Well folks, I don't know how many of you love the original mutant turtle, Gamera, but me... I've never had the chance to see one on the big screen. Travesty. Disaister. A Thousand Curses Upon American Distribution Companies For Not Circulating These Movies! ARGH!!! Right now, Glen is bringing out his weeping blanket, because of you, you heartless distributors! We wanna see flying turtles! Me wanna see GAMERA 3 on big screen with digital sound and rowdy audience! As do all them folks in Talk Back! Well, except that one... and ... ummmm. that one..
This past Friday, I had the opportunity to watch the newest Gient Monster Japanese movie, "Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris" at the Montreal Fantasia Festival. The movie hit Japanese theaters this past March. The fact that this movie will never be released in North America is a very sad thing indedd.
It's only been 4 years since the Gamera franchise has been resurrected by Daeio Co. and director Shusuke Kaneko with "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe", at which point Gamera became a heavy contender to Godzilla's crown; something that would have been unconceivable when looking at the previous eight Gamera movies (I've seen 5 of them). Great special effects and a serious, involving story were just the right ingredients to making it a great Japanese sci-fi film. In 1996, the release of "Gamera: The Advent of Legion" proved that Gamera was here to stay.
Now, with "Gamera 3", things have changed. Not only are the stunning special effects stunning, they're of the highest quality ever for a Japanese sci-fi movie (not only according to my limited experience, but also to the expertise of the Fantasia organizers). It is also the most audacious and original monster movie ever.
"Gamera 3" takes us into the mind of a young girl named Ayana whose parents were killed in Tokyo during the Gamera-Gyaos battle (from the first movie). She will not acknowledge that Gamera saved all of Japan (and the world) and that her parents were the accidental victims of the battle; she harbors a deep hatred for the giant turtle. Following an age-old prophecy, a phoenix-type creature named Iris is resurrected from a nearby cave and becomes psychically liked with Ayana. Soon, the purpose of the unlikely duo is to destroy Gamera, protector of Japan.
The dramatic consequences of the monster mayhem will be beyond what any other movie in the genre has ever shown. The number of casualties and the amount of destruction caused by the monsters in multiple Japanese cities is enormous. Wait till you see tens of people flying through the air from the blast of Gamera's fireballs. Wait till you see the people crushed in undeground passages and the disturbing view of a city all in flames. After the first battle, a newscast tells of over 20,000 casualties...
By deciding to go for quality of special effects over quantity, the director Shusuke Kaneko and his special effects expert Shinji Higuchi created one of the most visually and beautiful work I've ever seen. Half-way through the movie, there is a high-velocity, high-altitude battle between Iris and Gamera, a battle that moves more like an anime than a live-action movie; you've never anything like this before.
Even for all it's amazing special effects and originality, "Gamera 3" keeps the spirit of the genre alive. The monsters are still men-in-rubber-suits (for the ground battles at least). There are a few moments however were things don't look right, but these minor imperfections are not worth dwelling over; the movie is great.
After the projection, Shusuke Kaneko himself came on the stage to answer some questions. He did have many interesting things to say (in a hard-to-understand broken english). He admitted that he did not care much about Gamera before he worked on the new trilogy (I can't blame him). He was surprised by the excited reaction of the crowd during the movie (cheering and applause); he says Japanese audiences are very quiet.
His comments on the American Godzilla movie? He said the creature was too much like a beast; that it had no personality. He did like the girl though...
The most amazing thing was when he announced that the of the movie budget was only $7 million... Excuse me?!? $7 million? Are you sure you don't mean $17 million? $27 million maybe? It's so ironic that it would have cost $50 million for an American studio to produce something of the same quality. This just shows you how great of a filmaker the man is.
I'm sorry for Godzilla fans, but when you see Gamera hovering above the streets, his shell spinning like crazy, shooting white flames in all directions, you will realize that the new age of Japanese Monster Movies has come.
