Archive
Under-the-Radar Round Up 2014, Part 1
Original Reviews by Jonathan Broxton
I’m pleased to present the latest installment in my on-going series of articles looking at the best under-the-radar scores from around the world.
This article, the first of 2014, explores seven outstanding scores from recent months, including an epic Japanese historical television drama about the life of a brilliant military strategist navigating the turbulent world of 16th-century feudal Japan, a Vietnamese drama-thriller about an aging actress whose desperate attempt to restore her fading beauty leads to tragedy and a sinister cover-up, an inspirational Taiwanese sports drama telling the true story of a multicultural high school baseball team that overcame enormous odds to compete for the Japanese national championship in 1931, a Vietnamese supernatural thriller about a young heart-transplant recipient haunted by visions connected to the mysterious family of her donor, a spectacular Japanese period action film in which a former assassin is called upon to prevent a ruthless enemy from overthrowing the newly established Meiji government, a somber samurai revenge drama about a loyal warrior who spends thirteen years hunting the men responsible for his master’s death, and a beautiful Studio Ghibli animated drama about a lonely young girl whose friendship with the mysterious Marnie gradually reveals an unexpected connection to her own past.
Already in 2014 I have reviewed Christopher Young’s magnificent score for the Chinese epic fantasy adventure The Monkey King, and Jo-Yeong Wook’s score for the revisionist samurai action film Kundo: Age of the Rampant. You can read my review of The Monkey King here, my review of Kundo: Age of the Rampant here.
HÀO QUANG TRO LAI/SCANDAL – Christopher Wong
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Scandal: Hao Quang Tro Lai is a Vietnamese drama-thriller, directed by Victor Vu, a follow-up to his own film Scandal from 2012. The film stars Nhung Trang as Bella, a beautiful but aging actress who is passed over for Vietnam’s version of the Academy Awards in favor of a younger, but less talented rival. Convinced that her failure is a direct result of her fading looks, Bella secretly visits Dr. Quan (Bao Chi), a plastic surgeon, in a desperate attempt to make herself appear younger. Shockingly, Bella dies on the operating table, and in an attempt to save his own career Quan disposes of the body and covers up the death; for a while, everything seems fine, and Quan soon becomes a famous ‘celebrity surgeon’ – until a woman who bears an astonishing resemblance to Bella appears, threatening to unearth Quan’s scandalous secret. Read more…
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