Howdy, readers! It's been a damn long time since I release Thursday Movie Picks. Hello for my old usual readers and welcome to new readers! Thursday Movie Picks is a weekly three-film recommendation from certain. This meme is hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. If you want to know more, please visit this link.
What is one of the first thing we think about teenagers? That's right: angst. Angst because you are seen too emotional, too young but too old, too ignorant and too idealist at the same time. As a teenager myself, I think it's funny that so many adults think that teenagers are ignorant, party-obsessed, and lustful, while I witness my friends having debates - both logical and passionate - and being critical, being bullied. Teenagers are as complex as adults, both the people and the world, but since so many people forget about the, boom, an angst is born.
1. Thread of Lies (Lee Han, 2014)
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A mother and a daughter have to face a bitter reality after their daughter and younger sister left them by suicide. The older sister stars to investigate what kind of life her younger sister lives by meeting her young sister's "friends".
I don't know what to say about this film. I think I have to rewatch this again because I even confused by my own opinion about this film. I think the family drama in this film is pretty good, but it makes the bullying sub-plot less solid. There are some scenes I would like to cut.
But I like how so many aspects of bullying are present in this film. Like, how sometimes people do not realize that they actually hurt someone, how bully victims sometimes do not see themselves as a bully victim and try to normalize what happen to them, the "gray" people who neither help the bully victim nor support the bully, etc.
2. Tag (Sion Sono, 2015)
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Mitsuko (Reina Triendl) is a timid schoolgirl who likes to write poem. One day, she has to face something powerful and fearful as all of her friends are killed in a blink. As she survives the tag, she finds herself a new identity and new friends.
THIS FILM HAS ONE OF THE BEST OPENING SCENE I EVER WATCH. By the way, this is also the first Sion Sono's film I watched, so please forgive my ignorance, LOL.
I can't really tell you why I pick this gory film in "Teen Angst" week because it will ruin all the fun, LOL.
P.S: It's also because I don't really the message of the film. I understand the message after I read some of its reviews.
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky, 2012)
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| emilykazakh.wordpress.com |
Charlie (Logan Lerman) is an introverted freshman who likes to write. His life is changed forever after he meets Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller).
I guess one of the thing I like about Perks is that it brings something new other than typical everyday-teenage-angst. It also talks about homophobia and mental illness, something that classics like The Breakfast Club and Rebel Without a Cause have done. I'm not saying that Perks is the pioneer of that because I bet earlier underground films had done that before this film. Also, the novel is a lot darker than the film, which is a sad thing. I love the soundtrack though.
