Heaven's Burning (1998)

Powerful

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is the worst movie I have ever seen. The story is ludicrous, the violence pointless and gratuitous. Worst of all, everyone involved, from the cast to the crew and probably the caterers, seems to have realised this and can't be bothered making the slightest attempt to redeem it. The acting is lazy, the photography is woeful, the direction is seemingly non-existent, probably telephoned from poolside at the Manly Pacific. Your time will be better spent watching 'Daddy-O'(1958), a zero-budget beater that at least features some enthusiasm.

This is a wild fun Austrailian movie that is well worth the ride The action dominates the movie with a collection of odd broken characters that you so often find in Australian movies. The story sometimes borrows themes from other 'road movies' which are fairly familiar, but the unique characters in the movie make this road movie unique in its own very strange way. Russell Crowe a la sideburns is still very cool, yet he does not dominate each scene as he has done in every movie he has made in the past 5 years. His somewhat understated presence allows his co-star Yidori (?) shine - a wonderful Japanese actress whose ingénue childlike looks contrast sharply with her bizarre change or metamorphosis from the gentle opening scenes. The classical musical romantic score is placed in a wild funny contrast to the plot,sometimes in a very campy way--yet it still works. This is not a great movie or a classic--but it has the zany features of movies like "TRUE ROMANCE', (a cult classic) I would highly recommend this movie for what it it is -- a wild action packed funny bizarre ride with a good run of crazy people--- This movie may be a 10 if you view it the Austrailian way --with a keg of good beer--wish I 'd seen this movie on the big screen but I don't recall this movie in the theater years ago-Enjoy--there are even a few good lines that will make you want to go back to it someday so a DVD purchase would not be wasted....

First of all, I'd like to say that this is a very unique, but also important film that is making a social commentary on the oppression that (specifically, but not exclusively,)many Japanese women suffer at the hands of their domineering and quite often abusive husbands. Because of their ancient cultural structure and social and familial pressures, these women are forced into marriages that are probably not always fulfilling, and this incredible Australian? director has tackled the telling of this poor woman's predicament, which alot of Asian women may be able to relate to, without being able to speak up about it for themselves. At the same time, this director, by bringing Russell Crowe, and a plot that revolves around a bank robbery gone awry, with plenty of action and gore, is probably going to attract viewers who otherwise wouldn't really care about the problems Japanese women face. He is therefore challenging those people to take a look at this human rights issue, and bringing it to light, which is good for everybody. The inter-racial romance is an added entertaining element, but if that's all that viewers see, then they're missing the point. Let's face it,inter-racial relationships between Japanese women and foreign men have been going on since the early days of exploration by Europeans. The director of this film, along with everybody involved must be commended for taking a gamble on a topic that obviously can be touchy, and at the same time misunderstood by the typical, shallow public. To top it off, he also manages to make an homage to the classical composer Richard Wagner, first with the guy in a wheelchair, played by the ex-Men at Work singer (forgot-his-name),who should get an Oscar for his Heroic performance, and then again with the music from Tristan and Isolde at the very end! A really Cool Flic!

The beginning of the movie promises more than the actual result. The scenes in the hotel gave me so strong impression, Youki-san did magnificent job with her mysterious looks (especially the part where she looked into the security camera). Kenji Isomura is also good in the beginning, yet his character seems simply p***ed off througout the film, leaving nothing to think of. The music is nice throughout the film.However, when the plot starts get going, it goes wrong. The bank robbery scene is still somehow interesting, but when Mr. Crowe shoots his fellow robbers under the electric line, the plot starts to repeat itself, forgetting to be convincing. The movie is incredibly violent, and it left me wondering the purpose of the violence in the movie. The Afgan robber boss seems like creation of overactive imagination of the writer, lacking totally creditability.And the end, it feels like bizarre mix of Takeshi Kitano's Hana-Bi and Bonnie and Clyde. The movie lacks greatly originality. And it seems even silly to me how the movie seem to cast negative ideal against Japan. Japanese culture is seen as a boring country full of workaholics and only worth for escaping. As one character said "Japan has a bad carma because of what it done during WWII".Come on!Without Youki Kudoh's great and sensitive acting, I wouldn't bother to review this film. However few nice parts including the beginning are nice. The music isgreat too. I stuffed this film to the category of sevens, and I think it's one that this film deserves. Instead of this, I suggest you to watch Thelma and Louise or Takeshi Kitano movie.