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Reviews
Jingi no hakaba (1975)
Yakuzas "The Fukusaku-style"
Kinji Fukasaku is worldwide known for his Yakuza movies, different from the typical overall view the cinema had from Yakuzas. This movie is a good example of how far some yakuzas are from honor or pride.
Fukasaku films Jingi no hakaba (Graveyard of Honor) as a mockumentary (fake documentary) which gives more emphasis to the actual yakuza situation. This movie follows the story of Ishikawa, the archetypical post-war gangster (as it's defined in the film). The character development is great, and very surprising. However, you may loose the plot in some points if you don't have an overall knowledge of the Yakuza organization.
In conclusion, a very entertaining gangster movie the Japanese way. I hugely recommend for anyone looking for the roots of most of the Japanese and Hong Kongese gangsters movies nowadays (Takashi Miike, Takeshi Kitano, John Woo, etc.), you won't get disappointed.
Dôruzu (2002)
Amazingly aesthetic
Takeshi Kitano proudly presented Dolls in the last Venice festival, where it received bad critics and reviews from the so-called cinema intellectuals and movie critics (I'd rather called them dollar-seekers). A few months later it was premiered in the Sitges Cinema Fest, I didn't expected too much, I was too wrong.
Dolls is a great movie about true love and the meaning of life. It's perfectly directed, it's perfectly acted, it's... perfect? May be, of course it depends on you. The point to criticize the movie for most of the critics, is the point that I praise: the use of the symbols is 100% aesthetic, I even believe that the real love is not the subject of the movie, but aesthetics; and the greatest of everything is that using this strange way of filming he really emphasizes the story. The traditional filming would use symbol's as a way to directly emphasize the action, but this movie uses the symbols independently from the action and that gives strength to the overall story.
The aestheticism is very dangerous, because it can turn your movie into a sum of meaningless scenes attached with a very poor story, making it very boring. However Kitano-sensei (my biggest and greatest inspiration) manages to exploit aesthetics without loosing the plot.
This is not the first time that Kitano tries to explain a story with images, in Ano natsu ichiban shizukana umi (A scene at the sea) tried something similar, but didn't fully succeed.
In conclusion, it's a masterpiece you shouldn't forget. Kitano is one of the greatest directors nowadays and this movie proves it. Whether you are a hardcore Kitano fan or just enjoy films, watch it, you won't get disappointed.
10 out of 10
Mabudachi (2001)
Bad Company... Bad Film
3 out of 10
I can't understand why this movie has such comments and ratings. I saw Mabudachi expecting it to be something else than just a boring drama, and got very disappointed.
This movie is classed as a Japanese drama about three school kids in the late 80's (even though late 90's cars go by the camera). The plot is just a giant McGuffin to criticize the fascism in the school education, and the traditional Japanese family values. However, the film isn't strong enough to cover this McGuffin, making it too obvious to be interesting and deep. It's not such a big problem of plot, but of direction. There are amazing shoots and really nice symbolic scenes through the movie, but ain't correlative with the overall film. The good scenes just seem to be attached ones with the others with 30' transitions of crappy footage, and the beautiful take s are re-shot once and again from every angle possible, making some localizations really tedious (didn't forgot to film 1" of the bridge); the contrast between dramatic scenes and slow-peaced scenes, can be used to relax the audience in order to emphasize the drama (Hana-bi, for example, uses this contrast and succeeds), but it doesn't work here.
In conclusion, the movie has a good set out, but fails when trying to develop the anecdote. As it has some nice points and a few interesting dramatic scenes it may worth a rental if you are common with Japanese cinema. However, if you are looking for somekind of good critic to the Japanese society, all Kitano movies, even Fukasaku's Battle Royale, will do far better than Bad Company.
The Weight of Water (2000)
The weight of boredom
3 out of 10
The weight of water has a wonderful photography work, really amazing takes, and it's perfectly filmed. However, there's still a problem: the plot is the most boring and poor script, this kind of movie could have!
I try to classify movies as they manage to get what they want, example: John Woo's a better tomorrow is far better than The Matrix, just because, even though a better tomorrow is just about nonstoping action, unfolds in its essence something deeper, and it amuses at 100%, meanwhile The Matrix, tries to get you into a new level of action cinema, tries to do a more reflective exercise in the audience, and that's something impossible to get just by splatting on, between gun shots, the basics of the Platon theories (the myth of the cavern).
When adding this theory to The Weight of Water, I just found a HUGE LACK in interest, thrill or drama. As The Matrix, the plot tries to get the movie into a new level, but it falls far deeper than the Wachowskies film. The reflection comes from the monologues/voice off of the characters, but the action is so simple, that makes that reflection a giant JOKE!! From the first 10 minutes of the movie, you can fairly guess the end, and found myself predicting a walkthrough of the movie. However, the whole movie doesn't stink, there are parts of imaginary flashbacks from one of the characters, that are quite interesting, but doesn't succeed in keeping the interest for the movie. The acting is pretty good, but in comparison with the overall story, makes a very funny reaction (I found it more a comedy than a drama).
If you are interested in very beautiful Norway-like landscapes and ain't worried about the plot, watch it, at least you'll have a few laughs, if you're time is worthy, then pass out and better watch a Kitano movie.
Minnâ-yatteruka! (1994)
the unknown Kitano is unleashed!!!!
Takeshi Kitano is worldwide known because of his violent movies such as Brother, Hana-bi, Violent Cop, etc. However in Japan is the other way around, he is mostly known by his comedy tv shows or duo-comedy shows (the two beats), where he got the name "Beat".
Minna Yatteruka! could be Kitano's masterpiece in comedy, but still very difficult to import. At least, Image has released in Hong Kong and USA the DVD of Minna Yatteruka (getting any?) with English subtitles, and we've been able to see the unknown Kitano in a hilarious movie.
First of all, I have to say that I've seen all Kitano movies, even Dolls, and this movie has nothing to do with them, it's a completely different story, has more to do with tv shows he directed like Takeshi's Castle.
So, the movie is just astonishing, it comes from the most stupid situation and developes through gag to gag. One hour and a half of cinema parody fullfiled with Japanese Manga stupidity. The rhythm of the movie is slow, very slow at some points for a comedy, but it's still a good movie. I found parodies from his other yakuza movies, Ultraman, even the gohstbusters! and I'm sure I missed a lot.
Overall Review: A very funny movie, a fresh product, but might be too weird for the general audience. So, if you are interested in the Japanese culture, in Kitano, or if you are openminded for new experiences in comedy, check for it, unless , discard it and look for American Pie.
La cité des enfants perdus (1995)
Where fantasy and love meet perfection
Personal Rating: 10 out of 10
Jean-Pierre Jeneaut, one of the most important French and worldwide directors, directed this wonder called La Cité des enfants perdus, with this movie he opens the door of love to all the sci-fi fans out there, making the perfect mixture between science fiction and love stories.
The film introduces a new and weird world, some kind of apocalyptic future, the city of the lost children is a very dark place, similar to Dark City, but this city is trapped in the middle of a non-stop French blues, where the orphans need to steal in order to get accommodation in their asylums, and where the cloned sons of a dead group of researchers need children's dreams to fulfill their existence.
As usual in Jean-Pierre Jeneaut movies, the photography work is more than awesome, just perfect, the contrast of the film can't get you better in the film, the colors are just wonderful, and help the overall fantasy appearance.
The plot is one of the best points, the relation between One (Ron Perlman) and Miette (Judith Vittet) is genial, you really think of Miette as the typical defenceless young sister and One as the typical strong and not very clever big brother. Although his appearance, One has a very big hearth, and loves Miette as a Sister.
The problems with movies where children have a very important part, is the children's acting, and City of the lost children has a 9 year old Miette as main character. However, the acting of this young actress is magnificent, she never seems to be a little child saying adult-made lines. And Ron Perlman is the best big guy with bigger heart ever seen in the celluloid history.
In conclusion, La Cité des enfants perdus is a perfect film, just able to be cataloged as BEAUTIFUL MOVIE. For me, the best movie ever, even better than Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain or Delicatessen, they just get the lost children formula to other worlds, but the first and the best will always be La Cité des enfants Perdus. I'll always be in love with this movie, is just... PERFECT.
Kairo (2001)
Awesome and Japanese
When I first saw Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Kaïro scheduled for the Sitges Cinema Festival it was presented as another Ringu, another Japanese terror movie (I don't mean I didn't like Ringu, It was great, but the following copies it had were... "no so good"), with floppy disks instead of video tapes. However, I was wrong, it had nothing to do with it.
We were just 50 people or even less watching the movie (and I have to say that at least 20 left the cinema during the movie), so I didn't have much trouble trying to read the subtitles as the film wasn't dubbed at all (THANK GOD, you can't imagine how much takeshi kitano films loose dubbed into Spanish). The movie started and for the first fifteen minutes, the film seemed to be some kind of soft Ringu, but after that, the movie turned into a great feelings experience, a surrealist world full of spirits or I'd better say, empty of life.
The film focus in the experiences of the young main characters, their feelings, their fears, their reactions. The problem is (and that's why such amount of people left the theater) that the feelings showed and the characters relationships may be too Japanese for the western public. So you have to be quite open-minded, and know the Japanese society quite a bit, to really enjoy this film.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa has learned how to do good movies very quickly, in almost 15 years has become one of the bests movie directors in Japan. In Kaïro he shows how hard he has worked in the relationships, and deep feelings of the Japanese people, into their fears and hopes. He knows how to make an awesome tragic opera from what seemed a common Japanese terror film.
In conclusion, if you want something new, fresh, and EASTERN, watch Kaïro (Pulse). However if you don't have any interest in Japanese people, their culture, their society, but want to enjoy a really terrifying movie, rent Ringu (The Ring) instead.