Sukiyaki Western Django

Sukiyaki Western Django

2007

Directed by Takashi Miike

This is a very stylish film that is a mixture of Japanese samurai and western film genres. Miike pulls this off very successfully. The mixture of swords and guns looks spectacular and there are some great fight scenes that involve them both. The colors of the film are very saturated and alternate between the contrasts of deep red and bright whites. I did enjoy the film. Miike always presents the unexpected and this film was not a disappointment.

Rustin Allison

Pom Poko

Pom Poko

1994

Directed by Isao Takahata

This is a Studio Ghibli film from the the mid 1990s. The story follows a colony of tanuki that live in a forest that is about to be turned into a suburb and how they try defend their natural habitat.

Tanuki are actually creatures that are similar to raccoons, but there is also mythology that surrounds them. Tanuki have the ability to shape-shift and the tanuki in this film use this ability in their efforts to thwart the deconstruction of the forest.

One of the aspects of this film that I really enjoyed was the amount of references to Japanese mythology... not just the stories surrounding the Tanuki. In the above photo some of the tanuki have turned into dharma. Dharma are little sculptures that have no eyes. An eye is painted on to symbolize a goal or a wish, and when the goal or wish takes place the other eye is painted. The film is full of these little details... some I was able to pick up on and others that I am sure went completely over my head. 

One scene that is really spectacular is when the tanuki join forces to make a parade of the spirit world through the city and scare the humans. I was able to spot some oni and the god of wind and the god of thunder.

Rustin Allison

Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso

1992

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

I love Miyazaki's films. They are often slow and meditative feeling at times, but the pacing is part of what make his films so unique and wonderful. The pace often adds to the dream-like and often surreal quality of his films.

Porco Rosso centers around the story of an Italian pilot who is cursed to have the face of a pig. Though never fully explained, the film does hint at the causes of the curse. The pilot is a bounty hunter and has his plane destroyed by some rogue air pirates. The pilot must enter a dogfight contest in order to have his repair debt paid off.

I think that I enjoy Miyazaki's later films more than his earlier ones. I did enjoy this film greatly, but I don't think that it compares well with his later films such as Kiki's Delivery Service or Spirited Away. That being said, this is still a film worth checking out... especially for animation fans.

Rustin Allison

"Masters of Horror" - Imprint

"Masters of Horror"

Imprint

2006

Directed by Takashi Miike

This is the first episode of "Masters of Horror" that I have seen. Imprint was only released on DVD and never shown on television. After watching this episode, I now understand why. I won't go into any details about what is shocking in this story, but be forewarned - it is not for the faint of heart (or stomach).

Takashi Miike is such a fascinating director to me. His films seem to traverse all film genres. I have only seen a few of his films (my personal favorite is The Happiness of the Katakuris), but everyone that I have seen is so completely different to any film that I have seen before. It is very hard to watch a Miike film at its most brutal, but Miike can also make a funny comedy. I look forward to Yatterman.

So, even though Imprint did disgust me I did enjoy the episode. The story relies on an unreliable narrator and takes many twists to its end. The imagery shifts from haunting and beautiful to horrific and revolting in just a few minutes. 

Rustin Allison

蜘蛛巣城 (Throne of Blood)

Throne of Blood

1957

Directed by Akira Kurosawa

This film is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and a very successful adaptation at that. I once read an article for one of my film classes (forgive me, I don't remember who wrote it) that had to do with the problems of filming Shakespeare. One of the big problems is that his works were written for the stage. One of the main arguments of the article is that for a Shakespearean play to be successful on screen, it must be adapted to fit the language of cinema. Kurosawa indeed achieves this with his version of Macbeth. 

The narrative translates very well to feudal Japan and follows the story of a samurai who hears a prophecy that he will be the ruler of Cobweb Castle. Lady Asaji is the Japanese counterpart of Lady Macbeth and Isuzu Yamada delivers a very chilling performance of this woman who goads her husband into treachery and murder. I felt as though her scenes were the very best in the film.

Another scene worth mentioning is the final scene. I won't go into too many details as the film is worth watching. Let's just say Kurosawa does make changes to the end of Macbeth, and they are very successful changes. Lord Washizu (or Macbeth) meets his end in a very chilling and poignant fashion.

Rustin Allison