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annalisa
Reviews
Varpuset (2005)
a good drama
This movie tells about two sisters who live two very different lives. The sisters have grown up in a middle class family in Helsinki (Finland). The older sister has married a wealthy German man and moved to Germany and she has a grown-up son who is about to move to another city in Germany to practise law. The younger sister is an alcoholic, living a life of a bum in Tattarinsuo. The sisters get to meet again after many years as their mother dies and the older sister comes to Helsinki to arrange the funeral.
Miitta Sorvali does a really good job in this film as a wealthy widow, who has managed to keep up the facade but is not too happy about her life. Reino Nordin who plays the son handled his role nice and neat. His German accent was quite believable. Sara Paavolainen was very touching as a once so beautiful girl turned to be a drunk. The only role that was somewhat lifeless, was the bum played by Esko Salminen. He lacked agony, seemed too strong, healthy and sane to be in such a situation and it was too obvious that he was just acting.
The story was good, the film proceeded smoothly. I recommend this film for anyone wishing to see 'ordinary life' drama.
Nabbie no koi (1999)
Funny and cute
I really enjoyed this one, it gave me a good mood for the rest of the day! Nabbie's love is a cute story with a lot of Japanese music (+ some Irish) and naïve humour. And let's not forget the beautiful bougainvillea flowers that seem to flourish like everlasting love.
Nanoko (Naomi Nishida) was my favourite character, she was so lively and honest. Nanoko's grandfather, Keitatsu (Seijin Noborikawa) gave me most of the laughs.. I gave this movie 8/10.
Ye ban ge sheng (1995)
trivial fairytale in beautiful sceneries
This film did not leave me with same kind of enthusiastic feeling as other films with "Chinese fairytales" I've seen. The story itself wasn't that captivating, it somehow lacked the mysterious feeling. The director seems to know his work though: the film was so beautifully shoot, the lights and sceneries were outstanding.
Hana-bi (1997)
Different film, worth seeing.
I was surprised by this movie, it was not even near what I expected it to be. Hana-Bi was a very visual, sad and thought-giving movie. The film jumped between different kind of feelings, from warmth and laughter to pain and sorrow. The overall feeling in my opinion was the realization of the incurable absurdity of our world. Why try to live by the rules, as there will always be those who make their own regulations? Being a cop in a big city must be frustrating and scary. Maybe the only way to cope with that kind of work is to get numb of all that terror.
The most impressive parts in this picture were the violent scenes, especially the unusual way of using sound was quite effective: The silence "underlined" the violence. I think this movie showed violence in a way it should be shown: As brutal and terrible as it is, how it hurts and how people really suffer from it, this is not the picture you get from Hollywood films.
What leaves me with mixed feelings is that in this movie, suicide was not shown as violent, desperate or insane but as something graceful, peaceful and inviting (snow, light, sea).
I did a lot of thinking after seeing this movie and that is rare: I recommend the movie to everyone who wants to see something totally different from the mainstream movies!