Japanese Movies/Discussion/Recommendations

Geezer wrote:

If you liked the cast, and enjoyed what they were doing, stop by a library some time and pick up the book by Don Westlake. It'll give you an idea of what the movie could have been.

Donald Westlake is one of the best American mystery writers of the last fifty years. He's adept at writing both comical and hard-boiled stories. I didn't realize one of his novels was made into a Japanese film.

However, judging from Geezer's comments, it appears the movie has fallen short when compared to the book.

Not like High and Low--a mystery novel from the 87th Precinct series written by the late Ed McBain, another great American mystery writer--that was made into an excellent movie by Akira Kurosawa.

Not to mention a little film called Yojimbo that Kurosawa got from a Dashiell Hammett "Confidential Op" story.

The difference was... Kurosawa always seemed to know what to keep, and what to discard.

The difference between Kurosawa and the guys working these days is that Kurosawa would find a story, a novel, a play, whatever... and then he'd spend weeks if not months shut away working on the adaptation, screen play, and storyboard.

Then he'd take that script and give it to his director and writer pals, and they go over it and over it until it was right.

Then he'd start the filming process.

Lately it seems like directors come up with an idea... "Okay! let's do a movie about... I don't know... a ghost who haunts... trains. A Plane? No, Trains. Yeah, trains are easier.

Okay, grab the camera, well come up with a plot as we drive over to the train station. Hey! Sombody call a management agency and see who's hot, and send'em over."

Sheesh.

Geezer wrote:Not to mention a little film called Yojimbo that Kurosawa got from a Dashiell Hammett "Confidential Op" story.

The difference was... Kurosawa always seemed to know what to keep, and what to discard.

The difference between Kurosawa and the guys working these days is that Kurosawa would find a story, a novel, a play, whatever... and then he'd spend weeks if not months shut away working on the adaptation, screen play, and storyboard.

Then he'd take that script and give it to his director and writer pals, and they go over it and over it until it was right.

Then he'd start the filming process.

Lately it seems like directors come up with an idea... "Okay! let's do a movie about... I don't know... a ghost who haunts... trains. A Plane? No, Trains. Yeah, trains are easier.

Okay, grab the camera, well come up with a plot as we drive over to the train station. Hey! Sombody call a management agency and see who's hot, and send'em over."

Sheesh.

Geezer,

I had forgotten about Yojimbo being based on a Dashiell Hammett story.

Westlake, McBain, Hammett--there's probably very few members of this site who have even heard of these guys, much less read them.

Heck, I wonder how many members have even seen any of Kurosawa Akira's movies? I remember reading an interview with Miike Takashi, (who's pretty prolific at churning out mostly crappy films imo but who's the darling of 20-something audiences) in which he stated that Kurosawa is irrelevant for today's filmmakers and audiences.

Your depiction of Kurosawa and his work ethic is so dead on. There's a book entitled The Emperor and the Wolf by Stuart Galbraith IV which is an informative and interesting English language dual biography of both Kurosawa and Mifune. In it, there's a lot of detail about the work process that Kurosawa doggedly followed.

Just finished Waiting in the Dark (2006) with Rena Tanaka and Chen bo-lin. Not a bad movie, but a bit too slow in terms of pacing....because the plot has little by way of action the story is mostly character driven and it is a bit lacking in that department. Rena Tanaka's performance was pretty good though.

Any one see this film?

I just watched Kamikaze Girls starring Kyoko Fukada and Anna Tsuchiya. Man, out of all the stuff I've seen Fukada star in, this was by far the best. She actually had really good chemistry with her co-star and the film was quite funny. Her performance here was much better than in any drama I've ever seen her in. I didn't even know Ryoko Shinohara was in this film either....man, this film had a star studded cast of comic actors. For once I can say Fukada's performance fit her role well...and the climax of the movie actually has her playing a part which is vastly different from the bimbo-headed persona which has been portrayed once too often.

Tu_triky wrote:Just finished Waiting in the Dark (2006) with Rena Tanaka and Chen bo-lin. Not a bad movie, but a bit too slow in terms of pacing....because the plot has little by way of action the story is mostly character driven and it is a bit lacking in that department. Rena Tanaka's performance was pretty good though.

Any one see this film?

It's in the queue...


I also have Kamikaze Girls. I've seen the first 30 mins, and I thought that Kyoko Fukada was perfectly suited to that role :)

Anime Dad wrote:
I also have Kamikaze Girls. I've seen the first 30 mins, and I thought that Kyoko Fukada was perfectly suited to that role :)

First time I wasn't annoyed buy her usually one-dimensional performances....I rather liked the collaberation of Fukada and Tsuchiya, it was a total "sweet and sour" combination. The supporting cast was funny as hell too.

I think you'll like the movie...I guess I shied away from it for so long because I thought Fukada was going to turn in another one of her cookie cutter performances which usually don't pass muster in my book.

For me, this was her best performance by far.

AD sent me Kamikaze Girls but I haven't had the chance to watch it yet. :sweat: I think I shall move it up in my queue after reading your review. :)

cori wrote:AD sent me Kamikaze Girls but I haven't had the chance to watch it yet. :sweat: I think I shall move it up in my queue after reading your review. :)

It was pretty funny, IMO. I'm glad I watched it. Hope you like it. :)

I didn't know until after the fact, but Kamikaze Girls won several awards

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416220/awards

Tu_triky wrote:Kamikaze Girls

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Tu_triky wrote:= I didn't even know Ryoko Shinohara was in this film either....man, this film had a star studded cast of comic actors.

Yes, watch closely...this film has a bunch of actors you'd immediatedly recognize from dramas...

Currently d/loading Bubble Fiction Boom or Bust starring Abe Hirose and Hirosue Ryoko...should be finished soon...

"Japan is in trouble. Serious trouble, to the tune of 800 trillion yen. At the current rate of national debt accumulation, the country will effectively collapse in a few years' time. The Ministry of Finance traces the beginning of the end to 1990 when a real estate cap set in motion a series of events that caused the bubble economy to burst, plunging the nation into hard economic times. But the Ministry has a crack plan to reverse all this. Into the picture comes flighty indebted bar hostess Mayumi (Hirosue Ryoko) whose mother has just passed away - or so she thinks until grave-faced civil servant Shimokawaji (Abe Hiroshi) shows up on her doorstep. It turns out her mother Mariko (Yakushimaru Hiroko) invented a time machine and traveled back in time to prevent the Finance Minister from making his disastrous policy move. Mariko has since gone missing, however, and now it's up to Mayumi to go back to 1990 to find her mom and, oh yes, save Japan."

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DVD Talk review of Postwar Kurosawa: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=32001&___rd=1

runpup wrote:

Yes, watch closely...this film has a bunch of actors you'd immediatedly recognize from dramas...

I did notice several comic actors that instantly rang a bell, if you will. It was a fun movie, in many ways. One of the better movies I have seen recently, to be honest.

Finished watching Gakko (A Class to Remember). It was a very heartwarming film that seemed so simple yet so good. I haven't seen all his movies but Yoji Yamada, the director and writer, is definitely one of Japan's legendary filmmakers.

On the other hand, Cha no Aji (Taste of Tea)(2004) was a bit inaccessible and exhausting in its eccentricity. I did enjoy parts of it but the film as a whole I don't think I would recommend. It was interesting to see a young, tho' still cute, Anna Tsuchiya in the film.[/b]

Tu_triky wrote:Finished watching Gakko (A Class to Remember). It was a very heartwarming film that seemed so simple yet so good. I haven't seen all his movies but Yoji Yamada, the director and writer, is definitely one of Japan's legendary filmmakers.

On the other hand, Cha no Aji (Taste of Tea)(2004) was a bit inaccessible and exhausting in its eccentricity. I did enjoy parts of it but the film as a whole I don't think I would recommend. It was interesting to see a young, tho' still cute, Anna Tsuchiya in the film.[/b]

It might take awhile for you to watch all of Yamada's films: he's got well over 100 credits as a screenwriter, director, and producer. Plus only some of his movies have been English-subbed and been made available as region 1, 2, or 3 DVDs.

You know, I e-mailed both Mark Schilling and Stuart Galbraith IV--two ex-pat American writers who have written extensively about Japanese cinema--about why there hasn't been any books written in English about Yamada, especially given all the financial, critical, and popular success his many films have garnered in Japan. Schilling wrote back saying that because Yamada's films are so popular with the masses, he's not considered arty enough for Western critics to pay attention to, nor are his films considered cutting edge or unusual enough to draw international attention. Galbraith wrote back saying that because only a fraction of Yamada's films are available to Western audiences, it wouldn't make sense financially to write about him. Both Schilling and Galbraith, btw, are big fans of Yamada and have published articles about Yamada and mentioned him in some of their books.

Re: Gakko. I've seen the first, second, and fourth movies in this series (while the films are not related, they all take place at alternative-type schools; hence the Gakko appellation): each one is a gem--simply constructed, heartwarming stories, alternately funny and sad, very sympathetic to the underdog, and wonderfully written and acted.

Re: Taste of Tea. It was a waste of my time to watch this pretentious piece of crap. As different from a Yamada film as you can get.

Boy, I'm not used to coming onto this page and agreeing with everyone so much.

I enjoyed Kamikaze Girls as well, and I have to admit I was a bit shocked. I'm not a Kyoko Fukada fan. But as with the series Remote they found a part that suited her limited talents, rather than asking her to be a real actress and play somthing else.

I loved Gakko... and I dozed off in the middle of Cha no Aji. And for some reason I didn't feel any need to go back, once I woke up, to see what I'd missed.

Jeez! I've made it to the mainstream!

Geezer wrote:Jeez! I've made it to the mainstream!

Have you thought maybe it's the other way around? ;)

shin2 wrote:

It might take awhile for you to watch all of Yamada's films: he's got well over 100 credits as a screenwriter, director, and producer. Plus only some of his movies have been English-subbed and been made available as region 1, 2, or 3 DVDs.


Re: Gakko. I've seen the first, second, and fourth movies in this series (while the films are not related, they all take place at alternative-type schools; hence the Gakko appellation): each one is a gem--simply constructed, heartwarming stories, alternately funny and sad, very sympathetic to the underdog, and wonderfully written and acted.

Gakko was a great picture and it really delved into issues of class, race, and gender without a heavy hand. That's in addtion to just being a great piece of film with tender, dramatic moments balanced by an appropriate dose of comedy.

Re: Taste of Tea. It was a waste of my time to watch this pretentious piece of crap. As different from a Yamada film as you can get.

The film truly tested my patience...and I was left unsatisfied after completing its bizarre meanderings.