MovieChat Forums > Kokuhaku (2010) Discussion > slow motion madness

slow motion madness

posted 13 years ago by arcade_kid
37 replies | jump to latest

i just stopped the movie at the 1h 24 min mark, i can't take it anymore, what the hell is up with all of these goddamn slow motion scenes? i thought the point of slow motion scenes was the make that particular scene stand out from the rest of the movie in some way, to make some sort of impact, but when the entire damn movie is filmed in slow motion, the desired effect disappears (in slow motion).

also, what makes it even worse is the cheap wannabe sigur rós soundtrack constantly playing in the background of said slow motion scenes. what's up with that? did the filmmaker think this would make his/her film seem more artsy?

it doesn't.

oh, and the acting, 'specially the "manic" laughter from some of the characters is just cringeworthy. i realize overacting is quite common in japanese film, but this is just ridiculous. like how the mother of the murderous kid is terrified of her own son all of a sudden and crawls up against the wall in the kitchen just because he happens to walk in the room. ffs, it's just your kid! grow some balls woman and send him to his room!

ok, that last part was just me being silly, but seriously, overacting makes my skin crawl.

anyway, i probably won't watch the last 20 minutes of this because i couldn't care less about any of the characters or what happens to them, and the fact that some people are saying this sould be in imdb top 250 is just laughable.

first imdb forum post! holla!

[–] jjkfirst 11 years ago

I agree with you completely. Although I don't regret watching it to the end, the slow motion scenes and unrealistic acting ruined many moments for me. I couldn't tell at times if the movie was supposed to be a black comedy or not with the way the movie took itself so seriously.

[–] iloverelaxbear 10 years ago

The slow motion is absolutely necessary. These are the only "breaks" during this masterpiece where your brain can attempt to grasp what is unravelling before your eyes.

[–] keinhep-86-118893 8 years ago

Well said Sir, well said!

Love the slo-mo and the music, give me chills every time.

[–] loggarin 11 years ago

it's a drama not action movie, I only noticed slowmo in the scene where house was blown up.

[–] fuutenanon 10 years ago

Pile on here please. I will. Good movie, and indeed only really noticeable when it was purposely noticeable.

[–] tim_tim_tim_ 11 years ago

Oke so OP didnt finish the film, thats sad. However what he states is correct. The entire film is drenched in slowmotion and it removes any impact the shots are supposed to have. Not to mention that the entire film is one big montage and has the pacing of a snail stuck in hyperdrive.

[–] AnythingButTheButton 10 years ago

I wholly agree with your statements. Given this, I didn't think the movie was that bad, especially the second half of it. This film would have been brilliant if they:

1. Eased up on the slow motion

2. Changed up the background music once in a while

3. Didn't have music playing all the time instead of having the same incessant score trying way too hard make an emotional appeal at inappropriate times. The emotional impact of the melancholic music diminished as the film progressed since it was being played all throughout the film.

4. Got actors who could actually portray someone in agony. There were only a few poor performances but they were enough to take away from the experience.

5. Delivered the ending in a different manner. I'm assuming the creators of this movie were expecting a similar reaction to their twist as that of Oldboy's. Unfortunately, it didn't impact me as much as Park's film because of the way it was delivered. As someone else already posted, there was too much explaining! Didn't leave anything up to the imagination.

Luckily for this movie though, the beautiful cinematography, the interesting concept and the intense plot were its saviors and I would still recommend this film to some people. However, anyone who thinks that this rivals Park's revenge trilogy is insane. In conclusion, this film for me was a 'meh' but it had huge potential. (7/10)

[–] fadyeltellawy 10 years ago

Did you just call Radiohead cheap wannabe?

[–] rallyinthestreets 10 years ago

The use of slow motion was utterly pointless, and it points to a key issue with this film: That it employs style over substance.

The visuals largely lack meaning and subtext, opting instead for "cool-looking" images. The posters on this board seem to have mistaken that superficiality for quality and depth.

[–] michahardy 10 years ago

omg that sounds so annoying. lol. I haaaaaaaaaate when directors over use the slow motion. I don't know if I can be bothered watching this film anymore.

[–] fantasyescapist 10 years ago

Those became very annoying, as it seemed excessive, thus like an overzealously chosen effect in editing.

George Lucas talking about: 'Hey, give it to me, I'll fix it. I'll make 20 more of them'