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Reviews
Gyakufunsha kazoku (1984)
Brilliant film which pushes its initial set-up just as far as it can go
This is a brilliant film which pushes its initial set-up -- middle-class Japanese family moves into new house and finds out there is not enough space -- just as far as it can possibly go. Along the way, every dark fear one might ever have harbored about family life is thoroughly confirmed. "The Crazy Family" had a successful 1984 theatrical run in the US (at least, it played in New York City for several months) but for some reason has never been released to any form of video in America. Some enterprising company should remedy this situation ASAP.
States of Control (1997)
Something way different
Something way different. After 30 minutes I thought I could predict where this film was going to go -- boy was I wrong. The ending is a total surprise, but if you go back and look at the film a second time you realize that it's carefully prepared, and perhaps the only way out for the central character. This is an intelligent, visually savvy, razor sharp film.