intreuefest

The two protagonists of this film are horrid people. The simpering "victim" and the arrogant "bully." The victim doesn't even get the full brunt of the bully's sadistic behavior but bears the pain of a wronged friend vicariously, never letting go and never forgetting his miserable high school existence. The bully is shown to deserve the campaign of pain the now grown up victim will bring by refusing to show the slightest contrition for his behavior. But the victim is so pathetic it is impossible to feel any compassion for his "plight" or take pleasure with him in his schadenfreude. And so these two bring misery and death to those close to them. (well one person gets off scot-free in the film's gonzo ending, but still...) Yeah yeah the movie's a "cautionary tale" about bullying and how revenge can make one worse than a bully but the message is hopelessly muddled in poor storytelling. The movie looks so good but the content is beyond disappointing. What a waste.

Death and Glory in Changde was an entertaining film. The uniforms, weapons, and sets looked great. There were a few cheesy moments related to the romantic subplot but the story overall was solid. The action is rather well done and gets intense at times. The ending felt tacked-on but gets the job done. Chinese films are always fascinating to me when they tackle historical subjects. Even though the Nationalist Chinese are the good guys, we the viewers are meant to identify with the plucky young peasant (who's a crack shot) volunteering to defend China against the Japanese "devils." The Japanese don't come off too horribly clichéd, all things considered, but are definitely represented as the brutal adversary they were. For the connoisseur of foreign war flicks, this is a must-see.