Twitch-O-Meter: Am I my brothers keeper?

A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2 – My earliest exposure to Hong Kong cinema came thanks in whole to John Woo. In 1996 Broken Arrow hit the screens and I went hunting for anything that Woo did in HK, directly specifically by a news article towards The Killer and Hard Boiled. Soon after I found those two I found A Better Tomorrow from 1986. I was in college at the time and we wheeled a TV and VCR into one of our room’s, locked the door and proceeded to watch it. Now, you can’t really appreciate A Better Tomorrow and it’s theme of brotherhood being torn apart after you have seen The Killer and Hard Boiled because they are so over the top compared to the former. You especially cannot appreciate it if all you’re looking for is action. That didn’t really take off until a year later in 1987 when Woo brought out A Better Tomorrow 2 to mix which completely went for action over drama, setting the pace for The Killer and Hard Boiled. The two brothers, Ti Lung and the late Leslie Cheung, one a gangster and the other a cop, so expertly bore the pain of being torn apart by both sides of the law. It was heartbreaking. And then Chow Yun-fat plays the twin brother in the second film out to get revenge for the death of his brother in the first film. Classic.

Brotherhood of the Wolf – File it under guilty pleasure. File it under extravagant entertainment. I still like it a lot. Following the enormous success of the first Matrix film everything action related after that was filmed in slow motion and Le Pacte des loups was no exception. But it is so more much more than that. It presented a fantastical France largely ignoring historical fact and was often dreamlike in execution. Throw in some exceptional action sequences and it is a delight. And what can you say about a film that utilizes the sexiness and allure of Monica Bellucci as the seductress and the insanity and devilishness of her husband Vincent Cassel as the film’s villain? A hodge podge of film styles and influences it defied definition. Fighting in the rain would not look better for another two years in Matrix Revolutions.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? – One of the great American films from two of the great American filmmakers the Coen Brothers’ film ‘inspired’ by Homer’s Odyssey simply added another brilliant chapter to the brothers’ already storied repertoire. Packed with great performances from their entire cast this was one of the first films to help launch George Clooney’s film career. Add Coen alumnus John Goodman and John Turturro and add a dash of Tim Blake Nelson and Holly Hunter it was a casting director’s dream.  It was also one of the rare occasions when a soundtrack that stood equal with its inspiration giving proof that O Brother, Where Art Thou? also stood as a commentary of the power of popular culture. Often dreamlike, hypnotic, graceful and seductive it is nowhere near as heavy as some of their other films but it is okay to once and a while sit back and let the ocher shaded Depression-era America world sooth your soul with whimsy and wonder.

Miilions – No brothers in the title but it is a story about brothers [der!] and it is a Danny Boyle film. I think Millions is a rare gem and a film I will often refer to as ‘one of the best films that you have never seen’. Millions was one of those films that made an unfortunately brief appearance on our side of the pond. It is the story of two young brothers in Manchester who come across a gym bag overflowing with British pounds days before the bank of England switches over to the Euro. Often referred to as Shallow Grave seen through the eyes of child what commences from there is a tale of morals and ethics without being preachy. Instead we get an honest look at two young boys and the decisions they make about what to do with the money. And you gotta love Boyle. I don’t know too many directors who can direct a family centered film and yet still maintain a sense of menace when the boys are confronted by the originally intended recipient of the bag of money, a member of a large heist gang. It’s brilliant, warm, thrilling and funny. Worth a million bucks!

Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War – Very few war films have ever approached the atrocities of war like Kang Je-gyu’s Taigukgi. The Lee brothers are forcibly conscripted to the South Korean army when North Korea invades in 1950. The elder brother, Jin-tae, is told by his superior officer that if he can win the highest medal of honor then he can have his younger brother, Jin-seok, sent home. Jin-seok misinterprets his brother’s action as glory seeking and further events draw a greater divide between the two. Other atrocities also further impress upon the viewer how horrible war is not just for the soldiers but also for the nation’s citizens. Taegukgi was an unflinching portrayal of war and did not shy away from showing the brutality of both the North and South Korean armies. Very few films went to the extent of Kang’s film to show both sides of the conflict. Moving dramatic moments and exemplary action pieces combine to make an unforgettable war film.