Arts & Entertainment
Friday,
March 25, 2005
Volume 33,
Issue 12
Sun, Mar 21, 2010
IN THE SGN
SECTION ONE
Front Page
MORE/ALL
SECTION ONE
STORIES
SECTION TW0
Arts & Entertainment
Sky Blue & Bad Guy |
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| Sky Blue & Bad Guy: Top-notch anime and a film that makes Romeo and Juliet look like a day in the park | ||
| by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid
- SGN A&E Writer
Sky Blue (anime, English) Directed by Moon Sang Kim Opens today at The Varsity Bad Guy Directed by Ki-duk Kim Starring Jae-hyeon Jo, Won Seo, Yun-tae Kim, Duek-mun Choi, Jung-young Kim, Gung-Min Nam March 18-24 at Northwest Film Forum Its said if you have a great idea for a story, or movie, or television show and theres a very good likelihood someone else has a similar idea. Thats why I went to see Moon Sang Kims futuristic Sky Blue, and found myself glad of two things: One, its not just like the book Im writing; and two, it is the best anime feature Ive seen since Akira. And believe me, thats saying a lot about any manga feature, but this one is extraordinary. All you need to know is that the feature is set in a future where humankind has ignored all warnings about global warming, or any of a number of other ecological disasters and most of the human race is gone. The only ones left are those lucky enough to live in a sealed bubble of a city called Ecoban, where theres clean water, showers and all the amenities of good living, and the other folks, the diggers, work in poisonous mines outside of Ecoban to keep Ecoban going. Jay, who is part of the citys police/paramilitary force finds herself at odds with the ruling elite when she witnesses one of the higher up being unnecessarily cruel to the miners and she also finds that her old flame is leading a rebellion by the self same miners. So, she makes the only choice a person of quality (which Jay is), can make, she sides with her lover and helps him bring equality between the Ecoban dwellers and the miners by destroying the power core that runs the city. And what finale it is! I actually found myself weeping at the end of this film, both because the animation is so incredible and also because the ending transcends any manga feature Ive ever seen. Just go see it, youll see, especially if youre a manga/anime fan. BAD GUY: Interesting but disturbing And then, theres the darker side of love, which is explored in all of its unsettling manifestations in Ki-duk Kims Bad Guy. In this film, theres rape, murder, people who beat each other up because theyre friends, and a man who watches the woman he loves get initiated into prostitution and does nothing to stop the john taking her virginity. Oh yes, young Sun-hwa (Won Seo) is a virgin who makes a stupid mistake and has to pay for it by becoming a whore for the man who has decided she must be his. Still, Bad Guy is not as horrid as I make it sound. In fact, I loved this film, even as I found it very disturbing, I also found some moments darkly humorous, and some moments beautiful in that Beauty and the Beast way that was presented in Jean Cocteaus immortal film from the 30s. Just know that this is not a film for anyone who wants a happy, feelgood love story, or one that doesnt include so much violence , and women taking most of that violence. For ticket information, call the Northwest Film Forum, or go by their office which is just down the street from SGNs offices on 12th and Pine. |
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 GENERAL GAYETY Leslie Robinson |
 LESBIAN NOTIONS Paula Martinac |
