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Two out of Three ain't bad
You might call Three...Extremes a collection of Twilight Zone episodes for grownups, or you might call it a test of your tolerance for violence, suspense and boredom. These short films by three Asian filmmakers whose following in the U.S. is, at best, at the cult level, will evoke different responses from the people who are able to sit through all of them — a number likewise at the cult level. For me the trilogy starts at the top and goes downhill, slowly at first followed by a steep, sharp drop to the bottom (much like this year's earlier triptych, Eros). Hong Kong 's Fruit Chan, the filmmaker with whom I was least familiar (but his cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, is one of the best working today), kicks things off with "Dumplings." Former TV actress Mrs. Li (Miriam Yeung) calls on Mei (Bai Ling) for some of her homemade dumplings, which are rumored to have rejuvenating powers. Mei, for instance, claims to be much older than she looks. The dumplings prove as addictive as Botox. As Mrs. Li eats, Mei counsels her, "Just think of the results, not what it was." Uh oh, are we getting into Soylent Green territory here? No, it's worse — if possible — and the audience alternates between laughing and being revolted by a film that's not recommended for expectant mothers. Next up is Park Chanwook, whose Oldboy is a prime contender for this year's grossout crown. "Cut" is a Korean version of Saw, more stylized but no less intense. A film director, Ryu Ji-ho (Lee Byung-hun), and his wife (Gang Hye-jung) are held captive by a psycho (Lim Won-hie) who has the woman intricately bound to a piano. "I'll let your wife go if you kill someone," the terrorist tells the director. If not he'll cut off one of her fingers every five minutes. To make things easier he's got a third prisoner, a young girl, tied up on the movie set that represents the director's home. The captor introduces himself as an extra who's been in all five of Ryu's films and goes on a rant about class differences and related inequities. It's mostly terrific stuff, including a dance number, until it's brought down by a "what-the-fuck?" ending with one twist too many. "Box," by Japan 's Takashi Miike, is structured as a dream within a dream, or maybe a dream within a dream within a dream; or maybe just a bad dream. I lost track because the excruciatingly slow pace and unattractive cinematography kept putting me to sleep, adding another layer of dreaminess. We start by seeing Kyoko (Kyoko Hasegawa) being buried alive — except that it's just a dream, a recurring dream that always ends in the same spot. Or perhaps it's part of the novel, whose handwritten manuscript she turns in to her editor (Atsuro Watabe), who in turn rewards her with a music box. The music reminds her of her twin sister Shoko when they were ten, and much of the story is a flashback showing why Shoko never got any older. They used to dance together in some kind of circus, ending the number by folding up in individual boxes. Their father favored Shoko over Kyoko and didn't hesitate to show it. The crude visual style, including long, static shots with people moving in and out of the frame, is inappropriate to the story; but only another director could have saved it. Even if "Cut" ends badly, it and "Dumplings" make a good double feature. Quit while you're ahead. Steve Warren is a local actor and film reviewer. His reviews can also be seen weekly in the Sunday Paper. |
Three...Extremes
Directed by: Fruit Chan ("Dumplings"), Chan-wook Park ("Cut"), Takashi Miike ("Box") 
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(2½ out of 4)