Japanese director Takashi Miike has been making films for about 20 years, and has drawn worldwide attention for his outrageous and visually stunning movies. Many people think that his mid to late 90's work, like Fudoh, Ichi the Killer, and the Dead or Alive trilogy, are his best works; that he has strayed away from his violent outre style to become more a conventional filmmaker. I think those who say that are paying too much attention to his shock value and not the underlying theme that runs through most of his films -- a study of the modern condition of his country, and his criticism of it. In The Great Yokai War, a visual masterwork and highly entertaining movie, Miike attacks Japan's lack of respect for tradition and its material wastefulness. Tadishi is a boy who is going through a difficult time - his mom just got a divorce, and has moved with him into her father's house in a small town near a bay and at the foot of a mountain, which has been a source for a local legend. A Kirin Rider is appointed during a time of trouble, who would go to the mountain to claim a great sword, held by the Great Goblin, and defend the people from war and injustice. During the local festival Tadishi is selected to be the Kirin Rider. But he is too afraid to go up; he can't go past a certain point because he is frightened by the dark forest. He is also afraid of a lot of other things as well, and is picked on at school. He befriends one Yokai demon who looks like Stuart Little and a cat, who tells him that he must go to claim the sword. Tricked by another Yokai demon by pretending that his grandfather is in trouble, Tadashi goes up the mountain and encounters a small group of demons, from a tortoise man to a pretty young girl with pointy ears, oily skin and monstrous hands, a demon in red and a ball of fire. With them he claims the sword. What is the great problem then? A demon who is formed by the indifference, violence, waste and hatred that is cast off by the Japanese people, who with a renegade Yokai demon (Kuriyama Chiaki, the girl from Battle Royale and Kill Bill) begin to enslave Yokai demons and convert them into warriors to destroy the world. Tadashi and the Yokai demons are off to battle, though not after some trial and tribulations, and chasing the bad guys to Tokyo in one super nuclear explosion of a finale. Let me say this is one stunning movie to look at. The colors are super saturated, with lots of intense reds and soothing blues and greens. The editing is very unconventional, cutting between scenes to fill in story gaps or describing an event without any linear pattern, yet maintaining the thread of the story. There is a lot of humor in the film; for instance, the enemy cloud city flying toward Tokyo is described by some wry townfolk as Gammera being back in town! There are walking wall demons, umbrella demons, snow demons. The CGI is top notch, though there are moments when it seems the quality control has slipped. The director's underlying message is that the demons are created in part by the physical or emotional waste that is being produced, and that the boy's trial in defeating the demon is a cleansing that the new generation has to make for the previous one. And it is cyclical, judging from the ending which generates that usual huh? from Miike. While I don't think this reaches the upper eschalon of Miike's top works -- for that I would put Audition, Ichi, Happiness of the Katikuris, The Negotiator, City of Lost Angels and Izo -- I think this is a highly entertaining work. Recommended!
Saturday, September 16, 2006
The Cynical yet Entertaining Miike - The Great Yokai War
Japanese director Takashi Miike has been making films for about 20 years, and has drawn worldwide attention for his outrageous and visually stunning movies. Many people think that his mid to late 90's work, like Fudoh, Ichi the Killer, and the Dead or Alive trilogy, are his best works; that he has strayed away from his violent outre style to become more a conventional filmmaker. I think those who say that are paying too much attention to his shock value and not the underlying theme that runs through most of his films -- a study of the modern condition of his country, and his criticism of it. In The Great Yokai War, a visual masterwork and highly entertaining movie, Miike attacks Japan's lack of respect for tradition and its material wastefulness. Tadishi is a boy who is going through a difficult time - his mom just got a divorce, and has moved with him into her father's house in a small town near a bay and at the foot of a mountain, which has been a source for a local legend. A Kirin Rider is appointed during a time of trouble, who would go to the mountain to claim a great sword, held by the Great Goblin, and defend the people from war and injustice. During the local festival Tadishi is selected to be the Kirin Rider. But he is too afraid to go up; he can't go past a certain point because he is frightened by the dark forest. He is also afraid of a lot of other things as well, and is picked on at school. He befriends one Yokai demon who looks like Stuart Little and a cat, who tells him that he must go to claim the sword. Tricked by another Yokai demon by pretending that his grandfather is in trouble, Tadashi goes up the mountain and encounters a small group of demons, from a tortoise man to a pretty young girl with pointy ears, oily skin and monstrous hands, a demon in red and a ball of fire. With them he claims the sword. What is the great problem then? A demon who is formed by the indifference, violence, waste and hatred that is cast off by the Japanese people, who with a renegade Yokai demon (Kuriyama Chiaki, the girl from Battle Royale and Kill Bill) begin to enslave Yokai demons and convert them into warriors to destroy the world. Tadashi and the Yokai demons are off to battle, though not after some trial and tribulations, and chasing the bad guys to Tokyo in one super nuclear explosion of a finale. Let me say this is one stunning movie to look at. The colors are super saturated, with lots of intense reds and soothing blues and greens. The editing is very unconventional, cutting between scenes to fill in story gaps or describing an event without any linear pattern, yet maintaining the thread of the story. There is a lot of humor in the film; for instance, the enemy cloud city flying toward Tokyo is described by some wry townfolk as Gammera being back in town! There are walking wall demons, umbrella demons, snow demons. The CGI is top notch, though there are moments when it seems the quality control has slipped. The director's underlying message is that the demons are created in part by the physical or emotional waste that is being produced, and that the boy's trial in defeating the demon is a cleansing that the new generation has to make for the previous one. And it is cyclical, judging from the ending which generates that usual huh? from Miike. While I don't think this reaches the upper eschalon of Miike's top works -- for that I would put Audition, Ichi, Happiness of the Katikuris, The Negotiator, City of Lost Angels and Izo -- I think this is a highly entertaining work. Recommended!
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