Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Sounds like the common denominator among returning Rotterdam spies is that they were all disappointed when they first read through the line-up. So what’s Mr. Tough Guy think now that he’s actually seen some films?
Hey Harry,
Been visiting the International Film Festival of Rotterdam again this year which started on Wednesday, and finally got around to putting some thoughts in the computer.
Let me start by saying that I was a bit disappointed when I finally saw the line up, the festival usually has healthy dose of asian cinema, and while this year there is still a strong asian presence, it's mostly arthouse movies, while in previous years there was always a nice mix of arthouse and mainstream movies. It's also the first festival in years where there's no movie starring Tonanobu Asano who happens to be my favourite actor. On the other hand festival favourites like Miike takashi and beat takeshi are back with a movie so it's not all bad.
anyway on to the movies:
Linda Linda Linda - Nobuhiro Yamashita
Going in I didn't really know much about the movie, All I knew was that it was gonna be about japanese highschool girls that form a band, and just before the start of the screening I found out that the movie was directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita who's earlier movies No one's Ark and Ramblers played in rotterdam in previous years.
The movie follows a group of highschool girls during a summer festival, a group of 5 girls are set to play a gig, but when the guitarplayer injures her hand the band falls apart. 3 of the remaining girls decide to start a new band, and after finding some old recordings decide to play some covers of the Japanese punkband the Blue Hearts, including the song Linda Linda Linda. All they need before they can start is a lead vocalist which they find in the korean girl Sun. With the addition of sun all they need to do is learn how to play the songs, and play the gig, the only problem is that korean exchange student sun hasn't completly mastered japanese, and Kei who is set to play guitar needs to learn how to play the guitar first.
Linda Linda Linda is a pretty good fun movie, mostly because of a great cast that includes Maeda Aki (who is best know for playing Noriko in Battle Royale), Kashii Yu (Lorelei witch of the pacific) and the korean Bae Doo Na (Synpathy for Mr Vengeance), Especially Bae Doo Na is brilliant as the korean sun who's lack of understanding of the Japanese language leads to some brilliant and funny moments.
The movie is further enhanced by a great soundtrack, and I'll be sure to look into tracking down a soundtrack album or a Blue hearts album once the festival is over, Especially the title track Linda Linda Linda is a great tune which I can't seem to get out of my head.
Overall it's a great movie, has some seriously funny moments, great performences, and a great soundtrack, plus anyone who likes seeing japanese highschool girls in Uniform will love this movie.
The Sun (solnste) - Alexander Sokoerov
The third part of the trilogy on 20th century dictators after Hitler (Moloch) and Lenin (Taurus) Sokoerov tackles the japanes emperor Hirohito in the final days before his surrender to the americans. Now I have to admit I haven't seen either moloch or Taurus so I can't compare them to either of those, but the movie it did remind me of was Der Untergang (downfall) which chronicles the last days of Hitler. Like with Hitler in der untergang in the sun you see the human side of the emperor, even if he was believed to be a decedent of a god. Ogata Issei's rendition of the Divine emperor is both touching and comical, and it's interesting to see him deal with the fact that after living a life as a god he has to become a mere man.
And while Ogata Issei's performance really makes the movie, it's nice to note that beyond that the movie is visually interesting too, there are a couple of great war scenes, and the entire movie looks fantastic with toned down colours and a soft focus giving the movie a great look
Anyway that's all for now, I've got an early screening tommorow moring so I'm gonna hit the hay but I will be back later this week with more.
Mr Tough Guy
Can’t wait for the next report. Nice to see you again, Mr. Tough Guy.
"Moriarty" out.
