Reviews

I didn't know what to make of this comedy after watching the first few episodes. It certainly had jokes, but it is such a unique setup that it was difficult to be comfortable with it at. Nevertheless, after becoming familiar with the characters and roles, it became a lot easier to get into the swing of the show.

The show is about troupe of entertainers who are soldiers (in rank only) in the Royal Artillery Core and are based in India (hence the programme's title). They perform shows for the regular soldiers which involve a range of acts, such as dancing, singing, joke-telling, acting etc. This is all to the extreme frustration of the Sergeant Major Williams, a seasoned soldier with decades of combat experience. He is desperate to see real fighting action and resents being in charge of this concert party that frequently embarrass him with their "less-than-macho" attitude. There are also two pompous senior officers who are generally oblivious to anything that is going on, only concerned with attending dinner parties with other officers.

The first few series did become a bit repetitive in my opinion: the plots mostly being Williams scheming to get the concert party disbanded and sent into the jungle, partly out of spite as he despises them so much, but also to satisfy his taste for combat. Whilst never becoming boring, it did become a bit stale.

However, perhaps I am imagining it, but from around series 4 or 5, when they are all relocated to a jungle in Burma (still as the concert party), the plots seemed to improve in my opinion, becoming more varied and creative and generally funnier.

One thing that is enormous credit to Croft and Perry is their ability to make some rather quite powerful and emotional episodes for a programme that is otherwise slapstick and daft. The final episode was really quite moving. The finale was done excellently, considering how so many other programmes fall flat with their finales.

As a final comment, Windsor Davies gives an incredible performance as the Sergeant Major, being naturally hilarious and also a convincing military figure (I believe he did spend a year or two in the army, so was probably very familiar with how to act the role).

Great fun.

This is very surreal film. I suppose this is to be expected from the mind of the Matsumoto Hitoshi whose comedy style regularly utilizes absurdity.

It is difficult to describe this film (without giving spoilers) and far more difficult to explain it. The best description/explanation I can provide is that this film uses fantasy to showcase human psyche as we watch Matsumoto (who is never identified with a name) deal with a situation which he wakes up into with no understanding of how he got into it, who is controlling the situation, or what he is supposed to do, or not do, to escape from it. However, beyond my (perhaps pretentious) interpretation I honestly cannot describe it further. Maybe there is no explanation for it and it might be fair to say that Matsumoto was biting off more than he could chew in an attempt to create a deep, philosophical work which ultimately was just baffling. Or, maybe, it is intentionally nonsensical for no other reason than to be entertaining. It has to be seen to be believed.

The film that is closest in style to it that I can think of as I write this is perhaps "2001: A Space Odyssey", although, that film can at least be explained to some degree. This one, however, cannot be adequately explained as far as I can fathom, outside of each viewer's own personal interpretation of it.

This film has quite good graphic effects which is always a positive thing: nothing makes a film lose credibility more than dated graphics. It also has decent comedy elements throughout (again, to be expected from Matsumoto) and the "plot" was certainly intriguing.

It is difficult to determine if this film is better or worse than the rating I gave it since it is so uniquely weird that there isn't really any kind of yardstick to compare it to. Nevertheless, it was certainly engaging and definitely did not have low-quality production value so it surely can't be called bad.

I can't say that I enjoyed the secondary story-line since it only becomes relevant at the very end, and even then, only in the most minimal (albeit hilarious) way, so the frequent jumps from the primary story to the secondary one was jarring and, quite frankly, rather boring and irritating. I used these moments as a chance to go and make a cup of tea. Mercifully, though, these frequent interruptions are brief, lasting only about a minute or so at a time.

In my opinion this film is worth watching if for no other reason than to experience its insanity, but it is not something I would suggest lightly to someone. I recommend watching this film if: 1) you enjoy surrealism and/or 2) you are a fan of Matsumoto Hitoshi. Otherwise, I struggle to advertise it to a wider audience as it is definitely an acquired taste. I will likely watch it again sometime in the future just because it is so strange that it cannot be ignored.

Bizarre.