Pluto

When watching school teacher-turned-director Su Won Shin's 'Pluto', you feel like you have to account for some cultural differences. Watching it as a days of black and white British person, the film can feel a little too extreme and almost unbelievable at moments. But written and directed by a former school teacher, the high school drama serves as a social comment on school systems in South Korea whether accepting the way the plot unfolds or not.

Jun has transferred from a humble background to an elite school, where competition for school grades is of utmost importance in gaining both acceptance, respect and future prospects. If enough of a nerd to reach the school's top ten students, you get to sit in a 'special class' with additional privileges that come with it. In his jealousy of school top boy, the American-raised (though not fat) Yujin, June starts to take steps into the violent and dangerous world of achieving good grades at school.

To start the film is relatively black and white: with the murder of his classmate, of whom he is known to be jealous, Jun is questioned by the police as to his involvement in between flashbacks of his arrival and subsequent outcast status within the school. But as the film progresses, the motivations of the characters become more and more difficult to empathise with, being from a country where discussing your most recent hangover seems to dominate academic achievement in school.

The life and death nature of being part of the school's elite seems very alien, and the lengths that people will go to achieve and maintain it require some level of faith from the audience that this is the case, and not just shock tactics forming part of lazy film-making. But, with extracts form teenage student suicide notes and home videos of students featured, along with Su Won Shin's own admission that things can get much more severe, it's clear that 'Pluto' is borne out of a different society to my own.

More bombastic elements aside, 'Pluto' is a very solid work from a rather novice writer-director, exploring some interesting themes running throughout everyday life for students, the titular 'outsider' status one of them. In 'Pluto', pain and obsession reign, feeling 4.67 billion miles from Luton Sixth Form College. 

Terracotta Far East Film Festival 2014

Improving on last year's poor performance of making just one single screening at the Terracotta Far East Film Festival, I made it to a whopping two of the various offerings this year. Seeing a Korean film last year, this year I decided to complete the 'Holy Trinity' (not Browns, The Griffine and The Flying Scotsman), by seeing one Japanese and one Hong Kong/China production.

Avoiding convention and putting second things first, the closing film of the festival was 'Judge!' by debutant director Akira Nagai. Kiichiro, our undoubted hero, is a hapless employee at a Japanese advertising agency. Loathed by the majority of those he works with, the ad concepts he works on repeatedly fail to impress and his future with the company is endlessly in doubt. With pressure from a  major client to fix the voting at an international advertising grand prix, one of the agency chiefs decides to send Kiichiro the California, knowing his failure will justify his desired dismissal. Finding nothing but dishonesty and corruption (what?! in advertising?!) within the judging, Kiichiro is left disillusioned with the industry he chose as a career path.

But, this is a comedy, so everything works out well in the end...of course.

Nagai and script writer Yoshimitsu Sawamoto both work as advertising directors, with the vast majority of what happens claimed as being 'based on true events.' But on watching 'Judge!', it's clear that both exaggeration and artistic license are added to this reality. What this is is an enjoyable mainstream romp of a film: there is nothing here to be taken seriously, despite its attempts at moral messages, with a cast of big names and enough laughs throughout.

Perhaps the film's failings are in that it is a film about advertising, directed by an advertising director. Advertising relies on stereotypes and exaggeration, with which this film is chock-full. National stereotypes are played up, with manga-esque characters flirting with the farcical. But this isn't meant to be anything more than it is - it has Yoshiyoshi Arakawa and Lily Franky in it.

First things second, the other film viewed was poor-man's kung-fu megastar Donnie Yen's 'Special ID'. This is very much standard Donnie Yen fayre for me: a lot of action, little real need for plot and leaves you feeling entertained, not deep in contemplative thought.

Playing an undercover policeman who has been written by someone who has seen 'Infernal Affairs', Yen travels to the mainland from Hong Kong to track down an old acquaintance and essentially bring him down.  Cue some pretty impressive fight scenes (some interesting mixed-martial arts action) and some nicely filmed action scenes and you have your lot. Much like many action films you can watch these days, there is a sense that you can feel desensitised to what you see before you. But, every now and again, I do get the sense of having seen some well done stunt work that does need some applauding. This has that: while not exactly groundbreaking, it does deserve some recognition in parts. With Donnie Yen, you get what you pay for.

With the previous Terracotta Far East Film Festivals I've been to in the past, I know I've not exactly seen the best of the best of Asian cinema. The films are always entertaining, but never outstanding. But I never feel that's the aim of the festival. With emphasis on leading more mainstream offerings, director and actor Q&As and having a beer and some dim sum by the end of it, they are always as much about the gathering than the films themselves, with the chance to meet, greet and discuss and that's never a bad thing.    

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

Prequels are usually pointless, telling storylines that we already know and cashing-in on the popularity of previous films. If you look at it from this perspective, which I am, prequels are often lazy attempts to milk that cash cow dry!

Any new GITS (haha, gits) variation, therefore, is always going to be compared to what came before it - supposedly what comes after it. The original films by Mamoru Oshii are standards by which a lot of anime is set, complemented by the two strong 'GITS: Stand Alone Complex' series by Kenji Kamiyama. So, as I've stated I'm going to do this, I will compare the new incarnations to the previous works, because I'm like that.

To start, the look of the animation and character design is very much more aligned with the 'Stand Alone Complex' TV series and this is not necessarily a bad thing. The lead characters have obviously been designed to look younger, with the greatest age difference seeming to come in Major Kusunagi's character, looking more like an obnoxious schoolgirl than anything.

Secondly: the sound. Whether the previous films or TV series, the music has always been strong in 'Ghost in the Shell', but here it is altogether more bizarre. 'Stand Alone Complex' had good music, but was a big step down from Kenji Kawai's original soundtracks. And the 'GITS: Arise' offerings are a further step down. The opening credits are what sounds like the result of a fan staying up all night on their computer with some completely non-descript pieces throughout. With the opening credits, immediately you feel that this is not going to be as good as what came before.

Lastly, the storylines: With both 'Border 1: Ghost Pain' and 'Border 2: Ghost Whispers', the storylines are quite political and quite uninteresting. Neither particularly grabs the attention and can lead to moments of distraction along the way. Perhaps the problem is the duration of these prequels. At around fifty minutes each, they do not offer the ability to delve as deep as the films, nor offer bite-size storylines in a more grand arc, like 'Stand Alone Complex'.

For me, this is probably the key failing. Oshii's films were visual feasts, offering moments of reflection and philosophy in between lavish pieces of animation, getting into the psychology of its characters. The two TV series also developed interesting storylines over their twenty-six episodes. Depth and detail are what made 'Ghost in the Shell' so interesting. 'Arise' just seems to lack this a little.

All-in-all, the 'Arise' series of prequels just doesn't create enough interest, other than being a new take on a well-established franchise. They will always be compared to what came before them: it will always happen. One can only hope the next instalment, 'Ghost Tears' will offer something more. But currently, they feel little more than a couple of 'GITS: SAC' episodes - and not particularly your favourites - that don't do quite enough to stand alone. 

The Wind Rises

I think 'Howl's Moving Castle' was the first feature-length film that was announced as being Miyazaki's last. But ten years and two feature films later, has the great director finally decided to call it a day? With 'Ponyo' since being his second last ever film, now 'The Wind Rises' is the next film to make the claim and, given its subject matter and style, is probably as good a place as any to call it a day.

Telling the story of real-life human: Japanese aeronautics engineer Horikoshi Jiro, designer of Japanese fighter planes used during the Second World War. Now, this is always going to be a touchy subject matter to tackle and would seemingly be a move away from his previous films. However, Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki himself have previously made films as serious and adult in theme as this. But what this does mean is that some of the more mythical elements of his previous films are not present.

With a brief look at his childhood years, the film quickly moves to his time at University before his starting work at the Mitsubishi Internal Combustion Engine Company, where he would start to design war planes. But, fear not. This is not a biopic that could have been made as a live-action film full of dull moments. Looking at his dreams, we follow Jiro's desire to create beautiful flying machines from a young age. But, as the film progresses and the reality of designing planes as an engineer during war time, the dreams become visions of the destruction his creations will bring. Numerous references are made to life's ironies throughout, and this is the one apparent by the film's conclusion.

While all of his film's have an appeal to adults as well as children, 'The Wind Rises' feels more adult: less happy in its ending and more along the lines of Ghibli's other wartime film, 'Grave of the Fireflies'.

But, the magic is still there. 'The Wind Rises' is positive in its telling of a boy's dream to create what he loves and how Jiro's intentions were only ever to do good, rather than a desire to destroy, ending with an emotional finale, feeling an appropriate place for Miyazaki to call it a day. But, as 'Howl's Moving Castle' and 'Ponyo' have proved, never say 'never.'

Every 14 Days...(20)

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

The Grand Budapest Hotel

So, I have to admit, the main motivation for seeing this film is that the woman I fall asleep with and wake up next to each day is Hungarian. But, of course, this has as much to do with Budapest as Hungary do with the World Cup in Brazil this summer. Title aside, this is the new film from Bill Murray director, Wes Anderson: he of oddball comedy film fame, mainly those featuring everyone's favourite Ghostbuster, however small his role may be.

The story starts with Jude Law - I know, but don't let that put you off - as a post-war resident of the legendary Grand Budapest Hotel. Intrigued by the hotel's past, he discusses the story of how the hotel came into the hands of its owner, Zero Moustafa, over dinner, leading to the tale of its former concierge, M. Gustave. With Gustave's liking for the older variety of lady, he finds himself caught in a battle for a former lover's inheritance with her children, Zero tagging along. Imprisonment, murder and high-speed skiing chases follow.

With the likes of 'In Bruges' in the past, it's always good to see Ralph Fiennes in a film that allows him to deliver a good comedy script. In 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' he again gets that opportunity as M. Gustave, with the film well written as the plot unfolds and keeps the audience entertained. The dialogue is sharp and funny, but in keeping with the European wartime setting, flowing well throughout.

Added to the strong script are an interesting animated approach to some of the shots, reflecting Anderson's production of a full animated version before filming the final cut. This is a film with a lot of style.

Having a cast of leads, each character seems to be very much 'introduced' into the story, with certain moments almost feeling like a trailer of who is involved. However small the role, much of the cast is Hollywood A-List in cameo form which treads that awkward line of wonder as to whether that's due to the strength of the script or the friends of the director. With so many stars, Anderson gives each their moment in the limelight, with all getting an almost point-of-view monologue to camera. All are also allowed to speak in their native accent, wherever they're from, with American accents rubbing shoulders with English and French under a range of European names. But this doesn't detract from the film, and only adds to its fictional geography.

'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is definitely one of Anderson's stronger films, if not his strongest, and will no doubt go on to add to its awards. Even a disappointed Hungarian would agree...

Dawn of Time (Kowloon)

'Dawn of Time' by Kowloon from that ol' favourite, 'Raw Material' that I found in Nagoya. Photos from summer 2013 in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary...Noise making...