Baan Muay Thai (2021) [Film Review]

Baan Muay Thai; or, The Measure of a Man
     When I was 19, I could do anything. Hurt but no real problem. One or two days and I was fine. Now it is not the same.
It’s time for another indie feature! In this review, I would like to take a look at Baan Muay Thai, a debut production directed and written by Charles Garrett. I heard about the film for the first time a little over a year ago when the Asian Film Fans team was working on a video review. I was lucky enough to interview the director and hear the surprising and extremely detailed backstory of the film.

Release Info

Directed by: Charles Garrett Starring:Charles Garrett, Khao Janhom, Pracha Tetsungnoen, Suttiya Jamlongpan

Language: English, Thai Original Title: Baan Muay Thai

Synopsis
Max (Charles Garrett) is a Londoner who spends his days in a trading business. One day, he is called by a good friend from Thailand. The ailing coach wants Max to help in reinvigorating their training camp and participate in an exhibition match. Max quits his job and goes back to the land where he once trained in order to rediscover the art of Baan Muay Thai.

Honour of the Gym
The first thing which definitely transpires while watching Baan Muay Thai is the naturalistic, guerilla-like filmmaking style. As a viewer, you are really under the impression that what you are seeing is a documentary about a British guy who wants to help out his friends in need and reconnect with his inner self in the process.

In consequence, Baan Muay Thai goes for the feeling rather than the experience. Do not expect this movie to be yet another action-packed rehash of Enter the Dragon (1973) or Ip Man (2008). You will not find Donnie Yen or Angela Mao here. This movie is about real struggles and real characters and it boldly ventures into the kitchen-sink drama territory of the first Rocky (1976) picture.

Be prepared for steady camera work, beautiful overview shots of Thailand, and nuanced but sparse dialogue. The director has recently recut the film, and the updated version certainly has a better pacing and is easier to follow in terms of narration. In addition, the English subtitles are hardcoded which eliminates the problem of translation not displaying properly during the screening.

Recommendations
If you are on the lookout for a calm, poignant drama with great visuals, then I recommend Baan Muay Thai. I sincerely hope that Charles Garrett will keep on making more indie films with the same type of true-to-life ambience. My thanks go to the director for sharing the screener and I am looking forward to part II.

Overall score: 7/10

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A Song I Remember (2011) [Film Review]

A Song I Remember; or, Polaroid Memories
     Why do you take photos, Tsuyoshi? I like your pictures.
Recently, I have noticed via Twitter announcement that organisation La Cinémathèque Française has made Kiyoshi Sugita’s A Song I Remember available to watch online legally and for free with English and French subtitles. Needless to say, I took the opportunity and viewed the movie I have heard absolutely nothing about. Here are my thoughts on it.

Release Info

Directed by: Kiyoshi Sugita Starring: Takenori Kaneko, Yuri Ishizaka, Koichi Masuno

Language: Japanese Original Title: ひとつの歌 Runtime: 98 min

Synopsis
Tsuyoshi (Takenori Kaneko) passes through the streets of Tokyo, trying to capture an interesting moment on his Polaroid camera. He decides to take a photo of a woman waiting at a train station. A few moments later, the woman dies tragically in an accident. While searching for Polaroid accessories, Tsuyoshi befriends Kiriko (Yuri Ishizaka) who runs a local camera shop. It turns out that Kiriko is a daughter of the woman Tsuyoshi encountered at a train station…

A Chance Encounter
Before checking out A Song I Remember, you need to know that this is indie filmmaking at its purest. There is absolutely zero pacing. Scenes keep on going and it is up to the viewers to draw proper conclusions. In addition, we mainly get either establishing or tracking shots while following the main protagonist through his daily activities. Nevertheless, all of this works to the film’s advantage.

When you are in the right mindset, you will definitely enjoy the peacefulness of the movie. It is not just about storytelling, but about characters within settings. It is quite interesting that the director chose to film A Song I Remember in 4:3 aspect ratio because, in my opinion, this only gives it an additional charm. It is a pleasure to see Tsuyoshi and Kiriko on real Tokyo streets, within real suburbs, etc. Consequently, the world of the film is not imagined but very much tangible.

Although the movie lasts a little over 90 minutes, the viewing experience itself is much faster. The story in itself is fairly simple, and the theme of a Polaroid camera catching fleeting, and seemingly trivial, moments of our lives is indeed intriguing. Performances of the main leads, Takenori Kaneko and Yuri Ishizaka, cannot go unnoticed as well.

Recommendations
All in all, I wish I could have A Song I Remember on either DVD or Blu-Ray, so I could use it as a demo disc on my TV set. The cinematography in this film is just so darn beautiful. Sequences of real Tokyo during the hustle and bustle period are something to be cherished and played on repeat. The movie can be checked out on Henri platform until the 8th of February, 2022.
Overall score: 7/10

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250th Review: Hell’s Garden: Office Royale (2021)

Hell’s Garden: Office Royale; or, The Art of Delinquent War
     Your problem is you don't know what you are missing. Dignity. Your fighting lacks elegance. That's not office lady fighting. It is just street fighting.
After catching a break from experiencing “high culture”, I decided to start off the year 2022 with something a bit more mainstream and light-hearted. Following an MDL recommendation, I gave a chance to Kazuaki Seki’s Hell’s Garden: Office Royale. Super colourful poster and actress Mei Nagano were enough to get me hooked.

Release Info

Directed by: Kazuaki Seki Starring: Mei Nagano, Alice Hirose, Nanao, Rina Kawaei, Miyuki Oshima

Language: Japanese Original Title: 地獄の花園 Runtime: 102 min

Synopsis
Naoko Tanaka (Mei Nagano) is a 26-year-old office lady. She tries to perform her tasks as diligently as possible, but little do outsiders of the corporate world know that within big companies there is always a power struggle between factions of office ladies. Similarly to yakuza gangs, they challenge each other and fight for dominance. These battles are put to an end with the arrival of a new OL executive, Ran Hojo (Alice Hirose). The new leader unites rival cliques and even befriends Naoko. All of a sudden, Naoko gets kidnapped by office ladies from another company. Ran rushes to rescue her friend, but she is no match to the opponents. It turns out that Naoko is not as innocent as she looks. To protect Ran, she stands up against power-hungry OLs…

The Way of the Office Lady
I have to say that Hell’s Garden: Office Royale is simple, ridiculous fun all the way through. Because of its witty puns and outrageous battle scenes, I thought the film is based on a particular manga/anime material, but it is actually a love letter to the delinquent heroine genre, which gave us, for instance, Hana no Asuka Gumi.

Think of this film as a mix between Shomuni drama, Tekken game, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. It’s all about wild extravaganza revolving around the “what-if” scenario of office ladies being skilled warriors.

Some viewers remark that the film is a parody of the original Battle Royale (2000), but I believe this is not the case. One could think such kind of material could easily be turned into an exploitation flick filled with NSFW jokes, but director Kazuaki Seki and screenwriter Bakarhythm approach the issues of rivalry and workplace abuse with utmost gentleness and innocent humour. To me, the movie feels like a pastiche of Enter the Dragon (1973) with regard to the fact that, in both pictures, the main protagonist has to face a series of formidable foes in order to get to the final boss, who is the most powerful one.

As for the performances, well, I tried the film for Mai Nagano, but I stayed for Alice Hirose. The two are just amazing together. I really enjoyed the sweet “friendship” scenes between them as well as the fight sequences. In addition, make sure to be prepared for surprised cameos from veteran actors and actresses, such as Kenichi Endo, Masanobu Katsumura, and Shigeru Muroi. I failed to recognise some of them under tons of make-up!

Recommendations
If you are looking for something to improve your mood, then Hell’s Garden: Office Royale is a very good choice. The movie is funny, yet by no means vulgar. It certainly deserves a sequel or a movie similar in style focusing on some other profession, such as taxi driving or airline services. Please make it happen FujiTV!

Overall score: 9/10

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