Bichunmoo

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I know very little about Korean films and only a fraction more about the Wuxia genre in Chinese cinema. Even then, my knowledge is based on films such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero which are aimed more at the Western market and probably not representative of the genre at all. But Bichunmoo was one of the first wire-work martial arts films I saw and it’s a little more unusual in that it is Korean. I love it so much because in many ways it reminds me of a cheesy masala film. It has all the necessary ingredients – tragic lovers, excellent sword fights, a hero who refuses to die despite some very convincing attempts on his life, a significant necklace, an evil warlord and even a dance number!

Bichunmoo is based on a comic series which ran to six volumes, and that is a lot of story to fit into 2 hours. Nevertheless, director Young-jun Kim includes as much as he can with the result that the film is at times hard to follow and almost every scene contains important plot points. Blink and it’s easy to get lost. To add to the confusion, the film was originally longer but a number of scenes were cut to make it fit into the two hour slot demanded by Korean cinemas. This means that there are characters that suddenly appear with no explanation of who they are. The film also jumps forward ten years and it’s hard to realise this has happened as the characters don’t age, and the advance in time is never mentioned. However despite these flaws there is plenty to enjoy and it’s certainly never dull.

The film opens with Jin-ha (Hyeon-jun Shin) drifting down a river towards an army encampment. This gentle beginning doesn’t last long though as’ Ten Black Swordsmen’ explode out of the water and make quick work of the opposing Mongolian soldiers in the first of many excellently choreographed fight scenes. The next scene cuts to Jin-ha rather morosely sitting on a rooftop gazing forlornly at his lost love Sullie (Hee-seon Kim) and then quickly moves on to a flashback of their lives together as children. Jin-ha grows up under the tutelage of his uncle Kwakjung (Ju-bong Gi) and learns from the Bi Chun Shi Gi Sword Fighting Book – doesn’t every master swordsman have to start somewhere?

Sullie is the daughter of a Mongolian general and his concubine, but when her mother dies General Taruga (Hak-cheol Kim) takes Sullie to the city. Before leaving she gives Jin-ha one half of a jade necklace and arranges for them to meet in the city proving that no matter how fragile she looks, Sullie is one tough customer and not easily pushed around. Jin-ha’s uncle is killed by assassins trying to steal the secrets of Bi Chun Shi Gi but before he dies he reveals that Jin-ha is in fact the son of a Korean nobleman Lord Yu, and asks his student to take revenge on his parents’ killers. Who just happen to be the General Taruga and his men. This takes us about 10 minutes into the story and already we have separated lovers, a desperate heroine, vengeful hero and an angry father – phew!

Jin-ha sets off to find Sullie and on the way is attacked by yet more assassins after his sword-fighting secrets. A Mongolian noble Namgung Junkwang comes to Jin-ha’s aid using a fan rather than a sword to defeat the assassins in an impressive and very fast action sequence. Meanwhile Jin-ha shows off his technique of Bi Chun Shi Gi which allows him to attack his enemies using the force of chi alone. It’s very cool.

On arriving in the city, Jin-ha learns that Sullie is engaged to marry his new friend to help further her father’s political ambitions. Jin-ha attempts to run away with Sullie but the two are caught and after yet another superb fight scene Jin-ha is shot full of arrows by the treacherous General Taruga and falls off a cliff into a river. It’s interesting to note that the technique of Bi Chun Shi Gi not only allows you to explode your enemies but also has the ability to make your word glow green!

Jin-ha is however rather difficult to kill – he’s not going to let a few arrows, a large fall and near drowning stop him. He is found by Ashin (Su-ro Kim) who heals him with some village remedies which seem to involve a lot of mud. At some point here we jump forward in time where Sullie believes Jin-ha is dead and is now married to Namgung Junkwang and has a 10 year old son, Namgung Sung (Bang Hyep). Jin-ha has become the cold and ruthless Jaha-lang and is followed by the’ Ten Black Swordsmen’ who are all trained in the art of Bi Chun Shi Gi and look like very cool Goth ninja assassins. Jin-ha is aiding the rather despotic Han leader Jo-beak Seung and his evil general Saijune (Tae-hwa Seo) in their mission to kill all the Mongolians and generally mopes around trying to get over his lost love. However in the course of the Han’s campaign Sullie and Jin-ha meet again on opposing sides of the war and you just know they’re not heading for a happy ending.

There is a lot more to the plot and there are betrayals, revelations, more assassination attempts and an ‘other woman’ in Lady Yeo-jin. It’s a story on an epic scale and really deserves more than 2 hours since a few scenes end up feeling rushed and there are some relationships which would have benefitted from further development. However the film looks stunning, the story does make sense despite the deleted scenes and the fight scenes are well integrated into the storyline. Although the actors are Korean, the film was shot in China using their more experienced crews, and it shows in the attention to detail throughout. The costumes by Min-hee Kim are wonderful and Hee-seon Kim is stunningly beautiful and ethereal as Sullie. Although her character seems quite passive, she fights back effectively against her father and is also quite capable of picking up a sword to defend herself if needed. She looks amazing here as she dances for the Han chief Jo-beak Seung and despite her rather fragile appearance she is much stronger than she looks.

Hyeon-jun Shin is excellent as Jin-ha and convinces as the stoical hero. He is honest and innocent at the start of the story but changes as events turn him into a deadly fighter seeking revenge. He doesn’t let much emotion show on his face until it really counts, but his eyes speak volumes especially as he gazes at Sullie. Like all good heroes you know that his strength and loyalty will be there when needed and then he will never, ever give up. Jin-yeong Jeong is also excellent as Sullie’s husband who is also desperately in love with her but cannot ever replace Jin-ha in her heart.  The other supporting characters play their parts well, and in particular Han-gari Lee is memorable as Jin-ha’s lieutenant Changryeon. The story of the tragic lovers is very over the top and melodramatic but works well as the driving force for Jin-ha’s actions and is really more convincing than relying on the revenge plot alone.

The action is fast paced and frequent with fantastic fight scenes choreographed by Yuk-sing Ma. The atmospheric soundtrackby Seong-jun Kim gets replaced during the fights with electric guitars which gives a much harder edge and makes more of an impact. The Bi Chun Shin Gi technique allows Jin-ha to use force against his enemies and rather interestingly they burst apart in showers of dust rather than blood and gore, although there are the occasional rather anatomically unlikely spurts of blood to enjoy!

It is all very spectacular and although occasionally confusing the story is compelling. It’s not a great martial arts film and although I haven’t seen the comics I’ve read that it’s not a great adaptation of these either. But it is an excellent film if you take it as a love story and just enjoy the wonderful fight scenes and glorious cinematography without worrying about the jumps in the timeline or the suddenly appearing major characters. 4 stars.

Don 2

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Don 2 was so much fun! I really like the 2006 film, and this is a great second chapter. Don 2 is not a police procedural or an examination of the drug trade. It’s one man’s fight to get his life back and live on his own terms. Does it matter that his life is based on drugs, murder and mayhem? Not really. You don’t have to like him or his business to wonder how he is going to do it.

Looking bedraggled and scruffy, it seems life on the run since the first film has been hard on Don (Shah Rukh Khan). He is tired and wants to go back to the high living he is accustomed to. He will have to eliminate his enemies and outwit the law. But if your cash flow depends on trade of some sort, how can you kill everyone and still be in business? And what to do about those pesky police? The gleefully improbable plot rolls on with a cast of human dominoes set up and knocked down as Don wreaks havoc. Farhan Akhtar clearly didn’t invest as much in his writing as in the visuals, and while that does lead to some WTFery, it is so entertaining that I didn’t care one whit. The double crosses and manipulation drive the plot along at a cracking pace.

SRK started his career as a baddie and that is my favourite kind of role for him. He brings a reptilian coldness to Don that is usually masked by a twinkle and a smirk, and his charm is used deliberately to seduce or scare. Don is an enigma and I like that. I find it tiresome to have every villain given a tragic back story so we can see how they went bad and feel sorry for them. Don is unapologetic and he is not looking for moral redemption. He’s also quite irritating, as though he is so bored by always being 3 steps ahead that he acts up just for fun. Actually, he reminded me a little of a much loved pet, my tiny Chihuahua who always acted like he was a big scary dog – they share the same self-belief. Don may seem smaller and less impressive than his opponents, but he has supreme self confidence, and no sense that he may appear to be ridiculous. The dual roles of the first film have been transposed into two sides of his character. Shah Rukh shows a playful side when he is taunting adversaries or flirting with Roma, but he also shows implacable rage when he is thwarted. Don never gives up on himself and that’s why he outlasts his enemies. Considering the number of people he hired or could afford to hire, Don was very hands-on and a control freak. What a nightmare boss! No wonder he struggled to find good help.

Don’s wardrobe lacks the flamboyance of the first film which is, perhaps, a shame. I suspect some of the drug lords’ attire in an early scene was inspired by him, so there are a few choice shirts on display. Don has a predilection for leather, but usually keeps it simple. The characters don’t look like tourists in Berlin – there’s no blinged up denim in sight. They dress to blend in and to suit their role. It’s a small facet of the great attention to visuals throughout the film. Shah Rukh does get some very bad hair in the first section of the film.

I hoped his microbraids may have housed an ingenious MacGyver style mechanism for a jail break, but no, it was just another bad wig. Maybe in the next film!

Priyanka is good as Roma, although her role is less prominent this time. Roma is a driven career cop, as obsessed with Don as he is with himself. Their love/hate attraction is still there, and Don knows it. Roma has a strong but lowkey presence, feminine but not girly. Sparks fly in her verbal encounters with Don and the dialogue crackles and flows between them. But what has Priyanka done to her nose? It was quite distracting.

Ayesha (Lara Dutta) is not just Don’s piece of fluff, she executes some important tasks, and Lara played Ayesha as smart. But there was little for her to do and she is a better actress than this role allows her to demonstrate. Sadly the one big dance number was picturised on her and she looked badly dressed, awkward and out of time.

Boman Irani was in scene stealing form as the former kingpin Vardhaan. He is such a good actor that I sometimes forget he is acting – I just see nice, likeable Boman and then he turns evil. He is the ideal counterfoil to Shah Rukh’s preening Don, adding a heavier energy to the ensemble. He also scored some of the biggest laughs with a scene involving a scientist who was so boring you could almost see Vardhaan aging as he listened.

Kunal Kapoor looks set to inherit the franchise as son of Don or something. As hacker Sameer, he seemed to spend more time spray painting vans and the like than actually hacking. He is decorative enough but I don’t think he has come close to recapturing his acting form in Rang De Basanti. Om Puri makes a return as Malik, who is on his way to retirement. His role seemed to set up Roma as his successor in the force rather than actually doing anything. The European support cast are surprisingly not completely terrible so that was nice to see.

The music by Shankar-Ehsan-Lloy is unimpressive, and the couple of dances were also underwhelming. What on earth was Hrithik Roshan doing  when he was supposed to be waltzing? All that tippy toeing round in circles was ridiculous. How much cooler would it have been if the character ‘impersonating’ Hrithik had ripped off a prosthetic thumb instead of a mask! The closing number over the titles was fun for the Bond flavoured visuals.

The action is brilliantly executed. Matthias Barsch did a fantastic job of maximising the impact of the star talent and seamlessly integrating doubles for the tough stuff. Shah Rukh was Don fighting for his life, waiting for his break and ruthless when it came. Priyanka’s action scenes are as physical as any of the men, and she gives the effort and intensity that makes Roma a ‘junglee billi’.

Don borrows liberally from Bond and Mission Impossible etc, but the whole genre is built on one-upmanship. A stunt in one is pushed further and faster in another and so it goes. It’s not the style for delicate psychological insights and introspection as it is about what happens next. The pace is perfect and I never felt that things dragged or went too fast. The locations are used well, and really add something to the flavour of the film. I like a big glossy action thriller, especially when the anti-hero is having as much fun as Don.

For me, Don 2 builds on the 2006 version and gives great bang for your buck. It’s pretty clear the way has been paved for another adventure. Roll on Don 3!

Heather says: The problem with sequels is that they often try too hard to be bigger and better than the original and end up failing rather spectacularly. Don 2 doesn’t. It is bigger, better and more spectacular than the first film and I loved it! Farhan Akhtar’s previous Don was one of my favourite Shahrukh Khan films and this is the first film since Om Shanti Om where I have wanted to watch the film again right away. Shahrukh Khan is so very, very good at being bad. I much prefer him in a negative role where he can be totally evil and chilling and yet in the blink of an eye change and schmooze with his leading lady or charm his erstwhile enemy into taking part in his latest scheme. Yes, there were parts that didn’t work as well but once Don was back on-screen these faded from importance. Priyanka was great in the action scenes although I still find the plot point that has her attracted to the man who killed her brother and sister-in-law to be a little strange. More believable is her obsession with capturing Don and this was well captured in the story. I also really enjoyed Lara Dutta’s Ayesha who was very capable and clever, and also had the best outfits apart from the dreadful dress in the dance number Temple has mentioned.

The whole film looked very slick and polished with great cinematography, in particular for the scenes in Europe. The action  was excellently choreographed as Temple said and I liked that there were plenty of good old-fashioned beat ’em up fights rather than too much reliance on guns and other weapons. Although there were enough explosions to keep me happy but nothing beats the crack as Don breaks yet another bad guy! There was plenty of variety in the action shots, helped by the different locations, but each action scene was set up and played out uniquely which was impressive for a movie with so much happening. I did think that Boman Irani’s Vardhaan was a little underused and would have liked to see a little more interaction between him and Don, but that may have made an already convoluted plot just a little too much to follow. I liked Kunal Kapoor as Sameer and appreciated the fact that his character was given a little more depth and empathy, although I think that counts him out as being a Don protégé as he was just too nice.

This was such a fun film to watch, with a really excellent performance from Shahrukh. I totally agree with Temple – Don3 next!

 

Sivaji (2007)

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Sivaji is a wonderfully over-the-top film celebrating all things Rajinikanth. There are references to the superstar’s previous films and to his own life, plenty of classic Rajni style and he’s present in almost every frame. Sivaji also features stunning sets for the songs and a myriad of different looks for Rajinikanth throughout the film. While the story has an interesting plot involving corruption, the screenplay gets somewhat tangled in the numerous set-ups to introduce the next song or fight scene.  But in the face of so much else that is fantastic, the disjointed nature of the story doesn’t seem to matter. When the first song is as much fun as this, then the film is already a winner for me. This features Nayantara in a cameo role along with an incredible number of  men with round, jiggling painted bellies – I love it!

The film opens with Sivaji returning from the USA with truck-loads of money and deciding to set up a University and Hospital where everything will be available to the poor for free. His grand plans are opposed by local businessman Adisheshan (Suman) who blocks him at every turn. To make Sivaji’s life more difficult there is the practice of bribes and kick-backs that seems to be built in to the system at every stage. Despite his unwillingness to play along, Sivaji has no choice but to fall in line and pay everyone off if he wants to get his hospital and university built. I’m quite sure that all these people in yellow hats were the inspiration for minions in Despicable Me – or at least they should have been.

Ultimately this works to Adisheshan’s advantage when he contrives to have Sivaji arrested and charged in court. There Sivaji admits that he paid bribes to get permission to build and ends up losing everything. This might have been the end of the Sivaji foundation, but Adisheshan is the one person in Tamil Nadu who has no idea who he’s really dealing with and he rashly mocks his defeated enemy.  This sparks Sivaji’s quest for revenge, and the 1 rupee coin Adisheshan tosses at him to start his begging career becomes a talisman and also funds the start of the fight back. Sivaji devises a cunning plan to restore his finances and bring about Adisheshan’s downfall at the same time.

Rajinikanth is truly in his element here as the crusading Sivaji. He still has his trademark tricks, but this new  health conscious Sivaji spruiks the ‘cigarettes are bad for you’ message, catching mints and tossing his sunglasses instead of cigarettes. It’s all a little contrived, but the tricks are so much a part of any Rajni film that Sivaji would seem incomplete without them. There areplenty of fight scenes, and these are well choreographed by Peter Hein. The final showdown features some Matrix style action and Rajinikanth pulls it off with great style. If he has slowed down a little in some of the fight scenes and songs, well, that’s understandable but it’s barely noticeable. As well as the romantic songs, there is a fabulous sequence where Rajinikanth impersonates Sivaji Ganesan, MGR and Kamal Hassan and he gets really gets the mannerisms of the different stars very well.

During the course of his crusade against corruption, Sivaji meets and falls in love with Tamizhselvi (Shriya) and despite her family’s initial reluctance and dire predictions of disaster from the priest, the two go ahead and get married. Thankfully Shriya is much less annoying than usual, perhaps because she is totally overshadowed by Rajinikanth, but I stand by my previous observations that the more clothes she wears the less irritating she is. Her main raison d’être here is to look pretty in the songs which she does very well.

Other than her presence in the songs, Tamizhselvi is the ‘perfect Tamil girl’ of Sivaji’s dreams and that ensures plenty of traditional outfits and a fairly restrained performance, making her more tolerable than usual. Someone in wardrobe really does have a grudge against her though because she does appear in some of the worst outfits I’ve seen in the song ‘Style’.  I’m not quite sure what to make of this song for many reasons. As a song extoling style it has some truly dreadful costumes and the whole white-skinned Rajni just seems very wrong. I’m always perplexed by the quest for paler skin in India, but then I’m equally as baffled by the drive for tanned skin among Europeans. I don’t like the melody or the lyrics of this song at all, but it does feature an incredible selection of amazing wigs for Rajni and is worth watching for that alone. Pick your favourite style!

And the contrasting faces of Shriya.

While the film deals with the theme of corruption, there is still plenty of comedy along the way. Although much of the humour comes from Rajinikanth and his various mannerisms, Vivek is excellent in his role as Sivaji’s uncle Arivu and provides many funny moments. Even though I’d normally cringe at Arivu’s match-making technique of parading girls in front of Sivaji, Arivu’s character is self-aware enough to make this funny rather than crass.  There is more slapstick comedy in the scenes with Tamizhselvi’s family who disapprove of Sivaji and his exuberant family. The actor playing Tamizhselvi’s father (Pattimandram Raja) has some excellent expressions and I love the way he looks as if he smells something bad every time he sees Sivaji.

On the other hand, Suman’s Adisheshan is a very mild mannered villain without any real evil tendencies. Although I’m sure this is meant to make sure that all eyes are firmly on Sivaji, he still seems rather unimpressive in comparison. His demeanour however is quite realistic as a businessman with political leanings and his reasons for opposing Sivaji are understandable considering how much the free hospital and university will cut into his profits. His methods of opposition are also consistent with his character and perhaps S. Shankar is trying to point out that corruption can be present in even the most reasonable appearing businessman.

The second half of the film relies more heavily on the effects and gimmicks, and it’s disappointing that Vivek’s character gets more sidelined. But it’s still a lot of fun to watch mainly due to Rajinikanth’s performance. The music by A. R Rahman is excellent apart from the Style song mentioned previously, and the high budget of the film is easily explained by the song picturisations. The sets and costumes are totally fabulous and both Thotta Tharani as art director and K. V. Anand as cinematographer deserve the awards they received for their work. There are guest appearances by a number of established Tamil stars including Raghuvaran and Manivannan and  the support cast are all very competent, although generally overshadowed by the superstar.

Although Endhiran (S. Shankar’s latest film with Rajinikanth), had a bigger budget and even more special effects, I prefer Sivaji. The story is engaging despite the way it jumps around and Shankar shows corruption within government systems in a way that seems quite plausible. Even though the one man crusade requires a leap of faith, it is after all Rajni and so anything is possible. It’s one to watch for the lavishness of the sets and the larger than life presence of Rajinikanth. And for all those wigs! 4 stars.

Temple says: Sivaji is what I have come to think of as a typical Shankar blockbuster in that it is all spectacle and very little plot. I think Heather is being overly kind in saying there is a theme to the story as I see it more as a collection of ideas that never really develops. Shankar introduces statements about corruption, the brain drain overseas as bright graduates pursue careers outside of India, the returning NRI and how they navigate between worlds, the obsession with all things American being seen as ‘better’ than local, the clash between tradition and modern living and the nostalgic ideals that may no longer exist. All interesting, and yet there is no real exploration of these notions as there is too much else happening. We move from fight to song to comedy to spectacular song and rarely pause for breath. It’s hugely entertaining, but it doesn’t really bear analysis.

Rajnikanth is in excellent form and this is his film from go to whoa. Sure he is way older than his character, but it somehow works as he deadpans his youthful dialogues, daring you to not believe,  and throws himself into the action with gusto. The fights have been tailored to suit him, and the music shop sequence is one of my all time favourites from any film industry. Shriya can range from terrible (e.g. Kanthaswamy) to pretty good,  and this is one of her better performances. She handles the comedy really well  (I love her expressions in the “Chandramuhki” sequence), isn’t completely overshadowed by Rajni, and does justice to the massive song sets and costumes. And she manages to look like she isn’t staring intently at Rajni’s wigs in the romantic moments so I decided Shriya may be a better actress than I had previously thought.

See this for the spectacular sets and design, for a Superstar who can dominate the hyperactive pace and attention grabbing visuals, for the music (except Style) and for the filmi equivalent of a crazy amusement park ride. You’ll be dizzy and none the wiser at the end, but it was so much fun while it lasted. 4 stars!