Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train, Friend, Before Sunset

Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train was intriguing in a French-Altman-esqe sort of way. The premise that we can see the deceased artist's family and friends pick at their emotional scabs while sharing a train ride to, and recovering from, "Me"'s funeral is a rather open ended construction, and it's used to good effect. Too bad the DVD mastering is horrid: Yes, it's in the Original Aspect Ratio of approx 2.35:1 which is GREAT. But it's not anamorphic and the english subtitles are burned-in. If it were an older film I would have sworn this was the master used for the VHS release. Criminal. Friend, from Korea, gives one the sense that even after laying on all kinds of Hollywood conventions and a story of gansters and thugs, it's tough not to see a whole bunch of the cultural weight given to family, friends, and similar bonds in Korea. Sill, if I were to watch a recent Korean film a second time, right now, it would be 2009 Lost Memories because it has even more of the Culture on display, along with more history -- and more action. Saw Before Sunset, which adds depth and meaning to Before Sunrise, which was always a nice little twenty-something fantasy piece. With Sunset, we are confronted slowly but surely not with another deeply-meaningful-seduction (which was fun at 25) but with a whole pile of missed opportunities and regrets (which are not irrevocable at 35). Perfect? No. But better than it seems, and it already seemed pretty good.