Change Your Image
day_viewing
Reviews
Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King (1993)
Half-Japanese- The Greatest Band you've never heard of
Truth is stranger than fiction, but fiction pretending to be truth can be funnier. Or at least, that's the earnest hope for this dry-as-melba-toast mockumentary. Taking on the highly ironic tones of the independent hipster scene, the movie purports to tell the story of Jed and David Fair as the band Half-Japanse, from parents-bedroom recorded music tapes to their first contract, with a British label for a 3 box EP. Their lack of musical ability is no obstacle to worldwide underground fame. The movie is so earnest, and so without laughs beyond an in-the-know smirk, that you may not even clue in that this is a mockumentary, although about an actual band.
The movie is one of those hipster-insider jokes, by which they congratulate themselves on being in the know and secretly smirking in superiority at anyone who doesn't get the joke. And the joke, dear viewer, is on you.
A Girl Is a Girl (1999)
Definitely French New-wave
This film is pretty good actually, about a guy trying to find the "Right girl." It's pretty French new-wave stylisticly, making use of frequent jumpcuts, charachter driven, and naturalistic dialogue. So naturalistic my Japanese girlfriend could barely understand most of it. But if you are a native English speaker, definitely check it out. With a special appearance by "Nardwar the Human Serviette," this film accurately captures the small-punk rock Vancouver scene Harkema is a part of.