Neon Dreams - Asian Film Review

Freesia: Icy Tears (2007) - Japan

2007-10-18T15:30:00.001+01:00

Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri
Starring: Tetsuji Tamayama, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tsugumi
Running Time: 103mins

‘Freesia: Icy Tears’ (Bullet Over Tears in Hong Kong) is a thriller set sometime in the near future of Japan, where the Edo Period custom of revenge taken upon those who commit crimes has been passed as a government law. It is based on the popular manga series by Jiro Matsumoto, making it the second manga adaption in succession that director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri has helmed. His last feature ‘Green Mind Metal Bats’ also came from comic roots.

The film opens with a little girl and an army officer running through some woods, as aeroplanes fly over-head and a tannoy counts down to the dropping of a bomb. The use of hand-held cameras, shaking as they follow the little girl through the woods tells of the impending doom of the situation as she desperately tries to get away from the line of fire. As the count finally drops to zero, an explosion occurs and the area freezes over. We see the little girl trying to help a boy who is engulfed by the ice, begging the army officer, who was knocked to the ground during the explosion, to help her.

Fast forward to the present and we are informed of the ‘Act of Vengeance’, a new government rule that allows those affected by crimes to hire professional killers to kill those responsible. The person slated for execution can hire a bodyguard to protect them during the attack and if they survive, they are free to walk.

We focus on a group of professional killers on a mission to kill a criminal, who it seems has murdered the child and grandchild of a middle-age man, who sits in a car clutching their photo whilst he awaits the outcome of the killing attempt. There are three killers tasked with the job, including one new recruit named Hiroshi Kanou. Although he seems quiet in the build up to the ambush, once they get inside the victims home, Kanou shows deadly accuracy as he kills the bodyguard and the victim’s girlfriend inside the flat and then follows the victim outside to deliver the final bullet to the brain.

Mariko Higuchi, the women responsible for handing out the killing assignments at the Retaliation Agency for whom Kanou is hired, takes a special interest in the case of one man, Sergeant Iwazaki. It turns out that she is the girl that survived the freeze bomb experiment, where twenty-nine of her fellow orphans perished. Iwazaki confessed to the crime, but is disabled and therefore vengeance is not required. His son Toshio Iwazaki was one of two young soldiers who oversaw the freeze bombing and is therefore the one who will be victim to the revenge attack.

Kanou has history with both Toshio Iwazaki and Mariko and after the frenetic opening half of the film, the relationship between these three characters takes precedent in the slower pace of the second half. Kanou, who is emotionally cold through the majority of the film, opens up somewhat as it continues, although not to the point where the viewer emphasizes with his plight. The emotional aspect is better portrayed through Toshio and Mariko, as we learn more about their motivations as the film progresses.

As mentioned, Kanou is very emotionless for the majority of ‘Icy Tears’, with some excellent scenes popping up all through the film to illustrate this. The standout scene comes when Kanou is sat in a restaurant eating, whilst an anti-war parade goes on in the street. When the protesters clash with police, things turn violent, with people being beaten up right outside the restaurant windows. Kanou does not even bat an eyelid during the whole incident, continuing to eat his meal as if oblivious to the action going on around him. There is a comedic element to this scene, which is prevalent throughout, due to various situations, usually involving Kanou and his fellow hired killers.

Kumakiri’s film includes many a homage to 1970s action films, which have clearly been an influence on the director. The aforementioned hand-held camera filming is used a lot, specifically in the gun battle scenes at each of the executions. The music has flair to it, bordering on campness, which is again very symptomatic of films from that era. Also, in the opening scene of the movie, the visual effect of the bomb explosion is terribly unrealistic and almost laughable compared to modern day effects. Whether this was intended as a homage or was just due to a low-budget is anyone’s guess, but it certainly fits the other 70s aspects of the film perfectly.

‘Freesia: Icy Tears’ is a difficult film to review, simply because it is hard to truly relate to any of the characters, especially Kanou, who is the nominated lead throughout. This is not a reflection on the acting, which is universally excellent, but is due to the plot in which the characters are encased. This may be an unfair criticism, as Kanou’s coldness is mainly due to his circumstances, which reveal themselves in the second half of the film. However, this could be enough to put some people off watching ‘Icy Tears’, if they like to able to relate to the characters of a film.

In the end, ‘Icy Tears’ is a decent enough thriller, which packs action and emotion neatly into its running time. It is by no means a masterpiece, but it is a competently produced film that will easily hold your attention from start to finish.

Buy the Japanese DVD (English subtitles) now from Play-Asia.

Sha Po Lang (2005) - Hong Kong

2007-10-11T15:19:00.000+01:00

Director: Wilson Yip
Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Sammo Hung, Wu Jing
Running Time: 93mins

In 2005, the Hong Kong movie scene seemed to be lacking one thing: a major budget martial arts film. Then came along Wilson Yip’s ‘SPL: Sha Po Lang’, featuring the exceptional fighting skills of Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung and Wu Jing. The film enjoyed two weeks atop the Hong Kong cinema charts and won the ‘Best Action Choreography’ award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2006.

It is not hard to see why. The fight sequences throughout are uniformly excellent, with Donnie Yen’s ju-jitsu proving to be an outstanding match for the more traditional skills of his opponents. Every bump and bone-breaking move is so vividly captured both visually and aurally, that these sequences can be painful to watch, as it really feels as if you are experiencing them first hand. The cinematography is relatively plain, allowing the martial arts skills themselves to be at the forefront of the viewer’s attention. This gives the scenes a much more gritty feel than the sometimes over the top camera dramatics that accompany such action in other films.

The most spectacular scene is between the characters’ of Donnie Yen and Wu Jing, who pull off a fight sequence that will stay embedded in the memory of anyone who has the pleasure of seeing ‘Sha Po Lang’. In what appears to be one long take, the tempo of the fight starts off high, with both men providing able counters to their opponent’s moves. As the fight continues, the tempo slows, and takes on a more freeform style, as it becomes clear that although key points are choreographed, a lot of what you see in front of you is being created on the spot by the two actors. This realisation just multiplies the effect of the action on screen, making it even more impressive than it first seems.

Of course, you can have all the amazing fight scenes in the world, but a film is unlikely to be taken seriously unless the story in between these scenes is strong enough to sustain the viewer’s attention. Thankfully, the story, and general production values of ‘Sha Po Lang’ mean that this is never an issue.

The title, ‘Sha Po Lang’ refers to Chinese astrology, where the initials SPL are short for three stars, all capable of producing good or evil, according to their position in the heavens. This theme is carried throughout, with the line between good and evil being constantly blurred and good and evil actions having knock-on effects for those involved. The most poignant example of the latter is in the penultimate scene, where triumph quickly turns to despair for one of the characters.

The overriding plot arc is similar to many Hong Kong cop versus gangster movies, with Detective Chan Kwok Chung attempting to reprimand notorious gang-boss Wong Po by any means necessary. After an idyllic opening scene on the beach, we are swiftly brought back to reality with the crunching sound of metal on metal, as the camera pans back to show two vehicles mangled together following an accident. A key witness in a case against Wong Po (along with his wife) has been killed by Jack (Wu Jing), an affiliate of Po, in order to stop him testifying. Det. Chung, who is also on board, has lost his opportunity to nail Po.

The daughter of witness survives the crash, and Chung promises to raise her, as well as avenge her parents by putting Wong Po behind bars. However, upon treating his injuries from the crash, the doctors discover that Chung has an incurable brain tumour and he therefore knows that his time is limited.

Fast forward three years and when an amateur cameraman catches footage of Wong Po and an affiliate killing Chung’s undercover agent, he and his team see an opportunity to frame Po and embark on a mission to destroy all evidence relating to the second man involved. Chung only has two days until his retirement, with Inspector Ma Kwan (Donnie Yen) taking over his duties. Kwan is suspicious as to the activities of his new team and provides the voice of righteousness and reason against their desperate attempts to capture Po. As each scene unfolds, the viewer is constantly pulled back and forth from one school of thought to the next and it is an effective device, cleverly employed by Yip and co-writer Szeto Kam-Yuen, which adds real weight to the story.

The conclusion takes place on Father’s day, with the violence constantly juxtaposed with the sentimentality of fathers conversing with their daughters and loved ones. This serves to make the bone-crunching fight scenes seem even more brutal than previously in the film and certainly adds an extra level of emotion in the closing scenes. Once all scores have been settled, we return to the beach for the final scene, as calmness and serenity take over from the agitated violence of the scenes preceding it.

Wilson Yip has created a film that mixes the quick fire martial arts of the 1980s, with the rich, developed storylines of today, to create what is arguably his finest effort. From the opening credits it is clear than ‘Sha Po Lang’ wishes to be seen as an epic tale and it succeeds in pretty much all areas. It is refreshing to see martial arts rather than gun-fights at the centre of a Hong Kong crime film and largely because of this, ‘Sha Po Lang’ is highly recommended to anyone that enjoys cop versus gangster, or action films in general.

Buy the Hong Kong DVD (English subs) at Play-Asia.

Buy the US DVD at dvdboxoffice

Paprika (2006) Japan

2007-10-03T16:10:00.000+01:00

Director: Satoshi Kon
Cast: Megumi Hayashibara, Akio Ohtsuka, Koichi Yamadera, Tohru Furuya, Toru Emori
Running Time: 90mins

Four years after the immensely successful ‘Tokyo Godfathers’, Satoshi Kon returns with a film that is best described as classic David Lynch meets Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Fountain’, in animated form.

Despite the commercial triumph of ‘Tokyo Godfathers’, many fans were left slightly cold by the move away from the brilliant surrealism of ‘Perfect Blue’ and ‘Millennium Actress’ to more gritty, real-life issues. The ‘Paranoia Agent’ TV series that Kon helmed a year later, was a welcome return to form and this has thankfully been continued with his new feature length, ‘Paprika’, loosely based on the Yasutaku Tsutsui novel of the same name.

Whilst his first two features were thematically based around the human sub-conscious, never has it been quite as up front and obvious as in ‘Paprika’. The film centres on a group of scientists, who have created a device called the “DC Mini”, which allows them to see into the dreams of their patients, and record the happenings for later viewing. Near the beginning of the film, the DC Mini is stolen, and the person responsible uses the device to blur the distinction between reality and dreams, driving their victims to insanity or death.

Dr. Atsuko Chiba, the head of team who created the device, has an alter-ego of Paprika, which she uses when she enters the dream world through the DC Mini. She enlists the help of her research assistant and a local police chief to track down the person(s) responsible for stealing the device; jumping in and out of people’s dreams as she does so.

The majority of the film is seen from the point of view of either Chiba or the police chief, both of whom have their own issues, discussed through vibrant imagery, as the divide between real life and the sub-conscious becomes ever less. The character development of these two especially is excellent, with so many plot-twists and incidental happenings occurring along the way, that ‘Paprika’ requires at least a couple of viewings before the plot starts to truly fall into place. Not only does the film question the characters’ memory and perception, but also those of the viewer, in much the same way as a David Lynch film such as ‘Lost Highway’ or ‘Mulholland Drive’.

Luckily, the film contains so much lush and vivid imagery, that watching it multiple times is a complete pleasure. The majority of the dream sequences are brim full of bright colours, strangely contoured versions of children’s toys and epic backdrops, painting brilliantly surreal pictures that will stay in your mind for weeks. After watching ‘Paprika’, you feel a sense of envy, wishing that your own dreams were such a delight to behold as those contained within the film.

Each dream sequence perfectly portrays the feelings that many of us experience within our own dreams. The sensation of being somewhat detached from what is happening around, a mere spectator, but with the tingling dread that we could, at any point become part of a terrifying nightmare that we may not be able to escape. There are few film directors that share Kon’s seemingly endless ability to create such an atmosphere, and like his previous films, this is at the heart of the brilliance of ‘Paprika’.

Startling imagery can only provoke a certain amount of emotion by itself. Fortunately, Kon recruited Susuma Hirasawa, whom he had previously worked with on both ‘Millennium Actress’ and ‘Paranoia Agent’, to provide a soundtrack that is almost as memorable as the crazy images it sits alongside. Hirasawa is somewhat of a creative genius, with his award winning live-shows frequently involving large audience participation and improv sections, whilst his studio recordings continually tread new ground. The demented, electronically twisted marching band track that accompanies the main recurring dream scene is truly spectacular and meshes so seamlessly with the scene that it is almost impossible to imagine one without the other. Not to continue the David Lynch comparisons too much, but Kon and Hirasawa seem to have reached the same creative plateau as Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti did at the height of their inspired partnership. One can only hope that Hirasawa will provide the soundtrack to whatever Kon’s next venture may be.

The ideas, imagery and sound are all so perfectly matched in ‘Paprika’ that it would be hard not to argue that this is Kon’s best feature work yet. He continues to defy the pre-conceived notion of what Anime should be, creating dark, twisted explorations of the human sub-conscious that seem a million miles away from the majority of Japanese animation that makes its way to Western shores. ‘Paprika’ definitely requires repeated viewings to get the most out of it, but if you are willing to dedicate the time that it deserves, you won’t find a better animated film this year.

Pre-order the US DVD or Blu-Ray at dvdboxoffice, or buy the French Blu-ray (English subs, Region free) at Amazon.fr

I'm a Cyborg But That's OK (2006) - South Korea

2007-10-02T12:10:00.000+01:00

Director: Park Chan-Wook
Starring: Im Su-Jeong, Bi (Rain)
Running Time: 105min

The success of Oldboy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance has made Park Chan-Wook an internationally recognised director, with many in the Western world eagerly anticipating his next film. ‘I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK’ debuted in the number one position upon its release in Korea, but sales fell in the coming weeks, and it was pulled from many screens by the third weekend. Despite this, the film has generally been received well critically, and did manage to scoop the Alfred Bauer Award at the 57^th Berlin Film Festival.

The story revolves around Young-Goon and II-Soon, two patients of a mental hospital who form an attraction to each other. Whilst Il-Soon’s mental problems appear controllable, Young-Goon believes that she is a robot, and frequently ‘charges’ herself using a transistor radio and batteries. She also refuses to each food. The plot unfolds as Il-Soon tries to convince Young-Goon that she is not a robot and can live a normal happy life with him.

From the moment the opening credits start to roll, it is clear that this is a Park Chan-Wook film, as his familiar visual style fills the screen and a joyful classical musical score plays away in the background. Much of the aesthetic must also be credited to cinematographer Jeong-hun Jeong, who worked with Chan-Wook on his last two feature films, as well as the short ‘Cut’, and continues to provide lush frameworks for Chan-Wook to build his stories upon. With this familiarity comes a sense of anticipation as to what might follow after the opening credits, with Chan-Wook’s films rarely being anything if not interesting.

‘I’m A Cyborg…’ is no different. Whilst it is essentially a love story, the decision to set the film in a mental hospital was a creative - if not a box-office friendly – masterstroke. It is able to make the same sort of statement about mental health as ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ did many years before, by letting us into the world of the patients and providing an insight into their weaknesses. From the initial tour that Young-Goon is given, it would appear that she has been admitted to the craziest mental hospital in history. Thankfully, we find out that the women giving her the tour is indeed a patient herself, who makes up stories about people to replace the memories she loses during her weekly shock treatment.

Although the dynamic between the Il-Soon and Young-Goon is the primary focus of the film, it is also interesting to see the interaction between Il-Soon and the other patients. Il-Soon believes that he has the capability to ‘steal’ abilities from the other patients by making them wear a mask and then holding hands to transfer the skill. For instance, one patient always walks backwards everywhere, and is constantly apologising to people for things that he hasn’t done. When the transfer has taken place, he no longer believes he can walk backwards and becomes rude, because he has ‘lost’ the art of politeness. This could be seen as Chan-Wook subscribing to the ‘just snap out of it’ feeling about mental health problems, which is a lot more common in Asia than it is in the Western world.

The romance between the two leads blossoms as the film continues to its climax, with Il-Soon becoming more aware of Young-Goon’s feelings of a lack of purpose in life, which he then tries to give her. In reality the romance is secondary to this theme, which is frequently discussed throughout. The relationship between Young-Goon and her similarly mentally challenged Grandmother (she believes she is a mouse, and will only eat radish) is the vehicle used to illustrate this, with the Grandmother recurrently saying “the purpose of life is…” before being cut-off. One prominent moment is when she is attached to a bungee-cord – bringing a wry smile to anyone who has seen ‘Cut’ – upon her death, ready to take her to heaven, with Il-Soon unable to stop her flying upwards before she can finish the sentence. However, the moment that truly sums up this theme is when the Grandmother is being taken away in an ambulance to the mental home, with Young-Goon following her on a bike, trying to catch up with the ambulance, to give the Grandmother her dentures she has left behind. Young-Goon manages to get within a certain distance of the ambulance but can get no closer, providing a perfect metaphor for the feeling of being unable to establish the purpose of life.

Despite the meaning of life being the main theme, Chan-Wook has managed to squeeze his favourite topic of vengeance into the film. Young-Goon is told by her Grandmother to avenge her being taken away by killing the ‘white-uns’, otherwise known as the mental hospital nurses. Young-Goon fantasises over this on a couple of occasions, with the use of up-beat classical music in the background, and a more mechanical aesthetic clearly separating these scenes from the rest of the film.

Although there are clear messages running through ‘I’m a Cyborg…’, for a Chan-Wook film, it does seem a little unfocused in places, taking quite a long time to hit home with the points that it makes. That said, the premise itself is interesting enough to carry these themes along, and there is enough wacky imagery to keep you entertained for the majority of the running time. It certainly isn’t the full-on visceral experience of his previous films, but ‘I’m a Cyborg…’ is an interesting aside that is definitely worth a watch for fans of Chan-Wook, or those looking for something slightly different in the romance genre.

Buy the Hong Kong DVD (English subtitles) now at Play-Asia

Exiled (2006) - Hong Kong

2007-09-27T15:43:00.000+01:00

Director: Johnnie To
Cast: Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Nick Cheung, Roy Cheung, Lam Suet, Josie Ho, Simon Yam, Hui Shiu Hung
Running Time: 108min

Johnnie To has been receiving a lot of international acclaim in recent years, with the ‘Election’ series proving to be a staple at film festivals across the world. His follow up film ‘Exiled’ has been put forward as Hong Kong’s entry into the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category for this year’s Oscars, having also won To the best director prize at this years Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.

‘Exiled’ tells the story of a group of assassins, brought together by a hit ordered on their inactive colleague Wo by their leader, Boss Fay. The assassin ordered to do the hit (Blaze) and his partner turn up at Wo’s abode, to find two of their colleagues already waiting outside the building. These two have decided that they will try to prevent the hit being carried out as one of the men (Tai) has a long history of working alongside Wo, and doesn’t feel that his killing is justified.

The opening scene plays out the arrival of the men at Wo’s house, without revealing their purpose. The sinister music playing in the background, combined with the anxious look across the face of Wo’s wife, sets up an incredibly tense atmosphere as the four men sit outside, waiting for Wo’s arrival. When Wo does arrive, we see Tai and Blaze follow him into the building; he seems aware of their presence, but is not especially moved by it, even leaving the door open as he enters his flat. Upon entering he checks the boiling pot on the stove before opening a drawer to take out, and load up his gun.

What then ensues is a stylised shootout of the kind Hong Kong cinema has always been famed for, and just seems to be able to pull-off so much better than Western or fellow-Asian imitators. The metallic sound of bullets reverberates around the flat, as the three men move around, taking shots at one another. I don’t wish to spoil the outcome of this scene, as the tension of the opening wouldn’t be quite the same if you knew the outcome. Therefore I will refer to the assassins as ‘the group of assassins’ from now on.

Upon leaving the flat, the group of assassins then embark on a mission to find as many large paying jobs as they can, aware of a need to scramble money together before Chinese rule enters the Portuguese colony of Macau, where the film takes place. Chinese rule is an issue which has always been prevalent in Hong Kong cinema, specifically the British handover of rule to China in 1997, and To obviously sees large parallels between his country and Macau, where power was handed over from the Portuguese government in 1999.

Along their travels, the group of assassins get into many skirmishes with both rival gangs and their own, leading to a final showdown with their leader Boss Fay at the conclusion of the film.

However, these instances are secondary to the main theme of the film, which is the close bond that is created within the group of assassins. Male-bonding is a theme To has investigated before in previous films, most notably 1999’s ‘Running out of Time’ and ‘The Mission’, but never has he so effectively portrayed it through his actors. The banter between the characters is top notch throughout, and adds a much needed strain of comedy to the proceedings. ‘Exiled’ is accomplished in many areas, but the chemistry between the actors is definitely a stand-out, and much of the credit for this must surely go to To’s direction.

What gives ‘Exiled’ a feeling of completeness as an artistic vision, is the way in which the shooting style and music never feel as if they are overtaking the story, and instead just complement it perfectly. Cheng Siu Keung’s cinematography is excellent throughout, with the muted, but yet slightly dreamy colours, providing a faultless background to the scenes unfolding in front of it. Keung and To are long-time collaborators, and their understanding is such that they are steadily becoming the Wong Kar Wai - Christopher Doyle of current-day Hong Kong cinema. A mention has to also be made of the music score by Dave Klotz and Guy Zerafa, which goes from classic action movie to Spaghetti Western in a blink of an eyelid, and manages to greatly amplify either the tension or comedic aspect of many scenes.

As has always been a staple of Hong Kong action films, there are plenty of comedic aspects thrown in along the way to break up the suspense in the action scenes. Notable here are the performances by Hui Shiu Hung as a bumbling police officer counting down the hours until he retires, and the underground surgeon, who just can’t help but laugh at the injury Boss Fay has suffered in a shootout.

Following on from the success of the ‘Election’ films was never going to be an easy task for To. ‘Exiled’ matches what he achieved with those films and is another masterpiece from a director in a very rich vein of form. It is fully focused throughout, with not a scene going to waste, and all the elements are completed with such precision that it is truly a joy to watch. This is a must see film for anybody who considers themselves a supporter of great cinema.

Buy the Hong Kong DVD (English subtitles) at Play-Asia.

In the Realm of the Senses (1976) - Japan

2007-09-26T14:08:00.001+01:00

Director: Nagisa Oshima
Cast: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakajima, Yasuko Matsui
Running Time: 109min

Pure artistic expression or glorified porn film? That is the debate that has always followed ‘In the Realm of the Senses’, since its release in 1976.

Based on the true-life 1930s story of Sada Abe and her lover Kichizo Ishida - which has also been covered in ‘A Women Called Sada Abe (1975) and ‘Sada’ (1998) - Nagisa Oshima’s film contains many scenes of un-simulated sex, both between the main two characters and a number of the less-prominent roles.

Oshima was aware that such a film would never make its way past the Japanese censors, and it was therefore listed as a French enterprise, with the undeveloped footage shipped to France for the editing process. This allowed Oshima to keep his vision for the film intact, and this shines through in the released print, which is nothing if not a truly honest piece of filmmaking.

For those of you not familiar with the story of Sada Abe, the plotline of the film revolves around her relationship with Kichizo Ishida, a married man, who is the owner of the hotel where Abe (a former prostitute) has recently been employed as a maid. One morning, unable to sleep, another maid tells Abe to follow her if she wants to see something interesting. They sneak out to Ishida’s dwelling, where they both watch him make love to his wife, as he does at the same time every morning. Abe’s eyes light up and it is at this point that her obsession with Ishida begins.

It is not long before Ishida and Abe begin an affair, first in the shadows of the hotel complex, and then by moving to another hotel together. Whilst still in Ishida’s hotel, Abe stumbles across Ishida and his wife making love once more, and contemplates killing the wife with a razor left on the bedroom floor. This is the first glimpse we get of the extreme jealously that is at the root of Abe’s actions as the film progresses.

In the new hotel, Ishida and Abe continue having sex constantly for days on end, not even halting their actions when maids come to offer them Sake, or Geisha’s come to play them music. Abe has an insatiable desire for sex, one that Ishida somewhat struggles to keep up with, despite her remarks of “how do you always keep it so hard”.

The constant nature of their sexual activities, along with the way in which their bodies almost become one, is really amplified by the graphicness of the sex scenes. By seeing two humans actually partaking in the act of sex, with no limitations, or reservations about their bodies, the film manages to perfectly portray the desperation that Abe has to be with Ishida, and how she feels completely at one with him. It is hard to imagine that these scenes would have the same power had they been ‘acted’, and it can therefore be argued that the un-simulated sex was a necessity to truly convey the emotions involved.

The knowing voices of the hotel maids who call the couple “disgusting” and remark that “all she does all day is suck you off”, could quite easily be interpreted as the director Oshima having a dig at the Japanese society of his time, who viewed sex as a very private matter, and not something that should be flaunted about. It is interesting seeing this in relation to the current Japanese feeling towards sex. In modern Japan, the hoodoo of sex appears to have been lifted in the entertainment sector; in fact Japanese television shows such as ‘The Virgin Show’ are among the most sexually explicit shows worldwide. However, the underlying feeling is that an average Japanese person (especially female) is likely to be unwilling to openly discuss sex, and it is still seen as something that happens, and that should stay, in the bedroom. In this way, ‘In the Realm of the Senses’ is still a relevant commentary on the sexual feeling in modern day Japan.

As always seems to be the case, the knowing voices of the maids are indeed correct, as the relationship between Ishida and Abe becomes increasingly more destructive as time passes. The slight boundaries that were initially in place between them are constantly broken, and even food is brought into the love making process, through the somewhat questionable placement of an egg. The recipe for self-destruction is sealed the moment violence gets brought into the relationship, and with Abe’s increasing jealously at the thought of Ishida with other women, the tension in the final scenes of the film is almost unbearable.

Oshima should be praised for sticking to his principles and executing the film in the manner that he though would most reflect the state of the relationship between Abe and Ishida. The controversy created by the film caused him to adopt a more restrained approach to sexual passion in his next film ‘Empire of Passion’, and he never quite pushed the boundaries in the same way again. Film viewers should be glad that he did break the conventions with ‘In the Realm of the Senses’ as it is a much better film for it. If you don’t mind watching scenes of real sex, then definitely give the film a try. Whilst it is by no means perfect, it is certainly a highly emotional experience, and one that will have you on tender hooks all the way until the inevitable ending.

Buy the UK DVD at MovieMail

Kôshônin (2003) - Japan

2007-09-25T15:02:00.000+01:00

Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Hiroshi Mikami, Mayu Tsuruta, Shirô Sano, Kumi Nakamura, Masatô Ibu, Renji Ishibashi
Running Time: 107min

Perhaps no-one in modern Japanese cinema divides popular opinion as much as Takashi Miike. For every group of fans who see him as a cinematic genius and lap up everything he releases, there is another group of the same size who look down on his work with contempt, seeing him as nothing more than an overhyped enigma who relies too heavily on shock value to sell his films. Personally, I tend to sway towards the former school of thought. Some of his films, such as Audition and Gozu are personal classics to me, and there are certainly a lot of genre films that I probably would never have seen had it not been for his direction.

One such film is 'Koshonin', a straight-to-television hostage thriller from 2003, based on the novel by Takahisa Igarashi. Experiences of sitting through many over dramatised Hollywood hostage films (John Q I'm looking at you) had tarnished the genre to such a point in my mind that I could happily have gone through the rest of my life without ever seeing another of them. Therefore, when a friend passed me 'The Negotiator' (as it is known in the US) on DVD, I initially approached with it trepidation. After much deliberation, I decided to go ahead and give it a chance, and ended up being glad that I did.

The central basis of the film is what seems like a standard robbery of a convenience store by three masked men. This crime is then followed by three men of the same description taking the employees and patients of a local hospital hostage. In steps the most famous negotiator in Japan, Inspector Ishida, played to perfection by Hiroshi Mikami, to secure a satisfactory end to the situation.

Things are not all as they seem though, as Ishida has a vested interest in the outcome of the negotiations. Feeling that he can't possibly deal with the situation himself, he enlists the help of the initially sceptical Maiko Tohno (Mayu Tsuruta) to assist him. The exact reasons for her scepticism are fully revealed later in the film, but at this point the rumours around the police headquarters are that the two previously had an affair, causing Maiko to be moved from Ishida's department.

The two of them set out to solve the situation, ably assisted by the rest of the hostage team. One particularly keen team member, played by Shiro Sano, remains suspicious of the relationship between the two negotiators throughout. His role is to investigate the potential criminals behind the hostage taking, but he soon begins to question just who the real criminals are. His suspicion acts as a base from which the rest of the story can develop.

Each of the characters has an interesting back story which has taken them to the point they have reached at the time of the situation. Themes of love and vengeance, so prevalent in many of Miike's films, play a pivotal role in these stories, and are the backbone behind which the motives for the crime are unveiled. With the high quality of the actors involved, these scenes are all played out superbly and are not at all over-acted like many Hollywood films of a similar ilk tend to be.

The film is shot in quite a plain style, a necessity due to its straight to television roots, but does manage to include a few artistic shots. One such scene is the meeting of the team, in the mini investigation room that they have setup within the hospital grounds. The majority of the scene is shot from behind one of the pillars coming down from the ceiling, allowing us a slightly obstructed view of the discussions. As certain members of the team haven't been identified to us at this point, it can be difficult to understand who is speaking throughout the scene. This may be a stylistic device that Miike uses to shield their identity until he feels it is necessary for us to know who is who, but the scene can be very frustrating to a subtitle viewer, although we are obviously not his original intended audience.

If not in visual style, there are still a few Miikeisms thrown into the film. Most notable is a surreal conversation between three people involving bunnies, sausages and a penis, which is definitely one of those 'what an earth was that about' moments that so many of Miike's films possess. A smile was also brought to my face by the appearance of Renji Ishibashi, a mainstay of many of Miike's films, who for once has a straight laced role. I was half-expecting him to break into something strange at some point in the film, but thankfully for the credibility of the story he does remain sensible throughout.

Having set itself up as a fairly standard hostage film, Koshonin evolves into something far beyond what it initially seems to be. As it develops, we discover more and more each about each of the main characters' back stories and by the time you reach the conclusion, you are left with an almost insatiable desire to re-watch it to see if it all adds up. The cleverly written script has to take the majority of the credit for this, by transforming the film into something I could never have imagined it being after the opening scenes. Miike doesn't put a foot wrong with the direction, but it really is the story that is the star of the show here.

Buy the US DVD at dvdboxoffice

Review Index

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Exiled (2006) [Hong Kong]

Freesia: Icy Tears (2007) [Japan]

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006) [South Korea]
In the Realm of the Senses (1976) [Japan]

Kôshônin (2003) [Japan]

Paprika (2006) [Japan]

Sha Po Lang (2005) [Hong Kong]

About Us

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Neon Dreams - Asian Film Review, has been created to offer a definitive resource for both those who already appreciate the scene and those who are just starting to discover the joys of Asian Cinema.

We will offer you unbiased opinions on a variety of Asian films from Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and other countries, both old and new.

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Staff

2007-09-25T13:32:00.000+01:00

Site Owner - Nick Dorrington (Nick D)