As we're nearing the end of another decade's worth of films I thought it was time for a quick holiday so I decided for a three-movie long tour of Asia. Two of the films in this triple bill are historical pieces, shot in the country's native tongue and featuring subtitles for Western viewers such as myself. The third film, for the most part, is in the English Language although the scenes in other languages aren't subtitled, but then again that's kind of the point.
We start in China in the year 1779 for some high-flying martial arts courtesy of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film tells the story of the sword 'The Green Destiny' and the way it unites all four of the movie's central characters. The sword initially belongs to retired warrior Li Mu Bai who gives it to his friend and fellow warrior Yu Shu Lien so that she may deliver it as a gift to their mutual acquaintance Sir Te. One of the threads running throughout Crouching Tiger is the unrequited romance between Mu Bai and Shu Lien, which is a classic cinematic love that will never speak its name. Just as Shu Lien is about to present the sword to Sir Te; it is stolen by a female warrior believed to be the elusive Jade Fox. Years before, Fox murdered Mu Bai's master and he's now out for revenge however it later transpires that his nemesis has a pupil in the form of noblewoman Jen. Jen is initially presented as the courteous daughter from a respected family but its later revealed that Fox was training her up to be another deadly warrior. Jen's other story involves desert warrior Lo, a man who she originally met after he stole her fan. The flashbacks, in which Jen and Lo's romance is detailed, signalled the moment where the film ground to a halt for me. I did feel that Lee and the three screenwriters took too long with this particular part of the story and to an extent the narrative never recovered. Thankfully Crouching Tiger's final act was full of action and emotion as the stage was set for Jen's wedding and the final showdown between Mu Bai and Jade Fox.
I remember watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on VHS soon after it was released and at the time I think I rather enjoyed it. However, this time round, I did feel the film was a little patchy especially from a storytelling perspective. As I previously alluded to the pacing of the story varies throughout the film's two hour running time. Starting off at a brisk jog, things slow to a halt during the Jen/Lo flashbacks before kicking into full throttle towards the end. That being said there were several elements of the story I liked from the romance between Su Lien and Mu Bai; to Jen's attempts to get the upper hand on all the other characters. Indeed, one of the great things about Crouching Tiger is the fact that there are two strong central female characters who are well-rounded and can stand up for themselves even against the men. Whilst narratively the film may have a few issues, visually it's one of the most spectacular movies I've watched since I began. The martial arts scenes in particular are stunning especially those involving the high-flying Jen. Jen and Su Lien's final battle is especially breathtaking and I think that Lee is brilliant at capturing these battles on screen. I'm not surprised that cinematographer Peter Pau won an award for his brilliant camera work on the film whilst further honours went to Crouching Tiger's soaring score and its fantastic period art direction. Even though it didn't win the big prize, Lee's film did pick up the award for Foreign Language Feature, an honour that I'm sure it deserved. Although it did have its problems, I enjoyed the fact that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was even nominated for the Best Picture prize in the first place. Overall it was a stunningly gorgeous film to watch and one that I'm glad is soon to get a long-awaited sequel.
Moving across the continent and through time we find ourselves in modern day Japan for a film that follows two Americans who are stuck in Tokyo. The film is Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation which focuses on a young photographer's wife and a washed-up actor who find themselves flummoxed by Japanese culture in general. It helps that actor Bob Harris, who is in Tokyo to film a whisky commercial, is played by the brilliant Bill Murray. Murray perfectly encapsulates a middle-aged man abroad especially when he tries to negotiate his way around a power shower or a piece of gym equipment. But Bob is also lost in a different way and that's what makes him navigate to Charlotte; a recent college graduate who is tagging along with her husband who has a work assignment in the city. Coppola builds up to Bob and Charlotte's first meeting by following their individual stories with the former shooting his ad whilst the latter wanders aimlessly around Tokyo's various landmarks. They eventually meet about half an hour into the film and then a very polite romance begins which includes a karaoke party and a trip to the hospital. Lost in Translation is very subtle in the way it deals with Bob and Charlotte's relationship as they are two disparate people who've found each other at the right time. One element I wasn't sure about was the conflict that Coppola creates between the pair when Bob has a one-night-stand with the hotel's cabaret singer. This moment is also only dwelt upon briefly before the iconic final scene in which our couple embrace in the centre of Tokyo and incoherently whisper in each other's ear.
I first went to see Lost in Translation at an early morning screening in January of 2004 and ever since then it's been one of my favourite films. As you can probably ascertain by now I love films that are based around characters rather than plot and that describes Lost in Translation in a nutshell. When I first watched it I identified with Charlotte, as I myself was about to graduate from university and was having one of those 'what does it all mean?' phases. Now I'm getting to the stage where I'm hoping I don't end up like Bob trapped in a marriage with a woman who is more concerned with carpet colours than she is the welfare of her husband. The film would be nothing without the performances from both Murray and Scarlett Johansson; the latter of whom was just eighteen when filming took place. I was utterly impressed how convincing Johansson was as a character who was five years older than her and she was able to carry off the extra life experience with no problem. Murray meanwhile balanced the slapstick he's been known for with a more measured, world-weary tone that he's employed in several films since. Murray and Johansson also share perfect chemistry as there's smiles and small looks at each other are the basis of what makes Bob and Charlotte's relationship work so well. Aside from Bob and Charlotte, the other big character in Lost in Translation is Tokyo itself which comes alive in several scenes in which the couple race across the city. Cinematographer Michael Accord brilliantly differentiates between the cold machine-like interior of the hotel with the exciting, bustling world outside. Sofia Coppola was nominated for both her direction and screenplay, rightfully scooping the latter award for her tender writing. However the biggest miscarriage of justice was that Bill Murray lost out on his deserved Best Actor award. Whilst the eventual winner Sean Penn did deliver a fine turn in Mystic River it wasn't nearly as good as Murray's subtle and humanistic portrayal of a man lost in himself and in a foreign country. Lost in Translation definitely hasn't lost any of its warmth or lightness of touch and I still love it as much as I did the first time I saw it over eleven years ago.
Staying in Japan now but moving back in time to the Second World War and a film that I've never seen before in Letters from Iwo Jima. This 2007 nominee also reunites us with Clint Eastwood although unusually for the director this is a film that has very few lines of dialogue that are in the English language. That's because Letters from Iwo Jima is in fact a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers; a film which tells the story of the battle of Iwo Jima from the point-of-view of the Americans. Whilst Flags of Our Fathers was meant to be the big event film it was Letters from Iwo Jima that actually garnered more acclaim and did slightly better at the Box Office. I feel the point of Letters from Iwo Jima is to tell the audience that there are two sides to every story and that those who fought on the Japanese side were equally as worthy of praise as the American soldiers. The film follows the fortunes of Private Saigo; a baker who is conscripted and leaves his heavily pregnant wife to fight on the island. Saigo often finds himself tortured by his superiors but on the day in which the U.S. Marines start to attack he is the only to keep a level-head. Evading being shot by those in charge several times, Saigo later earns the respect of General Kuribayashi and ultimately being the only one to survive the horrors of the battle. The most striking thing about Letters from Iwo Jima as a whole was the fact that many of the Japanese soldiers took their own lives when they thought that there was no way back. One of the scenes that will stick with me the most from Letters from Iwo Jima is the one in which the majority of Saigo's platoon blow themselves up with grenades. It's these moments that hit home the horrific conditions that the Japanese had to deal with and I do applaud Eastwood for trying to honour them in this way.
It did take me a while to truly lose myself in Letters from Iwo Jima and I felt the film only came alive in its latter scenes which was when the action really kicked off. The cast of the movie were all utterly believable in their roles with Kazunari Ninomiya being particularly effective as Saigo. The only familiar face amongst the cast, Ken Watanabe, was perfectly believable as the sensitive Kuribayashi; who at times was the only level-headed member of the military left on the island. Similarly to Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima is shot in a faded manner which at times makes it look almost like documentary footage. Although I've not seen Flags of Our Fathers it was interesting to spot the scenes in which the two nations intersected and I'm assuming there are moments that appear in both films. I felt it was particularly brave of Eastwood to portray the Americans as the antagonists particularly in one heart-wrenching scene when a brutish soldier executes two Japanese soldiers who have surrendered. Letters from Iwo Jima was in fact a surprise entrant in the 2007 Best Picture field with many expecting the fifth nominee to be the musical Dreamgirls. However, I think it was good that the academy honoured a subtitled film which actually bucked the trend for war films by focusing on the foreign army. While I can't say I was a compelled by the film as I possibly should have been there are certain moments of it that will stick with me for years to come.
Next time we'll travel back to the States for the final film in the noughties section of the blog.
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