yay hana-bi

I'm not really sure what to think of this.

It's definitely a very beautiful film, with some wonderfully abstract moments, balanced out by brutally shocking violence. Indeed, the slow, almost meandering pace of the narrative only serves to make the violent bits that much more shocking, and so the vast disparity between the tone of these opposing moments makes each of them that much more effective. But there's far too much abstractness, and by the end I was wondering what the point of the whole ordeal was.

It's clear that it's meant to be a very solemn, meditative film, and since I was expecting something as light and entertaining as Sonatine, I couldn't really buy into the slow and deliberate pace. Even so, there's no question that it's a rather deep and meaningful film, though just perhaps one not for me.

So, well-made, but not for everyone. Certainly not for me.