Films about characters driven by the absence of agency. Tokyo Drifter returns as Jee-woon Kim’s A Bittersweet Life. A loyal enforcer who fails to do his job by doing the moral thing. Flexing on ’80s street thugs. Dudes be fighting and toxic masculinity. Having the choice to escape and have a better life. Eastern versus Western mob movies. Passing up the chance for redemption. The Coen Brothers’ noir flick, The Man Who Wasn’t There. You know, for kids. A barber who cuts hair well, but does everything else wrong. Thinly-veiled stories about the film industry. Financing films and Alice’s life as a filmmaker. Grifters as inciting incidents. Good old dark grey-blooded Americans. The masculinity of the ’50s. Fate happens regardless of your actions.
