hong kong, 2004, cantoneseI must admit that I totally misunderstood the plot, and had to read the Wikipedia just to understand what happened. But who cares, this was stylish and fun and I loved it.
JOHNNIE TO
Throw Down
I’m not even going to bother to write about how long it’s been since I’ve written. It’s such a cliche at this point and I’m just going to ignore it and continue like nothing happened. Nothing in the previous two sentences constitutes a contradiction either. Please move along.
There’s something delightfully fatalistic about this film. I think that’s what I resonate so strongly with. The way that some of the characters are eternally optimistic, in the face of no path to success, and others are hopelessly bleak in the face of less actual challenge than first appears. It’s a heady mixture that I found intoxicating, somewhat to my own surprise.
Honestly, I don’t know why I was surprised. This is, ostensibly, a homage to Sanshiro Sugata, a film I thoroughly enjoyed. The director calls Akira Kurosawa the greatest of filmmakers, which is an idea I can at least entertain the notion of. The film is a judo story about perseverance in face of obstacle and getting back up when you’re down. All of that sounds great. But it’s also something else. A whimsical alternate world of silliness, and a story lacking most of the crucial details as to exactly what’s happening. It’s like catnip for me!
I really needed to watch this. It’s been months since I’ve had time to watch anything, and I was overdue. Luckily it was also great. So fun, and funny, and weird, and confusing, and beautiful, and bleak, and hopeful. Just a great mix for me. I don’t have any deeper thoughts. I could probably fake something about the nature of bad luck and the importance of some level of irrational confidence. But mostly I’m just happy to have seen this delightful film.