Way Out East

One that nearly passed me by, the Raindance Film Festival hit London, with some slightly obscure Japanese films on the bill. Entitled, ‘Way Out East’ the films shown certainly were that, with the festival offering the chance to see some of the weird and wonderful new films from Japan.

Unable to get round to seeing all 11 films on the bill, I got round to seeing 4 of the offerings, with mixed results…

Youth 2: Come As You Are

I don’t think I read the premise for my first film at the Raindance Festival correctly. The title, ‘Come As you Are’ is quite literal, focusing on a man’s PE problem and his excessive masturbation in order to reach the magical 15 minutes duration before point of load releasing. For this, he enlists the help of his female flatmate and a sock.

Cue many a humorous scene and many a shot of the naked arse of the lead, who happened to be sat a couple of rows behind me, along with the director and female co-star for its international premiere. But far from just a wanking comedy, there is also a tragic element here about a man that works in a video shop who lies about an acting career and spends the majority of his time bashing the bishop, missing the youth that flashes before his eyes.

Fair play to the director, Kota Yoshida, for admitting that the film was based on his own fast download speeds after the screening of a fairly enjoyable watch. It’s unlikely that this will ever reach a wider audience in the UK, but I think that any fan of the Inbetweeners would LOL at this.

Sleep

‘Sleep’ is a film that it would be easy to sleep through; though at the same time, it is not. A dark, slow-paced film, it would very much facilitate the closing of eyes while sat in a darkened cinema. But, the various plot holes, controversial subject matter and character decisions at the same time can provoke thought and debate.

Raped as a 15 year old girl, we are taken forward 17 years to Kotono’s search for the man who raped her: the father of her daughter. Forced into prostitution to fund the search, ‘Sleep’ follows the life of an unconventional family set-up.

With overly sentimental scenes, the films seems to force emotion on the viewer, rather than allow it to come naturally. Also, the plot holes and stranger scenes can create confusion with some less-than-great storytelling. The film is well shot, with some good cinematography on display in some of Tokyo’s less desirable districts and the film should create enough topics for discussion to make it a worthy watch; just don’t lose any sleep over it.

The Whistler

Based on a story by Osamu Dazai, ‘The Whistler’ is a short by Tsukamoto Shinya of ‘Tetsuo’ fame; the first of 2 shorts dubbed ‘Kaidan Horror Classics’. A period piece about 2 sisters and their loves, this is rather strange territory for me for Tsukamoto, and the result feels likewise. The story never really gets going, with random bits thrown in here and there, and while we get a sense of the characters, this only feels touched on and never goes deeper.

This just didn’t really work for me, which is a shame as I am a fan of much of Tsukamoto’s work.

The Arm

‘The Arm’ is the second of the two ‘horror classics’ and leaves me with no idea where to start. This is pure bizarre! A man borrows a woman’s arm for an evening of bedroom antics, sneaking it home to his flat intending depravity. But, once the arm starts conversing with him, he ends in a discussion with it that I really couldn’t follow.

What was intended here, I have no idea…

I never thought I would ever say this, but if you have a choice between a film about a detachable arm, lovelorn sisters, rape revenge or excessive masturbation, pick the excessive masturbation one every time. It’s the only choice…