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The reason I became a fan of Japanese cinema is largely due to my other obsession: Horror.
I grew tired of Western horror films a long time ago but I never grew tired of the genre. As I started branching out and finding new ways to satisfy my horror cravings I found myself at a midnight screening of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse. I was blown away. It was everything I was looking for in a Horror film, it restored my faith in the genre and set me on my journey through the remarkable world of Japanese cinema.
In tribute I dedicate the following few posts to my favourite examples of Japanese horror cinema.
Enjoy.
10. Ring 0: Birthday
Director: Norio Tsuruta
Year: 2000
Everyone is familiar with Hideo Nakata's Ringu series. It gave birth to the Japanese Horror boom of the 90's and spawned many imitations and American remakes.
For me the best in the series was not directed by Nakata. Norio Tsuruta's Ring 0 is a prequel, taking place 30years before the events of the original Ringu. The film follows the life of Sadako, the girl who later becomes the iconic spirit that curses whoever watches her videotape. The film does a remarkable job at exploring the origins of such a feared and mysterious villain.
Surprisingly, Sadako wasn't always evil. Ring 0 portrays her as a shy and confused teenager. She joins an acting troupe and falls in love with a fellow member. Though, It isn't long before Sadako's supernatural abilities surface. The troupe fear they have been cursed be Sadako and make it their mission to get rid of her. The story reminds me of Stephen King's Carrie, a teenage girl with powers struggling to fit in and lead a normal life. Everybody has their limit, and after severe mental and physical abuse, Sadako reaches hers. The final 20minutes of Ring 0 are truly terrifying. Fans of the series will love this film but it also works well as a stand alone entry.
9. Marebito
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Year: 2004
Marebito was a real surprise for me. I had grown to think that Takashi Shimizu was capable of nothing more than his Ju-on: The Grudge series. The Grudge never did anything for me, I thought it was a rather poor Ringu imitation that relied too heavily on shock tactics and not enough genuine scares. The story lacked originality and was overly predictable.
Marebito changed all of that. The direction is far more creative and experimental and the story is much darker in tone than The Grudge series. It is hard to believe Marebito was created by the same director.
Marebito is, for the most part, a horror film. yet it wont appeal to general horror fans. The horror expressed in Marebito taps deeply into our primal fears. Fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, fear of insanity and the search for fear itself. The film moves at a slow pace and never gives to much away. It creeps into your mind and will stay there for weeks. An extremely bizarre film that works on every level.
8. Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Year: 1989
Made on a small budget and running a brief 67 minutes Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron man is an extremely graphic, high octane and surreal masterpiece. The film opens with a man cutting a massive gash into his leg only to shove a large rod of iron into the wound. The opening scene perfectly encapsulates the tone of grotesque eccentricity thatÂ’s found throughout the entire film. The narrative is sporadic and the plot is thin but that only reinforces Tetsuo's charm. How else could we enjoy "the metal fetishists" metamorphosis into a hulk of twisted metal?
Tetsuo is beautifully shot in 16mm black&white. This, on top of the experimental absurdity of the films content, often draw comparisons to David Lynch's Eraserhead. Its a highly original film that is still providing inspiration to many. The manic and chaotic visual style will keep you thinking long after watching. The hallucinations and disturbing imagery will keep you awake.
Director - Tetsuya Nakashima
Year - 2010
The first thing that struck me whilst watching Confessions was how it differed from my expectations. I've been a fan of Nakashima's work for many years and have grown to respect and admire his style. Two of his greatest works, Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko, are both quirky comedies layered with human and social drama. Always colourful and full of bizarre and interesting characters, Nakashima's films could be instantly recognised. Until Confessions, that is.
Gone are the colourful settings, the light-hearted drama and odd-ball comedy. Confessions is a film about revenge. It's a dark and moody piece that deals with some of modern Japan's ever present social issues. Although its a detour from Nakashima's usual style he seems completely at home. One thing Nakashima does well is story and Confessions is no exception. The story unfolds beautifully, its fully realised and ends with one of the most brutally emotional set pieces in contemporary Japanese cinema.
The film opens with school teacher, Moriguchi played by Takako Matsu, addressing her unruly class about the news of her retirement. As she speaks it is apparent the students have absolutely no interest in listening to her. Instead their main concern is finishing their milk, chucking the cartons around the room, texting, shouting and basically acting like monkeys. Moriguchi has lost control of her class but there is a much more serious reason for her early retirement.
Moriguchi's four-year-old daughter was found dead in the school's swimming pool. The death was ruled as an accidental drowning, yet through pieces of evidence she gathers alone, Moriguchi discovers the death wasn't accidental. Furthermore, she knows exactly who the murders are. She reveals to her students that her daughter was murdered by two pupils in the class.
Enraged by the fact that even if she bought the two murders to justice their status as minors would protect them from any serious legal penalty.
She decides to take the matter into her own hands. Moriguchi calmly informs her students that she has mixed HIV-infected blood into the milk of the guilty pair. She goes onto to say that they will soon contract the disease and die a slow and agonising death. Horror, fear and revulsion rips through the class and it's not long before the paranoid students start turning on one another.
The story is told through a series of 'Confessions', each from a different characters view point. Its an extremely effective and complex narrative technique which leads to layered characterisations. As we shift backwards and forwards in time and revisit the same scenes through the eyes of a different character we learn there is more to the story then what was presented at the start. Revelations and motivations are unravelled and we're left wondering whose side we should really be on. It's a fascinating journey and each 'Confession' will leave you shocked and eager for the next.
Confessions is a purposefully gloomy film. Rain is an ever present theme and the foreboding storm clouds grow thicker as the film progresses, lending a sense of impending doom, as if the clouds could burst at any minute. It creates a thick and claustrophobic atmosphere. The visual aesthetic perfectly mirrors the tone of the story. It's heavily stylised, not just through cinematography but also through visual effects. The camera will often delve into slow-motion at exactly the right moment, unnatural lighting will occur to emphasise a scene, montages are used wonderfully. The overall effect gives Confessions a dreamlike quality, nothing seems quite real and we find ourselves wondering what is true. It effectively helps put the viewer into the same mindset as the characters.
The soundtrack is brilliant. Each track has been carefully selected to mirror the images on screen. There is a wide variety of music used in the film, from internationally famous bands such as Radiohead to more obscure artists. Whether it's the screeching guitar-driven rock of Boris or the insanely poppy tunes of AKB48, rest assured, this soundtrack is one worth purchasing. It works just as well outside the film as it does in it.
Overall, Nakashima has outdone himself. He's proven that you can completely reinvent yourself before becoming repetitive and predictable. This truly is a remarkable film. Thought-provoking, emotional, super-cool and stylish. Confessions wont disappoint.
Norwegian Wood
Country - Japan
Year - 2010
Director - Tran Anh Hung
Cast
Toru Watanabe - Ken'ichi Matsuyama
Naoko - Rinko Kikuchi
Midori - Kiko Mizuhara
I think, like most people who have read Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood, I approached this film with high hopes and low expectations. How can such a novel be adapted? but more importantly, will the transition from page to screen be any good?... Well, Norwegian Wood isn't a terrible movie but it's definitely not an adequate adaption.
For those who haven't read the novel will find the film confusing and extremely bare. Those who have read it can fill in the gaps but will be disappointed in having to do so. This is a huge problem with all novel adaptions, 2 hours is not enough time to convey a 400 page novel. Especially when the novel in question has been hailed as one of the greatest pieces of modern Japanese literature. But before I get into my grips let me lay down the plot.
Norwegian Wood is set in the late 1960s and revolves around university student Toru Watanabe (played by Ken'ichi Matsuyama). After the unexpected suicide of his best friend, Kizuki, Watanabe decides to move away from his home town and attend a university in Tokyo hoping to start a new life. Watanabe starts to read a lot and spends his spare time working various part time jobs. One day, whilst enjoying a book in the sun Watanabe happens by chance to run into Naoko (played brilliantly by Rinko Kikuchi), Kizuki's ex-girlfriend. Watanabe and Naoko haven't seen each other since the death of Kizuki and Watanabe's departure and the couple soon become close. They never speak of Kizuki's death but the loss and experience draws them ever closer as they continue to spend more and more time together.
On Naoko's 20th birthday the couple sleep together. We find out that it is Naoko's first time. Watanabe is surprised at this and asks her why she never slept with Kizuki. After this comment Naoko becomes upset and the following day she gives up her apartment and leaves Tokyo without a word to Watanabe. This upsets Watanabe a great deal as he has come to care greatly for Naoko. Finally, after months without hearing anything Naoko sends him a letter. She explains that she has been staying at a remote sanitarium, deep in the woods. She hopes that staying there will help her to control and understand her unstable emotions and feelings of loss. Watanabe visits Naoko on several occasions and makes his feelings for her very clear. Naoko unfortunately cannot return his love as her condition is worsening.
During this time Watanabe also meets fellow student Midori (Kiko Mizuhara). Midori is the anti-Naoko. She is out going, funny, self-confident and isn't ashamed to let her true feelings for Watanabe known.
The film then explores Watanabe's own feelings and how he is torn between the two women in his life.
All of the elements that made the novel a masterpiece seem to be present in the film yet the film skips and rushes to many important details and dwindles too long on unimportant aspects. One example in particular is Midori's character. In the novel she was as predominate as Naoko in Watanabe's life. This created the conflict and confusion inside Watanabe's mind as he tried to helplessly decide which of the two relationships he wanted. She was a great character and the couple had some truly amazing scenes together but alas that is not the case in this film. Midori's screen time is so limited she has gone from major love interest and plot driver to a bit of fluff Watanabe hangs out with when he's not visiting or moaning over Naoko. To be honest I don't understand why Midori even falls in love with Watanabe, they only spend a few scenes together and in most of those scenes he somehow manages to piss her off or blabs about his love for Naoko. Not the greatest qualities in a man.
Its not just Midori's character that suffers. Watanabe is portrayed as a dull, boring and emotionless teenager (eventhough Matsuyama looks much older than 19). His only hint of true emotion comes toward the end of the film and it's not acted so well. In the novel Watanabe was a drama student and an intellectual who was interested in Western literature. There is absolutely no mention or evidence of this in the film. Half the time I forgot he was at University seeing as he spent so little time there.
In fact, the only character true to the novel and interesting in this adaption is Naoko. Kikuchi does an outstanding job at playing the emotionally and mentally troubled teenager. If it wasn't for her I don't think I would have sat through the entire film. She really does hold the whole thing together.
Ok, enough of the comparisons and negativity. There are some things to like in Norwegian Wood.
It looks stunning. Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bin has done a spectacular job at capturing the 60s colour palette. Often colours are subdued and warm, saturated and bleached. Each scene is coloured to perfectly convey the mood. Often the characters in a scene will have no or little dialogue but the cinematography speaks volumes.
The music is also superb. Norwegian Wood has a varied soundtrack ranging from orchestral pieces to 1960s psychedelic rock and of course The Beatles Norwegian Wood (This bird has flown).
Overall, not unwatchable. If you have read the book you'll probably be disappointed and if you haven't read it you'll have no idea what's going on. You should just go out and buy the book. It's vastly superior and cheaper.
I was rummaging through Book Off (cheap second-hand DVD/book/CD shop) and found some proper bargains. Here are a few of the titles I have watched recently:
Kaidan
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Sorry I have been absent for so long. The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least.
I have left the UK and have started my new life in Japan. This has been my dream for a very long time and after 2weeks I still can't believe I am here
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Slight change from the norm. Ashita no Kita Yoshio is a TV Drama not a film. I thought I'd share it though as it'd be a darn shame to miss it. I must admit I'm not up to scratch with Japanese TV shows and have only seen a handful of titles (and hardly any right through to the end) but Kita Yoshio stood out from the plethora of Japanese dramas. The pilots opening 5 minutes hooked me in and I just had to watch every episode back to back
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Third Window Films have been releasing some quality titles over the years and the line up for the near future makes sure its kept that way. Forget Tartan! If your looking for a slice of contemporary, quirky Asian cinema than pick up any one of TWF's releases (except Dasepo Naughty Girls, avoid that at all cost! don't even look at the cover! I feel dirty just writing the title), TWF's have bought us Tetsuya Nakashima's Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko, Sion Sono's epic Love Exposure, Yosuke Fujita's underrated and hilarious Fine, Totally Fine and a whole host of other films from Japan, Korea, and China
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I've not commented on anything yet :(
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Everyone is familiar with Hideo Nakata's Ringu series. It gave birth to the Japanese Horror boom of the 90's and spawned many imitations and American remakes. 
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