Categories
anime science-fiction

“Paprika”’s Distorted World of Reality and Fear

Directed by the late Kon Satoshi, Paprika (2006) is an animated science fiction film adaptation ofYasutaka Tsutsui’s 1993 novel. The film is highly renowned for its stunning artwork and animation. Moreover, Paprika often leaves the audience stunned by its incredibly complex yet remarkable storyline. While the film takes the viewer through a whirlwind of dreams and nightmares, Satoshi highlights the characters’ fear of technology taking over Japanese society. This becomes a serious theme throughout the film as Doctor Atsuko Chiba (voiced by Hayashibara Megumi) continues to dive deeper into people’s nightmares and discover the ultimate truth dream by dream. Another aspect to consider is Satoshi’s use of visuals to create hyperrealities of the characters’ dreams and their real world. At one point, dreams and reality merge, in which it becomes difficult to determine whether Chiba is in someone’s dream or not. Therefore, the visuals juxtapose dreams and reality to effectively illustrate, in detail, their similarities. As such, the theme and visuals tie the film together as a whole, while at the same time, they leave open-ended and debatable scenarios which then ultimately beg the question, “is this all just a dream?”

Paprika is set in the future where a device called ‘DC Mini’ is invented for dream therapy. This new psychotherapy treatment utilizes the DC Mini to view people’s dreams, allowing its users to explore unconscious thoughts of their patients and dreamers. Chiba leads this treatment and uses this device illegally to help psychiatric patients, which is not permitted in the research facilities. To conceal her identity, Chiba uses her alter ego, Paprika, to delve into and examine the patients’ dream world. Hence, the film opens with Paprika (a.k.a Chiba) counselling Detective Konakawa Toshimi, who is vexed by a recurring dream. The incompleteness of his dreams deeply troubles him and deters him from following his passion for film. Chiba’s method of counseling is heavily disapproved by the Chairman (Emori Tōru) despite Doctor Kosaku Tokita’s (Furuya Tōru) optimistic intentions, the child-at-heart genius and creator of the DC Mini. Before the government can pass an authorization of the use of the DC Mini, three of its models are stolen. Because those prototypes are not complete, they allow anyone to enter another person’s dreams and create an opportunity for the user to perform malicious deeds without getting caught. Chiba/Paprika and Doctor Torataro Shima (Hori Katsunosuke) take this matter into their own hands after two doctors (Tokita and Himuro, who is, at first, suspected as the thief) become victims of the DC Mini. It is up to Paprika to find the roots of the perpetrator responsible for controlling the dreams and why he merges dreams and reality together. Thus, the viewers follow both Chiba and Paprika into a whirlwind of unconscious thoughts and self-reflexive fears, whether they are in dreams or reality or in both. Eventually, Chiba and Konakawa confront and realize their true emotions in order to save their city from mass destruction.

An important subject matter to explore in Paprika is the sense of fear and frustration on the rapid technological advancements in Japanese society. “Implanting dreams into other people’s heads is terrorism,” exclaims Chairman Emori at the beginning of the film. He clearly expresses his disapproval of the DC Mini and aims to be the “predator of the dreamworld” by protecting dreams from being polluted by technology. Ironically, he contradicts himself and ends up using the DC Mini to maliciously control people’s dreams, as exemplified by his monstrous figure and sinister vision of omnipotence. At one point in the film, the Chairman transforms himself into an incredibly large and dark monster-like creature. He also begins to destroy and darken the city with his delusional dreams. This scene in particular is reminiscent of Gojira’s attack of the city in Ishirō Honda’s Gojira (1954). Similarly to Gojira, the city is darkened by smokes with a monster of terror hovering over and destroying buildings. The Chairman’s monstrous transformation is solely from his obsessive and aggressive nature over maintaining purity in people’s dreams, as is Gojira’s transformation from the testings of nuclear weapons. Because of his twisted motives, the Chairman slowly eliminates people’s identities and their mental capacities, and soon enough, their lives. Clearly, the DC Mini is controlled by the wrong hands of a malevolent user. Ultimately, the Chairman epitomizes the inhumane horrors of technology by allowing it to be the source of evil.

Perhaps what truly throws both the characters and viewers off is the incredible visuals making it difficult to determine which state (dream or reality) they’re in. Unlike some films, Satoshi does not add special effects or any indications whenever Chiba has entered someone’s dream or not. Rather, he closely juxtaposes dreams and reality to challenge various characters to search for their own personal truths, be it their hidden emotions or self-realization. This makes it hard to understand when to know whether or not one is in a dream or in the real world. Consequently, Konakawa and Chiba travel through a series of dreams to discover what they are hiding or running away from in reality. Konakawa continues to revisit his movie-like dreams to make sense of the final scene, where he finds himself chasing after someone and could not shoot the escaping stranger. His hesitance prevents him from understanding why his personal anxiety affects his hatred for movies. When he realizes he needs to overcome his guilt for breaking a promise to a close friend, he finally finishes his dream by shooting Doctor Morio Osenai (Koichi Yamadera), the Chairman’s minion, indicating that he has taken control of his dream[1]. As a result, Konakawa’s confrontation to himself and discovery of his friend’s true intentions prevent his dreams from recurring again. Chiba, on the other hand, uses her alter ego to suppress her romantic emotions towards Tokita. As she continues to jump from one dream to another dream to her real world, her frantic search for Tokita allows her to realize that she has feelings for him – as herself, not Paprika. Because dreams and reality have merged, Paprika becomes a separate entity from Chiba, who then, later on, reconciles herself through Paprika after discovering her feelings for Tokita. This is illustrated when Chiba watches her own subconscious thoughts replaying an earlier scene in the film when she helps Tokita out of the elevator. In the ghostly apparition, she recognizes his cues, changes her reactions and response, and holds him tenderly. For both Konokawa and Chiba’s cases, it is when reality and dreams merge that they recognize the underlying truth in order for them to stay true to themselves. Thus, the film’s visuals and its challenging structure act as a self-reflexive tool to explore and understand the similarities between dreams and reality, but also one’s consciousness and subconsciousness.

Paprika is known for its stunning animation and ability to challenge the audience’s expectations. It is often compared to Christopher Nolan’s most recent film, Inception (2010) because of their similar ideas. However, Paprika is a very different film when it comes to questioning the idea of dreams and the characters’ reality. Paprika’s intellectual curiosity leaves the audience at the edge of their seat, craving for more explanations and a longer storyline. One must be aware of nudity and its extreme graphic details during the film. Watch Paprika and be prepared for a twisted roller coaster ride through a series of beautiful and unusual dreams.

[1] Doctor Morio Osenai also dies in reality to indicate that dreams and reality have completed merged.

Categories
drama, melodrama gendai-geki

“Departures”

Death frequently appears in film and death is one common reason for sadness. But here is a film telling that death is not just sad. Departures (Okuribito, 2008), directed by Takita Yujiro, takes death as a main theme and questions the meaning of death and life. Because of the main theme, the film is generally slow and serious, but it tries not to consider death as full of despair or pain by observing the traditional ceremony of “encoffinement” in Japan. The ceremony may be a very new and difficult concept for most foreign audiences, but the film explains and express its meaning and process in detail.

Kobayashi Daigo (Motoki Masahiro) has been playing the cello since childhood and works as a professional cellist in a symphony orchestra. However, after the orchestra disbands, he realizes that his talent is not enough to survive as a professional cellist. He and his wife, Mika (Hirosue Ryoko), return to his hometown to live in the house where he used to live during his childhood with his mother. Soon Daigo finds a job that he thinks is a part of a travel agency, but after the meeting with the boss Sasaki, he notices that this job is actually in the encoffinment business.  Because Daigo is horrified and ashamed of his new job, he doesn’t tell Mika what his job really is. After he watches the ritual ceremony before cremation, he finds the meaning of life and death in the ritual cleaning, dressing, and placing of the deceased into a coffin under the eyes of relatives. However, Mika eventually finds out about his job and asks him to quit and find a “normal job.” He says “Death is normal.” Mika decides to go back to her family and he continues his job.

This film continuously repeats the opposing motifs of departures and arrivals. In the cooking scene, when Daigo and Mika discover that the octopus they had bought to eat is still alive, they return it back into the river. After this, Daigo decides to go back to his hometown. According to Zen Buddhism, which has been a popular religion in Japan for a long time, “the samsaric lifespan is an endless cycle of birth, suffering, death and rebirth” (Tsui). There are a lot of scenes which remind the audience of the life cycle, not only of human beings, but also of octopus and salmon. Although everyone will need this ceremony in the future, we find many people around Daigo don’t like this job.  For example, his old friend avoids him and Mika also thinks of his job as shameful work. The film shows how ironic this is:  through this ceremony, people can prepare for the last stage in this life and their new life in another world. Only after the families watch the encoffinment do they understand its meaning and importance.

Yojiro not only focuses on the filming of the ceremony, but also scenes with beauty. There are many beautiful background scenes: for example the snow-covered mountains and the Tokyo symphony orchestra performing Beethoven’s ninth symphony. He uses ‘typical alternations of close-ups, static wide shots, and medium framings” (Kubota).   The scene where Daigo plays the cello in the middle of an empty field with snow-covered mountains with excellent camera movement was especially touching. When he sells his cello, he feels a kind of relief. After that, he resumes playing the cello only after he becomes an encoffiner. As he moves to the new world of the encoffiner, he could purely enjoy playing the cello.

The actors also perform their role reasonably well, especially Motoki Masahiro. He expresses Daigo’s despair, pain and fear of a new world through remarkable facial expressions. Although we are watching a film about death, we do not feel heavy despair. One reason would be his powerful understated expression. All the characters in the film don’t show much emotion; we are just watching their everyday lives very calmly and the changes of attitudes toward death.

Through death, this film shows the importance of love and forgiveness in the family. Daigo hasn’t seen his father since his father left the family. And about 20 years, he receives a phone call that his father is dead. Although Daigo and his father have been missing and loving each other, they can meet only after the father’s death. It might be very sad that everything seems to be too late. But I think that the death of his father is not the end of their relationship; it’s rather a beginning of their relationship. By his father’s death, he finally admits that he loves his father. This film is generally very good and gives me a chance to think about life, but I think it has too broad and open of an ending.

Categories
anime anti-war drama, melodrama

No Better Approach than the Anime: “Grave of the Fireflies” and Emotional Representation

Takahata Isao’s Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka, 1988) is an anime film which tells the tragic story of a young pre-teen boy and his younger sister who struggle to survive during the final years of WWII in Kobe, Japan. For an animated film, Grave of the Fireflies deals with an extremely sensitive and realistic topic. Though this may be common to the Japanese anime tradition, where serious topics are often depicted in animated form, I think those who have a more westernized view of animated films will be surprised at the emotional intensity in Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies. Instead of taking away from or making light of such important issues like, the Kobe air raids, the animation does the opposite. There is a way in which the anime is able to distance the viewer in order to reach an emotional truth or universality that live-action films cannot replicate. Therefore, as an anime film, Grave of the Fireflies is able to handle the sensitive/traumatic subject of war trauma or victimization, to great effect.

The film begins with a shot on an adolescent boy named Seita. He is basked in red light and his voiceover says, “September 21, 1945…that was the night I died.” A tin can is found by his lifeless body and is tossed away. A small white bone falls out and the spirit of Seita’s little sister, Setsuko appears. She looks around puzzled but is soon joined by the spirit of her brother. The siblings happily rejoice and share candy fruit drops from the tin can as they ride the train. The film is then told in flashback and cuts to Seita, Setsuko and their mother preparing to evacuate their home, because of an oncoming air raid. The film follows the siblings as they struggle to find food and shelter after their home and city is destroyed by the bombings.

From the first scene, the spectator instantly knows the film deals with death, tragedy and real historical events. Yet the film is able to avoid feeling too dramatized or overwhelming by the sheer fact that it is in animation. Animation is associated with children, exaggeration and elaborated stories. Because of this familiar connotation, dramatization or unrealistic portrayals can be expected in the anime genre. For instance, in the opening scene, the red luminous lighting which represents a sort of afterlife, evokes a haunting atmosphere, but it is oversaturated and stylized. As well, and most obvious, are the drawings of the characters. Seiki and Setsuko are in no way realistically drawn. They have exaggerated features. As a result, even though the film presents overwhelming amounts of tragedy and events, that are very realistic, the audience can better accept or invest in these emotions because the characters are not “real” people and they live in this animated world that is distant from our own. In Susan J. Napier’s article, she mentions that the “animation’s simplified representation allow[s] for easier identification on the part of the viewer” (167). Even though the story is based on writer Nosaka Akiyuki’s real life, the characters in the story are not based on or look like real life people. Seiki and Setsuko have such basic features that they can basically represent any Japanese child. It gives the film a universal quality, where people can easily identify with the siblings rather than trying to connect with a personalized account.

Napier also points out how the “graphics of manga or anime can help “convey the unconveyable” of the bomb’s horror (166). This comes back to the idea of genre expectations and the viewer already accepting the limitedness or exaggerated nature of the animated world. When Seiki and Setsuko observe the landscape of Kobe and see how everything is destroyed, the viewer does not question this visual representation. It’s not that animation is better at accurately capturing the truth but it’s that we are less inclined to critique it. It’s difficult to say that an anime film is dramatizing, or is unrealistically representing something, because animation is not a form that traditionally tries to be realistic. For example, when Seiki sees his mother completely wrapped up in bandages and bleeding from underneath, the image is very exaggerated. However, the audience does not roll their eyes at this dramatic image because it does not seem dramatized within an anime context. The viewer can then remain focused on the emotions of the scenes without being fazed by the overstated image. Another way in which anime works better in conveying the horrors of war is that it’s simply easier to draw the destroyed landscape or injured civilians, than to do it with real sets and actors. Even with CGI and advanced technology, the live-action film then risks being too contrived through its highly artificial approach in representing such sensitive and serious subjects. Special effects with computers or rigs, then becomes more unrealistic or in “bad taste,” as Napier would say, than the usage of manga or anime.

Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies is certainly one of the saddest films I have ever seen. The fact that it is in animation does not cross your mind since you become so invested in the lives of these two children. However, after watching the film you begin to realize that the reason you were able to get so invested in the pure emotion of the story, is that the animation is able to distance the viewer enough so they don’t get distracted by issues of inaccurate or unrealistic representation.

Works Cited

Napier, Susan J. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Web. 29 Oct. 2010.

Categories
drama, melodrama gendai-geki romance shomin-geki

Love Letter: the Unexpected Reply

Love Letter (English Title: When I Close My Eyes), released in 1995, was written and directed by Iwai Shunji. The lead female actor, Nakayama Niho, plays both Watanabe Hiroko and Fujii Itsuki, the two protagonists of the film. Sakai Miki plays the young Fujii Itsuki. The lead male roles are Shigeru Akiba, played by Toyokawa Etsushi, and the male Fujii Itsuki, played by Kashiwabara Takashi. This romantic drama takes place in the winter Hokkaido, where the female protagonists discover their unique connection with each other through an odd pen-pal relationship.

The film begins with the second anniversary ceremony of the male Fujii Itsuki’s death. Fujii Itsuki was Hiroko’s fiancé who died from a mountain climbing accident. After the ceremony, Hiroko visits Itsuki’s home and through his old yearbook, she discovers his childhood address in Otaru, Hokkaido, which is now non-existent. With lasting feelings towards her dead fiancé, she writes a love letter addressed to the address in Otaru, thinking of it as a letter to heaven. Unexpectedly, a reply comes from Fujii Itsuki. However, this Fujii Itsuki turns out to be a girl with the same name, who works at a public library in Otaru. This simple love letter with the words “How are you? I am fine” starts the odd pen-pal relationship between Hiroko and the female Itsuki. Meanwhile, Akiba, Hiroko’s current boyfriend, decides to take Hiroko to Otaru in order for her to overcome her feelings towards her dead fiancé. Although Hiroko and the female Itsuki never physically meet, as the exchanging of the letters progress, they discover each other’s identity and their unique connection. The female Itsuki actually knew the male Itsuki, spending three years of junior-high in the same class. She has bitter memories of being made fun of for having the same name as Hiroko’s ex-lover. Yet, for Hiroko, these are sweet memories of her lost fiancé before they met, and asks Itsuki to share her junior-high stories of the male Itsuki. The story slowly starts to focus more heavily on female Itsuki and her past, and the two characters starts to re-discover some lost memories of the deceased Fujii Itsuki.

To clearly distinguish the difference between Hiroko and Itsuki, both played by Nakayama Miho, Iwai Shunji uses distinctive coloring in costumes and lighting to help build their characteristics. From the opening scene, Hiroko is portrayed through lighter and solid colours. Her costumes use a lot of solid black, white and blue colours, showing little warmth. In the earlier scenes where she talks with male Itsuki’s mother and with Akiba, the bright white background lighting leaves a very clear and cold impression. Hiroko is shown in warm colours only at the scenes in Akiba’s workshop and in the cabin that she visits with Akiba. In these scenes there are movements in Hiroko’s feelings; she expresses her love towards Akiba in his workshop while she decides to move on from her dead fiancé at the cabin. Iwai uses lighter and colder colours to portray Hiroko in remorse, while uses warmer background and costume colours when she has an emotional transition. On the other hand, Itsuki is always shown wearing checked or striped patterns of warm colors like brown, orange and red. Also, Iwai uses much warmer lighting in Itsuki’s scenes. The lights at her house and at her workplace are always in shades of orange, never having the sharp, white lighting like Hiroko’s scenes. Complementing the great acting done by Nakayama Miho, Iwai Shunji’s use of colors in costumes and lighting makes a clear distinction between Hiroko, who cannot let go of the ties with the male Itsuki, and Itsuki, who re-discovers her ties with male Itsuki.

Iwai Shunji builds up tension in this dialogue-heavy film through the use of multiple close-up and long shots, creating a fast-paced tempo. Iwai does not use stationary shots, where the characters move in and out of the screen. Instead, he uses series of handheld close-up and long shots that flexibly adjusts focus amongst the characters. In the earlier scene at Akiba’s workshop, Iwai uses a series of close-up shots rapidly changing the focus on the characters speaking. This creates a fast rhythm, adding tension to their dialogue. The build-up of the tension is followed by a long close-up shot of them kissing, making the audience feel as if the actual time has stopped through the sudden change of pace. Then they are disturbed by another character who enters the scene. Here the camera switches to a long shot, allowing for the tension to slowly fade away. His use of non-stationary camerawork and quick switches of close-ups, create a fast and engaging rhythm to the film that helps build the tension in this film, heavily focused on dialogue.

“How are you? I am fine.” This simple letter sent by grief and partial whims, allows Hiroko and Itsuki to let go or re-connect with their love for male Fujii Itsuki. Although the film does not follow the typical romantic drama scenario, the contrast of the two different loves evolving around Fujii Itsuki leaves the viewers with a warm-hearted feeling. Love Letter is definitely a movie worth watching.

Categories
anime

Totoro, My Childhood Neighbour

My Neighbour Totoro (となりのトトロTonari no Totoro) is a film written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao, which was also named My Friend Totoro when it was released in the United States in 1993. In the release year of 1988, Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, awarded the Mainichi Film Award to this film. The prominent animated cast members are the older sister Kusakabe Satsuki, voiced by Hidaki Noriko; the younger sister Kusakabe Mei, voiced by Sakamoto Chika; the father Kusakabe Tatsuo, voiced by Itoi Shigesato; the little boy in the village Okagi Kanta, voiced by Amagasa Toshiyuki; and the forest protector Totoro, voiced by Takagi Hitoshi. This animated film talks about the two sister’s encounter with a friendly spirit neighbour in the woods, Totoro.

The story is centered around the Kusabake family. The movie starts off with a drive around their new neighbourhood to an old house that they bought for the purpose of easier access to the hospital which the mother is hospitalized in. While settling into the house, the sisters discover tiny soot creatures called makkurokurosuke that like to gather around in old abandoned houses. Because the old house is no longer abandoned, the travelling soot, also known as susuwatari, drifts out of the house and into the night sky to search for its next shelter. The next day, the father and the girls bike to visit their mother, and they talk about the house that they moved into. It is at this time that the viewers realize that Satsuki writes to her mother regularly. The following day, while Satsuki goes to school and Tatsuo is busy with his professor work, Mei energetically explores her new backyard. She comes across bunny-like creatures which she follows into the woods, and eventually she falls into a tunnel in an ancient camphor tree. In there, she meets another similar creature, except he is much larger in size. The creature introduces himself as Totoro. The atmosphere in the camphor tree is too relaxing, and Mei falls asleep on his belly soon after. Mei is discovered sleeping in the bushes by Satsuki and her father later on when Satsuki returns home from school. They go for a walk in the forest and thank the camphor tree for taking care of Mei. The story climaxes to a point where Mei goes missing due to the sudden notice that their mother cannot leave the hospital as anticipated.

A famous rumor in Japan has it that Totoro is a shinigami (god of death) because of the eerie interaction the sisters have with Totoro, and no one else in the village seems to be able to come in contact with this mythical creature. The success of My Neighbour Totoro has brought Japanese animation to global attention, and much hearsay arises through time. The idea that Totoro is a shinigami came about around 2007 due to certain scenes and dialogue in the movie which suggest that Totoro helped Satsuki find Mei not by actually finding Mei, but by bringing Satsuki to the world of death to meet Mei by riding the neko basu, the cat bus. A scene that supports this fact is a part close to the end, where Satsuki and Mei met. The touching display is made bizarre by the fact that Mei and Satsuki do not have shadows when they meet. Another rumour also links the plot of the story to a murder case during the Showa era in Japan. The murder case occurred in a May during the Showa period, and the point in time where My Neighbour Totoro takes place is around 1958 (within the Showa period). The names of the sisters are hinted at as the month of May (Satsuki is May in Japanese, and Mei is a homophone of May). Similarities in location, testimonies given, an ill family member, are all shockingly alike to the movie. My Neighbour Totoro is a film that the teenagers in this generation grew up with, so the idea that this childhood film could possibly be a horror film is shocking to all viewers.

Aside from the horrific rumor about this film, the soundtrack plays a crucial part in the movie. Miyazaki Hayao’s right-hand man, Joe Hisaishi (久石譲,), real name Fujisawa Mamoru (藤澤守), is the main composer of most of Miyazaki’s films, including My Neighbour Totoro. The movie starts off with an opening theme song called Sanpo (さんぽ, translated as “stroll”). This lighthearted song sets up a happy mood for the viewers. Throughout the film, the instrumental music aids the plot of the movie at times of suspense and tranquility. When the susuwatari are forced to move out of the old house, the background music, Wind at Dusk (夕暮れの風, Yugure no Kaze) hints at a sense of sadness from the soot dust. The piece The Huge Tree in Tsukamori (塚森の大樹, Tsukamori no Taiju) merges into the Wind at Dusk soon after it gives viewers a sense of ease while the family is resting for the first night at the seemingly haunted house. Out of twenty tracks played in the movie, the other noticeable ones include Wasn’t It Great (よかったね,, Yokatta ne), The Path of the Wind (風のとおり道, ,kaze no toorimichi), Catbus (ねこバス, Nekobasu), and the ending song My Neighbour Totoro (となりのトトロ, Tonari no Totoro). Without Joe Hisaishi’s composing talent, My Neighbour Totoro might not be as popular because after all, the sense of hearing connects the viewers straight to the images from the film.

Having been around for over twenty years, the fame of Totoro has yet to die down. The works of Miyazaki Hayao through the aid of Joe Hisaishi have successfully become a cultural icon and My Neighbour Totoro is first in line. In today’s fast-paced technological century, Miyazaki’s fight against computer graphics proved to have an impact on a global scale. My Neighbour Totoro is a highly recommended film to watch at any age to appreciate the hard work of drawing over a hundred thousand pictures to present an eighty-minute film.

Categories
anime anti-war

“Howl’s Moving Castle”: Love Makes People Brave.

Howl’s Moving Castle (Japanese title: Hauru no ugoku shiro), released in Japan in 2004 and in the United States in 2005, was directed and written by Miyazaki Hayao. It is an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel, “Howl’s moving castle.” The genre is anime, literary adaptation, and drama. There are no actors, and there is only seiyū because this is a colour anime. The seiyū is a voice performer in Japanese. The seiyū of the main male character, Howl, is Kimura Takuya, whose main employment is as a member of SMAP, a Japanese idol group. Baishō Chieko, a Japanese actress and singer, voices the main female character, Sophie Grandma.

The setting of the movie is a magical European world with many wizards and witches in different countries. Sophie, a nineteen-year-old girl, does not have confidence or know what she really wants to do, so she runs a hat shop which her dead father left. In the beginning, Sophie is on her way to see her half sister, Lettie, when she is accosted by two soldiers before she arrives. At this time, she is saved from this embarrassment by a handsome blond man who has powerful magic; however, at the same time, the man is pursued by shadows. The man quickly brings Sophie to her destination by walking on air so that the shadows could not pursue her. Sophie seems to be falling in love with the man because he heroically saved her. When Sophie goes back to her hat shop, the Witch of the Waste, who controls shadows to catch the handsome blond man, comes in Sophie’s shop to conjure a charm to make Sophie become a ninety-year-old woman. After initial panic at first, Sophie calms down and leaves her hometown. On her way, she meets a friend, a scarecrow who was also conjured by someone. Scarecrow brings Sophie to Howl’s moving castle to rest. There Sophie meets the demon, Calcifer, who makes Howl’s castle move. Calcifer asks her to untie the contract between Howl and him because he wants to be free, but Sophie has to find the key thing to untie the contract. When Howl comes home, Sophie finds that he was the man who saved her before. Sophie tells him that she is a new sweeper for this castle, so Howl allows her to stay without asking anything.

One day, Howl gets mad when he thinks that the world will end soon just because he cannot dye his hair the colour he wanted. Sophie also gets mad because she thinks she can never be beautiful, but Howl is still great-looking even with the wrong hair colour. She thinks Howl is self-centered and wayward. After Howl calms down, he tells Sophie that he is really not the mature man of his gorgeous appearance, but is actually timid like a child. He does not like war, so he asks Sophie to act as his mother and see his teacher, Madame Suliman, to refuse attending the war for him. Getting along increasingly with each other, Howl and Sophie become attracted to each other. Howl soon decides to join the war because now he has important people to protect. Gradually, Sophie’s appearance becomes younger and younger since her thoughts become youthful and confident after she falls in love with Howl.

Although this is an anime movie, Miyazaki still clearly shows each character’s personality through their clothing, the way they talk, and their behaviour. For example, in the beginning, Sophie lacks confidence, wearing only plain clothing and avoiding eye contact when she talks to people. However, after she becomes confident, she wears a beautiful dress and looks steadily at others when she talks to them. Howl, at first, only focuses on his appearance, so he always wears beautiful clothing and dyes his hair. At the end, he finds there are more important things than his outward appearance, so he wears simple clothing and no longer dyes his hair.

The point here is that people can become confident and brave enough to do anything once they love somebody whom they want to protect and cherish. The change of Howl’s attitude to the war from evading to facing is a prime example. In addition, Sophie gains her confidence from loving Howl and becomes brave enough to do anything for him. She does not want Howl to use too much magic to become a full monster, so she did something which may bring her danger by calling Howl back from the war.

All background music and songs were composed by Joe Hisaishi, who has collaborated with Miyazaki for more than twenty-five years. The soundtrack makes each scene more realistic with some important messages. For example, when Howl held Calcifer to conjure, the soundtrack is a realistic heartbeat; some viewers can guess that the key thing to untie the contract may be Howl’s heart. In addition, the ending song, “The Merry-go-round of Life,” is impressive because it is pretty lively yet peaceful and shows that Howl and Sophie must have a bright future. The song is used in the opening, too; however, the intent of the song here is to show Sophie’s hometown is a lively and relaxed place.

In addition, Miyazaki also used 3D techniques to make the moving castle look realistic and painted some pictures by hand, so some scenes are pretty three-dimensional like real scenery.

This is one of my favourite Miyazaki movies because it is the only one in which the central message is love. Although some may think this is just anime, there are many important messages. For example, that love can make people become brave and confident, and that war is bad because it causes suffering. Therefore, I think this film is ideal for older teenagers and adults. In addition, I suggest watching this movie twice in order to gain clear messages from it because although it is based on the novel; many original scenes are cut, so for the audience who do not read the novel before, they may still not easily comprehend the points from a single viewing.

Categories
anime

Will You Be “Spirited Away?”

Spirited Away (Sen to chihiro no kamikakushi) is a visually-creative Japanese anime made in 2001 by director Miyazaki Hayao.  It is a story full of fantasy and adventure as it follows the journey of a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro (voiced by Hîragi Rumi) who finds herself in a world full of spirits, monsters, and other interesting creatures, and has to find her way out to the human world, as well as, save her parents from their dreadful situation.

The tale begins with Chihiro and her parents driving off to their new house in the suburbs, which she is definitely not happy about.  The father decides to take a shortcut through a bumpy dirt road and they end up at a dead end that contains a hillside tunnel.  Despite how frightened Chihiro is about this idea, the parents want to venture through the tunnel to see what is on the other side.  They end up finding an abandoned amusement park, which the parents are excited about, but Chihiro is full of nothing but fear and discomfort.  After gorging out at an empty restaurant full of delicious food out in the open, the parents undergo a magical transformation as they are turned into a couple of sloppy pigs.  Terrified, she runs to seek help and encounters a strange boy named Haku (voiced by Miyu Irino) who promises to help her.  She is lead to a bathhouse that is full of spirits, monstrous non-humans and mysterious creatures, and is told to get a job there as the only way to survive and eventually save her parents.  The bathhouse, however, is run by Yubaba (voiced by Mari Natsuki), a grumpy sorceress.  Through her persistence, Chihiro manages to persuade Yubaba to give her a job, but her name (Chihiro) is taken away and the new name, Sen, is given to her.  Haku cautions Sen to remember her original name even though they have given her a new one, because it is her only way to escape.  Haku, unfortunately, had forgotten his real name and has been stuck in the world of spirits ever since.  Though the labour is hard, she works as hard as she can.  One of her biggest achievements at the bathhouse that earns her the respect of Yubaba and the other spirits, is when she helped serve the most foul-smelling spirit, who turned out to be a very rich and powerful river spirit.  As the story progresses, Haku continues to help Sen/Chihiro to get her and her parents back to the human world, but it is not an easy mission.  Will Chihiro ever save her parents and escape the spirit world? Or will they be spirited away forever?  You will just have to follow this magical journey yourself to find out.

One aspect of this animated film that really makes it stand out from most American animated movies is its amazing originality that only a brilliant director like Miyazaki can pull off in the perfect degree.  The boundless imagination that gives each character its uniqueness really displays Miyazaki’s artistic talent at its best.  There is a lot of detail in the animation that makes it look all the more realistic despite the fantasy aspect of it.  It is the best cinematography I have seen in an animated feature.  The English-dubbed version of this movie was released by Walt Disney Productions in 2002, and it, too, was a raging success with critics everywhere praising its remarkable achievements as a Japanese animated film.  What Miyazaki was able to achieve in this anime is truly unmatched and impressive.  It is no surprise that this film has won numerous prestigious awards including “Best Animated Feature Film” from the 75th Annual Academy Awards, and the Golden Bear award from the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival.

Another noteworthy aspect of the film is its captivating narrative that really takes you on the journey through the spirit world with Chihiro.  The animated film encompasses fantasy and adventure, as well as, friendships and potentially more, to take its audience on the emotional journey that begins with fear and ends in…well, you would just have to watch it to find out!  The narrative is kept exciting and humour is another aspect of this movie that makes it fun to watch.

The filmmaker’s vivid imagination is what makes Spirited Away (Sen to chihiro no kamikakushi) such a visual masterpiece.  The storyline is enchanting as it is a story of friendship and love, tied in with the wild adventures of a little girl that has to deal with giant, scary ghosts and monsters in a fantasy-filled nightmare.  It is a delightful film full of fascinating creatures and mysterious transformations that makes it truly a magical experience for both adults and children to enjoy.  If you do not feel like speed-reading subtitles from the original Japanese version, the English-dubbed 2002 release by Walt Disney Productions is just as good and it does not take away from the spectacular animation that has been kept in its original form.  This is a must-see!

Categories
drama, melodrama gendai-geki

“Ikigami”: The Death Letter

Ikigami (Ikigami, 2008), by Takamoto Tomoyuki is a drama film based on a manga by Mase Motoro. The film takes place in Japan where there is a law that requires all children, upon entering an elementary school, to receive a vaccine. 1 in 1000 vaccines contains a deadly nano-capsule that will explode in the dorsal artery and lead the subject to death on a set date when the subject is between 18 and 24. This so-called “National Prosperity Maintenance Law” is supposed to make citizens appreciate the value of their life and increase the productivity of the nation as any young adult aged between 18 and 24 fears that he or she could be the unfortunate one to die for the country. The title of this film Ikigami refers to the death letter which is delivered to the young adult 24 hours prior to his or her inevitable death. This letter allows the dying young adult to enjoy free transportation, food, travelling, and other privileges. The two distinctive features of this film are the use of middle-shots and close-ups.

The film mainly revolves around the protagonist Fujimoto Kengo (Matsuda Shota) and the three young adults to whom Fujimoto delivers the Ikigami. The first unfortunate young adult who receives the ikigami is a street musician called Tanabe Tsubasa (Kanai Yuta) who gets scouted by a famous music company and forms a duet group with someone else while his partner, Morio Hidekazu (Tsukamoto Takeshi), gives up on his dream to become a music star. The second recipient of the ikigami is Takizawa Naoki (Sano Kazuma) who is the son of a politician, Takizawa Masako (Fubuki Jun) who had been brainwashed as she tried to save his son from receiving the vaccine and is now a passionate advocate for the very system she stood against. The third young adult, Iizuka Satoshi (Yamada Takayuki) is a dishonest, but warm-hearted elder brother of Iizuka Sakura (Narumi Riko) who lost her sight and her parents in a car accident. Upon receiving the ikigami, the three young adults first become upset and go into major emotional breakdowns; however, they all come to accept the reality and strive to live their life to its fullest in the last 24 hours of their life. The protagonist Fujimoto, though he works for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, has doubts about the prosperity law and acts against the rules of an ikigami deliveryman.

In the film, there are middle-shots from the view of a surveillance camera where the focus is on Fujimoto standing still and gazing at the camera while people in uniform costumes are all walking by in the same direction. In one early scene, Fujimoto is at a train station with men and women in suit passing by, and in a scene near the end of the film, he is standing in front of the gate of an elementary school with children entering the school, soon to be injected with the vaccine. In the earlier scene, the camera focuses on Fujimoto looking compassionately at a TV which displays the people who honorably died for the country. At this time, he has doubts about the prosperity law, but he nevertheless performs his duties as ordered. In the later scene, Fujimoto is glaring at the camera while his narration says, “in this country, there is freedom, peace, and wealth, but a handful of the population is unexpectedly abandoned without mercy.” This suggests that he has become certain that the government system is corrupted and it needs to be changed. The camerawork focusing on Fujimoto in the two scenes are important as they show how his encounters with the ikigami recipients change Fujimoto’s attitude toward the prosperity law.

Throughout the film, the camera closes up on the face of Fujimoto. Right after the scenes in which the ikigami recipients reach their final moment, the camera focuses on Fujimoto who closes his eyes and shuts his mouth firmly showing compassion toward the dying young adult and frustration as all he cannot do anything but watch them die. Although Fujimoto’s role in the film is essentially a messenger of death who delivers a death sentence to young adults, these full-face shots of him showing great compassion conveys an impression that he is not just a cold-hearted messenger of ikigami and is likely to induce empathy as he struggles to follow orders and perform his duties while having doubts about the whole law.

Ikigami is a thought-provoking film with many tear-inducing scenes. Although idea of maintaining the nation’s prosperity by sacrificing the lives of young adults seems rather absurd at first, but it is intriguing to imagine what would happen if this system really existed. In addition to the great storyline, this film has many famous actors such as Matsuda Shoto, Tsukamoto Takashi, and Yamada Takayuki. This film is highly recommended for those people who like sentimental films.

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extreme

“Ichi the Killer”

Famous for pushing censorship boundaries with overtly violent and sexual movie content, Miike Takashi continues his controversial film-making with Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya Ichi, 2001). Starring Japanese Acadamy Award Winner Asano Tadanobu (Zaitochi 1998), actor Omori Na, film director/actor Tsukamoto Shin’yao, and Miss Singapore 1994 winner and actress Pauline Suen; Ichi the Killer is a stylish yakuza film of extreme sadomasochistic content. As a publicity stunt during the premier of Ichi the Killer at the Toronto International Film Festival, vomit bags were given out to movie viewers. In saying that, I hope this establishes the gruesome nature of the film. Ichi the Killer is without doubt one of Miike Takashi’s most graphic films, and it should not be viewed by the faint of heart!

Based on anime writer Yamamoto Hideo’s manga 1 (Ichi 1993), yakuza boss Anjo is assassinated while he is forcefully enjoying a prostitute. The mastermind behind the murder is rival Jijii (played by Tsukamoto Shin’yao), who cleans up the murder scene in order to lead Anjo’s gang to believe their boss has escaped town with a prostitute and 300 million yen. Kakihara (played by Asano Tadanobu), is eager to find Anjo as he believes his boss is kidnapped. At a club, Jijii tells Kakihara and his gang a lie about a rival gang member Suzuki having taken Anjo hostage. Kakihara proceeds to hang Suzuki on his back with metal hooks, as Kakihara interrogates him. In the process, skewers are painfully used and boiled water is poured while Suzuki is on the metal hooks.
We soon find out Jijii is plotting a gang warfare between rival yakuza gangs. The secret assailant behind Jijii’s plan is an unknowingly and naïve recluse named Ichi (played by Omori Na). Ichi is brainwashed by Jijii, by confusing his sexual lust into murderous tendencies. Not only does Ichi assassinate Anjo, but Ichi kills an abusive pimp alongside a prostitute he routinely visits. Through Anjo’s prostitute girlfriend Karen (played by Pauline Suen), Kakihara finds out that Ichi is responsible for his boss’s death. Kakihara, a sadist himself, realizes that Ichi can provide the ultimate pain (thus pleasure) that he is seeking. Times are becoming difficult for Kakihara, as he is kicked out of his yakuza clan and his defecting underlings are fleeing when the majority of Kakihara’s men are killed by the Jijii controlled Ichi. This leaves a showdown between Kakihara and Jijii/Ichi.

Ichi the Killer as a film seems to be a paradox. It is often criticized for having little – if any – character development; while at the other end of the spectrum is the overabundance of violent scenes. The lack of character development paves way for the movie to display the violent tendencies of its two main characters. Ichi the Killer is a non-stop gore fest – and this is the entire point. Miike Takashi intelligently explores briefly the background of Kakihara and Ichi’s violent fostering, which gives purpose to the sadistic violence found in the film.

Another paradox is, however violent Ichi the Killer is as a movie, artistically and theoretically the film seems tongue-in-cheek. Although Miike Takashi has directed children’s films (Zebraman, 2004) and art house films (Izo, 2004), it is his extremely violent yet cartoon-like approached films (such as Ichi the Killer, 2001, Gozu, 2004, Crows Zero, 2007) that have gained popularity and a strong following. An example in Ichi the Killer is at the beginning of the movie where we are shown a very realistic scene of Anjo violently attacking and raping a prostitute. Right after this we are shown a scene of an exaggerated bellyful amount of Anjo and the prostitute’s intestines covering the room Jijii is now trying to clean – all while the viewers are given childish manga music and sounds to accompany the image. Other examples are scenes like Kakihara cutting off his own tongue as requital for hanging a rival gang member on hooks, or the cartoon-like computer generated graphics that are shown when Ichi splits a person straight-down-the-middle in half. Perhaps this is to make the film theoretically enjoyable or less sadistic. Seems like an odd style, but this is a Miike Takashi film after all.

Ichi the Killer is an incredibly stylish film in camerawork, costumes, and character attitudes. As someone who works in the fashion industry, and lives life through being artistically inclined, I greatly enjoyed the artistic style of Ichi the Killer. It rivals some of the French New Wave movies in that regard, yet the storytelling and pacing is commercial enough for the daring. Speaking for myself, the stylishness gives depth to the otherwise grotesque movie.

I really enjoyed the extreme nature of the film (in style, art direction, and violence). In saying that, I feel very sick writing and recalling scenes from Ichi the Killer. Having seen many films before, this seems like the first I’ve ever felt so disgusted by a movie (even the more violent Miike Takashi ones). There is a reason why this film remains controversial to this day. I’m warning potential viewers of the films overly excessive violence, nudity, and sexual content. Ichi the Killer is not a film for casual viewers of any age. The violence pierces through your consciousness and leaves one reeling on hooks. I like the film – in a non-sadistic way – but, I have no desire to ever watch it again!

Categories
drama, melodrama gendai-geki

The Ultimate Liar Game

Liar Game: The Final Stage by Hiroaki Matsuyama was released in March 2010 based on an anime written by Kaitani Shinobu. This movie continues from where it left off in the Liar Game drama series which focuses on a ruthless swindle game, the Liar Game, in which contestants are chosen for a chance to win the grand prize of fifty million dollars. The players are to cooperate with each other in order for them all to win the cash. However if a player loses, he or she will be drowned in debt. The only way for them to win is to trust each other and cooperate until the end to win the grand prize without deceiving others. Liar Game: The Final Stage is a film with great intensity and keeps the audience thinking as to how the contestants can overcome the multiple obstacles that keeps getting in their way.

The film starts off by showing the naïve and gullible image of the main character, Kanzaki Nao. When a stranger approaches her for bus fare money, she simply gave him a smile and handed him ten dollars. When she gets home, a million dollars is placed in front of her house, causing her to have flashbacks of her past experience in the Liar Game. She never thought that she would be invited back to the last and final stage of the game. A man shows up and explains to her that she must enter the game again in order to help Akiyama Shinichi, another main character who helped her out in the game during the drama series. This man suggests she pay Akiyama back by aiding him in this final round. Kanzaki agrees to the deal and enters the Garden of Eden, where the game is held. She receives a brander and is enlisted as player H (to keep the player’s identity anonymous). The host of the game, Kelbim, once again explains the rules of the game to the contestants. Fifty million dollar is the prize. On the other hand, if the player loses, he or she will be put into debt.

The game is played based on individual votes cast on an apple: Gold, Silver and Red. Only one person is allowed to vote at a time, and they are to imprint their name on the apple with their personalized brander, and then dropping the apple into the voting box. There are thirteen rounds of voting with an hour time limit for each round. If everyone votes for the red apple, they each get one million dollars. If the votes are scattered, the coloured apple with the most votes will get a million dollars. On the other hand, the losers for that round will lose a million dollars instead. But if there are votes for Gold or Silver and the rest of the people votes for Red, the people who voted Gold or Silver will get a million dollar raise, whereas the rest will lose a million. After the rules are explain, the gullible and determined Kanzaki persuades them that they will all win as long as they cast the vote for red apples for all thirteen rounds. However, will other contestants agree with her and not deceive her by voting for Gold or Silver? For the first round, everyone says they will vote for the red apple, but the result turns out to be 3 Gold, 4 Silver and 4 Red, causing the 7 people who anonymously voted for Gold or Silver to gain a million, and the 4 who voted for Red lose a million each. Will Kanzaki be able to help Akiyama and let everyone be a winner, or will she be eliminated before she is able to aid Akiyama? On top of all the lies the contestants show, a player X within the group of the twelve plots to sabotage the players in the game. Will the genius Akiyama be able to beat this player X? Will Kanzaki be able to help the players learn to trust each other? Aside from the consistent conflicts between the contestants, the audience can also notice a subtle romance blooming between the two main characters during the game.

The camerawork of this film is an essential factor that adds to the intensity of the game. Though the characters often hide their true feelings at first, when the camera zooms into their expression, the audience can expect or even guess that something wrong or bad is going to happen and that the character is hiding something from the rest of the players. The camera angles also mainly focus on the character’s eyes, which are often open wide in fear of having been found out to be lying to the others. A lot of faraway shots can be seen in this film as well. These angles are often at a surveillance camera angle, letting the audience watch the game from an angle that is not involved in the game, yet still acknowledging the interactions between the contestants. Many of these shots also show the beautiful decorations of the Garden of Eden, a huge area dedicated for the players to stay in. The twelve players in the Liar Game also have a distinct dress code which reflects their personality. For example, Kanzaki wears a loose and long dress which shows her innocent self. Akiyama wears a casual yet eye-catching outfit which shows that he is a genius and is a talented person. Other outfits include a crazy clown outfit for a player who is childish and talkative, and a gold colour outfit is provided for the player with the most money at the beginning of the game.

Liar Game: The Final Stage keeps the audience guessing what will happen next and whether or not the players will each get a share of the grand prize. The mysterious player X, who is trying to sabotage the rest of the players, is also a factor that keeps the contestants from trusting each other. This film illustrates the need for people to trust each other and that money is not the main reason in order to live. Often, simply trusting another person instead can open one’s mind, finding the true feelings of one. When necessary, telling a white lie might be a better outcome for a certain situation. Also, the faint romance that develops between Kanzaki and Akiyama also makes the movie more enjoyable. This film portrays many different morals in life and definitely worth the time to watch.

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