Strange Circus

Seen for the first time in November 2012

I watched "Strange Circus" in a state of hungover exhaustion. It's creepy but not unsettling, and entertaining. My mind was sort of fogged over while watching it, plus the dvd started skipping and the subtitles let out for ab few minutes during the climactic reveal. I'm pretty sure I've got the story, but I don't know what's "real" and what's real. I liked it more or less. It's entertaining, and despite the disturbing content strikes the right tone. Much better than this same director's "Suicide Club." Grade B.

Throne of Blood - Akira Kurosawa

Seen for the first time in November 2012.

“Throne of Blood” is essentially “Macbeth” directly translated into Japanese and then re-translated into English with subtitles, which probably accounts for why it’s such a good adaptation, naturally losing the archaic language and iambic pentameter of Shakespeare’s original without succumbing to the goofiness that occurs when attempts at an update are made.

There’s an element to the end, that I don’t remember in “Macbeth” that reminds me of “Ozymandias,” namely the notice saying “here lies the ruins of spiderweb castle.” This, in my opinion opinion provides another layer of richness to the film, bringing by implication the same things that “Ozymandias” invokes. Namely, the way time and years erase even the greatest of men. The meaningless in the end of the pursuit of great power and greatness itself, to be ultimately forgotten and have your great monuments lie in ruin.

That may just be me however, and it may be in the original Macbeth as well. I haven’t read it since high school. I must make time to re-read Shakespeare and perhaps even catch some productions, though the thought of watching any actor’s performance of Hamlet fills me with nausea despite the fact that I do hold that play in deep regard. Anyway, how much I liked this due to Kurosawa, and how much I liked it due to Shakespeare, I can’t say. The scene with the arrows at the end is remarkable. Grade A.

Suicide Club

Seen for the first time in November 2012.

This movie was a little boring and unengaging to me. Toward the end, I began to lean on the fast-forward button a bit, so it would probably be unfair to say its a little non-sensical. Though, I think its more concerned about atmosphere than sense in and of its self. The real drawback is it’s concept of cool is, at this moment in time, probably at its nadir in terms of fashion. Movies should probably not even try to be cool however. Grade C.

Love Exposure

Seen for the first time in October 2012.

This film was a revelation. It’s a four hour epic movie with a mish-mash of styles and a stunning display of craft. In this regard it’s reminiscent of a seamless viewing of the “Kill Bill” movies. And though it delivers the same rare, once in a decade cinematic experiences, thematically it’s completely different. It’s about love, religion, and perversion. Everything comes together perfectly in this amazing movie that’s an equal blend of seriousness and sillyness; of high brow concept, pop-culture entertainment, and cheap thrills.

It’d be a cliche to say this film could only have come from Japan, but it’s true. It has that unique mix of the good, the violent, the silly and the pervy, but also with an ambition and a depth that is essential to the most serious movies. This film is about love at its most powerful as a concept. It is about religion. It is about family. It’s about sin. It’s about peeking at Japanese girls in their panties. It’s about being human. There are tonal shifts throughout. A serious movie turns into a silly movie, turns into a disturbing and sad movie, turns into a triumph.

Jaw-dropping. Spectacular. This movie cannot be praised hyperbolically. It delivers and delivers and delivers. The depth cannot be neatly summarized. One scene of particular note is the recitation of Corinthians 13. Holy Shit. Holy Shit. That scene… I’ve heard those verses before, whatever… I never realized before that it was such poetry. Such beautiful language. Such beautiful thoughts. What a powerful fucking scene. And that such a scene can fit so seamlessly (and seemlessly) and relevantly in a movie about a guy who’s the master of upskirt photography… Only in Japan? Words fail me. Grade A.

Sukeban Boy

Seen for the first time in October 2011.

“Sukeban Boy” is a strange movie, and it’s strange in a way that is uniquely Japanese. There is something extremely infantile about the humor of this movie that is markedly Japanese. In a lot of ways this feels like a PG-13 movie, but for all of the tits and perversions. And that’s the other thing that is strange about this movie in a particularly Japanese way. It’s not just full of nudity. It’s full of pervert Japanese style perversions. The kink is out in the open in that culture in a way that it isn’t in America. Like it’s not just nudity. There’s a lot of European nudo (this is some slang I just made up) movies. But the Japanese often make a nudo movie to a much more twisted result. It’s like they go ahead and publicly indulge the fantasies that most of us would be embarrassed for other people to find out about. Though it may not be tasteful, I kind of admire it.

I don’t even think titillation is the raison d’etre of this thing. That’s part of what makes this movie so strange, even by Japanese standards. I was sort of put off by most of the movie. There’s too much androgyny in the main character for my taste for half-clad whimsically violent frolics. But there’s a pretty feel good ending. It’s kind of sappy, but it’s a strange Japanese sap that’s really enthusiastic and reminds you of little kids and their irrational joys for simple things and it just kind of makes you happy. All in all, it turns into this weird transgender love-story, made more weird because the lovers not just a minute before were engaged in a Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker style fight to the death. Like the hero and the villain decide to stop fighting and become lovers instead. And both of them having accidentally taken hormones are rendered permanently transgendered. Also, the main character’s father is accidentally killed in their melee, and while that’s sad, no one really cares, because… shrug, it’s otherwise just such a gushingly cute happy ending.

I honestly don’t know how to rate this thing though. I’m not really even sure if I think it’s good or bad. Like the plot is paper-thin. And they just keep throwing up comic book style sects of villains for no discernible reason. It really is just all about topless women, goofy often scatological jokes, and silly violence until it’s all wrapped up with a silly moral about gender. Like this movie is the equivalent of just dangling shiny objects before an idiot for about sixty minutes, and most of those shiny objects aren’t really even that shiny. The violence in this movie for example, is actually really poor. There’s never any tension or thrill either, and it’s more appalling than it is funny. And some of the women in this movie might benefit from doing some extra squats at the gym. But still, I pretty much enjoyed watching this. And if someone with the right sensibility was looking to enjoy a “bad movie” night, they could do a lot worse than to pick this one. I’m emptying my mind and looking into my heart, and I find myself giving this a grade B.

Hidden Fortress - Akira Kurosawa

Seen for the first time in September 2012.

This wasn’t really that similar to Star Wars. I wasn’t totally engaged by this and it was very long. There were some cool parts, but my mind wandered and I could have paid more attention. Doubt I’ll rewatch soon though. On the Criterion disk there’s a George Lucas interview, and he has a really fat neck. I’m not sure if that fact is disguised by or accentuated by his beard. Grade B-.