I haven’t seen the original Three film; a collection of three different tales which were linked in some form. Three..Extremes is a collection of three different films, by three different directors, from three different Far Eastern regions. I’ve decided to review each segment on it’s own and then provide an overall view of the collection.

Box – Directed by Miike Takashi

I would rank this as perhaps one of Miike’s finer moments. The slap stick comic humour of Ichi the Killer didn’t go down too well with audiences globally. It was a film in the vain of a gore-filled comic, nothing more, nothing less – it seems people didn’t get that, and took it as a violence for the sake of violence. Well it was, but completely over the top.

Audition is what brought Miike mainstream global success and respect outside of his maniacal fanbase. Audition’s nuances including sympathetic characters, and a deep seated darkness that doesn’t make itself apparent with the innocent exterior.

With Box, Miike takes what he’s learnt from Audition (yes he has made films since then) and taken it one step further in a strange, Lynch-esque manner. It will come as quite a shock for those who only know him for his violence, to see a short that is both tender and grizzly in tale. It’s difficult to say much without giving things away, but the story revolves around a woman named Kyoko (played by the rather lovely Kyoko Hasegawa)who is suffering from a nightmare.

Kyoko works as a copywriter (from what I gathered), but begins to suffer even darker nightmares than she first envisioned. A flashback to the past reveals the death of her twin; a time she simply tries to forget. Kyoko dreams about her own death, and how she dies, this is linked to her past with something she has done; in order to rid herself of her long standing pain, she needs to confront her past, however, it’s not the way she probably would have faced it.

In essence, there is a minimal number of people acting in this film. With at least two people talking, and no more than three. It’s an interesting approach, and it does add a sense of atmosphere. This is no horror, however, but more a nightmarish vision. The truth, and the way it is managed is very smart. The way the dreams manifest themselves into reality is also cleverly done, and full credit to Miike for creating something quite sophisticated, even for him.

Box will not please everyone, in fact, some may call it incoherent. As I said, though, there is a Lynch-esque endeavor with Box, and for those who find Lynch incoherent, you will not manage well with Box. Acting is careful, but intriguing. There is a dark feel about the whole thing, but nothing that really makes you jump out of your skin. There is, however, a questionable moment in the film involving the insinuation of incestuous relations, so best to be warned before you plump for this. I guess, you could say it’s more horrific than horror. Still, I did enjoy this piece of work. The vision, the imagery, the cinematography are really quite delicious.

Dumplings – Directed by Fruit Chan

Fruit Chan has a wry sense of humour to his films, all of which is missing from Dumplings. The version presented here is the original short. Fruit Chan went and made a full 90/118 minute feature length version of this, and from what I understand it adds little to nothing to the overall plot.

Where as Box had suspense and intrigue, Dumplings is rather pedestrian by comparison. The characters played by Bai Ling and Miriam Yeung are passive, and frankly rather dull. Ching (Yeung) is trying to find a solution to keeping her husband happy, and so ventures on a rumour about a woman named Mei (Ling) who has a cure for age. The solution are dumplings that Mei makes with a unique ingredient; one with a gruesome reality.

I personally find Christopher Doyle a highly overrated Cinematographer, and he does little in the way here to really add anything to what is the weakest chain in the Three…Extremes films. He has done some great work, notably of recent with 2046, Green Tea and Hero), but I would really question whether Doyle is not often self indulgent in his work. In any case, his work here is not to be admired, much like the whole fiasco of Dumplings.

It strikes me as insane as to why anyone would want to watch another 45 minutes of this borefest. Yes, there is the theme of vanity, and greed. I did like the ending, which had a slightly twisted feel to it, but I think it was almost predictable that something like that would happen. There was a moment of joy when the plot did kick in, and Ching has to make a decision about her future, or about herself.

However, this is in the last few moments of the ending of the segment, so you justly question what the hell you’ve been snoring at for the previous 35 minutes. There is no build up, no tension, no suspense, character; there is really nothing worthwhile to say. Except that Bai Ling looked physically amazing for a 34 year old compared to Miriam Yeung who is 4 years her junior. Perhaps those dumplings did work; but this segment most definitely didn’t. Dull and lifeless (no pun intended if you watch it).

Cut – Directed by Park Chan-wook

Now we come on to my favourite segment. I have read many reviews saying this makes less sense than Box by Takashi Miike. I say bite me. I loved Cut, and it has a few notable trademarks from Park. The tale is that of a film director who is taken hostage by an unknown man and his wife tortured in front of him. The dilemma: what will he do to save his wife?

I want to literally beat the hell out of people who expected Oldboy and didn’t get that. The man has made other films, and this is a 40 minute short. Everyone has limitations, and must work within the limits they are presented. This is, however, the best piece, and even I have to admit I was pretty excited to find out what he could do.

Cut is not complicated, but it does have the trademark dark humour, and brilliant twists. It’s all rather generic for the most part, as a man tries his best to entertain his hostage taker so that his wife and he may escape from the maniacal torture the hostage taker impresses upon them. We know Park can do this, and he has done it before in all of his previous work (of which there are less a dozen), but he manages to squeeze all his talent into a 40 minute short which, for the vast majority, works well. I can’t understand how people didn’t understand what the film is about, as it’s perfectly clear what the twist is, as it’s all professed in the dialogue. Would it be rude to suggest there is something missing between their ears?

Lim Won-hee gives a hysterical and dark performance as the hostage taker, adding some brilliant humour to the sinister proceedings as a cross between Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson having a really bad day. The proceedings are pretty sinister, but I think everyone expects this from Park now, and I feel sorry for the guy as he has created this weight of expectation upon himself thanks to his own talent. The other actors in this play their part well, with Gang Hye-jeong (Mi-do in Oldboy) as the wife wired up to a piano, and Lee Byung-hun (JSA) as the desperate husband. Both show convincing enough distress and angst at the situation, but this is very much Lim’s show and he doesn’t disappoint.

The ending is a little weak, but it’s still good enough to leave a mostly satisfying taste in your mouth. What I did feel, though, was this was a segment that perhaps Park had for a bigger feature, and cut it down for Three..Extremes. It does feel a little disjointed and quick at times. But these are minor criticisms I think. After the disappointment of Dumplings, I think Cut is very much a fitting end to the series of three shorts.

In the end though, Three…Extremes is a heavily hyped up trilogy of shorts. The work from these directors is overall disappointing, in the sense that they never fully manage to make their segments feel fulfilled, and you’re left wanting more out of it. The ideal solution would be to have Three..Extremes as three separate features about their respective themes: guilt; vanity; jealousy. They have done this with the dreadful Dumplings, so I see no reason as to why they could not do this with the others in the first place; perhaps they will, but it’s a bit late now!

For what you get, at a 120 minutes long, is two-thirds of slow paced, mind bending entertainment. One third can simply be ignored, as you will feel cheated by watching it. Unless you have specific interest in Bai Ling or Miriam Yeung, I wouldn’t bother with it. It seems only Miike has tried something different, and attempted to push his own skills as a director forward; the other two seem either lost or stagnant with ideas. It’s a mixed bag, and I want to like Three…Extremes more than I did, but it simply leaves you hollow. Think of it as watching extreme version of Twilight Zone episodes, and you’ll get a fair idea of what you can expect here.

Verdict: Should have been much better; instead it’s only interesting, but nothing more. Worth a rental, but not a purchase