Recently seen movies #99

Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (Japan, 2005) – 3,5/5

2015. A virus causing depression and despair, and ultimately leading to suicide, has taken the lives of 3 million Japanese. Two new age musicians (Tadanobu Asano and Masaya Nakahara) have been able to fight the symptoms through noice. Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani differs from most other apocalyptic visions in its minimalism; there’s no doomsday imagery, and the seashore setting looks almost normal, only people have become even fewer than before. Appart from a couple of short scenes in the beginning and a few flashbacks only 6 actors appear in the film. The slow pace is welcome, and the lengthy noice creation sessions will test the audience’s patience. Unfortunately the director has also felt the need to add childish sci-fi content and ”weird” supporting characters. The originality is strong enough to carry over most of these flaws, though.

Recently seen movies #98

Suicide Circle (Japan, 2002) – 4,5/5

As over-rated as Japanese horror may be, this is truly one of the best and most original horror movies of the last few decades. Sion Sono delivers a gut wrenchingly graphic, completely original and even beautiful film. The opening scene alone is among the most memorable ever seen in cinema. The film that follows, however, is much more than just a gore ride. But, perhaps the most describing single proof of the director’s talent is how he doesn’t use classical music in the suicide scenes. Almost any other director would’ve done that, and ruined some of the uniqueness in the process.

Recently seen movies #97

Moon Child (Japan, 2003) – 1,5/5

Takahisa Zeze’s vampire actioner has a fighteningly bad start with pop stars Gackt and Hyde showcasing some remarkably bad acting and even more clumsy gunplay. However, the overlong epic improves during its second hour and leaves a decent aftertaste… if you make it that far. Anne Suzuki makes a brief appearance near the end. Ryo Ishibashi is another cast member who can actually act. Shot half in Chinese, with the rest in Japanese and a bit of Engrish thrown in.

Recently seen movies #96

Aragami (Japan, 2003) – 3/5

Kitamura’s contribution to the Duel project doesn’t differ significantly from most of his other movies in terms of style. But has interesting starting point that slightly resembles classic European horror tales; a wounded warrior (Takao Osawa) finds shelter from a distant temple. The owner (Masaya Kato), a self-assured loner, welcomes his guest, but seems unwilling to let the man go when his wounds have healed. It’s 60 minutes of dialogue followed by 20 minutes of fighting. The single room setting provides Kitamura with plenty of changes to play with his trademark 360 degree camera spin. Soundtrack, acting and action are all decently good, but there’s a bit of overlength to such a simple story. Humour is sparse, but well used.

Recently seen movies #95

2LDK (Japan, 2003) – 3/5

The hardness of living together. I first saw 2LDK some 5 years ago. Today, being a student myself, I suddenly understand this film so much better… 2LDK is the first part in the Duel Project – Yukihiko Tsutsumi and Ryuhei Kitamura’s agreement to deliver a pair films that are shot within a week, in one location, and end with a death duel between the two main characters – and approximately as good as it’s rival. But while Kitamura was dumb enough to stuck himself with two samurai warriors, Tsutsumi set the fight between two young female actresses that are after the same role… and live in the same apartment. Maho Nonami can get a bit irritating at times but Eiko Koike acts better than a gravure idol ought to. The film isn’t quite as clever as it attempts to be, but it is funny for the most part. Also excellent ending song by Yuko Ando.

Recently seen movies #94

OneChanbara (Japan, 2008 ) – 1,5/5

3 + 2 = 1,5. Hmm. It’s got a school girl zombie, topless lady zombie, and a zombie eating intestines. It’s also got a katana wielding bikini girl as the main character, and a seifuku cutie as her opponent. Somebody obviously thought this would be a winning formula. Gô Ohara’s action design borrows from Versus and Death Trance (in which he also worked) but does everything with notably less success. The director (Yôhei Fukuda) shows little talent, and the actors are so wooden they don’t even do justice to the cardboard characters. CGI is plenty and very bad, but actually works to the benefit of the film. The core idea – swords, girls and zombies – is also fun enough to entertain a bit even if the pic fails on other areas. Oh, and this is a video game adaptation.

Recently seen movie #93

Tarao Bannai (Japan, 1978 ) – 3/5

Tarao Bannai ala Norifumi Suzuki is a dialogue loaded detective film that gets increasingly weird as the case becomes more complicated. Although the tempo is rather slow in the beginning, it will change later. Humour is plenty, and Suzuki has a couple of big surprises in his back pocket, including some Italian genre cinema borrowals. Akira Kobayashi and his numerous disguises play the lead. Toei’s no. 1 yakuza and karate villains Bin Amatsu and Masashi Ishibashi also appear, among many other stars.

Recently seen movies #92

Dokaben (Japan, 1977) – 3/5

Norifumi Suzuki’s humour has never been very sophisticated. But this… is a landmark. Based on manga by Shinji Mizushima (who also makes a cameo appearance in the film) it’s a baseball – karate comedy with some ”drama” thrown in. The characters are most likely 1:1 copies of the manga heroes… it’s really the only logical explanation. Or how else do you explain a character who has a 10 inch flower in his mouth in every scene? Or a guy who wears baseball glove in his leg? Obviously not for everyone, but offers good laughs for those who enjoy Suzuki’s triple-swedish-o grade jokes. Those looking for slightly (only slightly) more substance and higher quality should check out his excellent Truck Yaro films from the same era (1975-1980).

Restructuring blog

Dear Readers. As you may have noticed, a lot of old posts have gone missing recently. This is because I have decided make this a Japanese film blog. As much as I’d like to share information about films from all over the world, I realize that’s not what everyone wants to read about. A small blog like this should have a clear focus. From now on non-Japanese films will only be discussed in film festival reports (a couple of times a year). I may also review some non-japanese films that feature a strong Japan connection. But don’t worry, I won’t be writing about Lost in Translation.

Akira Kobayashi in Tarao Bannai (1978 )

Recently seen movies #91

Brutal Tales of Chivalry 3 (Japan, 1966) – 2,5/5

Part three turns the Takakura-Ikebe character composition of the previous film upside down, but the screenplay hampers with some poor supporting characters and predictable storyline. It’s a shame as the Takakura and Ikebe pairing is as efficient as usual, and Junko Fuji – making her debut in the series – is nothing short of excellent. The action scenes are also the most impressive in the series so far.