Boy (Kitano Takeshi)
I often read about Kitano being a modern-day renaissance man, adding
painting, writing and everything else possible to his more famous film and
comedy work. But apart from some of his artwork appearing in his films, I had
never actually consumed any of it.
‘Boy’ is my first dip into one of his many other sides, but is fairly
typical of some of the themes present in his films, if you take ‘his films’ to
mean ‘Kids Return’. But I’m being facetious. ‘Boy’ is three, very simple short
stories about 3 boys growing up in Japan. There is nothing particularly
ground-breaking here, but simple tales about how young men find themselves in
the world. The simplicity seems to mirror his script writing: starting with
a basic story and watching it evolve as
the film is made.
But they are nice enough stories, showing the Kitano is a man with many
talents, though maybe creating something visual is where his real skill lies.
Days to read: 5
Days per book: 15.7
Lush Life (Richard Price)
I read the Richard Price novel 'Clockers' and found it to be brilliant
- definitely one of the best books I have read in recent times. But, while
good, the two subsequent books of his I have read have gradually decreased in
quality. 'Samaritan' was the next read, followed now by 'Lush Life'.
'Lush Life' is very much a variation on a theme from 'Clockers' and 'Samaritan':
Once again an innocent man is hounded by the police who believe his story to be
false. It starts well, drawing the reader in, as Price is skilled at doing.
However, where 'Clockers' and 'Samaritan' switch mainly between the stories of
two lead characters, 'Lush Life' seems to continually switch between various
different characters in bite-size chunks. Like a Dan Brown novel, this makes it
easy to read, but does become difficult to keep you interested, constantly
switching between characters with every other page.
While another overall satisfying read, it just doesn't draw me in as
much as 'Clockers', and with lots of side stories for the various characters
starts to drag going passed the half-way point. But, that said, you always get
your money's worth with Price.
Days to read: 20
Days per book: 15.7
Each of Us (Ben Moor)
After reading ‘More Trees to Climb’, all I wanted to do was see Ben
Moor live. That isn’t all I wanted to do, of course; some toilet breaks were
necessary. So, on hearing that his latest show was coming to a Tube station
near me, I jumped at the chance to do something more interesting on a Sunday
evening.
After the performance, I got a copy of ‘Each of Us’ signed by the rather shy and flustered Mr Moor. Reading it within a week or so of seeing the show, I was of course reading the script of what I had just seen performed. I, therefore, read it in the manner of the performance (in my head! That would just look peculiar on the Tube), picking up some of the clever wordplay that I missed live.
Seeing the story performed live and reading the book are two separate
things that can both be equally enjoyed. Whether watching the performance or
reading the never-ending puns, both are pretty damned splendiferous.
Days to read: 4
Days per book: 15.6
Flowering Blood: The Cinema of Takeshi Kitano (Sean Redmond)
On seeing ‘Flowering Blood’ come up online as a ‘suggestion’ of
something I might like to purchase, I thought ‘what the flip, give it a go.’
But should have realised that there is little to really add to the analysis of
the films of Kitano Takeshi beyond what has already been written. And lo, this
proved the case.
Coventry-born Redmond’s analysis starts off fine enough, seeing the
world through the eyes of a starry-eyed film fan, making a pilgrimage to Japan
in search of the film locations he so loves. But, being an academic text, it
soon becomes lost in its own sense of over-explanation. At times, it feels more
a collection of different theories thrown together than a real look at his
work, and struggles to grab the attention enough.
While there are a couple of additional bits of light shed on the films,
it relies a little too much on the works of previous authors, not justifying
its overall length, focusing more at academic theory than the films themselves.
Days to read: 11
Days per book: 15.5
Iron Man: The Cinema of Shin'ya Tsukamoto (Tom Mes)
For some reason - probably the recent re-release of both 'Tokyo Fist'
and 'Bullet Ballet' in the UK by the excellent Third Window Films - I have been
watching a lot of the films of Shin'ya Tsukamoto recently. In turn, this has
prompted me to read Tom Mes' book charting his films up-to-and-including
'Vital'.
My previous reading of the works of Mes came with his two analyses of the
works of Miike Takashi: one good, one less so. Luckily this falls under the
former, charting his youth as an amateur filmmaker, experimenting with his
brother, through his theatre days and working as an advertising director right
through to his internationally recognised 'A Snake of June' and 'Vital'.
'Iron Man', the name of the film that first brought him fame, is an
appropriate name for this analysis. His films always tend to be on the more
extreme side, favouring fast camera work and graphic violence throughout, never
letting up for a moment. And this is exactly how he works, not just as a
director, but writer, actor, editor, cameraman and just about everything else
that is required in the making of a film. Telling the story of how he works
non-stop to produce and finance his films shows an all-round filmmaker doing
whatever it takes to get a film completed.
Days to read: 10
Days per book: 15.5
