highjin Reviews

Kura no naka (1981)

Passing by, but Not meaningless

[10/10 · 24 August 2021]

The lyrics of the song (haiku) in the movie are as follows: "mayfly just lives outside the grave."

The film tells the story of brother and sister who are locked in a warehouse and awaiting death. The two are bizarrely entangled in a narrow space, and once again, they are entangled with the outside world through a long telescope.

Life, death, love and hate, all emotions are contained in that warehouse. It is a thriller film with a elaborately constructed story that the fact made in 1981 is unbelievable .

The scene in the movie is like a magnified view of mayfly, Exaggeratedly zoomed-in scenes show peoples and objects. Above all, the sound of traditional Japanese music is bizarre and sad, leads the whole movie.

After watching the movie, you will be engulfed in a strange feeling that you cannot tell whether this is a fantasy or a fact. It feels as if my life has passed in the warehouse. Now, wasn't I also watching a movie on a small screen in a small room? My room is also a small warehouse, and I will die also temporarily not far from here.

It was a lonely and beautiful movie just like the lyrics of a haiku. This is by far the best film directed by Yôichi Takabayash.

Mai bakku pêji (2011)

1960s' Japanese Student Movement : Zenkyoto

[8/10 · 7 August 2021]

The movie telling the story of people wearing red armbands who are obsessed with their ideas. In the movie, they try hard to be real, but in the end they are all just fakes. "My back page", as the title says, was nothing more than a blank page in the end.

However, if we look at today's reality, it will be a little different. Unlike the movie, the characters in the movie have achieved great success all over the world. They were excellent propagandists and brilliantly played many lies, and half of the world is already theirs. If they saw this movie, they would probably laugh at it.

People in the red armband need neither truth nor goals. Violence and struggle are the goals, and it is enough for more people to follow them. If more people want to roll up their arms and wear armbands on their own, that's success.

The world we live in is no longer free from them. Like the movie's ending, their empty faces were not exposed to the public. No, even if it happened, everyone has long forgotten that fact. The story of the student movement in Japan in the 1960s is more meaningful today is the tragic repetition of human history.

Somebody's Xylophone (2016)

break the boring daily life

[8/10 · 1 August 2021]

Sometimes human want aberrant behavior that break the boring routine life. But the deviance human want are limited to small things as much it does not break the peace of one's daily life. The meaning of the movie's title, xylophone, is just that much deviant behavior. A sound enough to break the silence, but not enough to break the peace.

It could be an affair, it could be imagining an affair, more boldly, it could be stalking someone, or it could be being stalked by someone. The characters in the film accept it as a fresh variation of life, as long as the variation does not break their life. Of course, it didn't turn out to be the gentle breeze they wished for.

The acting of the female protagonist was also splendid, but the directing of the each scene was excellent both aesthetically and meaningfully. In particular, the last scene in which the female protagonist falls asleep after several yawns implicitly shows the theme of this movie.

Will you choose the pounding of catastrophe once again? Or will you cover a cozy blanket of boredom?

It was a delicate and wonderful film in that it touched the subtle impulses within the human psyche inside.

Introduction (2021)

Enter the stage

[7/10 · 25 July 2021]

The eternal theme of Hong Sang-soo's films is the skits of loser men. And now, new type has come here, millennial loser. It is a new generation that rejects the principles of the parent generation and insists on their own philosophy, but clung and sucking blood of their parent whom they hate so much, like a parasite.

They are a generation of both innocence and contradiction. However, the film's point of view is not very critical. Saw the woman who broke up appears in a dream, and he can't stand his sorrow, jumping into the waves, and trembling in a drenched state was so pitiful. The huge wave in front of them is like the great despair of the times that their generation cannot handle. His friend (another millennial loser) is the only one who covers him with a blanket while he is soaked. No generation cares for them, doesn't help them, just attacks them by their self-righteous arguments. They are only understood by their own generation.

The introduction to the emergence of a new generation of character types was really just an "introduction", but I am looking forward to seeing how this new generation of characters will act in his next films.

It was dry and unstable film like a dry branch, and like our new protagonist.

Tugumi (1990)

A refined interpretation of hometown

[10/10 · 19 July 2021]

The first 5 minutes of this movie are overwhelming. Each scene is so beautiful that make you immersed in nostalgia. "Sometimes the wind brings the smell of the ocean... At such times I almost cry out." The narration mutters softly, the camera moves like a bird moving on the wind, and the scene slowly fades from the city to the sea village. It's probably most memorable movie openings scene ever.

It's amazing how the female protagonist can express so many emotions with a restrained expression. The bipolar disorder that the protagonist suffers is actually seen as a device to represent the movie's theme. In conclusion, this is a film that show the feelings toward hometown through the character Tsugumi.

Hometown is a place that gives us a sense of frustration like hell when we stay there, but it is also a place that provides infinite longing when we are far from there. It is a truly bizarre place that allows you to encounter many accidents and raw emotions again if you are back to there by longing. It is like a night river side scene in the middle of the movie. Creepy and beautiful at the same time. A place where life and death, love and conflict are intertwined so that you can feel extreme emotions, like bipolar disorder.

Is there any other film that expresses the hometown in such a pitiful and beautiful way? It is a film that deserves a full score.

Threads - Our Tapestry of Love (2020)

A typical soap opera.

[5/10 · 11 July 2021]

Where have all the beautiful images seen in his previous work, "promised land", disappeared? It is shocking how the same director can make a sudden change of genre from a heavy art film to a popular soap opera. I think it would be more believable if the film was directed by another director.

The scenario is also a problem, but the scene directing is inferior to the previous films directed by Takahashi Zeze I've seen. The actions of the characters are overly decorated and exaggerated like a morning drama.

Unlike the previous work that made me feel like I was inside a box smelly mart warehouse, in this film, even though main character plays that she is working hard on nail art for a living, all the sweat drops on her face are felt as makeup. It's like a fake glittering sweat from a youth manga. The TV drama style background music also makes the movie unbearable.

The previous films made by Takahashi Zeze so far have the power to make the scene look like a documentary-like reality, no matter how fictional the story is. But this movie doesn't have that power.

It is just an sunday soap opera.

The Promised Land (2019)

Road to paradise

[8/10 · 1 July 2021]

"Rakuen" is a movie that shows three people who are looking for paradise. Takeshi, the son of a refugee, is a person who says that there is no paradise, and Zanjiro, a beekeeper, is a person who thinks only a moment in the past is a paradise. And the main character, Tsumugi, is deeply involved in the incident between the two men and begins to find a way to paradise as she grows up.

One of the themes that appears frequently in Japanese films is the mechanism of the scapegoat, and this problem appears as the main theme in this film as well. The method of solving community problems by creating a scapegoat gives members the illusion that the problem has been solved, But in the end, the method itself was the seed of all the tragedy in this village.

The great thing about this film is that while it deals with the above-mentioned themes, it does not miss sight of the small sins of individuals and their sense of guilt. All the characters are somehow involved in the tragedy that has occurred in the village due to their own circumstances, and are engulfed in the guilt from it. However, it is a natural destiny for humans, and movie shows the process of breaking free from such guilt by the protagonist, Tsumugi. And it shows naturally that it is the way to paradise.

The visuals of the film are truly amazing. In the movie, the village holds a fire festival, and the majestic fire of the festival is a catalyst that reminds us many things (arson incident, longing, guilty, fear, hate, etc). In addition, the long take scene down the rice fields in a village are also excellent scenes that make you feel the scorching sun of the countryside.

It was a outstanding movie in which the difficult theme of "Where is Paradise" was successfully solved by using limited space of a rural village.

The Scythian Lamb (2017)

The real theme behind the cliché

[10/10 · 27 June 2021]

The film, on the surface, appears to be an ordinary Good and Evil story, and that's how it actually ends. However, if you think about it a step further, you can see that the boundary between sinners and non-sinners in this film is blurred. Also, looking at the symbols that the movie constantly provides as hints, pictures of "sheep hanging on the tree". It makes you question whether the person who fell off the cliff died because he was a real sinner or was simply a scapegoat who was pushed off the cliff.

And the answer to that question is in the movie. The god "Nororo" in the movie is not a good god who punishes evil. He is just an evil god who eats the scapegoat thrown by the villagers. The director has already hinted that the character thrown into the sea is close to the scapegoat.

In conclusion, this film is about the scapegoat mechanism. And it send the message in a way that deceives the audience. Just as the real society falls into the illusion that the problem has been solved by executing the scapegoat, it makes the audience to experience the same illusion by allowing the most suspicious person to be executed. I don't know if this is the director's intention, but at least it is the interpretation of the symbols in the movie.

I think it's a great movie that tricks the audience nicely by hiding this theme in the cliché, so it's appropriate to give it a full score.

Hear the Song of the Wind (1982)

A gift for Haruki's fans

[10/10 · 21 June 2021]

This film is a perfect gift for Haruki Murakami's fans in that the director's own reinterpretation is adequately melted at a level that does not undermine the originality of Haruki Murakami's debut novel.

Haruki's novel was attractive in that it express empty wanderings and worries of young people in a concise writing style, and this film fully expressed that charm.

Like the short style of a novel, the film consists of short breath cuts, and the appropriate use of intertitles in the middle, maintains the sensibility as if reading a novel.

And the director's reinterpretation was really good. For example, a friend with the nickname "Rat" writes a novel in the original work, but in the movie, it is changed as making a movie. And It is screened to protagonist as a movie in a movie. (It was a really good decision to change the creation of "The Rat" from a novel to a movie, as if this movie was transformed from a novel to a movie.)

There are many additional parts to the story about the mysterious four-finger woman, which was not in the novel, and added story about the woman whom the "Rat" meets, all the thing make movie more rich.

All the scenes reminiscent of ex-lovers were shocking because the part depicted in the movie was much more pale and grotesque than novel. And bed scene seems to be beautifully and pitifully portrayed well without any special sexual scenes.

I think it is a masterpiece that perfectly coexists with the respect for the original work and the director's reinterpretation. If you are a Haruki fan, this movie is a must.

Jôhatsu tabinikki (2003)

The moment you want to run away from everything.

[10/10 · 29 May 2021]

This movie show unfamiliar yet powerful image, like movie of Terayama Shuji. The main theme of the movie is the figure of a helpless man who ran away, and the original cartoonist (Yoshiharu Tsuge) also has a similar atmosphere in most of his works. Compared to the original cartoon drawings full of distorted and thick pan-touch, the film portrays the simple yet beautiful countryside of Japan in a grotesque and beautiful way.

The film looks like the real experience of the original cartoonist Tsuge Yoshiharu. It shows the naked scenery of Japan's 70s and 80s, including inns, cheap striptease shows, and shabby temples in the Japanese countryside, along with the music of that time. Through it, movie fantastically portrayed the empty feelings of cheap pleasure.

The woman pursued by the protagonist is not a real person. It is a new life that settles and takes root, an unreachable utopia. However, the man who ran away can't get anything. The only option left for him is to go back to Tokyo. A true coward cannot give up what he left behind. And he doesn't even have the courage to start a new life. He simply puts on his mask and hides the face he left behind on a secret journey.

This film portrays the tragic life of human beings very well. I think it's also a hidden masterpiece.

Amagi Pass (1983)

"The moment" when the innocent soul ignites

[10/10 · 23 May 2021]

The film borrows part of story from Yasunari Kawabata's novel The Dancing Girl of Izu, and reveals it at the beginning of the movie. However, as the elaborately crafted mystery stories was added, tension and thrill were added also, and personally, I feel that this movie has become a splindid movie beyond the original.

While Izu's dancers drew pure love for an innocent object that is difficult to exist in the world now, this film, on the other hand, portrays the protagonist's one-sided feelings toward a corrupted woman who is far from innocent. It is more realistic and easier to empathize with.

For some of the men in childhood, the first feeling of the first love is not just pink. The feelings of flame is not only love but also mixed by complex, frustration, resentment, or hatred. This film expresses such complex emotional moments in a really dramatic way. The editing of short breaths was also really good. There are no wasteful parts that needlessly sag.

It was a hidden gem, and The only sad thing is that I can't get another film of this director.

Wife of a Spy (2020 TV Movie)

Cry for this crazy world

[10/10 · 13 March 2021]

I don't know how good country you live in, But want you to remember that someone live in a crazy world that handful hypocrites get all of justices. Do you know how suffocated reality it is that most of the movies released in your country are only praise and glorify the government? From that point of view, the fact that such a movie comes out is a proof that the society and the artist healthy. The last scream of Aoi Yu is the same as someone's scream today who is choked by fascism more than a pandemic. If you are an artist, I think you can feel the same way. Of course, if you're a true artist, not a flattering Lier. Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films always have a keen message about the world, but this film seems to express a more plain and honest feeling. Although it is a political film, it does not miss a sense of cinematic tension. And Aoi Yu's acting was really as beautiful as her appearance. I feel infinite gratitude for exist of such a film, In a fascist world everyone call themselves justice. Because of these art, I can breathe.

Theater (2020)

The best way to draw art, youth, love

[10/10 · 21 November 2020]

If young people who are struggling to do art today, watch this movie, is it possible to keep tears? It tells the story heartlessly as if throwing them on a cold concrete floor. The fragile love story of those days when we were so weak and coward do not know how to deal with. In some parts, it was like the story of the director himself, and in other parts, I felt like my life was on the theater stage. I would like to express my utmost admiration for this movie that made me such an amazing experience. Obviously one of the best movies of my life.

River's Edge (2018)

Void requires a deep approach.

[6/10 · 15 November 2020]

Talking about the emptiness of youth who have lost their meaning in life has become a boring subject these days. The reason why this film could maintain a tight tension is that the bottom of each weird character gradually revealed in various events. However, as a result, it seems that there was no depth in the character itself. In particular, there are too many unexplained parts of Yamada's character, the male protagonist who is gay. Cuz Yamada is the most powerful psychopath in this film. He feels no pain to violence but reacts violently to the feelings of a broken heart. He kills his cat impulsively and makes a strange smile at his lover's suicide. This one can realize the meaning of life only by looking at a dead body...things has gone beyond excessive. Gone Too far. Nevertheless, the bottom of the spirit is roughly finished without interpretation. This show the obvious limitations of this film.There are Only unknown lines between emptiness of the empty characters. It is regretful to the audience who were expecting a different result.I think it would have been a better movie if it went down more to the bottom of the characters. It should have been.

Orca (2020)

A film telling the most trivial and ordinary truth

[8/10 · 13 November 2020]

While living in a pandemic world, We were engulfed by momentary stress and problems of survival, and forget our precious things. This movie became a wake up call enough for my pandemic daily life. The characters in the movie have somewhat extreme tendencies, but we can find ourselves in their appearance. Although some scenes in the movie are deliberate and uncomfortable, I think it is an appealing drama that does not miss the power of truth. Their regrets and tears will make you contact your loved ones after watching the movie. I was really impressed by the first Swedish movie I saw. Recommend to everyone.

Innocence (2020)

The epitome of failure : distorted heroism

[1/10 · 15 July 2020]

There is a Korea saying, "If you do that, it's an affair. But i doing so, it is romance. This saying criticize the one who having a double standard and thinks he's always right . The main reason of this film shows poor quality is that the director is addicted to his heroism distorted by extreme double standard thinking. At the beginning of the movie, the protagonist fight against the prosecutors, cops, politicians who violate law and order and seek private interest only. But when the terrible truth appears to be against her and her mother, protagonist actively hides the evidence, manipulates the truth and concealed it. What a most terrible part is that the director actively beautifies and praises the heroine's terrible manipulation by crying, tears every over emotional things. For their sight, if their side survives, then there is enough justice, so the manipulation and violation of the law is justified. I think this film, disguising low quality soap opera but very dangerous because have ugly double standard thinking that we can ignore the law and abuse it at any time, it doesn't matter if the result is good for our side. And also make obscures the concept of justice itself. I leave this articles in the hope that audiences could watch it more distantly from the director's point of view. And this film looks even more terrible when it is politically interpreted, but it can still reveal the error even if it is interpreted only from a moral point of view.

To the Ends of the Earth (2019)

How new humans communicate with the world

[10/10 · 3 April 2020]

Through the heroine Yoko's traveling, movie shows how self-centered and empty the way humans relate to a strange world. The protagonist Yoko's job is a reporter, and this job forces her to show exaggerated and ridiculous acting in front of camera. The relationship with all humans on the film location is awkward and strange, whether it is a co-worker or a filming subject. The human beauty that audience expects exists only in the video edited for broadcast. This is not only a reporter job problem, This is how new human beings are related to the world these days, and the movie sarcastically twisting it. Everything is only beautiful to be seen on the broadcast, SNS. However, the reality is inhuman emptiness that leaves only footprints. There is no human relationship, no conversation, no effort for mutual understanding. The protagonist travels all over the place, but refuses to relate to humans everywhere. Only in a place there are no human beings, She can rest in peace. and there she drowned in her own imagination and her own happiness. We don't know even if a boyfriend is a real person because he is only heard over the phone. All the relationships surrounding her is a world of lies, disguise, pretense, and void. In the last scene, her song resonates on the hill without any audience. The way new humans relate to the world is as empty and sad as a song sung in a field without an audience.