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Reviews
The Prestige (2006)
An amazingly well-thought out film lost in imperfect retelling
Two magicians, Angier and Borden, become arch enemies following the accidental death of Angier's wife during a magic trick. The conflict between them escalates as they desperately seek to create the perfect human-transportation trick.
I found it profoundly difficult to follow the plot for a good first half of The Prestige, and for good reason, I believe. Two people, both dressed in black for the most part of the film, both engaged in magic tricks, both with a similar build, composed the soul of the story. Yet, it was hard for me to tell both of them apart, or indeed identify them as the main characters when they appear. In fact, seeing the movie poster again after watching the movie, I realised that the two faces on the poster does seem like the same person. To add to the difficulty of telling the characters apart, both main characters disguised themselves at some parts of the film, and it happens that understanding who is who at these portions is crucial to an understanding of the plot.
In addition, cuts that messed up the chronology could also have been found throughout the film. Some were crucial for an effective and impactful climax and resolution. Others, especially the relentless flashbacks to the prison scene, only serves to show off the director's knowledge of the flashback as a story-telling device, and ultimately leaves the viewer very confused.
After two hours of intricate building-up of the conflict, the story reveals with cunning and wit how certain elements of the plot were even possible. At the same time, it raises germane and thought-provoking issues, challenging the viewer's original perception of certain things in the story.
What makes the concluding revelation all the more keen was how it could have been guessed prior to the revealing itself. Clues, like the duplicated cats and hats, and key elements, like the revolver and the water tank, were already known to the viewer, and all it took was a missing link to conceal the actual dynamics of the plot. This allowed the revelation to be done elegantly and without being a forced reconciliation of the plot.
An amazingly well-thought out film lost in imperfect retelling: that's my feel on The Prestige.
Mei man ren sheng (2006)
A tear-jerking drama which presents vastly different meanings to different viewers.
Singapore Dreaming strikes one as uniquely Singaporean. The opening of the film greets viewers with cut scenes of the Singapore heartlander's life, at HDB flats, at coffeeshops and at the market as Bong Chun Hong plays in the background. Subsequently, a parent chastises her son for scoring 95 for spelling while a classmate scored 100. The radio reports of a case of maid abuse. Even the wake is held Singapore-style in one of the HDB multi-purpose halls.
The local movie produced by Woo Yen Yen and Colin Goh centres around the Loh family of six, each with different aspirations. Yet, realities of life leave the younger generation disappointed. Through extensive characterisation, the movie shows how each of them are carried to breaking point, and how $1.2 million brought relief to some, but not all.
The film would probably present vastly different meanings to different viewers. To foreigners, it serves as a primer to Singaporean lifestyle and culture, and very effectively indeed. To Singaporeans who can relate to the characters, it would probably be an emotional piece of work (as it was to me), gripping the audience through the trials and tribulations of the characters, making them feel for the Lohs.
Particularly curious was how the conflict in the movie was partially resolved. When all came crashing down on thembe it their livelihood, their relationship, the perfect family they covetedmoney, although no panacea, presented hope. Thus, the movie was subtly telling of money's unique role in modern Singapore society.
Walk into the theatre while the movie remains in cinemas; Singapore Dreaming will let you know, and let you feel.
World Trade Center (2006)
A story of how buried under the economic landmark was a tale of love, courage, hope, faith, teamwork, perseverance and sacrifice.
"A curtain God made to shield us from 'what we are not ready to see'"a rescue personnel described this of the billows of smoke envaginating the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Centre towers. However, this comment becomes ironic when the movie World Trade Centre proceeds to show how buried under the economic landmark was a tale of love, courage, hope, faith, teamwork, perseverance and sacrifice.
Directed by Oliver Stone at a cost of US$65 million, the story is about five Port Authority personnel who ventured into World Trade Centre Tower 1, which was about to crumple, in hope of rescuing people out of the building. When the core of the tower finally gave way, the survival of the rescuers were unfortunately threatened.
The backdrop of the disaster helped bring out many of the themes shown in the film. Only when danger and unpredictability looms does humanity become all the more important to survival itself. Without the love from and of their wives, without their lion-heartedness and perseverance to endure pain and thirst, without the hope of being rescued, without the faith of God and without the sacrifice and teamwork of the rescue team, the Port Authority personnel would probably have had a highly reduced chance of survival.
Ultimately, the movie does not promise you a total understanding of humanity, neither does it promise excitement and action, but it would probably provide an afternoon of inspiration and a small glimpse into the lesser-seen side of humans.
Death Note: Desu nôto (2006)
If the movie were a game of chess, the audience would be impressed at the elegance and keenness of the players' moves.
"The person whose name is written here shall die", the MRT posters, TV commercials and cinema advertorials echo like there's no tomorrow. Watching Death Note, I realised that the advertisements were a huge injustice to the substance of the movie and the wit of the story creators, but necessarily so.
Student Light picks up a notebook, entitled Death Note, on the streets one rainy night. The book allows its owner to kill by writing the victim's name on the book while picturing his or her face in the owner's mind. Light decides to use his powers against criminals and suspects, and soon police investigators begin to crack down on him. The story soon escalates into a battle of tactics between Light and the police, particularly genius investigator L.
Having seen the advertisements, one would probably be misled into thinking that the movie expounds on the terror people would be subjected to with the Death Note.
Yet, the focus is really on how cleverly L narrows the identity of the killer down to one person, and how Light employs an elaborate set of methods to avoid capture. In fact, the creators of the story plays with the audience's minds. They reveal the seemingly infallible moves of one side, and then show how this move is countered (and at the same time impressing the audience). It seems that as Light becomes more adept at using the Death Note to kill and avoid capture, and as L gains more and more information about the killer, the tactics get better and better, engaging the audience in the story.
However, the notion of the Death Note is inherently more worthy of attention than the tactical aspect of the movie. Thus, it seems that to attract attention, showing what the movie is really about was secondary in the promotional team's considerations.
Brilliance in tactics could have manifested itself in myriad mediums. By choosing the death of others as the medium (Death Note, not, say, Paralysis Note), the creators mirror Kindaichi Case Files in approach. Story lines of both stories escalate the stakes of the game to life itself, in an attempt to make the story more interesting. However, this brings the unpleasant side-effects of disturbing some, and deterring those averse to themes of death altogether.
The end of the movie presents itself as rather inconclusive. Indeed, it has been said that cliffhanger endings to stories must at least have a minor conclusion, none of which was apparent for this movie. However, this is less of concern for this movie than for movies where the story and its characters itself are key. In some sense, Death Note is akin to a chess game. The stalemate is secondary to the elegance and keenness of the moves which caused it.