Motorway
Now, Motorway is a fine little
film. I agree with the first half of the quote adorning the box cover:
‘Fast and Furious thrills delivered in the understated cool of
Drive’ - it certainly does deliver on the high octane stuntwork, but
in more of a campy, over the top, Gone in 60 Seconds (the Nicolas
Cage version) kind of way as opposed to anything resembling the
effortless charisma that a certain Mr Gosling brings to the table.
Whatever - all well and good. You know what you’re getting with a flick
like this, and Motorway largely delivers.
No, it’s the films that Madman doesn’t
release that are starting to get to me. Where is My Sassy Girl,
the highest grossing Korean comedy of all time and one of the funniest
films of the past decade? Where is Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s understated
masterpiece Tokyo Sonata? Where is the haunting, unforgettable
Japanese drama Confessions? Where’s the darkly impeccable Korean
fare like Hansel and Gretel, Bad Guy and Samaritan Girl?
Why are we forced to go offshore time and time again for these and
similar titles Madman, WHY OH WHY???? Forgive me if it sounds like I’m
getting tetchy, but you know Umbrella isn’t going to ante up, and we do
rely on you so.
Don’t get me wrong Madman, I still love you
and you’ll always be the best Australian distributor by a country mile
to this little bunny. You have impeccable taste. Why, you purchased
the rights to not merely one but both of the two best vampire
films ever released, namely Thirst and Let the Right One In.
You were the only local company brave enough to take a chance on some of
Takeshi Kitano’s more violent outings, and introduced the world (well,
Australia anyway) to the work of leading Asian directors like Bong Joon-Ho
(The Host) and Na Hong-Jin (The Chaser). You
brought out Region 4 editions of countless Asian stunners like
Revenge, Cure and Battle Royale (aka The Hunger
Games Prequel) and we barely even said thank you, thinking it was
all just par for the course.
I guess what I’m saying is Motorway
is ok. It’s pretty cool. Probably above average. But it’s no
Chungking Express, or Strange Circus, or (insert name of
favourite currently unavailable Asian film here), and until all these
and any others I happen to think of in the interim are released locally,
Madman, I’m sulking a little bit every time you bring out a film like
Motorway. So there.
Bonus Features
A solitary theatrical trailer.
