SWAY, Broken English

More SIFF movie viewings...

SWAY (ゆれる)

At the center of SWAY is the character of Hayakawa Takeru (played by Odagiri Joe of Azumi and SHINOBI), a successful Tokyo photographer who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral. While visiting home, his older brother Minoru is implicated in the death of a childhood friend, and behind the question of whether it was an accident or murder, the drama unfolds between the two brothers, their relationship, and their family.

Beautifully shot, chock of full of symbolism (the distance between the brothers versus the shakey bridge that spans a huge chasm; the classic contrast between the dutiful son versus the prodigal son), and filled with a lot of heavy, psychological drama, I enjoyed Sway a lot.

As someone who loves Asian cinema, it didn't take a lot of convincing on the part of a friend to go to a late night showing and catch SWAY; not to mention that lil sis was also kind enough to hook-up a press pass, so I didn't have to worry about shelling out money to see it either. However, being that it was such a good movie, I wouldn't have minded paying for it either... I'm hoping I can buy the DVD.


.:.




Broken English

A romantic comedy, Broken English centers on life of Nora (played by Parker Posey), a 30-something hotel event/VIP manager who's bored with her job, lonely, and yearning to find someone to be in love with. After a string of bad encounters with the kind of guys who are easily recognizeable as bad relationship material by everyone but Nora herself, she meets a young Frenchman visiting New York named Julian. The two stand in stark contrast each other - Nora is passive, insecure, shy, and obsessed with even the smallest mistakes; Julian is assertive, confident, direct, and passionate about living in the moment.

There's a lot of familiar plot elements in Broken English, and there's a lot of ground here that has already been tread by other chick flicks like Bridget Jone's Diary, Before Sunrise, and Before Sunset (I should know... the wifey made me watch 'em with her). There's very few surprises, and at times, the plot seems to drag on as Nora blunders herself through one encounter to the next. Still, inspite of all those flaws, Parker Posey's performance as Nora is so engaging that you can't help but follow her journey and sympathize with her character. Even in the moments where Nora's neurotic behavior seems to push the limits of awkwardness and painful human interaction, one can't help but root for her to find a way to make things work with Julian. I found myself liking the film despite its predictability.

Funny enough, the Mrs. and I almost weren't able to see the film. We arrived at the theater around 8:20pm (it was a 9:30pm showing) to buy tickets and it was already sold out. I could tell instantly on Shiv's face that she was disappointed, especially since seeing Broken English was originally her pick. As we turned around to walk away though, a young happa guy waiting in the passholder line stopped us, told us that he had extra passes to see the film, and that he'd be happy to give them to us. I was blown away by his act of kindness and of course, the wifey was ecstatic.

(If you're reading this Jason, thanks again for the act of kindness! 本当ありがとうございました。）


.:.


As it turns out, the guy who gave us the passes, Jason Sho Green, is a kick-ass artist and drew the official logo for the film festival. You can check out his artwork on his website, or on his doodle blog.