Her (2013) by Spike Jonze

Her (2013) Korean Poster

     I've watched this movie three times. I thought it was a marvelous SF film at the first time, I watched again and again, changed my focus to the love between Joaquin Phoenix and OS(Scarlett Johansson), and finally got to the idea that the story of love is no different from the love of real human beings. This movie is about how the love starts, grows, weakens, and ends. I think OS is an anonymous representation of other side of relationship. No matter what the object of love, the aspect of love would be same. In that point of view, this film is much more like "500 days with Summer". And, I must say that this movie is a very good portrait of how a guy affected by love.

Japan claims able to make a war. We ask "For what?"

     From 1947, the Japanese constitution says that "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained."  Today, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his cabinet declared that the constitution does not mean to avoid Japan having every right to war. US defense officials looks simply happy to use more military force of Japan in coordination of the pacific plan. But people from other countries ask why Shinzo Abe made this decision, because the constitution was an significant promise of Japan not to invade again the Asia during the WWII. Now, the promise is broken.

     "Japan can join the war, in a faraway soil, and even strike first when needed."
     means
     "Japan is able to war"
     "means"
     "Japan wants to join the war"
     means
     "Japan will make an war"
     means 
     "Japan will make an war, sooner or later".

     To the many people of Korea, it is just a declaration of war.

PS: It seems like that US government think they can control and let the Japanese military force follow the Pacific plan of US, but they are wrong. Japan will take advantage of their 'collective defense' for Japan's own sake and benefit.

The Congress(2013) by Ari Folman

The Congress (2013) Korean Poster

     This is a wonderful movie. After some lazy introduction, the most beautiful and fantastic animated pictures of dream world fascinated my eyes. Really great job by Ari Folman. The idea that digitaly scanned or created charaters take place of real human is not a new one. What matters is that how we, the viewers, are goinng to influenced and changed by that technology. Ari Folman expressed the emptiness and hollowness of the people caused by the desire using technology in a wrong way. Not satisfied with watching and manipulating scanned  actor/actress, people are going to take more intense pleasure by being the characters themselves, even losing their own personality. It is an irony that in this insane and distorted dream world, the only sane human is Robin herself, because she is still living in the real world, even the real world is painful life-time burden for her. As the Buddhism teaches us, we can get to the real pleasure not by denying ourselves, but by appreciating ourselves as we are.

Police forced female protestoers' bra off and interrogated.

  17th and 18th, May, there was a protest against government in Seoul. About 200 protestors were arrested and interrogated. Among them, 6 women told later that they were forced to take off their bra during interrogation. The police saying it was for the protection of suicide using straps of bra in jail room. Political protestors commit suicide using bra straps? The women told they were humiliated. Ridiculous thing is this. In 2008, there was a almost same case. The Supreme Court decided already that this kind humiliation by police is against the law and violation of human right. The police knew it, but did it again. The police admitted their wrong but did not yet expressed sorry for the victims. This is what's happening on the freedom of speech in Korea, now.

Blancanieves by Pablo Berger

Blancanieves Korean Poster

  Blancanieves by Pablo Berger. This is a wonderful interpretation of the fairy tale <Snow White> into another story that I've never expected. So modern, so spanish. I really liked it. In a world full of spectacular, computer engineered 3D movies, you can never deny the virtue of this old-fashioned black and white, silent movie.  

Weird employment situation in Korea

  Speaking of the movie 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty', I have to tell you this.

  The forms of employment are normally divided by two categories. One is full-time, regular workers, and the other is part-time, non-regular workers. But you will see that the forms of employment are so various, weird and twisted, and not respected.

  Before the financial crisis in Asia around 1990s, people thought that two forms enough. But after the crisis, they learned about clear out or mass dismissal. They used it to make the company survive, then. And then the form of outsourcing has been introduced. And other forms of non regular employments.

  The problem and accused is that the companies in Korea are making too many non regular employments against Labour Act. One example: There was a car assembly factory, but there were no one hired regular employment with full benefits. No one? None! The factory have had only non regular employments even if the man worked for years and years of extra working hours.

  Problem is the company is making non regular employments in order to reduce labour costs and keep easy to fire even to the positions which need to be regular. Factory with no regular worker, restaurant with no regular chef, taxi company with no regular driver. Can you imagine it? You need not to imagine. You just watch it. The government made all these sort of employment to escape the financial crisis. But the companies are still abusing employment system. Even if you work in same job descriptions for full time for years in company, you are still paied as an old part-timers. Now, anyone wants to be hired can only expect non regular employment, except for a little numbers of major companies.

  This situation is not right and not good for the entire economy. Workers are consumers. The less income of consumer make the less sales of industry. This will lead deeper recession , eventually. But the companies are still enjoying their power in employment market. They must be stopped.

Unexpected score of 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'

  'The secret Life of Walter Mitty'(2013) has been released at January in Korea. Hollywood movie distributors sometimes fail to predict Korean movie market. It is true. I mean it. Nobody expected this movie could hit even a minor success. But this movie did some. Only some, but unexpected score. What made this small success? Audiences of Korea knew it instantly that it will touch their heart of the middle aged, living undedr job insecurity. I've been to the theatre and saw many of them in the audience. I can not rate this is a wonderful movie, but this has something for those who are in similar situations like the 'Walter' in the movie.