The purpose of this blog is to share my interest in movies.
Foreign movies, Hollywood movies,
documentaries, old-time movies, blockbusters, new movies are the subjects that
I will be discussing here.
Also, books and music will be reviewed here from time to
time.
Courtesty - www.says-it.com/marquee
I like many types of films and would like to share the
enjoyment with you the reader. Many people only watch movies that play in the
local Cineplex and of course many are fine films. But there are many great ,
exciting movies from the bargain bin, from decades ago and from around the
world that I have enjoyed and should have a wider audience.
Your comments are encouraged. Enjoy your stay and tell your
friends.
This is a somewhat challenging movie to review simply
because I have never seen anything like it. The Burmese Harp is the most
powerful anti-war movie I have ever seen,
While at the same time it is a war story. The cinematic stereotypes of British and
Japanese soldiers just don’t fit in this haunting, ethereal story of the end of
World War II as it takes place in Burma.
The time is 1945 and we are with the Japanese Imperial army
in Burma.
The war in the Pacific is being fought fiercely in many islands and countries
all over the Pacific.
The Japanese where tasting defeat in many of the dozens of
places they had invaded by the time 1945 arrived and the writing was on the
wall, but Burma remained an extremely important country to both take an hold,
as it is next to India. India was
British as the time. By taking Burma,
the British would have the enemy knocking on the door and that enemy would have
the whole country next door to stage and prepare for an invasion.
Burma was
a hugely important target for the Japanese and it was also a do-or die ,
must-stop the enemy here destination for Britain.
This Japanese did not successfully conquer Burma. They
lost as many as 60,000 men there, dying in the monsoons, the jungles, the mountains
and tasting defeat as bitterly as any army dying in a far away land ever has.
Think of that,sixty-thousand men, dead and lost. The bitterest of defeats for the once
all- powerful Imperial Army.
The movie opens in Burma where we encounter a Japanese
squad of perhaps 50 men led by an inspiring commander who is a classically
trained musician. Because of his training, he has his troops sing occasionally,
and they are glad to do it. The very heavy and slow slog of the war, being so
far from home, all of the soldiers enjoyed the singing as the only joy they
have known for a good long time. One of the soldiers, Muzishima, finds a harp there.
He picks it up and finds that he has a natural gift of making beautiful,
lilting music to accompany his singing comrades. They are managing about as
well as they can in these difficult circumstances.
When we first see this Japanese army squadron , the war has
been declared as over for 3 days already, but they don’t know it. They do their
duty as soldiers while continuing to sing. In a scene appears almost magical ,
they are taken prisoner by the conquering British. The British treat them well,
but they do not know if they will be killed, enslaved, moved to who know where,
or have any idea of their fate. They are all good soldiers and face the unknown
bravely, and make the most of their peaceful captivity and carry on.
Not far from the camp where they are held, there is a fiercely
resistant holdout of a large number of Japanese troops who are firing down from
a mountain and harassing the British.
The British ask the Japanese if they would volunteer one of
their men to go to the Japanese holdouts and explain that the war was over,
please hand over your arms and lets stop this fighting now that the was is
over. Mizushima, the harp player , is
chosen and gladly accepts the mission. He wants to save as many of his comrades
as he can. Of course the Japanese hold outs not only do not believe him, the
call him a coward. Mizushima does his best in the short time the British have
ceased shelling the hold outs, but is not successful in convincing his fellow
soldiers. The British once again resume the bombardment of the Japanese hold
outs, only this time, almost all are dead or gravely wounded, including
Mizushima.
Mizushima is now separated from his comrades. They are taken
to a larger British camp at Mudon, hundreds of miles away.
Mizushima recovers, but just barely. He steals some local clothes
and shaves his head and from then on, he is taken by all of the modest Burmese
that he meets as being a monk.
( Monks are greatly revered in Burma, “ where the Buddah lives “. )
Mizushima is overwhelmed by the simple graciousness that he
encounters from the many Burmese he meets, many of which have nothing in this
world except today bowl of porridge , which they happily share and give to this
stranger.
We see Muzishima change. He affects the clothes of a monk,
he encounters nothing but kindness from all of the local population as he
attempts to get back to his squad who is now imprisoned at Mudon. He finally
makes it to Mudon, then turns back. His comrade see him, they shout ( they had
all taken him from long-dead ! ) and beckon him to join from the other side of
the barbed wire fence. For some reason, he declines and heads back into the
jungle, while noting that the British are treating the Japanese quite well and
humanely, much to his surprise.
Thru a third party, the commander of the Japanese men receives
a letter from Muzishima.
All of his comrades want to know what is in it, the
commander decides not to open it from now.They are confused and dumbfounded, how could their friend and comrade
not want to join his old outfit ? What is he doing that is so important ?
The Japanese are finally repatriated back to Japan. They are
returning to Japan
on a freighter. The war is lost, they know that they will be returning to a
very defeated, starving Japan,
but are anxious to get back home and to make Japan a better country when they
do. It is a sad and melancholy scene on the ship back home. At this point, the
commander pulls out the letter from Muzishima and reads it to the men.
Muzishima had encountered so many thousands of dead Japanese
as he traveled Burma.
He has decided to return to Japan, someday. However he is going
to stay in Burma
to bury the bones of the many thousand of his comrades so they can at last rest
in peace in this country so far from their homes. The men understand, it is a
very difficult decision, but it is the right thing to do.
I have seen just about every war movie made. The Burmese
Harp is the only war movie that I would call tender. It is haunting. It is
reflective. It is redeeming.
And it should be seen by a lot more people. I recommend it
highly.
Note- Kon Ichikawa is one of the greatest directors of the 20th century, he also directed " Tokyo Olympiad, Fires on the Plain, and Alone in the Pacific, among many others.
This movie is part of the Criterion Collection of fine films.
An ongoing list of some of our favorite quotes from the movies.
Favorite Movie Quotes
In no particular order, here is a
on-going list of some of our favorite lines from the movies.
“ Now go home and get your
F**cking shine box ! “
Billy Bats ( Fred Vincent ) to Tommy
DeVito ( Joe Pesci ) in “ Goodfellas “
“ Alright ramblers, let’s get
ramblin’ “
Joe ( The Great Lawrence Tierney ) in “ Resevior
Dogs”
“ I asked yous’ to leave. Now
yous’ can’t leave “
Sonny ( Chaz Palmentari ) in “ A Bronx
Tale.”
“ I can eat 50 eggs.”
Paul Newman as “Cool Hand Luke”
“Now he's got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he
goes to Paulie. Trouble with a bill, to Paulie. Trouble with cops, deliveries,
Tommy, he calls Paulie. But now he has to pay Paulie every week no matter what.
"Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. The
place got hit by lightning? Fuck you, pay me."
Henry
Hill ( Ray Loitta ) in “ Goodfellas “
“ What do you do “
Jill Ireland asking Charles Bronson who
plays Chaney in “ Hard Times “.
“ I knock people down “
“I coulda had class. I coulda been a
contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. “
Marlon
Brando as Terry Malloy, to Rod Stieger as Charlie Malloy ( his brother ) in “ On the Waterfront “
“ Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a
while you shouldn’t have fucked with? That’s me. “
The
Great Clint Eastwood as Walt Kowalski in “
Gran Torino “
“ Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are
you gonna bite ?”
Micheal
Madsen as Mr. Blonde in “ Resevior Dogs.”
“ Why do I have to be Mr. Pink ? “
Steve
Buscemi, as Mr. Pink in “ Resevior Dogs.”
“I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass…and
I’m all out of bubble gum “
Rowdy
Roddy Piper as Nada in “ They Live “
“ Get your stinking paws off of me, you damn dirty ape
!
Charlton
Heston as George Taylor in “ Planet of
the Apes “
“If you wanna do anything about it, I'll be outside.
I'm a lot drunker than you are, so it'll be a fair fight. “
Jose
Ferrer as Lt. Barney Greenwald in “ The
Caine Mutiny “
The Chinese director Wong Kar Wai is one of the greatest
living film directors. His extensive body of work include “ In the Mood for
Love “ with the mega star and uber-gorgeous Maggie Cheung and his mainstay leading
man,Tony Leung, “ Eros,” “My
Blueberry Nights” (with Norah Jones,
Natalie Portman and Jude Law, ) “2046” ,
“Ashes of Time,” “ As Tears Go By “, and many others. Many of these are some of
the best films put out by anyone over the last 20 or so years. Yes, I am a big
fan.
(By the way- many American and western film fans many not
be familiar with many of these and that is why we are writing this blog. These
are world-class films and the effort to seek them out and see them is very much
worthwhile. )
Coming soon I s his highly anticipated,
sure-to-be-huge“ The Grandmasters “. The story centers around
Ip Man. Ip Man was Bruce Lee's martial arts teacher ( Seifu ) and one of the greatest martial artists to ever throw a punch. ( "Ip Man " , the movie, which I consider to be one of the greatest martial arts films of all time, will be reviewed here at a later date. It stars Donnie Yen as the great teacher against the backdrop of the Japanese invasion of China. Hear me now and believe me later, I give it 5 out of 5 stars. Seek it out, grasshopper. )
Here is the You Tube trailer for " The Grandmasters ".........
Wong Kar Wai is one of the most important directors in the movies today, we will be posting reviews of his many fantastic films in the near future.
Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in " In the Mood for Love " by Wong Kar Wai
Maggie Cheung in " In the Mood for Love " by Wong Kar Wai
Donnie Yen in " Ip Man "
Friday, November 9, 2012
Reviewed - The Underdog Knight. China, 2008
THE UNDERDOG KNIGHT.
Aka – Ying Han ,
China 2008 , English subtitles
The Underdog Knight. A young man, Lao San lives in modern
day China
and is a very
Patriotic member of the PLA( Peoples Liberation Army ) Navy. A Chief in the submarine service. Lao
San simply loves the Navy, the Navy life, the sea, serving with comrades and
doing his duty. He trains hard in all
disciplines ,especially the martial arts
Which is a borderline obsession with our young hero. “ A
sailor’s body should be tough as a submarine, his punches should be like
torpedoes to the enemy ! “ He has a girl
friend, he admires and respects his Commander, and all is right in Lao San’s
world……until the training accident. The accident leaves Lao San physically OK,
but his mental capacity is much diminished. The result is that he is rather
permanently stuck in the mental state of a very Gung-Ho PLA submarine chief. He
now has mainly one thing on his mind, his mission in life- to hurt bad guys, to
protect fellow citizens and right and wrongs he finds, whether they are real or
imagined. This turns out to be a good
thing, unless , of course, Lao San thinks that you are an evil doing bad guy-
in which case, you are asking for a beat down.
Lao San has a hard time staying employed and causes
uncomfortable moments with his girl friend, Mom, and most everyone else. It really
causes discomfort to the bad guys, to whom he deals out bone crushing street
justice. He keeps score of his battles and is enjoying being undefeated out on
the mean streets of Bejing.
Comic relief,the joy
of the underdog winning over great odds, absolutely fantastic fight scenes and
martial arts action all make for a great action movie. The movie is, of course, big in China and the
East, but gets very little play in the West. This is a movie with subtitles for
all of us who are not fluent in Chinese and I realize that subtitles are a big
turn off for some. Small inconvenience for great entertainment, IMHO.
Lao San is a character that is far from perfect, yet almost
in a child-like way, resulting in a very watchable protagonistwho takes great pleasure from the simple
things in life- kicking ass, taking names, breaking the teeth ofthe bad guys and doing his best to be a good
citizen.
The movie takes a sinister turn when real bona fide bad guys
show up in town one day intent on stealing a priceless piece of antiquity, an 800 year old spear belonging to a famous
Chinese general from the distant yet heroic past. Our young protagonist stumbles into the middle
of this, and the fight is on. The local police give Lao San a hard time but
realize that he is a very simple minded good guy and end up having a grudging
respect and liking toward this innocent, child like , two fisted, two footed
dealer of street justice.
Starring – Ye Liu as Lao San, Anthony Wang as one of the real bad guys, and Yong Yu as the police
captain. Most of us in the west will have never seen these people, but they are
all big stars of Chinese cinema.
Rating – 9 of 10, would have been a 10 if it was in English.
Tremendous action, Good over Evil and
the simple joys of seeing justice done all add up to a great way to spend an
hour and half.
Recommended highly !
You tube trailer :
And here is a big thank you to Amazon for posting this review.
you can buy the movie there :
