The Lost Hum

Premiering recently at the Rotterdam festival was Hanauta-dorobou (The Lost Hum), the directorial debut of Hirosue Hiromasa. The film's subject matter makes it perfect for online discussion, so please do add a comment below, no matter how brief, and let the world know how this one sounds to you.

The film's lead characters are Nagamiya, a murderer, and Hasumi, the sister of his victim. Hasumi kidnaps Nagamiya, and not clear how to progress, publishes a message online. It reads: 'I have caught a man who killed my sister, but don't know what to do with him. Does anyone have a suggestion for me?'. Of course, there's more - the "murder" was a mercy killing, of sorts, and the relationship between Nagamiya and Hasumi does develop in some potentially surprising directions.

This storyline seems custom made as a springboard for discussing democracy, freedom of speech, internet culture and retribution - just for starters. I have heard that the film isn't entirely successful, but I would guess that an English remake trading on the high concept premise can't be too far away and, despite the precious nonsense normally spouted about such enterprises, we could end up with a winner - even if it does have Tom Cruise in it.

For a very successful film with a fairly similar bent, I would - of course - recommend Chan-wook Park's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. It's playing in cinemas across the UK now, is due for US release this Spring and the Korean DVD can be purchased online already.