Reviews

This movie is Kinji Fukasaku's legacy. With this visual interpretation of Koushun Takami's novel of the same name, Fukasaku managed to not only portray the horror described in the novel, but also keep its social commentary intact.

'Battle Royale' is set in a future where Japan's baby-boom generation have succumbed to their deepest fears and anxieties regarding the ever-widening social gap between the older adults and teenagers. The adults not only fear the 'confused' teenagers, but marginalise and punish them, as unemployment levels reach an all-time high, and the economy begins to suffer. Because of this hysteria, teenagers frequently boycott school and turn to crime as an outlet for their frustrations and the media and government frequently prey on this for their own gains, hyperbolising every case and creating hysteria and a teenage-baiting frenzy amongst the older generations. Eventually the government instigates the BR act; an act which creates an impartial lottery forcing a random high school class to take part in an all-or-nothing game of survivalism. The winner is the sole survivor. The prize for victory is life.

The movie is quite often breathtaking. Not in a way which suggests facing something of beauty, but more in a way which suggests staring into the face of horror, and feeling it stare back.

When I first saw this movie, I was in my last year of high school. No other movie has shocked and disgusted me as much as 'Battle Royale' did when I first watched it.

'Battle Royale' is directed in an energetic, yet sombre way. The opening sequences are confused and sporadic, yet they convey a lot of information regarding the setting and the mood of the movie. The camera at times shows frenzied, close-ups of violence, and at other times remains cold, distant and detached from it. All the while during the violence, a number scrolls along the bottom of the screen, showing statistics about the violence that ensues upon the island; it really adds to the grotesque nature of the horror you are made to witness.

The island which the movie portrays is shown as having been abandoned to nature, allowing the viewer to really feel the loneliness and fear that all the students face, even within the cliques some have chosen to stay in. Throughout the movie, you are given small flashbacks or clues given by other characters about their fellow classmates, the teacher and the government. Each character, regardless of how minor, adds to the horror of the film. The teenage actors in this film do an excellent job in portraying their fears, anxieties, frustrations and terror at having to outwit or kill their fellow classmates. Even when things are merely alluded to, they are often portrayed in such a way as to make it obvious to the viewer. There are many scenes from the book that simply could not be shown in the movie, but are still described by other characters or shown after the fact. The subtlety of the movie is one of its strong points.

The score, utilising a beautiful set of classical European compositions, really helps to add to the juxtapositions of the innocuous and mundane with the deadly and the extreme, which are apparent throughout the movie. One recurring composition in particular effortlessly conveys the feeling of tragedy with such gravitas that it's difficult not to feel moved by some scenes.

There are various actors whom you should look out for in the movie. "Beat" Takeshi as the jaded and amusingly deranged teacher/br game leader, Masanobu Ando as the Holden Caulfield-esquire protagonist Shuya Nanahara, Tatsuya Fujiwara as the deranged and homicidal Kiriyama, and Kou Shibasaki as the stunning, but murderous sociopath Mitsuko. They were all scene stealing actors who give staggering performances throughout.

In conclusion, "Battle Royale" is the kind of movie that is bound to leave an impression on you, regardless of the kind of movies you normally like to watch. It's brutal, it's tense and it's tragic. Well worth a watch, especially if you can get a hold of the extended version.

Takashi Miike is the kind of director who makes you confront the grotesque, the beautiful, the exciting and the mundane all in one sitting. His other films often contain moments which, for the faint of heart, may be a moment of Bataillean transgression; something no doubt likely to become a summit experience. 'Happiness of the Katakuris' isn't one of them. It's not as shocking as 'Audition', not as frenetic as 'Dead or Alive' and certainly not as grotesque as 'Ichi the Killer'. It's different. Some might even say better than his other works.

'Happiness..' is an example of ingenuity within the bounds of what might normally have been the mundane. The story is essentially a simple one. A family start up a hotel in a mountainous region of Japan, and for a while they have no customers. Just when they begin to worry a guest turns up. Unfortunately things go awry, as he appears to have only chosen their hotel to commit suicide. From that point on things get from bad to worse for the family and their hotel. It's a simple enough premise, but Miike really builds on it and mixes in cheesy songs, spontaneous dance routines complete with operatic gestures, zombies, hyperbolised family drama and, surprisingly, claymation.

The cinematography is, as one might expect from Miike, excellent. There's a wide array of beautifully shot sequences showing off Japan's stunning rural landscapes, and there's camera work during the musical routines which perfectly mimic any famous musical film productions you'd care to think of. Miike also excels himself with his use of wonderfully rendered and skillfully executed claymation sequences, similar to those found in Kazuaki Kiriya's masterpiece 'Casshern', or Gen Sekiguchi's 'Survive Style 5'. The acting is, frankly, excellent. There's little room for criticism. Regardless of whether the cast were performing surreal song and dance routines, engaging in heated family disputes or making jokes at the dinner table, the actors are fantastic. They really help to add substance and humour to the movie. Those playing the Katakuri family are all perfectly cast. The grandfather, the daughter and the desperate father are a pleasure to watch, as they add nuances and depth to their characters, and by extension, the family itself. Special mention also goes to the actor playing the 'foreign' military officer and the daughter's love interest; he's probably one of the most amusing characters I've ever come across. He had me in stitches on several occasions!

There's so much off-the-wall humour and cinematic ingenuity that it's hard not to be impressed by this movie. Frankly, when I first had heard mention of this film I was very sceptical, ''A zombie musical? Surely not!'', but once I sat down and began to watch it, I was in awe. From the strangely endearing opening claymation sequence to the epic finale, 'Happiness of the Katakuris' is a film well worth a watch. Whether you're a fan of Takashi Miike, a fan of East Asian cinema, a fan of strange movies or just looking to watch something different, I strongly urge you to watch this movie.

'Kin Dza Dza' is the kind of film that comes along every once in a blue moon. It's a very simple story of two very ordinary and very different strangers, one Russian, the other Georgian. Whilst going about their normal, every day business they inadvertently become stuck in a rather extra-ordinary situation, with no understanding of where they are or how they got there. The film follows them as they attempt to get home, meeting all manner of strange people with very strange concepts of hierarchy, race, society and culture. A very simple premise.

When I first saw this movie I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. I came across it by pure fluke one day in my university's video library when I was looking for an interesting Cold War era Soviet film to watch. It's easy to see why it is viewed as a cult classic by many Russians and Georgians alike.

The cinematography is surprisingly enticing. It's not particularly inspired, but it somehow just drifts along with the characters. The shots of the desert are bold and striking, whereas the shots inside ships or inside the nomads' homes are dark, cluttered and uninviting. There are stark differences between all the set pieces, and the director is thankfully skilled enough to make the transitions between these vastly different sets seamlessly. The music is very simple and almost casual as it drifts in and out of focus very subtly with the sequences on-screen. The acting is also something to behold. It fits very much in line with the ethos this film seems to carry: simplicity. The characters in this film range from the stoic and reserved, to the verbose and hyperbolically animated. All the actors play their roles very well, adding memorable nuances to their characters, and really helping to convey the peculiarity and absurdity of the situation being portrayed.

The underlying motive of this film appears to be to convey a message of equality. 'Kin Dza Dza' is a film which, through humour and through sheer simplicity, is able to make the viewer realise the absurdity of social and racial discrimination. I whole-heartedly recommend watching it. It's comical, it's whimsical, it's witty and it's poignant. Well worth the time, if you're able to acquire it.

'Das Experiment' is loosely based on the Stanford Experiment of 1971. During the original experiment, after intensive psychological profiling, background checks and health tests, 18 volunteers who were mostly students from the Stanford area, were brought to an undisclosed location and split into two groups on the flip of a coin. Nine became prisoners and nine became guards. All were perfectly normal, healthy, middle-class students in their early 20s. The experiment was supposed to last 2 weeks. It lasted 6 days, before being forcibly cancelled due to concerns over the prisoners' safety. In the movie, the same experiment is reapplied in a contemporary setting. A similar thing occurs, only the experiment is never cancelled.

'Das Experiment' is superbly directed; you find yourself feeling angry and frustrated alongside the prisoners, and you even feel yourself routing for them. It's refreshing to watch a film that not only has gravitas, but also an unrelenting emotional charge. There certainly aren't many films that can claim to be as emotionally taxing. The acting is also superb. Every character involved in the experiment, including the psychologists monitoring it, are interesting. They have depth, morals, scruples, fears, anxieties, passions; they have depth.

The film gives an interesting insight into the human psyche, and how we are all intrinsically and irrevocably linked to our primal urges to dominate those weaker than us. 'Das Experiment' is an excellent and uncompromising movie, which is well worth a watch.

The 1978 re-imagining of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' is a classic in its own right. It's a brilliant example of how Hollywood could, on occasion during the Cold War, portray and reflect on the fears and anxieties of the American consciousness. The invaders could've been aliens or creatures from another realm; it didn't really matter. The force that takes over personifies America's fear of invasion from an intelligent and unrelenting hostile force. The aliens themselves could almost be an allegory for an enemy that America didn't really understand and therefore feared, namely, the Soviet regime. Throughout the film there are many scenes which give a clear indication of the deeply-set paranoia which was prevalent at the time.

The score composed for this movie is excellent at conveying the fears, anxieties and paranoia of the characters. There are moments where the music almost becomes alien itself; an innovative use of synthesizers screeches erratically, changing pitch and speed according to the level of anxiety on-screen. It's especially poignant during the scenes which show the Invaders 'snatching' people.. The acting is, by most, excellent. There are a few scenes which are a little 'hammy' by our standards today, but for the most part Sutherland, Goldblum et al, do a fantastic job at conveying their frustration, anxiety and terror when they begin to realise the sheer magnitude of what's happening to the world around them. The cinematography is very well done with regards to the frenetic chase sequences, and frenzied emotionally-driven conversations. The most impressive and memorable sequences are the scenes involving the 'body snatchers'. The only film I can compare the alien visuals to is perhaps the 1982 remake of 'The Thing', where puppetry and cosmetics are unseen; only other-worldly and horrifying visuals prevail on-screen. Overall I'd say that this film is an excellent reflection of Cold War anxiety, and it translates the somewhat convoluted and laughably over-the-top plot of the original movie, into a movie which provokes fear and contemplation.

The 1978 re-imagining of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' is a must-see for anyone who enjoys intelligent, tense and thought-provoking thrillers.

Lost in Translation is perhaps one of the most emotionally stunting movies I've ever had the pleasure of watching. It leaves you feeling strange. Not happy, not sad, nor ambivalent. Sofia Coppola somehow manages to take the viewer on a journey through the lives of two very different people who meet in a Tokyo hotel, and turn into a beautiful, disjointed urban fairytale; she leaves it to the viewer to fill in the gaps. Both Bill Murray and Scarlet Johannson play their roles flawlessly. You could almost believe you were watching someone else's memories or dream, as the characters are interesting, believable and nigh-on tangible, but very little is ever divulged about either character. There are many aspects of this movie that are very well accomplished. The cinematography is at times breathtaking, showing you the Tokyo skyline at night and the busy, ebbing tide of people on the Shibuya streets. It almost seems like Sofia Coppola at times, took a few clues from Japanese director Takeshi Kitano with regards to her emphasis on extended landscape shots. There are long, focused scenes portraying various aspects of Japanese landscape and culture; a Shinto wedding, a Buddhist temple and a rush-hour train ride are but some examples. Though none of these scenes have any real significance in the movie, they do resonate and help consolidate the mood of the film. The music plays its part very well in contributing to this almost indiscernible mood. There are moments in the film where the music adds an almost haunting ambiance and mood to a scene, and there are other moments where you almost begin to feel as disjointed and culture-shocked as the two protagonists when certain compositions make you feel like you're spending a sleepless night with music pouring in, subdued, from the room next door while you're recovering from jet lag. The movie does a good job in portraying Americans and Japanese people as being hopelessly juxtaposed on a cultural and on occasion, linguistic level, often to comic effect. It's interesting to watch a film which doesn't so much judge as it does observe the cultural and linguistic differences between America and Japan. The most interesting parts of the film are where you see the protagonists attempt to overcome their initial culture-shock and jet-lag, and try to interact with various aspects of urban Japanese society..

Lost in Translation is quite simply, a beautiful movie.

Magnolia is the kind of film that you overhear people talking about with great enthusiasm in crowded movie-rental stores or semi-trendy coffee-shops. This is no doubt because it has everything anybody would want from a film. It has comedy, drama, intrigue, whimsy, tragedy and action. Magnolia is also very well cast. All of the recognisable stars outperform one another in turn with their roles, and help to create believable and interesting characters in a world that is indistinguishable from our own. The cinematography is at times bordering on perfection, holding a shot on an actor's face as they come to a staggering realisation or erupt into tears. There are many scenes where you almost forget you're watching a film, as you begin to feel the roller-coaster of emotions with each character. In this film there are no protagonists per se, there are only ordinary people dealing with what life throws at them. It's enjoyable and interesting to watch. However, the film is, in my opinion, not without its flaws. There are numerous parts of the film where the scene changes quite abruptly from one character's situation to another, which left me feeling like there was no chance to really get to know each of the different lead characters that were being portrayed. If you're a fan of films which portray human emotion but not of long scenes which explain every nuance of the lead characters you'll surely love this film. if you're a fan of bizarre coincidences and interesting trivia you'll no doubt enjoy this film. If you enjoy watching films with mainstream actors and you'd like to see Tom Cruise cry, you'll love this film. It's not a perfect film, but it's certainly very enjoyable.