#paleflower

dont you have a decision to make? tick tock.

paleflower

#Paleflower #乾いた花 #1964 #shinodamasahiro https://www.instagram.com/p/CQZVqo1l0L_/?utm_medium=tumblr

Some quick thoughts on Pale Flower (Kawaita Hana): The cinematography was stellar. For the most part, it's a visually driven film. There's some expositional dialogue, but in no way does it detract from the overall experience of watching the film. Cinematographer Kosugi Masao was an artist, a master of lighting. Not only were his compositions exceptional, how the characters were placed, how they were lit-- it's the best I've personally seen since Gone Girl in 2014. Somewhat ironically, the scenes that really popped were the ones shot in near pitch black. Pale Flower is spoken in Japanese, with English subtitles, but I found myself mostly listening to the dialogue and not reading the subtitles (I can understand Japanese to an extent; I just can't read, speak, or write it). I only have a basic understanding of Hanafuda (Hwato in Korean), which I mistakenly assumed was what drove the plot, but it wasn't really difficult to follow along. I'd say the film is about gambling; not with money, but with life. Generally speaking. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It rightfully deserves to be a part of The Criterion Collection. #paleflower #kawaitahana #criterioncollection #bluray https://www.instagram.com/p/BqvexdfhhSc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qp1reafri143