Category: literary adaptations

Categories
drama, melodrama literary adaptations

A Dark Fairytale

Nakashima Tetsuya’s 2006 award-winning and novel-based film, Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no isshô) is a vibrant and colorful tragic musical comedy that narrates and flashes back to the rollercoaster-like emotions in Matsuko’s key stages in life: journeying through abusive relationships and experiences with crime and prostitution. This film features Nakatani Miki playing the role of Matsuko, and her nephew Shou, played by Nagayama Eita, narrates her life story. The film’s vivid and stimulating colors, as well as musical sequences, is often thought to resemble other famous films such as Moulin Rouge and Amelie, with comparable visual effects.

This film begins by introducing Shou, a teenage boy who has left home aspiring to become a famous musician in Tokyo. However, his plans eventually fall apart as he dismisses his band, drives his girlfriend away, and becomes lonely and drowns himself in pornography and alcohol. Shortly after, Shou’s father arrives at his door holding a box of ashes revealing that his aunt Matsuko, whom he has never met, is murdered at the age of 53. Shou’s father asks him to clean up Matsuko’s run-down apartment filled with garbage bags and junk. Knowing nothing about the life led by his aunt, Shou becomes increasingly curious as his father continues to say her life was “meaningless”. Through sorting her belongings and meeting her neighbor, friend, and former lover, he begins to piece her life together and realizes the significance behind Matsuko’s supposed “meaningless” life. Her journey starts off as a young, beautiful, and dedicated schoolteacher with a gorgeous singing voice until one of her student’s theft causes her termination from the school. After that incident, her life starts to slope downhill. She flees home due to the intense jealousy she has for her chronically ill younger sister as her sister becomes the center of all their father’s love and care. Since then, life is never again easy and steady to her. She constantly yearns to fill the void of loneliness and the deprived fatherly love, leading her to be involved with prostitution and numerous abusive relationships. One of her relationships causes her to commit murder, but she runs away and encounters a barber who she loves and who loves her in return. However, she is eventually caught for the act of murder and results in eight years of jail time – reverting her to her loneliness again. Matsuko’s only purpose was to follow her heart and seek for someone to love her unconditionally and deeply as she would for them. Through her story, Shou finds parallels in his life with Matsuko’s experiences but now it is his decision whether to continue his lifestyle or to live a more meaningful life.

One of the underlying themes of this film depicts the perception of women and their socially constructed roles in the Japanese society. As this film is much about Matsuko’s life, the theme is revealed within her character as the story progresses. This perception is seen in her desire for attention and affection that begins with the relationship with her father. Matsuko’s father directs most of his attention and time towards her younger sister because she has been an ill child since birth. The only solution Matsuko feels that could potentially revert more attention back to her is by “degrading” herself; putting on her trademark funny face to brighten up any sad or awkward situations. From her lack of affection in her upbringing, she seeks for that satisfaction to fulfill the void through her multiple lovers, which in a sense serves as an example of the socially enforced Japanese female culture. Whether her relationships are dangerous, abusive, or degrading, she tolerates it and tries to remain happy. She endures all the physical and emotional pain because her fear of loneliness is more overwhelming. For example, her prison friend tells her to leave Ryu (her lover at the time) who is abusive and a yakuza – a member of organized crime. Matsuko defends him by asking her to leave her alone because if Ryu were to go to hell, she would gladly go with him. These are all references depicting a woman who could not be happy unless she is with a man, as well as the sense of weakness and dependency a woman embodies with these circumstances.

Despite an underlying moral reality and tragic life story, Nakashima contrasts the bleakness by adding layers of musical sequences, and elaborate and energetic visual effects. These extremely saturated and digitally enhanced colors, which are favored by Nakashima, works well with the execution of the high and low feelings experienced by Matsuko. Likewise, as a child or entering into a new relationship, the colors and moods are more elaborately colorful, portraying an atmosphere of a circus or fairyland. On the other hand, when illustrating a scene of rejection and heartbreak, it is depicted through rather monotone colors. The visual style and music go hand in hand to create this seemly comedic sense of a fairy-tale. Regardless of all the colorful intensities, the story and its drama remain as the main focus throughout the film.

Memories of Matsuko is definitely a film that takes the audience through Matsuko’s emotional roller coaster. Although this film is portrayed in such a comedic manner, it holds a much deeper meaning with regards to life and identity. This film is nonetheless a compassionate, charming, and whimsical piece that is very well worth one’s time to watch.

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
anime literary adaptations science-fiction

“Paprika” and the Chaotic Dream Surfing

Probably one of the most bizarre movies I have ever seen, Paprika, a 2006 anime film directed by Kon Satoshi which was adapted from the novel written by Tsutsui Yasutaka, is definitely not an ordinary animated film intended for child entertainment. Featuring the voice of renowned Japanese voice actor Hayashibara Megumi (as Dr. Chiba/Paprika), Paprika will leave you confounded, amazed, and craving for more. This film is about a team of research psychologists who invented a therapeutic device, called D.C. Mini, that can be utilized to treat patients’ disorders by delving into their dreams and venturing the subconscious to figure out the source of their anxieties. Dr. Chiba Atsuko, the head of the research team, however, has been using this device to treat patients beyond the bounds of their facility through her dream world alter ego, Paprika. Among her patients is Mr. Toshimi Konakawa, the police detective, who has been plagued by mysterious recurring dreams that always end up with a man shot dead and a person running away from the scene. Chaos ensues when three of the prototypes have been stolen; and since these devices haven’t been completed, nor approved by the government, the user has the ability to invade dreams and wreck havoc in people’s lives – among the victims are Dr. Tokita Kōsaku, the inventor of the device, and his assistant, Himuro Kei. It is up to Paprika now to trace the culprit and try to prevent the illusion from completely merging with reality. Intense, exciting, unpredictable twists are definitely a few of the highlights of this movie. Interestingly, this was also an inspiration for the creation of the movie, Inception, which was a recent blockbuster film directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Leonardo Di Caprio (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 2010).

The most prominent, thought-provoking part of the movie is definitely the plot which leaves most viewers baffled and seeking for explanation and clarification. One can never really guess what’s coming next, because the unfolding events carry unexpected twists. If you are about to watch this movie, chances are, you would not understand it at first. You would probably need to take a little time to piece scenes up and try to make sense out of the picture, or better yet, re-watch the entire film. The juggling between dreams and reality, the merging of illusions, and the chaotic combination of the real world and the land of dreams, which corresponds more to its negative or nightmarish aspect for the purpose of this movie, contribute to its perplexing nature. One scene that was hard to tell if it was reality or illusion, for me, is the part where Konakawa goes on his computer and visits a website which literally and personally takes him to a bar where he meets Paprika to discuss his psychological condition. Paprika is an entity that only shows up in dreams whenever Dr. Chiba uses the D.C. Mini. It is not clear how his entire body appears to be physically present, talking face-to-face with her, since he is last shown as just sitting in front of a computer. The boundary between reality and illusion is not clearly set since there are no scenes particularly showing the use of the psychotherapeutic machine, D.C. Mini, prior to entering dreams other than when Dr. Tokita applies it to himself to visit his friend and assistant’s dream. Unlike watching “The Matrix” where the division is evident – before setting off to the artificial world, the process of hooking up the characters to machines that allow them to enter is directly shown – this movie has been devoid of most this real world-dream world connection. Viewers are set to assume that the D.C. Mini is being used whenever the scene seems non-sensical and fantastical.

The confusion brought about by the plot draws focus to the animation that is so outlandish yet incredible in nature, it ties up to the theme of the movie – the concept of dreams and its illusory aspects. Dreams are not supposed to make sense sometimes, but depending on what they are about, they can either be enjoyed or feared. Yet no matter the content, dreams can be whimsical and filled with events that we would never expect to happen in real life. This is what this film is all about – exploring the impossible through animation. As an avid anime watcher in my younger years, I’m used to seeing over-the-top, beyond normal or real world animations, but this one has a dark, creepy tone to it, which may cater to non-anime fans. This tone is somehow lightened up with scenes that are lively and full of color, such as the circus and the parade. However, even if it is something that might capture children’s attention, the creepiness exhibited through the appearing and disappearing of the Japanese geisha doll in the hollow body of Dr. Shima, the chief of the research department, during the dream parade, as well as the capacity of Dr. Osanai, another researcher who has deep admiration for Dr. Chiba, to let his hand enter Paprika’s body, ripping it apart to reveal her real naked (yes, there is nudity) identity when he has the opportunity to capture her, will definitely send shivers down the spine. Viewers may find the series of events baffling, but they will never miss the excellent animation and the intensity of the details in every sequence. The distortion of reality and the fusion of illusion and truth are beautifully illustrated. According to Rob Nelson of The Village Voice, Paprika “isn’t a movie that’s meant to be understood so much as simply experienced – or maybe dreamed” (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 2010).

If you are into creepy, well-created, mature, and mind-boggling anime movies, then this is the perfect movie for you. This will definitely keep your brain and your eyes entertained for the entire duration of the film. Pair up the confusing plot with lots of eye-catching visuals and you’ll be gaping for the whole hour and a half. For a more fulfilling experience, make sure to film your reaction all throughout the movie – it might be as entertaining as the movie itself.

Source:

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. “Paprika (2006 film)”. Wikipedia: The Free Dictionary. November 6, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paprika_%282006_film%29 Retrieved November 1, 2010.

Categories
action extreme literary adaptations thriller

Battle Royale: A Tale of Caution

A grandiose orchestra plays together with a dark and soaring choral ensemble as a news helicopter arrives loudly to the scene. An overtly excited newscaster tells us of a class of 9th graders chosen for a fiercely contested game whose rules we’ve yet to learn. Taken to the scene in a military vehicle by armored soldiers and swarmed by the press, a small girl in school uniform holds on to her doll as the newscaster reports that she is the winner. Covered head-to-toes in blood, the girl slowly raises her face and eerily smiles for the cameras in a series of jump cuts and flashes. This introductory scene shockingly sets the tone of Fukasaku Kinji’s grim horror action thriller: Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru, 2000). Fifteen minutes later, we witness the first of over 40 gruesome deaths: an adult is shot through the eye, a girl is stabbed in the forehead, and a boy’s neck is made to explode by a collar triggered through radio waves. I warn you that Battle Royale is not the kind of movie you should be watching if you are weak of stomach, or if old samurai films are the most violence you can handle in a day.

It was precisely the violent nature of the storyline which drew much of the controversy surrounding the film and the large audiences that made it a hit. The movie has an R15 rating (restricted for those 15 years old and over), an apparently rarely used rating in Japan even for violent films.[1] Fukasaku who disliked the rating, attempted to have the censor board review it once more, but the film sparked controversy at the Japanese Diet who called it “crude and tasteless”, so he withdrew the request out of fear for more censorship.[2] Though I must agree with the censor board and the Japanese politicians due to the film’s graphic nature, the film did manage to be a box-office hit grossing the equivalent of $25 million USD in Japanese yen, spawning a sequel, a number of mangas, and a possible future Hollywood remake. Such a success is worthy—if not of some level of appreciation—at least of respect.

The story—which is a bit convoluted because of the enormous amount of characters—happens in an alternate dystopic Japan where unemployment, inflation, and government tyranny lead teenagers towards delinquency and rebellion. To placate the rebellious youth and instill fear, the government passes the Millennium Reform School Act forcing one randomly selected class of ninth grade students to compete in a game of death and survival against each other with real weapons on a deserted island once every year. This year’s chosen class is Class B; forty-four students each with their individual teenager insecurities and quirks.

The film maintains cohesion by focusing on two specific characters: Nanahara Shuya (Fujiwara Tatsuya) and Nakagawa Noriko (Maeda Aki); friends together with the rebellious Nobu (Kotani Yukihiro)—the previously mentioned boy whose collar explodes. Prior to the game, Nobu incites an uprising at school and stabs the school teacher Kitano (appropriately played by Kitano Takeshi) in the leg. Unbeknownst to the class the sadistic Kitano becomes the head of the Battle Royale Program and is the one who kills Nobu both out of revenge, and to make an example out of him. Once the game begins, Shuya and Noriko are morally correct characters who do not want to kill, thus they stay together out of friendship and support. However, not all their classmates think alike and soon the carnage begins. Some try to hide, some gang up to hunt the rest, and another small group attempts an elaborate plan to deactivate the collars. The storyline unfolds as Shuya and Noriko bump into the different groups of students, and how their interactions with them lead to acts of revenge, jealousy, a few times of love, and more than anything, gruesome deaths. Meanwhile, from his base of operations, the emotionless Kitano watches the game unfold every now and then informing the surviving students through speakerphones across the island of the growing number of dead.

The controversy that surrounds the story most positively comes not just from violence and gore, quite common in modern film times, but because the plot revolves around perfectly normal teenagers who go awry under extreme circumstances. Such scenes as when five of the schoolgirls kill each other after an incident with a poisoned soup intended for Shuya, highlights the kind of tonal shifts that happen all throughout the film. We pass from moments of simple schoolgirl chit-chat, where one of the girls Sugimura Hiroki is pressured to reveal her feelings for Shuya, to a moment of pure violence that a western director like Quentin Tarantino would love.

In an interview to Fukasaku, the 70 year old director commented that his film is nothing but a fable, a parable, a tale of caution meant to educate. However, we should ask who is the film attempting to educate? Fukasaku wants to emphasize a generational gap: adults vs. youth. He mentions in the interview the gap that existed between his own generation who fought the war, and the younger modern one: “since the burst of the bubble economy… adults, many of them salary men and working class people… most of them started to lose confidence in themselves. And the children who have grown up and witnessed what happened to the adults, their anxiety became heightened as well”.[3] Perhaps we should then consider that the violence in the film exemplifies an exaggeration of the horrid and awkward journey that is growing up and becoming an adult.

On the adult spectrum, the heartless Kitano becomes one of the most enigmatic and distressingly interesting characters of the film, because he illustrates the extremism and single-mindedness that often times comes with being an adult. To western audiences, the emotionless performance by Kitano Takeshi contrasts with his comedic appearances seen through reruns and dubs of the television show Takeshi’s Castle. The actor here plays the teacher Kitano completely straightforward; he is merciless, cold, calculating but at the same time dangerously unpredictable as he demonstrates at the beginning of the film when he delights himself in killing Nobu and one of the student girls. However, the teacher still serves a bizarre comedic purpose as his dialogue is ironic when he says things such as: “Sorry, it’s against the rules for me to kill isn’t it?”, or later on: “It’s tough when friends die on you, but hang in there”.  Dressed in sweatpants, Kitano spends his time doing stretching exercises and eating cookies, while outside his base the most despicable acts of murder are carried by his command. At a determined point in the movie (which I won’t reveal or it could spoil the film); Kitano reveals a gruesome painting that he has drawn. It is of the island, covered in the butchered bodies of the students and surrounding a heavenly image of Noriko. Kitano says that it represents his hope that she will be the only survivor of the game. This strange relationship between him and Noriko is showcased at several points in the film, such as when he saves her from the mischievous Mitsuko (the school temptress and femme fatale) and strangely offers Noriko an umbrella to protect her from the rain. There’s one more bizarre one in which we see them both talk and eat ice-cream by an idyllic riverside enjoying each other’s company. The scene appears slightly washed out and happens in between two shots of Noriko and Kitano sleeping separately, as if to say that perhaps the riverside scene is a dream that they are both currently sharing. Kitano’s strange behavior, obsession with Noriko and passive aggressive behavior are a few of the things in Battle Royale that make it an interesting study on the psychology of deranged individuals, but it also begs a comment on the psychology of grown people who having lived through extreme circumstances, become immune or desensitized by acts of extremity.

There is no doubt that Fukasaku’s Battle Royale has become a staple of Japanese cult cinema, because of the extreme acts of violence portrayed between teenagers. An adherence to such a taboo subject—essentially demystifying the innocence of youth—in favor of a view that portrays the journey of becoming an adult as a nightmarish path towards intolerance and indifference. If the story is a tale of caution it’s probably effective for its shock value as a form catharsis, but we should begin questioning ourselves for the reasons that a small group of devoted fans—such as I—find such horrible things, so attractive. Have we simply just not changed at all from those years when say Romans forced slaves in gladiatorial combat? Is Fukasaku’s final comment that we as a race are simply violent by nature and no amount of reasoning or morality will ever change that? I pray it isn’t so.

[1] Leong, Anthony (2001). “Battle Royale Movie Review”. Issue 33 of Asian Cult Cinima. Retrieved 2007-01-08

[2] Mes, Tom and Jasper Sharp. “Midnight Eye interview: Kinji Fukasaku.” 9 April 2001. Midnight Eye. <http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/kinji_fukasaku.shtml>.

[3] Mes, Tom and Jasper Sharp. “Midnight Eye interview: Kinji Fukasaku.” 9 April 2001. Midnight Eye. <http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/kinji_fukasaku.shtml>.

Categories
anime experimental literary adaptations

“Akira”: A Visual Feast of Decay, Destruction and Rebirth

Akira, released in 1988, is a science-fiction anime movie directed by Otomo Katsuhiro and based on his 6-volume manga series of the same name. Set in 2019 in post-war Neo-Tokyo, the movie follows the leader of a youth bike gang, Kaneda, as he attempts to rescue his gang friend, Tetsuo, who has been kidnapped and is being subjected to scientific experimentation.
The movie begins with a shot of what appears to be an atomic explosion that annihilates Tokyo in 1988, signaling the start of World War III. Viewers are then fast-forwarded to the post-war city of Neo-Tokyo in 2019, a monstrous neon metropolis built on an artificial island in the middle of Tokyo Bay. Here, viewers are presented with scenes of chaos: bike gang battles, anti-government rioting, and terrorism. The storyline begins by following a bike gang, led by Kaneda, as they fight another gang, the Clowns. During a chase scene with the Clowns, Kaneda’s friend, Tetsuo, crashes his bike into #26, a child-mutant produced by scientific experiments, and is seriously injured. Army personnel arrive at the scene and take #26 and Tetsuo back to their laboratories. Kaneda comes into contact with the resistance group that had tried to kidnap #26, and joins them in an attempt to rescue Tetsuo from further scientific experimentation. However, they are too late, and discover that Tetsuo has already been turned into a mutant being with supernatural powers. After laying waste to security forces that try to contain him, Tetsuo goes in search of Akira, a legendary entity that supposedly sparked the 1988 explosion. Kaneda continues his mission, but must now save Tetsuo from himself. The two meet near, and eventually inside, the Olympic Stadium where they fight in an epic showdown before Tetsuo begins to completely lose control of himself and his powers.
The funding, resources, and manpower needed to create Akira were made possible by a consortium of Japanese entertainment companies called the Akira Committee, an entity that became the movie’s producer. Such strong financial backing allowed Otomo to devote a large amount of resources and time to the animation process. As a result, viewers will notice the detail put into the animation technique used in Akira, cel-shading, is extremely precise. The intricacy and density of the cels gives Akira an unprecedented feeing of fluidity and realism. The colors used in Akira’s cels are also bright and highly varied. The intricate cels and vibrant colors make Akira’s numerous battle and protest scenes, as well as Tetsuo’s mutations, even more frantic, violent, and realistic. High-speed chase scenes that follow the gang’s motorcycles feel incredibly fluid. Overhead shots and fly-bys of Neo-Tokyo also benefit from the high-end animation: viewers get a real sense of the city’s expansiveness (both vertical and horizontal) and complexity. Also noteworthy in Akira is the detail put into the facial speech animations, making it seem as though the animated characters are truly pronouncing and meaning the words they speak. Even by today’s standards, Akira is still visually impressive.
Looking past all of the visually pleasing action and destruction, viewers may find that Akira’s subtext addresses numerous issues facing late twentieth-century Japanese society. Indeed, themes of decay such as consumerism, social unrest, corruption, and juvenile delinquency, as well as themes of destruction such as memories of the World War II nuclear bombings are present throughout the movie. Perhaps most noteworthy is the theme of nuclear destruction and re-growth as it relates to Japan’s post-World-War-II experience. In the wake of the conventional and nuclear Allied bombings during World War II, Tokyo and much of the rest of Japan lay in ruins. From the ashes, Japan was able to rebuild itself once more into a thriving economy and society. In a similar fashion, Akira’s Neo-Tokyo had been built from the ashes of the nuclear explosion experienced during a fictional World War III. From the outset of the movie, it is apparent that Neo-Tokyo is again approaching the end of another destruction/reconstruction cycle: it is unstable, corrupt, filthy, and decaying from within. Viewers are presented with numerous scenes that signal the impending collapse: rioters take to the streets and are confronted by armed and brutal police, explosions are set off by terrorist groups, and corruption and ineptitude are evident in meetings held by the city’s government. The city’s young, too, have become delinquent, as exemplified by Kaneda’s bike gang and their revelry in violence and vandalism. To make clear the severity of the decay, one of the child-mutants in the laboratory, #25, Kiyoko, delivers an ominous prophecy in the first third of the movie: “The city will crumble”. Conveyed by Akira’s theme of destruction and reconstruction is a fear, and possibly a warning, that Japan will never escape this cyclic process of death/birth/re-growth that started in World War II; Japan will eternally fall prey to excess, greed, corruption, only to annihilate itself, reconstruct, and start the process anew.
Akira is not only a spectacular piece of animation, but also a much deeper look into concerns facing Japanese society. The storyline weaves the viewer through the decay occurring within the city of Neo-Tokyo – rampant consumerism, juvenile delinquency, civil unrest, and corruption – while also bringing attention to post-war fears of further nuclear destruction and rebirth. Akira’s influence outside of Japan has been far-reaching, and has been included in Michael Jackson’s music video, Scream, as well as Kanye West’s music video, Stronger. The movie has numerous scenes of violence that involve animations of blood and gore, and profanities are used often. Akira is truly a must see for fans of animation, anime or for those interested in Japanese culture.

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
action chambara/chanbara jidai-geki literary adaptations

“Lady Snowblood”

Lady Snowblood/Shurayuki-hime (1973) is director Fujita Toshiya’s filmic adaptation of a manga originally published in Weekly Playboy. The film transcribes the title and plot from the manga written by Koike Kazuo and illustrated by Kamimura Kazuo. Kaji Meiko, in the lead role brings to life Kashime Shurayuki (Shurayuki-hime). The film’s cast also includes Nishimura Ko as Priest Dōkai, Kurosawa Toshio as Ashio Ryūrei, Daimon as Kashima Gō, Akaza Miyoko as Kashima Sayo and Okada Eiji as Tsukamoto Gishirō.

The film is the story of a young woman, Shurayuki, on a mission to avenge a crime committed against her family.  The crime is conveyed via a flashback sequence depicting Gō Kashima with his wife Sayo and young son Shiro (Uchida Shinichi) taking a walk on an idyllic sun-filled day. In a sudden attack, Kashima and son are murdered. Sayo is spared her life, only to be raped by the aggressors later. The film opens in a women’s prison, where Sayo, having been arrested for killing one of her aggressors, lies in a cell giving birth to Shurayuki.

Conceived out of suffering, she is born into a far-from-reconciled tragedy. Shurayuki is literally born in a prison cell, the symbolic significance of which becomes obvious when her mother dies of complications from childbirth. Sayo’s dying words utter Shurayuki’s fate: “For me there are things left undone…So I must let this child wreak my vengeance for me”. As sure as her words are spoken, Shurayuki is raised by Priest Dōkai, who trains her to become an assassin.  Her physical training is largely in the art of sword-fighting. She also receives mental training, largely in the philosophy of filial piety and fulfilling one’s destiny. At the age of twenty, fully trained, she begins her hunt for the perpetrators of the crime.

A significant aspect of the film is the articulation of Shurayuki’s isolation. Rhetorical devices such as dialogue are one manner in which this is achieved. However, specifically filmic elements are also employed. For example, Kaji Meiko’s first on-screen appearance is a canted angle shot of the title character hurrying through snow. Noticeably, there is no one else in the shot with her.  As she walks out of the frame, there is a jump cut to the next scene. This time, Shurayuki approaches the camera, walking against a wall located along the left of the screen. This shot appears to convey that Shurayuki must sequester herself. Keeping close to the wall, face hidden behind an umbrella, one seems to experience her heightened sense of awareness. It is as though having been born for a very specific pre-destined purpose; Shurayuki exists within the vacuum of her vengeance duty.

Another significant stylistic element is the employment of self-reflexivity. The film refers to its source not only in the appropriation of the plot, but in the editing of the narrative as well. For example, the film consists of four chapters, which invokes a literary nuance. Further, the film is visually inter-cut with photomontages, manga images, and even moments of anime. What results is an interruption of the filmic narrative, which appears to function as an appeal to the plot’s origins in popular culture. As such, the film reveals that although it is seemingly of the jidai-geki genre, it is in fact being told in the present. This is not unlike the way a manga in its very form reveals its contemporary perspective.

The film is a must-see for any Quentin Tarantino fans; the most avid will likely have already seen it. The Kill Bill trilogy is based quite intimately on Lady Snowblood. In juxtaposition, the similarities between the two films reveal how truly avant-garde Fujita’s vision was.

Categories
J-horror literary adaptations

The Horror of “The Ring”

Ringu (The Ring, 1998), directed by Nakata Hideo and based on Suzuki Kôji’s 1991 novel of the same name, is a blend of mystery and horror that deals with the relatively new cultural anxiety that is nervous about the way movies and video can affect us as people; for example, the debate around whether or not violent movies make people more violent or not. This theme of anxiety was expressed in a similar mysterious and horrifying way by director David Cronenberg in Videodrome (1983).

The Ring begins, like any good thriller, in ordinary life. In this case it is two teenage girls named Tomoko (Takeuchi Yuko) and Masami (Sato Hitomi). Masami tells her friend Tomoko about a videotape that when viewed will cause you to die within exactly seven days to the very second. They laugh, and try to brush it off, but Tomoko is obviously concerned.  Finally, she relates to Masami that her and three other friends viewed a film seven days ago that fits this one’s description exactly; down to the detail that they received an anonymous, voiceless phone call right after their viewing. Subsequently, Tomoko dies that very night with a vacant, but agonized expression lacerated on her face. The film then cuts to Asakawa Reiko (Matsushima Nanako) a journalist who is investigating the story of the video tape and its possible connection to the deaths of teenagers.

Reiko, it turns out, is the aunt of Tomoko but it takes her a while before she connects her niece’s death to the video tape. When Reiko finally makes this connection she is able to find clues to the mystery in Tomoko’s room, namely a curious picture. The picture has an interesting detail that really adds to the story’s eerie qualities. Once you have been marked for death, by watching the videotape, any picture that is taken of you will have your face blurred, or smeared across the photo like blood on a wall. Therefore when Reiko, after tracing Tomoko’s footsteps, finds and watches the video tape in a cabin her niece went to, the film is able to give solid proof that Reiko is also now affected by the curse and will die in seven days.

The impending death of Reiko is what drives the film’s plot. Reiko now has to hurry her investigation against a ticking time bomb to discover what makes people die from this videotape in order to save her own life. In the course of events she enlists the help of her ex-husband Takayama Ryuji (Sanada Hiroyuki) and an old man from a small island fishing village called Oshima. During the course of the investigation a very close loved one of hers views the tape as well which increases the gravity and desperation with which her search must succeed.

To tell too much of the plot is to give away the film’s sense of mystery. These mysteries are: one, how the videotape kills and two, why it even possesses this lethal power. These story points help drive the action and excitement of watching the film. Suffice to say that on Oshima Island there is the history of an old psychic who was exploited and then humiliated that helps open the doors to understanding the mystery. Further, the mystery beyond driving the plot ultimately leads to a dark and dismal theme about choosing your life or another’s. Despite this, even if you have seen the film before, or watched the Hollywood remake, The Ring (2002), or read the book, you know the mystery is just one aspect of the film’s intrigue. The horror and suspense adds another level to the film.

As mentioned before the film draws upon the anxiety of what film, video, or simply an image may be able to do to you. Beyond the social implications of this anxiety there is a more visceral one: what if the horrible evil in a film could crawl out and attack you within the comfort of your home, or movie theatre. The video tape itself resembles a 1920’s surrealist silent film, one that could have been made by Salvador Dalí and/or Luis Buñuel. It has dark and grainy images that cut in jarring and unmotivated ways to reveal an emaciated girl with long black hair covering her face and an old well; if a film could come and end your life this may be the film to do it.

The film’s music is very distinct as well and really helps place the film in the horror genre. At moments of intensity and anxiety the violins screech similar to the way Hitchcock employs them in Psycho (1960). The effect is great in increasing the film’s tense, uneasy anxiety. For example, the final scene with Takayama Ryuji would probably still be horrifying without the music but the addition of it really helps bolster the anxiety and fear Ryuji must be feeling and therefore the audience as well. Along with this technique the film’s cinematography lends tan anxious tone. The characters are often framed very tightly; they seemed somewhat cramped on screen either with each other or with the scenery around them. Not much is revealed as a result of this. As an audience member all you can see is a small frame and anything could be lurking around the corner; whether it is a clue to solving the mystery or some deadly force ready to take another life. One of the film’s climactic scenes shows this. Reiko and Ryuji are underneath a cabin and in an old well. The space is claustrophobic in and of itself with its low ceiling, dark space and suffocating water. The camera increases this by framing the two characters almost exclusively in medium and close-up shots. The director even includes shots of the bright, cheerful, sunny day outside to contrast the dark dismal interior he has placed his characters in. This sense of claustrophobia created by the set as well as the camera really works to increase the anxiety of this scene.

The anxiety that this film creates is truly unique. Often people comment how a film kept them on the edge of their seat; this film has done that. It achieves this effect without intense scenes of violence or gore. Instead the film has played upon the strange fear that the visual media may have over us. This more psychological tactic to frighten the audience is similar to the techniques used by Hitchcock in his horror, mystery, thriller, films. All in all it is a film that you will want to watch a few more times just to see if the film can frighten you again, and its themes and images, beyond their chilling effect, are intriguing to think about even when you are done viewing the film.

Categories
action drama, melodrama jidai-geki literary adaptations

The Winds of Change, Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran”

After a monumental career, Kurosawa Akira directs his last great epic in 1985’s Ran. Although Kurosawa would continue making films after Ran, they would not approach the scope and scale of this highly celebrated film. Set in ancient Japan, the film is a jidaigeki (period-piece) about an aging warlord ceding power to his three sons. The story, itself an interpretation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, focuses on the themes of aging, regret, and change. To portray these themes it was necessary for Kurosawa to enlist highly talented actors. This was especially true for the complex lead role of Lord Ichimonji whose gradual self-destruction is brilliantly realized by Tatsuya Nakadai. Alongside Nakadai are Terao Akira, Nezu Jinpachi, and Ryu Daisuke playing his sons Taro, Jiro and Saburo respectively. Shinnosuke ‘Peter’ Ikehata also makes an appearance as Lord Ichimonji’s inseparable jester.

The film opens with a hunting expedition in the mountains held by Lord Ichimonji, his three sons, several advisors and his jester Kyoami. Lord Ichimonji, after a startling dream, uses this occasion to express his plan to abdicate the throne. The decision to hand power to his sons is met with mixed reaction. His youngest son Saburo becomes increasingly insolent, vehemently speaking his mind and is ultimately banished. Because Saburo is now out of the picture, Lord Ichimonji leaves all his power and territory to his two eldest sons Taro and Jiro, with the intention to live out his remaining days as their guest. This change to the balance of power quickly gives rise to conflict as Jiro is envious of his elder brother’s superior position, and Lord Ichimonji does not adapt well to his new lack of authority. In the chaos that ensues, Taro and Jiro plot each other’s demise while Lord Ichimonji is shunned by both and left to wander the countryside. The brother’s conflict quickly leads to war, and Lord Ichimonji, consumed by guilt for his past atrocities, grows increasingly insane. As the film progresses, many lives are lost, and the sins of Lord Ichimonji’s past haunt him in his quest for solace.

Among the key themes Kurosawa addresses in his film is the concept of change. The film’s title itself, Ran, can be roughly translated as ‘chaos’. Although there is much chaos found within the film, all the chaos stems from change, and the evolution of order into disorder. One way Kurosawa represents change is by continuously returning to brief shots of the sky, and more specifically of clouds transforming. In the opening scene of the film, Lord Ichimonji takes a nap after a day of hunting wild boar. During this nap Kurosawa inserts a brief but telling shot of the clouds shifting. As implied by the foreshadowing, change is quickly instituted as Lord Ichimonji awakens from his dream and announces his plan to abdicate. Kurosawa often returns to this device throughout the film, and the transformation of the clouds becomes more rapid and threatening as the conflict they oversee escalates.

A large portion of the film deals with Lord Ichimonji drifting through the countryside tortured by his past and his inability to change it. During his descent into madness, the only person to remain by his side is his jester Kyoami. Kurosawa utilizes Kyoami to not only provide contrast to Lord Ichimonji’s rambling, but also to narrate the film. In this manner, Kyoami is like a cryptic benshi, explaining the plot development through metaphor. In one scene Kyoami orates a seemingly random story of a bird choosing to look after a snake egg because it is white and pure. After the egg hatches, the bird is attacked. This story reflects the situation of Lord Ichimonji being betrayed by Taro and Jiro who had previously appeared more innocent and loving than Saburo.

In addition to excellent character development, beautiful cinematography and an engaging musical score, Ran also includes several elaborately staged battle scenes. These scenes are brought to life through the use of countless extras, filling the ranks of Kurosawa’s impressive armies. Similar to his previous films such as 1980’s Kagemusha, Kurosawa seems intent on showing the brutality of war and focuses on the casualties more so than the action itself. This element of action serves to drive the plot and is also highly entertaining on an purely aesthetic level.

Throughout his career Kurosawa was responsible for making several epic films of this proportion, and the accumulation of his experience and artistry is well displayed in Ran. Because the film delivers on both an intellectual level, and is engaging to watch due to the excellent acting performances and thrilling battle scenes, audiences of a wide range can enjoy this classic of Japanese cinema.

Categories
anti-war gendai-geki literary adaptations shomin-geki

Forever Victims of the Atomic Bomb

Imamura Shōhei’s Black Rain or in Japanese Kuroi ame was based on Ibuse Masuji’s novel Black Rain and released in 1989; the genre is war. His cast members include Tanaka Yoshiko playing Yasuko, Kitamura Kazuo playing Shigematsu – Yasuko’s uncle, and Ichihara Etsuko playing Aunt Shigeko. The film is based on the Hiroshima nuclear bombing of 1945, its impact on the Japanese people, and their recovery process. The nation is never the same again after the horrific bombing and its toll on the people of Hiroshima is highlighted with utmost realism in the black and white movie.

The film starts by showing us Yasuko, a young college graduate being evacuated out of Hiroshima. She rides on the back of a neighbour’s truck to ship her, her uncle, and her aunt’s belonging out of Hiroshima. The morning seems to be peaceful, quiet, with crabs on the beautiful glistening stream creating a contrast before the horrific nuclear bombing. After the bomb is dropped we get a picture of the big luminous mushroom cloud rising and dropping its black ashes on the people of Hiroshima; the lighting in the film darkens as Yasuko re-enters Hiroshima to find her uncle. As the black rain caused by the nuclear bomb begin to drop on Yasuko we get a close-up of her lost and fearful expression as the rain begins to discolour her face; her expression outlines the feeling of all Hiroshima citizens. When Yasuko, Uncle Shigematsu, and Aunt Shigeko cross the city to take refuge at Shigematsu’s workplace, they as well as the viewers witness the suffering of Hiroshima citizens. The suffering is intensified when a child called Kyuzo walks up to his brother and his brother cannot even recognize him due to his terribly melting skin hanging from his body; the chaos further increases when we see a close-up shot of a woman cradling her dead baby with a lifeless insane look increasing the agony. Moreover the film shows people being buried alive or running around half-dead crying out for help.

After the horrific vivid scenes from the day of the atomic bombing the scene quickly jumps to the aftermath where Yasuko and her uncle walk out of the doctor’s office with her health certificate. After the bomb people start to realize that even indirect exposure to radiation makes people sick as well. Incorrect rumours start formulating and one of them is that radiation sickness could be contagious. Yasuko has trouble finding a husband due to this fear of radiation sickness. The film also shows other survivors being subjected to discrimination and seen as either dangerous for contaminating others, or lazy because they are not working due to radiation sickness. Yuichi, one of Yasuko’s neighbours, goes delirious whenever an automobile passes because he thinks it is an enemy tank. Like the crazy Yuichi who fought in the war and has gone crazy, the victims of the A-bomb are forever entrapped by it. Practically everyone in the film is damaged by the war and one by one the victims die or continue to suffer from fear of death. The film later shows us three A-bomb victims fishing due to their radiation sickness. A woman passes by and ridicules them for being lazy saying they are “happy-go-lucky people”. She represents all other Japanese people who want to and can move on losing sympathy for these A-bomb victims who remind them of the war. Everyone forgets the “hell of fire,” forgetting its victims and their ongoing pain.

Yasuko’s uncle Shigematsu takes to copying Yasuko and his wartime diary after the doctor’s health certificate fails to get Yasuko a marriage for the third time. He takes to copying these diaries to explain that Yasuko was not in Hiroshima when the bombing happened. The difficulty of finding Yasuko a husband occurs throughout the film. Yasuko highlights the desperation of the A-bomb victims and their entrapment by the war. The bomb has taken life, joy, and personality away from Yasuko and all its victims; they are confined to certain activities and for Yasuko she cannot even find anyone willing to marry her. All the victims can think about is how the disease will eventually get the best of them. They are a “community bound by the bomb” and in the end Yasuko even refuses her suitor because she thinks she is not good enough for anyone. As Shigematsu engages in the copying the diaries the film jumps back to August 6th, the day of the bombing. Everything is ablaze, cries for help everywhere, and the lighting gets dark again. As Yasuko, her uncle, and her aunt crosses a stream, burned corpses with their facial features un-recognizable floats pass them adding to the horror. One father could not even save his son leaving him burning in the fire to save himself; as he runs away the son yells for help continuously. We get another flashback as the villagers are performing a funeral service for a soldier from Takafuta. The present mixed with flashbacks reflects the fact that these victims cannot escape; unlike the vanished Hiroshima they have to live with the symptoms and the ongoing fear of sickness forever. The A-bomb victims are dying like “guinea pigs” and the ones that survived are trapped forever not knowing when the radiation sickness will hit them; they cannot work or engage in tiring activities and worst of all are discriminated by fellow countrymen. One by one the A-bomb victims in the village dies luring Yasuko into a growing fear that she may be next.

Black Rain is a movie successful in portraying a nation destroyed by war and the magnitude of the effect of the inhumane atomic bomb. The many grotesque and shocking images of corpse and burned victims in the city of Hiroshima deliver a clear anti-war sentiment reminding viewers the horror of the war itself. The Americans inflicted a lot of pain on the Japanese people of Hiroshima however the Japanese people who were not affected by the bomb discriminated against their own people inflicting mental pain as well. The film criticizes the war and outlines the fact that it brings out the worse in human beings. The country like its A-bomb victims will never be the same again. The film makes it easy for the viewer to identify and feel for the people affected by the A-bomb; repulsed not only by the gruesome image of victims but the war itself. The film depicts the horror and suffering of people when the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and their inescapable agony in realistic way; their suffering so realistically depicted with the many incidents shown during the bombing and after the viewer can feel magnitude piercing through them as well. The film shows vivid images and cries of the dying victims imprinting the cruelty of war into the viewers’ minds. The film provides specific stories of different people and how they are getting affected during the aftermath. It shows individual perspectives and does not group everyone’s suffering into one making it easier to sympathize with the victims. After hearing the news about dropping A-bomb on Korea, Uncle Shigematsu expresses the message of the film; humans just strangle themselves and cannot learn. He says this while the room is only filled with two old people – him and his mother, intensifying the hopelessness for the people of Hiroshima. The final scene contains the only close-up of uncle Shigematsu showing his face filled with sadness as he prays for the health of Yasuko; the sorrow of the Hiroshima victims is reflected in his helpless painful expression. The world after the bomb fell is even more colourless, just like the darkening of the lighting in the already black and white film.

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