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Marebito (2004)
Man-Boy and his Camera.
If you like Takashi Shimizu and his work, then you will probably like this. You may remember him from such movies as the Grudge, various Grudge remakes and the Grudge 2, along with its remake.
We follow the exploits of videophile cameraman Masuoka. Masuoka is played by Japanese actor/director Shinya Tsukamoto. You may remember him from Tetsuo the Iron Man, A Snake of June, Tokyo Fist and the coma inducing Bullet Ballet (he doubles as director and actor in many of his movies). His acting style is usually very similar throughout his various role (the quiet, doormat otaku character). Don't expect something drastic here. If the director happens to rehash the same material over the last decade (I'm looking at you too George L.), why should the actors discover a new id and ego? There are some interesting and pervading issues throughout the movie : Reality vs Perception; Urban Legends; Fear; Vampirism as a Lifestyle; Parasitic Relationships; Ghosts; Eye vs Lens.
The main part of this relates to the way Masuoka deals with information. Experiencing it in real-time as himself does nothing. It is the act of watching everything via video that proves profound for him. Video, after all, is the purest and least biased of the two methods of perception. But it is also true that the "pureness" of video is not absolute, being that perception of it changes the result. That's the good part of this movie. The bad part is we don't really get any answers or is that simply because there is nothing really there? Most of the "narrative" is done through a 3rd person narrative (movie camera) and the rest is through the handy-cam (mostly first-person). One can't help but feel the Cannibal Holocaust/Blair Witch similarity, with a touch of El Mariachi. I frankly was not impressed with the Grudge. None of them. I found them too drawn out and boring. It's mainly the kind of movie that tries to make you feel uncomfortable about eerie music and darkness. This one isn't quite that bad, but I was expecting a bit more evolution out of the director. Kudos to him for discovering the new "must-have" pet this Christmas : a sanguine, mute pseudo-female companion.
I say skip this. Stick to anything Miike.
We follow the exploits of videophile cameraman Masuoka. Masuoka is played by Japanese actor/director Shinya Tsukamoto. You may remember him from Tetsuo the Iron Man, A Snake of June, Tokyo Fist and the coma inducing Bullet Ballet (he doubles as director and actor in many of his movies). His acting style is usually very similar throughout his various role (the quiet, doormat otaku character). Don't expect something drastic here. If the director happens to rehash the same material over the last decade (I'm looking at you too George L.), why should the actors discover a new id and ego? There are some interesting and pervading issues throughout the movie : Reality vs Perception; Urban Legends; Fear; Vampirism as a Lifestyle; Parasitic Relationships; Ghosts; Eye vs Lens.
The main part of this relates to the way Masuoka deals with information. Experiencing it in real-time as himself does nothing. It is the act of watching everything via video that proves profound for him. Video, after all, is the purest and least biased of the two methods of perception. But it is also true that the "pureness" of video is not absolute, being that perception of it changes the result. That's the good part of this movie. The bad part is we don't really get any answers or is that simply because there is nothing really there? Most of the "narrative" is done through a 3rd person narrative (movie camera) and the rest is through the handy-cam (mostly first-person). One can't help but feel the Cannibal Holocaust/Blair Witch similarity, with a touch of El Mariachi. I frankly was not impressed with the Grudge. None of them. I found them too drawn out and boring. It's mainly the kind of movie that tries to make you feel uncomfortable about eerie music and darkness. This one isn't quite that bad, but I was expecting a bit more evolution out of the director. Kudos to him for discovering the new "must-have" pet this Christmas : a sanguine, mute pseudo-female companion.
I say skip this. Stick to anything Miike.
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