Rowan Sullivan

396

From What is Before (Philippines)

From What is Before Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

This is Lav Diaz. He’s one of torch bearers of the slow film movement having made some of the longest cinematic films. In From What is Before he documents the history of a small rural town in the Philippines during Marcos’ rule. Like Gabriel Garcia’s Macondo, this small town serves as a metaphor for the entire country. As a result, this is your chance to experience contemporary Filipino history.

Here’s a little snippet courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival. It shows you exactly what slow cinema is like – are you patient enough to try it?

Why Watch From What is Before?
  • You want to one of the best examples of Slow Film there is!
  • To truly immerse yourself in the recent history of the Philippines
  • Witness how fear can undermine a community
  • For your chance to see the beautiful Filipino countryside in monochrome
The Breakdown

“This story is a memory of my country”

The film starts with a beautiful black and white shot of the Filipino countryside. You can see the fields of corn, tall hills in the distance, and a small shack in the foreground. This is the rural Philippines in 1970.

From the outset you can tell this is a slow film. You can tell because the camera rarely moves, each of the shots lasts for at least 2 minutes, and there is very little dialogue. Contrast this with the 5 second shot length in Hollywood films, and a load of action and dialogue, and you’ll understand why this is called slow film.

The length of From What is Before allows Lav Diaz (the director) to properly show us the gradual growth of fear in the rural town he examines. You’ll meet all the people of the town before the first signs of Marcos’ martial law start appearing around the 3 hour mark. Then you’ll see how the military rule slowly undermines the community through fear.

Conclusion

For an exploration into the power of fear in undermining unity, this film is a masterclass. Watch as Marcos’ martial law slowly envelops a small town in the Filipino country.

For more Slow film try the following:

397

Train to Busan (South Korea)

Train to Busan Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

This is the best Zombie Train film there is. If you love zombies (think Walking Dead, 24 days later, or World War Z) you’ll love this film. If you love train films (Snowpiercer, Transsiberian) you’ll love this film. Finally, if you love a great thriller film, you’ll also love this film. Need I say more?

As usual, best to only watch 40secs of the trailer to avoid any spoilers!

Why Watch Train to Busan?
  • It’s one of the good zombie films out there
  • It’s also a great train movie (on terms with Snowpiercer, another great South Korean film)
  • There’s plenty of glorious action
  • All complemented by some great action cinematography (mostly shot within the confines of the train carriage)
The Breakdown

Train to Busan, like many great horror movies starts with a prelude of what’s to come. A farmer drives his truck through a quarantine zone. His truck is sprayed and ushered through the quarantine. On the other side, he runs over a young deer, curses his shitty day, and drives off. The camera stays fixed on the dead deer in the road, and after a few seconds, comes back to life and limps off into the bush.

Following the dramatic opening, the film introduces us to Seok-woo, a cold office boss who doesn’t really care about his little daughter. He treats his mum like a maid and messes up his kids birthday. He even stands up his daughter when she is singing a song at a concert especially for him. What a guy! Will it take a train full of zombies to make him care for his daughter?

Conclusion

This is the best zombie train movie that I have ever seen (it’s also a great thriller). It has the typical range of characters, the genre faithful story-line, and doesn’t take it self too seriously.

What caught my eye was the great camera work within the small space of the train carriage. Most of the action is shot from within the carriage with a mix of handheld shots. But the director creates space by mixing in tracking shots from outside the train carriage (where the camera moves alongside the train) and shots looking at the other carriages. Check it out for yourself!

 

398

Okja (South Korea)

Okja Film Difficulty Ranking: 1

At last, a film on Film Root that you can watch with a large popcorn and coke. It’s just like the Hollywood blockbusters you are familiar with and you can watch it on Netflix! It has a recognizable cast, action, clear demarcations between good and evil, and drama. You’ll also get Film Root points for watching this, as it is made by Korean Bong Joon-ho and features a bit of Korean! So have a day off from the art-house and slow films usually on here and enjoy!

Here’s a teaser trailer (no spoilers this time)

Why Watch Okja?
  • It’s a Hollywood film, it’s mostly in English, and it’s on Netflix! It’s an easy way for you to say you’ve watched an international film!
  • To see more from Bong Joon-ho, the great Korean director behind The Host and Snowpiercer
  • Learn about the brutal side of the food industry (to learn even more check out Food Inc)
  • If you like cute pigs!
Breakdown

You’ll see the high heeled Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) open the film with a swanky presentation that is one part Steve Jobs and two parts Pop Idol. She introduces Mirando (a rip on the real life Monsanto) and their latest innovation that will solve world hunger: a Super Pig.

For the Pop Idol twist, Lucy Mirando introduces a worldwide competition. She will send a bunch of Super Pigs to the best farmers from around the world and see who can raise the best Super Pig.

Sure enough, one of these Super Pigs is sent to Korea. As next we follow Mija, the young farm girl who takes care of Okja.

From the scenes with Okja and Mija, the director makes it clear that Okja is more than just a piece of meat. Okja helps Mija catch fish and harvest fruit and even saves Mija’s life in one of the opening scenes. These early scenes with Mija and Okja establish that Okja is a sentient and intelligent being.

However, Mirando, like the real life Monsanto and any good capitalist business is all about profit margins. Despite the best PR attempts of Lucy to hide her company’s lack of responsibility, it is obvious to us that they are bad!

Conclusion

Okja brings the ugly corporate controlled food industry to Hollywood with style! It has everything you want if you’re used to Hollywood blockbusters and you can watch it at home on Netflix!

Favourite quotes from the film (the first is also a personal goal of mine):

“Learn a new language – it opens doors!”

“Translations are sacred”

399

White Sun (Nepal)

White Sun Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

In White Sun, a Maoist rebel returns home to bury his Royalist father after peace has been reached in the Nepali Civil War. He comes face-to-face with a neighborhood that fought against him in the war. Will he be welcomed back or will old enemies and hatred be rekindled?

As usual only watch he first 40 secs of this trailer, unless you’re happy to venture into spoiler territory!

Why Watch White Sun?
  • To see a film from Nepal (a country not known for it’s films)
  • For an opportunity to learn about the Nepali Civil War (fought from 1996-2006) something that I didn’t know anything about!
  • See Nepal’s beautiful scenery and cultural diversity whilst learning a bit about Nepali customs and tradition as well!
  • It’s a comedy! But not just a comedy – you will learn a lot along the way
The Breakdown

The first thing you notice in White Sun is the beautiful scenery. It opens with a widescreen shot of mountainous hills with Himalayan peaks in the background. We can hear a radio playing in the background: a peace deal has been reached between the Maoists and the Royalists, putting an end to the 10 year Civil War.

In the next scene a Maoist rebel returns home from the city. He has come home after a long absence to bury his Royalist father. From the start he is neither welcomed by his family and former neighbors and does not seem too happy to be home. It is clear that the recent peace deals have not healed the wounds of the recent Civil War.

This village also hasn’t forgotten the caste system that the Maoists fought to eradicate. In this rural town, a young boy thinks he isn’t human (he thinks he’s a porter) and women pollute the dead (by simply touching them).

Conclusion

While relations between the returning Maoist and the traditional village folk festers, the children offer a vision for a peaceful future. This is a heart-warming but insightful film that explores the lasting effects of the Nepali Civil War.

 

 

400

Over the Years (Austria)

Over the Years Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

Want to watch a slow 3 hour documentary starring a group of Austrian factory workers? Probably doesn’t sound too enticing right?

Well you shouldn’t be put off. During these three hours you will gain a greater appreciation of life and death.

Why Watch Over the Years?
  • You want to watch a long documentary that explores the meaning of life
  • To understand what it is like living from week to week in Europe
  • See an example of the industries that have been left behind by modernization (this one is a good companion to Factory)
  • Get to know a group of Austrian’s intimately over a 10 year period
The Breakdown

The Anderl factory near Schrems (in Austria) once employed 250 people to produce textiles. In 2004 only a handful are still working at the factory.

This is the story of the handful still working at the factory in 2004. The film visits the group every few years over a ten year period to see how their lives are changing.

Ultimately, their lives are not changing. Even though the factory closes down, they end up in similar jobs after periods of unemployment. Some of them prefer their new jobs, some of them retire and pick up some hobbies. It is all pretty mundane – none of them leave town or try anything different to what is expected of them.

It is as if they are just living out their allotted time like the decline of the factory they worked at. The factory faded away with the tide of modernization and globalization. Similarly, over the ten years of filming, the characters slowly age, hinting that they (like us) will fade away too.

Conclusion

So what is great about this film then if it’s just a portrait of the mundane? Well, for me, it’s the incredible portrait of time passing. You get to witness this group of people experience ups and downs. You get to live their lives for 3 hours. And what does that give you? A much greater understanding of the meaning of life. It made me appreciate my mortality and the limited time I have on this earth. DEEP!