mariafefauk Reviews

University of Laughs (2004)

highly political film cleverly disguised in comedy

[8/10 · 3 August 2005]

It is amazing and rare when a film manages to reach us and surprise us by succeeding our expectations. In my personal experience, THE UNIVERSITY OF LAUGHS is one of such films. What I loved the most about this particular film is how complex issues which throughout history have affected cultural expression can be represented and illustrated in such a fine and simple fashion.

Sakisaka, a government official entrusted with creating favorable conditions for the maximum expansion of the ruling ideology, through the censorship and manipulation of messages in popular culture meets his counterpart in a humble theater script writer seeking approval for his latest project. The movie evolves and progresses as both, censor and writer work together, with and against each other to achieve their individual interests.

My favorite moment is that in which Hajime Tsubaki becomes aware that his interest and passion for comedy writing, transcends the personal and collective interests of his boss, his colleagues and even his nation. He can live with the criticism and punishment offered to him by friends, peers and society at large but he cannot live without being true to himself, therefore, he is left with no option but to follow his comic nature through his gift of writing. This is the most purely political phase in the film, and it marks the decisive passage of struggle from the individual structure, to the sphere of the complex superstructures.

In all, this is a beautiful and clever display of Japanese culture and worldwide struggle for freedom of speech, and a subtle reminder of how far we have come to reach the stage of cultural freedom that many of us enjoy today.

Green Fish (1997)

Nothing out of the ordinary

[6/10 · 3 August 2005]

I purchased this movie after reading some of the very positive reviews found on this site but what a disappointment it was. It is not that the film is terribly bad, it's simply one of the many stories focused on innocent people entering the gangster world and their struggle to remain true to themselves and what they stand for in life.

GREEN FISH, just simply is not very unique or particularly moving. Yes, there are a few subplots and themes that make you want to follow the story and promise it to be an interesting one, but somehow, I feel the narrative does not gather the strength that it could have achieved to make it a remarkable story. At this stage and age it is very difficult to exploit the exploited, and a simple change of setting does not work miracles. If there is something that works well for the film, it must be the character insight, however, this does not make up for all of its weaknesses. In all, not a bad movie but I would not really recommend it as enthusiastically as others have done. Korean cinema has much higher quality representatives than this one.

Dreams (1990)

Beautifully made and achieved

[8/10 · 27 July 2005]

I was pleasantly surprised with dreams, not only in terms of content but also aesthetically. There are very few films that manage to embody personal, local and global concerns as Akira Kurosava has managed in this production. There are so many underlying topics that it is difficult to concentrate in just a few for the purpose of this review, but I believe it is fair to say that Dreams portrays our individual and collective dreams and nightmares, reflecting that sometimes what we dream of today is what will keep us awake tomorrow. A nice range of representations of concerns from the deepest and most personal childhood worries and fantasies to the more complex issues of mental illness, extreme ambition, destruction of our environment and death. In all I recommend this film to anyone who has the chance to see it, It is possible that Dreams may not appeal to a mainstream audience in terms of content because there is a lot of symbolism and critical engagement but the photography and sceneries are for sure something that should not go amiss for anyone. If you get the chance it is truly worth giving it your time, a fantastic experience.

Butterfly (2004)

About self perception and acceptance

[7/10 · 25 April 2005]

Although the plot is centered on the story of a married female teacher who struggles to come to terms with her sexuality, I believe the message of butterfly goes beyond this description. All the main characters in one way or another portray how we as individuals come to terms or deny or most inner self. I found particularly interesting the parallel between the person as an individual and the person as a social subject, and how the interaction between the two can be a conflictive one, specially if the traits that mark the self are not socially accepted or naturalized. In all, a beautiful moving film of contemporary struggle for self and social acceptance.