Adapted from a popular manga, “Nana” is an engaging film about friendship, relationships and pursuing one’s dreams. It’s both a female buddy film with empowering messages for young women and a coming-of-age drama that offers a glimpse into Japanese youth culture and the punk rock music scene.
“Nana” kicks off with a chance encounter on a Tokyo-bound train between bubbly Nana Komatsu, an aspiring art student following her boyfriend to the city, and brooding Nana Osaki, a tattooed punk rocker who's broken up with her boyfriend and hopes to jumpstart a music career. Although very different in personality, the pair get along and eventually become roommates. Helping each other navigate turbulent times in their romantic relationships, the two girls form a close friendship, gain insights into their character and learn to rely on their own instincts in the pursuit of happiness.
Stylishly directed by Kentaro Otani, “Nana” contains vibrant music and moments of visual beauty. The appealing performances by the two lead actresses contribute to the overall uplifting and feel-good vibe of the movie.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Review: "Yi Yi" (2000)
“Yi Yi” is a sensitive and uplifting drama about life as seen through the eyes of each member of a middle-class Taiwanese family. Capturing both the mundane and profound, the film focuses on each member’s personal story while also illuminating the larger canvas of contemporary Taipei society.
Working with a slow, lingering pace and harnessing the power of silence to convey truth, director Edward Yang produces a compelling tale of love, friendship and the quest to discover life’s meaning. At the center of the story is NJ, a despondent computer executive who finds his work life unfulfilling and his personal life fraught with crises: his mother-in-law falls into a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual breakdown and he reconnects with his former fiancee. At the same time his teenage daughter befriends a next-door neighbor and experiences the pangs of first love while his 8-year old son takes up photography, capturing pictures of the backs of people’s heads in order to show them something they haven’t seen before.
Although the film runs almost 3 hours, it’s never boring. With interesting characters and subtle acting performances, “Yi Yi” rewards the viewer with insightful and resonant observations about life, in all its wonder and weirdness.
Working with a slow, lingering pace and harnessing the power of silence to convey truth, director Edward Yang produces a compelling tale of love, friendship and the quest to discover life’s meaning. At the center of the story is NJ, a despondent computer executive who finds his work life unfulfilling and his personal life fraught with crises: his mother-in-law falls into a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual breakdown and he reconnects with his former fiancee. At the same time his teenage daughter befriends a next-door neighbor and experiences the pangs of first love while his 8-year old son takes up photography, capturing pictures of the backs of people’s heads in order to show them something they haven’t seen before.
Although the film runs almost 3 hours, it’s never boring. With interesting characters and subtle acting performances, “Yi Yi” rewards the viewer with insightful and resonant observations about life, in all its wonder and weirdness.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Review: "Green Tea" (2003)
“Green Tea” is a stylish and off-beat drama about male-female relationships in modern China whose strong acting performances can’t overcome a lackluster narrative.
Wu Fang, a shy and conservative graduate student who is looking for a suitable marriage partner, meets Ming Liang, an outgoing and roguish older man, on a blind date in a cafe. Although they don’t click at first, a relationship forms over numerous cups of tea as Wu Fang confides to Ming Liang a shocking story about an emotionally damaged childhood “friend”. Complications ensue when Ming Liang encounters Lang Lang, a sexy piano player who happens to look just like Wu Fang, and becomes attracted to her.
Most of the film focuses on storytelling conversations between Ming Liang and Wu Fang in pristine cafes and Ming Liang and Lang Lang in sultry lounges. The relatively dry and ponderous dialogue is offset by the beautiful cinematography of Christopher Doyle and the compelling performances of the lead actors who manage to convey a range of emotions with small gestures and subtle eye movements.
Doyle’s camera work is interesting and drives a visual energy that is lacking in the narrative. He uses lots of close-ups of the actors’ faces and interesting angles to showcase modern Beijing. And never have tea leaves been so lovingly photographed as they swirl seductively in a glass.
For moviegoers interested in understanding Chinese culture and the evolution of modern relationships, “Green Tea” is worth viewing as it explores the difficulties that urban Chinese women face in looking for a committed relationship in an increasingly Westernized society that seems to value surface more than depth. In that world, the shy, spectacle-wearing Wu Fang, who has trouble attracting men, is on the same plane as the flashy and provocative Lang Lang, who can’t get men to see beyond her physical attributes.
Wu Fang, a shy and conservative graduate student who is looking for a suitable marriage partner, meets Ming Liang, an outgoing and roguish older man, on a blind date in a cafe. Although they don’t click at first, a relationship forms over numerous cups of tea as Wu Fang confides to Ming Liang a shocking story about an emotionally damaged childhood “friend”. Complications ensue when Ming Liang encounters Lang Lang, a sexy piano player who happens to look just like Wu Fang, and becomes attracted to her.
Most of the film focuses on storytelling conversations between Ming Liang and Wu Fang in pristine cafes and Ming Liang and Lang Lang in sultry lounges. The relatively dry and ponderous dialogue is offset by the beautiful cinematography of Christopher Doyle and the compelling performances of the lead actors who manage to convey a range of emotions with small gestures and subtle eye movements.
Doyle’s camera work is interesting and drives a visual energy that is lacking in the narrative. He uses lots of close-ups of the actors’ faces and interesting angles to showcase modern Beijing. And never have tea leaves been so lovingly photographed as they swirl seductively in a glass.
For moviegoers interested in understanding Chinese culture and the evolution of modern relationships, “Green Tea” is worth viewing as it explores the difficulties that urban Chinese women face in looking for a committed relationship in an increasingly Westernized society that seems to value surface more than depth. In that world, the shy, spectacle-wearing Wu Fang, who has trouble attracting men, is on the same plane as the flashy and provocative Lang Lang, who can’t get men to see beyond her physical attributes.
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