Too Tired to Die (1998)

Strong and Moving!

Instant Favorite.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

I was looking forward to seeing Kaneshiro Takeshi in an English-speaking role, because I've always wanted to see him in US Movies. Moving away from my initial reason for watching this, I was deceived by the "comedy" label attached to it (much like I was tricked by Spanking the Monkey) and was looking forward to a nice romp when it opened with an old Baghdad myth about Death.The start was slow and I was a little leery about it, until Sorvino showed up after the chase and the film really sped up.I have to say, I didn't like the "German" actress at all, although I was amused at Kenji's reactions to her. I did like the café guy and the Italian friend, but that's because their pretensions make them feel better about themselves, even if they're mostly falsehoods. Other than the German woman, the casting was interesting and very diverse. I bought it because it was New York City. If it had been somewhere else, it would have been more questionable.Of all the characters, I loved Kaneshiro's awkward, rather withdrawn, and just clumsy self. Sorvino was also excellent, though, especially in the dream sequences. Personally, I was curious why she spoke the Chinese (yes, I know she speaks it), but didn't do the Japanese in the dream sequence. (Maybe because she looked awkward in the kimono?) The filming itself was interesting, mostly because it felt jerky, and awkward, much like the main character. It isn't as bad towards the middle and end, and I rather feel it's because it was trying to pick up momentum with the story.The storyline is rather simplistic, but it seems right. Like mentioned elsewhere, Kenji dithers and wastes his time. He asks questions, but doesn't really listen to the answers. He now demands attention and affection, but he doesn't find it until the very end. Overall, the simplicity was all the better for the character and story. Complications were thrown in by showing shots of Death and her Minions' interactions with humans and their discussions about them and their role. I think it was interesting.My other (small) annoyance was that the subtitles were not accurate in the DVD version I had. I mean, it was translating Chinese, Japanese, and French, and it did an adequate job with the Japanese, but somehow butchered the French.Overall, it's not really a comedy, but it's hard to label it a tragedy either. The fleeting aspect of life is highlighted in this film, and how we should appreciate little things. How over thinking things can, in the end, can destroy us. I liked it. It was an interesting ride.

First of all, the movie's setting is a multi-ethnic New York City. Our hero,Kenji, is part of a great mix of foreign-born/U.S. racial minorities/gay & straight people. His Japanese accent and his best friend's Italian accent are just part of the fun. Ethnic stereotypes are jokes.Kenji really, really wants to fall in love, but seems to be living just on handouts from his parents. His Italian friend fancies himself a filmmaker, but has a job selling movie tickets. They're living on dreams and illusions, but I wouldn't call that aimless, would you? (!)Second point -- The story is told in a very interesting way. Part of it is dreams, part of it is real life, and in parts, the dreams sort of push into real life. It's not that hard to keep track of, tho. The story is told chronologically and only takes 2 days.Third -- the actors are uniformly wonderful. The supporting roles, especially Ben Gazzara, are so memorable it almost seems crazy not to veer off on each one. Then there is a whole string of cameo bits that stick in your mind -- the "Balzac man," a pseudo-intellectual guy in the café, will make you laugh -- the transvestite hooker -- the fortune teller -- there must be 20 of these gems! Fans of Mira Sorvino and Takeshi Kaneshiro will not be disappointed. As a very sexy Death, Sorvino shares with us her viewpoint, one that's not so hard to understand after all. We can see that it's natural that Death would have her favorites (not that it would be any great consolation). Her interactions with her 2 assistants are pretty hilarious.Kaneshiro's trademark blend of funny and intense makes him so rewarding to watch. No one can say he's weak or uncertain as an actor, and that was really important to this movie. He communicates a lot through his expressive attention to the other actors, but when it comes to the pivotal scene where he speaks out, his words are extremely powerful.Last -- the ending of the story takes us by surprise, even though we have known how it would end through much of the movie. It happens in a way we wouldn't have expected.Best of all are the interesting things that occur to us as we watch, like what does knowing you're going to die really change? There are lots of foreshadowings that prepare us for the main action (for example, everybody reminds the love interest, Pola, of someone else who turns out to be kind of relevant). It's hard for anyone to see this movie without suspecting there was more in there than they were able to catch.(Remind me to look up Pola Negri) I think there are plenty of people who would love this movie, and hope this helps you know if you're one of them. It's a serious story but very enjoyable.

The premise for the movie has been done, or at least has been "heard" to have been done in films like "Life or Something Like it. The difference here is what happens, or more specifically what doesn't happen, and in my opinion, this film is far more superior. Kaneshiro plays Kenji - the tragic hero of the movie, who is informed by Death that he has less than 24 hours to live. I forget the exact number. The subsequent actions follow him around for the next day, and allows the audience to see what he would do with that knowledge.People may find this movie pretentious or more precisely that "nothing happens." And they're all right. However, if one were to take the time to digest the film after watching it, you will realize the deeper truths that it reveals. Please excuse me if this sounds artsy-fartsy.If you were told that you had one day to live by Death, I think many of us would react very much like the main character: be consumed by disbelief and inertia and "waste" time by doing nothing. I think it's more hits closer to home than we would like to admit. Unfortunately, life isn't just filled with earth-shattering revelations and exciting flashy monologues, unlike Scrooge in a Christmas Carol. It's mainly us - filled with our thoughts. We are not the consummate Shakespearian tragic hero with one huge flaw. People have many little ones. And the meaning of life and all our problems can't be solved in one night, no matter how romantic that ideal might be.Oddly enough, I find this film to be a slice-of-life and quite realistic, despite the premise. Kenji goes into a coffee shop regularly to find a man sitting there alway reading a novel by some great author. Kenji often watches him but is afraid to approach him, to ask him what novel he is always reading. With his newfound knowledge of his impending death, Kenji does things he wouldn't normally do, which is obligatory in such films. However, the revelations that are "revealed" for a lack of a better word, are not big deals, but are instead, little insights to what makes us truly human - pretension, postering, lies and how we pretend to be more than we truly are.I really liked the casting of Kaneshiro. He has that listless artist look to him, that fits the character very well. However, I really disliked Sorvino, as I thought her whole motive for taking the role was to showcase her knowledge of the Mandarin language.So ultimately, this is a hard film to review and even describe. It is slow. It can leave viewers with a sad emptiness. For some reason, it reminds of the novel, "Flesh and Blood" by Michael Cunningham and maybe even "The Rules of Attraction" by Bret Easton Ellis. You see the flaws of characters very clearly. You feel as if you hadn't learn anything about them except that they are unmotivated and vain creatures - things which you already are informed in the opening sequence. Therefore, it came as a complete surprise at the end of the movie, the amount of emotion I felt. So I think the film succeeded in drawing emotions that I wasn't even sure were there, perhaps it is the empathy we feel for ourselves and each other.

I did not like the movie. It was a very promising one but I think it got out of the hands of writer/director. It could well be that writer director wanted to do exactly that, in that case I would say that writer director was not very well seasoned at that time.Maybe the next one come out better than this one. Acting was very good, script very poor. Alas, it could have been a minor classic...