A Few More Movie Reviews
Jan. 16th, 2014 12:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerAnd now for three movies that are most quite different! From Up On Poppy Hill is a gentle, picturesque period piece about Japan in 1963, which focuses on the first post-World War II cohort’s coming of age. It is perhaps the only animated film I’ve seen that has no magical elements, but there’s a gentle, nostalgic glow about the story and the settings that gives them a sort of magic of their own.
The most picturesque setting of all is the Latin Quarter, as the high school students call their clubhouse, a creaky three-story building with stained glass windows and a cobweb-encrusted chandelier. The building is redolent with character, by which I mean “so much dust that the dust may well have become necessary to the building’s structural integrity.”
The school, presumably out of concern that all that character has made the place a fire trap, wants to tear it down. But a few of the students band together to do battle for their Latin Quarter. Although our heroine, Umi, is busy with home responsibilities, she becomes embroiled in the struggle to save the clubhouse as she grows closer to one of its architects, a boy named Shun.
For all that there’s a touch of the soap-operatic about a particular part of the storyline, it’s a very peaceful movie to watch.
The Merry Gentleman, on the other hand…is actually a surprisingly quiet movie, which I did not at all expect from the description. It’s about the friendship between Frank, a suicidal assassin, and Kate, who just escaped from an abusive relationship. After committing a hit, Frank considers jumping off a roof, only to fall backward onto a rooftop when Kate sees him and shouts for him not to do it.
She didn’t get a very good look at his face, so she doesn’t recognize him when he shows up at her apartment later and helps her carry her massive Christmas tree inside. It is, in an odd sort of way, a Christmas movie: the “merry gentleman” of the title is a reference to the Christmas song, and ideas of hope, love, and redemption thread their way through the movie.
I sometimes had a sense that perhaps the director was just tossing religious imagery at the wall to see what stuck, but I think the fact that it doesn’t add up to a coherent thematic argument, that there isn’t an answer, is perhaps the point. It’s in keeping with the movie’s other choices: it’s an interesting movie, but also a deliberately frustrating one. We never learn why Frank is assassinating people (or why he’s suicidal. Is he suddenly suffering from scruples?), or much about Kate’s background, and we only get hints at the things that make them tick.
Because I’m not entirely clear what happened. I think Frank only pretended to kill himself, possibly so that Kate - who had only recently learned he was an assassin - would feel safe again. At least, I think he’s the one who picks up his cap from the water at the end? But the shot never comes into focus.
There’s a definite contrast to her abusive ex, who, after finding God, tracked Kate down and broke into her apartment to tell her that he was a totally changed man and she shouldn’t be afraid anymore (because nothing says “Fear not!” like stalking someone across a continent and sneaking into their apartment).
I also watched The Mask of Zorro, which is definitely not peaceful but does tend to the picturesque. I don’t have a lot to say about this movie, except that it would have been a clear improvement if Elena cut up Zorro’s shirt during their sword fight. Just think how much more exciting the horse-chase would be if Zorro’s shirt blew away from his chest at appropriate moments!
The most picturesque setting of all is the Latin Quarter, as the high school students call their clubhouse, a creaky three-story building with stained glass windows and a cobweb-encrusted chandelier. The building is redolent with character, by which I mean “so much dust that the dust may well have become necessary to the building’s structural integrity.”
The school, presumably out of concern that all that character has made the place a fire trap, wants to tear it down. But a few of the students band together to do battle for their Latin Quarter. Although our heroine, Umi, is busy with home responsibilities, she becomes embroiled in the struggle to save the clubhouse as she grows closer to one of its architects, a boy named Shun.
For all that there’s a touch of the soap-operatic about a particular part of the storyline, it’s a very peaceful movie to watch.
The Merry Gentleman, on the other hand…is actually a surprisingly quiet movie, which I did not at all expect from the description. It’s about the friendship between Frank, a suicidal assassin, and Kate, who just escaped from an abusive relationship. After committing a hit, Frank considers jumping off a roof, only to fall backward onto a rooftop when Kate sees him and shouts for him not to do it.
She didn’t get a very good look at his face, so she doesn’t recognize him when he shows up at her apartment later and helps her carry her massive Christmas tree inside. It is, in an odd sort of way, a Christmas movie: the “merry gentleman” of the title is a reference to the Christmas song, and ideas of hope, love, and redemption thread their way through the movie.
I sometimes had a sense that perhaps the director was just tossing religious imagery at the wall to see what stuck, but I think the fact that it doesn’t add up to a coherent thematic argument, that there isn’t an answer, is perhaps the point. It’s in keeping with the movie’s other choices: it’s an interesting movie, but also a deliberately frustrating one. We never learn why Frank is assassinating people (or why he’s suicidal. Is he suddenly suffering from scruples?), or much about Kate’s background, and we only get hints at the things that make them tick.
Because I’m not entirely clear what happened. I think Frank only pretended to kill himself, possibly so that Kate - who had only recently learned he was an assassin - would feel safe again. At least, I think he’s the one who picks up his cap from the water at the end? But the shot never comes into focus.
There’s a definite contrast to her abusive ex, who, after finding God, tracked Kate down and broke into her apartment to tell her that he was a totally changed man and she shouldn’t be afraid anymore (because nothing says “Fear not!” like stalking someone across a continent and sneaking into their apartment).
I also watched The Mask of Zorro, which is definitely not peaceful but does tend to the picturesque. I don’t have a lot to say about this movie, except that it would have been a clear improvement if Elena cut up Zorro’s shirt during their sword fight. Just think how much more exciting the horse-chase would be if Zorro’s shirt blew away from his chest at appropriate moments!
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Date: 2014-01-16 05:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-16 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 03:01 am (UTC)If you'd like another really gentle, but really memorable and **nice** animated film from Studio Ghibli, I highly recommend Only Yesterday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Yesterday_(1991_film))
no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 03:05 am (UTC)I've been on a Studio Ghibli kick - I just saw Whisper of the Heart today - so I'll definitely put Only Yesterday on my list.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 03:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 02:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 06:55 pm (UTC)I wasn't too bothered by the fact that we never learn much about these characters. I mean, I guess it would be nice to know how an obvious Scot like Kate wound up in the US, or what exactly led Frank to take up "professional killer" as a career, but at the same time, I don't really think those details are necessary to the story being told, so why not omit them? There's a minimalistic quality to the film, so the lack of background pretty much works for me. (Though for what it's worth, I do think Frank's suffering from a case of scruples, though perhaps not "suddenly." This is just my own personal reading of the character, obviously, but I get the impression he's been doing the assassinating thing for a long time, and these little twinges of guilt he might feel, that he could probably ignore when he was younger, have progressively piled up to the point where, by the time we meet him, he can't ignore them. But how do you atone for a lifetime of sin? How is he even to start, at his age? I actually think you could make the case that Frank's relationship to his job is almost abusive in a way--or maybe "abusive" isn't quite the right word, but it's something that is obviously causing him a lot of pain, could potentially lead to his death (via suicide), but he's been at it for far too long, and can't see a way out--beyond the whole suicide option, at least.)
But anyway, I actually really like and appreciate the ambiguity of the film--it's interesting and even refreshing in a lot of ways, though, yeah, the ending does frustrate me, because I think it's maybe a little too ambiguous? For some reason, it never occurred to me that Frank might have pretended to kill himself (and I think it's safe to assume that it is, in fact, Frank who retrieves his cap from the water at the end there). I guess I'm inclined to think he wouldn't commit suicide (or pretend to, for that matter), for fear of leaving Kate with a bunch of guilt. Because while she might be frightened by him at the end, I think there's still a part of her that cares about him, too. I guess I like to think that he simply walked out of her life, no explanation and no forwarding address given. And that the time he spent knowing her gives him the strength to finally walk away from a job that's making him miserable, but...it's hard to say.
Suffice it to say, it's the ambiguity of the ending, and the consequent frustration I felt/feel regarding it, that led me to start writing a fic. (And Kate! What about Kate, who is no doubt confused and conflicted as fuck, because yeah, he killed her abusive ex, but HE KILLED HER ABUSIVE EX.)
Basically, I have feelings and questions that need to be addressed, and if the film, itself, will not address these, I will simply have to do it, myself.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 11:31 pm (UTC)But maybe he was contemplating suicide, thought of Kate, and that gave him the strength to retrieve his cap and walk away. If she believed he was such a nice man, maybe he can become a nice man and atone a bit that way - perhaps that's what he's thinking?
Obviously if he's been a contract killer for a long time (and I think you're right that it seems like he's had this job for a while and the weight of all that guilt is finally getting to him), it's going to be hard if not impossible to atone for everything he's done. But at least if he's alive he can continue trying.
I'm not sure I would use abusive to describe his job - I feel like for something to be abusive, there needs to be a specific person perpetrating the abuse - but definitely his relationship with his work is unhealthy.
And Kate is clearly going to spend the rest of her life wondering about whether her ex was sincere in his repentance (maybe the fact that he did repent before he died will comfort her?) and what kind of person Frank was, because he seemed so nice and was her closest friend in her new city, but...he killed her abusive ex. And possibly a lot of other people. And I bet she's wondering, just a bit, if he was planning to kill her too, except his pneumonia got in the way and then he grew fond of her.
So what happens in the fic? Does it follow the future adventures of Frank and Kate?
no subject
Date: 2014-01-18 02:47 pm (UTC)ARGH. SOMETIMES I COULD JUST TEAR MY HAIR OUT IN FRUSTRATION AT THIS MOVIE.)Ah, yeah, "unhealthy" was the word I was looking for but couldn't seem to find for some reason. (I knew "abusive" didn't quite sound right.)
The fic (so far) follows Kate as she tries to move on and sort out her feelings and tries to make sense of everything, basically. I kind of feel I need to bring Frank back into it at some point, for closure purposes, but at the same time, a part of me wonders if that's not just my own wish fulfillment talking, rather than something that would actually serve the story well. I think I might need to let it sit and stew for a while...
no subject
Date: 2014-01-18 09:32 pm (UTC)What would Frank do in the story? I think the story would give more closure to both Kate and to readers if Frank is in it, but it might be difficult to do it well.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-18 10:04 pm (UTC)Haha, I'm sure there's a black comedy to be found somewhere in there. (Perhaps Frank was friends with Lane Myer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Off_Dead_%28film%29), back in the day?)
As of now, the story is pretty much Kate's, with Frank only physically coming back into it at the very end, so he doesn't actually do much of anything, which might be the way to go. I'm really trying to keep the same tone the movie had, so I don't want to wrap things up too neatly, but yeah, a little bit of closure would be nice.