. The Girl's mood swings wildly from joyful to downright violent, but Gyeon-Woo puts up with it and lets her abuse him for her amusement!

She is an aspiring scriptwriter and throughout the movie gives Gyeon-Woo three different screenplays from different genres. The first is an action movie - “The Demolition Terminator”, which switches gender roles, symbolically having the Girl save her helpless lover (Gyeon-Woo). The second is a wild perversion of a Korean short story - “Sonagi”, in which the Girl, having died, asks that her lover be buried along with her – even though he's still alive! The resulting situation is quite humorous. The last is a Samurai movie spoof, full of genre clichés and anachronisms. All three plots feature the same common thread - the Girl is from the future!

Despite all the horrible things Gyeon-Woo endures, he is determined to help cure the girl's pain. In one scene, he decides to surprise her for her birthday and takes her on a night-time trip to an amusement park which ends up quite differently than how he planned - the pair encounters an AWOL soldier who holds them hostage and rants about his misery. Gyeon-Woo convinces him to release her, and she in turn convinces the soldier to free Gyeon-Woo and go on with his life.

One day, the Girl was waiting for Gyeon-Woo after his class. They are walking through the university campus when she suddenly complains about the pain caused by her high-heels and convinces Gyeon-Woo to switch shoes with her. Overjoyed, she tells him to chase her, which he does wearing her high heels. It starts raining and they return to her home. At her house Gyeon-Woo overhears an impassioned argument between the girl and her mother over her relationship with him. He does not hear from her for quite some time and his life without her begins!

However, one day she calls him and tells him to bring a rose during her class to commemorate the 100th-day anniversary of their first meeting. He does this, leading to a touching and romantic scene where he arrives in disguise and is about to leave the packed auditorium but is led to the front. The Girl is onstage playing a piano in front of an audience of her female classmates who applaud in approval at his romantic gesture - a similar gesture, the viewer is later informed, was performed by her previous boyfriend. As the night further unfolds he is confronted at her house by her parents. Her father is naturally infuriated that she is drunk again and demands a break-up!

Time passes and one day the Girl calls Gyeon-Woo to meet her for dinner. When he arrives, he is surprised to see her with a date. The Girl introduces Gyeon-Woo to him as "her friend". During dinner, the Girl leaves the table briefly, leaving Gyeon-Woo and her date by themselves. Gyeon-Woo candidly offers advice on how to ensure her happiness by following ten rules (commandments!). He devised his rules from considerable pain, dedication and devotion to the Girl. When she returns her date begins to explain the rules. It is at this point that she realizes just how well Gyeon-Woo understand and cares for her! She abruptly leaves her date and searches for Gyeon-Woo. Once reunited, the two realise they are at a turning point in their relationship.

They travel to a mountain in the countryside where she unveils a time capsule. During the previous night the couple wrote their true feelings in letters which the Girl says will be buried next to a particular tree on the mountain. They agree to meet again at the tree after two years to read the letters together. After burying the time capsule, they went their separate ways.

During the two years period, Gyeon-Woo works hard to improve himself in many ways, even writing ‘My Sassy Girl’ which someone has bought the movie rights to, an event he eagerly anticipates telling the Girl about. When the agreed upon date arrives, he travels to the mountain but the Girl does not show up. Eventually, he opens the time capsule and reads her letter and learns the root of her angst and behaviour – Gyeon-Woo reminds her of her previous boyfriend who, rather than breaking up with her, actually died before she met Gyeon-Woo. All through the time the Girl and Gyeon-Woo were seeing each other, she had been seeing her dead boyfriend's mother, who wants to introduce her to a nice young man.

A year after Gyeon-Woo visits the tree, the Girl finally arrives and finds an old man there. The old man reveals the secret of the tree to her that it is not the same tree; the original tree had been struck and destroyed by lightning last year and a similar tree had been planted by a young man so that someone special wasn't sad, and that he has read the letters! The Girl says she had hoped that destiny would bring the couple together during the two years. As the girl begins to read the letter, she sees a UFO (time machine) flying away. This led her to believe that the old man was Gyeon-Woo from the future. The Girl then tries to call Gyeon-Woo repeatedly, but she was informed that number is either changed or doesn't exist!

The film then cuts to Gyeon-Woo entering a subway station, wearing the same suit he was wearing at the beginning of the movie. The flashback has ended and continuity is resumed from right after Gyeon-Woo leave the photo-studio. Gyeon-Woo is caught outside the shutting doors of a train, presumably ignorant at first of the Girl's presence on the train but after a few seconds of staring he seems to realise whom it is he sees from behind. As the train pulls out he runs along but has to give up!

At lunch with her deceased boyfriend's mother after a year-and-a-half, the Girl is surprised to hear a familiar voice apologize for his lateness. The mother introduces her nephew Gyeon-Woo, whom she has been trying to introduce to the Girl for years. The mother, who is Gyeon-Woo's aunt, tells the Girl to go out with him, hoping that he could make life easier for her. She then tells Gyeon-Woo that the Girl can give advice to him about his impending trip to England, to which he replies, "I don't have to go anymore!" The pair hold hands under the table and the Girl says she thinks she met a man from the future (Gyeon-Woo). The final shot flashes back to the anniversary scene, where the pair shows their ID while entering a bar in school uniforms!


Remakes:
American Film : My Sassy Girl (2008)
This American remake of the film with same name, starring Jesse Bradford and Elisha Cuthbert, and directed by Yann Samuell was released in 2008.

Japanese TV Drama : Ryokiteki Na Kanojo (2008)
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and actress Rena Tanaka are the lead characters in the Japanese dramaof the same name which started broadcasting in April 2008.

Bollywood Film : Ugly Aur Pagli (2008)
An Indian version called ‘Ugly Aur Pagli’ starring Ranvir Shorey and Mallika Sherawat was released on August 1, 2008. The movie is directed by Sachin Khot.


Cast :
The Girl (Jeon Ji-Hyun a.k.a. Gianna Jun)
■ Gyeon-Woo (Cha Tae-Hyun)
■ Gyeon-Woo’s Father (Kim In-Moon)
■ Gyeon-Woo’s Mother (Song Ok-Sook)
■ Girl’s Father (Han Jin-Hee)
■ Girl’s Mother (Hyeon Sook-Hee)
■ Gyeon-Woo’s Aunt (Geum-Seok Yang)

Awards :
1. It won the 2001 Blue Dragon Awards for Best New Actor - Cha Tae-Hyun.
2. It won the 2002 Grand Bell Awards (South Korea) for Best Actress - Jeon Ji-Hyun and Best Screenplay (Adapted) - Kwak Jae-Yong.
3. It won the 2003 Hong Kong Film Award for Best Asian Film.
4. It won the 2003 Hochi Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
5. It won the 2003 Fant-Asia Film Festival Award for Most Popular Film.
6. It was nominated for the 2004 Awards of the Japanese Academy for Best Foreign Film.


Ratings : IMDB.com = 8.2/10;  AllMovie.com = 3.5/5; HanCinema.net = 9.1/10; Amazon.com = 4.5/5
[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, AllMovie, Amazon, HanCinema]


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Monday, October 25, 2010

Mongol (2007)

Genre : Historical Epic, Biography, War Drama, Romance.
Language : Mongolian, Mandarin.
Country : Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Germany.
Cast : Tadanobu Asano, Sun Hong-Lei, Khulan Chuluun, Odnyam Odsuren.
Directed by : Sergei Bodrov
Run Time : 126 min
Release Date : 20th September, 2007

Synopsis :
“Mongol” is a semi-historical epic film based on the early life of Temüjin, the young Genghis Khan and the events which led him to become a legendary conqueror. Contradicting the Western (and Russian) image of Genghis Khan as the monstrous and cruel conqueror, Bodrov's work is influenced by Lev Gumilev's "The Legend of the Black Arrow" and is based on "The Secret History of the Mongols", the 13th century Mongolian account, unknown until its re-emergence in China 700 years later. Shooting took place, for the most part, in the People's Republic of China, mainly Inner Mongolia, and in Kazakhstan.

‘Mongol’ illuminates the life and legend of Genghis Khan. It shows the dramatic and harrowing early years of the ruler who was born as Temüjin in 1162. As it follows Temüjin from his perilous childhood to the battle that sealed his destiny, the film paints a multi-dimensional portrait of the future conqueror, revealing him not as the evil brute of hoary stereotype, but as an inspiring, fearless and visionary leader. ‘Mongol’ shows us the making of an extraordinary man, and the foundation on which so much of his greatness rested - his unique relationship with his wife, Borte, his lifelong love and most trusted advisor!

Plot :
The movie quotes an old Mongolian proverb - "Do not scorn a weak cub; He may become a brutal tiger!” The film opens with Temüjin (Tadanobu Asano) as a prisoner in the Tangut Kingdom, and narrates his earlier life through flashbacks. Nine-year-old young Temüjin (Odnyam Odsuren) is travelling with his father, Esugei (Ba Sen), a tribal chieftain (Khan), to select a girl as his bride. On the way, he meets young Börte (Bayertsetseg Erdenebat), the daughter of his father’s friend, who says she would like to be chosen and asserts she would make an excellent wife. While his father wishes him to choose a wife from the ‘Merkit’ tribe, Temüjin convinces his father to allow him to choose Börte. He promises to return after five years to marry her.

On their way home, Temüjin's father is poisoned by an enemy tribe. As he lies dying, he tells Temüjin he is now the new khan. However one of his father's warriors, Targutai, orders the other tribesmen to loot the dead khan's camp, taking the horses and livestock. Targutai spares Temüjin's life, declaring “a Mongol does not kill children!

After falling through the ice on a frozen lake, Temüjin is found lying down in the snow by a young boy, Jamukha (Amarbold Tuvshinbayar). The two quickly become friends and perform a traditional ceremony declaring themselves ‘blood brothers’. Targutai, however, catches up with Temüjin and he is captured and locked in a cangue. Temüjin escapes late one night and continues to roam in the countryside.

We do not see Temüjin again until 1186 where he is a young man. He once again is caught by Targutai, who wishes to kill him now as he is grown up. Temüjin escapes again, this time taking one of the tribe's horses. He goes to find Börte (Khulan Chuluun) and brings her back to his family. Later that night they are attacked by the ‘Merkit’ tribe led by Chiledu to take revenge, because Temüjin's father had years before stolen his wife from one of their tribesmen. While being chased on horseback, Temüjin is shot with an arrow. Börte whips Temüjin’s horse, telling it to go home. Börte is captured and told by the Merkit leader that she is now his. Temüjin returns to his family weakened but determined to get his wife back.

Temüjin goes to his childhood friend, Jamukha (Sun Hong-Lei) who is now a khan himself. Jamukha agrees to help him attack the Merkit tribe and get his wife back, though only after a year passes. The attack on the Merkit tribe is a success, and Temüjin finds Börte alive and Chiledu dead with his throat slit. However, just as he feared, Bortë has been raped and left pregnant with Chiledu's son, whom Temüjin accepts as his own. Against Jamukha’s wish to stay, Temüjin and his men leave early the next morning, and two of Jamukha's soldiers also joined Temüjin because he takes better care of his warriors than Jamukha. Jamukha chases down Temüjin, but Temüjin refuses to send back Jamukha's warriors because a Mongol warrior is free to choose his lord, and Jamukha's warriors chose Temüjin. Jamukha warns him that his actions will lead to war.

Taichar, Jamukha's brother, is later killed while attempting to steal Temüjin's horses and this brings Jamukha and Temüjin go to war. When their armies face off, Temüjin sends some of his men to protect the families, while those remaining continue to fight. Being outnumbered, the army is quickly over-run. Jamukha decides to make Temüjin a slave rather than kill him.

Temüjin is sold to a rich garrison chief (Zhang Jiong) of the Tangut kingdom despite the dire warning given by a Buddhist monk (Ben Hon Sun) acting as his advisor. While imprisoned, the monk pleads Temüjin to forgive his monastery when he is free, and Temujin agrees in exchange for delivering a wish bone to Borte indicating he is still alive. The determined old monk finally manages to deliver his message to Börte. To get to Tangut, the faithful Börte becomes a merchant's concubine, bearing a daughter along the way. Once Börte arrives in Tangut, she abandons the merchant and pays the guard for the key to Temüjin's cage.

After his escape from Tangut, Temüjin gathers an army to unite all Mongol tribes and made some basic rules to live by. By using special war tactics, Temüjin defeats Jamukha to unite all the tribes. He then lets Jamukha leave alive. With the united army of Mongols, Temüjin wiped out the Tangut kingdom from the face of the Earth but the monastery survived. After his victory, Temüjin is named the ‘Khan of all Mongols - Genghis Khan’!

Reviews :
■ Peter Rainer of Christian Science Monitor states that “Mongol is a throwback to a more respectable tradition. The largeness of its scope arises naturally from the material, not the budget. The movie earns its stature.”
■ A O Scott of The New York Times describes Mongol as "a big, ponderous epic, its beautifully composed landscape shots punctuated by thundering hooves and bloody, slow-motion battle sequences."
■ Joe Neumaier of New York Daily News praised the performance of Chinese actor Sun Hong-Lie as - "Sun Hong-Lei, who, as Jamukha, gives so many neck-cracks, guttural howls and conspiratorial smiles he's like a Chinese Marlon Brando."
■ The Globe and Mail states - "As an epic action movie, Mongol is satisfying enough. Think Brave Heart. Think 300. Just don't think too much."

Cast :
■ Temüjin / Genghis Khan (Tadanobu Asano)
■ Jamukha (Sun Hong-Lei)
■ Börte - Temüjin's Wife (Khulan Chuluun)
■ Monk (Ben Hon Sun)
■ Esugei - Temüjin's Father (Ba Sen)
■ Oelun - Temüjin's Mother (Aliya)
■ Chiledu - Oelun’s First Husband (Sai Xing Ga)
■ Targutai (Amadu Mamadakov)
■ Taichar - Jamukha's Brother (Ba Ren)
■ Young Temüjin (Odnyam Odsuren)
■ Young Borte (Bayertsetseg Erdenebat)
■ Young Jamukha (Amarbold Tuvshinbayar)
■ Tangut Garrison Chief (Zhang Jiong)

Awards :
1. It won the 2007 Golden Eagle Awards for Best Costume and Best Sound Design.
2. It won the 2007 Nika Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematographer, Best Production Designer, Best Costume Designer, and Best Sound.
3. It won the 2007 Asian Film Award for Best Supporting Actor - Sun Hong-Lei.
4. It won the 2008 Houston Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
5. It won the 2008 Las Vegas Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
6. It was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (from Kazakhstan).
7. It was nominated for the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards for Achievement in Cinematography.
8. It was nominated for the 2008 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Ratings : IMDB.com = 7.4/10; AllMovie.com = 4/5; MetaCritic.com = 7.4/10; RottenTomatoes.com = 7.1/10
[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, AllMovie, RottenTomatoes, MetaCritic]

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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Ballad Of A Soldier (1959)

Genre : War Drama, Romance.
Language : Russian
Country : Soviet Union (USSR)
Cast : Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko.
Directed by : Grigori Chukhrai
Run Time : 88 min
Release Date : 1st December, 1959

Synopsis :
“Ballad of a Soldier” (Russian: Ballada O Soldate) is an apolitical Soviet film depicting the humanitarian impulses of its characters to their nature rather than to an adherence to state ideologies. The plot of the film is set during World War II and shows how the Red Army soldier Alyosha tries to make it home during a leave, meeting several people on his way and falling in love with Shura.

Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a war film. It recounts, within the context of the turmoil of war, various kinds of love - the romantic love of a young couple, the committed love of a married couple, and a mother's love of her child!

Plot :
The film tells the story of a young and naive Russian soldier Alexei Nikolaevich Skvortsov aka ‘Alyosha’ (Vladimir Ivashov) and his journey to home in the midst of World War II. The story starts with the chase of a scared signalman Pvt. Alyosha (19) by two German tanks. In the attempt of self-preservation, Alyosha single-handedly manages to destroy the German tanks and earns a commendation for his bravery. Instead of accepting a medal, he requests the General to grant him a 4-day leave to go home. The kind General awarded him a 6-day leave pass to visit his mother and repair the leaking roof of his village house!

During his journey to home, he encounters the devastation the war has brought on his war-torn country and meets numerous people and uses up much of his valuable leave time through his efforts to help others! The first person he met was a soldier Pvt. Pavlov, who asked Alyosha to meet his wife in route to home and give her two pieces of soap as a gift. At the railway station, Alyosha helps and encourages a veteran soldier Vasya (Yevgeni Urbansky) who, having lost a leg in the war, is afraid to return to his wife, fearing she might reject him!

At the changing station, Alyosha met a venal train guard Gavrilkin (Aleksandr Kuznetsov) willing to grant him free passage in a freight car of a military supply train in exchange for some cans of beef. Riding in the train, he met a young and beautiful girl Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) and falls in love with her. The scared girl made innocent Alyosha to believe that she’s on her way to visit her fiancé. So, he tried to help her in any way to reach her destination. On the way, Alyosha met Pavlov’s wife (V. Markova) and found that she has betrayed her husband by marrying other man. He took back the soaps from her, and gives it to old and sick Pavlov’s father (Vladimir Pokrovsky) in the hospital, who longs for his son’s return.

After wasting his most of the leave time in helping others, Alyosha finally manages to arrive home too late. He only has enough time to hug his mother and immediately start on his journey back to his unit, before his 6-day leave expires. He finds his way back to the front but, as told via voiceover, he never returns from the war! At the end, the voiceover narrator says, “He would have been a fine man.... but we remember him just as a soldier - a Russian Soldier!” - emphasizing not his political ideology but his national identity!

Cast :
■ Private Alyosha Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov)
■ Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko)
■ Alyosha’s Mother (Antonina Maksimova)
■ The General (Nikolai Kryuchkov)
■ Vasya (Yevgeni Urbansky)
■ Vasya's Wife (Elza Lezhdey)
■ Gavrilkin -The Train Sentry (Aleksandr Kuznetsov)
■ Zoya (Marina Kremnyova)
■ Liza - Pavlov’s Wife (V. Markova)
■ Old man in Hospital - Pavlov’s Father (Vladimir Pokrovsky)

Awards :
1. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.
2. It won the Golden Wolf Award for Best Film at the 1960 Bucharest Film Festival.
3. It won the Golden Gate Award for Best Film and Best Director at the 5th San Francisco International Film Festival, 1960.
4. It won the 1960 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Participation.
5. It won the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Film - Any Source.
6. It won the Bodil Awards for Best European Film, 1961.
7. It was nominated for the 1961 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
8. It was nominated for the 1960 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award for Best Foreign Film.

Ratings : IMDB.com = 8.1/10; AllMovie.com = 4/5.
[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, AllMovie, Criterion]

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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Daisy (2006)

Genre : Romance, Action, Drama.
Language : Korean
Country : South Korea, Hong Kong.
Cast : Jun Ji-hyun, Jung Woo-sung, Lee Sung-jae, David Chiang.
Directed by : Andrew Lau
Run Time : 110 min
Release Date : 9th March, 2006


Synopsis :
“Daisy” (Korean: Dei-Ji) is an urban romantic melodrama between a young painter, an Interpol detective and a professional assassin. With a twist that is bound to make its audience think about their own perception about love, the film was shot entirely in The Netherlands, for the most part in the city of Amsterdam, Haarlem and Epen.

The plot follows Hye-Young (Jeon Ji-Hyun), a young and innocent painter who works at her grandfather's antique shop in Amsterdam, and makes some money on the side sketching portraits for tourists. Park Yi (Jung Woo-Sung) is a contract killer holed up in a house at the city centre, where the local artists used to gather on the weekends. He notices a beautiful painter (Hye-Young) walking by regularly, and found a soft corner for her!

A turning point comes when Hye-Young falls off a makeshift wooden bridge, losing her painting bag. Park Yi secretly builds up a new bridge for her. It's love at first sight in the meadows of daisies, where her clumsiness caught his attention! Although she doesn’t know who has offered such favour, she leaves one of her paintings (of daisies) as a sign of gratitude.

However, being shy and aware of the dangers of his professional career, he can only admire her from afar, do little (or perhaps big) things for her in an anonymous fashion. He never shows up in front of Hye-Young. Instead, he delivers daisies at 4:15 pm (a symbolic figure since Hye-Young's solo exhibition later will be held on April-15) everyday without fail!

Hye-Young is also in love with this mysterious stranger. She is constantly waiting for him to appear, and greatly touched by his acts. One day, Jeong Woo (Lee Seong-Jae), an Interpol officer monitoring an Asian gang at the city square met Hye-Young, and asks her to draw his portrait with daisies in hand. She mistakenly believes him to be the unknown stranger who sends her daisies on a weekly basis. Hye-Young rapidly shows her affection toward Jeong Woo, even though the real man is watching the new development from a nearby house, still hiding. Jeong Woo knows he's not the guy, but he decides not to tell the truth - since he also falls in love with the girl!

Jeong Woo also must eventually face off against the real daisy guy – Park Yi, a soulful hit-man who has pined for Hye-Young ever since he spied her painting daisies in the countryside. Through myriad manufactured circumstances, the two men meet and become rivals over love and the law. Meanwhile, Hye-Young cries in the background, clueless as to who her promised daisy guy really is!

Cast :
■ Hye Young (Jeon Ji Hyun a.k.a. Gianna Jun)
■ Park Yi (Jung Woo-Sung)
■ Jeong Woo (Lee Seong-Jae)
■ Cho (David Chiang)
■ Detective Jang (Ho-Jin Jeon)


Ratings : IMDB.com = 7.3/10; RottenTomatoes.com = 4/5.
[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, RottenTomatoes, Flixster]

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Friday, October 8, 2010

The Cranes Are Flying (1957)

Genre : Romance, War Drama.
Language : Russian
Country : Soviet Union (USSR)
Cast : Tatyana Samojlova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasili Merkuryev.
Directed by : Mikhail Kalatozov
Run Time : 97 min.
Release Date : 1957


Synopsis :
‘The Cranes Are Flying’ (Russian: Letyat Zhuravli) is a Soviet film about the horrors and consequences of World War II. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage suffered by the people of Soviet Union.

The film is based on a Soviet family of Fyodor Ivanovich, a doctor and who lives with his son, Boris, and daughter, Irina. His mother and nephew Mark also live with them. The film centres on Boris's girlfriend, Veronika, and her experiences during wartime. She is nicknamed ‘Belka’ (‘Squirrel’).

World War II breaks out, and Soviet people come forward to volunteer in the war with great patriotic fervour. Boris also volunteers to defend his motherland from the enemies, much to Veronika's sadness. He leaves for the war, and is killed, saving a fellow soldier. However, he is listed as missing in action and neither Veronika nor his family know that he has been killed.

The German blitzkrieg then begins, and the family is terrorized by nights of bombing; they take refuge in the subway system underneath the city. During one attack, Veronika lost her parents in their bombarded apartment, and Fyodor Ivanovich invites Veronika to live with his family. Mark, who has been pursuing Veronika from a long time, is put in charge of taking care of Veronika. He is obviously in love with her, but she continually rejects him because she is waiting for Boris to return. However, during one bombing raid, Veronika refuses to go down to the shelter and is raped by Mark. Ashamed Veronika reluctantly agrees to marry Mark, and the rest of the family believes that she has betrayed Boris.

The family is relocated with many other Russians to Siberia in order to escape the German offensive. They live in a temporary community where Fyodor Ivanovich, Irina, and Veronika work in a military hospital. Mark and Veronika are both unhappy in their marriage. When a soldier in the hospital becomes hysterical due to his girl friend’s betrayal, Fyodor implicitly denounces Veronika while cheering him. She become upset and tries to do suicide, but fails. Shortly after that, Fyodor finds out that Mark bribed an official in Fyodor’s name to get exemption. Fyodor suddenly realizes that Mark has not only betrayed Russia, but he has betrayed the whole family and has taken advantage of Veronika. He confronts Mark and kicks him out of the house, while Veronika is allowed to stay and is forgiven by the family for "betraying" Boris.

The soldier who was saved by Boris, comes in search of Boris's family to tell them the news. When Veronika finds out, she refuses to believe it, saying that Boris's friend Stepan will know what happened to him. When the soldiers come back at a victory parade Veronika meets Stepan and she finds out that Boris is indeed dead. Boris's friend Stepan makes a speech during the parade asserting that they will never forget those who died in the war, but peace must be maintained.

Cast :
■ Veronika (Tatyana Samojlova)
■ Boris (Aleksey Batalov)
■ Fyodor Ivanovich (Vasili Merkuryev)
■ Mark (Aleksandr Shvorin )
■ Irina (Svetlana Kharitonova)
■ Volodya (Konstantin Nikitin)
■ Stepan (Valentin Zubkov)
■ Grandmother (Antonina Bogdanova)
■ Tyernov (Boris Kokovkin)
■ Anna Mikhajlovna (Yekaterina Kupriyanova)

Awards :
1. It won the ‘Palme d'Or Award’ at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the second of two Soviet films to win the award. Tatyana Samojlova received Special Mention for this film.
2. It was nominated for ‘Best Film - Any Source’ at the 1958 BAFTA Awards.

Ratings : IMDB.com = 8.0/10; AllMovie.com = 4.5/5
[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, AllMovie, Vobzor]

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