"Time Destroys Everything"

IRRÉVERSIBLE

Year: 2002
Country: France
Language: French
Number: 1015
Director: Gaspar Noé
Starring: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Jo Prestia

Gaspar Noe's Irreversible is the story about two men, Marcus (Vincent Cassel) and Pierre (Albert Dupontel) who looks all over Paris for the man who brutally raped Marcus' wife and Pierre's former girlfriend, Alex (Monica Bellucci). The special thing about this film is that it doesn't move chronological, but backwards, just like Christopher Nolan's Memento. It's starts with Marcus being carried away in an ambulance after been in a fight with the man who he thought was the rapist in a hardcore gay club. From then on we see all the events leading up to this event, even the rape itself, and Marcus' and Alex' troubled relationship and Pierre's feelings for Alex.

Irreversible is probably a film that one should stay away from if you are one of those who's fragile to violence to begin with, because this film is indeed very violent, with people being beaten to death while people around masturbates, and there's even a ten minute uncut rape scene. Should such violent ever been in this film. My answer is yes, because these are things that really happens, and it's not something you can turn away from.

But when it comes to the movie in general, it is truly a cinematic masterpiece, because of the use of constant shaky cam, to show us the characters' confusion and rage. And the movie also consists of only thirty long takes, and most of them is combined together through swish pans. The words "Time destroys everything" appears both in the beginning and in the end, as a metaphor for the inevitable. We know what's already happened and we are forced to sadly watch the pointless past that has no meaning and no matter what happens, all we see is why it happened, but there's no one to blame but the time itself.

Irreversible is one of those misanthropic films that makes you're faith in humanity even more fragile than it already is. And by showing us the history backwards it only becomes stronger. It literary breaks all the ten commandments. Some might find it unwatchable due to it's violence, but I advise people who can't stand violence to stay away. But if you have the guts to sit through it, you will see that this is a cinematic masterpiece. Thumbs up.

Grade: A+

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"Comical Horror Behavior"

THE HOUSEMAID

Original title: 하녀 (Hanyo)
Year: 1960
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Number: 362
Director: Kim Ki-young
Starring: Lee Eun-shim, Ju Jeung-nyeo, Kim Jin Kyu, Ahn Sunge-kee

Kim Ki-young's horror classic The Housemaid is the story about a handsome music teacher who's in need of a housemaid to help around the house, because of his pregnant wife. One of his students finds him a housemaid, a crazy one, unfortunately, who's one of those unfortunate souls who have fallen obsessionally in love with the teacher, and starts to terrorize the rest of his family, his wife and two children.

The Housemaid is an alright exaggerated horror film, that's on the edge of being a comedy, because of how nice the teacher is treating the housemaid, even though she's a psycho from the start, and that he's continuing to treat her nice even when she do things that every regular person would have killed her, or at least fire her right away. I just couldn't buy the movie at all, even though there are some great dialogue and some enjoyable horror cliches which is enough to give this film a marginal thumbs up.

Rating: C+

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"Korean Fight Club"

ATTACK THE GAS STATION

Original title: 주유소 습격 사건 (Juyuso seubgyuksageun)
Year: 1999
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Number: 958
Director: Kim Sang-jin
Starring: Lee Sung-jae, Yu Oh-seong, Kang Seong-jin, Yoo Ji-tae

Kim Sang-jin's Attack the Gas Station is the story about four thugs who decides to rob a gas station in the middle of the night, because they are bored. They already robbed the same gas station once, but when the boss this time decides to hide all the money, the thugs decides to hold all the employees as hostages, while they are running the station in such a rude way, while they force the boss to come up with the money.

Attack the Gas Station is a great crime comedy, a hysterical one, because of the way the hostages are treated and how sometimes they turn against each other and even feels affection for their prison guard, Mu "Bulldozer" Dae-po, who always carrying a big stick and act like a strict sergeant, and I just laugh so hard when he's on screen. And it's also interesting and funny to watch the flashbacks of all the thugs that shows us the reason why they are robbing the gas station in the first place, they show us their broken dreams, and we kind of feel sorry for them.

This film have gained a special cult status in South Korea. There's even been similar attacks in real-life. It's like a Korean Fight Club. It is also a social commentary about the economic turmoil in South Korea in which car manufacturers was laying off thousands of employees. And it's also a commentary about american imperialism as well. In other words this is a movie about the frustrated South Korean youth. For me, Attack the Gas Station is the best Korean film I've seen so far. Thumbs up.

Rating: A+

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