Saturday 9 March 2024

The Art Of Self-Defense (4 Stars)


It's not usual for me to watch the same film twice in a row. "The Art of Self-Defense" (sic) is a special film that deserves special treatment. I'll just add a few thoughts to the review I wrote yesterday. The main humour in the film revolves around toxic masculinity. It's repeatedly stated by the karate trainer that women are inferior, and his word is unchallenged, because he's the sensei, the teacher. Nobody who practises martial arts disagrees with his sensei. It's not done. His best student is Anna, played by Imogen Poots, but he will never promote her to a black belt because she's a woman.

One thing I don't like about the film is the spelling mistake in the title. It's a common mistake for Americans to misspell the word "defence". Many Americans defend it by saying it's American English, but that's an oxymoron. There's no such thing as American English; there is English and there are mistakes.

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