Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Our final Rotterdam review of the day mixes it up a bit, including a short and one of the films I’m most curious about, Beat Takashi’s latest. The verdict?
Another year, another IFFR. A festival I absolutly love, not only because I live in Rotterdam but simply because they show so many films you probably never gonna see in theaters again. The huge amount of short films, screened before features and in solo programs are always a delight and very inspiring.
I've put up some reviews in the zone but thought it might be interested for the site as well. After reading Elaine's Yokai War review I can't wait to see it next thursday. Below you'll find the reviews from the short film Daddy's Vacation and the feature films Citizen Dog and Takeshis'.
Daddy's Vacation; 15min
Not knowing what to expect I walked open minded to the screening of Citizen Dog. But before it started they screened a 15min short film called Daddy's Vacation by Korean filmmaker Kim Kwang Bok. Mr. Kwang came forward to hold a little speech. Saying that he is a bit shy to speak to big audiences and after that, he just said he hoped we enjoyed the picture, which made everyone laughing there asses of. Anyway, exactly the sort of thing which makes the festival so great.
The Film was about a man who lost a coin under the couch and couldn't find it back. A very weird film follows, surreal and hilarious. For the man is so depressed by the fact that he can't get the coin back that he decides to crawl inside the belly of his wife. Who wakes up the next day finding a note he will never come out again. The wife and daughter do some pregnancy gym, and ask him to come out, but he won't. So they visit a hospital, specialized in these kind of cases. What follows is a bizarre, yet not grotesque like Gozu, sequence from the birth of a fullgrown man out of a fullgrown woman.
A very funny short with nearly no dialogue. Never heard of Kim Kwang Bok before but this first encounter with his work was a very pleasant.
Rated: 3/5 Stars
Citizen Dog; 100min
Wisit Sasanatieng second feature after "teas of the black tiger" is a surreal romantic comedy. Often called a Thai Amelie. I must say, this is correct. But only in the technical aspect. It uses the same techniches, you might call it the Amelie genre by now, to tell a marvelous story.
Basicly it is the typical romantic comedy about a boy falling in love for a girl. But in a most highly original way. Combining elements of musical and slapstick and surrealistic fantasy sequences. The characters are bizarre and over the top but never to much. There is a dead taxi driver and a chainsmoing teddybear. It tackles all the modern issues of commercial city life with as main issue that everyone tries to be the same and copy each other as long as they are part of a group.
The film was shot on DVCPROHD making this the first film I didn't see the difference between 35mm and HD. Hell, even in Episode 3 you saw it was HD. But in this film all movements felt so natural and the colors, they where absolutly breathtaking. I could talk for hours about the colors in this film but I won't.
Is it all perfect then? No it is not. Sometimes the film gets a bit to sentimental. And as most films told mainly through a third person perspective, it gets a bit dragging after 50 minutes, making you wish they trimmed it down a a bit. But does minor flaws won't change the delighting and highly original experience from a film you simple MUST see.
Rated: 4/5 stars
Takeshis'; 104min
In the review below I shall refer to the real Takeshi in the film as Beat and the alter ego as Kitano. I shall call Kitano 'Takeshi' when I talk about Kitano directing the film.
Takeshis' follows Beats alter ego named Kitano. Kitano looks a lot like the real Beat and he tries to become an actor himself, with no succes.
Once Kitano meets Beat, Kitano becomes obsessed in becoming Beat. He dreams about it day and night. When he is once again rejected for a part he starts to practice his skills by impersonating the characters Beat played in his movie.
It's an awesome film, but very complex and hard to judge after a single viewing. And I think that without knowledge of his previous work the film is even less accesible then it already is.
Takeshi starts the use of flashbacks, flashforwards, fantasy and reality structure at once. Therefor you're never quite sure if you are watching a flashforward in reality or fantasy. It makes the film instantly confusing. Once you get in to the rythm of the film it starts making sense. But even as a confusing film it is suprisingly funny. With loads of typical Takeshi humor and Getting Any or Kikujiro like sequences.
spoilers
The film starts out with several sequences from Beat's films. Not real Takeshi films but films Beat played as an actor in the film.
After that we follow Beat for a while. He goes to a studio where they are rehursing a stageplay. Here Beat meets Kitano we switch sides and start following Kitano. The alter ego of Beat who tries to become an actor.
Kitano dreams about being Beat and starts acting like the persons Beat played in his films. Double gunning all the persons down who where the cause he never got a part for an audition. After that, all those persons keep haunting him and Kitano keeps shooting them. After a magnificent dance scene ala Zatoichi the yakuza shows up again and another massacre follows, Kitano 'Beat'ing them down one by one untill a final showdown at the beach.
In this extraordinary scene he sums up all his previous films in 1 big sequence. Starting poetic and extremly touching like Hana-bi and ending with a complete army of police, samurai and yakuza who all open fire at him. A magnificent action sequence not to be taken serious, or maybe you should. It is very hard to put in to words for I haven't figured it out myself yet.
end of spoilers
Takeshis' goes trough so many genres and dreams within dreams that it's hard to figure out what is realy going on. Even when the story itself is pretty simple. The execution is insane. Highly amusing but also haunting and irritating when you can't figure out why it is there in the first place. Some sequences also continue far too long but it has to be said, no one can stage a bloody shoot out like Kitano.
In the end it looks to me as if Takeshi tries to say that when you have everything as a star in Japan, people are trying to steel it from you. Or as Yoda would say: fame leads to jalousie, jalousie to greed and greed leads to suffering.
Rated: right after the screening 3/5, now 4/5
I'll be back this week with my thoughts on Midnight Pilgrims, the Great Yokai War and Princess Raccoon. And maybe some more...
Evil Hobbit
Kick-ass, man. Nice of you to drop us the line, and keep it up.
"Moriarty" out.
