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In the Realm of the Senses (1972)
I’d probably have to call this one an example of hardcore arthouse erotica. You might call it a stick film with subtitles. Whatever we call it, it’s a challenging film with an awful lot of sex. An awful lot. The frequency of the sex gives rise to serious questions about abrasion and probably exhaustion. Sex sex sex sex sex, lashings of it. Phwoooar.
Now that the obligatory sleazy response is done with, I can get on with a more measured … (read more)
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Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Howl’s Moving Castle is as charming, as astonishingly detailed, as wonderful and magical as anything Miyazaki has ever offered to date. More fairytale than mythology, the story is based on the work of Diana Wynne Jones, a British fantasy novelist of long and popular standing. Sophie Hatter has a quiet and perfectly satisfying life taking after her name as a hat-maker, that is until the she meets both handsome magician and wicked Witch of the Waste in the same day … (read more)
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The Hidden Blade (2005)
Yohji Yamada’s second film is soft with the same rural beauty that made Twilight Samurai such a remarkably refreshing period piece. It is a personal story, unconventional perhaps because its subject matter seems so very conventional, and Yamada is becoming something of a thematic auteur with his quiet, realistic portrayals of the samurai way of life, his harmless non-heroes, his uncomplicated humour and his slow sense of inevitable conclusion.
Munezo Katagiri (Masatoshi Nagase) is an unmarried samurai indentured to a … (read more)
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Fudoh – The New Generation (1996)
There was a time that the name of Miike had been unheard before these ears and his films unseen before these eyes. But yeah, that moment of enlightenment came upon me and I was awoken.
The opening sequence of Dead or Alive was just mind blowing and, while the rest of the film was less ground breaking, there was enough sensationalism and gratuity to keep me hooked. The fact that this was a double bill, with its sequel following right … (read more)
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Elfen Lied (2004)
This series is a disturbing mix of the salacious and the sick-making, with a side order of slapstick. The first 10 minutes or so consist of a bloodbath conducted by a fragile-seeming, pink-haired naked girl, strolling through the corridors of the facility in which she’s held. The soft curves and the long pink hair create a serious dissonance with her inhuman aspect: she kills without touching, and her face is hidden within a bulky metal helmet. She’s really an anime … (read more)
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Eli, Eli Lema Sabachtani? (2005)
This film is not for everyone. Many people will hate it. Nonetheless, it is a fairly strong film that will appeal to those of a thoughtful nature, particularly if they also know a bit about New Music.
This one actually reminds me quite strongly of many Taiwanese films, although for me this was more successful in achieving what they set out to achieve. There’s little dialogue, little action, and a very meagre plot, but it still managed to put me … (read more)
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Ginji the Slasher (2003)
Ginji the Slasher opens in 1953, with a background of archival military footage overlayed with a Japanese flag. The military images are slowly cross-faded with walls covered in blood. Finally, a row of dead bodies leads to the killer — Ginji Sonezaki, in a flash military aviator uniform, slashing his way through a number of guys with an expensive looking sword. There is blood everywhere — with every slash, Ginji manages to paint another wall red. At this point in … (read more)
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Rampo Noir (2005)
Forget wells and videos and all manner of watery metaphors, Rampo Noir returns to the source with a refreshingly new bent. Based on stories by Japanese gothic horror author Edogawa Rampo, this collection of short films is both experimental and confronting in a way that cheap frights will never, ever be, and it’s actually not an easy thing to watch.
The anthology opens with Mars Canal, directed by Takeuchi, and for the first few minutes, I probably wasn’t the … (read more)
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