Whisper of the heart and The cat returns
You may think I'm cheating by bundling these two films together but they are truly companion pieces. Taking Mimi wo Sumaseba (Whisper of the heart) first, this film was a first for Ghibli in several ways. It was Ghibli's idea to bring to the fore a new young director who would one day take over from Miyazaki-san and Takahata-san who weren't getting any younger. It was decided that Yoshifumi Kondō - an animation director from earlier Ghibli films - would be the man to bring Aoi Hiiragi's manga to the big screen. As a new director, he brought with him a different feel to the film more akin to the films of Takahata than Miyazaki. From the opening rendition of Take me home, country roads there is a very different score than we have previously heard. The film is based around 14 year old schoolgirl Shizuku Tsukishima who is approaching her high school entrance exams. This probably means nothing to most British people, but it's the next step on the Japanese education conveyor of pressure. Good results lead to a good high school which in turn nearly guarantees a place at one of the prestigious universities which leads to many pointless jobs as サラリーマン (Salarymen). It reminds me of my school entrance exams - which would lead (in theory) to a place at Oxbridge and end with the most gifted, intelligent people in the land taking up the very un-useful positions of lawyers, bankers and accountants. However, Shizuku's mind isn't on her exams. A keen reader, Shizuku has started noticing that all the books she checks out of the library have been read by a Seiji Amasawa. She wonders who it is, but goes about her hobby of translating Western song lyrics into Japanese for her friends. One day on her way across Tokyo to deliver lunch to her father at the library, Shizuku notices a large cat riding the train with her. Excited that the cat gets off at her stop, she follows it into a small shop on a quiet back street. Here she meets the kind owner, Nishi-san, who shows her the treasures within. Of these, she is drawn to a small figurine of a cat called The Baron who's eyes appear to instil life into it. She eventually meets Seiji and after some brief, uncomfortable encounters they begin to get closer. Seiji's dream is to become a violin maker. Shizuku is amazed at his talent, but Seiji plays down his ability. He longs to travel to Italy where he can pursue his dream. He is accepted onto a two-month apprenticeship in Italy that will asses whether he has the skills to succeed in the long course. When he leaves, Shizuku is ashamed that she doesn't have any dreams and, inspired by Seiji, decides to write a book about The Baron. She starts to let her studies slide as she struggles to get the story written before Seiji returns so she can prove herself not only to him, but to herself too.
On paper it sounds simple - a teenage love story. The kind that were Disney to make it would be filled with comedy sidekicks and the like and actually put off everyone except teenage girls. Where this films succeeds is the idea of looking at this period of life from an adult's perspective. Miyazaki's screenplay allows director Kondō to impart onto screen the kind of subtle moments Ghibli are famous for. For example, the moment that Shizuku realises her love for Seiji - a point that would be hammered home in a Disney film, quite possibly with the aid of a song sung by talking animals - it is shown simply as Shizuku nestling her head against Seiji's back as he peddles her on his bike to watch the sunrise. Characters such as Nishi-san are fleshed out and even The Baron has a back story. Some have dismissed Whisper as a mere remake of Kiki's delivery service, but it's much more than that. It's about questioning whether what society dictates is the right path is right for you. It's about wanting to prove yourself, not just to you, but to someone else who has inspired you. Even if they are on the other side of the world. Whilst Miyazaki's films are frequently set in fantasy locations, Kondō sets Whisper firmly in the reality of mid-90s Tokyo. In fact, Shizuku lives in Tama Hills - the area being developed in Takahata's tanuki film, Pom poko. For the first time we experience a lively suburb in a Ghibli film. The animation pushes towards realism with the fantastic exception of sequences from Shizuku's story which were inspired and animated by Naohisa Inoue based on his fantasy land of Iblard. This style was revisited in the 2006 Ghibli museum short Hoshi o Katta Hi (The day I harvested a star). I strongly urge everyone to watch this film - it's beautiful and real: something that most people wouldn't believe an animated film could be. Sadly, the director Kondō passed away from a brain aneurysm three years after the film's release.
In 2005 I had the chance to go and see Neko no ongaeshi (The cat returns) at the cinema. I'm actually really glad I didn't cos I think I would have been very disappointed. Running at a mere 75 minutes, the story is a simple fantasy adventure - not the kind of thing you would expect from Studio Ghibli. However, once you have been primed by Whisper of the heart the film takes on much more significance. The story stars none other than The Baron from Nishi-san's shop so it is assumed that the story is one of Shizuku's. Thus it makes sense that it is short and simple as Shizuku is still starting out. No mention of any of the characters from Whisper beyond the cats is made to ensure that this film works as a stand alone entity for those who haven't seen the previous film. The story follows the adventures of Haru, a school girl who one day saves a cat from being run over. To her amazement, the cat rises to its hind legs and thanks her before running off. That night she is visited by a procession headed by the king of the cat kingdom. He tells her that the cat she saved was his son and the cats will thank her over the following days. As Haru is bombarded with boxes of mice and other gifts she is met by an envoy to the cat king. She is told that the cats will take her to their kingdom where she will marry the prince. Naturally Haru is a bit freaked out, but a strange soothing voice tells her to seek out the cat business centre. She is guided to a meeting with the large cat Muta (who made an appearance in Whisper) who leads her to the Baron in a hidden realm. Whilst they plan their strategy, the cats arrive and take Haru and Muta to the cat kingdom. As Haru spends more time in the kingdom she begins to resemble a cat more and more. The Baron eventually finds the cat kingdom and must plan an escape for not only Haru, but himself and Muta as well. The film was originally meant to be a 45-minute short, but ended up as a film as Miyazaki and producer Suzuki were impressed with director Hiroyuki Morita's dedication in storyboarding his ideas. As a standalone film, it's nowhere near the usual Ghibli standards - the animation isn't as smooth, the characters not as detailed and once Haru reaches the cat kingdom, the slow building pace accelerates to the film's climax. Knowing that that this is supposed to represent Shizuku's work is an extra excitement. We see how the Baron has been made into the hero and the large train-riding cat Moon has his character from Whisper transcribed here as Shizuku imagined him - a cat with more than one identity who is primarily concerned with himself. If I had one wish, it would have been that the story featured was based on the one we see Shizuku working on in Whisper that featured the land of Iblard.
Infernal affairs
I'd heard many good things about the Infernal Affairs trilogy. In fact, when I saw a trailer for US film The departed I immediately thought of the Hong Kong film. Eventually I decided to buy it and see what all the fuss was about before the Western remake hit the screens. Set in Hong Kong in first years of the 21st century Infernal affairs tells the story of the police force's struggle against the criminal gang headed up by big boss Sam. Both sides think they have the perfect weapon - a man on the inside. Sam sent several of his men to sign up to the police force and one of them, Ming, has rapidly risen through the ranks. In the meantime, undercover officer Yan has infiltrated several criminal gangs. Now he is a trusted lieutenant in Sam's. The only man who knows his true identity is Inspector Wong to help maintain his cover. Both men feed information back to their superiors keeping the situation at an uneasy stalemate. Things come to a head when the police attempt to swoop on a drug deal between Sam and some Thais. Yan conveys the progress of the deal to the waiting police force, whilst Ming is able to warn Sam that a raid is about to happen. The result is that both Wong and Sam realise they have a traitor in their midst. Sam turns to Yan and The police to Ming to try and uncover the moles. Both realise that the only way they can succeed is to unmask each other to their real bosses. The only problem is, after so long undercover do they still feel they want to keep up their double lives? This is a film that really reinforces the idea of the thriller. It's not full of violence like the HK-films of John Woo, it's all about ratcheting up the suspense until something has to give. (Spoilers follow - to read highlight the box)
Sam's idea to flush out the mole in his ranks leads to the death of Inspector Wong. The moment of his death is a complete shock and as Yan turns around to see the body, we can see him suddenly realise that he is now completely alone - noone else knows he is really a police officer and Wong's computer files are encrypted, much to Ming's annoyance.
At the same time, Ming is settling down with his girlfriend and begins to question his loyalty to Sam. The film is a brisk 101 minutes and is paced perfectly. By the end of the film both characters have decided on their futures, but they are dependent on each other - Yan needs his identity back and Ming needs to know that his status remains hidden. It comes to a head with a tense meeting on top of a building which leads to the film's big ending. The ending is a complete surprise and in fact the film required an alternative ending to be filmed to allow it to be shown in mainline China as the authorities were uncomfortable with the implications.Oldboy
Moving east to one of the first K-films I've seen. I remember several of my friends getting excited by this film's DVD release back in 2005, but it wasn't until Film4 showed it that I got to see it. It forms the second part of Chan-wook Park's revenge trilogy. The film starts with Dae-su Oh drunk in a police station. His friend arrives to bail him out and take him home to his wife and young daughter. As he calls them to let them know Dae-su is coming home, he leaves the phone box to discover that Dae-su has simply vanished. Dae-su comes around in a small locked hotel room. He is imprisoned in this room for 15 years without seeing another human except on the TV in the room, whenever he becomes violent or suicidal he is gassed. Whilst he is imprisoned he learns that his wife has been murdered and his daughter sent to live with foster parents. Dae-su trains himself by shadow boxing and punching his prison's walls. One day, he is suddenly released with no explanation. Clothed, given a mobile phone and money he stumbles into a sushi bar and passes out in front of the young chef Mido who takes him in. He soon discovers that his kidnapper still has plans for him and he is told that by a man called Woo-jin that unless he can find the reason for his imprisonment in 5 days Mido will be killed. Despite their large age-difference they feel an attraction and Mido agrees to help Dae-su in gaining his revenge. Dae-su eventually tracks down the prison where he was being held and "extracts" information about his captor. His escape from the prison involves the infamous "corridor fight scene" - a long unbroken one-take fight scene in the prison's hallway as Dae-su is attacked by the prison guards. He and Mido follow more clues, becoming even closer and eventually sleeping together. Finally Dae-su discovers the truth behind why Woo-jin imprisoned him. He confronts Woo-jin but Woo-jin is prepared and turns the tables not only on Dae-su, but turns around the whole plot of the film. I won't spoil the ending, but I do encourage you to watch this film as an excellent example of how to script, plan and shoot a film.
Nana
Moving even further east we reach Japan and the phenomenon that has swept the country in the last few years - Nana. It's the story of two girls called Nana who meet on a train as they move to Tokyo. Nana Osaki is moving to try and make it with her band, The Black Stones and Nana Komatsu is moving to be with her boyfriend who is at college in Tokyo. They are completely opposite in character; Osaki is strong willed and determined to prove herself whilst Komatsu is heavily dependent on others. Eventually they decide to live together. The film is split into two parts - Komatsu learning to be more assertive and take control of her life after she discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her. The second half focuses on Osaki's journey to face her past and her ex-boyfriend Ren who left their old band to join popular group Trapnest. The film is based on the original manga and as with many films based on long-running series, the film doesn't have a definite ending, which will lead on to plenty of sequels. Whilst the Nana phenomenon is fairly unknown outside of the East, it is constantly being touted as the next big thing that will hit the West. The two Nana's are played by Mika Nakashima - a popular Jpop artist - and Aoi Miyazaki - popular Japanese actress. There are certain films that stick with you for some reason. It's clear they're not the best film in the world, but it stays in your head. This is one of those films. I saw it about a KLM flight to Osaka on a 5" LCD panel with crap headphones. I didn't think much of it at the time, but by the time I made my return flight a few weeks later I felt the urge to watch it again. It's sort of like having the last song you heard in the morning stick in your head. The pacing of the film is pretty slow and the split between the two stories is extremely jarring, but the main song from the film (here) is extremely catchy and the OST has a pleasing mournful tone that completely fits with the film. Mika Nakashima is well known as a Jpop singer, but Nana's band is a Jrock band. Their main song is penned by L'arc en Ciel frontman Hyde and has both an edge and some nice guitar work. Strangely, the main song by the Jrock band Trapnest (here) is unbelievably pop-based. I know that for a lot of Jrock banks their bark is worse than their bite (it's all about visuals), but would even a visual-kei band play something like this?
The sequel to the film was widely anticipated, but much of the original cast (including Aoi Miyazaki) haven't returned. The theme song this time sounds a lot more pop rather than rock (judge for yourself here). Sadly, I smell a straight-to-DVD release.
No comments:
Post a Comment