Kokuhaku

If someone were to confess something to you, how would you react?

After success in the West with Kamikaze Girls and the brilliant Memories of Matsuko, Tetsuya Nakashima returns with his now Oscar nominated Kokuhaku. And an intriguing return it is too. To start, the film feels disjointed and confused, in a fashion typical of the director, with switches between a noisy classroom and a musical number. But quickly the film draws in the audience as the first confession is revealed.

School teacher, Yuko, starts proceedings by opening up to her class about her husband’s contraction of HIV, their subsequent split, and her child’s death; though the film really starts once she reveals that the killer of her daughter lies among her pupils. What follows in an intense narrative, charting how this revelation goes on to affect those involved, resulting in their own confessions and tales of woe.

Never one for conventional techniques and styles, director Nakashima often cuts to slow-motion shots during the main confessions, before quickly moving to a mini-music video-style sequence, as in Memories of Mastuko. These well-paced shots (in high definition) give an intensity to the stories being told, breathing life to the words as they are spoken. Kokuhaku becomes a truly psychological piece from here on in, being both disturbing in visual and narrative, delving into the minds of the characters in a way reminiscent of All about Lily Chou-Chou, painting a worrying picture of today’s world.

If someone did you wrong, how would you react? This is the real strength of Kokuhaku: Leaving the viewer unsure as to how to take what is put before them. Should one sympathise, empathise or simply despise those involved? Each capable of wrong doing, yet similarly victims themselves, those confessing put forward their defence for their actions that they know will hard others, with good performances all round from the cast. If the film fails, it’s in that as more confessions are revealed, the more outrageous they become, gradually detracting from the intense impact they have at the start.

An eye for an eye; vengeance is Mine; Kokuhaku is a film that will leave you unsure as to whether to laugh or cry...I must confess, I don’t know which

Back to the Future: Japanese Cinema Since the Mid-90s

Once again, the Japan Foundation puts on its annual programme and I get all excited in certain parts of my anatomy. Themed, as they always are, this year’s programme focuses on the resurgence of Japanese cinema from the mid-90s, looking at some lesser-known works by some of the biggest directors currently working in Japan.


Offering the chance to see some films that would normally not be released in the UK, I thought I’d make the conscious effort to see as many as possible this year, rather than the usual one or two I typically make it to.


Cure

A series of people are found dead, an ‘X’ carved into their chests, killed at the hands of perfectly normal and calm individuals whom freely admit their part in the crime. The investigating detective uncovers the connection to these murders: a former student, now suffering from amnesia that has a talent for disturbing those with whom he comes into contact with his series of questions about the life they lead.


Coming two years after the release of Se7en, it’s easy to draw comparisons between Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s protagonist and Kevin Spacey’s master plan, with a similar narrative throughout. But that’s not to say Cure is a simple rip-off; the amnesiac’s motivations much different, with no grand conclusion as in Se7en.


A major film in the lesser-known Kurosawa’s career, Cure has a tense and psychological feel throughout, exploring the life of the detective more than the man he chases. With the dirty and grimy look that I like in many Japanese films of the 90s, moving along nicely, planting seeds in the mind of the viewer...though maybe not murderous ones.


The Bird People of China

A few days before going to see this, I watched Dead or Alive; incorporating more into the opening six minutes than the entire archive of Hollyoaks episodes. Much like many of Takashi Miike’s films it’s insane, violent and covered in blood. So The Bird People of China is a surprising piece to come from one of the most known Japanese directors in the West.


A Japanese businessman is sent to rural China to investigate a jade discovery near a small village, followed by a yakuza, keen for the businessman’s company to pay their debts for their dodgy dealings. So far, so Miike. But on arrival in the village, the pair unearth more than jade, finding – in true cinema style – greater treasures that money can’t buy.


The Bird People of China is a good example of exactly what the Japan Foundation were trying to achieve: showing a more unusual work by a big name, that you would normally miss when looking through his oeuvre. Takashi Miike is shown as more than just a gore king, showing the ability to craft an interesting story of personal discovery. Not the best film from his extensive career, but The Bird People of China is certainly a good selection to include, giving the opportunity to see a film easily missed in the UK.


Josee, the Tiger and the Fish

Now here’s a rarity: what would be classified as a more mainstream Japanese film being shown in the UK. Focusing on the love life of a dashing, young student, Isshin Inudo’s work is a relatively standard piece, journeying through ups and downs and various life lessons along the way. But thankfully, the Japanese mainstream isn’t Hollywood, and so ‘She’s All That’ this ain’t.


Student and part-time mah-jong croupier, Tsuneo, is clearly the type that likes to have his way with the odd young lady or two. But on bumping – literally – into an old lady and her disabled granddaughter, Kumiko, he soon finds his life changed as gradually he falls for the moody, but intriguing girl, breaking many a heart along the way.


With a good sense of humour, likeable enough characters and a number of little cameos (YosiYosi Arakawa, woo hoo), Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and should be enjoyed as such. The less-than-fairytale ending gives it a good edge, making it a little more rewarding than any old mainstream love affair.


Linda, Linda, Linda

Silly...juvenile...overambitious...but that’s enough about the Tory government. Linda, Linda, Linda is the tale of a group of high school girls looking to play a gig at their school festival and the obstacles that they have to overcome before getting there. To start, they need to find a vocalist after some broken bones and bitchiness force some reshuffling in the line-up. Secondly, the vocalist they do find is Korean and not too sharp on speaking Nihon-go, let alone singing in the language. Thirdly, there is a bit of a lack of talent all round, requiring practice, practice, practice. Left exhausted, the four girls nearly miss their performance, but in true Hollywood fashion make the gig and give the performance of a high school lifetime.


Hopelessly predictable, Linda, Linda, Linda isn’t exactly a complicated or life-changing story, but it doesn’t ever try to be. Focusing more on humour and the music, Nobuhiro Yamashita’s film is a light-hearted comedy about high school life, made by both Bae Doo Na‘s (though unfortunately not getting her baps out) performance as the hapless and often confused Korean, Son; and the catchy title track by The Blue Hearts. The slightly sentimental and predictable ending but don’t spoil the enjoyment too much, and you’ll happily find yourself looking-up Linda, Linda on YouTube.


Go

It’s fair to say the modern world is a diverse and varied place. Isao Yukisada uses various different techniques and styles throughout Go, a story about a Japanese-born North Korean, struggling to come to terms with his own identity. Giving up the authoritarian life of his North Korean school, switches to a Japanese school, finding just as many troubles in the modern, capitalist world.


While not always engaging, the changing of styles and momentum throughout the film keep the viewer’s attention span from ever waning, mixing violence, comedy, love and drama. Yosuke Kubozuka, with his ever-changing haircuts, gives a good performance in the lead role as a man struggling to find his place in this crazy, modern world.


Sawako Decides

When the opening scene is a shot of a woman getting colonic irrigation, one can only hope that the next 112 minutes aren’t just having shit pumped in your general direction. While there is some spreading of human sewage, to say that Sawako Decides is all shit would be harsh.


Charting the distinctly average life of indecisive and alcoholic Sawako as she quits her Tokyo life to take over her sick father’s business, this is a typical Japanese comedy: with unusual characters, each with their own quirks, and situations that leave the viewer – as well as the cast – dumbfounded. Fitting into the same mould of recent works such as Turtles are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, Fine, Totally Fine and Instant Swamp, the film is rarely serious, breaking up any danger of sombre moments with instant stupidity.


A nice way to end the festival with idiotic fun, relatively new director Yuya Ishii represents the future of Japanese cinema and a continuation of Japan’s recent wave of unique comedies.


Six of the seven film s seen, I have to say they were all pretty good and if you’re unfortunate enough to live in Belfast, Edinburgh, Bristol, Sheffield or Nottingham, maybe you should check it out.


The one film I didn’t get round to seeing was One Million Yen Girl, as I realised that this equates to little more than just over five grand...

View (De La Soul)

Came into my head today and noticed that no one had put it up on YouTube, so I decided to.

Photo from Hampstead Heath...