Shunji Iwai and Japanese Cinema

nadir

I'm getting stuck into Japanese cinema again, but this time moving away from the 'cult' directors like Kitano and Miike, Having recently watched 4 Jdoramas (orange Days, KuKu Kuyoshi, Summer Snow and Gokushen) I came to the conclusion I find I get more from watching material which concentrates directly on character depth and emotion rather than Yakuza type action films. Obviously there are exceptions to this, Hanbai and dolls for example really were great, but sometimes while I'm watching a Miike film for example, I find I am stretching my imagination just a little too far to try to make reason from the madness. All of the dramas mentioned above are quite cheesy, melodramatic and at times downright silly but have all left we wanting more, so I turn to Popular Japanese Cinema for inspiration XD.

First off I would like to say , Shunji Iwai is a god, I've only seen 3 of his movies so far but all were top class material, as in 10/10 imho. Coming from a musicvideo & jdorama background his films are more like 2 hours of musicvideo, fluid, visually beautiful, initially disjointed but masterfully mixed together by story and music.

Two of the More Famous Films are Hana to Arisu and All about Lily chou chou

Hana and Alice is a warm story about the friendship of two Girls, Hana's infatuation with a man she shes on the train while going to school, and how her relationship with Alice evolves when Alice gets caught up in Hana's obsession. Although initially the focus is on Hana, and the story revolves around her love triangle, ultimately the real emotional depth comes through Alice, her inability to expressing herself, the distant but deep relationship with her father while trying to deal with her unguided and frivolous mother. So whether my description makes you want to see this movie or you just like to watch japanese schoolgirls doing ballet , I highly recommend this.

All about Lily Chou Chou takes a much darker look at the life of growing up in modern Japan, like Hana and Alice it's also very visually pleasing, but also disturbing, magnified by the beautiful way it is shot. This Film is about the ether , the ether that is Lily's music, what we get from the ether, how we interpret it, how it manifests itself in our characters and how it grows who we are. That might not make very much sense at all, but it's possibly the only way I can describe the brilliance of this movie.
Almost the entire film is bound with irc like chat messages, joining together the experiences of a group of highschool kids over about a year, it deals all sorts of topics, bullying, revenge, prostitution, suicide etc. But amazingly makes no direct statements whatsoever about anything, it's simply about the ether and leaves it all completely up the viewers to decide on what the message is. Its a bit of an emotional roller coaster, so be ready XD, for example, I found this film much more disturbing than say 'Ichi the Killer' even though it has relatively little violence. The suicide episode alone was more touching than perhaps anything I have seen in quite a while, on this note another film that deals with this topic is Ao no hono-o, or The Blue Light, gives an insight into what can drive someone to take their own life, quite an excellent film all in all.

Id like to know what people think of these films, if you have already seen either or others like an 'april story' and 'love letter'

There is also an 8 dvd korean box set coming out
http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/002775.html

it's definitely going on my list

Also last night I saw a film by Isao Yukisada, sekai no chushin de ai wo sakebu.
This ones a real tearjerker, possibly the most emotionally fuelled film I have ever seen, even more emotional than watership down XD. It borders just on the line of being OTT romance, but never once crosses it, partially because of the serious nature of the topic, leukaemia, but moreover because it absorbs the viewer into the main character and takes you on an absurdly realistic journey of his youth. I felt completely compelled watching this, it never lets up, and I think it pulls off what loss feels like better than any movie I have seen before. I can't get some of the scenes out of my head, and I know I'll be thinking about it for a good time yet. Isao Yukisada has worked closely with Shinji Iwai and I think it shows, the film has the same type of fluidity but also is distinctively different, since I havn't seen any other Yukisada movies I cant yet distinguish his style, but some scenes are truly gripping, I'll definitely be on the lookout for his name.

so if yer in the video store, and happen to come across any of these, give em a try.

Lochaber

Well, just a quick reply.. I watch a fair bit of Japanese cinema - Miike, Kitano Kurosawa being the obvious directors and quite a bit of anime though I wouldn't say I'm that up on it, a fair number of Chinese films and a few Korean too... but anyway, I have seen All About Lily Chou Chou.

I can't say I was mad about it... it was all very interesting conceptually and beautifully shot, a dreamy roller coaster if you willl. However at the end of the day, for me, there wasn't enough to pull me through the 2 and a half hours or so... perhaps I haven't put that properly... a lot of things happened, it touched on many issues but I didn't feel the "thread" of the movie was strong enough to hold all the elements together... I guess I'm saying that I thought parts of it got lost in the "ether" though if I could think of another word for it I would because I'm feeling pretty lame right now

Maybe I should give it another chance though, I did get the feeling that it was the kind of film that would benefit from a second viewing, I think it would be easier to fully absorb the imagery when you know where it's going. I've got a lot of films on the "to watch" list so it might be a while, will consider adding his other 2 though!

nadir

Yeah it's true, actually I do like long drawn out films, that take me on a big trip, where you can just get absorbed into it. I find alot of my mates get bored to tears watching some of the movies I like, these movies do kinda drag a bit, but not that bad, if you like, just chill and watch it, it flows nice and fast.
Not sure which parts of the story you felt didnt fit into the whole ether theme? just the story in general ? dunno maybe, I kinda thought the character progression went well with the ether !
hehe, it's funny, only people who have seen it will have a clue what were talking about XD
yeah I'd advise watching it again , I'm totally going to give it another go soon too.
It's wierd like that though, some movies just kinda hit me, like say 'dare mo shiranai' seems to have been better received by the critics, I really liked it, but its ultra realistic directing style didn't have the same impact on me, the whole dreamy visual style seems to sink in better with me.

Lochaber

To be honest it was a while ago and I can't remember the specifics, what scenes in particular, though I do remember that it was some of the minor characters that I felt could have been dealt with more... but then again it's up to the writer/director to decide where they want the focus not me! I guess I really will have to watch it again though... I don't mind drawn out films generally, it just depends on the film and probably the mood I'm in at the time... Dare mo shiranai sounds interesting, are you renting these films somewhere or buy them?

Also have you seen Miike's Ley Lines?

nadir

buy and download, some of them are impossible to get, and others are only available on sites like www.cdjapan.co.jp and www.yesasia.com
buying there can work out at between 30 and 50 euros a dvd, which is rather expensive , beyond my funds tbh, although I do end up buying as much as I can. Im waiting for the Shunji Iwai boxset, I have only bought 'all about lily chou chou', can't wait to buy the set though.
I get some of em from chinese tracker sites and the likes, got to download subs separately.
I havn't seen Ley Lines (good?), its on my Miike todo list along with Sabu and a few others.

Karl Hungus

Hmm... I've heard good things about All About Lily Chou Chou, but I've yet to get around to seeing it.

If you like films that are more about characterization and depth, and you haven't seen it already, I heartily recommend The Twilight Samurai.

Scratch Acid

All About Lily Chou Chou is an interesting movie. The guy who played Hoshino in it is a good actor. He's excellent in Blue Spring. To the OP: One J-dorama I would highly recommend is GTO, although I suppose you've seen it already. I prefer it to the anime version myself.