Hypnotised to conform?

Old Boy (Korean; 2003)
Director: Park Chan-wook

It looks like we are walking around like hypnotised beings, doing what is taught to us. We were coached to hold specific values close to our hearts because that seems the only correct way to live our lives. Again and again, we are drilled with these ideas to give a sacrosanct feel to it. In a way, we are all zombies walking around doing things expected of us. The funny thing is that nobody knows what is expected from our existence. We are told that, unlike other creations, humans are given that unique sense called consciousness that puts us apart from animals. Hence, there is a need to follow specific rules.

Living life by preset man-made rules must be difficult. Failure to conform carries a baggage load of guilt, and the results may not be most welcoming. Anger toward one's own self may cause malady of the mind. Anger towards others will invoke the very primitive primal desires that we kept suppressed as we become more 'civilised'. That act is Revenge. This film is the second offering of the director's trilogy on Revenge - the first being 'The Sympathy for Mr Vengeance' (2002) and the last being 'Lady Vengeance' (2005).

This story is about the annoying drunk Oh Dae-su, who is caught by the police for unruly behaviour. He is bailed out by his friend. Dae-su soon goes missing afterwards. In fact, he is imprisoned in a hotel for 15 years, where his only contact with the outside world is a TV. He soon realises that he is wanted for killing his wife. Confused with the whole arrangement, he is released one day. Dae-su tries to find his captor and the real reason behind his incarceration.

The convoluted movie deals with many unpleasant subjects like incest and suicide. A thought-provoking one, though. 4.5/5.

(It seems that the 1998 Asian Economic Crisis was a turning point for Korean cinema. When all other industries were down, the government decided to give incentives to its film industry. Pretty soon, the world started seeing quality Korean miniseries and soap operas. Way before 'Paradise' won the Oscars, there were already in existence many avant-garde Korean films which pushed the boundaries of film-making.)

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The ends, not the means?

Fly by Night (Malaysian, 2019)

Once a while you get a good Malaysian movie without the usual ridiculing of races or filled with simpleton slap slick comedy. This is it. There are no attempts by the moviemakers to ensure that the characters are overtly different. They are who they are, Malaysians, and they act their roles. They switch between Malay, English and Cantonese seamlessly, with no demarcation of us and them.

Every scene springs familiarity as the background has been seen in real life many times before. The settings are authentic, like the back lanes and the interior of a typical working-class Chinese family.

The film centres around a band of brothers in a small family business of extortion and trickery. They use their city taxis and the airport terminal as their fronts for their nefarious activities. Their quiet business becomes a mess as their firebrand youngest brash family member spring wings and wants to explore greener pastures. A scorned mistress who is hellbent on seeking revenge from her jilting wealthy married boyfriend, everything goes wrong. Hot on their trail are the police and the leader of a triad whom the young member had royally pissed.

Trying to make everything as authentic as possible, I fail to see why they decided not to leave the 'TEKSI' labels on the cabs but rebrand it as 'TAXI'.

Mafia Boss Michael Corleone makes his confession to a 

Cardinal in “The Godfather-Part III” 

Credit: mozarellamamma.com

The world tries to divide all our actions into either good or bad. Professions associated with elements of gambling, intoxication and sex unsanctioned by the institute of marriage are frowned upon. Wealth acquired through these means is considered unholy. In reality, wealth is wealth. It does not matter where it came from. At the end of the day, one is either poor or rich. When he is rich, everything he does is right. He can even 'sanitise' his 'unholy' income.

Take the example of information technology. The leaps and bounds of progress that it has made is not merely via kosher means. Porn and porn-related industries form the backbone of the research and advancements that it has made. Nobody scorns the headways the digital world has executed but tribute it to the intelligence of computer scientists. The spread of successful small businesses and multitudes of trades based on algorithms helps to erase the internet of its somewhat tainted pass.

As a passing, one should not forget that the seemingly religious Sicilian mafias continue their treacherous activities planned right under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Churches. Their relationship can be described as twisted. The Mafia bosses baptise their children, attend Mass, wear crosses, pray to Madonna but their faith gets intertwined with acts of violence.

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There is no one truth!

Badla (Revenge, Hindi, 2019)


Dhritarashtra, the blind king of the Kauravas, wanted an up-to-date account of the war. He summoned his charioteer, Sanjaya, who is said to have telepathic powers to describe the events in Kurushetra. 

The narration of the battle is from one person's perspective (i.e. Sanjaya). It is told in a version the listener wants to hear, i.e. how his army is doing. The truth is not something so clear cut. It is akin to a blind man describing an elephant, standing at one end of the animal. The understanding of the whole picture depends on where he is coming from. 

If Bhagavadgita were told by Draupadi, it would be a description of revenge and justification of violence on the grounds of humiliation and protecting one's dignity. As arbitration to avert war between cousins, the Pandavas and Kauravas, was on-going, Draupadi was all out for a clash to settle the score.

Influenced by how one tells his story, his body language, his persuasive skill, and how much he can use his sophist skills, he can manipulate the situation as he wants. It is not about fighting for justice or fear of retribution that seems to be the correct thing to do. In the modern world, it is rhetoric, deviant criminal minds and lawyers in expensive suits who will save the day.

In the cerebral battle of the minds, the truth can bend, and a lie may turn white. Forgiveness may become an act of revenge, and the truth may lie in the details. 

This Hindi crime drama is a gripping tale of a high-flying award-winning businesswoman who is embroiled in the murder of her lover. The successful woman is under house arrest and may be imprisoned in three hours. The whole movie is about her conversation with her new appointment, hot-shot lawyer. Yoyoing between truths and untruths, both try to find a sure way to save her skin. What awaits them at the end is the crux of the movie.

Nice one. 4.5/5.

The adage 'truth will prevail' is a fallacy. It just a lullaby song to pacify losers. The truth is determined by the victors who would cast it in stone as the ultimate truth.

In the end, the truth will prevail. Good and evil keep at war.

Whichever wins, future will believe it as the prevailing truth.”

― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

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Spice, the variety of life!

Nocturnal Animal (2016)
Screenplay and Direction: Tom Ford

Probably, from the time our pre-frontal lobes of the brain started becoming more complex, humankind must have started wondering the meaning of it all, the meaning of our existence, the path for us to follow and the dos and don'ts of life. We must have wondered whether we were made to follow a predestined pathway of life or we are all different beings with different destinations and map to follow. We may have thought that our varied capabilities, capacities and composition are the very essence that makes the world to exist.

Hence, we cannot expect every individual to be moulded out to fit into a certain preset prototype in a society. Everyone is different and the society indeed needs variety in its netizens' make up for its continuity.

Maybe because we are scared what the future holds for us, we want to follow the path most taken and insist that our loved ones do the same. Unfortunately, not everyone is cut for this. This leads to breakdowns of our relationship.

This visually pleasing presentation by a world renowned fashion designer tries to depict the revenge of a man whose inner capabilities were stunted by his better half who thought that, in order to succeed, one has to follow the oft-taken weather beaten path. Nothing else is good enough. It goes on to prove, in an interesting way, with a story within a story way, that everybody has talent and it is up to us to build the courage to showcase it to the world for approval. The ending is kept vague to spur to imagine in our mind on the purpose of the storyteller's actions. An interesting watch.