Bookended with a 'life and death' philosophical musing, apparently instigated from the '95 Tokyo subway gas attack, this is a sorta dogme style made in what is expected of the traditional Japanese 'Pink' cinema genre: that is: plenty of sexual encounters, in which the women cast seem to perform particularly convincingly - almost in a sorta oriental Larry Clark 'Kid's like way - and especially so of lead actress Yemeka Sasaki (as Haruka), and covers your typically disturbing Japanese preponderance to associate death with sex, no doubt following that culture's (or director, T. Zeze's?) apparent suppressed male terror of its women's sexuality power over them.
Along with some Lynchian / Donnie Darko like aspects (perhaps rabbit's heads have some special meaning in Japanese culture) keep the interest in its hand held hazy dogme style camerawork, which in its use as unobtrusiveness (note how many times a foreground item bisects the scene), but also interspersed at other times with direct to camera 'interviews', gives this what would otherwise be a quite tedious, dull watch, a surprisingly intriguing frisson.
N.B. Recommended to double bill with another 'Tokyo' pink genre, the more known 'Tokyo Decadence', which despite its fame (notoriety) and far higher production values, this lower values dogme offering is, ironically, perhaps more engaging.
Along with some Lynchian / Donnie Darko like aspects (perhaps rabbit's heads have some special meaning in Japanese culture) keep the interest in its hand held hazy dogme style camerawork, which in its use as unobtrusiveness (note how many times a foreground item bisects the scene), but also interspersed at other times with direct to camera 'interviews', gives this what would otherwise be a quite tedious, dull watch, a surprisingly intriguing frisson.
N.B. Recommended to double bill with another 'Tokyo' pink genre, the more known 'Tokyo Decadence', which despite its fame (notoriety) and far higher production values, this lower values dogme offering is, ironically, perhaps more engaging.
