#asd2023

…. and that film is….. drum roll please!

*ddu-ddun-ddu-ddun-ddu-ddun*

A Tale Of Two Sisters

First of all, I cannot keep track anymore of how many times I’ve watched this film, but the very first time I saw this was when I was only 10 (I think), it was somewhere between 2008-2009. Obviously, my comprehension that time is still not capable of catching the whole plot and twists of this movie. My cognition only works for the jumpscares and I couldn’t think of any more logical than the ghosts that appeared in this film and them haunting me in my sleep.

But that was just in my elementary days. I think I’ve seen it also in my high school days and understood the story better, but it still felt shallow for me. But when I got to college and watched it again, my perspective had changed a lot and it felt like I’ve had an epiphany. It was also really timely that I’m majoring Psychology when I watched it again, because not that I just understood the story better, it also made me realize that it’s actually not a horror film that centers on just the scary ghosts and jumpscares, rather a psychological film that centers on the horror of having a mental disorder and suffering alone from the burden of massive guilt.

Guys, I’m telling you, everything about this film is super superb. The actors—all of them—were incredible in their roles. The location too is lovely, I don’t mind living in that isolated place as long as it’s surrounded by nature and it’s near the lake too! And since the location alone is already a win, the cinematography in return turns out to be perfect on its own. Here are some of my favorite shots where the cinematography will speak beauty for itself:

The musical score is something too. The screechy violin was really creepy af, I get the chills everytime they come out a scary scene. But I do have this one song that I like from this film, and I think it’s also one of the film’s best trademarks because it will literally stay in your head even after you’re done watching the film for a very long time. This particular piece made the ending scene extra heartbreaking and I was literally ready to shed a lot of tears because of the sadness it made me feel. I hope you’d understand where I’m coming from when I say this piece called “Epilogue” by Lee Byung Woo is one of the best musical pieces I’ve heard and that I even want to play it at my wedding.,

Last but not the least, the plot. It is no doubt the crowning glory of this film. It was so beautifully written, the twists are masterfully executed you’ll absolutely get mindfucked, but in a really satisfying way! I will not share any details about the plot I want you guys to see and experience it yourselves. 😁

Final Verdict:

I like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (2016)

This was the era where I was able to fully anticipate anything from The 1975 and it was one of the most special moments of my life. This was the time where I must say my musical preferences have fully awakened. The 1975 and Dirty Hit did so sooo good in this era. From the aesthetic visual teasers to actual promotions to the production with their live stages on tour, everything was beautiful. I still love ILIWYS’s neon lights visualizers better than the theatrical stage set-up of BFIAFL. The setlist too was much better even if we’re talking about songs only from their first 2 albums released, we’re still beyond satisfied then.

Fave tracks:

Somebody Else (obviously, who doesn’t love this song?)

Paris (i just love the vibe, nothing personal)

Iliwys (i would sacrifice my life just to hear this live!!!)

Notes on A Conditional Form (2020)

Now NOACF was something else. This came out during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and I couldn’t thank my boys enough for saving my life back then. Everyone was still in shock and filled with anxiety because of the virus but The 1975’s NOACF came to rescue me from that. It was jam packed with so many good tracks, all of them were no skip for me. Apparently, NOACF carries my most fave song from the whole discography of The 1975—perhaps of all time, and nothing’s taking its place still even after BFIAFL’s release ‘cause let’s be real, BFIAFL in general is just isn’t it. Just me? Alright, no sweat. But I guess I really took a step back from them because I expected too much from it but just ended up kinda disappointed instead.

Anyway..

Fave tracks:

Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy) (this bad boy holds the crown as my ultimate fave The 1975 song. And the fact that Rome also worked on this song makes it extra special for me. The melodic run is what attracted me to this song, it was a mix of late 90’s pop, alternative R&B and neo soul. Matty said it was their first pastiche-y song since it’s like a mixture of samples. Matty also shared that he considers this song as the “anomaly one” off of the whole album because of how experimental it is. But I don’t really care, to me it’s fun and very satisfying to listen to and it’s absolutely beyond perfection)

Then Because She Goes (i understood why they made it a short song, like Roadkill. i just have a strong feeling they’d make a part 2 of them lol)

Yeah I Know (i was literally bopping and whispering “tf is this” at the same time when i first heard this song. it was like some sort of spiritual awakening and i enjoyed it very much. hit that shit, go hit that shit SUPREMACY)

This song is perfection. The melody, the vocals, the adlibs & harmonization, the song message and hell yeah the fair line distribution!

I know Superhuman existed as the best 127 song, but their r&b b-sides always win my heart, like I sometimes get really crazy just listening to them.

The movie title actually speaks for itself. It is indeed a ✨Classic✨.

The first time I saw this film was really reaaaaally a long time ago, I think I was only 12 when I first saw this, and it was aired on our local news channel (yes that used to be a thing here), and hear me out, it was also dubbed in Filipino language. Actually I don’t really have a problem with the dubbing of international films into Filipino back then, i repeat only “back then”. Cause they still do that here but not so often anymore as before because dubbing actors these days are just so cringey.

Comparing the first time I saw this versus today, I will say that I appreciate it better now. Watching this when I was still a kid only understood and enjoyed the funny scenes—especially this hospital scene with the clip right here so you can follow (you’re welcome)

12 years have already passed but this scene still cracks me up so hard.

Now that I understand the context of it, the story and its meaning, I was able to pick a lot of beautiful messages and lessons from this film. Joon-ha and Tae-su’s friendship is one of the most beautiful things in this film. Apparently, they were both in love with the same girl (Ji-hae), I think Joon-ha met her first during his summer break in the countryside, and when school was back, his best friend Tae-su welcomed him with a news that he’s been arranged for a marriage with—you guessed it right—Ji-hae… unlike most of the people being forced to a fixed marriage, Tae-su was actually happy about it and he expressed how he really likes Ji-hae. But once both of the dudes figured out themselves that they’re both inlove with Ji-hae, Tae-su—without a second thought—lets go of Ji-hae, poor guy already knew that Ji-hae’s inlove with another guy and that’s his best friend. Both dudes remained in good terms despite that romance conflict, that’s just how good friends they are to each other. Sure it was a relief for Joon-ha, but it’s exactly the opposite for Tae-su.

Since it was only a fixed marriage, the people responsible for this are of course the parents. And that’s when things get shitty for Tae-su. His father kept saying hurtful and degrading words to him and even physically hurting him. Suicidal thoughts start triggering Tae-su which eventually led to a suicide attempt. For real my throat starts to hurt because I was trying so hard to hold my tears. Somehow you knew this would happen given Tae-su’s situation, but not in that unexpected time and place, which is why I really got caught off guard and almost teared up (especially when Joon-ha found him hanging).

After Tae-su’s suicide attempt, Joon-ha realized how being with Ji-hae would ruin his best friend’s life, or worse, lose it. This time it was Joon-ha who lets go of Ji-hae. He joined the military and not so long, was already assigned to a mission in Vietnam. Tae-su and Ji-hae’s marriage was then carried on and they even had a daughter.

Holy crap, I think I just wrote a whole ass synopsis there! I apologize for spoiling and not giving a warning hehe

Both Tae-su and Joon-ha understood and considered each other’s situation, without any hard feelings and even giving support to each other. Which is why I said their friendship is one of the most beautiful things in this film.

Next is the movie’s concept of fate/destiny, Joon-ha and Ji-hae may have not ended up with each other, it’s their son and daughter (respectively) who continued their story and are basically being awarded with destiny instead. When that scene showed up I legit screamed “OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH”. “What a cute revelation”, I said to myself. It was like Life Itself, the Asian version. But since The Classic was aired first, I guess I should say that Life Itself is the American version of The Classic. Lol what I’m trying to say is they have the same concept and message, they just have their own different twists.

Last but not the least, ladies and gents, is the notorious “Cinematography”. 👏👏👏👏

You can never go wrong with the cinematography of Asian films. After seeing Wong Kar-Wai’s films, I have decided that the classic late 90’s to early 20th century Asian films’ cinematography is my favorite cinematography of all time. The Classic’s cinematography is one of them, the setting is so laid back and just simply feels nostalgic. Sure, modern films still do these kind of nostalgic vibe especially if it’s a coming-of-age film, but they’re basically only a visualization of the past and you can’t really help but compare it to the real classic times.

What a way to make my life more depressing!

Haha jk.

This film !! Never fails to give me goosebumps everytime I recall the happy moments between Sophie and her dad. And when the ending came, I kinda got lost for a moment, I felt so empty and scared I wanted to cry so hard. I realized, aside from movies where an animal dies, I can never watch films that involve father and daughter/son relationship, like this one does. Yeah, I think this is gonna be the last time because I don’t know know when will I be ready for stuff like this again, or if I’m ever going to be ready at all.

Can’t tell that much about the plot/storyline except that it was really successful in capturing nostalgia and melancholia. This film is not about telling a story, it’s about the feeling you get everytime you revisit important memories from the past, it’s simply just an emotion heavy film. The memories of Sophie with her dad, Calum, during their vacation in Turkey just feel so warm to watch. There were bright and happy times, but there were also dark and helpless times—especially for Calum.

Right, now giving the spotlight to the actors because they were just SO good. The kid, Frankie Corio, aside from the fact that she’s such a pretty girl, I thought that she did really great in portraying her character, and the way she delivered her line? Very precise with the tone. Which is why I think she’s really cool for that. And of course, the Paul Mescal. I’ve seen him before from Normal People (and this reminds again me that I haven’t finished that one yet!), you would definitely see how versatile he is as an actor. Paul’s just really good at showing his emotions through his eyes. He doesn’t even have to try hard in acting, he’s effortlessly good at doing his job and I think he’s so cool for that too.

P.S. Since this is a film from the Great Britain, i already expected that the accent would be really strong on this one, especially the characters are coming from Scotland where the accent is just beautifully strong. So I made sure I watch with the subtitles on. I’m happy that I did and that the (illegal) site where I watched it have them too. Was able to clearly hear and understand what the people on that film were saying because listening to them speak without the subs feels like I’m having auditory dyslexia (jk just made that up but that’s really how I can best describe it). No offense scottish people!

REMINDER: Never be ashamed of watching an English-language film still with the subtitles on!

Finally—and I will never shut up about this category, the cinematography. I love it so much. It was realistic and very subtle at the same time. Turkey was also beautiful as it is. Color grading’s fantastic too, I love how bright and clear the colors are in this film. I just didn’t like the rave part where there were flashing lights. It hurt my eyes for real I had to look away from the screen everytime that scene showed up. Other than that, I really love the cinematic feel of it.