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Go |
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Year: |
2001 |
Yosuke Kubozka |
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Director: |
Isao
Yukisada |
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Cast: |
Yosuke Kubozka, Kou Shibasaki, Shinobu Otake, Taro Yamamoto,
Tsutomu Yamazaki, Hirofumi Arai, Takato Hosayamada, Masato
Hagiwara, Mitsuru Murata, Kim Min Jeong |
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The
Skinny: |
Confidently
directed teen comedy/drama which is refreshingly engaging
and thrilling, though it eventually settles into your standard
by-the-numbers teen melodrama. Still, the uncommon intelligence,
well-staged scenes, and some canny performances make this
a worthy experience. |
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Review
by Kozo: |
Adapted
from a novel by Kazuki Kaneshiro, the teen drama Go
surprises with some uncommon intelligence and an engaging
style and narrative. Star Yosuke Kubozka displays admirable
screen presence, and his onscreen liason with co-star Kou
Shibasaki creates some moving moments. Then, the film returns
to its teen drama roots, and things get predictable and even
trite. But the ride is good.
Kubozka stars as Sugihara, a
Japan-born North Korean who's lived in Japan his whole life.
Enrolled in an indoctrinating North Korean school, he decides
to switch to being South Korean, which is a choice that comes
with consequences. Some of his former friends now consider
him a traitor, and his new classmates at a Japanese school
don't take kindly to him either.
Luckily, Sugihara can fight his way
out of any circumstance since his father (Tsutomu Yamazaki)
was a professional boxer and has made sure to teach his son
the pugilistic arts. Dad also uses boxing to discipline his
son, meaning any and all punishments are handled via some
swift uppercuts and perhaps some lost teeth. The only seemingly
positive aspect to Sugihara's life is the appearance of Sakurai
(Kou Shibasaki), a lovely Japanese girl who becomes his first
girlfriend. However, he hesitates to tell her his Korean roots,
as he fears this may alienate her. And, more to the point,
is it even necessary to tell her?
Go works best in it's
opening half, when it explores Sugihara's pent-up rage and
inner turmoil towards his unenviable position. Essentially,
Sugihara has no identity, as he can be neither Korean nor
Japanese. Neither group will accept him fully, nor does he
truly wish it. As such, he lives a sort of iconoclastic existence
which achieves its highs only when he's bucking whichever
system happens to be keeping him down. Cinematically, those
moments are embodied by a pounding soundtrack and a hyperrealistic
filmmaking style which is both absurd and strangely real.
Kubozka matches that with a physically dynamic intensity,
and the blinding energy and jazzy stylistic excess make the
film a thrilling experience.
Things change considerably when
Sakurai enters the picture, though the film's intelligence
never seems to dim. The courtship of Sugihara and Sakura is
told in long, seemingly inconsequential scenes, though the
emotions that actors Kubozka and Shibasaki bring to the screen
feel exceptionally real. Their relationship takes on even
more weight when the issue of Sugihara's identity enters the
picture. When Sakurai discovers Sugihara's identity, the moment
is awkward, then heartbreaking. That her reaction is based
on ignorance and just plain adolescent fear makes the moment
all the more telling and frighteningly real.
Yet, the film sinks into predictable
teen melodrama soon thereafter. Sugihara's life is complicated
by other factors, namely the fate of friend Jong-Il (Takato
Hosayamada), and his seemingly abusive relationship with his
father. Both films involve the subjects of racism and identity,
and both eventually become opportunities for Sugihara to exercise
choice. The questions here are obvious. Who will he be? What
will he do? Practically every teen coming-of-age drama requires
these necessary questions, and Go doesn't waver from
that. It does approach some of the subjects with a decidedly
refreshing irreverence (an impromptu boxing match between
father and son is one such moment), but the film's superior
journey ends up with familiar results.
And, the ultimate resolution
to Sugihara's love problems is even more uninspired and trite.
Go posits complex, difficult relationships and problems
that involve and affect, and the presence of a "mega
happy ending" seems a little too easy. The actors certainly
make us wish for a happy conclusion, but satisfying audience
desire isn't always the best - or most appropriate course
of action. Sometimes what's more affecting may be the path
that's least comfortable.
However, Go does possess a
superior journey, and that should be lauded. The fact that
the film's questions are not entirely answered (and in some
cases even glossed over) is a consideration, but the film
itself is cinematically exceptional. Director Isao Yukisada
brings considerable confidence to the table, and the film's
polished feel is a testament to his sure handling. Thanks
to a wonderful sense of narrative and cinematic style, Go
simply begs to be watched. The least we can do is oblige.
(Kozo 2002) |
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Availability: |
DVD
(Hong Kong)
Region 3 NTSC
Intercontinental Video Limited (IVL)
16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Japanese Language Track
Dolby Digital 5.1
Removable English and Chinese subtitles |
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image courtesy
of www.filmplay.com
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