Day 3 was a long day, with a three-peat of downers.  They were all kind of depressing, but at least they were in the middle of my schedule.

Seven Days in Heaven (2010) – This movie was a late addition to my schedule, so I wasn’t expecting much from it.  While it had some decent cinematography, there wasn’t too much going on in the plot.  It had some comedy, that was much needed, otherwise the film would have been a waste, in my opinion.  A couple scenes seemed to take from Wong Kar Wai’s blurred action technique, which was a nice reference.  I’m not sure who I recommend this movie to, it was just ok.  I supposed hardcore asian film fans can get something out of it, but for the general population (which isn’t reading a blog on asian film anyway!) can skip it.  3 / 5

The Green Wave (2010) – An interesting, but very message-beating documentary.  Although all accounts are based on actual writing, blogs, tweets from real events of the Iran election and subsequent human rights violations, the documentary felt a little too pandering to rebellion.  Don’t get my views wrong, I am completely on the side of supporting human rights and the furthering of it especially in the Middle East.  But the bombardment of vicious and darkly poetic thoughts coming straight from the source are a little too much to handle unless you want to make the audience basically cry or incite revolt.  Not a fun watch, but the animated scenes were great and the message and information had importance.  3 / 5

Caterpillar (2010) – See my review.

Caterpillar is messed up.  Like most experimental and pink film directors of prior decades, director Wakamatsu knows how to make a typical audience feel uncomfortable.  Unlike that era, though, where the audience is mostly just shocked into a message, Caterpillar delivers powerful messages on Japanese society (both historical and contemporary) around a relatively realistic and dramatic framework.

Caterpillar basically has two cohorts of characters.  The wife & husband (the war god), and the rest of the village.  Most of the scenes are basically studying how the wife treats and is treated by her husband, both before and after he enters the war and returns home severely injured.  While there isn’t much difference in the war god’s attitude and expectations of his wife, the power has shifted greatly in her favor.  While she struggles to accept and care for her husband, the only reason to keep him alive is her national pride and encouragement from the town.  Without their support and empowerment of the nation, she has little reason to treat him like a god.

The film has many messages, and it would clearly take multiple sittings to understand all that is being offered from Wakamatsu.  Besides the obvious WWII story and the accompanying comments on war in general and Japanese nationalism, Caterpillar makes a comment on the traditional Japanese husband-wife relationship.  Not only this, but perhaps it can be broadened to say Caterpillar fights against Japanese’s society of male domination.

The trouble is that as deep as the movie is, it is probably only going to be enjoyed, or at least put up with, by Japanese film scholars.  Caterpillar is a film that will easily be overlooked by the casual viewer (though they probably wouldn’t have found this to begin with) and written off as a weird anti-war movie.  While the tragedy of war is depicted dramatically, the real focus of the story is the on the wife.  She represents something more than a housewife, perhaps a whole civilization itself and how it must battle it’s past mistakes – whether directly causing it or themselves being a victim of their own ancestors.

Rating: 4 /5

Title: Still Walking (歩いても歩いても aka Aruitemo, Aruitemo)
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Year: 2008
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Netflix instant streaming (HD)

Still Walking has been a movie I wanted to watch for a while.  Although it’s not readily apparent what the movie is about by reading a plot synopsis, Koreeda is 2 for 2 in my book (Air Doll and Nobody Knows).  Having been on Netflix instant streaming in HD for a while now, and recently released on Criterion bluray, Still Walking is oddly accessible for what might have been an under-the-radar release of a relatively indie filmmaker.  It’s focus from movie distributors is, though, justified in the depth of the film.

Like a lot of Japanese films, especially of those which aren’t obviously labeled as “Asian Extreme/Horror”, the viewer can’t be very sure where a Still Walking is going to take you.  For a while it feels like the movie isn’t going anywhere.  There is a middle-aged couple made up of divorcées, and a child who doesn’t quite fit his new family.  The greater family of the step-father has it’s own discriminations and conflicts within themselves.  But the true story arcs are much more subtle than, of course, these details and are not readily apparent until late in the film.  And maybe this intentional, as the moral of the story itself is something that people don’t typically focus on.

The speed of Still Walking is similar to an Ozu film.  That is to say at a speed similar to normal life.  This is both a complement on good editing, but also a warning to anyone who can’t stand a slow movie.  Unlike Ozu’s films, though, some characters are extremely talkative.  Again, this is likely closer to reality than one is used to in a typical Japanese film.  Some characters are a bit cumbersome and others too characterized, but overall the families function realistically, which ranges from pleasing to disappointing to watch.  Acting is not quite up to par as a classic Ozu, either, but it is definitely well enough to put together Still Walking, and more importantly, to effectively pace the movie.

Still Walking shows us the difference between the drama we think we must resolve in our lives to what we must come to terms with.  While some conflicts in the movie seem to lead to character development, they are eventually dwarfed by a realization of the importance of one’s outlook on life.  This drama portrays a contemporary, simple family and how they deal with jealousy, pride, and revenge deep below the surface.  It may be difficult to watch in the outset, but I highly recommend anyone who start this movie to watch it to the very end.  There is an emotional payout which is somewhat subtle and clever, replicating the feel of a real-world personal epiphany.

Rating:  4 /5

Knowing nothing about Bandage until I watched it, the movie seemed to be a sure hit.  Generally, Japanese movies with music, especially ones with youth forming bands, like Swing Girls, have almost always been fun to watch.  While Bandage doesn’t live up to those expectations I had going into it, it is an overall enjoyable film.

Bandage feels more like an indie film than one might expect given it’s premise.  Contemporary Japanese movies concerning music is generally upbeat, and their plots usually follow this tone.  Bandage has a darker look to it.  The scenes are gritty, and hardly any shots take place outside during sunlight.  Most action is happening at night, sometimes all night.  Even one character quits school to get a job, shown early on.  The camera work is also a little more down-to-earth, with a lot of hand-held and moving shots throughout small apartment rooms that gives Bandage a more realistic feel.

The characters of Bandage also don’t behave like your usual upbeat Japanese music story.  The band members all have issues, and the main love interest of the lead girl is especially juvenile and rude.  While the band mates’ characters are somewhat rounded, with their own scenes of showing off talent or their work ethics, there isn’t exactly a melding of drastic changes to their temperaments from one scene to the next.  Luckily, the best developed character is the lead protagonist, as we see her step outside her safe zones many times, with good results and bad.   What she feels and learns throughout the story climaxes to a great performance in a long shot at the end of the movie.

Despite the slightly darker nature to the story, Bandage still has what you would expect:  several scenes of the band performing in front of crowds, rehearsing, and fiddling around on their instruments.  Sound effects and music is great, but the movie maybe could have used one more song, especially in the latter half of the film where things really slow down.  It doesn’t quite keep full-steam going in the story, but Bandage is kind of saved because the fore-mentioned excellent performance is right in the middle of this third-act lull.

Bandage is an interesting watch and  accessible to anyone who can relate to youth in angst, trying to find themselves in life.  This is  the theme of the movie, and has little to do with the band itself.  The conclusion is a bit drawn out, but never does the movie really feel too long or boring.  The first half moves along well and kept me engaged, hoping to see what happens next.  Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable watch.

Rating:  3 /5

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Bare Essence of Life is Villon’s Wife (and hey, it rhymes).  Villon’s Wife is going to be the complete opposite feel of Bare Essence, with traditional characters, a classic setting, and a serious, realistic, adn dramatic story.

Villon’s Wife lives up to it’s name.  It is a period piece set in late-WWII of Japan, and focuses on the wife of an often drunk and even suicidal writer who gets caught stealing a large sum of money from a local food & spirits joint.  The rest of the story follows her as she sways between being a loyal wife and leaving him for a better life.  The story is somewhat sad because of the traditional values in the wife’s character.  Like the ‘good’, loyal wife that she is, she is very forgiving of just about everything her husband does, including cheating on her and stealing her money.  Without giving in to cultural relativism or feminism, the movie is better watched knowing that this is the “traditional role” for the wife at this time and place, at least before the war.

The acting, storytelling, development, pacing all are quite good until the very end of the movie.  It’s easy to fall in love with Sachi, the wife, as several men in the film do.  Tadanobu Asano delivers another great performance as the meandering, drunk villon.  The characters, besides the villon, feel a lot like some of Ozu’s, albeit more modern and less subtle.  Much of the story is very lively, with Sachi either working at the bar to pay off her husband’s debts.  It slows down considerably, as you might expect in a melodrama.  The story even falls apart a little bit at the end when it tries to pull everything together.  Some of it feels out-of-place or unexplained, and I was left wondering what happened to one character all-together.

There definitely seems to be some underlying message in Villon’s Wife.  I read somewhere that it is supposed to be about Japan changing after the war.  This can definitely be felt near the end of the movie where we see girls with lipstick running away with GI’s.  If anything, it shows the faults and benefits of Japan’s traditional double standard roles of husband & wife in the transition to an industrial society.

Villon’s Wife is a great movie for anyone interested in ‘old life’ in Japan, though I think you have to also be on board for the drama.  It is beautifully shot and one of the most believable WWII-era settings I’ve seen in a while.  It’s not really a romance picture, but it is decent as a slow, relationship drama.  Without ruining the ending, it can keep you guessing.  There are several different ways it could have gone, and if the director had taken a more Ozu-esque open ending, it probably would have been a perfect fit.  But the story clearly is leading to the definitive ending given.

Rating – 4 /5