Category: comedy

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comedy

Who Can Swing?

Yaguchi Shinobu’s Swing Girls (Suwingu Gāruzu, 2004) is a comedy film about a group of high school girls forming a jazz band. They both won ‘Newcomer of the Year’ awards through this film. The film was highly ranked at the Japanese box office in 2004 and won several awards in the following year. The leading actor was Hiraoka Yuta who played Nakamura and the leading actress was Ueno Juri who played Tomoko, and the both became famous movies stars immediately after this movie.

The film begins at a high school during one of the Dog Days when summer classes are being held. Tomoko, gazing outside the window, accidently sees a lunch deliverer is late for a catering that the brass band members already had left for a baseball game. She immediately decides to deliver those lunches for the deliverer in a hope to escape from her boring Math class. On the train, Tomoko opens up one of the lunch boxes, and ate it with her friends, fall into little naps, and eventually miss their stop. While they are walking back along the train rail, they ruin some of the lunch boxes as they have to jump into the bushes to dodge from a train. The girls arrive at the stadium and hand over the lunch boxes, but the band members, except for Nakamura who does not get one because the girls ate it, all get sick from food poison since the food was spoiled in the summer heat. The very next day, as Nakamura tries to recruit for new members, two punk rockers, a shy girl, Sekiguchi, who can only play a recorder, and all of Tomoko’s class join simply to get away from their boring Math class. Luckily, they find interest in playing instruments and get improved day by day. Nevertheless, all of the original band members come back after a few days, and the new and enthusiastic big band gets separated. Later, the girls try to form their own band and even everyone works at a supermarket to save some money to buy instruments. However, everyone eventually leaves this band except for Nakamura, Tomoko, Yoshie, Sekiguchi, and Naomi.  They decide to pick up mushrooms in the mountains to raise money where they get attacked by a boar. However, this turns out to be a great luck for them actually since Naomi falls onto the boar’s head while they fight against the boar, and eventually kills it; they get awarded enough money to buy new instruments. Later, these five and the two punk rockers form a small band and also find out that their Math teacher, Mr. Ozawa, is a saxophone player whom they ask for saxophone lessons. They become better at playing the instruments, and perform in front of the supermarket where they have worked before. Then the other girls who once have left them see them playing and join the team again. Now, back to the full members, their journey as a big band cheerfully begins.

Swing Girls definitely is promoting jazz. Thus, although it is a comedy film, it is also a musical. Since the whole film is about instruments and bands, the film is generally vital with lots of music. However, first of all, the background sound in the beginning of the film is very appropriate that noisy sound of Cicadas and mixed sounds of other insects well describe how summer is like in Japan. It really makes audience to feel the same way as the characters feel in the film. Moreover, the music when they are on the train to deliver the lunch boxes is very enjoyable. The music is very exiting and cheerful which illustrates the students’ feelings very well that how happy they are when they are out of the math class. These are good examples how the background music and sound were used in this film in order to enhance its atmosphere in each scenes. Finally, lots of jazz make the overall mood of the film much more delightfully.

Characters’ development is very unique in the film. It is somewhat unreal how quickly they have become such great at playing instruments, but it is very pleasing and fun to watch how they improve. Moreover, all their efforts and passion toward music and the band motivate audience to become more passionate. They work at the supermarket, go to mountain to pick up mushrooms to sell, ask Mr. Ozawa for lessons, and also practice very hard. In fact, they do not work so hard for some kind of reward, but they do it because they like it and enjoy it. It really gives the audience hope and dreams. It is a change from bad students who had to take summer courses for make up into talented big band members. It is a big development of the characters. For individual character development, the relationship between Nakamura and Tomoko is a good example. In the beginning, they face many conflicts and do not get along each other well; later, they become closer together and feel some kind of chemistry with each other. For instance, during the snow fight, they pause at once and look each other with charming eyes together.

Swing Girls is such a great film with a lot of fun and positive messages. It is fresh and pleasant. A comedy film with jazz music create exiting atmosphere. Moreover, the actors perform so well and realistically that helps the film to be pleasing from the beginning to the end. There is no such an unnecessary scene in the film. There are two kinds of people in the world that are people who swing and people who do not. Which one are you?

Categories
comedy drama, melodrama literary adaptations romance

Train Man

“Train Man” (Densha Otoko) directed by Murakami Shosuke, was released in 2005.

This romantic comedy film is not the first exposure of the story to the public. It was originally from a Japanese bulletin board website thread called ‘ch2’ in 2004. In fact, the story has been published in books, manga, drama and play too. However, the film, starring Yamada Takayuki and Nakatani Miki as the two main characters, has features that show colours of Japanese culture, its trends, and aspects of Japanese people in its own style.

A 22-year-old man (Yamada Takayuki starring as Densha otoko), who likes to wander on Akihabara Street, is a computer engineer. One day, on his way to home, he was struck by the beauty of a goddess-like woman (Nakatani Miki starring as Hermes) on the train. Suddenly, a drunk man causes a nuisance to people on the train and picks up on the woman. There, Densha otoko somehow saves her from the drunkard, and as gratitude, she asks for his address in order to send him a thank-you gift. And the love story begins. Densha otoko posts his first encounter with Hermes, and people all around in Japan get interested in this geeky guy’s love affair. After few days, he receives a set of Hermes mugs from her, but with his age equaling the number of his years without a girlfriend, he doesn’t know how to meet her again. So, he asks for advice from people from the website.

The number of people who coach Densha otoko increases day by day, and at some point, people become so involved that they feel like it is their own matters. They give advice on what to say, what to wear, which restaurants to eat at, when to ask out, based on their own experience. These people include a nurse who had been dumped by her boyfriend, a married salaryman who has no conversation with his wife, a married woman who feels lonely, three young men who almost live at a manga-book shop, and a cynical young man who shut himself up from his family and the outside. They cheer Densha otoko up and give genuine advice.

It is noticeable in the beginning that Densha otoko is a total otaku, a slang word for geek. (Even in the name, the assonance in the two words show similarity. i.e. otaku & otoko) However, the image of otaku is only present in the beginning of the film until Densha otoko gets a total make-over for the first date with Hermes. He cuts his long hair, takes off his glasses and replaces his glasses with contact lenses, gets dressed into a pair of trendy denim jeans instead of trousers that his father would wear. Although Densha otoko is reflected as an otaku, it doesn’t necessarily make the story about how an otaku comes to fall in love with a beautiful woman. In fact, his switch of image in the beginning occurred to me as a beautification of real otaku people in order to make it a love story between a normal man and woman. It molds negative aspects of otaku so that more audiences become interested and feel sympathy for Densha otoko.

Other than the image of otaku in the film, there are some other cultural aspects that can be observed. In the scene where Densha otoko sees Hermes for the first time, people’s reaction toward the drunken man is kind of comical but interesting at the same time. People don’t try to make eye contact with the drunkard and nobody stand up to him. I thought this showed how Japanese people don’t like to speak up in public, and how the influence of individualism is currently present in public places such as the train. I wondered what would have happened if the same situation occurred in Canada, and I think anyone would have stopped the drunken man, for their own safety and for others.

On the other hand, there are some aspects of the traditional culture of Japan shown too. For example, Hermes and the other ladies who were saved by Densha otoko from the drunken man, ask for Densha otoko’s address to express gratitude. This cultural exchange of gifts is one of the unique customs in Japan. When someone receives a service or a gift from another, people always pay them back and give thanks.

There were two certain scenes that brought me to think about people’s different treatments depending on appearance. A campaign girl who advertises a man’s cosmetic product gives out samples of the product to every man passing by on a street. There she comes up to Densha otoko to give out the samples but she abruptly turns away after looking at his appearance. However, after Densha otoko transforms, the same girl holds the sample until he takes it. I thought that in her attitude, she represents how young Japanese people really are attached to appearance. These scenes can be compared to one of the scenes at the climax, when Densha otoko unintentionally goes back to the geeky outlook to find Hermes on Akihabara Street. (Watch and find out what happens!)

The fact that this movie only took 25 days to film explains why the story unfolds quickly without details. Even so, the film is quite easy to understand, and I think the director adequately threw in scenes that illustrate aspects of the story itself as well as some of current trends of Japan. However, it is a sweet romantic-comedy movie which reminds people of their first dates and makes the audience to feel the nervousness again. Plus, those who need help with dating may find tips after watching the movie!

Categories
comedy drama, melodrama

Kamikaze Girls

The film Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari), was directed by Nakashima Tetsuya. The comedy starred Fukada Kyoko as Ryuugasaki Momoko and Tsuchiya Anna as Shirayuri Ichigo,  and was released in 2004 by Shimotsuma Monogakari Seisaku Iinkai which includes TBS, Toho, and Shogakkan. The film narrates the story of Shimotsuma, Ibaragi which is located beside Tokyo. Since Ibaragi is part of the Japanese countryside, the price of products and land is much cheaper than in Tokyo. In the movie, Momoko shows up wearing girly dresses adorned with frills. This type of attire is called “Lolita fashion,” and is an imitation of the fashion style back in the Rococo era. The Lolita fashion emerged in 1990 and by 2004 it was very popular in Japan. Momoko’s fashion influenced young girls and led to the big Lolita fashion boom in 2004.

Momoko, the main character of this movie, has a very unique personality as she shows strong admiration of the style of the Rococo era. She does not get along with her classmates because she is too different from them. One day, Momoko encounters Ichigo, a local punk, who is also very different from others. At first, Momoko is annoyed with Ichigo and tries to avoid her, but gradually Momoko begins to trust Ichigo, and treats her as a friend. This friendship is demonstrated when, because Ichigo desires to embroider her own jacket as a display of gratitude towards her senpai, Momoko instead embroiders the jacket for Ichigo. For three days and nights Momoko continues stitching and successfully finishes the embroidery. After seeing how full of joy and thankful Ichigo was because of the embroidery, Momoko finally realizes that Ichigo is very special to her. The resulting story is about how Momoko matures and changes through overcoming difficult events alongside Ichigo.

The director puts most of his effort into the first appearance of the each character. The scene where Momoko first shows up on the screen was a extremely dynamic image and gave a great impact on the audience as Momoko is run over by a car. Ichigo’s first entrance is a little different. Momoko receives a poorly hand-written letter from Ichigo and the lack of proper penmanship invites us to imagine that Ichigo is of a young age. Contrary to our expectations, while raising a cloud of smoke behind her motocycle, the punkish Ichigo comes to visit Momoko. Ryuuji has also a different kind of the entrance. When he first shows up, his hair is zoomed in on and occupies the whole screen. This may be because it is his most charming feature, but this scene is nevertheless successful in showing the fact that the saviour, Ryuuji, has arrived. Each first appearance of the characters is very unique and deeply impressive.

In its attempt to create the artistic scenes, the film incorporates several camera techniques. The first one is called the hand-held shot, which emphasizes speed within the film. This technique is frequently used when the frames are from the viewpoint of a rider on a motorcycle in order to allow the audience to experience its speed. The second technique is slow motion. Using slow motion can emphasize certain frames within a given scene, especially the artistic and beautiful scenes, to provide extra impact on the audience At the onset of the film, as Momoko is hit by a vehicle, not only herself but also cabbages and the pachinko balls fly along with Momoko for extra effect. The way that the items gradually fall from the sky was shot very much intentionally and to a very beautiful and whimsical effect. The third technique is called medium shot, and that gives us the feeling of being inside of the movie. By allowing the audience a view of the whole body of the characters, it differentiates the differences between Momoko and Ichigo due to their wildly different fashion choices. The ultra vivid colours of the landscape can considered as well. Those brightly coloured landscapes are artistic but reduce the effect of the medium shot, that is, the effect which makes the audience feel like they are actually in the movie. The super bright colours thereby reduce the film’s tension.

After watching the film Kamikaze Girls, my expectations were fulfilled due to the beautiful pictures and the perfect scenario. The highlights of the film are the entrances of each of the unique characters and the artistic camera work, which is not often seen in Japanese films. I was just as impressed with the musical score, the costumes, and the story line. The funny combination of the unique characters, a bad girl and a Lolita girl, is unexpected but very interesting.  I am very satisfied after watching this movie. I strongly recommend people watch it if they want some laughs and maybe even a few tears.

Categories
comedy drama, melodrama gendai-geki

‘Swing, Swing, Swing: Let’s Fall in Love with Jazz’

‘Swing Girls’  (スウィングガールズ) is a drama-comedy film that was released in 2004, directed by Shinobu Yaguchi. Being Yaguchi’s one of the most highly acclaimed films, it received seven prizes including ‘Most Popular Film’ at the 2005 Japanese Academy Awards. ‘Swing Girls’ is a simple, light-hearted movie that portrays a success-story of school girls who undergo significant growth and self-discovery through their love of music. The main character Tomoko Suzuki, is played by Ueno Juri, an actress who is greatly known for her superb acting skills. The central theme of the film deals with the idea that people do not have to be perfect in order to achieve success and happiness. Music plays a dominant role in conveying this message.

The story starts off with showing a young group of high school students stuck in a classroom. While they should be outside, enjoying the beautiful weather, they are instead confined into a small classroom, staring blankly a number of math equations written on the board. In the midst of such boredom, the students stumble upon news that immediate help is needed in delivering lunches for the school’s brass band. Desperately wanting to escape from the math class, the students volunteer to help and get on the train with 100 lunchboxes. However, the train ends up taking them to the very last stop as they accidently fall asleep during the ride. Eventually, the heat spoils all the lunches and end up hospitalizing the band members with food-poisoning. The only band member left is Takuo Nakamura (played by Yuta Hiraoka). He demands Tomoko to take responsibility for the mistake and asks the girls to join the band just until the original band members return. Nakamura takes charge of the band, but he is faced with a major challenge as most of these girls have no experience with brass instruments. Therefore, the girls start from scratch and receive physical trainings from Nakamura in an attempt to expand and strengthen their lungs. After a brief period of intensive training, the girls finally get their hands on the instruments and begin to play some real music. Just as the girls begin fall in love with music, the originals members return. Although the girls pretend to be relieved by their return, in reality they are heartbroken that their brief but dream-like moments of joy have come to an end. The summer passes and the new school year begins. Tomoko, realizing that she has discovered affection for music, starts recruiting old classmates (including Nakamura and a math teacher who turns out to be a huge jazz fanatic) and decides to form a big jazz band, named “Swing Girls”. However, forming their own jazz band does not prove to be a smooth process as they face several obstacles along the way. As they cannot afford to buy the instruments, they take on all sorts of jobs in order to raise enough money. Tomoko also makes a critical mistake which almost costs them the precious opportunity to participate in a national band competition. However, the violent weather brings them luck as they are given another chance to enter the competition and perform in front of the whole crowd. The time has finally come to gather all of their energy and passion for music, and spill it all out onto the stage giving the performance of their lifetime.

The rural setting of the film is very significant. It contributes greatly in creating a friendly and peaceful atmosphere. The first half of the film is set in summer season, featuring wide green grass, bright blue sky and the blazing yellow sun. These summer scenes amplify the cheerful and youthful energy of the characters, and also mark their period of freedom. The usage of dialect and suburban setting definitely help make the characters more relatable and strengthens the sense of group uniformity. Personally, if the story had taken place in the city, filled with large buildings, ceaseless movements and individualistic tendencies, the success story would not have felt as poignant and inspiring. Instead, the success would have been perceived more as an individual success rather than a group success.

The main characters presented in ‘Swing Girls’ all share common characteristics. They are considered somewhat as social outcasts. The fact that the girls have been assigned to the remedial summer class shows that they are not the most intelligent group of their peers. I think Yaguchi deliberately characterizes the girls in this way in order to expose problems associated with rigidity of the Japanese education system and social stereotypes. Many people in Asia form judgment on our youths solely based on their intellectual abilities and academic performances. If they do not achieve high grades, they are considered as ‘problematic’ and are socially disapproved. The film features various ‘social misfits’ such as Tomoko who is wrapped in uncertainty about her future, and Nakamura who is powerless and timid under authority. Also, Kaori is a nerdy girl often ignored and rejected by her peers, and Naomi struggles through weight issues. Even the math teacher possesses a critical shortcoming; although his love for jazz music is greater than anyone else’s, the truth is that his saxophone playing ability is at a kindergarten level. In the end, though, this unlikely group of people goes from zero to hero as their collective efforts bring them huge success.

This film also provides the audience with ample comedy through funny dialogues and acting and many humourous settings. Also, the comedy flows very naturally and never appear forced or exaggerated. One of the epic moments of the film is when Tomoko and her friends are chased by a wild boar in the forest. All of a sudden, everything becomes slow-motion and Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’ starts to be played in the background. Such unpredictability is what makes this film so fresh and delightful. This film does not complicate the viewers with dramatic conflict or perplexing love-triangle. It’s simple plot and light-hearted humour creates a very relaxing and enjoyable experience for the audience. Also, what is truly remarkable about ‘Swing Girls’ is that the actors and actresses learned to play the instruments before shooting the film and all the music are actually performed by the actors themselves. This formula definitely helps bringing more authenticity and naturalness to the film.

Yaguchi uses music as a vehicle to help the characters realize their dreams and goals. Although jazz is not a genre that many Japanese people are familiar with, Yaguchi makes it more approachable and accessible by having a group of ordinary and relatable characters introduce this genre to the audience. Just like many of us, members of ‘Swing Girls’ are all beginners and has very little knowledge about music but through months of arduous training, all of the members achieve major growth and improvements. The film shows a detailed process of how the students come to love and understand jazz and Yaguchi invites the audience to take part in this learning process. The movie also demonstrates how powerful music is. Through music, all of the members form deep connections with each other and realize their potentials and capabilities. They finally discover something they feel passionate about and for the first time in their lives, they feel sense of accomplishment and self-worth. Music provides them with life-changing experiences.

‘Swing Girls’ portrays a group of young people discovering their true self and the value of life through music. Albert Schweitzer once said “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful”. This quote aligns with the themes of ‘Swing Girls’ as the film demonstrates that one does not have to be the smartest, prettiest or richest person to achieve success and happiness. By doing what they love, they gain new level confidence and self-awareness and send out hopeful and inspirational messages to the audience. ‘Swing Girls’ is a delightful film that pleases the audience with endearing characters, light-hearted comedy and the sounds of jazz. One does not have to be a music expert to enjoy this movie, so I strongly recommend this movie to all viewers whether they are music lovers or not.

Categories
comedy gendai-geki

Kamikaze Girls: The Tale of Two Unique Friends

Nakashima Tetsuya’s Kamikaze Girls or Shimotsuma monogatari is based on a popular novel and the movie was released in 2004.  Kamikaze Girls is a light-hearted gendai-geki about life in rural town Shimotsuma.  The film features actresses Fukada Kyoko as Ryugasaki Momoko and Tsuchiya Anna as Shirayuri Ichigo “Ichiko”.

Kamikaze Girls centers around the lives of two girls who have completely different backgrounds and personalities.  Momoko is a Lolita girl who loves to wear frilly dresses and bonnets, and wishes she was born during the Rococo period.   Ichiko is a tough Yanki, a female gangster, who only cares about rebeling against society and making a statement with her biker gang.  The movie starts with a flashforward of Momoko being thrown into the air after getting hit by a car on her scooter.  The plot then shifts to the past where Momoko narrates and explains her childhood and present life.  Momoko is always in need of money since she buys her Lolita clothes in Tokyo.  So in order to make money, she sells her father’s fake brand-name clothing which Ichiko is very interested in.  Ichiko comes around Momoko’s house everyday and the two start an unlikely friendship.  Together they go to Tokyo in search of a mysterious embroiderer and when they do not find the embroiderer, Momoko offers to do the embroidery on Ichiko’s coat.  The movie comes to a climax when Ichiko faces a challenge from her motocycle gang and Momoko rushes to her defense.

Nakashima contrasts the two main characters as each represents an entirely different world.  Momoko is a gentle, sweet girl who daydreams in her own Rococo world.  She does not care about the fact that she does not have any friends because she believes that her clothes are all she needs to be happy.  She places her identity in her girly appearance and her fragile manners.  Ichiko is the opposite in her mannerisms and appearance.  She is loud and spits as she talks, and is easily offended by others so much so that she even hits Momoko with her head.  Her identity is with her rough biker gang as expressed in her long and elaborate coat and her flashy motocycle.  At first the two characters are somewhat disgusted, but fascinated with each other.  They slowly value each other’s friendship and come to accept their differences.  At the end of the movie, Momoko, seeing Ichiko being threatened, transforms from a quiet girl into a strong heroine.  The two characters realize they are more similar to each other than judging from their appearances.

Kamikaze Girls is a colourful and detailed film as shown in the costumes and set designs.  Momoko’s costumes are always very extravagant and she never wears the same thing twice.  Her room is brightly coloured and full of material objects to reflect her personal style.  The restaurant has ornate chairs and fancy figurines.  Whenever there are shots of an outdoor scene, the colours are very crisp and the surroundings are shown in great detail.  For example, there are many shots of the sky with white clouds against a bright blue sky.

I really enjoyed watching Kamikaze Girls.  It was a very refreshing film with a unique sense of humour and the settings and costumes are beautiful.  The characters are likeable and the story has a great message of how two different teenagers can have a friendship.  Momoko and Ichiko seem to represent the new generation of Japanese teenagers who have extra money to spend on their personal desires.  They choose to set themselves apart from society through their personal style and manners.



Categories
comedy

“Swing Girls”

Swing Girls (2004) is a feel-good comedy co-written and directed by Yaguchi Shinobu.  Yaguchi is well known for his feel-good types of comedy (such as his famous Water Boys (2001)) which generally involves a group of people overcoming different obstacles as they try to complete unlikely tasks and challenges, but eventually succeed.  Swing Girls was first released in Japan on September 11, 2004 and has won numerous awards including Best Screenplay at the 2005 Yokohama Film Festival as well as winning the Most Popular Film in the 2005 Japanese Academy Awards.

The film is set in modern Japan at a Japanese high school located in the rural Yamagata prefecture. The characters in the film often use the local Yamagata dialect for comedic purposes.  The story revolves around a group of high school girls that have to take summer school due to their poor academic grades. The class consists of 13 girls from different social groups which include Suzuki Tomoko, who never finishes anything she starts; Saito Yoshie, who has a crush on one of the school’s baseball player; Sekiguchi Kaori, who is timid and anti-social; Tanaka Naomi, who loves to eat and is socialy awkward; and Ozawa, their nervous and anti-social summer school teacher.

One day in class as Suzuki looks out the window in her classroom, she sees the brass band leaving the school to perform at the school’s baseball game. Seconds after the brass band departs, a catering truck pulls up at the school with food for the brass band. Tomoko immediately comes up with an idea and volunteers her class to deliver the food to the brass band as a way to get out of class. The teacher agrees and the girls make their way by train to the game. The girls fall asleep and miss their station and end up at the terminal station. The girls set out on foot on a hot summer day determined to deliver the food to the brass band. Meanwhile at the baseball game, Nakamura Takuo (a passive, music loving student from the girls’ school) is determined to quit the brass band because he is stuck playing the cymbals, which he is awful at and dislikes very much. When the girls arrive at the game, Nakamura makes them hand the food out to the brass band. However, because the weather is too hot and the food is not well-preserved, the brass band suffers food poisoning and are all sent to be hospitalized. Knowing who caused the food poisoning, Nakamura blackmails the girls (who are all musically challenged) into joining the band to replace the original band members until they are fully recovered. At first the girls rebel in frustration but eventually grow to like the music they were playing. Just as everyone was getting along and having a good time, the original brass band returns in good health and eventually takes over again.

The regular school year begins and the girls go back to the social crowds that they originally hung out with. However, Suzuki decides that she wants to start her own jazz band and recruits her summer school classmates along with Nakamura. Along the way, they find out that their summer school teacher Ozawa is a jazz-loving maniac and persuade him into becoming their mentor. Ozawa reluctantly agrees but what the girls’ and boy does not know is that aside from loving jazz music, Ozawa has a very embarrassing secret. Throughout the movie, the girls and boy encounter many obstacles including money for their instruments, a place for them to perform and the lack of dedication from some of the girls in the jazz band. The finale will leave one feeling truly inspired by this group of students.

The movie has a lot of cause-and-effect events where throughout the movie the audience is engaged in various little events with a beginning and an end. For example,  the brass band getting food poisoning causing the girls joining the brass band which ends up with the brass band returning in full health. This leads to another event where the girls decided to start their own band which causes them to raise money for their instruments which eventually resulted (after numerous obstacles) in the girls successfully raising enough money to buy their own instruments.

Another thing I really liked is the director’s attention on the relationship and bonds formed between the main characters. He paints a very clear picture of each character’s personality and traits. Yaguchi does this in a brilliant way in which he does not have to incorporate side stories for the audience to have an idea of what the characters’ personalities are like. This is why the audience gets almost no background information on the main characters’ life except Suzuki’s, which is the only character in the film where the audience can see what her home life is like.

Yaguchi’s sense of comedy is very distinct as well. I find the movie’s comedic timing to be very appropriate. This film has several comedic moments, some being predictable (but not corny!) and some that are unpredictable such as when Suzuki runs through the snow and out of the blue falls face flat into the snow. One specific scene I remember in particular is when the main characters go into the woods to collect mushroom in the forest to raise money for their instruments. As they are collecting the mushrooms, they run into an angry wild boar.  Rather than having the characters run away in slow motion as one may predict, Yaguchi depicts the next few frames motionless. One will see a frame shot of the characters’ frozen in their running position as a wild boar is frozen in the back in a charging position towards the characters. The next frame everything is still motionless but you see the boar catching up to them as some of the characters run away and one climbs up a tree. While all of this is happening, the background music is playing“What a Wonderful World” by Stevie Wonders. I found this scene very entertaining.

I strongly recommend this film for people who just want to relax and have a good laugh. This movie is also very inspirational as you watch these high school students overcome various obstacles. The characters in the movie are also very loveable and the movie does not get boring. It is entertaining from start to finish. The movie is an hour and forty minutes long but it feels even shorter when one watches it. Fans of his film Water Boys will definitely enjoy this movie as well.

Categories
comedy drama, melodrama gendai-geki literary adaptations romance

The Explosion of Otaku Culture in Mainstream Japan

Based on a true story, Densha Otoko is the story of a nerdy and socially awkward man who, through the help of other posters on a forum called 2-Chan, is able to come out of his shell and have a relationship with a beautiful and kind young woman. Densha Otoko, or Train Man, was released in 2005 by Touhou and directed by Murakami Shosuke.  The film stars Yamada Takayuki as the nerdy and socially awkward Densha Otoko, Nakatani Miki as the beautiful and kind Hermes, as well as a group of largely unnamed characters who play the role of posters on the internet forum.  Although the film is often called a romantic comedy, compared to other iterations of the Densha Otoko story, the film contains surprisingly little comedy.

The film starts on a train, as the main character referred to only as Densha Otoko is on his way home from the nerd-mecca of Akihabara.  While on the train, a drunkard is harassing the passengers, including one young woman who had been reading.   Densha Otoko bravely stands up and confronts the passenger, and takes the brunt of his drunken rantings until he’s finally dragged away at the next station.  The young woman, referred to only as Hermes (a high class brand in Japan), asks for his address so she can send a thank you gift.  When Densha Otoko returns home, he quickly logs on to 2-Chan to tell others about his experience on the train, of course using the screen name “Densha Otoko.” A few days pass, and a package containing a tea set with the brand name Hermes comes from the woman, and the outpouring of advice from other posters on 2-Chan convinces him that he should ask her out for lunch to thank her.  Relying on advice from the posters, he continually plans dates and even engages in extensive research to help her buy a computer.  However, before Hermes leaves for a trip to France, there is a problem on their date and when she returns, she seems to be conflicted about seeing him.  The conclusion is truly one to make the viewer think, and the intriguing ending certainly won’t be spoiled here.

The billing as a romantic comedy is certainly a fair genre label, however the film does so much more than simply give a good romance story.  For many, Densha Otoko is their first real exposure to otaku (roughly translated as nerd) culture in Japan.  The film was a big hit with women, many of whom could most likely identify with Hermes in her seeming naivety with regards to that world.  There is a great scene after their first date when they’re going home on the train, where they are both standing near the doors.  The angle of the medium-shot shows the middle of the door directly between the two, as they’re standing at least two feet or so apart.  This spacial division as well as the visual division caused by the vertical black rubber on the inside of the doors is a subtle reminder that the two characters are from completely different worlds.

The character of Densha Otoko is, however, quite a stereotypical otaku, and the film suffers as a result.  With his greasy hair, lack of any noticeable fashion sense, and his impossibly inept social skills, he is the embodiment of what many think of otaku in Japan.  Other characters who are posters on 2-Chan are similarly the stereotypical image of an otaku, and unfortunately the film merely perpetuates this stereotype.  The character development of Densha Otoko is one of a progression from this stereotypical “kimoi” (gross) otaku to a well-dressed and cool-looking man.  In the end, the character of Densha Otoko is really a character to whom not much thought was given, and is nothing more than an amalgamation of various mainstream prejudices pertaining to otaku, ultimately limiting the usefulness of the film as an introduction to otaku culture.

While the film does have its problems with regards to characters and portrayal of otaku, it still stands as a good introduction to otaku culture for those unaware of what it may entail, and is especially useful for learners of Japanese modern culture.  Although I recommend this film, I recommend it with a grain of salt and emphasize that the viewers must also take the film with a grain of salt.  It is, however, at the end of the day, an enjoyable romantic comedy that can appeal to both genders, and has a poignant ending that causes reflection by the viewer as to the nature of human relationships.

Categories
comedy drama, melodrama gendai-geki shomin-geki

Train_Man

Train Man (Densha Otoko) (2005) is a romantic drama directed by Murakami Shosuke, and stars Yamada Takayuki as the protagonist (known as Train_Man; his username on the online forums which he frequents and which play a large role in the film), and Nakatani Miki as the love interest (referred to as Hermess, because of a set of Hermès cups she sends as a thank-you gift to Train_Man.)

Purportedly based on a true story, the film follows the protagonist, Train_Man, as he struggles to woo a woman whom he saved from being accosted by a drunkard on a train. Train_Man is an otaku (a Japanese term referring to someone who is an obsessive fan of something, primarily video games, manga, etc) in his early twenties, who has never had a girlfriend and spends his time either at work, where he is a computer engineer, shopping for toys, or at home on the computer. Cripplingly, unbelievably shy, Train_Man attempts to stand up to an intoxicated businessman on the train home one day, and later receives a thank-you gift from the woman the businessman was harassing. He relates the story to his anonymous friends online (anonymous to himself and to each other, but revealed to the audience as being an angsty teenage boy, a possibly early-thirties man, a similarly aged woman, a meek female nurse pining over a lost love, and three more otaku who spend seemingly all of their time in an internet café of some sort, reading comics and playing video games). His friends initially brush it off as a semi-exciting but unimportant encounter, until hearing that the woman has sent Hermès cups, which they unanimously deem “too expensive to be just a thank-you”, and they encourage Train_Man to pursue “Hermess”. What ensues is a haircut and new clothes for Train_Man, and an awkward courtship with Hermess, Train_Man faltering and stumbling and being nervously sweaty every step of the way.

Train Man revolves largely around internet usage, and text plays a huge role throughout the film, as (with the exception of Train_Man and Hermess) the only communication between the main characters is done via typing online. Much of the exposition in the introduction is presented with text appearing in windows and on signs in various shots, as Train_Man narrates and explains who he is. Throughout the film, different words and key points are highlighted through similarly appearing text, or typed emoticons, used commonly in online forums to convey different emotions. In one instance, the climactic and final word of an important line is not even uttered, but is merely shown being typed into an online entry on a computer screen. All of the lines from the characters interacting with each other online are narrated transcripts of their conversation in the forum, and often their text will be shown as they speak as well. When Train_Man’s friends are goading him on as he talks on the phone with Hermess, their encouragement is expressed not through speech, as most of their interactions are presented (though, again, sometimes along with aforementioned text), but through a shot of increasingly large and excited looking words appearing on a forum thread on Train_Man’s nearby computer screen. This shot may just be a simple a point of view shot from Train_Man’s perspective–this is, after all, what he really is looking at as he speaks to Hermess on the phone–but it is also a representation of his team of friends as the single, intangible, anonymous entity that they are. The rest of their interactions are generally shown with more typically film-appropriate dialogue: talking and shots of their faces­ (even if the other participants in the conversation don’t see or hear them) but this is possibly the only instance in which the characters are shown as only text on a screen, as they would appear to each other.

Another large theme of the movie, which again ties back into internet usage and culture, is reliability vs. reliance. Train_Man’s network of friends help and encourage him the whole way through, giving him advice and collaborating to plan his dates for him, but the line is blurred between being a help or a hindrance when he is unable to do anything without them. As they are so beneficial in the organization of the dates, Train_Man comes to depend on them, and when a snag in the plans is inevitably hit, he isn’t confident enough to act on his own to improvise a new one, and abandons Hermess in the middle of a date to go online and ask for help, which, unsurprisingly, does not end well. By the end of the film, his internet friends are still presented as a positive influence in his life, and a good support group, but the point seems to be made that moving on and pursuing more interactions in real life might be better. All of the characters involved in the online forum have their own private issues hinted at, which cause them all to become somewhat reclusive and which have brought them online in the first place. The three otaku in the internet café all cry together over never having had a girlfriend themselves, the reclusive and angsty boy won’t eat or seemingly even venture outside his room. The final message seems to be an encouragement for people to wean themselves off of reliance on anonymous chat rooms, etc for social interaction, but the film in no way discourages it completely, and the friendships Train_Man makes online are still represented as positive and meaningful.

As the world progresses technologically and online interactions hold increasing importance, the way we think of friendship, of love, of communication, of people, will have to be reconsidered. Train Man is a bit cheesy at times and a bit cliché at others, but is still overall an interesting attempt to address the complex societal structures and relationships of the next (digital) generation.

Categories
comedy drama, melodrama

Adrift in Tokyo

Adrift In Tokyo, otherwise known as Tenten in Japan, was released in 2007 and a couple years later in a few North American cities (It was released in Vancouver May 22, 2009). Primarily a comedy, it won Best Script in the Fantasia International Film Festival and Best Supporting Actor from the Kinema Junpo Awards. Adrift in Tokyo was based on the novel Territory of Love which won the 2001 Naoki Prize written by Yoshinaga Fujita and was then transferred to a screenplay written by Miki Satoshi who also directed the film.

Adrift In Tokyo begins in the room of the main character, Takemura Fumiya (Odagiri Jo), an 8th grade University law student, wondering whether his dismal life will start to get any better since the purchase of a three colored tooth paste when a stranger, Fukuhara Ai-ichiro (Mirua Tomokaku), a debt collector, lets himself into the room, puts Takemura in a headlock, and stuffs his dirty sock into his mouth while demanding 80,000 Yen. Takemura expresses that he does not have the money for Fukuhara, so Fukuhara takes his sock back, puts it on and leaves as quickly as he came, promising to return in 3 days. The next day, while Takemura seems at the point of giving up his attempt to find money, Fukuhara shows up offering Takemura two options: sell his body for sex to old businessmen or walk around Tokyo with him. The only condition is that there is no time limit on the walks. It could end tomorrow or in month. The next day, as the two characters walk around, Fukuhara confides in Takemura that the reason for their walks are so that he can remember times spent with his wife, who he has just killed, and at the end of their walks he is planning to turn himself in. As the two walk around various parts of Tokyo having discussions they quickly bond and form an almost father-son-like relationship. They meet many strange and interesting characters on their journey. Near the end they are joined by Makiko (Kyoko Koizumi), who met Fukuhara in the past when they both were hired to act as a married couple at a wedding, and Fufumi (Yoshitaka Yuriko), Makiko’s niece, a strange Japanese high school girl. These two women add the mother and daughter aspects to the family that forms throughout the film.

Adrift in Tokyo offers many comparisons among the new generation of young adults and the Boomers of the post-war generation. Takemura is a symbol of young Japanese that do not appreciate the values of their parents’ generation and even wish to deviate from them. Evidence of this is that Takemura was abandoned by his biological parents and rejects his foster ones. Many young Japanese are no longer looking forward to becoming a “Salaryman” like their fathers and working for a company that can no longer offer the perks they once could before the economic bubble burst in the early 90’s. Takemura seems to be pushing away this “terrible” fate by continuing school into his 8th year. Takemura is also part of a “loner” culture that does not depend on others (family, friends, coworkers, etc) and distance themselves from the value of “Groupism” that Japan so highly cherishes. Although it is not a new phenomenon in Japan it has recently gotten a lot of negative attention with the introduction of Otaku and NEETS (Not in Employment, Education or Training) into the mainstream vocabulary. There is also a desire of this generation to stand out and be different as in the scene where Takemura follows a Guitarist wandering through the city, blasting his music through his amp, not caring about anyone else. Takemura, like the young Japanese, is disappointed by the conformity (another value of old Japan) of the guitarist when he turns off his amp to avoid a confrontation with authority.

After seeing Adrift In Tokyo for the first time in theatres in 2009 I was stunned by the simplicity of the film. On the surface it is literally nothing more than an hour and a half of two men walking around districts of Tokyo and becoming friends. Though I suppose it was not the simplicity of the film but rather how such a simple film had such an effect that left such a lasting impression on me. After leaving the theatre I was so happy and satisfied. The film was so heart-warming that the only disappointment was that it ended and this feeling that had overcome me would soon disappear. From that moment on I had placed Adrift In Tokyo among my favourite films and my favourite Japanese film, and told all my friends about it but sadly it left theatres so fast that it felt that it never had existed. A few months later I heard that it was playing in a theatre downtown for a single day and I was so happy that I would get a chance to see it again but then was cruelly disappointed by some conflict in my schedule. Now more than a year later I was able to find it again and after becoming an Asian studies major the film has so much more to offer me than before, especially as a narrative on a developing Japanese society.  I recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a good laugh and a warm heart.

Categories
comedy drama, melodrama shomin-geki

“Moe no Suzaku” by Kawase Naomi

Moe no Suzaku is Kawase Naomi’s first feature released in 1997. Kawase Naomi is one of the few female Japanese movie directors that became the youngest winner of la Caméra d’Or award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for this film. She produced several documentary films previously but her name was rarely heard in Japan until Moe no Suzaku was internationally recognized. The title of this film (it does not have an English-translated title) Moe no Suzaku’s ‘moe’ means germination and ‘suzaku’ refers to both summer and a mythical god. Both of these words have some poetical sense (rarely used in daily life) and depict an image of trees and plants bursting into leaf during summer time. Interestingly Kawase purposely avoided using professional actors and actresses and instead recruited all but one cast members from ordinary peoples of the local village where the movie was filmed, adding a distinct taste to the film. Moe no Suzaku, like Kawase’s other works, focuses on the process of eventual breakup within a family, and can be categorized as a shomin–geki for its genre.

The film is set in a small mountain-top timber village located in Nara prefecture. The village is largely isolated, surrounded by mountains, and villagers there are mostly the elders who are concerned about the outflow of population into towns and cities due to lack of educational and job opportunities caused by economic recession. In this abandoned village lives a family of Taharas. The family is composed of Kozo (the family head), Yasuko (Kozo’s wife), Michiru (daughter of the couple), Eisuke (Kozo’s older sister’s son) and Sachiko (Kozo’s mother). Kozo is initially very enthusiastic about the plan of building a tunnel through the village to improve the accessibility of the area and also to bring some economic benefit by creating more job opportunities. However, the construction is halted half-way through due to lack of budget caused by the recession and the tunnel is left untouched for years afterwards. Kozo, after losing all his hope of reconstructing the village and his job as a constructor, stops doing anything but listening to his old music record all day at home. Eisuke is now the main financial supporter of the family by working at a hotel in the town nearby and Yasuko also decides to work there with Eisuke despite her ill-health. Sachiko engages in small-scale farming and Michiru goes to high-school by taking an hours-long bus ride. One day Yasuko collapses at her workplace because of flu and her already ill health gets even worse from hard work. Looking at his wife’s sleeping face and his elder mother’s bent back, Kozo finally makes up his mind and, after playing his favorite music record, goes off with his 8mm camera without ever coming back.  The camera is returned to the family by the police and the rest of the members watch the film of the village made by Kozo. Physically and mentally exhausted, Yasuko decides to return to her family town with Michiru, while Eisuke and Sachiko remains in the house. Thus the family is dissolved as the village itself is gradually deconstructed.

As soon as the film starts, one will notice that the film, although it is a fiction, is very similar to a documentary or even a family video; it shows real people of the village engaging in their ordinary daily lives from cooking, farming, and buying groceries, to children playing and laughing. Especially in the scene when the family is watching the film left by Kozo, the camera work is so simple and natural, without any additional editing and special effects, that one would assume it is really taken by an amateur. People shown in the film are also either standing there stiffly with awkward smile like in a picture or engaging in daily lives without a hint of acting. Kawase also purposely avoids using background music, thus emphasizing the natural sound of wind, tree leaves, falling rain, insects, children’s laughter, and family’s voices. Dialogue is limited to the minimum and no dramatic events happen; even the death of father is depicted more as an unavoidable consequence rather than a tragic. However, despite the simplicity in all aspects, each scene and each shot is extremely well-composed and the aesthetic beauty of the village is fully revealed through the simple camerawork; indeed, each scene makes a beautiful picture that has vivid color, sound, and even smell. For example, in the scene in which Yasuko picks up her little daughter from kinder-garden with Eisuke wearing his school bag and three of them walk in the forest, none of them speaks and no sound is heard except for gentle breeze and tree leaves. The long shot shows the three of them walking slowly away from the camera under the summer sun. Although the scene itself is extremely simple, yet the aesthetic beauty enhances the realness in addition to giving a sense of fantasy as if it indicates that the childhood was a sweet dream that never really existed.

Moe no Suzaku is certainly not for any audience because of its peculiar style; it does not depend on dialogue, special visual/sound effect, elaborate story-line and plot. However, the pureness and aesthetic beauty of the film makes it very distinct and special. Let me conclude this review with Donald Richie’s comment; “There are no melodramatic complications in this purposefully inarticulate film…What holds the attention and compels admiration is not only the lyric beauty of Masaki Tamura’s photography but the honesty of the director.”[1]

[1] Moe no Suzaku. (1977). Moving Pictures. Retrieved October 30, 2010, from http://www.filmfestivals.com/cannes97/cfilmd5.htm

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