Wonderfully offbeat film!
Very well executed
just watch it!
Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
View MoreThis film is in Korean with English subtitles. It defaults to no subtitles. The DVD lacks any commentary, which I would have watched on this particular film.This production consists of three sharp stories, the first being my favorite.The first feature smartly utilizes the story of the apple in the garden of Eden as a metaphor for Pandora's box. A rotten apple finds its way into the food chain as cow meal. Humans consume meat from the cow and get a "mad cow's disease" which causes them to act like zombies. The film claims it is a virus, but clearly it is prions. Oprah was right! I loved this zombie explanation.The second feature is about a robot who develops his own conscientiousness and is proclaimed to be Buddha due to his enlightenment. This segment contains heavy speeches concerning how man has become slaves to his inventions to the point that they impact on his evolution.The third segment concerns a young girl who orders an eight ball on line only to find out it is being delivered from outer space in the form of a huge meteor that will destroy the planet.
View MoreIf you can live with the Korean style of human expression: abrasive, aggressive, cruel, and loud, you will find this film wonderfully imaginative. I admit I have some prejudices against a culture of violence and domination, but the Koreans can't pretend to be otherwise. The Japanese seem to disguise their violence and cruelty quite well, for instance. So it takes me a few dozens films of Korea to get me to overcome the bias. Having said that, the central episode / story of this 3-part anthology is most breathtaking. Beautifully shot. Clear and clean script. Thought-provoking underlined message. I am a Buddhist. I experience first-hand the great contrast of scientific go-getting and religious cry for us to accept whatever the present. The Buddha robot represents us very well, and quite understandable to the ones who are not Buddhists. This episode does not set to convert anybody religiously, but it successfully conveys the anguishes and self-conflicts reasonably well. I am not very much into the first and the final episodes. They are too abrasive and too loud to think anything deep. Even a death, or freaking zombies, can be nice and serene. The eighth ball that destroyed the world? Entertaining and imaginative in young adults' way. It leaves nothing. Cinematically, there are some scenes or shots which I think memorable and telling. A dirty trash can with strayed cats around is one. Creepy and indicative. Buddha robot's movement in general is another. Serene and internalizing. Korean filmmakers are now on top of their game, production-wise. But for culture and internal feelings, that's another story.
View MoreIf there's a common point that links all 3 of these short movies, it's how they show human stupidity and the realistic statement that that's the reason why we are coming to our own end.The first movie present us with a zombie scenario, more credible than those created by other movies. It's a superb critic of a society drowned in consumerism, the abuse of other life forms and the worshipping of the shallow. It also presents us with the hypocrisy people live by, with somehow subtle imagery of religion and the disregard for those same values when it comes to feeling pleasure through the material and sex. The point of view is original, for which we see the event unfold mostly from the perspective of a zombie, rather than a hero trying to save him/herself. The film is filled with humour, although an underlying seriousness is palpable.The second movie is a completely different story. It's comparable to Ghost in the Shell for its cyberpunk elements as well as deep philosophy. There's no comedy here. It's the only film with no direct doomsday scenario, although the human folly is obviously present. The future presented here is most plausible and, indeed, this is likely to happen sooner or later. This film is worth watching on its own, if you want to skip the other 2.The last film is pure absurd comedy. I personally didn't find it amusing, particularly after watching the previous one. The nonsensical idea of this movie is not helped by the fact that the plot wasn't really thought throughly, and not much effort was put into giving any sense to anything, even to the parts that supposedly help the movie unfolds (i.e.: they randomly find silly solutions out of nowhere, comparable to the "deus ex machina" a child playing with toys would create).Alas, I'd give individual scores as follows: First movie 5/10 Second one 7/10 Final movie 2/10
View MoreI'm writing this based on my first impression of the film. (I generally don't like to do this for films with subtitles, as the first time I focus (of course) on reading the dialogue where as the next few times I can truly "see" the rest of the movie.) The first story is of a man and his love as they go thru the Zombie apocalypse. I'd say it's a romance complemented by some horror and a dash of humor. Nothing great here, but a well done story. 6/10The film's second act is about a sentient robot that faces his potential demise and the technician who is put in the middle of it all. This part of the film is excellent. It's incredibly well done all the way around. If you like sci-fi that truly makes you think, that makes you question how you define the human experience then you will like this. The story's exploration of the philosophy of existence using a Buddhist backdrop is incredibly interesting. This section alone is worth seeing the movie over and over again in my opinion. 12/10The third narrative involves a girl accidentally ordering an alien, oversize billiard ball that ends up destroying life on earth. This section to me was pointless and unnecessary. There was nothing entertaining or redeeming about it. Standing on its own, I think it would be bad. Fitting it together with the other 2 stories just makes it appear even worse and throws off the flow of the film. 1/10These grades average out to about a 6 but I bumped the overall grade up to a 7 based on the incredible strength of the second narrative. Check it out and if your crunched for time just skip the 3rd act.
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