Too Tired to Die

The premise for the movie has been done, or at least has been "heard" to have been done in films like "Life or Something Like it. The difference here is what happens, or more specifically what doesn't happen, and in my opinion, this film is far more superior.

Kaneshiro plays Kenji - the tragic hero of the movie, who is informed by Death that he has less than 24 hours to live. I forget the exact number. The subsequent actions follow him around for the next day, and allows the audience to see what he would do with that knowledge.

People may find this movie pretentious or more precisely that "nothing happens." And they're all right. However, if one were to take the time to digest the film after watching it, you will realize the deeper truths that it reveals. Please excuse me if this sounds artsy-fartsy.

If you were told that you had one day to live by Death, I think many of us would react very much like the main character: be consumed by disbelief and inertia and "waste" time by doing nothing. I think it's more hits closer to home than we would like to admit.

Unfortunately, life isn't just filled with earth-shattering revelations and exciting flashy monologues, unlike Scrooge in a Christmas Carol. It's mainly us - filled with our thoughts. We are not the consummate Shakespearian tragic hero with one huge flaw. People have many little ones. And the meaning of life and all our problems can't be solved in one night, no matter how romantic that ideal might be.

Oddly enough, I find this film to be a slice-of-life and quite realistic, despite the premise. Kenji goes into a coffee shop regularly to find a man sitting there alway reading a novel by some great author. Kenji often watches him but is afraid to approach him, to ask him what novel he is always reading. With his newfound knowledge of his impending death, Kenji does things he wouldn't normally do, which is obligatory in such films. However, the revelations that are "revealed" for a lack of a better word, are not big deals, but are instead, little insights to what makes us truly human - pretension, postering, lies and how we pretend to be more than we truly are.

I really liked the casting of Kaneshiro. He has that listless artist look to him, that fits the character very well. However, I really disliked Sorvino, as I thought her whole motive for taking the role was to showcase her knowledge of the Mandarin language.

So ultimately, this is a hard film to review and even describe. It is slow. It can leave viewers with a sad emptiness. For some reason, it reminds of the novel, "Flesh and Blood" by Michael Cunningham and maybe even "The Rules of Attraction" by Bret Easton Ellis. You see the flaws of characters very clearly. You feel as if you hadn't learn anything about them except that they are unmotivated and vain creatures - things which you already are informed in the opening sequence. Therefore, it came as a complete surprise at the end of the movie, the amount of emotion I felt. So I think the film succeeded in drawing emotions that I wasn't even sure were there, perhaps it is the empathy we feel for ourselves and each other.

The aimless protagonist is an all too believable character, and therefore there is considerable empathy for him, even when his behavior is not justifiable. This film really gave me something to think about; how many people would do better than Kenji if given 24 hours to put their life in order? In traditional Hollywood, everything would miraculously work out fine, but of course Wonsuk Chin knows better than that. This is a case where I think a bitter flavor is better than sweetness. Not all of the loosely-linked scenes work, and Sorvino can grate at times, but on the whole the movie is very much worth seeing. The opening is wonderful.

A film with a really interesting premise and obviously some provocative ideas behind it. Unfortunately it goes nowhere from there and particularly towards the end becomes tiresome and violent.

The best part of the film is by far the character of Death played by Mira Sorvino.

Interesting film and perspective. Humor is off beat, more subtle innuendo than in your face but works. Knowing that it came out in 1998 far earlier than other now classic Korean films, TIRED probably has influenced Korean cinema in one way or another by paving the way in a rather great cast way and delivery. The quirky story which is far more typical of Korean cinema was probably not appreciated at the time but I think resonates much more clearly today due to greater exposure to Asian cinema and Korean cinema specifically. I liked the film especially seeing actors such as Jeffrey Wright and Takeshi Kaneshiro who have developed quite the career. It's always nice to chance upon films in Netflix archives that delight!

This movie is like a moving dartboard. details flash before you and as you aim your attention on a particular target, it quickly goes out of reach.

I just rented this flick among 6 others (saw Wall Street before this one, really good movie) simply because Mira Sorvino is a hottie and the premise of the film (guy gets 12 hours to do whatever he wants) sounded intriguing.

It turned out to be something a hell of a lot different.

From the opening credits I was impressed with the set-design, the actor and the way it was being filmed. Fantastic opening scene gave me the feeling I was going to watch something really unique. And I did.

Unfortunately, I cant quite find the words to describe what I saw. It seemed almost like an improvisation. Characters that didnt quite seem to fit in the story, conversations that didnt seem to hold any relevance, plot-twists that were inconceivable. This isnt your typical hollywood film.

Again, I was taken aback by the style of the movie, and I recommend this for those seeking something "different" to comment on along with their friends. Just like "Lost Highway" had an important message locked somewhere in it's tangled skein.

Oh well. That pretty much sums up my opinion of the movie, sorry I couldn't have done a better job. peace out.