Gozu (spoiliers)

lodgepole

Just to keep the other thread on topic...

I was incredibly disapointed with Gozu today, it was the same kind of nonsensical **** that Lynch tried to pass off as art in Eraserhead. Miike is a talented guy, I just wish he'd stop making these kind of strange for the sake of strange films. I'm curious as to whether all his films are like that, or whether it's only the ones that get shipped over here.

Also; Lodgepole, your comparison of Gozu with Eraserhead is ridiculous, if you absolutely have to compare it to a Lynch film, at least make it vaguely feasible. Mulholland Dr. for example, had some elements in common with Gozu....

It's not ridiculous at all, I wasn't making narrative comparisons, I was saying that they were both strange for the sake of being strange. You could almost say the same about Mulholland Dr. except that it's vaguely compelling whereas both Eraserhead and Gozu are complete poo. I only brought up Lynch because he's a talented director who managed to move away from something like Eraserhead and use that talent well*.

edit to add... if this conversation goes further, it probably deserves it's own thread rather than bringing this one further off topic...



* and because Miike himself very often mentions him as an influence

OK, that's fair enough, but can you really call Eraserhead "strange for the sake of being strange" just because it's a bit hard to follow?

Not at all, I don't mind when films are hard to follow. In fact it's usually a sign of a film that will have staying power. I don't think any of Lynch's films could be described as easy to follow with the exception of Dune and The Straight Story. I just don't see any merit in what he did with Eraserhead. I saw some inklings of talent that he definitely expanded upon in his later work (which I mostly enjoy).

I thought the same of Gozu. At one point I thought he was going to bring it all back to reality by having the female Ozaki turn out to be a an assassin and she would kill Azamawari. That he would have used his mind games over his brother to allow her to infiltrate the gang and assassinate him. With that plot line and some slight toning down (and shortening) of the more surreal (but pointless) sections, it could have been quite a good film. It's not unusual to watch a film and not realise you were enjoying it until the very end. I had been hoping that would happen. It didn't...

The ending he used took about ten minutes from the time Minami took out his cock to the time of the final pop in the birthing sequence. Like somebody mentioned in the other thread, that scene caused a number of walkouts. It's not the explicitness that got to me, it was the fact that it was completely and utterly ludicrous. Nothing about the scene had anything to do with what had preceded it. There was no end to the film, there was just a scene that screamed out "look how ****ed I am". ****ed up it was, entertaining it was not.

I'll continue to watch Miike's films though because i'm convinced he's capable of a lot more than i've seen from him. I've yet to see Visitor Q but I haven't heard great things, and I really want to see Full Metal Yakuza.

Gonzo

Lodgepole wrote:

I'll continue to watch Miike's films though because i'm convinced he's capable of a lot more than i've seen from him. I've yet to see Visitor Q but I haven't heard great things, and I really want to see Full Metal Yakuza.

Visitor Q is bloody awfull, I normally love his movies but this was just terrible, this is definitely his most shocking movie but that doesnt make this a good movie at all. Full Metal Yakuza was quite good, well worth a look.

Raoul Duke

Gonzo wrote:

Visitor Q is bloody awfull, I normally love his movies but this was just terrible, this is definitely his most shocking movie but that doesnt make this a good movie at all. Full Metal Yakuza was quite good, well worth a look.

I have to disagree with you there. I thought Visitor Q was very funny. Obviously it's not a movie you'd bring home to your mother but I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the absurdity and the rising bizarness (sp?) of it. Also, it was made for only $70,000 apparently (if I remember rightly) which just goes to show what the man can do with some change.

I enjoyed Full Metal Yakuza as well. Can't comment on Gozu as I haven't seen it yet and it doesn't look like I will catch it in the UGC Unless it lasts another week, which I doubt.

Raoul Duke

Well A Tale of Two Sisters is a good film. Unfortunately I've already seen it. I suppose I'll just have to see Gozu on the small screen.

Also, Zebraman has just been released on DVD. Unfortunately it doesn't have any English subtitles.