Audition

On the 30th of July in 2009: I watched Takashi Miike's Audition (1999) for the first time. Even though I was somewhat aware of the film's reputation, it took me by surprise and made me flinch more than anything I had seen during the year. Initially it decreased my interest in Miike, but gradually I began to watch a few other films he had directed.

Today: I rewatched Audition - and this time I was ready for it.

Audition is the story of a widow who begins to search for a new, young wife by holding an audition. The one he falls in love with seems to be something completely different to what he initially expected. Even though Miike himself denies it, the film is focused on the social commentary. He attacks the values of modern Japanese men: the main character resorts to holding a fake audition in order to find a woman who matches his high (and exact) standards. Naturally, it is exaggerated, but it is a brilliant observation on what a lot of Japanese men have become.

The film's structure works like a proper horror film with a long build-up that explodes in a fantastic way. At the same time it manages to be satirical successfully: it's almost impossible to separate the suspense and the humor. The final third of the film is something one will not see coming even when you are aware of the film's reputation. It is such a provocative and brilliant way to explore the characters' psyches - and it manages to leave an unforgettable impression on the viewer. The only problem I have with the content is how it plays around with reality and illusion. Sometimes it works - and sometimes it does not. Although that made possible to create the film's best sequence - a dream-like (and even postmodern) exploration of the characters.

The film's form is fascinating as well. During the first half of the film, it manages to be distant while keeping the emotionally invested in the characters. The slight alienation is only for the better because in the final third, the form becomes so intimate and brutally honest that it has a huge effect on the viewer. The first half of the film is almost very foreboding when you look at the cinematography - especially the lighting.

In overall, Audition is a great film that could have become a masterpiece, but doesn't barely reach that status.

Score: 9 out of 10

Wings of Honneamise

Hiroyuki Yamaga's Wings of Honneamise (1987) is a story of an ambitious space flight program set in a parallel universe. The premise might seem simple, but I assure you that the execution is very complicated. The film touches on dozens of things that it becomes rather hard to summarize it properly. Its dense narrative, fine characters and thoroughly explored themes guarantee a great experience for someone who is willing to dig deeper.

The pacing is peculiar in Wings of Honneamise: even though the narrative is dense, it seems as if the film crawls slowly towards the climax. This rough editing actually enhances the film's (especially the climax's) impact on the viewer. There are also great examples of how to use montages in the film - for example the launch sequence is one of the most gripping animated sequences ever. The art design is also rather fascinating. The musical score seemed offbeat initially, but once you got used to it, it actually worked quite well.

Ultimately, Wings of Honneamise is a perplexing film: everything works well, but it was so exhausting that I'm not sure if it's a masterpiece or not.

Score: 8 out of 10

Time

(image source)

The Korean director Kim Ki-duk seems to be quite inconsistent when it comes to the quality of his films: while there are masterpieces like Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (2003) and 3-Iron (2004), he also has his fair share of disasters like Crocodile (1996). Even though I had once been warned about Time (2006), I did not expect the film to be even below decent. Essentially, the film is about a woman who undergoes extensive plastic surgery in order to "save her relationship".

Kim tries to blend the metaphorical/magical with the literal/realistic again, but the result is a failure. He attempts to raise social and philosophical issues regarding identity, but he makes nothing out of them. The first third of the film shows just how promising the premise is, but the rest of the film hides the lack of proper content under the puzzles and irritating melodrama. However, the biggest offender is the ending which is utterly frustrating and pretentious.

Luckily, the form is very adequate. Kim succeeds in creating an atmosphere which alternates between otherworldly and down-to-earth quite smoothly through careful cinematography and editing. Sadly, that is not enough to redeem this film.

Score: 4 out of 10

Täällä Pohjantähden alla

Väinö Linna's Täällä Pohjantähden alla (often translated as Here, Beneath the North Star) is one of the most famous and important Finnish novels ever written. Timo Koivusalo's cinematic adaptation of the novel in 2009 seemed like a disaster from the get-go. For those of you who don't know about Koivusalo, all I can say is that he has become a famous director in Finland even though his films' actual quality is on par with Uwe Boll's movies. The idea of Koivusalo directing the adaptation of a great classic is painful - and the result is even more painful than I could ever expect.

The story explores the time when Finland gained independence and the bloody civil war that followed it - through the perspective of a fictional family. Timo Koivusalo proves that even with great source material you can screw up horribly.

First of all, the narrative is utterly aimless throughout the film (what works in a novel might not work in a film) which makes most of the film's points lack the needed impact. Secondly, the characters are never introduced properly so the film is extremely confusing for someone who has not read the novel. Koivusalo doesn't seem to be even bothered by the characters at any point. Thirdly, the film's content is so awkwardly heavy-handed - especially during the later half - that the film becomes rather ridiculous.

What's even worse is the huge amount of both intentional and unintentional humor that is present even in the most dramatic moments. There's also a lot of content that should have been cut because there was no reason to include those moments in the first place!

If you think the content sounds bad enough, just wait until you witness the form: it is chaotic and arrhythmic for no purpose. The editing is random, distracting and ludicrous ALL THE TIME. Koivusalo likes to crosscut different scenes very often for no purpose and it only serves to make me loathe the film more. The cinematography is careless and nauseating in its anarchy: the viewer can't even understand where each scene is even taking place because we are never even given a chance to see where each shot takes place. The only decent thing about the form is the pleasant lighting that makes the rest of the shit look better than it really is.

The film is a disgrace. It is frustrating, dumb and incomprehensible. Even if you were Koivusalo, you can't completely destroy the magic of the original novel so there's the one extra point for the film. My suggestion is to AVOID THE FILM BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Score: 2 out of 10

Lady Oyu

While Lady Oyu (1951) wasn't a personal project for the director Kenji Mizoguchi, he certainly makes it seem like one. His striking cinematography can be noticed in almost every scene. The intensity of the movement and the compositions is gripping.

The screenplay - which is based on a famous novel by Junichiro Tanizaki - focuses on the fascinating dynamics of the relationships between two sisters and a man looking for a wife. Yet again, Mizoguchi observes the position of women in a refreshing way. I won't go into too much detail because it would spoil the fun of watching the story unfold.

It is often said that Kinuyo Tanaka was miscast as the title character and I can see why someone would say so. Especially the ones who have read the book think so, but for me her strong performance brought an entire new layer to the content. Even though her performance is extremely captivating the other actors manage to keep up with her.

Lady Oyu might not be one of the best Mizoguchi films, but it is successful in its powerful drama.

Score: 9 out of 10

The Fifth List of Scores

Titles sharing the same rating are in alphabetical order. (82 films in total)

10/10

All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
City of Sadness (1989)
Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)
Harakiri (1962)
Ikiru (1952)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Kwaidan (1964)
Last Life in the Universe (2003)
Love & Pop (1998)
Love Exposure (2009)
Maborosi (1995)
Ran (1985)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Spirited Away (2001)
The Wayward Cloud (2005)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Ugetsu (1952)
What Time Is It There? (2001)

9/10

3-Iron (2004)
A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985)
Children of Men (2006)
Dodesukaden (1970)
Floating Weeds (1959)
Nobody Knows (2004)
Persepolis (2007)
Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Stray Dog (1949)
Syndromes and a Century (2006)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1972)
Thirst (2009)
Visitor Q (2001)

8/10

2046 (2004)
A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)
A Summer at Grandpa's (1984)
American Psycho (2000)
Amores perros (2000)
Antichrist (2009)
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on the Heaven's Door (2001)
Downfall (2004)
Dust in the Wind (1986)
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
Gion Festival Music (1953)
Half Nelson (2006)
Hero (2002)
Ichi the Killer (2001)
Monrak Transistor (2001)
Suicide Club (2001)
The Man Without a Past (2002)
The Taste of Tea (2004)

7/10
 
Babel (2007)
Cutie Honey (2004)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Rebels of the Neon God (1992)
Scandal (1950)
Take Care of My Cat (2001)
The Cat Piano (2009)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
The Sea Inside (2004)
Tokyo! (2008)

6/10

American Beauty (2000)
House of Flying Daggers (2004)
Little Children (2006)
My Winnipeg (2007)
Perfect Blue (1998)
The Boys from Fengkuei (1983)
The New World (2005)
The Skywalk Is Gone (2002)
Tropical Malady (2004)

5/10

Dreams (1990)
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)
Tales from Earthsea (2006)
The Killer (1989)
Une catastrophe (2008)

4/10

Crazed Fruit (1956)
Dogville (2003)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)

3/10

21 Grams (2003)

2/10

A Conversation with God (2001)
The Boondock Saints (1999)

Gion Festival Music

Kenji Mizoguchi's Gion bayashi (1953) - often translated as either Gion Festival Music or A Geisha - is the story of two geishas, a newcomer and an experienced one, struggling to survive when the geisha tradition begins to change after the World War II. In comparison to Sansho the Bailiff and Ugetsu, Mizoguchi's so-called feminism is most obvious in Gion Festival Music. The women are powerless against men and thus they are exploited - although Mizoguchi approaches the story in a refreshingly subtle way. But most of all, the film is about the relationship between the two geishas and how it evolves.

Mizoguchi's camerawork is similar to his other movies: (relatively) long takes, constantly moving and always very poignant. Even though the studio pressured him not to stick to his "one scene, one take" editing, there are a lot of takes that can be considered quite long. Even though his editing and cinematography are powerful, they are played down a little here for the sake of more subtlety - although the film can be considered more melodramatic than any of Yasujiro Ozu's films, for example.

Ultimately, Gion Festival Music is a good film which works well in general, but it is forgettable in the end.

Score: 8 out of 10