| Poverty leads to involuntary servitude |
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| written by HChang |
April 1, 2007 - 4:35 AM PDT |
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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This movie provides a glimpse of poverty in Vietnam through the life of Cyclo, an eighteen year old who supports his family driving a pedicab. It is a profession with many hazards: turf wars, terrible backaches that "nail" him to his bed, and painful urination. On top of this, Cyclo pays a rental fee of 5,000 dongs, a sum that is sometimes 1/4 of his daily earnings. Life turns topsy-turvy when his pedicab is stolen from him in broad daylight. The owner of the pedicab, who initially seemed like a harmless lady, is actually a ruthless woman who is head of a local gang. Cyclo is forced to pay back by committing crimes for her. This is on the most part, very disagreeable to him but he is trapped. Meanwhile, his elder sister (Tran Nu Yên-Khê) submits to the very same gang, to prostitution. She is drawn to the mysterious "poet" (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), a pimp who recites deep poems.
At times, the movie is hard to follow because it infuses abstract forms into the story. For example, one shot takes us to a dark building with lit windows and silhouettes of its occupants. I think these abstract forms are supposed to give us a glimpse of lives in Vietnam and to contrast them to Cyclo's. I'm also not sure why Tony Leung was selected as a poem-reciting pimp. Perhaps it is his famous brooding looks, but for once, I think someone else who speaks Vietnamese may have been more appropriate for this role. I'm still ambivalent about the movie. Perhaps I'm still thinking about it because it is a thought-provoking movie - the scenes, poems, choices made by the characters. Give it a whirl if you're in such a mood. |
| Terrible Beauty |
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| written by rediris |
April 9, 2005 - 12:36 PM PDT |
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3 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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| This is a very disturbing yet sensual film about cruelty; and what motivates one human being to exploit and destroy another. Without resolving into easy answers, the film chronicles the dilemma of a young man, desperate to support his family as a bicycle courier, who discovers himself trapped in a criminal underground. Stunning and terrifying, this film hints at the scars left by decades of bitter war whose amoral intensity has migrated beyond politics into daily life. Alternately intimate, lyrical and harsh, this portrait of Ho Chi Minh City's is, in turns, stunning, sickening and paradoxically beautiful. |
| Stench of Rotten Starfruit |
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| written by nate |
December 7, 2004 - 7:21 PM PST |
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2 out of 7 members found this review helpful
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An lyrical, diffuse, and elliptic film (definitely a film not a movie) about the power of evil to triumph over good? About smearing yourself in blue paint, putting your head in a plastic bag, shooting yourself, and then popping a goldfish in and out of your mouth while writhing to death? Actually, I'm not sure it is about anything.
The cinematography is nice (think Chunking Express) and some of the scenes are visually stunning, but the story is lacking. It's more of a mood than a plot. I'm not sure that the periodic interspersing of dadaist poetry (Stench of Rotten Starfruit was the most memorable line) did much to help things along. Probably worth viewing if vignettes of urban Vietnam are enough to get you through, but take a pass if you want substance. |
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