The Lion Standing in the Wind (2015) - Takashi Miike

I never spend much time on films that I don't like, but I think it would be interesting to know what you think of this film... especially coming from Miike.

I really didn't like this film. It got me even more mad than Terra Formars (I knew I probably wouldn't like that one because I hated the anime). It's just so melodramatic, right from the beginning. It doesn't take its time to make us care for the characters.. I like melodrama when it makes sense to use it, at the ending of a film. It worked great in Train to Busan and, especially, in Love & Peace. So melodrama is not something that I never enjoyed.

But back to The Lion Standing in the Wind... I must complain a lot about the pacing... every scene is so slow and every character's movements are so slow as well.. except when the characters are running around in other scenes... I could imagine Miike telling one of the actors "Don't forget to move your arm as slow as possible". Plus the very long flashbacks...I watched the film in 2 nights.

Overall I could never feel any attachment to any of the characters, and even worse, to its messages and themes.

Not everything is bad. The visuals look nice, and despite all, I appreciate the main actor's efforts to do what Miike wanted. The acting from every other actor was garbage though. I can't complain about the kids, but the american actors were so bad (which happens in many other japanese/asian films).


So yeah, I didn't like this film... but the ending montage made me low the score. It's so, so bad it made me laugh with all that emotional epic music, which is the opposite from what it was intended to do...

It's one of Miike's worst films and I feel right now a huge desire to watch Vistor Q, Ichi The Killer, The Bird People in China, Gozu, Dead or Alive and some of his other great films.

3/10

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Favourite films:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls006514680/