Unforgettable Movies(PART 1 OF 4)

　
Unforgettable Movies(PART 1 OF 4)
　
　

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So, Kato, you're talking about your unforgettable movies, aren't you?



Yes, I am. 　You know, Diane, VIFF (Vancouver International Film Festival) started on September 26.

Yes, I know. 　The festival continues till October 11. 　As a matter of fact, I've been an enthusiastic patron of the festival.

Oh, have you?

You know, Kato, VIFF is among the five largest film festivals in North America.

Really?

Yes, it is. 　The festival annually screens films from approximately 80 countries on 10 screens. 　In 2011, 152,000 people attended the festival and 386 movies were shown. 　The international line-up usually includes the pick of the world’s top film fests and many undiscovered gems.

Tell me, Diane, what is special about VIFF.

At Vancouver Film Festival, you can enjoy the largest selection of East Asian films outside of that region, and the Festival is one of the biggest showcases of Canadian film in the world. 　Furthermore, VIFF has one of the a largest nonfiction program outside of a Documentary Film Festival.

Oh, really? 　So, Diane, are you watching many movies during the festival?

Yes, I am---as many as possible. 　How about you, Kato?

Well ... I'll leave for Tokyo at the beginning of October, and I've got to prepare for the journey. 　So I can't see any of the movies at the festival.

Too bad!

But I've been enjoying my own international film festival.

You gotta be kidding.

No, I'm not. 　I'm dead serious. 　Look at the fowllowing list:


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■"Actual Collection Page"



I see... So, Kato, you've watched the above movies lately, haven't you?



Yes, I have.


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The President's Last Bang

(full movies - Part 6 of 11)

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This is a 2005 satiric black comedy directed by Im Sang-soo about the events leading to and the aftermath of the assassination of Korean President Park Chung-hee by his close friend and Korean Intelligence Agency director Kim Jae-kyu.
The fictional portrayal of the former President has raised a storm of controversy, leading to a suit against the film by Park Chung-hee's only son, Park Ji-man.

In 2005, a ruling by the Seoul Central Court ordered that 3 minutes and 50 seconds of documentary footage (mostly of demonstrations) be censored out of the film.
In response, the director had the excised footage replaced with a blank screen for its running time.
During its theatrical run, both nationally and internationally, only the censored version was shown.

The ruling was appealed, and in August 2006 overturned, with the court issuing the following statement: "We must broadly confirm the right of free expression concerning the depiction of public historical figures."

Despite the taboo-subject, the director dared to show what happened in the political coup.
Although I admire his courage to challenge the taboo, it is a pity that the director didn't show what really happened in the mind of Director Kim who actually shot the president.
I'd rather like to see its documentary instead of the black comedy.

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SOURCE: "Kato's comment on the DVD"

I don't like political dramas very much.



I know, I know ... You're a devoted Christian, and you don't like much violence, do you?

No, I don't. 　Now, I notice you watched "The Jesus Film."

Yes, I did.


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The Jesus Film 1979

(full movies 2 hours)

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This is a 1979 drama co-directed by Australian Peter Sykes, Britons John Heyman and John Krisch and filmed in Israel.
It is said that, as of 2003, the film had been seen over 4.7 billion people in 236 nations.
I didn't know that there are so many nations on the Globe.

The film has been translated into more languages than any film in history---amazingly, more than 800 languages.
This DVD version has 8 languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and Korean.

According to The New York Times, this film is likely the most-watched motion picture of all time.
The Los Angeles Times called it a "...dull Sunday-School treatment of the life of Christ, meticulously but unimaginatively culled from Luke 3-24."

Although the directors seem to have paid a meticulous attention to historical authenticity, all the miracles look quite unbelievable to the scientific mind.
Well, you can judge it by yourself.

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SOURCE: "Kato's comment on the DVD"

So, Kato, you don't believe in miracles, do you?



Yes, I do, but not those depicted in the above film.

By the way, how did you like the wild child?

Oh, too sad a story!


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Secret of the Wild Child part 1

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This is a 55-minute documentary originally broadcast on NOVA in 1994.
Genie is the pseudonym of a feral child who was the victim of extraordinarily severe abuse, neglect and social isolation, making her one of the most well-known cases recorded in the annals of abnormal child psychology.

Her abuse came to the attention of Los Angeles child welfare authorities on November 4, 1970, when she was 13 years old.
Her mother was herself abused by her dominant husband who committed suicide.
Thinking that Genie was born mentally retarted, her parents locked her in a room where she was sit alone, day after day, strapped to a potty chair, with little more than bare walls to look at.
Genie was severely under-developed, unable to talk and barely able to walk.

Genie's case has been compared extensively with that of Victor of Aveyron, an 18th-century French "Wild Child" who similarly became a classic case of late language acquisition and delayed development.
The film shows some footages from a 1970 French film "Wild Child" by director François Truffaut.

Despite some improvement under professional care, it is unfortunate and profoundly sad to know that Genie experienced further physical and emotional abuse during the stay in the institutions for disabled adults, where she was severely punished for vomitting.
Her newly acquired language and behavioral skills regressed rapidly.
As of 2008, she was again speechless.
What a pity!

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SOURCE: "Kato's comment on the DVD"

So, Genie's remained speechless since 2008, has she?



Yes, I assume so.

How did you like "Mao's Last Dancer"?

I liked it very much. 　It was about cultural differences.


(To be followed)