Hm. Kurosawa? Check. Toshiro Mifune? Check. Samurai action? Check. Humor? Check. Hm. Must be the sequel to Yojimbo, Sanjuro.
Yeah, but I didn’t get a lot out of this one. Once again Mifune returns as the nameless ronin, this time taking the name of “Tsubaki Sanjuro”…. And pretty much does the same thing here that he did there. That is, get involved in a local village conflict to his own benefit. I think. [Read the rest of this entry...]
Salaryman Ryuhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) loses his job to downsizing. Rather than suffer the shame of telling his family, he continues to head off to work each day, only hanging out in the local food lines instead. He finally ends up getting a job as a janitor at a shopping mall, but still doesn’t tell his family.
Finally got around to visiting acclaimed director Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story. After a few minutes of “WTF did I get myself into? Why is this so great?” It hit me. This is really good stuff. Really.
What am I talking about? Well, the first few scenes involve an older couple living in the small fishing village of Onomichi. At first, the acting really threw me. It seemed forced, and well, kinda bad. But then as things started getting along, I realized that this was just how the characters of the mother and father were written. A certain formal “stiffness” that surrounded them.
The Bad Sleep Well, aka 悪い奴ほどよく眠る, or “the bad guys sleep well”…. an apt description for this complex drama from master Akira Kurosawa.
Look, I’m going to be honest with you. This movie’s plot is quite complex. I’m not even sure I understood exactly what all was happening. Its a tangled web of deceit, intrigue, greed, and revenge.
A creepy murder-mystery with a ghost-story twist, Retribution (or 叫, “sakebi” actually isn’t all that bad! Better than I was expecting, anyway. Even if a bit predictable.
Police detective Yoshioka (Kouji Yakusho) is called upon to investigate a bizarre series of drownings. They think that they’re dealing with a serial killer, due to the fact that all of the victims were found drowned in salt water, where there shouldn’t be any.
[Read the rest of this entry...]
Japanese Title: おくりびと (Okuribito, “Sent away” People?)
US Title: Departures
Wow, what a totally awesome movie. For lots of different reasons. It’s thoughtful, funny, well-written, well-acted… It’s just that good. Plus it offers a few insights into Japanese culture that you may or may not pick up on. Read on for the whole scoop.
When Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) loses his new job as a cellist (celloist? I dunno!) in a Tokyo orchestra, he decides to head back to his hometown up north with his wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue), where his recently deceased mother has left him a house.
He goes to take a job at (what he thinks) his a travel agency. Much to his chagrin, however, its for a “Nokanshi”, which are people who prepare the dead for burial or cremation. The concept might be a bit fuzzy for us westerners, but think something along the lines of the folks who prepare/embalm bodies in funeral homes. Except here they’re creating a “presentation” for the funeral, and in a way, performing a sort of cleansing ritual before cremation.
Anyway. After a few initiation rituals, he finally starts to take to this new job. Although he still hasn’t told his wife what he does. And for good reason. The concept of the “Burakumin” comes into play here. Basically what used to be a “caste” of “untouchables” due to their professions, dealing with the dead, butchers, undertakers, that sort of thing. It’s not supposed to be an issue nowadays, but yeah, it is. And his wife and his old friends around town still think along these lines.
What’s great about this picture, at least in my opinion, is the “window” into Japanese culture and daily life you see. Everything from the village bath-house, to the relationship between boss and employee, the formalities between customer and vendor, just the entire… “frame of mind” for lack of a better word.
Its also a brilliant portrayal of a man who finally finds his calling, after trying to fulfill what he and his family think it should be. Despite the nature of the job, and everything that goes with it, he sees the value in it, and so does everyone around him.
Finally, its also a great story of a man coming to terms with his abandonment issues from his father. It all comes together at the end. All of it. Its easy to see why this won an Oscar for best foreign language film. You really should watch this film, whether you’re interested in Japanese language/life/etc. or not. It’s really that good. Well acted, written, directed… Just go find it already!
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1069238/
Amazon: Departures
What can I say about 2000′s Versus…? Let’s see. Just to put it shortly and succinctly…
I fell asleep watching this movie. It made no sense, was ultimately dull, it made no sense, wasn’t funny, and made no sense. I haven’t fallen asleep watching a movie in a long long time, especially one I’m planning on reviewing, but good lord almighty, I couldn’t help myself.
So there’s this guy, right, who gets broke out of prison with this other guy. They meet up with some mafia types, a bunch of people die, then turn into zombies. Turns out that this is all some plan of destiny between two ancient “spirits” or something in the ultimate battle between good and evil.
Or something.
No I suppose this isn’t a “Japanese Movie” per se. It does take place in Tokyo, and a great deal of it is in Japanese, so humor me.
Abby (the late Brittany Murphy) gets dumped by her boyfriend in Tokyo, and in a fit of desparation, gets taken in by a local Ramen cook and his wife. They train her up to be his successor, and while they ultimately fail “the test”, everyone feels good and there’s a happy ending and everything. Yeah, I just summed it up for you.
Ichi the Killer, the Japanese title translates to “murder dealer Ichi” is a seriously messed up bit of movie from a seriously messed up individual, Takashi Miike. I mean, I know I’ve said it before, but damn, what is the deal?! A psychologist’s dream, this guy.
Look, I’m not even going to go into the details of this one. Let’s just say there is lots of pointless, disgusting blood. Everywhere. On the walls, ceiling, and floor. Bits of bodies getting deep fried and detached…. Just, WTF is about all I can muster.
I dunno about Rashomon. One of Kurosawa’s definitive classics, you really have to be prepared to stick through the whole thing to get to the heart of the matter. Until then, you’re kind of wondering what the point of it all is. Which, after all, is the point of it all…. Maybe I should explain.
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. A priest, a farmer, and a woodcutter walk into a ruined temple. No? Well, news is that a samurai was killed by a local bandito and his female companion raped, and here’s what happened….
