This was described in the New York Asian Film Festival program book as a supernatural horror film meets the Beatles Help meets film as occult working meets mind bending trip to the dark side. Anyone who saw the first screening told me they had no idea if they liked it but it was a mind bending trip that must be seen.
I call the film an interesting failure.
The film, which was shown once in Japan in 2009 before being completely re-edited by the director concerns the weird supernatural goings on around a bridge, a Mr Abe, a Strange old woman in a hearse who runs various companies and the murders of money lenders. Add into the mix a reformed murderer, a homeless guy and a mooch and you have the basic ingredients for a film that almost kind of works but really doesn't.
Honestly the beginning of the film is a nonsensical mess of images and ideas that kind of slowly come together to form a the basic plot of mind control, people as giant genitalia, murder and people watching the goings on. I'd try to relate what was going on had the film held together but after about 90 minutes of slowly building story (which is more a comedy with a dark edge than anything) the film explodes into chaos as we see earlier scenes replayed with different characters and going in different ways, murder, strange faces, nonsensical cuts to various things and the return of a flatulent monk. Any hope of meaning is thrown out the window as strange thing is piled on strange thing for no real reason.
I suspect some people will find something in the film, but I found it a failure that is too contrary for no good reason.
The people at the film festival promised that this film would blow our minds and that at the end we'd want to stay to have it all explained by the director in attendance. I couldn't get out of their fast enough.
I don't see what the fans of this film are seeing. I love confusing head trips but this was just a mess.
I call the film an interesting failure.
The film, which was shown once in Japan in 2009 before being completely re-edited by the director concerns the weird supernatural goings on around a bridge, a Mr Abe, a Strange old woman in a hearse who runs various companies and the murders of money lenders. Add into the mix a reformed murderer, a homeless guy and a mooch and you have the basic ingredients for a film that almost kind of works but really doesn't.
Honestly the beginning of the film is a nonsensical mess of images and ideas that kind of slowly come together to form a the basic plot of mind control, people as giant genitalia, murder and people watching the goings on. I'd try to relate what was going on had the film held together but after about 90 minutes of slowly building story (which is more a comedy with a dark edge than anything) the film explodes into chaos as we see earlier scenes replayed with different characters and going in different ways, murder, strange faces, nonsensical cuts to various things and the return of a flatulent monk. Any hope of meaning is thrown out the window as strange thing is piled on strange thing for no real reason.
I suspect some people will find something in the film, but I found it a failure that is too contrary for no good reason.
The people at the film festival promised that this film would blow our minds and that at the end we'd want to stay to have it all explained by the director in attendance. I couldn't get out of their fast enough.
I don't see what the fans of this film are seeing. I love confusing head trips but this was just a mess.
