Film and TV picks: All Of Us Strangers, Joy Of Life 2 and Godzilla Minus One
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Zhang Ruoyun in the Chinese period series Joy Of Life 2.
PHOTO: JOY OF LIFE 2/WEIBO
Joy Of Life 2
Disney+
After a long wait of five years, Chinese period drama Joy Of Life is finally back for a second season. The sprawling series – incorporating wuxia, court intrigue and science fiction – is fronted by leading man, Chinese actor Zhang Ruoyun.
He reprises his role as Fan Xian, a young man who seems to be living in ancient China, yet has memories and knowledge about modern human life.
The previous season, available on Tencent Video’s YouTube page or WeTV, followed Fan Xian as he discovered secrets about his world and parentage, and the mystery of his late mother and what she did.
It ended on a cliffhanger that seemingly left Fan Xian injured or dead.
Season 2 starts with Fan Xian faking his death and sneaking back into the capital city to confront his enemies.
All Of Us Strangers (R21)
106 minutes, Disney+
Claire Foy (left) and Andrew Scott in All Of Us Strangers.
PHOTO: DISNEY+
In time for Pride Month, catch this sensitive British romantic fantasy film on Disney+ led by Irish stars Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.
Scott stars as lonely television writer Adam, who starts a romance with his mysterious neighbour Harry (Mescal) just as he begins to experience visions of his dead parents (played by British stars Jamie Bell and Claire Foy).
Although they died in a car crash when he was 12, Adam starts to see himself interacting, chatting and eating with them as an adult, which leads Harry to feel alarmed.
The critically acclaimed movie, which is based on the 1987 Japanese novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada, received six nominations at the British Academy Film Awards earlier in 2024, including for Outstanding British Film, Best Director for writer-director Andrew Haigh, and acting nods for Foy and Mescal.
Godzilla Minus One (PG13)
125 minutes, Netflix
4 stars
Godzilla Minus One won the Best Visual Effects category at the 2024 Academy Awards.
PHOTO: NETFLIX
After World War II, Japanese kamikaze pilot Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is physically unharmed, but traumatised by an incident on a remote island involving a beast the locals call Godzilla. He returns to a shattered Tokyo and tries to put his past behind him, until the creature he thought he left behind returns to threaten everyone he loves.
Japanese production Godzilla Minus One, winner in the Best Visual Effects category at the 2024 Academy Awards, puts in what Hollywood’s Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (2024) leaves out: the monster being monstrous.
Taking cues from Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) and Jurassic Park (1993), Japanese writer-director Takashi Yamazaki draws scares from the title character’s ability to lurk beneath the waves, striking suddenly from the depths.
The story also could not be simpler, or more Japanese. The disgraced Koichi represents a post-war Japan burdened with the shame of defeat. But through self-sacrifice, resilience and teaming up with people who believe in him, his arc goes from tragic to triumphant.
In Godzilla Minus One, the line “the monster is our problem, we will have to save ourselves” is said a couple of times. In a land beset by tsunamis, earthquakes and nuclear accidents, it is a phrase heavy with meaning.
