Bernell DorroughIf one were to try to learn all they could about Japan through its film circuit, they would arrive at one definitive conclusion: Bless my sweet virgin eyes, what are they up to over there?! As polite, refined, and respectful as Japan might seem at first glance, there is a layer of independent filmmaking that dwells under the surface that is more hardcore than anything I’ve ever seen from America. I’m warning you: take the bar that “Requiem for a Dream,” or “Irreversible,” or any of David Lynch’s films set for you, and prepare to raise it a few notches, because you’re in for an interesting ride. These films can also prep you for Fontbonne’s upcoming “New Asian Horror” film series, which continues on Feb. 3 with “Momento Mori” and will run every week for a month. (Finding that info actually necessitated going to Fontbonne’s web page. I guess there’s a first time for everything.) Enjoy.
Audition (1999)
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina
Takashi Miike, who merits enough “weirdo” points to rival David Lynch or John Waters, masterfully directs this romantic comedy turned horror flick. It starts innocently enough: TV producer Aoyama (Ishibashi) seeks to find a new wife after years of single parenthood. His partner comes up with a somewhat misogynistic idea: hold an audition for a new female part, thus having hundreds of women at your disposal to pick and choose from. Aoyama settles on Asami, a cute, but slightly shy, former ballerina. “Mistake of a lifetime” would be an understatement. The unassuming Asami turns out to have quite an interesting past, one that centers around a creepy, wheelchair-bound dance instructor who keeps a bowl of flaming hot pokers handy. She also lives in a one-room apartment containing only a telephone and a burlap sack that moves and grunts sometimes. Once Aoyama figures out what he’s gotten into, it’s almost too late and the film spirals into a truly disgusting and harrowing climax. Miike infuses what would otherwise be an acceptable horror film with gorgeous cinematography, creating a mix of surreal beauty and unnerving terror. Say it with me now: “This wire cuts through flesh and bone easily.”
Dead or Alive (2000)
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Sho Aikiwa, Riki Takeuchi
Hey, it’s Miike, again, bringing you another visual feast of cops, gangsters, blood, guts, and, of course, a giant dancing chicken. If you can last through the film’s opening montage, featuring an exploding stomach full of noodles, a twenty-foot-long line of coke, a bathroom rape scene, and (and this warrants a lengthy description) a man in a tiny codpiece being manually pleasured on a spinning wheel while a gangster/clown hurls knives at him, you can survive the whole thing. Once the dust settles, we find that a Japanese cop, Jojima (Aikiwa), is trying to keep the balance of good and evil intact while a band of young Sino-Japanese hoodlums, led by the ÿRoy Orbison-meets-Sonny Chiba-looking Ryuchi (Takeuchi), stir up trouble between rival gangs. Jojima also has to worry about making enough money to cure his teenage daughter of a rare heart condition. Meanwhile, we encounter bestial pornography merchants, a dancer soaking in a kiddie pool of questionable liquid, and other such revolting sights. The denouement, much like the opening, effectively tosses any expectations for a gangster film out the window. A gross, but engrossing cops-and-robbers rollercoaster.
Battle Royale (2001)
Director: Kinji Fukusaku
Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Beat Takeshi
This film had a profound effect on Quentin Tarantino, so you know it’s gonna be a grand ol’ time. And indeed, it doesn’t take its time getting to the point, as we’re greeted with young Shuya (Fujiwara) discovering his father’s suicide. Perhaps a new year at boarding school will do him well; after all, a cutie named Noriko (Maeda) bakes him some cookies on their school field trip. Think again! The eighth graders are kidnapped and taken to a deserted island, where, under the Millenial Reform School Act, they are forced to do battle until only one lucky kiddo survives. Each child is given a survival kit and a distinct weapon or gadget, ranging from crossbows to bullhorns to automatic firearms. A ruthless supervisor (Japanese cult legend Beat Takeshi) oversees the brutal process. It’s hard to know what to think about “Battle Royale”; it’s entertaining but obviously disturbing, given that middle schoolers are blowing each other’s brains out left and right. Toss in the usual playground drama: secret crushes, “cool” cliques, and the outcasts getting their chance at revenge, and it’s like “The Wonder Years” by way of “Apocalypse Now”.