::Robosexual::

Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade

    Sorry for my recent absence, and for the following long-winded post.  Work has been relentless, but now, having acquired a laptop capable of transmitting information through the cold ether, I am able to update RS from my favorite coffee haunt, Caffe Vita on Capitol Hill.  Also, reviewing so many albums lately has exhausted my music-description organ, so I am injecting other media into the rotation now - whether you like it or not.
    At a used media store on the Ave today, while looking for Final Fantasy III or some such classic game at discount, I took the long way around a rack of vinyl to avoid scraping pants with a like-minded shopper, and glancing idly at the wall of DVDs to my right, I found myself face-to-face with the special edition of Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, and for $25 - from my experience it usually goes for twice that, and long have I yearned to experience the surround sound in this film.  Taking it home and watching a few choice scenes, I am reminded of the greatness of this movie and now I must heartily recommend it to you, dear reader.
    You have questions, grasshopper?  I shall answer them. Yes, it's Japanese.  Yes, it's animated.  No, it's not Anime - at least not as we have come to define it.  What we have here is a powerful, subtle, multi-layered film which would be impossible or unwise to attempt with real people and locations.  Mamoru Oshii, famed for his excellent film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, created the story and adapted this one himself, so there is a fusion of narrative and artistic vision that is rare to see even in animated features, where the art can suit the story to any extent.
    I'll try not to spoil much but it is difficult to discuss this movie particularly without revealing a little.  It takes place during the 60s in an alternate timeline in Japan, during a period of civil unrest and political instability, a transition period following the de-occupation of the country after WWII.  A special unit of the police is established to combat the anti-government forces in the capital, and the main character, Fuse, is a member of this outfit.  He is shaken during a mission taken by his unit and begins to question his ability to function as a soldier and as a person.  He becomes involved with a woman who resembles closely a terrorist Fuse saw die in front of his eyes, and on this stage the various threads and conspiracies begin to assemble themselves.  I am beginning to understand that the political situation in which the story takes place is not that far removed from the reality then, except this follows a more extreme path than did the people of Japan.
    Throughout the film the story of Little Red Riding hood is pervasive; Fuse and the woman both read from an ancient telling of the story (the German Rottkapchen) and it becomes clear that the movie is also a retelling of the fairy tale, but the characters are obscured in the complex movements of the plot.  This, however, isn't the version your momma told you.
    The animation is simple, which is not to say unrealistic, as the details are subtle and convincing: Flat colors on the characters brought to life by the changing crease of a pant leg while walking, or tiny movements of the hands.  The booklet reveals that the movie is completely hand-drawn, perhaps the last full-length feature to be so.  The characters are very real-looking and japanese - no blue hair or big-eyes-small-mouth to be found.  The backgrounds are painted in detail and scenes with action spare no frames to repeats or static scans - this film is a work of art in motion, and the direction by Hiroyuki Okiyura is superb (above is a terrible sample, but it gives a general feel).  There is a certain scene, the fantasy on the rooftop halfway through the movie, the beginning of which gives me chills every single time I watch it - even thinking about it as I write sends shivers down my spine.
    The sound in the movie is superb; 5.1 is used to full effect and every small thing is included.  The clink of bottles as a man walks, every footstep and splash timed and placed right, it's clear from this and the animation that this movie is a labor of love, emphasis on labor - it must have taken years to make.  I think I can place this movie on my top ten, and while some might be turned off by its density and animated nature, I consider these assets and not liabilities.  Jin-Roh is an excellent, beautiful, haunting, and original movie that I cannot recommend enough.

Oldboy

    So, at last year's Cannes, Fahrenheit 9/11 took the Palme d'Or - a political statement by the judges.  I don't have anything against the film but I think people should acknowledge that while it was good, it was not exactly awarded the highest honor at the festival on merit.  The film that "should" have won was Chan-wook Park's "Oldboy," and indeed it did win a more modest honor, the Jury prize, a sort of "People's Choice," as I see it.  In any case, "Oldboy" is soon to enjoy a worldwide release, and as I could not wait until then to see the film (it was actually released in South Korea in 2003), I managed to watch an imported region 0 DVD.
    Chan-wook Park decided a few years ago to make a trilogy.  The movies would not be related but would have a similar theme - revenge.  The first movie was "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance"- the title suggests a more whimsical film than you will be seeing.  The third is "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance," which is slated for release soon.  "Oldboy" was the second, and the first that I saw.  I will attempt to keep spoilers to a minimum but if you're pumped about this movie, better move on.  It concerns a man, Daesu, who in the first few minutes of the film disappears without a trace, to be incarcerated for 15 years in a strange room, with no reason given and no contact with the outside world.  One day he is released without a word, and begins to search for his persecutor.
    I won't put any more of the plot down because I'd like for people to experience it for themselves.  The movie is very well-written, and takes some brainwork to piece together - not on the order of Mulholland Drive or anything but it doesn't exactly spell it out for you.  One should also be aware that this movie doesn't hold back.  There is extremely intense and graphic violence and sex, and a lot of taboos broken that you hardly even see referred to in Hollywood.  That's part of what makes it great - it's telling a story with no regard for tact or what will sell.
    The visual style is very well done as well.  There is a little of everything, and all of it is handled with the same flair and technical prowess.  There is a fight scene that is done all in one shot that must have been nearly impossible to pull off, similar to the famous scene in Hard Boiled - two minutes of constant shooting.  There are a few digital effects but most are meant not to be seen - this isn't science fiction, nor fantasy - its an urban crime drama of sorts, and there is no need for a CG sidekick.  For example, one shot is framed with one character looking into a mirror, another farther away behind him, reflected in the mirror.  It's well composed and its only if you think about it that you realize that at that angle the camera should be in the picture.  So in this case a special effect was used only to make an shot the director wanted possible, and it's totally transparent (so to speak).
    The movie is long, complicated, and rather brutal, and I'm not sure how well it will go over here in the states.  I have a feeling critics will laud it but warn off weak-stomached potential moviegoers.  I won't say it's a shame, though, since really this kind of balls-out moviemaking isn't for everyone.  It's a bold, original story told in an extremely skillful way, much like "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," and not everybody is into that.  For those people who can handle it, though, it is a very rewarding movie experience.  Don't watch it with your mom.

David Lynch's Hotel Room

    "Hotel Room" was a short lived HBO show produced and sometimes directed by David Lynch.  There were three episodes, but according to my sources only one is worth a damn, and thats "Blackout."  All three shows take place in the same New York hotel room, at different points in time.  Blackout is in 1936 during a fierce storm which has knocked out all the lights.  There are three characters - a cheerful but ominous bellhop who is in all three shows, and a young man and his wife who are staying for the night.  The man is Crispin Glover, his wife a beautiful blonde girl whose name escapes me and is not listed in the cast - I think she is the dead girl from Twin Peaks.  Alicia Witt, it says in the intro.  Probably Lynch had a crush on her - he has a thing for blondes.  In any case, after being cautioned strongly not to leave the room by the bellhop, the husband sits next to his wife (who is covering her eyes) and after convincing her to open her eyes, they begin to talk.  The talk is telegraphic chatter, ranging from how nice the people at the Chinese food place were, to how they came all the way out from Oklahoma to see this doctor.  Over the course of the first few minutes, it becomes clear that his wife is quite mad.  She stares at everything, speaks  prophetic and frightening nonsense, and eventually freaks out with a candle.  The episode is about 45 minutes long, most of which is just their conversation on the couch.  It's one of those Lynchian things where you start to sweat and look for a reason to stop it but you don't know why.  Remember the videotapes in Lost Highway?  I could hardly look at the screen.  The conversation goes on and we begin to understand their relationship and why they're here, though I won't spoil anything for you - not that there is some big shocker at the end or anything, it's just better to go along for the ride.
    This isn't something you take home to momma, or just a casual thing.  It's probably a Lynch-fan only thing, or at least something for those sympathetic to his style of filmmaking.  People who have never seen any Lynch before will probably scratch their heads (nervously).  You can get used copies on Amazon or EBay, though I'm not sure how good they are - the copy my screencaps are from is just an avi, and you can tell it's probably 2nd-generation VHS.  If you see it in a clearance video pile somewhere, though, pick it up, it's rare and in any case is worth a watch.  Try your local weird video store.

Kung Fu Hustle

    I just watched an imported DVD of Kung Fu Hustle, the latest movie by Stephen Chow.  Chow did Shaolin Soccer, one of the largest Hong Kong cinema hits ever.  If you haven't seen it, see it now and don't read this, cause its a really great movie.  This movie is his follow-up, a bigger movie with a bigger budget, but still peanuts by Hollywood standards.  Shaolin Soccer cost $10 million, and this probably cost twice as much.  Of course, doing a lot with (comparatively) little is one of the things Hong Kong movies are known for.
    I won't spoil the plot, but the movie revolves around a poor place called Pig Sty Alley, where an austere landlord and landlady reign over a pitiful bunch of dirt-poor tenants.  Meanwhile, the biggest gang in town (The Axe Gang, a huge homage to Project A 2 and one of the best fight scenes ever) is beginning to take an interest in their little operation.  Of course, there's more to it than that.  Shaolin Soccer started as a bunch of scruffy misfits trying to play soccer and ended up an insane, over the top kung-foo-tball (best pun I could come up with) extravaganza.  This movie was more of a traditional Hong Kong actioner, though guns are only used briefly.  It's just as over the top but it seems less so because the martial arts are in a more commonplace context.
    In the end, it comes down to the fights.  There are lots, of course, and they are all top notch.  Various masters of chop socky talent face off, with lots of slightly cheesy but generally quite well done effects.  The narrativeis multithreaded and a little unfocused, but you generally know what's going on, and the translation I was reading was pretty good.  The jokes are genuinely funny, though mostly visual, and the characters are well done too - once again if you've seen Shaolin Soccer you know what I'm talking about.  Unfortunately Shaolin Soccer was delayed and edited into oblivion for the US release, and ended up with pretty poor attendance... probably because most of the people who would have gone to see it had already rented it or downloaded a copy.  I hope this will not be the case for Kung Fu Hustle.  Movies like House of Flying Daggers have shown that Westernization is not necessary to sell Asian movies any more; Crouching Tiger and the current anime craze have broken down the walls and changing the content to protect Americans from the original ideas is stupid and patronizing.  I'm not holding my breath, though, so in the meantime if you see a copy lying around the video store...definitely whup it up.

Heavy Metal Parking Lot

    On a trip through San Francisco a couple years ago some friends and I stopped over at another friend's house for some refreshments and such.  Mike, the resident there, insisted on showing us this video he had recently aquired, some completely random thing from 1986.  Here's the pitch: It's 1986, and these guys decided to go basically film the pre-partying going on in the parking lot of Capital Center in Largo, Maryland.  What follows is one of the most ridiculous human spectacles I have ever seen.  From the moment they pull in, people are cheering, holding up signs, and so on, and you think this is going to be funny.  The camera approaches one of the knots of people populating the lot.  The first shot of one of these knots shows a girl in a leopard leotard, 6-inch long earrings, and what appears to be an afro wig, a guy with no shirt wearing acid washed jeans, a chick with jewelled aviator sunglasses, and some scruffy dude whose hair looks like a bike helmet.  <--- The leotard girl raises her hand in the rock on/devil sign gesture and they move on.  Next there are more shirtless, helmetted, sunburnt, high life drinking, camaro driving hard rockers... Then they start to talk.  I believe you literally cannot imagine how incredibly country these fools are until you see and hear them for yourself.  One of these winners introduces himself: "I'm David Coby (?), 20 years old... I'm ready to rock." His girlfriend: "Dawn, 13."  Then they make out, only to interrupt themselves to yell "PRIEST!"
    That guy is probably the most mild of the bunch.  The first time we watched it we were too stunned to believe what we were seeing, so we had to watch it again, rewinding it for every jaw-drop-worthy comment or inflection. "Priest is the best, man.. and who comes...neHEXT?"  We watched that guy ---> say neHEXT maybe 10 times, no exaggeration.  Then there is the guy so far gone he can't even focus his eyes.  I can't even describe this man to you, it is just too cosmically impossible for someone to be that country.  You'll know him when you see him and if you don't , here's a hint: he plays a girl like a guitar after staring into space for like a minute.  It blows my mind that this stuff is totally real, and at the same time I know that nobody could ever write anything this brilliant, or get anyone to mortify himself like some of these guys do.  Please please watch it and tell your friends, this is brilliant comedy.
    You can watch the whole thing, and other stuff I've never seen (including another "parking lot" type movie) at the creator's site.  There is also an official HMPL site at the expected address where you can buy copies of it on VHS if you like that kind of thing.

La Jetée

    I don't know a lot about Chris Marker or his extensive filmography; all I've seen is this one short film he made in 1962.  You may have heard it referred to as the inspiration for Twelve Monkeys.  While that's true, it is rather a bad idea to write La Jetée off as a rough draft for that movie, or for that matter to write off Twelve Monkeys as a rehash of La Jetée.  They share a few key points but beyond that they are quite distinct from one another.
    La Jetée is about a man "marked by an image from his childhood."  It takes place in the near future, after World War III has irradiated the surface, where experiments are being done underground to send an emissary through time to seek help.  I won't reveal any more of the story because you are already either familiar with it or don't want it spoiled.  While it is certainly an interesting story, the best part of the short is it's composition.  La Jetée is a "Photo-roman", a sort of guided slideshow, composed (almost) entirely of still black-and-white photographs.  From the apocalyptic opening scenes of broken buildings in bombed-out Paris to simple pictures of a couple walking through a shady jardin, the photos are always well composed and reveal more, I think, than film might have in the same context.  Not that I have any means of comparison.  However, Marker avoids a sort of sci-fi audience disassociation problem (showing too much) with the time travel by only sort of implying it.  Instead of the protagonist walking into a big swirly ball, the shots alternate between him lying in a hammock underground in the lab with shots of peacetime fields, children, and the woman he is destined to meet there.
    In the middle of the movie, there is a series of shots of the woman dozing in bed, close-ups of her face.  Birds are chirping outside, and the shots see her progressively shift her position.  The bird noises multiply and compound upon one another and become louder and louder.  Then, in the last shot of her face, she opens her eyes and looks up at the camera.  This one piece of motion is easy to miss - there is a similar thing done in Blade Runner that I just noticed, years later - but it is very powerful, especially when she is suddenly replaced by the smug experimentor's face.  I know it is available on VHS at some places, and on DVD, but the DVD version has English narration which looks to be pretty bad.  I rented it several times, tried to buy it, and ended up downloading a very good copy which I will burn to my own DVD sometime soon.

Days of Heaven

    Terrence Malick is pretty much the least prolific filmmaker in the world.  He began his career with a film called Lanton Mills in 1969.  He gained widespread critical support for his 1974 movie, Badlands.  Then, in 1978, Days of Heaven.  After that, nothing ... for 20 years.  He then made The Thin Red Line, which came out while I was in high school and though I enjoyed it, I'm afraid I may have missed quite a bit of it.  Next year he will be releasing The New World, for which the stunning trailer is already out.
    Days of Heaven is an absolutely beautiful movie, as well as being affecting and simple.  It concerns three poor people from Chicago, a brother, his sister and his girlfriend, who are obliged to leave after the opening credits, which contain more sound than the rest of the movie combined.  They board a train and end up somewhere in the middle of a red state with hundreds of other vagabonds.  I won't go into detail about the story, if indeed it has details, but it is epic on a personal scale and well-written, by Malick himself.
    The most impressive thing about the film though is not the story, but the time and place.  It is shot in such a way that I was absolutely convinced that this was a real pre-WWI wheat farm.  There is no element which is out of place - the effect is a feeling of incredibe authenticity.  The cinematographer, whom Malick always works with, won an oscar for his efforts here.  A friend said that every shot could have been a painting, and it's true.  The content, framing, colors, people, everything is aesthetically flawless.  The other impressive part is the narration by the younger sister, a girl perhaps 12 years old but with a sort of detached wisdom I found kind of unnerving in the young actress.  She narrates the story when that needs to happen, or just drops in with a non sequitur like "The mountains are gonna go up in big flames, the water's gonna rise in flames. There's gonna be creatures runnin' every which way, some of them burnt, half of their wings burnin." or "I'm been thinkin' what to do with my future. I could be a mud doctor, checkin' out the earth underneath." out of nowhere.  It's strange and beautiful, and really quite short (95 minutes).  Watch it with your honey bun.