Tony Takitani

Jun Ichikawa's Tony Takitani (2004) is essentially a character study of the title character. He (and his wife, too) has to deal with grief and existential crisis as he begins to realise how shallow and wasted his life has been for a long time. The film's extremely dense narrative relies a lot on a narrator. The screenplay becomes a bit metafictional when the characters sometimes fill in for the narrative by speaking a few words (or even complete sentences) the narrator would say. Using a narrator is an easy (and heavy-handed) way to make the film focus on pretty much anything - however, the narrator is used so well that it does not become a problem at any point.

The alienation caused by the metafiction is increased by the distant form. Most of the time the characters are observed from a distance. A lot of shots from the first half of the film end up behind an obstacle (or alternatively, begin by coming from behind an obstacle) which makes it feel as if the viewer was peaking from around a corner to follow the life of the protagonist. The film's charming lighting and sentimental musical score are pleasant as well although they could have been a tad better.

Tony Takitani is a film in which everything works well, but it doesn't reach the masterpiece status because it doesn't manage to dig deep enough during its short running time (75 minutes). I recommend wathcing it even if only for Issei Ogata's magnificent performance (better known as Yi yi's Mr. Ota).

Score: 8 out of 10

The Shining

The Shining (1980) is Stanley Kubrick's legendary cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's horror classic. As a family takes care of an isolated hotel while it is closed in the winter, the father (Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance) gradually becomes insane. As usual, Kubrick's adaptation is harsh and vastly different from the original novel, but in my opinion he only changed it for the better. The buildup is gracious and mind-boggling - and the climax perfectly explodes all the tension the film has gathered up to the point.

Kubrick's inventive camerawork is fascinating: the Steadicam shots build a powerful atmosphere for the film. The long takes and beautiful compositions are also up to Kubrick's high standards: the film is visually awe-inspiring.

Kubrick's The Shining is one of the landmarks of horror in cinema: it delivers on all fronts.

Score: 10 out of 10

The Idiot

Before I get to my actual review I will attempt to clear up a few things. I'm a huge fan of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Akira Kurosawa is probably my favorite director of all time. It shouldn't come to you as a surprise that I appreciated Kurosawa's adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Idiot a lot. However, the film is possibly a bit hard to understand for those who have not read the original novel because the studio butchered the film by removing significant portions of the cut that is the only surviving cut to date. Originally Kurosawa spent a lot of time and effort on creating a perfect rhythm for the film and that cut was a bit over 4 hours long. The studio, Shochiku, told Kurosawa to cut it shorter. After a bunch of cuts and arguments, the studio itself simply butchered most of the first third of the film. The result is disastrous because the narrative is so messed up in the final version. However, more than a half of the film was left intact as it was and I can still savour those scenes even though a lot of needed development was cut from the beginning. Kurosawa had created a complex beginning for the film - which not only established a lot of side characters that were eventually cut from the film, but also set the mood for the film.

Akira Kurosawa's The Idiot (1951) is the story of a purely good man who becomes the target of ridicule in snowbound Hokkaido. Dostoevsky's original novel took place in Russia of the 1860's, but Kurosawa brilliantly changes the setting to the post-war Hokkaido. Due to the change of milieu there are a few details about the story that have been changed - such as the philosophical and religious ideas that were present throughout the novel. A lot of motifs and symbols from the novel are smoothly transferred to the film while Kurosawa adds his own touch on top of them. Even though the beginning of the film was butchered, Kurosawa still manages to explore the main characters properly enough and shows us just how conflicted, vulnerable and fascinating they are. 

Kurosawa's form is intimate, powerful and clever in The Idiot. His compositions are beautiful and poignant - lots of interesting visual motifs can be discovered. Like I've mentioned before, Kurosawa is masterful when it comes to placing characters in each composition. The camera movement is graceful and wonderful. After the initial shock the editing becomes decent too - especially after the first hour because that is where the film was left untouched by the studio.

The film's biggest strength is the cast - each and every one make a brilliant performance. Masayuki Mori's Kameda is probably the best Myshkin (the character's original name) we will ever witness in cinema. His body language and line delivery are pitch perfect. However, his performance doesn't dominate the film even though it could do that in a lot of other films. Toshiro Mifune's repressed yet aggressive performance is haunting. Setsuko Hara's noble and dramatic portrayal of Nasu Taeko caught me off-guard by its magnificence. Yoshiko Kuga's Ayako embodies exactly what I thought about the character in the original novel.

I have to admit that my appreciation for the film is quite personal and the film is quite open for attacks due to its narrational incoherence.

Score: 10 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

Kwaidan

Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan (1964) - or Kaidan, as it is spelled in modern Japanese - is based on a famous anthology of ghost stories written by Lafcadio Hearn. The title itself translates as "ghost story" into English. The only thing these four stories have in common is that they deal with ghosts in some way and all of them are genuinely scary.

The first story, Black Hair, is a fairly simple: man leaves his wife so that he can get a better position in the community only to regret his decision later. However, things are not as he had hoped anymore. The message is straightforward yet poignant. The use of sound is extremely otherwordly and brilliant in this segment. Sound effects are often muted or delayed - and that's what makes the story truly menacing. The sound effect of wood being torn apart is used in the musical score in a creepy way.

The second story, Woman of the Snow, also focuses on love, but it takes a totally different approach to the subject. What really sets this story apart is its haunting and bittersweet atmosphere, it is not as directly scary or creepy as the other stories. The way snow is portrayed (even though it was shot on interior sets) is unforgettable. I would even dare to say that this is the most iconic depiction of snow and coldness.

The third story, Hoichi the Earless, is the longest and most intriguing portion of the film. Essentially it is about a blind monk who is cheated by the spirits of the dead. The story takes its precious time to build up tension until it explodes into all directions in the end - before all of it is brought together in the end in an awesome way. This story is something that will never leave your mind at peace.

The final story, In a Cup of Tea, is the most mysterious and surprising segment. I won't go into too much detail because it is something you need to see yourself. The ending is even more ambiguos than the rest of the film put together. It is something you will not see coming, but it is the only logical way to end a film like this. All I can say is that it includes a story about a bodyguard who is haunted by a ghost.

The film's form is consistently brilliant and varies a bit in each story. The use of sound and music is crucial in each one: while the first one is most notable and obvious achievement in sound, the entire film is controlled by sound. The film was completely shot on interior sets and you won't even realise that until you read about it somewhere. All of the sets were hand painted and some of them are really expressionistic and atmospheric. The cinematography is beautiful as well - there is never a moment when Kobayashi's flawless camerawork fails. For example, his use of Dutch angles is perfected here.

Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan is a stunning cinematic achievement. I can not recall a film that would have such a brilliant combination of creative sets, stunning cinematography and innovative use of sound. The stories might be a bit simple, but they hold great wisdom that should not be forgotten.

Score: 10 out of 10

American Psycho

Mary Harron's American Psycho (2000) is based on Bret Easton Ellis' extremely controversial novel which mocks the shallow lifestyle (most importantly, obsessions) of modern and "trendy" people. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a Vice President in a company called Pierce & Pierce. He is the epitome of "a rich modern man": he wears expensive clothes, exercises a lot and eats in fancy restaurants. Under this shallow image, there is a dreamlike darkness hiding - waiting to burst out violently.

The entire film is devoted to its message; the film's content is perfect as a dark satire. The film likes to make us suspect if the murders and misogyny really happen or not. They are executed in a ridiculously funny way to point out how outrageous the idea on its own is. It doesnt matter whether they really happen or not because those murders are there to point out how shallow and ridiculous it is to be a rich materialist like Bateman and his "friends". Before I forget it, I have to mention the mad monologues about music. They are genuinely funny and used in a yet another way to poke fun at the characters.

The film's form is quite basic, there is nothing special about it. I guess it is a way to exaggerate the absurdity of the content. It keeps our attention on the content so that we can think about it without a distraction. The hilarious opening credits sequence sets the mood for the rest of the film by its playful use of blood in the rhythm of the music.

In overall, American Psycho is a great satire at its core with a form that works satisfyingly enough.

Score: 8 out of 10

Cutie Honey

Hideaki Anno's Cutie Honey (2004) is a live-action adaptation of a popular anime series. Anno's extremely campy take on the silly show goes even beyond the boundaries of a parody. It is outright silly, as it should be, and provides more laugh-out-loud moments than you could probably even imagine. Instead of a proper plot introduction (which would only be in vain), I'll just introduce you to the main characters. Cutie Honey is a superhero (well, sort of) who has a double identity as a lousy office worker. She seems to live alone in a huge mansion - and dont ask me why, but she spends her time there only in her underwear. Detective Natsuko is an uptight and lonely detective who runs into Cutie Honey on many occassions. The Panther Claw is a group of four freakin' weirdos who fight against Cutie Honey. Then there's also a mysterious journalist who has his own agenda.

It is easy to point out that Cutie Honey is a parody with limitless camp value, but the film wanders into a different direction in the end. I dont know if this is only because the viewer gets so used to the film's quirky mood or it might actually be an intended choice by Anno. Who knows, he might have actually made Cutie Honey seriously - simply to make his fan flip out yet again.

The film stinks of camp value. As a campy parody/tribute, the form is fine as it is: an absurd adaptation of anime editing and character design into a live-action film. The music flows from a silly theme tune to "serious and dramatic" string-dominated compositions that can either be interpret as an attempt to be serious or as a different way to get more laughs out of the audience. The problem is that I felt so nonplussed by the end of the film that I dont have my own opinion which one it is in the end. Even though it's my second time watching the film, this unevenness bugs me still.

In overall, it's a nice film for anyone who wants to have a good laugh - whether you want to direct your laughs at anime or not. 100% camp entertainment guaranteed. The film gets a few extra points for the sheer amount of honest camp value that even made me happy.

Score: 7 out of 10

Tales from Earthsea

Earthsea is originally a fictional realm created by Ursula K. Le Guin. Hayao Miyazaki once offered her to make a film adaptation of it. She rejected the idea at first, but later wanted him to do it because she loves his films. Unfortunately, Miyazaki was working on Howl's Moving Castle (2004) at the time and couldn't begin working on the film so his son, Goro Miyazaki, decided to direct it. Tales from the Earthsea (2006) is a loose adaptation of Le Guin's books. The film follows Arren, a prince running away from a crime he committed. Eventually he runs into Shadowhawk, a powerful wizard, and thus the "true adventure" begins.

As usually, Ghibli's animation is visually breathtaking. The background art is vivid and marvellous. The character design does not differ at all from Ghibli's other films - and that is fine because it always works well. The beginning of the film is roughly paced because it doesnt succeed well in introducing the characters. The ending is also a little weird and doesnt feel like the logical closure point. The last 15 minutes drag on for quite long and the ending left me cold. Luckily everything in between is paced satisfyingly enough.

The content is more or less a failure in my eyes. Because the beginning doesnt let the viewer easily into characters, I became more and more distant to them as the movie went further. It seemed as if all the "depth" - from characters to themes - is simply rushed in a silly way. The main character is the poor man's Shinji with such weird character development that I was disappointed. There is a girl, Therru, who was handled pretty well though (I'm not going into more detail to save you from spoilers). Tales from Earthsea certainly uses most of the cliched fantasy tropes, but that is only because the original book series made them famous in the first place, so that shouldn't be seen as a flaw.

Tales from Earthsea is usually regarded as the worst Ghibli movie by far. I agree because I can clearly see why. It is an uneven film with only a few redeeming qualities.

Score: 5 out of 10