Koroshi no Harawata

Being a short film, this was preceded by four other short films. I shall give a quick review each in the order shown.

17ko no Kukan to Ippiki no Ujimushi de Kosei Sareta Sakuhin
English Title: A Story Constructed of 17 Pieces of Space and One Maggot
Director: Hirabayashi Isamu
Country: Japan

This follows the adventures of a man who has been reincarnated as a maggot. Very quirky, I liked it.

Light My Fire
Director: Lee Jong-Pil
Country: South Korea

A young fan of rock music growing up in North Korea decides to flee to the south where he believes that he will belong. Unfortunately, things don't work out the way he had dreamed. A mellow-yet-optimistic piece.

De-Orbited: Like a Scale in Zero Gravity
Director: Lee June-Soo
Country: South Korea

A philosophical science fiction short about decisions made by a couple of people who are in charge of tracking down space coffins that have gone astray. It was a bit too out-there and obscure in terms of the sci-fi aspect, which I didn't think worked too well. Also, with the budget that was used for the very cheap looking special effects, this could have easily been an animated film instead.

Yoru Naka no San-Ji
English Title: 3:00 AM
Director: Nogami Suwami
Country: Japan

A dialogue-free animated short about drinking coffee in the wee hours of the morning. The combination of simple sounds and visuals made this a bit of a treat.

Koroshi no Harawata
English Title: Masters of Killing
Director: Shinozaki Makoto
Country: Japan

An over-the-top action flick about a group of assassins who take out an entire family at the beginning of the film. Twelve years later, the leader of the group is approached with a new target: himself. He agrees, and sets his own team against him. This had a really cool concept, and was something which I thought would benefit from a long-form adaptation.