Movie Review: Castro's Life

This weekend, my boyfriend asked me to watch this Al Pacino mivoe called "Castro's Life".

My first thought is: It wouldn't be better than Scarface. Whatever the new film comes out, people compare Al Pacino's film with the legend film Scarface. I didn't wanted to feel dissapointment after wacthing the film.

I knew it would be disappointment because I heard the plots and characters are almost same as in Scarface. According to the DVD package, Castro's life is a story of drug dealer, who lives in New York. It is just Scarface in 20 centry version.

But despite of my negative thoughts, Al Pacino did not let me down. His talent and carisma attracted me just as much as he attracted me in the Scarface.

The story and characters were same, however, the two stories had totally different tastes. It wasn't just a 20 centry Scarface. In Castro's life, there are many elements that were'nt seen in Scarface. For example, it's love. Scarface is pretty much focusing on drug dealer and how he became rich from poor, and how he declined from thr rich to pig. It was all about money, power, and drugs. And it is hard to related youself with the characters because it is a little too unrealistic.

On the other hand, in "castro's life", you will feel more connection with the character. It is more focus on the love, humanity and relationship. While it is story about drug dealer, there are love elements in the film. And that the part where Al Pacino's talent can be seen. Al Pacino acted a character of one drug dealer who lives in New York trying to start new life. It was not just one drug dealer's life. The character confronts with struggle in society, conflicts within himself, friendship and betrays, and love with one woman. These humanistic elements that everyone can relate to is the elements that makes "Castro's life" distinguishes from Scarface.

It is not just a replica of "Scarface". As good as the "Scarface" was, the "Castro's life" is one of the greatest film of all the time.

Movie Review

There is a shrine called Yasukuni in Tokyo Japan today, and it is not just an ordinal shrine. Japanese, chinese and Korean are fighting over this Yasukuni shrine for many years. The fact that it have both war criminals and war victims in the shrine is the main controversial reason. For chinese and korean, praying at Yasukuni shrine means insulting their ancestors and justifying the war. Due to its rich tradition and history however, the shrine still exists in Tokyo, Japan.

The film "Yasukuni", directed by chinese director Li is the first movie which address to this controversy. Although the film was about such touchy topic, I think Li did great job and it is worth to see it.

Most of the part, the film shows what is going on in Yasukuni shrine today. It highlight some of the shocking imagese such as Japanese nationalists marching at shrine in old military cloth, the sense that a Japanese student who was thought as chinese student were beaten by bunch of old people at the shrine, and a American with his national flag driven out from shrine. Also, the film highlights one old sord maker, who used to make sord during the war. The film sometims show the sense of him making sord.

The one reason why I like this film and suggest you to see it is because its openness. Although the film shows shocking images, which could imply sense of Japanese nationalistic, and gives audience the negative image about Japanese and Yasukuni shine, Li never gave an argument directly. In terms of fairness, I think the film was sucessful, and therefore, it makes the film interesting.