301. big fish

I have been watching a little too much of films lately, mostly re-visited them I would say. But the one film in particular that stood out to me was 2003's Big Fish by Tim Burton.

I have had the DVD for years, and it's been sitting on my shelf untouched for so long now that it has become so dusty. I used to not like it at all because I found it boring and too much of a drag back then but I decided to give it another chance last night and I am glad I did. I see it in a very different light now and have a new appreciation for it. The cinematography in this film is really unique and quirky. What I love most about it, is that it's so surreal, it's hard to tell whether it's fantasy or reality.

But, I guess that is the point of the film. The film is about Edward Bloom, an old man who likes to exaggerate tales of his past until one day his son, Will Bloom, starts questioning his own father and they did not talk for three whole years. Until his mother informs him that his father is dying of cancer and wishes to speak to his son for one last time.

I like how you feel like you're on an adventure in this entire time, with Edward discovering a giant, a secret town, the love of his life, siamese twins and the best day of his life was the day he caught the big fish.

gifs by gotham.tumblr.com

Have you ever heard a joke so many times you've forgotten why it's funny? 

And then you hear it again and suddenly it's new. 

You remember why you love it in the first place. 

- Big Fish (2003)

The hospital scene made me really sad. Honestly, almost any hospital scene in movies nowadays is a tear jerker for me. Though some of them are not that emotional or depressing, it just reminds me of certain things and I get upset.

It is really different from all the other Tim Burton films and I guess that's why I love it.

Though I have been pretty busy lately, I still make time to watch and discover "new" films. It helps me relax and let my mind wonder off... I really need that now because I feel stressed most of the time. I have so many films I want to write about but I'm just gonna take my time. 

2016 seems to have a lot of promising new movie releases and I can't wait to watch them.

288. a story of yonosuke

This spring break has been filled with nostalgia. I spent my last week mostly at home, painting away. I'm not too inspired by my girls now, so I'm having fun painting whatever I want and just experimenting. I hope to post up some new ideas soon.

Like I have mentioned in a recent post of finding my old music again, I watched a couple of new films and re-watched some. I finally re-watched A Story of Yonosuke and I really like how light-hearted and bittersweet this film is.

: When I die, I wonder if they'll cry for me as they remember me...

: When they think about you, they'll all laugh instead.

: What? Why?

: I don't know, just a guess.

gifs by noctu4.tumblr.com

I first watched this film when I was on the plane to Manila, 3 years ago. I remember almost immediately liking Yonosuke's character because of his carefree, optimistic and naive spirit. The story, like the title suggests, follows Yonosuke's life experience during his college years. I really like how the film flows from a flashback to a moment of his life, then to the people who he have met, years later, talking and remembering him.

It made me think if the people I used to know or even the people I have in my life now, will they still remember me maybe 10, 20 years later? Also, what kind of impact did I leave on them or even... when they talk about me, which memory of us would they share? If they think about me, which experience in the course of knowing each other will they remember most?

This film is definitely about life. Life is so strange, friends and lovers becoming strangers again.

I also really like that there are almost no sad moments in this film, which makes it heartwarming as well. I think it's one of those films that I could probably watch over and over again and not get tired of.

Kengo Kora is a gem. I've only watched him in Snakes and Earrings, and his character in that film is entirely different from Yonosuke. I really enjoyed his performance in both films. I like how he's smiling so much in this film. I wish there were more films like this.

PS. His samba dancing is awkwardly adorable.

277. the life aquatic

February has been a really busy month for me. I feel really exhausted and drained even when I'm not doing much. Little sis will be here next week and I'll be even busier by then. This week has been interesting so far and Friday has just arrived. I can't wait to see some friends later.

I've been on a movie binge lately. I finally watched Pan's Labyrinth and it's one of my new favorite movies. I'll save it for another post. I just watched The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou and I really like it as well, even though I find it a little bit draggy.

The film is by Wes Anderson (I'm trying to watch all of his films) and I like how everything looks toy-like in this film. I enjoy stop-motion a lot and I'm really sad it's such an under used method of animation these days.

In his films, I feel like there's a "purposely fake" feature for the props and I like how the main character of the story also acts as the narrator. He uses a take/double take technique which shows the character/action, quickly pan to another character/action and pans back.

I especially love it where Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) is talking about his ship, the Belafonte. I like how he describes all the various rooms and how the camera pulls to a wide angle instead of having the usual cut-off black screen method. That's the thing I enjoy most about his films.

Steve Zissou's quest to revenge his friend that was eaten by the Jaguar Shark is a particularly interesting one. Apart from that, he is also dealing with a man who might or might not be his son, a journalist and an estranged wife. This film has a lot of in-depth characters, which I think sometimes make you forget the main purpose of his quest (Jaguar Shark).

I was surprised by the hilarious Bowie covers as well. The film is a bit on the dry side and I don't recommend to people who prefer blockbusters (I still don't like them that much). Another thing I was impressed with was the made up sea creatures. It's ironic, because I'm scared of fish but so very oftenly, fall in love with films about the sea.

I'll probably watch this film again over the weekend with my love before he leaves for Europe. 

Life in 2016 has been an interesting one so far and I hope it continues to be good to me. 

240. song of the sea

gifs by vanhoytls.tumblr.com

Come away, o human child, 

to the waters and the wild with a fairy, 

hand in hand, 

for the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

It has still been raining a lot and I'm not complaining because that's the best time to stay in, snuggle and watch some films. I have been wanting to watch Song of the Sea since it's release last year and was sooooo bummed I missed the screening of it in July here, in Tokyo, at a small film festival because I was back in Singapore.

Finally had some time to myself, and found it online. I don't support this so I always end up buying DVDs or blu-rays later on if I really love the film. Song of the Sea is by the same studio and director that brought us The Secret of Kells. I love both films because they are so  visually jaw-droppingly beautiful but personally, I love Song of the Sea more because of certain elements of mystery and the storyline is just much better.

Song of the Sea is about a story of a boy named Ben living in an island off the coast of Ireland with his father and his mother expecting their second child. His mother disappears unexpectedly one night, leaving behind his newborn sister. Ben is resentful towards his sister because he blames her for his mother's disappearance. I love how Ben and Saoirse's (his younger sister) relationship grows throughout this film.

The flow of the story was done really well. It derives from Celtic folklore (like The Secret of Kells, I love), and the only thing I could compare this film to is Hayao Miyazaki's work because of the the spiritual fantasy feeling you get from his films. There's fairies, witches, sea creatures and many other magical characters in this film, it takes you to a different world.

I can't believe I cried at the end of the film because it was so sad. The one thing I really really love about Song of the Sea is that it shows how parents don't want to see their children in pain, so they try their very best to shelter them from harm. It really hit home for me.

The score for this film is simple, yet heartfelt. I really enjoyed it.

I watched Big Eyes by Tim Burton this week too but (sorry) that is nothing compared to this. Big Eyes is a good film too but it's not as heartfelt as this.

I think Tom Moore is going to be my new favorite director if he continues producing films like this. I want to stay home and watch more films but I have exams coming up. It looks like September is going to be a busy month. Another friend is leaving Japan, I'm going to Osaka and then back to visit my family and when I get back, I have a show to go to. I'm not complaining though, I'm actually really looking forward to it. I just hope that after all that, I can find some time to paint again.

218. the curious case of benjamin button

Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Last week I skipped a day of class just to stay in (see previous post), and I watched a couple of films. I've owned The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on DVD for several years now but I haven't seen it in a long time, thats why I decided to bring it back with me to Japan. Sometimes this film makes me emotional because of the characters and how I can relate to some of them. Weirdly enough even though I hate a ton of romantic things, I really loved this scene :

Whenever I watch this part, the same thought always comes into my head "how nice it must be to love someone that much and always have him/her there". Though I don't really believe in love, fate and all that jazz, sometimes I do think about how I used to believe in it so much and how lovely it must be to believe in it again. Feelings are so complicated nowadays. I wish it was easier.

There's also so many parts and quotes of this film I love so much, I could go on forever and this post will never end. After watching this again that day, I felt so much better and I've watched a couple more films over the weekend. I also watched The Help, Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides. I hope to find more good films when I have the time again soon.

I really miss the night time, because I have all the time to myself to do my own things while everyone is asleep. I always love how quiet it is, how no one would bother me and how my mind would wander off. Lately, life has been so hectic because I'm out everyday and around people. I really use the weekends to stay in and have them to myself. Sometimes it's hard to say no to friends who ask to hang out because those two days are the only time when we're completely free. I'm working on my time management. 

I really miss painting and want to paint again soon but there's hardly any inspiration nowadays. Not painting makes me sad. My mind hasn't had the time and energy to drift off... I really miss that.

P.S. listening to Erik Satie has been one of calming things I have done lately. 

187. the secret of kells

 

I've fallen madly in love with The Secret of Kells. The opening of this film was already so breathtaking I just sat in front of the screen fully immersed in this world. Each frame of this animation is heavily detailed, sometimes I would re-watch parts just so I can study everything in that particular frame.

The story is based on Irish folklore, which also is another win for me because I love folklores, especially Scandinavian ones because you don't come across it very often or maybe - not at all. So anything from it makes it more special for me. 

My favorite parts of this film is when Aisiling, a fairy living in the woods, shows Brendan where to get the berries he needs to make ink and when she turns Aidan's cat, Pangur Ban, into spirit form to retrieve a key. Those parts were absolutely dreamy and I wish I was part of that world.

The story somehow reminds me a little of Attack on Titan because it is "dangerous outside these walls". It is a little over an hour and worth every second of my time. It's so beautifully animated that I'm in such awe of all the artwork in this, also you can see traces of watercolour paint used in certain backgrounds. 

This is another reason why I love animated films and choose watching this anytime over some sappy love story that probably gives girls false ideas of love. Believe me when I say I'm not interested in romantic films, the most romantic one to me is Moonrise Kingdom. 

I'm probably going to watch this 98443783278 times and re-fall in love with it every single time.

185. amélie

       

Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's.

~

Le fabuleux  destin d'Amélie Poulain(2001)

After years of seeing this film pop up in my suggested lists, friends and even my lecturers back in art college telling me about this film, I finally sat down to watch this a couple of weeks ago just before December arrived. 

Immediately - the opening of this film already caught my attention. I like how the narrator tells you about the eccentric likes and dislikes of Amelie's parents, I was sold the very moment they were describing little Amelie. The whole film centres around Amelie who spends most of her time alone, but developed an active imagination and fantasy to cope with her loneliness. 

I could relate in some sense because I always do that when I'm alone for too long. 

I think the part I enjoyed most of this film was when she talks to an old man with glass bones living in the building next to hers, the part where he talks about paintings and how it is so very (very) difficult to get the right expression out of the characters in his paintings. Also, I love the little "scavenger" hunt she did for the guy she is interested in.  I thought it was funny that he liked collecting torn up photographs from machines and putting them back together, I guess this was what made Amelie like him too. 

A lot of things I love about this film, each character has a depth and is well thought of and acted out. I'm definitely going to buy the Blu-ray once I get back home. I think another thing that makes this film so delightful to watch is because it's in French and the language is so foreign to me that it's actually so pleasant to my ears, oddly.

I have been discovering a good number of films when H was on tour, his favorite film is Little Miss Sunshine but I've yet to see it. It also looks like I won't have time for the rest of the year to actually spend time watching films, I'm trying to post all the good things about 2014 and actually am having a hard time collecting each memory because too much has happened this year. Hopefully I can squeeze in some time to write my personal notes on another animation film that I've completely fallen in love with.

 Next week looks like it's pretty packed and going to be crazy. The last weekend of 2014 is going to good, I can feel it. I really hope I will continue writing good things until the year ends.

155. labyrinth labyrinthos

Rintaro's Labyrinth Labyrinthos (ラビリンス ラビリントス) 1987

Stumbled upon gifs of this short animation on tumblr and I just had to watch it. Labyrinth Labyrintho is part of the three part film, Neo Tokyo, it's about an exploration into the maze of a little girl's mind. I fell in love with it immediately, and I think some parts are rather eerie but the right kind. My obsession with entering another world never stops. I wish they actually made a full feature film of this because I would have liked to know where she went at the end of the film. It's only about 11 minutes long. ):

 Some parts also reminded me of Cool World, a little film Brad Pitt was in, way back when he wasn't as famous.

It feels so nice to watch this types of films again, I always feel the most of myself when I do.