Reviews
Gekkou no kamen (2011)
dictionary of cinematic words
Itao is a famous comedian in japan, and a co-worker of Matsumoto of Down Town. itao also appeared on Matsumoto's directing works like Dai-Nihonjin, Saya-zamurai. itao did his first film Datsugoku-ou at 2009, but he's recent work was not perfect, cos i think he wanted he's film perfect. maybe, perfect as a comedian. but at that time, i thought, that he should forget he's a comedian, cos he had a definite sense to be cinematic creator. and at last, he learned about cinematic words, which just the few of them knew(like Antonioni, Duras, Polanski etc). and became a master of those words. this film becomes like a dictionary. disappearance, scar, water, tunnel.... director himself is disclosed about what he wanted to express, however, most thing that interests me is that the moon in the sky, and the moon which reflects on the pond. you know it looks like maybe there's a 2 moon exists. that tells all.
Nathalie Granger (1972)
dictionary of cinematic words
not enough lines, but full of cinematic words. i can say it's a dictionary of cinematic words. it's silent but eloquence. real an intelligence. if you can't understand those words, you can' understand what Duras wanted to say. you know that's a loss of your life. blond hair-black hair, light color clothes-dark color clothes.... what do you think of that? maybe it's just a whim of the director. water-mirror. you can look in the water what reflects. do you recognize him or her? what if, you don't know someone reflects in water instead of you? what you gonna do? deny or affirm? is it really someone you don't know? listen to the radio. it's interesting. Polanski once use this method in Knife in the water. i witness in this film, that Duras moved by the several works of great Antonioni.
Innocence (2004)
criticism about civilization
i think civilization growth with how to made human as a tool. or i may say a slave, deep inside in core. but you see, in the world of Innocence, tool is becoming as a human. you can see a girl android killed the owner. those androids, that's us. you know democracy is interesting. cos it tells you that you're free. however, people who believes their free, they won't fight or run away. i don't think it's fare to us. you know, if you able to realize that you're a slave you can fight, but if you don't, you won't fight. it's just that. you can hear girl android screaming. you're glad that's not your voice. but unfortunately, her voice is ours too.
Halloween (1978)
representation of warfare
i don't like most war films cos it's not scary. you see, war films should be scary cos many people are killed. real killing won't move you or touch you or entertain you, it might just disgusting. i think most war films locates in foreign country that's why most war films are entertaining. if you see someone killed in film but you can't feel the killing near you. Halloween is the improvement by Carpenter of how war films should be. he set war in your neighborhood. you can't kill the whole army by killing just one soldier. they'll keep attack you again and again. besides you don't know them. their name, and face. and where they came from. and .... why they are attacking you. no wonder boogie-man is immortal. he's a one whole army himself. in my opinion, Halloween is the masterpiece of anti-warfare.
Lost Highway (1997)
femme fatale
It's not easy creating those evil nightmarish images, cos you have to be honest to yourself, besides it's dangerous. Only tough people can do that, like great poets.
At the opening, in sheer darkness, man in a car heading nowhere going faster and faster. Many people didn't even noticed about that scene, if it has any meaning or not, but I'm sure that everybody who adore nightmare knows his direction.
Alice's dream is probably to be famous, big in showbiz. But only she could do is what she doesn't like. Her own destiny, it's her enemy. It's impossible to runaway, that's the cause, she flirted around, using her face and body. That's her way of revenge. That's femme fatale.
India Song (1975)
a threat
She's great, it's her vision which is superb. She made this film cos she wanted us to be a poet. No wonder India Song is very unique among all other films. I watched a lot of films, but I've never been met a picture like this. Which threaten you to be a poet. No action, no story, no climax, just her vision. To watch these art house flicks, process of understanding and analyzing is most important, it will sharpen up your vision, then you can use it in your everyday life, and it will definitely makes your life richer mentally.
Someone once said, to read Duras's books, it's just like writing a book. So, maybe, to watch her movies is like co-creating a film also.
Old memories is like a ghost story. I once read Mrs. Stretter really exists and India Song based on Duras's memory. It's fun to look at the beautiful ghosts singing and dancing
Une femme douce (1969)
Never know nothing
Bresson's vision is honest. No wonder his works gonna be so disturbing all the time. It's like some kind of a weapon, will shot through some people's guts. A people like Elle's husband. He is an interesting person.
He's gonna try to explain all about her, so we expect as well, what exactly the cause was? What's happen to them? Mostley Elle. But he couldn't explain clearly what's happened exactly. Cos he explain about her which he knew, but won't explain which don't know about her. Maybe that's the point. What Bresson wanted to express.
Not enough lines, but silence speaks. It speaks like a knife. Sanda is very attractive, her appearance sharpened it.
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
I heard a voice
Slavery exists in ancient days, then of course, slaves often hit a riot and fight against rulers. Then every ruler says "I have no idea why they fight against us".
The system, which make war to win big money, invented by Vikings. When they met Christians in 9th or 10th century, they realized that they don't have to battle and bleed their own selves, but use slaves instead. New and improved slavery system.
First, they don't call their slaves a SLAVE. They call them "Soldiers of the Christ" "Children of God" or some like that instead. So every slave didn't realize they are a slave. It stopped slaves riot completely. It's a great invention by Vikings, they were a very clever people. They solved a problem of slaves fight against rulers.
Present rulers still use good old make war to win big money system. By the way, about Full Metal Jacket. At the end of the film, soldiers didn't say anything(cos Kubrick won't let them speak) but I heard a voice "Where's our enemy? A real enemy?"
Dai-Nihonjin (2007)
expecting his next work
Matsumoto is a member of comedy duo Down Town, he's a No.1 comedian in Japan present. His vision is very surreal and it makes him so special. I'm a huge fan myself, however I'm not so happy about Dai Nippon Jin. I recommend his early works like Visualbum series, To-Zu or Hitori-Gottsu series instead. Those are more fun and lyrical, overall it's unique.
I'd say he should work with his friends together again like in his early days. Though, I know they are all big now, there's some problem working together. But it's my dream that Matsumoto working with Mr. Itao full time making a picture together. It should be a great surreal comedy flick.
Actually, Itao appearing few minutes as smelly monster in this film. I always laugh my head off seeing that, but it's not enough, cos considering their talent, they can do more than that.
Maybe Matsumoto's weak point is working with strangers and that huge budget. Probably, big budget gave him big pressure mentally, and couldn't concentrate. his talent will definitely explode when solving those problems. Working with his close friends, making it with low budget. I'm expecting his next work.
Cube (1997)
All tax payers dead
This is the most intelligent film I ever saw. Natali can see the REAL world, and he knew how to re-create the TRUTH on silver screen. The TRUTH is we don't know nothing, like paying taxes.
We don't know where exactly our money gone. Spent at where, for what, by who? We know nothing so THEY don't even have to give any appreciation to us. Never given.
CUBE is so real, cos we can't prove anything, if it's exists or not. Maybe we can call this film a documentary, compare to Moore's works, it's more real than Moore's, cos it filled with horror.
Cos victims voice never heard, it didn't mean that CUBE didn't exist. Cos CUBE doing a great job. No wonder victims voice never heard once. Maybe it's still out there somewhere continuing killing people. Maybe, at Iraq, or Georgia, or Afganistan. Well, who knows. Paying taxes, it's like, we are wiling to pay taxes to help THEM create a killing machine to destroy ourselves. How cynical it is.
J'ai pas sommeil (1994)
evolution or destruction?
By using any traffic system, you can go anytime, anywhere, anyway you like. This is called evolution. But in other way, that means you may surrounded by many strangers easily no matter what. No consideration if you like it or not. I call it destruction of human relations.
You can't deny thinking about it seeing this film. Cos it has scenes full of it. Distance between people, emptiness of the civilization.
We have to be separated cos they wanted us that way. So they can easily control. We've been cut out from our own lives and pasted on a huge system just to run it.
Not enough lines, but silence speaks. I like these kind of smart film. Hail Ozu.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Shadows will speak
The sight. It's a feedback from inside, when body begin to change. It makes people wanted to know, seduced to get closer but just like Miranda, Marion and Michael, even if you're in the middle of it, you never know what it is. Miss McCraw, it's been a long time for her but she's still dreaming like a girl. Afraid and wondering what's gonna happen.
4 daydreamers, 3 out of 4 lost in their own dreams. What a coincidence that their name all starts with a letter M.
Disappearece in the middle of the film is not so important, cos the shadows will speak instead of the group of lost M's, what they wanted to say, what they've been thinking about.
It's a speak of mind.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
They call it peace
Most of us know nothing, we call it happiness. Kubrick's death happened to prove it unfortunately.
Happy people know nothing. They are happy because they decided to f@#$ instead, like those 2 in this film. There's so many of them, cos it's so easy. Worst thing is that those happy people didn't realize that they are being a great wall to protect "them" by being or act happy.
Being honest is one of the biggest crime these days. Kubrick committed a crime. He wondered why those thousands of missing children never came back, and why it never ends. "They" don't like us to think about those things, that's why "they" wanted us to be happy. It is no consideration that if we feel real happy from the heart or not. If you're not you must act happy. Well me, I don't want to act, cos it's so unhappy.
If you want to know the truth and how the real world looks like, you have to realize that you're unhappy first. Happy people don't pay any attention and got no interest about what's truth is.
"They" call it peace.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
essence of the civilization
I think it's interesting which the first scene starts with the coexistence of some Monkeys and Tapirs. I don't know about Europe or USA, but in Japan there's a legend about Tapir that they eats man's dream. I think even those 2001 monkeys(not yet human) had a dream, for instance, a dream of being strong, living safe and easy. "The civilization".
I think those Tapirs are ate all of those monkeys "dream" all the time, so that's because those monkeys "dreams" didn't came true, not once. But soon, one monkey grab a tool(weapon), and hit down a Tapir. I think that's the moment all the things are ready and going to happen, The METAPHOR of beginning of a civilization, a dreams come true. Until then, all of them were just feel small, shriveled up you could see.
I think Kubrick wanted to express the essence of The civilization. In this civilized world, there's a lots of TOOLS and people who use TOOLS. Civilization is a NIGHTMARE to most of the TOOLs, I mean people. Remember, HAL thinks he has a human's will. But you know he's just a TOOL. Boman thinks HAL is just a TOOL as well. But, how about him, captain Boman?
Barton Fink (1991)
curse the mosquitoes
I hate mosquitoes, because they're creeping up on you from your behind. Then suck out blood with no explanation. Besides, even if they're satisfied, they won't give you any appreciation. On the contrary, they'll give you itch. Hey, if you want blood then just take the blood alright? What's this itch? Why are you doing this to me? Everybody saids that.
You can see Barton hates mosquitoes as well. You know, while I was watching BARTON FINK, mosquitoes reminds me of something during the film. I wonder what it was for days and weeks. And at last, someday, I realized, that the mosquitoes are similar to the people, WHO HAVE POWER.
To Barton, I'm sure that the power among him is the movie company. Hollywood. No wonder, that Barton has been distressed by THEM through the film.
I love John Goodman's smile.
La notte (1961)
cool
There's a connection between darkness of the night and with inside human. I learned it seeing this movie. If someone, got nowhere to go, got no clue, no idea about nothing, but if he/she wandering around all night, maybe he/she'll ended up inside himself/herself. Like this character of LA NOTTE. I'd like to call this film, a some kind of a Ghost Story. Classy Ghost Story. No scary monsters or ghosts, but you can find very scary things. It's a lot more scary than monsters, imagination. Scariest thing is that the Ghosts could be anybody. Moreau and Vitti, Mastoroyanni is some Ghosts. Pretty cool for a Ghost. Moreau and Vitti looks like light and shadow. Very interesting.
The Premonition (1975)
touching and moving
If you view this as some occult B flick, you can't enjoy much and maybe couldn't get the point. About me, I almost cried at the end of the film, because of the beauty of this directors vision for distressed people. I got surprised, because he sure knew how to express! It's a joy to find these underrated artists from B flicks. There're so many of them really. Well ,about the film, this is the story of a woman who wants to love her own child but who can't. That's very sad. Not only the direction and the plot. You can't forget the actors in this films. Considering how low the budget was, but they're acting was so full of enthusiasm. Well no wonder most American actors are great so maybe that's not the consideration though. However, this is the most underrated film I ever saw.
Rashômon (1950)
philosophy
There's no doubt that this is one of those masterpieces alright among all over the world. I think that Kurosawa and Co-writer Shinobu Hashimoto(I love his works) didn't wanted to tell nothing about any story. They maybe wanted to create some form of inside human, so no wonder every character's testimonies in this film are changing all the time. Never still, no one knows what is the truth. In my opinion, I got it like this that if you dare trying to understand something, why don't you start trying understand yourself first. If you knew yourself well, you can understand anything. as well as whats happened in that bush. Just my opinion.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
re-union
I watched this a lot of times, maybe 30 times but still never got tired of it. All in this movie, especially the actors are special. I can remember when I rented this movie about 15years from now, because Spielberg blows about Tobe Hooper on the VHS cover that he is a genius. He's right. Hooper is a genius. He can create such original, one and only EVIL atmosphere. No one can do exactly the same as Hooper. By the way, I think every people will start considering small things about any Movie which you've been watched a lot. Me, about Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I am considering these days that I guess Sally, Franklin and Leather Face brothers must be a neighbor and must be knew each other once even if they are forgotten, because they are living so close. It makes me think. Sudden, I knew why Franklin is handicapped and why their family has HAVE TO move from there a long time ago.... ha ha Sorry, I'm just imagine.
Nóz w wodzie (1962)
great
The Knife, it's a threat to a husband, and hope to his wife. This film is great because you can view two ways. First, at the start, man and woman changed their seats. I think it's the most important part. It must be the beginning. I call it some kind of a cinematic device, established by Antonioni, to make you look inside of you. You can simply enjoy what is happening on the silver screen, but some people who noticed that part makes them look inside. I think it's the great point. You can enjoy the touch and go situation, tension between 3 characters, thrilling story of an love affair, but other way, to think what was exactly that woman is afraid of? Thanks polanski to navigate us inside human, so we can look to something more interesting. This is called poem.
Kuen rai ngao (2003)
I like it
I like this way of viewing people, looking at women inside. I amazed when I knew the director is a female, besides she's in Thailand. I didn't know what kind of a movies made in that country, but once I saw this, I'd be da**ed! I could say this will be a good study for us. A women who suffered by some domestic violence. Relationship between man and a woman, how one big social influence easily erode one person, the shape of depressed feelings etc. She, the director didn't explain nothing by a word, she just express. The film is quiet but eloquence, got strong impression(at least, it works for me). Both 2 actresses are excellent also. I'd like to recommend this film worldwide, who loves art films. Like Antonioni or Bresson or some like them.
Gondola (1987)
very poetic
A young man, came from countryside to Tokyo. He's cleaning the windows of skyscrapers for a living. He's desperate, because, there's a distance between him and office workers in the windows. Kagari, a 10 year old girl. She felt same thing as this young man also. The distance between she and her parents, it makes her very insecure mentally. They have something in common. Many people are surrounding them all the time, they can touch them, they can talk to them if they want to. Maybe, they can fill the distance between them. But it never will be. They live in solitude. But one time, they happen to meet each other. That's when young man cleaning windows of Kagari's apartment. They stare each other through the window for a moment. That was a strange moment, but also an interesting expression by the director. Because, they seems that they don't feel any distance between them. Young man said "It's strange to talk with somebody in the window. This is my first time". This film is very poetic, got great expression through the entire film. It's very interesting that the director is now making porno films. To me, maybe, he's always curious about the girls who living in city desperately.
Misery (1990)
of course, a masterpiece
I laughed a lot seeing this movie. As well as THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or THE CLOCKWORK ORANGE. I can't laugh seeing Eddie Murphy's movie or some like that anymore. This must be a Masterpiece. Maybe, a real comedy of all time, which filled with lots of bad and sick but a gorgeous humor. I think it makes this movie special. Not only scary, it has pathos, sadness being a weirdo. Well, after all, Paul Sheldon might said to himself "I'm glad that Annie is not my editor".
1941 (1979)
Belushi's No.1 act ever
Maybe, it's not the Japanese Navy who terrifying United States, it's Captain Kelso! I like the way he's drinking Coke. My man! Well, yes, he's destroyed all over the town, but I think he's not really a bad guy, because, he didn't mean it... I know this type of guy. No, I'm alright. I'm still alive.
Hot Love (1985)
I like this
Story is quite simple and so much familiar. But the music that Daktari Lorenz has composed are beautiful and touching. (I love German musicians; Beethoven to Scorpions) Which made this movie special. A requiem, not only for losers, but winners. Who wants to fight with sense of guilt? But nobody can refuse living.
Both Buttgereit and Lorenz, they are really a poet.