Change Your Image
SithZavv
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Futatsu no Sokoku (2019)
Good reference of emotional/identity conflicts among (any race) American during war
While this drama might not 100% accurately portrait the historical details, it thoroughly explored most of the emotional / identity conflicts among Japanese Americans during WW2.
It is true that during peaceful time, identity crisis is usually hidden behind the mask of "oversea siblings" externally, and mere racism or social unjust internally; while harsh decisions can be either deferred or mitigated through social movement. That's not the case when your country of origin is at war with your country of residency / citizenship, in which you are forced to choose a side in a not so black-and-white world.
Culture, beliefs, social status and many other factors shape an individual person, then form community. Obviously, different communities will eventually clash upon some subject of interests; if intensified, cause civil or all-out war. It is just extra difficult when this happens to a minority race in a society, not to mention the minority group itself is split into many sub-communities. The path of moral and ethical conflicts will eventually place you into the group you belong but the journey shall be painful; the drama portraited just that.
As a Chinese American, I hope not to ever encounter such situation in real life. And if I do, I hope the society has learnt enough to not be blinded by anger or hatred, thus repeating the mistake of causing unnecessary casualties and making ugly history.
Overall, this drama elaborated the subjects cleanly; the scene and acting were to-the-point. I recommend it to any lost soul, be it N-th gen immigrants or the majority race, regardless of origin country.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Beautiful portray of a simple yet very important element of life.
Bravery is one of the crucial element of Life, which many of us are missing nowadays. Basically, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (TSLOWM) is about a "lost" person finding his bravery, but unlike many other movies which only incorporate the work and love layer of the protagonist, TSLOWM brings him out into the REAL plain planet Earth. Although the protagonist going on a little adventure might sound dull, the movie producer actually gave us the chance to see the plain beautiful Earth in the eye of the protagonist as if we are actually there on top of a mountain, deep in the ocean, tip of a corner on this planet and down in the valley with him. The color and tone of this movie is just so rich as if it is made of complete photographs, close to images we actually see through our own eyes. Along with the plain music and the simple process of getting in and out of work and Life, I had such a great trip following the protagonist into experiencing life in the purest form, and of course in bravery. Simple idea, beautifully portrayed multi-perspective of life, interaction with people, new things and places, as well as some sense of humor, this movie is truly delightful.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
True Idealized Teenage Dream and Pure Human Emotion Expression
The theme of the movie is very pure, cleanly originated from the mind of teenagers. The love, the violent, the complex mind, the capability, the braveness, and many others are revealed from us, usually masked by the moral of our society. It is a simple love story, but it proves how unique are we human beings. The movie was beautifully portrayed, with the tone, the atmosphere, the moving, the realistic, the lines dressing the speaking eyes of the young actors. For me, I really love the part where the characters write each other letters, and later they way they speak to each other, and how their look into each others' eyes spoke a thousand words. In all, this movie is unexpectedly deep-thinking and artistic.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Great combination of everything
This movie is a great combination of everything: the setting, plot, philosophical value, future prediction, visual effect, action, hero's model, music, lighting and nonetheless the great acting skill of the casts. The entire story is very touching, and as I have always imagine, the process of creating a true A.I. is the process of truly understanding human being ourselves. It is the harmonic bi-inspiring effect among us, the intelligent life, and the artificial intelligence we create that reveals the complex logical and emotional behavior we have. It is impossible to portrait any human being thoroughly, but Steven did a great job in this movie by presenting at least one of the possible illustration. Absolutely a mind-blowing and inspiring artwork.