In a totally different enviroment from which Harry and Quint find themselves (CineVegas' desert heat) we have Mr. Microphone and the following report from SIFF in Seattle's rain forest atmosphere. Father Geek rates his circumstances as COOL in all respects. Wish I was there instead of here. Well, its not as if tanks were charging thru the barbwire fences of The World Geek Headquarters Compound, lying waste to everything and everyone in sight, like at another infamous compound right now. Annnnnnd Harry and I WILL be visiting Seattle between the middle and end of July sometime, soooooo I ain't got noth'n to gripe about really. Here's our coolness report from the great North West...
Got a chance to see not one but two great Takashi Miike films at the Seattle International Film Festival this weekend. Mr. Takashi was in attendance and stuck around for a brief Q&A session both nights, which were interesting despite less than competent translators.
The first film, The Agitator, is an ultra-violent yakuza movie that sort of struck me as the Japanese Goodfellas, both in terms of its tone and its overall excellence and irreverence. Mr. Takashi explained that he chose to eschew rehearsals and stick to one or two takes in order to capture the raw energy of the scenes instead of striving for a more polished but ultimately less engaging work. The result is a film that has some rough edges but more than compensates with exhilarating vitality, much like a good jazz record.
The plot centers on a Machiavellian scheme that is intelligently crafted and driven by an intriguing cast of characters. The performances are top notch, with some very interesting casting choices if you're familiar with Japanese cinema. I was reminded of Quentin Tarantino's brilliant instincts for putting people in roles that capitalize on their strengths as performers while simultaneously challenging audience expectations.
I don't want to give away the details of the story, but suffice to say I was blown away by the audacity, creativity, humor, and vigor of the film. Utterly rewarding. I also guarantee it'll make you think twice before pressing your lips to a karaoke microphone.
The second film, Happiness of the Katakuris, was completely mind-blowing in a different way. It's easily the most vibrant, daring, and entertaining film I've seen this year. It's based on a Korean movie called The Quiet Family, which I haven't seen, but I seriously doubt the original is anywhere near as fractured or as funny as Mr. Takashi's interpretation.
Again, I don't want to spoil the experience, but the general premise involves a family running a guest house in rural Japan who are still waiting for their first guest. Let's just say that when one finally arrives, the Katakuris begin a bizarre, hilarious, disturbing, and strangely heart-warming journey into Arsenic and Old Lace territory. The film itself is a mixture of sublime comedy, deftly handled suspense, high melodrama, offkey and absolutely genius musical numbers, and claymation. Again, the casting is perfect, with former music sensation Sawara Kenji as the head of the household and thankfully the only competent singer in the whole bunch. No offense to Baz Luhrman, who I still revere because of Strictly Ballroom, but when it comes to reinventing the musical, Happiness of the Katakuris kicks the ever-loving shit out of Moulin Rouge and stomps its superficial, self-indulgent carcass into the mud.
These are the first two Takashi movies I've seen, but already he ranks up near the top of my list of favorite directors. Seeing him in person was really a treat, as he discussed his early influences (his first Bruce Lee movie as a child had a huge impact on him) and ruminated on the reasons for his stylistic eclecticism and pervasive predilection for horrifying violence (he self-effacingly suggested that he's still not very mature as a person as has a childish sort of appetite for new experiences).
He also let out that his next project, which he'll start on when he returns to Japan in mid-June, is a complete reinterpretation of The Agitator using the same script but otherwise totally different. It would be an intriguing experiment by any director, but in the case of Mr. Takashi, it promises to be something extraordinary.
From Seattle, I'm Mr. Microphone speaking on condition of anonymity.
