La Dolce Vita

I watched La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) in two parts, not knowing at first that it was such a long film and when I started watching it I was already a bit tired so I thought it would be better to continue the next day and I did. Dolce is a real classic, loved by many, so I couldn't wait to finally see it. Also it's a Fellini film and turns out I had never seen one of his before. I've seen films by De Sica, Rossellini, Scola, and Antonioni, but never before Fellinni, so it was about time. La Dolce Vita shows the life of journalist Marcello (Marcello Mastroianni) and the people who he meets, his paparazzi friends, his relationships with women both young and old, famous and unknown, but also shows him meeting his father after a long absence and how he copes with losing an old friend. It shows the sweet life which turns out isn't always that sweet. Behind the glamour people want to believe that is constantly around, Marcello has to deal with issues every other person has to come and deal with and find himself on a path of self discovery having to figure out where this life will take him in the future. Mastroianni plays him wonderfully. He truly has this elegance of these old film stars, a gentleman, a real charmer for which beautiful women like Anita Ekberg and Anouk Aimée easily fall for, and at the same time he has this sensitivity, these eyes which are able to show his weaker side and give way to his inner struggles. Fellinni perfectly manages to capture the spirit of Rome and its high society, people who seem obsessed with the lush life, are in awe of every movie star, and wander parties of the rich and famous searching for a place where they can feel to belong. The music from Nino Rota wonderfully accompanies the images on screen, making La Dolce a very inviting, accessable and entertaining film.

Verdict: A great look at the lives of Rome's upper class citizens who dwell around the city wandering parties until early morning. It's a sweet life for those who don't get lost. Marcello Mastroianni perfectly portrayes its main character who ends up having to deal with the not so nice aspects of life some people tend to forget. A wonderful vivid, energetic and exciting film.

Janghwa, Hongryeon

Lately I feel to have gotten a greater interest in horror films, especially those Asian ones which have the reputation to be amongst the best of the genre and are said to really scare you good. I however so far have never gotten really scared by a horror film, especially the ones featuring ghosts or other frightening creatures whom I just don't believe in. Most horror films feature those kinds of characters, but there are some out there who tend to go beyond the boundaries of reality and imagination, wrapping things up with a more realistic approach of what is the cause of all the evil that haunts the main characters of the film. Like for instance Ringu (The Ring), Janghwa, Hongryeon (A Tale Of Two Sisters) features the well known shock effects but has an interesting and engaging enough story to keep people like me watching. The entire film is drenched in mystery, making you as a viewer come up with reasons as to explain the strange things that are going on. Janghwa, Hongryeon therefore is not just a horror but also borrows aspects from a psychological thriller leaving you as a viewer continuously trying to make sense out of things and putting strange thoughts into your head. This, however, becomes one of Janghwa, Hongryeon biggest weaknesses. The story just gets too complex at a point and makes that as a viewer you really have no idea what is truly going on, with the effect that every possible reason that could be the cause of all the horror crosses your mind. As a result when the moment comes up where the film reveals what's really going on as a viewer you already got your mind so messed up that you're left even more confused. At the end the twist that appears does give clarity and the film tells how everything led up to this point, though it all still feels to be very confusing and difficult to truly grasp immediately. It wasn't until after the film reading a post on the forum of the film on Imdb.com that I found myself understanding the film better. Though it does feel a bit too far fethced and to really get everything involves a lot of effort. What made me keep watching Janghwa, Hongryeon most though, was the performance of Jung-ah Yum who plays the main characters' stepmother. She really manages to frigthen you with her pure evil and wickedness, presenting a stepmother you wouldn't even wish your greatest enemy to have. Also the film features some very pretty shots and I liked its focus on the lower part of the body or just the hands, in a way cutting up the actors making for a lot of shots in which you never see their head but just their body moving. It's made very well and creates a good mysterious atmosphere though it loses itself too much in this creating of mystery becoming a real mystery itself that on first view is pretty hard to make sense of.

Verdict: A horror film of which the story is interesting enough to keep you watching, so not just counting on shock effects to grab its audience's attention. It's nice but challenges you to not turn it off as it becomes very complicated. I however didn't have much problem to keep on watching because of good acting performances, nice looking shots, and a story, even though complex and refusing to give away answers before the end, that is engaging and keeps your mind active.

La Noche De Los Girasoles

La Noche De Los Girasoles (The Night Of The Sunflowers) features some scenes that are hard to watch and that are pretty disturbing leaving you with a bit of a fright, though they don't take away from the film's perfect setup and structure. La Noche gradually heightens the tension to a point that towards the end I was planted in my seat, unmoving just watching the screen with intense eyes to see how this thrill of a film would come to a close. There are many characters and they come together through an event that's set in motion by a guy who can be assumed to be a rapist and a killer. It's an out of control story which creates bad guys out of victims because of a certain situation they are confronted with. It shows how everyday people can turn into murderers when something inside of them just snaps or things grow out of proportion. It shows how killers don't always have to be bad people with merely bad intentions. It's about the motives that can drive people to act in wrong ways. La Noche is a film which leaves you with a bag of mixed emotions, one you can't immediately shake off. After I still could feel the effect the film had on my stomach. The film completely took me into its story and kept a powerful hold on my body. La Noche is a really good film, though very heavy and not always easy to watch. But it's definitely a film that deserves to be seen. It would be a shame to let it go unnoticed.

Verdict: A very strong film that deals with characters who are put into a situation that sets them off into a wrong direction with life changing effects. Not always easy to watch it's a film that lingers on long after having left the cinema. It's a film that deserves to be seen by many and that will leave you with the satisfaction of having watched a film that has a real impact on you.