Every now and then I compile a list of movies I’m dying to watch but haven’t, due to (non)availability. They’re either released a long, long time ago, rendering it extremely difficult to obtain the video/DVD, or non-Hollywood. And as you all know, just a very small number of non-American movies are released here in Indonesia, either in theatrical release or DVD/video.
So, without further ado, here they are:
1) Beck
This movie was released last year, I think. It’s a Japanese movie about five guys from a band called Beck (a.k.a Mongolian Chop Squad), trying to make it in the music world. This one’s an adaptation from a shounen manga by Harold Sakuishi. I quite enjoy the manga, that’s why I’m looking forward to the live-action movie. Rumor has it that Blitz Megaplex is trying to get the right to play this movie in their cinema. I only hope that it’s true! (Speaking about the manga, Sakuishi-sensei modified famous music album covers for the opening page of the manga’s chapters. My favorite is this, which is a homage for Oasis’s Definitely Maybe.
Comment: Mediocre. But what they did with Koyuki's singing voice is commendable. (Since his voice is supposed to be really good, whenever he sings, the audio is muted. It's up to us, the audience, to imagine how beautiful it is.) Better stick to reading the manga.
2) Linda, Linda, Linda
Another Japanese movie about music. A group of Japanese high-school girls found their band in need of a guitar player, their guitarist suffering an injury, a short time before the cultural festival. In this time of need, they had no choice but to ask help from a foreign-exchange student from Korea. Not too special, but this is pretty much the type of movie that can make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Comment: Amazing. The movie is slow-moving, but it's never boring. The story and the acting are so natural that you don't feel like watching a movie, just a slice of life. And Paran Maum is very cool, just like a punk band should be!
3) Ningen Shikkaku
Literally translates to “no longer qualified as human”, this is a movie adaptation of Dazai Osamu’s most famous and last novel. Considered to be semi-autobiographical, it’s about a young man who suffered a psychological trauma as child, spending his life in depression and debauchery. This is a movie worth to watch, if only for the privilege to see Ikuta Toma’s face on the big screen ;p.
4) Rashomon
Kurosawa Akira. Legend. Enough said.
Comment: Not as satisfying as I hoped it would be, due to over-expectation on my part. And since I'm already familiar with the plot, having read Akutagawa's short story, the movie didn't really give me that sense of wonder and shock. I'm sorry, Kurosawa-sensei.
5) Some Kind of Wonderful
Your typical John Hughes movie about a boy and a girl. This girl and that boy have been best friends forever. The tomboyish girl falls in love with the boy, but the boy falls for the beautiful, popular girl in the neighborhood. The tomboyish girl tries to help her friend winning the heart of that popular girl, but then . . . . The ending is quite obvious, really. Not to mention that it is more than just a little corny. Sorry, but I simply can’t help being a corny person and loving corny movies :p.
Comment: It really gives you warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I'm constantly amazed at how John Hughes managed to capture the day-to-day struggle of being a teenager--falling in love, anxiety over your look, aspiration for the future--without resorting to the ridiculous or the crasss *cough*American Pie*cough*. Simply put, I love the movie.
