Charisma (1999) User Reviews

It'll definitely make you think... (spoilers)

[pils78 · 8/10 · 23 November 2003]

A friend loaned me this on DVD, thinking that it was right up my alley. (He was right.) I haven't seen any other Kiyoshi Kurosawa films but I really enjoyed the way everything wove together in an understated way. There's a lot that is unexplained or jarring, and Kurosawa asks a lot of his audience. Unless you have a strong memory, going back to review scenes is helpful to link everything up. The camera takes a very nonjudgmental and distanced view of the action, which well-suits this story where all the characters seem to have a different opinion of things. The deadpan style reminded me a little of Bunuel or Elia Suleiman, and this film shares that no-holds-barred approach where you never know what will happen next.

The film begins with an overworked policeman, Yabuike, who proceeds to botch a hostage situation (the gunman's demand: Restore the Rules of the World). His chief sends him on vacation, and he ends up in a remote woods. There he meets a strange cast of environmental protection authorities, a female botanist, her sadistic sister, a young man who protects a special tree, and an old woman the young man cares for at a closed rest home/asylum(?). Almost all seem interested in the tree (called Charisma), its characteristics, and its place in the forest which is dying all around it. In the course of the film, there are different interpretations expressed and certain battles fought. Throughout, Yabuike tries to make his own peace with this strange environment and its crazy characters.

Karisuma lends itself to a variety of symbolic interpretations, and I think Kurosawa rather perceptively skewers modern society's all-too-blinkered view of reality with his depiction of people unable to step outside their own limited perspective and see things totally. Kurosawa also seems interested in the clash of Western individualism with the more Eastern concept of traditionalism and duty in Japanese society. He does this very slyly, having a duty-bound character protecting an individual, and an individualist looking out for the whole. The characters appeal to conceptions of what's "natural" to justify their actions, and it is here with the idea of a natural ecosystems that the film really seems to come together. Much like the forest world around them, the characters, each with specific roles, inhabit a *social* ecosystem, full of competition (and cooperation). But they fail to understand the broader picture of their actions. For actually, both the forest and human worlds are linked in a total ecosystem, which is to say nothing is truly isolated at all. I take that to be the point made in the final, rather surprising, shot of the film.

8/10

Another marvel of modern Japanese cinema

[Javel-2 · 7/10 · 9 May 2000]

Charisma shows another side of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's talent. The forest contrasts deeply with the industrial environment of License to Live, yet Charisma's symbolic analysis of the Japanese society's fears and latent insanity is much more acute. This movie is also one of the few which show the collapse of both individuals and society so intimately. It takes even more sense in the perspective of the Millennium Fear, even if this theme is not explicitly named in the movie. All in all, Charisma is certainly a movie to discover.

What is this?

[Pedro-37 · 6/10 · 10 March 2002]

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one of the most amazing stylists around. I loved his "Cure" for its distanced, analytical camera work - but I'm no fan of that movie's ending. Then I've seen "Kaïro" and was amazed because it had a completely different style. Scary and finally apocalyptic in a way I've never thought it would go. "Charisma" is the third Kurosawa-movie I've seen and again, its style is amazing. Sometimes the camera watches a scene from far away and gives the action a distanced, neutral look. The shots in the forest are amazing. Sometimes green and lush, sometimes misty and foreboding.

But what about that story? I've read many interpretations - that this is an analysis of Japan's society, that this is a neutral (which would fit the style) look at a confrontation of "wrong" and "right". Well, that's all rather intriguing - but no, it doesn't satisfy me at all. Now that I think about it, I'm actually very disappointed by the story. No one in this movie acts rationally which lifts the movie away from reality and lessens its social commentary. It had flashes of brilliance where I clearly saw what Kurosawa was aiming at - but he could not sustain his ideas for the full running time. Sometimes I thought this was a parody and all Kurosawa wants to do in the end is laugh at the viewer who was expecting something that makes sense.

That said, I have to admit that it gives you a lot of thought fodder - just not in any rewarding way. Even if it is a clever commentary on Japan's society, that would not be enough for almost 2 hours. So the only really great thing about this film is its visual glory. I'm still not sure whether I like Kurosawa's movies or not. I certainly won't forget them.

Rating: 6/10

A Weird, Mesmerizing Exposition on Individualism and False Dichotomies

[ebossert · 10/10 · 31 May 2010]

Kiyoshi Kurosawa has had his duds. "Guard from the Underground" (1992) was mediocre at best, "Bright Future" (2003) was pretentious, and "Eyes of the Spider" (1998) was dreadfully boring. The first time I sat down and watched "Charisma" (1999) I had written it off as another Kiyoshi dud, but a future rewatch proved that it's likely his third best film – behind "Cure" (1997) and "Kairo" (2001).

The key to enjoying this film is to recognize its two primary themes: individualism and false dichotomies. The value of the individual is contrasted with the needs of society as a whole, and the false dichotomy is the illusion that one must choose between one or the other. Kiyoshi communicates these ideas through symbolism. The tree named Charisma represents the individual human being, while the surrounding ecosystem represents society as a whole. The false dichotomy presents itself when each character is forced to choose between protecting Charisma or the surrounding ecosystem. Without recognizing these symbols, it is impossible for the viewer to appreciate the entertaining content of this film.

One of the more interesting characters is the lady botanist. She previously studied individual plants, but claims that she learned nothing from them. She believes that most people are led astray when they look at the individual plants without observing the forest as a whole. This panoramic outlook is fueled when the ecosystem suffers a gradual decline. The botanist claims that the Charisma tree is poisoning the ecosystem and must be destroyed to preserve the surrounding environment. The cop asks her if there's a way for both to survive, but she says that it is impossible. However, it is divulged later on that the botanist herself is accelerating the destruction of the environment by dumping large quantities of poison into a nearby well. Her logic is that a quick death and restoration is a better option than the slow, gradual decline that Charisma is currently inflicting. This must be a very painful decision coming from a character that values the needs of the many over the needs of the few.

The tree's guardian takes more of a natural selection angle, that the dominant individual should rightly survive irregardless of the consequences. He needs force to protect the Charisma tree, which is why he wants to persuade the cop to join his side. When the guardian makes reference to the "rules of the forest", the viewer will correctly remember that the kidnapper in the opening scene made reference to "the rules of the world", and since this movie uses the forest as a symbol for the human world, we now understand that both characters share the same essential outlook. You see, the "rules of the world" represent the false dichotomy of choosing between the individual and society. The world maintains order by forcing people to make this decision and blinding them from recognizing that a third option does indeed exist. The guardian seems to subconsciously recognize this third option, but his obsession with Charisma (aka the individual) prevents him from realizing it.

This is where Koji Yakusho's character comes into play. He is the "swing vote" of sorts because his status as a policeman gives him the power of authority. However, he seemingly plays both sides, first opting to protect the first Charisma tree and then opting to destroy the second Charisma tree. To confuse matters he also destroys the botanist's poison well. Why does he act so erratically? Because he believes that both Charisma (aka the individual) and the forest (aka society) need to survive. For him the problem is the way the question is posed. Rules and force attempt to establish a false dichotomy that allows for only two wrong choices instead of the correct third option. Therefore, he chooses to help one Charisma and kill another, switching sides to keep the balance between the two forces. This film comes full circle on this theme near the end. The cop redeems his earlier mistake at the beginning of the film (getting both the kidnapper and hostage killed) by saving the botanist near the end without killing the kidnapper, another symbolic representation of avoiding a false dichotomy (of choosing one or another) by saving both.

The policeman's refusal to play by the "rules of the forest" causes chaos on a local level, which is first depicted by the sledgehammer killings in the small town and then by the tree guardian's murder of the botanist's assistant. In addition, the men in black (initially hired to retrieve the first Charisma for its apparent monetary value) turn on the local environmentalists and kill them. Even more striking is that these men in black turn down a briefcase full of money and refuse to give the tree guardian a ride (a complete deconstruction of their previous personas that valued money above all else). And since the events within the forest act as a microcosm of the whole world, this local chaos manifests into a worldwide pandemonium. The policeman walks out of the forest to witness the nearby city in flames. His decision to rebel against the rules of the forest has now resulted in the deconstruction of the rules of the world.

This is a very well-written movie that is consistent and efficient in its structure. Viewers with an attraction to odd, quirky, deliberately paced art-house films should love this. The environments are also beautiful and moody, and the chilly weather makes this film essential viewing during the late autumn months. A truly great film with more creativity and imagination than a dozen others combined.

A symbolic movie

[maurazos · 9/10 · 6 February 2007]

I think that film deserves a higher average score than it actually has. I guess that the reason is that not too many people understand that this film tells us a symbolic story and all we see must be interpreted in that way. As I far could understand, the main subject of this film is one of the most popular debates in todays Japan: Is individualism winning the match to the sense of society in that Asian nation? That tree, the so-called "Karisuma", the main subject of the film, has to be considered as a symbol of individualism, planted in a forest that was so fertile in the past but now, after Karisuma was planted there, is poisoned and almost dead. The debate is obvious: some characters support Karisuma (the individualism, the triumph of personality), but others support the forest (the impersonal society, as it was considered in traditional Japan) and plan to destroy Karisuma. The final conclusion the main character (Mr. Yabuike) gets to is really wise: he just believes that everybody should let the things be (society can't be avoided) and try to find a place for himself in this world (so individual preferences must be considered too). I insist: wise conclusions for one of the wisest Japanese contemporary films I've seen.

Proceed with caution

[BrandtSponseller · 4/10 · 24 June 2005]

Some sources have called Charisma a "thriller". Fangoria, the horror magazine, had Charisma on its "Video Chopping List", which should imply that it's at least a thriller, if not horror. They also ran a review of it online. The Netflix summary--although they are notoriously way off base, so one should know to take them with a pound of salt--described Charisma as "an existentialist eco-thriller". Although there are a couple nifty deaths in the film, it is not at all a thriller or a horror film. It is basically an art-house drama centered on a tree. There are hallucinatory aspects, there is humor, and we could generously say that there's a lot of "poetry" to the film. But the only relationship that Charisma has to the more macabre and suspenseful genres is that as a Japanese film, it shares a disregard for linear logic similar to many Japanese genre films.

The story concerns a detective named Goro Yabuike (Kôji Yakusho). After an odd screw-up at work that resulted in the death of a member of the Japanese Parliament, Yabuike is put on a leave of absence. He decides to head to a forest. For some strange reason, he doesn't come prepared, he has no place to stay and he walks around in his everyday street clothes. He starts off by sleeping in an old car until it's set afire. He happens upon a scrawny tree that's supposedly incongruous for the area. A metal, tubular framework surrounds it. There are IV bottles and tubes hooked up to it. Apparently some guy is guarding it and chases off anyone who gets near it. Yabuike meets the tree's keeper. He meets a woman botanist. The keeper and botanist are arguing about the merits of the tree and whether it is killing the forest. Yabuike keeps bouncing back and forth between the two, getting filthier all the time. Each wants him on their side. He gets somewhat involved with a woman who seems like the botanist's sister. A bunch of commando-looking guys keep showing up, trying to take the tree for commercial purposes. Yabuike keeps getting into strange situations, people always show up in the nick of time from out of nowhere, and people keep eating plants in the forest that are maybe poisonous and maybe hallucinogenic. The bulk of the film, when there's some kind of action, consists of people "arguing" back and forth about the tree, alternated with strange non-sequiturs in the dialogue and plot.

As you've probably discerned already, it's not exactly easy to describe the content of the film. That's because it doesn't exactly make much sense. Westerners might assume that there's some deeper cultural context to the film, that maybe it speaks of some current events in Japan and/or invokes some well-known mythological or artistic references, but in director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's interview included on the DVD, it sounds like the film was simply precipitated by the emerging environmental movement in the late 1980s (he admits that the script is 10 years old), and that he later tried to graft some "human drama" onto it. Kurosawa adds that he's not quite sure what the film is about, and he's not sure if it works. I don't think it works, either. The story is not at all compelling, it tends to drag too much in spots, and the lack of exposition and logic end up hurting more than helping. My wife ditched out after a half hour.

But, I wouldn't say it's a complete failure. There are interesting elements here that might make Charisma worth watching for viewers with particular kinds of interests, as well as die-hard fans of Japanese cinema.

The most conspicuous asset is that Kurosawa is amazing at visual composition. If I were to recontextualize Charisma as something more like a series of still photographs--still with moving elements, if that makes sense--it would easily get an 8. Almost every shot is very rich compositionally. Kurosawa must take incredible care in getting his actors placed and moving to the exact right spots--otherwise known as blocking--with complex, varied sets and background elements that usually create multifaceted visual paths for your eye to wander around. He has interesting combinations of objects, colors and textures, and often takes great care in ensuring that there are multiple elements in motion--things like water, smoke, blowing curtains and so on. There will often be several layers of this. He tends to place the camera unexpected distances from his actors. A lot of shots are wide and stay wide and motionless for a whole scene. There is a relative absence of close-ups. He also uses lighting in very unusual ways. All of these unique approaches tend to work, with the sole exception of some of the darker scenes, or scenes with a bit too much backlighting. If you have any interest in visual composition, Charisma is worth checking out for that alone.

Also interesting are the subtextual and metaphorical aspects of the story. Whether intended or not, Charisma is rich with this material, partially aided by the film's ambiguity. Starting from a more literal level, the story can be seen as gradual working toward redemption for Yabuike. He ends up redoing the event that brought him to the forest, only this time he gets it "right". More abstractly, the Charisma tree and the events surrounding it can represent everything from mass human interaction with a unique, individualistic human, to a parable about "natural law", to a polemic against imperialistic nations in the world, perhaps even the U.S. There are also numerous suggestions throughout the film that the forest is some kind of alternate reality, perhaps even Hell. We never see anyone leave, by the way, even though they talk about leaving. These ideas are intriguing, but they all require the viewer to do a lot of work; the film can be a catalyst for them, but that doesn't help make the film entertaining or compelling.

Proceed with caution on this one.

Is a tree just a tree?

[richie-43 · 9/10 · 17 January 2000]

Charisma was my favorite movie at the Toronto Film Festival. The only film I've ever seen that pondered whether a tree was evil, exceptional, or just another tree. And also wonders about man's attempts to control the natural order.

A false dichotomy of a false dichotomy

[f231843 · 9/10 · 22 July 2013]

The consensus on this film seems to be an exploration of the dichotomy between individualism and society, but given the director's own statements about the origins of the film and his own uncertainty about the ultimate meaning, I think this film is still up for interpretation and some healthy debate, 14 years later. ^.^ The ending of this film does not match the interpretation that ebossert below describes. If the collapse of society were due to Yabuike's rejection of the dichotomy, this would be a wrong ending. It creates another dichotomy, and actively goes against the film's own stated philosophy: that the destruction, rather than preservation, of both would lead to chaos/extinction. The chaos seen at the end of the film is something different. What is being contrasted in this film is not society with individualism, but society with an individual. Just as it's insane to allow a destructive individual to continue to exist and taint a society for his uniqueness, it's also excessive to kill that person to protect society. There has to be a way to save both--that's Yabuike's plan. The non-linearity and philosophy seen in this film (and countless other Japanese films) draws, through perhaps unconscious cultural channels, from Buddhism. Particularly in Zen Buddhism, the form most popular in Japan, all is changing and inseparable. There is no individual, for we are all intricately and inextricably bound by forces tying us together--cause and effect. The solution to the problem, then, is not to kill the individual to protect society, as the botanist wishes, nor to let the forest be killed to protect the tree, as Kiriyama wishes. Yabuike's solution is chance. Pure, random, chaotic chance. Since all are equal, kill this one, let this one survive. This explains the men in black (who may represent the forces of nature), who simultaneously break away from the false paradigm with Yabuike. They throw away their caps, lifting the mental ceiling off, and he no longer has any qualms about risking one person's life to save another in a hostage situation. The ending is a bit dramatic for an otherwise deliberately-paced film; more accurate would have been a subtle, understated change in society, but that's difficult to depict when your film is already 100 minutes long. In short, Kurosawa Kiyoshi created with this another excellent film that watches like a good book reads. I had to take several pauses to reflect on the ideas and parallels depicted on screen. If you're reading this now, chances are you're just discovering Kurosawa as I did years ago. He is now my favourite director, and Yakusho Kouji my favourite actor. I highly recommend watching, and rewatching, both of their films!

Who's right, who's wrong?

[rag-9 · 14 February 2000]

Although Charisma was not my favourite movie at the Rotterdam filmfestival, I liked this new movie from Kurosawa Kiyoshi, because of it's neutral message. It shows various sides of the same story without ever judging. It's up to the viewer to decide what he/she gets out of it. At the same it's never really clear what the plot's about. There are some opinions (battle, nature vs man), but i believe there were several. And again, the viewer can pick up what moved him/her watching this film. To me that is a true accomplishment.

Strange and Awesome

[grouchomoon · 9/10 · 11 January 2005]

I absolutely loved this film. I saw it in Rome as a part of a Japanese Film Festival at the Japanese Consulate? or Cultural center? and it has now become one of, if not my favorite, Japanese films I've ever seen (and I've seen quite a few). So strange, very difficult to follow but all the same very interesting and engaging. It was shot well and at times I remember it being pretty intense. The story revolves around a Tree and those people around it who want the tree (Added to the confusion of the plot, I saw it a couple years ago, so my memory fails me). I have not seen any of Kiyoshi Kurasawa's other films but I'm going to try. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes Japanese films and the discussions that follow watching them. If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this, or see it again please let me know. I would love a copy of this one.

A strange but nonetheless hypnotic film

[seanwilson-556 · 9/10 · 14 December 2016]

This is one of the strangest, complex films I've ever seen. When you read the synopsis, you'll probably realise that the writer and director, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, is working on many different levels, and you'll equally stay involved with the story due to the outstanding visuals. Kurosawa's camera work is typically brilliant, allowing the viewer to escape into the mysterious rural Japanese landscape.

Part philosophical drama, part social study, part ecological investigation, part surrealistic, Kafkaesque black comedy, Kurosawa has clearly crafted a film that demands repeated viewings. My first viewing was focused on the ecological themes present throughout the film; the whole idea of man's control over nature, without realising that nature doesn't reason. It just is. Applying Spinozan logic, nature is the infinite essence of the universe and doesn't need controlling. Nature doesn't act out of emotion and reason; it is perfect and simply is. There's just so much more thematic material open to interpretation so it's hard to place one specific genre to the film, but Kurosawa skillfully builds up disturbing dramatic moments with his trademark perfect camera work, boasting stellar cinematography of the Japanese landscape.

The film might not be my favourite, but 'Charisma' is certainly up there as one of Kurosawa's best films. If you're interested in strange but nonetheless interesting examinations of reality, then be sure to check this one out.

Like most people... I'm not clear about this one...

[bandyimo · 15 September 2003]

I started watching this film without knowing much about it... and after the final frame.. I can honestly say I still do not know much about it. I've read some of the other comments about this movie from other viewers and each made some interesting comments and observations.

There were surreal elements as well as a very peculiar (and original) premise for a plotline but there's no need for me to re-summarize what's already been said. The pace was too slow IMO and several times I thought it was about to end when another 5 or 10 minutes were tacked on. There were a few shocks and surprises along the way but the sheer length of the movie and it's ambiguous ending renders it hard for me to recommend.

As someone else stated, it does make you think and that is probably what all good films hope to achieve. One would just hope for a clearer thoughtscape to ponder on.

The Rule of A Game in Karisuma (Charisma)

[juge · 8/10 · 4 March 2005]

Karisma (Charisma) directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

The thing 'Karisma (Charisma)' impressed me the most is how the director Kiyoshi Kurosawa delivered this psychological/philosophical story with a calculated manner. When Goro Yabuike, a detective from Tokyo, lost his way in an isolated and peculiar community in a countryside, he started getting involved with different groups of people who were disputing over this one tree they called 'Karisma (Charisma).' The tree was imported from outside of the country by the director of the asylum who passed away, and later the community learned that the tree was actually poisoning all other trees and grass around it for its solo survival. They argued whether they should protect the tree, which was destroying the woods, or they should get rid of the poisonous tree to save the woods. The 'Karisma' tree becomes a medium of their communication, and Yabuike, the outsider, suddenly got a position to play the God to make the decision. Kiyoshi Kurosawa is trying to show a conception of nature in the film. The answer the detective Yabuike suggests is that the chaos over the 'Karisma' is based on human's selfish interest and not the natural order. The director Kiyoshi Kurosawa mathematically composed "the rule of a game" in a fictional story setting. 'Karisma (Charisma)' is a very interesting psychological and philosophical film.

"What interests me is the nature of film itself."- Kiyoshi Kurosawa

[poe426 · 10/10 · 19 February 2006]

***SPOILERS*** In Kiyoshi Kurosawa's CURE, in which the director examines both the quicksilver nature of truth as well as "the transient nature of one's true self," actor Koji Yakusho was "Mesmerising." He's no less watchable, here, in CHARISMA (which he has, in abundance: he's this Kurosawa's equivalent to Akira Kurosawa's Toshiro Mifune, if such a parallel can be drawn). Kurosawa once again demonstrates his mastery of superbly subtle surrealism. CHARISMA also reminds one of ACACIA, another borderline fantasy fright film. Kurosawa is clearly comfortable bending genres. (Not that he's incapable of straightforward narrative: in SEANCE, the medium herself is the message and BRIGHT FUTURE is nothing if not a "mainstream" movie. Only exceptionally well done.) Like 3-IRON, CHARISMA is a subtle, mature and "haunting" experience.

Quietly and alternatingly beautiful, dark, and funny

[I_Ailurophile · 8/10 · 19 August 2021]

Lush natural landscapes fill our vision, followed to a lesser extent with the austere grandeur of man-made structures. Carefully arranged scenes, shots, and lighting further enhance the visual splendor, while also serving the substance of the feature - understated, at once surprisingly dark and funny, and deeply thought-provoking. 'Charisma' is at times dense and difficult, at others plainspoken and forthright, but always entrancing and entertaining.

The chief difficulty is not in the content, but in how the film is sequenced. Editing shifts our attention from one scene to another very quickly at some points, sometimes with no more matter than what a static image imparts within a few seconds. This is true most urgently toward the very end, where Kurosawa seeks to tie up the loose threads of his characters, but he does so in a way that's distinctly disordered relative to how the entire rest of the movie plays out. Of course, that manner may well be wholly intentional, a reflection of the content, but it's still a quirk that makes it difficult to engage as a viewer.

The heart of 'Charisma' is unexpectedly straightforward, though make no mistake that the audience must remain actively attentive or key aspects will float right over our heads. There's a concrete narrative on hand, not wholly difficult to follow, yet the plot isn't necessarily fully realized without consideration of the themes and notions within. These are mostly revealed in a rather matter-of-fact way through dialogue, and even still it's how everything is interconnected that is the crux of the film. As protagonist Yabuike retreats from the city and enters the forest he finds that the conflicting ideas he hoped to leave behind only take on new form in the wild space.

Thus 'Charisma' becomes an exploration of battling philosophies: management that requires pruning; salvation that may alternately mean sacrifice, or at its extreme, cleaning the slate; the value of the one versus the many, and the effort and difficulty of protecting both. The violent, indifferent element of capitalist greed; the tumult of rebellious nihilism; the wisdom of finding a balanced, individualized path - and the chaos that path can create. There is also plain examination of how any of these inclinations can bring peace with placation, or great disturbance with rejection.

The characters embodying these philosophies are complex and varied, and the cast realizes them with deft subtlety. For every acutely jarring moment of comedy, aggression, or otherwise bombast, so much of the movie is very low-key in its presentation, and its stars mirror Kurosawa's slant with performances that are generally dry and nuanced in movement and delivery. When any sense of action does pick up, picture and player alike dexterously leap to match the tone, with no loss in fidelity. 'Charisma' never feels so meticulous and exacting in its construction as to be rigid, yet all involved, and every aspect, is so finely tuned and aligned that it feels slightly less than natural.

If all these words seem a bit much, consider them an extension of the feature. As both writer and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa has packed as significant amount of content into these 100 minutes, and it can be hard to parse every now and again. One needn't be bogged down in the details to enjoy the whole, yet the whole is enriched by the details - there's a meta commentary here about getting lost in the forest for the trees, yet without the trees one can't enjoy the forest. A viewer certainly has to be mindful to derive any enjoyment. But for anyone willing to sit down, strap in, and keep their eyes on the prize, 'Charisma' is a greatly rewarding film that's well worth seeking out.

Restore the rules of the world or destroy them?

[chaos-rampant · 11 March 2011]

Charisma begins with a conundrum that intrigues me, a hostage situation where a cop points a gun at a young man holding at gunpoint a politician with the demands, scribbled on a scrap of paper, "to restore the rules of the world", and will the cop carry out justice or will he recognize another kind of justice already unfolding in front of him. The cop walks away, because he feels sympathy for both victim and victimizer as he later reveals to his superior, and the film quickly shows that non-action or a refusal to be involved in the world, compassion from a distance, has dire consequences.

Kurosawa seems to be concerned here with the law of nature, the ways of the world. If life is a game with stakes of life and death, how do we play it and how does it reflect on the universe. The phrase "the rules of the world" is repeated later in the film, it's a linchpin holding themes together, but how does the film pursue this broad philosophy, does it poetically infer something important?

The cop protagonist is brought into a mysterious forest world, which is threatened to be tipped off balance by a rare toxic tree. It doesn't take a lot to understand that this secluded ecosystem stands for the world at large but I like that Kurosawa readies him for this existential playground by stripping him of manmade identity, this contract established between the individual and society, preparing him for an initiation process where the self will be reinvented, born anew with new perspectives.

It's downhill for me from this point. Kurosawa pursues his argument by a schematic representation, by an obviousness of symbolism, by characters drawn to clearly stand in opposites who literally speak out their role in the film. A character wants to destroy the tree to save the surrounding ecosystem, another wants to protect it because it's unique. We understand this, but they go on to tell the camera.

Kairo's strong card for me is the grand guignol representation of an abstract world, the stage of a horror theater where the self is dissolved. In Charisma, Kurosawa reaches for a similar absence of logic but only as means of formulating logic on a secondary level, by an allegory of "this stands for that". I like the fact that I'm watching a film morally and aesthetically preoccupied, one that tries to grapple with ideas, but it's not a surreal film, and it doesn't evoke a picture of a meaningful world by poetic means, rather it draws one by rational ones.

This illustrates the failure of allegory for me. An allegoric world is an abstraction of a part of the world we recognize, with the abstraction used to concretely talk about that part. The basic means are cryptic as opposed to poetic. Once we grasp the key that abstracts, it's no longer a challenge.

The cop wavers between the two sides, until he settles for a point of view that encompasses both. This balancing act of selective involvement that upsets the rules in the world of the film and brings chaos can be meaningful, if we accept that a new world can only come to pass through the fires of destruction.

Philosophy by means of an allegory makes for a boring film for me, and more, for a film that doesn't stimulate the senses, but invites pen to paper in an effort to decrypt a riddle.

It's a difficult film, but not very bright.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's enigmatic masterpiece!

[Weirdling_Wolf · 9/10 · 16 July 2023]

Another fascinatingly enigmatic film by this unique filmmaker that is bound to enthral and confound in equal measure! A contemplative, profoundly philosophical work that, perhaps, suggests there are indeed more ways to skin the proverbial cat! Detective, Goro Yabuike's (Koji Yakusho) fateful decision to not kill the armed, note-brandishing terrorist proves existentially calamitous! His earnest wish to help both the victim and perpetrator echoes cryptically throughout the dazzling film until its uncommonly powerful conclusion. Kiyoshi Kurosawa's immaculate screenplay is a heady, thought provoking delight, his matchless filmmaking is consistently assured, ably complemented by a no less refined, undeniably soulful performance by the vastly talented, Koji Yakusho. The thoughtful philosopher cop Goro undertaking his seemingly implausible task of having to "Restore the Rules of the World" frequently provides film fans with a wealth of intriguing surrealistic interludes, at times, for me, 'Charisma' occasionally recalled the early, more avant garde experimentation of Fassbinder.

A story about a tree

[keal · 10/10 · 5 September 2016]

The first time I watched this was with my mother. My parents were always victims when I wanted to watch 'artistic' videos. Charisma was very engaging and my mom made it to the end. The main character, a detective, goes on a vacation to clear his mind and gets involved in the problems of a small town, mostly surrounding a dead tree nicknamed 'Charisma'. The director takes this minimal theme and keeps it interesting throughout. At one point the detective comes to a realization that the town's obsession with this tree is just stupid, and that it's a sort of metaphor for all of his own problems of dealing with people in his own life. When the end credits began to roll, my mom felt so insulted that she actually said 'WHAT THE HELL, IS THAT IT?" For years, anytime we parked at a shopping mall or supermarket, my mom would point at a tree and say 'park over there, by Charisma'. We always had a good laugh, and that kept the movie in our minds. No other film stuck in my mom's mind, ever.

But the film grew on not just me and my mom, but everyone who I unwittingly got to watch it. Yes, I've seen Charisma many times, and LOVE it. If a director can take a dead tree, make a film around it, and make people sit through it, hate it, then come back to it, that's entertainment.

Think of cult films like Rocky Horror Picture Show. Charisma has the elements of what makes a great cult movie, yet it's filmed in such a stylish and enjoyable way - the characters are all especially likable - that you can't pass this off as just b-movie stuff. It's a classy, one-of-a-kind film about a dead tree, told in a poetic, yet cinematically fun way that will just draw you back to watch now and then, with new people in tow just to see their reactions.

I wish there were more films like this. But even Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who directed Charisma, never struck lightning twice. This, in my opinion, is his masterpiece, and he never got close to this again.

This is great cinema! If you feel you need a cleansing from this film, seek out another Japanese movie called Summer Time Machine Blues. It'll knock your socks off.