#660 – A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era, (幕末太陽傳), 1957, Yuzo Kawashima
Saheji, a man-about-town, gets stuck at a high-class brothel when he can’t pay the bill. He makes the best of his situation by performing various tasks amidst the tumult of the end of the shogunate—but always by making sure to get a “commission” for his troubles.
#661 – Battles Without Honor and Humanity, (仁義なき戦い), 1973, Kinji Fukasaku
In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza…
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
#662 – The Intouchables, (Intouchables), 2011, Eric Toledano & Olivier Nakache
A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.
#663 – 3-Iron, (빈집), 2004, Kim Ki-duk
A young man, whose only possession is a motorcycle, spends his time riding around the city looking for empty apartments. After finding one, he hangs out for a while, fixing himself something to eat, washing laundry or making small repairs in return. He always tries to leave before the owners get back but in one ostensibly empty mansion he meets the abused wife of a rich man and she escapes with him…
#664 – Eat Drink Man Woman, (飲食男女), 1994, Ang Lee
The film tells the story of a retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu and his family living in modern day Taipei, Taiwan. At the start of the film, he lives with his three attractive daughters, all of whom are unattached. As the film progresses, each of the daughters encounters new men in their lives. When these new relationships blossom, the stereotypes are broken and the living situation within the family changes.. The film features several scenes displaying the techniques and artistry of gourmet Chinese cooking. Since the family members have difficulty expressing their love for each other, the intricate preparation of banquet quality dishes for their Sunday dinners is the surrogate for their familial feelings.
#665 – Aimless Bullet, (오발탄), 1961, Yu Hyun-mok
Two brothers—Chul-ho, an accountant with a toothache and a pregnant wife, and Yong-ho, an unemployed ex-soldier wounded in battle—navigate life in post-war Korea.
#666 – Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?, (달마가 동쪽으로 간 까닭은), 1989, Bae Yong-kyun
Three people live in a remote Buddhist monastery near Mount Chonan: Hyegok, the old master; Yong Nan, a young man who has left his extended family in the city to seek enlightenment – Hyegok calls him Kibong!; and, an orphan lad Haejin, whom Hyegok has brought to the monastery to raise as a monk. The story is mostly Yong Nan’s, told in flashbacks: how he came to the monastery, his brief return to the city, his vacillation between the turbulence of the world and his hope to overcome passions and escape the idea of self. We also see Hyegok as a teacher, a protector, and a father figure, and we watch Haejin make his way as a curious and nearly self-sufficient child.
#667 – 28 Days Later, 2002, Danny Boyle
Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs – and it’s absolutely impossible to contain.
#668 – Muddy River, (泥の河), 1981, Kôhei Oguri
Two boys, whose parents ply their trade by the mouth of a muddy river in Osaka, become close friends.
#669 – Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, (Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler), 1922, Fritz Lang
Arch-criminal Dr. Mabuse, who is a master of disguise and has been hypnotising people into doing his bidding, sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.
Jumbo Cactuar Film Index 