Japanese Film Review

Studio Ghibli films, like this always give such a good sense of connection to the world. One can never go wrong by watching one of their many and great films. It makes sense that these films have preserved so long because they give people the same feelings. By watching spirited away, many scenes that bring pleasure and a sense of peacefulness is when Chihiro is interacting with the nature. The film starts off with her parents driving into and through the forest. While Chihiro initially found nature and interacting with it frightening, we see her develop throughout the film and gain a greater appreciation for it.

Chihiro even interacts with Haku who turns out to be a water spirit. This is just another sign of how important this film is as a pathway to nature and bridging the connection. Chihiro found out that Haku was the nature spirit by remembering her own childhood of being in the river and losing her shoe. Another way to see that the connection to nature has grown within Chihiro is by noticing in the beginning scenes she is holding on to some flowers. These flowers represent her connection to nature and as she desperately grasps onto them, she begins to make them wither faster. By the end, Chihiro no longer needs to maintain the connection through flowers anymore but can relive and reconnect through her memories of her time in the spirit town.

If Chihiro represents the connection to nature, then most of the other characters represent their connection to work life and industrialism. Everyone is forced to have some type of job unless they are a paying customer in the town. This moto is even a promise that Yubaba maintains, giving anyone a job who asks for it. The consumption of work life is repeatedly demonstrated, and it is only on limited occasions and by some characters that get to interact with nature. If Yubaba is the representative for Industrialism, Zeniba is the representative for nature. Zeniba lives far out from the industrial style bath house and stays in a modest home. She is surrounded by nature and invites those that come to her home. She even pushes for no face to stay and help her around the house upon Chihiro’s departures.

Going from horror to this film was an absolute trip and a half but at the same time that’s what’s great about cinema and how the two can coexist with one another. But to start getting into the film I just wanted to say how crushing it was to see Tokue be fired from the job purely because of her past with leprosy. This kind older woman reminded me a lot of my grandmother so it made me think a lot about her throughout and I’m happy I still have her around but I can’t imagine not knowing I could visit her or she didn’t get to do everything she wanted to do in life. The ending of Tokue saying that she was just happy for the time that she got to spend doing what she liked made me really sad and grateful for the time I have on earth as well. It sounds kind of cheesy but I truly do feel this way as I really do think this movie had some good messages about enjoying the place you are in even if it may be hard. Especially as a college student the world can seem caving in on you sometimes but you have to take a step back sometimes and realize it's not all about me and there’s more to life than this. Do what you want to do in life and enjoy it, it will take effort and lots of hard work to get there but at the same time that’s something to look forward to. I really liked this film a lot more than I expected to and I think these types of films get overlooked a lot because there is quite a few of them that may teach the same message over and over again but at the same time why is it a bad thing to learn the message of kindness and to enjoy life necessarily a bad thing. My one negative to the film though however was the inclusion of the school girl because I think she did have some importance to the overall story but at the same time I just felt like she wasn’t absolutely needed and was more brought in to just move the story along and find story details out which is yeah I guess understandable but at the same time it just seemed unneeded, I don’t know. Overall, this was a nice palette cleanser before getting to the final films of this semester but it’s nice to feel all kinds of warm inside after a film after feeling kind of hopeless after the last two films and especially after watching those god awful American remakes. So, definitely go watch this film.

Grade: B

What an interesting premise that was terribly disappointing in execution. This is possibly going to be very critical, whoops.

The premise of Pulse is very fascinating. I love a good ghost story, or multi-dimensional story, especially when you tie in some aspects of tech-horror that this film has. And I do love a good apocalypse, especially a creeping one that you don't realize is happening until its too late. Those aspects of this film I appreciate. However, man what the hell.

So, clearly the conversation that this film is trying to tackle is about how the creation and ease of access of the internet is creating a worldwide epidemic of loneliness and isolation that is slowly killing the population. Not in any drastic way (though in some instances, yes, with the first death where he hangs himself) but in a looming, subtle sort of dissolving of sense of self. The people that get this... virus or whatever literally fade into surfaces and leave behind an imprint of the body. It acts like a computer virus--but it's really just highlighting what's already there. (In the case of Harue, who said she's always been alone. It's not a surprise she naturally turned to the internet/computer science to fill that void).

All of these aspects I genuinely enjoyed. The execution was dismal and confusing. I spent so much of the movie getting genuinely irritated by the logical leaps the people were making. Like, they would somehow immediately know things or suddenly forget important things, and it kept happening throughout the middle of the film that I was actually getting pissed off because it rapidly took me out of the story. Like the shit about the spirit realm being overwhelmed and having to come here, but then why are they making more spirits? Who aren't hanging around really all that much except for the few times someone hallucinates them? And then also it just wipes out everyone on the Earth? Stupid shit. Why did you bring up that random story if it has no relevance? Or is it related, and the message just got lost?

It had such a strong start, too, and even with the slow, creeping realization of what's going on, the end felt like the script writer got lost in his own sauce and forgot what story he was trying to tell. It became a weird jumbled mess that just repeatedly smashed you over the heat with a metal baseball bat about how terrible the internet is for society. Which like, totally valid, especially in 2001 but dude we get it. I got it the first 600 times you said it, I still get it now. I didn't get brain damage or alzheimer's in the last 20 minutes since you told me you were lonely.

Another positive I can give this film is the use of unease and discomfort of the use of shadows throughout this film. It was incredible. Possibly one of the best to do it, especially with all the people lurking (makes me think of Hereditary). I spent more time focusing on the background than the foreground, waiting to see what shadow was gonna move.

Another negative, this was so predictable. So, so, so predictable. Great idea. Mid execution.

Now, my theory is that the red used throughout is somehow the protector. Obviously, the red tape seals the door--but could it have been any tape? Probably, but they chose--and continued to choose--red. It is EVERYWHERE in this film. I think that's why our main girl survives. When shit starts really kicking off, she's always tied somehow to red, be it on her clothes or directly around her. Same with the loveable idiot Kawashima who wears his red hawaiian shirt until his dumbass changes to green and walks into that opened door.

Ring (1998) by Nakata Hideo is a psychological horror film. It is about a journalist, Asakawa Reiko, who investigates into the mysterious death of her niece and her friends. After some clues, it leads her to a tape that is known for being cursed. It causes the viewer to die after seven days from watching it. Asakawa comes into contact with the tape while she went to investigate the site where her niece and her friends hung out. Immediately, she watches the tape and she experiences the same encounters as those who watches it. Afterwards, she partners with her ex-husband Ryuji, who has the ability to sense supernatural beings, to help her resolve the curse before her seven days. Apparently, her son, Yuichi, watched the cursed tape as well because Tomoko told him to do it. This further complicates and rushes them to figure out the case. In the end, they figure out that the curse was caused by a vengeful spirit named Sadako. Sadako was pushed and killed in the well by her own father. In order to uplift the curse, they figure out where she died and retrieve her remains. Unbeknownst to them, the curse was not lifted and Ryuji is killed on his seventh day, meanwhile Asakawa does not. She figures out that you need to let someone else watch the copy of the tape in order to pass along the curse of Sadako. In order to save her son, she is seen driving to her father with intention of having him watch the tape.  After watching the film, I felt like the film was intriguing and not very scary as I thought it would be. I could see how the Ring would be more frightening in the past compared to our modern horror films. The scenes that were intended to be frightening or disturbing were humorous. An example would be the pictures of the distorted faces. The shaping and features designed to make it look scary were perceived as silly and like our modern day face filters. Watching this film reminded me of my childhood. I remember as a kid that the older children and my classmates would often talk about old scary stories and curses. It used to frighten me a lot as a kid and traumatized me growing up until I learned that the chances of it happening of them becoming true is low. Just like the story of Sadako, I believe Bloody Mary is similar to it as well. In order to trigger Mary to appear in the mirror, you have to repeat her name a certain number of times in a dim-lit room. Afterwards, she attacks the person who calls for her. Similarly, I believe they are related as being a vengeful spirit and both have a trigger to their curse in their own way.

This movie was a ride from beginning to end. I don't know if it was just my viewing experience, but I almost thought I was watching a series instead of a movie. This seemed to be another movie where vignettes or parts of a hole form to create an overall meaning to the film.

Figuring out an overall theme or message was a bit hard to figure out with the length and variety this film had to offer. But, if I had to say, I think Swallowtail Butterfly is a critique on ambitions power to corrupt people and tear communities apart. I think the obvious symbolism of this movie is not movie or yen itself, but how yen stands in for ambition. None of the characters truly seek to make the most yen they can, but to realize the wishes they so sought before but were not able to. The film then, presents us with an assemble cast of bizarre characters who seek to make yen, and in the process, forget about the community from which they came from. Once they realize that such a life is not truly worth it and that the yen has corrupted them, they return to the community. This can be likened to the squashed butterfly that Ageha saw in her childhood, a butterfly that, like Icarus of greek myth, tried to fly too high or sought an ambition to lofty, and forgot about the dangers it came with.

Hanabi by Kitano was a well designed aesthetically pleasing film. This film follows a Japanese Detectives’ cycle into detachment from society and life itself. The director’s approach to this film was unique but still enjoyable. There were some confusing portions of the film, especially in the beginning, but as the film progressed so did the story begin to be aligned better. The directors work to tell the story with two separate themes or outcomes. The first outcome follows Nishi and how he decides to deal with the circumstance’s life has put him in. The second outcome is Horibe and how he has dealt with his situation.

Before getting into the major lenses in this film, I want to write on how the director directed this film. The sound design of this film and the music was so serene and enjoyable. There were many bouts of classical, lyric-less music but played to the minimal dialogue throughout the film. I was put off in the beginning because of the minimal dialogue throughout the film, especially with Nishi and his wife. This was also strange to see played out with other characters like Horibe and the other police officers interacting with Nishi. As the film progressed though, it began to form that this was just his character type.

Another interesting approach that director Kitano did was to contrast two major and opposing sides of society. The side of the police and that of the yakuza.  In between the two we see sides of Japan that I have not seen and that does not receive as much attention. From the junkyard mechanic selling stolen vehicles and parts of police cars, to him crashing into other vehicles. Even the police who are supposed to be the law-abiding citizens are seen slapping criminals around and treating everyday citizens poorly. One example was when Nishi threw the teenagers’ baseball down an opposing road as the teens were playing baseball. This interesting side of Japan had an atmosphere of coolness and a complete disregard of what would traditionally be accepted as normal.

To circle back to the two outcomes, Nishi’s tells a story of a man falling into despair due to the uncontrollable outcomes of his life. His wife is diagnosed with leukemia, his child dies at a young age, and his partner is paralyzed on an assignment that Nishi was supposed to do. These outcomes push Nishi over the edge as he decides to borrow from the Yakuza, rob a bank and use the money to create fleeting moments of happiness with his wife. Horibe on the other hand, confronts his own despair with his wife and child leaving and being left paralyzed head on. He goes to the beach and outside struggling to find a purpose now that all he has known is taken away from him. He attempts suicide but is saved by his friends. From then, Horibe begins to paint and remove his despair from internal out onto the paper through painting. Once he begins painting his art acts as a foreshadowing of Nishi’s action. From the painting of the penguin to the snow weather driving, to the suicide painting and Nishi’s own suicide.

Yukisadas film was one of the first in this class that has taken a critical stance on racial and nationality lines. Likely born out of the developing changes over time and the Japanese societal ways of integrating other people into their society. This film follows Sugihara, a Japanese born North Korean and his trouble integrating into the Japanese society. He wrestles with discrimination topped with the teenage troubles of love and rebellion with his family. I highly respect this film’s approach to tackling such a difficult topic and bringing recognition to the residents in Japan that face this issue.

Being non-Japanese in Japan and then a minority on top of that garners some strange interactions with people. In public settings, many foreigners experience a sense of isolation just based on being a foreigner. For example, it is not unusual for a foreigner or minority sitting down in a bus or train with open seats next to them and several people avoiding sitting next to them. In some occasions this could even occur in a packed train or bus. On the other hand, open seats with local Japanese are quickly filled over the ones which are next to a foreigner.

Another unfortunate story I hear from mixed Japanese people is that because of their looks and being mixed, they are not treated as Japanese. Even though they went to Japanese school, can only speak Japanese, and are fully integrated in the culture, they are treated as not Japanese. I have heard of biracial Japanese people being spoken to continually in English regardless of how much Japanese they speak. These same racial and nationality challenges are seen within Go. Sugihara is bullied by those in school because of his North Korean nationality. Going through these difficulties exacerbate his rebelliousness and causes him to resent his nationality. This is seen through many of his narration throughout the film where Sugihara criticizes his father in his narration for his pride in North Korea and eventually for him changing to a South Korean passport to be able to travel.

Tampopo by Itami Juzo, is a Japanese comedy film that tells a story about a widowed women who owns a small ramen shop called Lai Lai. She meets a truck driver named Goro who saves her son from school bullies and comes in to eat her food. After hearing Gun’s advice on her ramen, she begs him to help teach her to cook proper ramen. He agrees to teach her and film proceeds to show a series of events of her learning, developing, and improving her skills. She meets plentiful of new people who support her journey. In the end, she meets her goal and Lai Lai is renovated and renamed to Tampopo with many customers in line waiting to have her food.

My overall thoughts on this film was interestingly funny, gross, and yet heartwarming. The opening scene of the man in the white suit was neat as he was looking and talking towards the camera, as if he was talking to the audience watching the film. Once the main protagonist was introduced, the widowed ramen shop owner, the story proceeds to be a heartwarming learning journey, but occasionally there were scenes that seemed completely off topic from the main plot. These scenes felt similarly to ads as they abrupt and were related to food as well.

 I found the first scene where a group of business executives visit a French restaurant for dinner. The executives ordered the same thing as the director, but there was one subordinate who orders a whole meal knowing the menu compared to all of them. This scene was very funny to me as each person, including the director, were red as an apple from embarrassment and looking down. 

The next scene shows an older man having a sweet time with his mistress. I thought it was going to be a normal sexual interaction for the couple…but behold. We ended up watching them make out by exchanging an egg yolk until it popped in her mouth. Eventually the man has an encounter with an oyster diver and their make out scene was just as disturbing to me especially with his bloody lip. This man definitely has an interesting fetish for food. 

Although not the last scene, I thought this one stood out to me as well. An older working man runs home to his dying wife, children, doctor and nurse. It was sad watching the man tell his wife not to close his eyes because he wanted her to keep living. He goes as far to shake her excessively and then he tells her to get up and go cook. I was surprised by this, but she immediately gets up and cooks dinner while struggling to keep her balance. After serving dinner to her kids and her husband, she smiles happily knowing they loved her cooking and she collapses. The doctor and nurse calls her time of death right away after checking her pulse. This was really sad moment. The father then tells his children to keep eating and cherish the last meal their mother made for them. They memorialize her through food, feeling the love she put in it before leaving them.