#01: Oh, Youth! (North Korea, 1995, RomCom, 9/20)
Premise: 3
Soundtrack: 2
Content: 3
Quality: 1
Oh, Youth! is a Romantic Comedy made during the devastating famine on the 2nd year of Kim Jong-Il's rule, it was so bad that people were reported eating sandpaper after being encouraged by the government itself. I had trouble ignoring that fact watching this from begining to end.
The premise is something that wouldn't be out of place in a Hallmark film, the only son out of a family of five athletic daughters is a total bookworm. He ends up falling in love with a tailor who is secretly a master taekwondo fighter, somehow his mom finds out she's an athlete too and tries to stop her from marrying him..more or less. I give it a 3 because for North Korean films it's very refreshing and a nice change..for films as a whole? Meh.
The soundtrack is generic waiting room music, step it up NK.
This movie screams "1995 in a socialist country", I'm pretty sure these films weren't intended for foreign viewing but its' almost as if they're trying to fool people into moving to Pyongyang instead of fooling themselves. the acting is basic RomCom ham and for its' credit, the actress playing Se Ok is pretty cute.
I can forgive old movies for looking the way they do, but this film was made during a fukking famine..unacceptable.
#02. Robin (Sweden, 90's, slice-of-life, 16/20)
Premise: 5
Soundtrack: 3
Content: 4
Quality: 4
Robin is a surreal, one-off series of cartoons about a NEET, our title character and his "cheegro" friend Benjamin. They do nothing but get drunk, go around town and get themselves in trouble. This show's pretty relatable, i'm 18 fresh out of high school and practically doing nothing with my life. 5/5 for relatability.
Soundtrack is minimal and just loops, but that's part of what gives the show its' charm, you can easily recreate or make a Robin-sounding soundtrack on Garageband [matter of fact, i'll do that inna bit].
Again, as crude as the animation is, that gives the show a 90's slacker vibe. My only real gripe is how the Black characters look, but [white] Swedes aren't exactly the most tactful bunch around. You can watch any episode and not have to worry about any continuity or anything.
Would you watch this show if everything was realistically drawn? Exactly.
#03. The Impossible Kid (Phillipines, 1982, Kung Fu/Comedy, 15/20)
Premise: 5
Soundtrack: 4
Content: 4
Quality: 2
This cult film stars Weng Weng, the loveable 2 foot tall martial artist. This is actually a sequel to the remarkably boring "For your eyes only", a Spy film parody. In this one, Weng Weng is sent by Interpol to fight and destroy a terrorist ring led by a bootleg KKK member.
This soundtrack is your average 80s action flick OST, but that doesn't stop it from being great.
Funny as fukk and full of female frontal nudity, but does lag somewhat in the middle.
Hasn't aged too well, of course.
