THREE...EXTREMES (Japan • Hong Kong • Korea)
2004 was a good year for interesting movies. Ones like Shaun Of The Dead, I’m Not Scared, and Collateral. Asia, however, has been busy as usual – but this time, they’ve tripled the output. The result: Three...Extremes. The offerings hail from Japan, Hong Kong and Korea. There’s “Box” by Takashi Miike (pronounced: me-ek-kay) of Japan, “Dumplings” by Fruit Chan of Hong Kong, and “Cut” from Park Chan Wook of Korea. These men are considered the top directors of their genre, and also the most sought after in their respective countries. I can tell you that I’ve been waiting to see this in the theaters, and would love to have experienced these shorts on the big screen. But trying to track down where it was actually playing was really difficult. So, finally after months of watching the trailer on my iPod over and over, and over again... the DVD was released here in America, with a second disc...a nice surprise as you’ll see.
“Box” is a short about Kyoko. A young lady who has a troubled past. When she was a little girl her and her twin sister were a performing act in a small traveling circus. The nightmares that Kyoko suffers from stem from a prank turned into a horrible accident due to deep-seeded jealousy and competition with her sister. When she comes across an object that reminds her of the incident, she decides to confront her fear. When she does, you may be asking the question... was this a dream, or was everything else a dream?
“Dumplings” is about vanity, and the extreme lengths that one person goes to remain beautiful. Miss Lin is an ex-starlet who is married to a wealthy man who is cheating on her. So she’s decided to seek out the one they call “Auntie Mae”, for she makes these dumplings that cause the eater to regain her youth and the love of her husband. Auntie Mae herself is a walking, talking and singing advertisement of these highly sought after morsels. It’s secret ingredient that will have your hand over your mouth in complete terror! NOTE: This short in particular is NOT for the faint of heart or those with a weak stomach. You have been warned.
“Cut” is about a famous director who is knocked out upon his arrival home from work one night. When he wakes up he finds himself bound to the wall, and his wife is bound, gagged, and strung up like a marionette puppet to the the piano. His captor presents the first riddle...”who is he?” What comes next. looks like the beginning of the end when his captor tells him he’ll let his wife go, if...he kills someone, right here... right now. From here on out it’s a roller-coaster ride of tension, suspense, and absolute pain, as you’ll see.
— Brian K. James
overal movie rating:
8 out of 10
THREE STORIES, TWO RELEASES, AND ONE BIG BONUS...
These three tales of terror will have you squirming at every turn. I would have really appreciated seeing this triptych on the big screen... even to hear the moans, groans, and screams from the other people that would show up to see what the Dumplings are really made of, or the mental state of Kyoko and her sister, or in the final cut in “Cut”. These directors are definitely capable of telling a horrific story in a short amount of time. If you were like me, and spent time looking for any release of this film before the American release of the DVD, you may have come across the Korean release. It was about two months after that when the American DVD was released. The big bonus is on the second disc, and only comes to us via the American DVD release. The story “Dumplings” is actually a full-length 90-minute ride of torture, sex, and that elusive secret ingredient. The whole story is longer, develops the characters a bit more, and the ending is different as well. The disc also contains interviews, commentary and deleted scenes! It’s worth the money. You’ll love it.
