I overlooked the symbolism between the stink spirit and pollution but you’re spot on. Seeing that the “thorn” was actually a bike handle says a lot of how the river spirit was treated. What makes it worse is that nobody really cared about him until they realized who it really was.

Spirited Away

This was my first time watching Spirited Away (or any Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli film for that matter) and I definitely enjoyed it. I see why these films are so popular since they have a ton of charm and the animation is beautiful. I feel like the movie had some nice themes in it and is a great film, especially for children, whom I assume is the primary audience. 

The film follows Chihiro and her journey into a spirit world where she loses her parents and is immediately thrown out of her element. She meets Haku, who helps her get her footing and leads her to others within this world who are willing to help her. During her time in this world she learns a few lessons, saves Haku’s life, and saves her parents, eventually being able to go home. 

There are a few themes that are present in this film. Consumerism is one that comes to mind immediately. One of the first fantastical scenes we get is when Chihiro and her family are in the “amusement park” and the parents begin to gorge themselves on the food that is laid out in the only open restaurant. Chihiro asks them not to since no one is around to serve them, but they ignore her wishes and continue to eat, essentially stealing the food. This greed is shown plain as day when the parents are turned into pigs, which we find out later are meant to be eaten by the spirits later on. 

We see this greed again with No Face, and all of the spirits obsession with gold in the bathhouse. Everyone is incredibly eager to get their hands on some gold that they rush to No Face’s side begging to be blessed with gold, to the point where some people are even eaten because of this. 

Another theme that I thought was interesting but only touched on momentarily was pollution. Though while watching the film I only caught one instance of this theme, after looking into it I found a second one. The first and most obvious was during the “stink spirit” ordeal at the bathhouse. This spirit was river spirit that became full of human garbage, as we see when Chichiro removes the stake that was stuck inside of him. Once it is pulled out, loads of human trash flood out such as a bike, a refrigerator, and numerous other pieces of pollution. The second I found after looking into this theme within the film. Haku is the spirit of the Kohaku river, which was destroyed in order for apartments to be built. I must have missed the line where this was discussed in the film, since it also seems like a pretty obvious point on this theme. 

Overall, I did like the film, but don’t feel like it had the same effect on me as a lot of other individuals. I thought it was cute, beautiful, and had a good message, but I think some of the whimsicalness was lost on me either because this was my first viewing after being so exposed to the style on the internet for years, or maybe because I was exhausted when we watched it. Either way, the film was good, I’d watch it again for sure, and would love to explore more into Miyazaki’s films.

As someone who just recently completed Yakuza: Like a Dragon I can agree with the super wacky nature of this film being compared to that series. I for the most part agree with everything you said, I think watching it was an experience on its on but as for the film itself I really don’t think I’d want to go out of my way to watch it again honestly. It had some interesting and meta bits but I never felt that the movie was trying to do this intentionally even though it probably was. Overall it was an interesting experience but not a film I would watch again unless I’m not sober.

Sukiyaki Western Django - Miike

For this blog post I will be discussing Sukiyaki Western Django by Miike. Well, as one of my friends put it, this movie was certainly one of the movies of all time. One of the characters in this movie said it best, “Shit just happens”. A lot of this movie felt like “shit just happens” the movie lol.

The movie was so over the top and silly. It felt like I was watching someone play one of the Yakuza (龍が如く) games because of how ridiculous the fight scenes were. I remember when Yoshitsune was trying to retrieve the machine gun from Kiyomori, he literally was sniping him with a revolver. Considering the accuracy of a handgun, especially a revolver of that type, it’s unbelievably impressive. On top of all of that Kiyomori gets hit like 3 times and is completely fine, unlike all the other characters who die after one hit. Then there was the fight between the gunman (who from what I know has no official name) and Yoshitsune. The gunman duel wielding fires at Yoshitsune who deflects all of the bullets with his KATANA. Then the gunman parries Yoshitsune’s katana with his REVOLVER and pulls out a THIRD gun. These two scenes do a good job of showing how ridiculous the fight scenes were and why they were so much fun to watch. I was always on the edge of my seat waiting to see what thing would happen next.

I also never expected to see otaku Quentin Tarantino. I was wondering why at the beginning of the movie there was just some random white guy in the movie when everyone was Japanese until I remembered someone mentioning that Tarantino was in the movie. When Tarantino said that he liked the name Akira because he was an anime otaku I couldn’t help but laugh a little because it was so random. Since this was a fictional universe, I didn’t think they were going to make a reference to stuff in the real world, plus Tarantino being an otaku is funny to me. The scene were Tarantino yells at Ruriko for making bad Sukiyaki and tearing her dish apart was hilarious to me. It was just so bizarre to see the white and western Tarantino go off at a Japanese lady for her subpar Sukiyaki while actually having a high level of knowledge on the dish.

Another scene that made me laugh was when Kiyomori was reading literature to the Heike clan. Kiyomori comes to the conclusion that because the red roses win in Shakespeare’s Henry the 6th, they would win against the Genji clan, and he changes his name to Henry. It was just the silliest logic, but somehow worked in the context of the movie. Watching the sheriff play dead to avoid dying was also humorous since he survives so many times lol.

I felt like the movie’s greatest strength was it’s visuals. I really enjoyed seeing the fusion between the traditional samurai aesthetic with the stereotypical cowboy western setting. It felt like a weird alternate universe where Japan settled America instead of Europe. It gave me Shin Megami Tensei IV vibes, as they did a similar thing by blending a Medieval European setting with Japanese Samurai. You can really see this in the beautiful set design, backgrounds, and costumes.

Overall, I liked this movie, but I would not say that it is one of the best movies we’ve watched in this class. It was honestly hard to take this movie seriously, especially with how over the top it was. I also couldn’t help but notice how unnatural the English sounded in the movie, which was understandable considering that English was probably not the first language of the director or actors. However, odd phrasing and bad line delivery did take me out of the experience from time to time. Despite its flaws, Sukiyaki Western Django is a fun watch.

Spirited Away - Hayao Miyazaki

Like most people who are taking this class, I have known about Hayao Miyazaki’s work for a very long time. However, interestingly enough I have never actually sat down and watched his film Spirited Away in its entirety. I may have seen a scene or two on separate occasions, but as far as I can remember I have not ever sat down with the intention to watch this film. With that being said, I am so happy that at the age of 29 I finally was able to have that sit down and enjoy the beauty that is Spirited Away.

The film begins with the main character Chihiro on a trip with her parents. From what I read they appear to be in the process of moving. Her father then decides it would be a good idea to take a quick detour and explore a tunnel, having the gut feeling that it would lead them to an abandoned theme park. This is the moment where any resemblance of normalcy just disappears as Chihiro is transferred or “spirited away” to this strange new world in the same location as the abandoned theme park.

This leads to Chihiro on a mission to find her parents, as well as help them return to their normal human state as they were turned into pigs. While on her adventure she comes across so many interesting and wacky characters who either help or try to prevent her from reaching her goal. Naturally, like the happy movie it is, she finds the solution to her issues and eventually returns to the comfort of her family and then continues with what seems to be her moving process. I love this idea that this grand adventure has just occurred in what seems to be a handful of minutes from the realm in which Chihiro is from. It seems so out of nowhere and enshrouded with mystery and I think this adds so much magic to the film that I do not want any explanation that goes beyond Chihiro remembering Haku’s full name.

The one thing that stands out to me (at no surprise of course) is how gorgeous the animation is. Again, I have seen Miyazaki’s work in passing but sitting down and giving this movie my full attention has given me the clarity as to why this man is such a legendary director. I myself felt lost in this world and I found myself almost kind of sad that Chihiro left this realm to return to her life, unsure if she would see it again. You grow so attached to all the characters that seeing this story come to a conclusion is almost bittersweet, but I do think this is a huge part of the magic. All of this in part to just how incredibly detailed the animation and direction is. One scene that stood out to me in particular was when the river spirit came to the bath house to clean up and just seeing how everything played out had left me in awe by how much magic can be created through animation.

Final Verdict:

I absolutely understand why this film is so legendary. I am so happy that we had the opportunity to sit down and really give it my entire attention because it was really an incredible experience. I am sure that I will be seeing this film multiple times throughout my life but as of this moment I am beyond stoked to watch more Studio Ghibli films.

Sukiyaki Western Django - Takashi Miike

So I would safely say that watching Sukiyaki Western Django by Takashi Miike was easily the wildest ride of this semester. Interestingly enough this statement has very little to do with how I felt about the film being good or not but it was a clear reminder of the fact that watching a film with people around you will always bring a different vibe compared to watching a film on your own. 

The premise of the film was interesting enough, I don’t think it was anything groundbreaking but whacky enough to have me interested in the film without thinking it was dragging on too long. This may also be in part with the pacing of the film, because it sure as hell feels like it does not take a second to relax. Sukiyaki Western Django was such a wtf experience which I suppose is what made it pretty fast paced.

As for the film itself, I had a hard time wondering if the film was self aware or if the movie was trying to be a serious film. I am pretty sure it was a farce in certain moments, such as the scenes in which we see Tarantino being questionably offensive. Not only was his demeanor kind of tacky in the film (which was pretty expected as I’m sure most of the class would agree) but if you look at the set it was so obviously not real that I am forced to believe the movie is making fun of itself. However, aside from moments like that and the fact that it is spoken entirely in english I would be able to believe that this is a movie that actually is trying to take itself seriously.

Returning to one of my previous points, I think what made this film so enjoyable to watch was watching it with my classmates. We have had moments where we would make jokes about the films every now and then BUT FOR THIS FILM, oh boy, we had created inside jokes about the film within the 2 hour runtime. So to be honest I do not think it really matters if the film was purposely trying to make a farcical statement or was really trying to be a spaghetti western because it certainly gave me a fun time. However, I do think this is strictly because I watched it with the class. I am interested to see what those who saw the film alone have to say because I do feel we may have some different opinions on the matter.

Final Verdict:

I did not care for the plot or the direction of the film at all honestly. I do not think it was bad and the moments that were over the top or cheesy I’m sure were done so purposefully. Regardless, I do not think it is a movie I would want to watch again unless I find myself in a group of friends with like a 6 pack of beer. Lol

Absolutely love your reading your blog post. I really appreciate the time you took to analyze the food sequences in the film because although I know they are important my brain tends to just skip over it as simply nice shots for the film. 

I did love this film though, I am still thinking about how wonderful it is and I am absolutely going to look at Kawase’s filmography. I do think you bring up a point that I appreciated about the film and it’s that although everyone is going through their struggle, by working hard they managed to get by and find a little bit of solace. And that thought is so freaking beautiful.

Sweet Bean Naomi Kawase

“Boss smile when something is delicious”

Documenting the beauty in creation and consumption of food while contrasting this with the wrongful segregation of a population, Sweet Bean’s feel-good-movie nature shines through against the rest of the films from this class. Harkening back to the simpleness of Ozu combined with the lightheartedness of Itami’s Tampopo, Kawase is able to craft a solid societal commentary while staying true to the roots of film in Japan. The most captivating thing in Sweet Bean was the preparation of the dorayaki. The macro shots of Sentarô pouring the batter and the methodical, dance like nature of the way he flips them highlighted the beauty in what it means to be a chef. While not straying into the pornographic side of food like Itami does, Kawase chooses to focus on the connection that food can bring. The shop brings together all the characters in the film, serving as the place of work, rest, and connection for all. Sentarô serves all the people in one way or another, providing food and employment for Tokue and the former for Wakana. All while doing this, he is forming a distinctly human connection with them, creating a blended family that is alluded to in the recording left by Tokue where she tells that she was not allowed to have the child she became pregnant with. We see the connection that food can bring across generations. Also, the food bridges the barriers between someone who was on the outskirts of society, Tokue due to her leprosy, and Sentarô as an indebted ex-convict. The film’s commentary on personal freedom was very refreshing to see. Despite being confined by her age, disease, and housing Tokue was able to free herself from these barriers by working at the dorayaki shop. I also appreciated that Sentarô was able to free himself of the burden of his debt by venturing out to open his own dorayaki stall. Clearly taking what Tokue said to him to heart, he was able to finally make something of himself as an individual, breaking out of the cog-like nature of his life in the machine. Kawase also touches on the age-old struggle between modernity and tradition here with her commentary on Tokue’s leprosy. All the negative thoughts are derived from old-world beliefs about the disease while they are confronted with the living, breathing truth of Tokue not showing any of their outdated beliefs.

Sweat Bean T^T - Naomi Kawase

I would like to preface this blog post by saying… I DID NOT ASK TO HAVE MY HEART SHATTER LIKE THIS. Thank you.

But in all seriousness Sweet Bean by Naomi Kawase was easily on my top 3 best movies we have seen this semester. So that makes Seven Samurai, The Burmese Harp, and now Sweet Bean. I am also very happy to see that it was directed by the first female director that we have gone over in this class. 

This film was beautiful, the messages of passion and wanting to escape lonliness were so perfectly portrayed in this film. I felt I was watching a poem throughout the entire film and it made the 2 hour run time feel like a couple of minutes. Ultimately, the film follows 3 main characters which are Tokue, Sentaro, and Wakana. Each character deals with their own challenge; with Tokue having to deal with the stigma of having had leprosy. Sentaro feels stuck in a job that he doesn’t necessarily seem to hate, but you can tell that he is not happy with the circumstance. Then there is Wakana also feeling caged in sharing the parallel with her canary Marvy. Though the three characters have their troubles it is comforting to see how they manage to find solace in each other's company.

Another connection I found so important with the film was the connection with Tokue and the beans. The way she is portrayed caring so deeply for the beans represents how she sees all of life. Her connection with nature has allowed her to experience life in such a beautiful way even though she was born in a very unfortunate situation. This love for nature is shown further in the film with Wakana and Sentaro as well and this is the point where you can start seeing them appreciate the moment. My absolute favorite example of this is the ending of the film which was probably the most satisfying ending I have ever seen. Throughout the film we see Sentaro being more or less grumpy and reserved while cramped up in this dessert shop, again he is not exactly here by choice but due to the fact that he owes money. However, at the very end we hear him yelling “Dorayaki, come get ‘em! '' while for the first time in the film not holding his smile back. This entire scene happens when he is in his new smaller dessert stand near a plethora of cherry blossom trees.

Final Verdict:

Sweet Bean was such a stunning movie. It’s message on following your passions, freedom, and belonging just hit so hard. This movie had me tearing up like a baby and I loved it. I loved every main character in the film and the only unlikable ones never became more than ignorant annoyances. But most importantly I love what this film has to say about our connection with nature. We are so focused on the noises of day to day life that we forget to stop and talk to the beans.

Absolutely stunning movie, I already cannot wait to watch it again.

I absolutely agree with your take when it comes to sound design. (As for the movie itself I found myself really not enjoying it) But I will absolutely give credit to it’s awesome sound design. The use of silence during some of the scenes was such a breath of fresh air compared to the constant and reused crescendo of a violin. That and I agree with the creepy robotic voice, the fact that it would repeat the same word over and over again was very unsettling. Although I was not a fan of the plot or pacing of this film I did think it performed well when it comes to it’s use of sound and lighting.

Pulse Kiyoshi Kurosowa

Post Y2K and in the midst of the internet explosion, Pulsedocuments the inherent dangers of new technology through the lens of the scariest and most expansive thing in the universe besides the universe itself: the internet. But wait! There are ghosts too! A more accurate moniker for these beings would be spirits, anywhere from amorphous blobs to humanoid forms with fleshed out faces. I enjoy the though that ghosts and the dead don’t need to be this whole big thing in Japanese horror. Pulse posits the question of what if the dead were all around you all the time? Ultimately, this becomes the downfall of society as the spirits realize that they can have real influence over the living.

Kurosowa, in interviews, was very open about Ringu and its subsequent success being a major catalyst for his creating Pulse.Again, highlighting the importance of Ringu for Japanese horror and horror in general. Both dealing with ghost and curses, just in different ways. Kurosowa goes on to highlight the fear of the unknown, whether that being about new technology, the future, or the world at large. Pulse in my opinion is more worldly and depressing than Ringu. Kurosowa wants the viewer wallow in their self and come to terms with their own loneliness.

Much of the eeriness of Pulse comes from Kurosowa’s shot composition and sound design. Kurosowa creates frames within the frame by using a lot of negative space throughout the film. Forcing our focus onto the sole light part of the frame adds to our inherent fear of the dark and unknown by not allowing us to see the rest of the image. I think some of the creepiest shots are those of the soon to be spirits standing stoically next to their computers. The whole idea of putting someone next to an object that is associated with work and activity is extremely unsettling throughout. Inaction juxtaposed to an action-oriented object creates confusion, couple this with the sound being removed for many of these scenes of scrolling through bedrooms and you create horror. It is always a bold move to remove all sound from a scene regardless of context, it not only makes the audience hyperaware that they are watching a film, but it forces them to focus in on the image. Now, Kurosowa plays with this very well by bringing in the creepy robotic voice or perhaps a lone muffle gunshot, to break this silence and rocket us back to the apocalyptic terror that ensues.

Pulse - Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Hoo boy, did I find Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film Pulse to be quite a boring film. I am honestly not sure if this is a hot take or not but I find this to be the movie that has dragged on the most of all the films we have watched these last 2 - 3 months. Although I can openly say that I would probably not watch this movie again, I think I can be open towards the things that were decent and maybe things that I simply didn’t catch that would have made the viewing experience a better one for me.

For starters though I found the plot to be somewhat dull I would be lying if I said some of the scenes in the film were not pretty creepy. The first creepy scene in the film is when we witness the hanging of Taguchi and the placement of the camera as well as the lighting did make that scene in particular pretty eerie. Speaking on the lighting I will also appreciate the mise-en-scene in the film because a lot of what was very interesting. The use of darkness made a lot of the figures or “ghosts” appear like silhouettes just inching closer to the audience. This absolutely is a much better approach to me as opposed to cheap and undeserved jumpscares. Another design aspect that I found myself appreciating was the sound design. In particular I was a huge fan of the soundtrack where some of the scarier parts were accomponied by this operatic singer that would remind me of the soundtrack of the 1990’s video game Parasite Eve. The use of silence is also done well which has made me realize that I found that tactic to work much more over the slowly building violin right before a jump scare.

My biggest issue with the film was the plot and the pacing of the film. Even while reading through my notes I found myself becoming more and more jaded with the film as it went on. Pulse really did feel like it was dragging so much more than it needed to and towards the end I found myself so frustrated with some of the decisions made by the characters. I am always open to the idea that there was something that I missed that gives the film more meaning but for this film in particular I really do not want to watch it again. I appreciated the theme of depression and this fear of being alone, but I just don’t think the plot really did much with it in my opinion, and if it did I was just so drained about an hour into the movie that I was unable to process anything.

Final Verdict:

I was not a fan, comparing it to Ringu I can say I found this movie visually more interesting but I just could not keep myself focused due to such an uninteresting plot. I did feel there was something there but I honestly do not think I’ll be watching it again to find out what that is.

I can definitely agree that I appreciate the film for not abusing jump scares or many of the cheap tactics seen in many horror films. However, appreciating the filming style and suspense of the movie is as far as my praises go. I was a bit disappointed to be honest, for whatever reason I remember this film being a legendary horror film and I could not really understand why. It felt like a good amount of it was shoe-horned and just felt a bit unbelievable for me. I agree with how silly the “unveiling” was with the solution being to copy the VHS and give it to someone else. It felt so out of nowhere and really did not add much to the film for me. Overall, did not HATE the film but I was expecting much more from it.

Nakata – Ringu (1998)

I actually enjoy scary films. It is hard to find good horror films besides your basic invincible murder or ghost possession story. This film was not even scary. In western horror films, all they do in attempt to scare the audiences are jump scares, that’s when something jumps into frame/screen and surprises the audience. Given the fact that this film was released before the end of the 20th century, it was a good horror film.

The story begins with these high schoolers that watched the film. The reporter begins to unravel these mysterious deaths. She located and watched the haunted film (of course she had to watch the film, what kind of horror would this be if the protagonist did not purposely cause her own misfortunes). So then, the countdown begins! After someone watches the film, they will die in 7 days. There are elements in the film that one doesn’t really see in other films. I enjoyed the supernatural elements of the film; for example, when Yoichi felt Tomoko’s presence and how Tomoko told Yoichi to bring and watch the film. Takayama’s “special abilities” are another supernatural element that is never explained. I found the fact that he was the ex-husband of the reporter to be quite the coincident! Lastly, I like how the cursed film provided hints. Like “Sada” on the eye and the person pointing with a cloth on their face.

Asakawa, the reporter, and Takayama agree to this supernatural death bond for if they don’t solve the mystery behind this haunted tape they die. I also enjoyed the 7-day countdown. It reassured me that the film is progressing because you know how sometimes films feel slow. Little by little, day by day, Asakawa and Takayama were putting the puzzle pieces together. I found it interesting that the plot of the film was not about the current timeline but instead about the past. The audience, along with Asakawa and Takayama in the film, figures out that it was not the woman they believed but the daughter. The “troubled” daughter was murdered and thrown into a well. Asakawa and Takayama find her body thinking that uncovering her body would release the curse but when Takayama is killed we realize that that wasn’t the case.

I find it quite idiotic that the reporter forgot what the children said to her about giving someone a copy of the tape. How would they even know that? I assume she used her father to take Yoichi’s cruse.

Anyways, I enjoyed the film. Like I said, there was no jump scares; there weren’t even any suspenseful shots where one is expecting a scare. I think that the ending where Asakawa was trying to find Sadako’s body was sweet in a creepy way. Asakawa was probably the only person to show Sadako any affection but I don’t know if it mattered because she was dead. Before Takayama died, I thought the film’s curse was like Sadako’s vessel to be “reborn” into the world. That is why she came out of the screen. She couldn’t before because her body was stuck in a well.

Ringu - Hideo Nakata

While watching Ringu by Hideo Nakata I had a hard time not comparing it to the 2002 version I remember watching when I was a little kid. Luckily, I see that we have an extra credit blog post and will be able to speak in further detail on my comparison between the two. However, since I did watch the 2002 version by Verbinski I more or less had a strong idea as to what was going to happen and when. Though it has been a very long time since I have seen the movie so I am glad to say it was still a very unique experience. 

I remember hearing that this was a very scary film so I was excited to watch this in class (but now that I think about it I think the film I was thinking about was actually Ju-on which was the original version of The Grudge). If I am to be honest though, while finally being able to watch the film I have to admit that I found it to be kind of boring. Maybe I had hyped it up way too much in my head to the point that it did not meet many of the expectations that I have set up for myself. Personally I believe the film is okay when I see it as a detective thriller as opposed to a horror ghost story. Even then, I found there to be way too many “coincidental” moments that just did not add up with me. Everything in the film felt like it was placed by hand and left me thinking that many of the plot points were difficult to believe. A good example I would say is when Reiko decided to watch the film as if it was nothing. I could give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she was SO certain that the paranormal was not real (although this was never really mentioned or brought up) but even then, after hearing the rumors and having a family member die with little to no evidence of it being from any other reason; I figure anyone would be a bit more hesitant before watching this film and letting her ex-husband watch the film. Another note I would bring up was the “solution” in having to copy the video tape and pass it on, I’m not sure if it was ever mentioned but that really felt like it came out of left field.

The next topic I would want to mention is the film's horror factor. Again, I think it is unfair for me to judge too harshly because I already had a preconceived idea about it. This idea also stemmed from a movie I saw when I was very young so it would not be fair to compare the horror I felt then and there as opposed to now. But even then, I really did not find it to be scary at all. There are films made before the 90s that I think do a better job at introducing a creepy and uncomfortable environment and besides maybe the actual shots of the VHS film in the movie I did not feel that sense almost at all. About halfway through the viewing I did change my perception from watching a horror film to watching a detective film and that did help a little.

In conclusion, it was still an interesting film because I was able to compare it to a film I had already seen when I was much younger (I’ll get further into this in the extra credit post). However, to be very honest I left the viewing a bit disappointed thinking I would enjoy Ringu much more than I did.

I really enjoyed reading such a detailed post about the film. I really appreciate the knowledge you carried when it came to Chinese culture and the Swallowtail symbolized. Another thing you mentioned that I found really interesting was your take on how it was shot mostly by hand and how it made it appear to be like a music video at times. I wonder if this was purposely done seeing as a very important aspect of this film was the time spent with the Yen Town Band.

Swallowtail Butterfly (1996)

              Like the last film we watched, Swallowtail Butterfly explores how those who are different are treated poorly in Japanese society. The people of Yentown are not given the same rights as a Japanese citizen; when Feihong and Glico buy the Yentown Club, it is signed under someone else’s name. The people are also under constant police scrutiny and experience violence when under arrest. The Caucasian band members who were born in Japan, therefore Japanese citizens, also complain about their treatment.

              Though poor, the ragtag team of friends seem to have a good time. They are close-knit and seem to have fun doing whatever to earn money. However once enough money has been accrued, it drives the people apart. Glico, for such a central character, seems to go missing for a large chunk of the film once she becomes a pop star, which emphasizes how far removed she is from Ageha and Feihong now.

              The movie also seems to be shot mostly using handheld, which reminds me a lot of watching a music video or a recording of a live performance. Various colored lights are used to set the mood as well, the most apparent to me is how spotty light can be, like when a scene is shot under a swinging light or near a fan. It’s an interesting way to make the scene more cluttered to stress the messiness of the setting, like in Rashomon with its concept of justice.

              Since there are so many different cultures in Yentown, it makes sense that the characters speak multiple languages. I really like that the film does this, because I feel like it adds another layer to analyze. For example, at the end Ageha speaks Chinese to Ran and also tells him that she runs a shop with Glico. I interpreted this as a sign that Ageha has continued to practice Chinese, probably as a way to connect with Glico and honor Feihong, who initially teaches her the language. I also think that her speaking Chinese in combination with mentioning Glico is a way to hint that Ageha knows of Ran’s relation with Glico but chooses not to reunite them, maybe as a way to protect her since Feihong was killed after getting caught with the fake bill, which was a strategy invented by Ran. Switching between languages midsentence was a nice touch as well, however I wish the subtitles somehow indicated this. Watching this movie with the subtitles felt like I was watching a dubbed anime on Netflix with the subtitles; what the characters say do not always match the subtitles word for word but still meant about the same thing. It was also a little tiring to hear Chinese but read English. Sometimes the subs cut out completely too. While Mao Fu charged to attack right before his whole crew gets wiped out, he lets out a war cry of sorts. He is telling his opponent to basically “come at me bro,” but there were no subtitles in this short segment.

              Additionally, butterflies are often used for symbolism, especially in terms of a free spirit and beauty. This obviously fits with the ideas of Glico and Ageha, but I think it is also significant that the butterfly is specifically the swallowtail. The swallow is an important bird in Chinese culture symbolizing femininity and good fortune, which fits well with Glico especially. Furthermore, the nest of the swallow bird is considered a delicacy as well and is usually served as something sweet, which is in line with Glico’s name. Something that is probably coincidental is that swallowtail butterflies refer to the family Papillonidae, which is the most on the nose name ever, basically meaning family of butterflies, while Ageha’s name is also a rather direct name.

Swallowtail Butterfly - Shunji Iwai

Swallowtail Butterfly by director Shunji Iwai  was an interesting movie to watch, it had many aspects that I was a fan of and other parts of the film I was just a bit confused by. I think most of the confusion stems from the fact that the film appears to have so many different plot points that putting it all together took some effort on my mind. There was the obvious main plot 

of Glico and Ageha and the bond that they built, both coming from what seems to be difficult pasts. However, throughout the film there seems to be other plot points which carry the same amount of importance which made the movie seem like it had multiple genres all at once. There was the journey of Ageha and Glico, then there was the band that was built which made Swallowtail Butterfly appear to be one of those films about a band going through the trial and tribulations that bands go through, and then there was the Yakuza like issues when it came to Ryo Ranki in which I felt was never really touched up on. It was clear that there were these groups of gang members who really wanted this cassette that had this tape which allowed them to make counterfeit money but I would have liked to see Ryo Ranki have more time in the film and maybe a scene where he connects with the rest of the cast.

   A major part of the film that I found really interesting was set in this near future environment where it seemed there was a blend of cultures all placed in Japan. I thought it was really interesting how it seemed the general consensus was that English was spoken by everyone so there could be a means of communication between everyone. I will say I think this made it a bit harder for the actors to act a bit more naturally. I don’t think the acting was bad at all by anyone but I did think there may have been a few moments where they came off a bit awkward, but it was mostly due to the language. This is totally fine of course, speaking a non native language is already not an easy task so I can only imagine having to juggle acting and speaking in a different language is not any easier. 

Overall, I was a fan of the film. I don’t think it was very difficult to follow along and I for the most part understood the key moments of the film. I just did have moments of mental whiplash when the movie seemed to be juggling more than one identity when it came to its genre.     

I have to agree with you when it comes to the ending. It felt very solemn, like it was a sad situation but honestly at that very moment there was little else that they could have done. Having Miyuki remain silent the entire film and then have her say the final two words felt like a very proper ending.

HANA-BI – はなび

Those damn shades, pretty cool.

I really enjoyed viewing this one, and I think it’s the actual viewing experience that’s key here, rather than the narrative itself which felt mostly peripheral. What was really keeping my attention throughout the film was the atmosphere that was being established, very melancholic and almost surreal at times, certainly in its depiction of violence with the amount of blood getting thrown around. Some of the violence does feel a little absurd, like the amount of blood a guy spits up after a single kick to the face with no other visible bruising or scarring from it, or the jarring cuts from a lunge with chopsticks to the guy being stabbed with them in his eye. While I think it was a bit heavy handed, I’m thinking now that it may have been an intentional effect meant to really draw attention to the moments of violence and death, and these moments felt like they were mirrored by the splash of red paint on Horibe’s suicide painting, showing what all these moments of violence were building up towards. The violence stands in stark contrast to the moments of care and tenderness. Nishi is a main who is haunted by his past, but still feels no greater desire than to see his sick wife happy in her final days. The ways scenes are depicted show his mentality and resolve perfectly, minimal dialogue and obscurity, and all of the motivations are shown through actions rather than words.

As for the ending, I think this was the least ambiguous part of the film, and it’s obvious what actually happened here: Nishi and his wife end their own lives on their own terms. It’s heavily symbolized by Horibe’s last painting at the end of the film, which on one hand shows his abandonment of the desire to kill himself with the splashing of the red paint, while also showing what Nishi and Miyuki are about to do. There’s no point in Nishi continuing his struggles since his wife is already on death’s door, and the Yakuza are set on tracking him down while the police have him pinned for the robbery he committed. He was able to enjoy one last trip with the woman he loves, and the last thing he’s going to do is kill 2 people that still clearly care for his well being and have done nothing to wrong him or the people he cares for. It’s a somber ending, but ultimately one that left me at peace knowing that him and his wife could both see the end together in mutual happiness. I have to admit, the 2 lines from Miyuki really hit me like a truck, and my eyes got a bit misty in it all. I also want to mention that I think it’s pretty clever that a man who was painting surrealist art has his final painting of the film directly foreshadow the reality of the ending.

The film itself had a distinct rhythm that helped everything flow together, and this was all punctuated with a fantastic score, making what could have been otherwise dull scenes really mesmerizing for myself. A couple of things I read up on that I thought made this film much more personal for the director was that the pointillist paintings that Horibe made were made by Kitano himself in reality, in particular while he was recovering from a motorcycle accident that left his face partially paralyzed, and that Kitano’s own daughter shows up in the film as the girl flying the kite at the end.

All in all, this film was really solid, not quite at the top of my list compared to some of the others I’ve seen up until now, but there are aspects here that certainly make me want to dive into the rest of Kitano’s filmography.

Hana - Bi   -   Kitano Takeshi

Hana-Bi by Kitano Takeshi was an interesting experience; not so much in the plot but in the literal watching of the movie. I felt a sense of nostalgia while watching the movie even though I know I have never seen it before. It somewhat reminded me of the movies that would play on the Lifetime network back in the 90s which was an interesting thing to be reminded of. That was just a fun personal fact that I wanted to start this blog post off with. Hana-Bi is a movie which seems to revolve around 3 main characters, that being Nishi, Horibe, and Miyuki. Nishi is a retired cop who for most of the film wants to spend the rest of his time with Miyuki who is his wife. Miyuki is diagnosed with leukemia so she does not have much time to live. She is a very silent character (literally does not say a word until the very end of the film) and is a character who speaks mostly through body language. Finally, there is Horibe who was Nishi’s partner as a detective and is eventually injured and left paralyzed from the waist down.

Most of the plot consists of Nishi having a hard time getting over his past while being pestered by Yakuza members who he had worked with in order to help pay for Miyuki's treatment. It is easy to see how depressed and stressed the character of Nishi is, even going as far as robbing a bank to be able to pay back the Yakuza and sever ties with them and the police force for good. Unfortunately, the Yakuza were not satisfied with the payment and had expected more from Nishi in the form of “interest” which does not sit well with Nishi who eventually kills them and is then put in even more trouble. The movie ends in a sorrowful fashion with both Miyuki and Nishi committing suicide together. The final words of the film are from Miyuki who says “Arigato. Gomen” both saying thank you and apologizing.

As for the imagery of the film, I have to say it was interesting and sometimes hard to put my finger on. Multiple times throughout the film you can see cartoonish portraits of flowers and other various objects. The only connection I can make with this is the hobby that Horibe picked up after his accident which was to paint. He paints portraits similar to the paintings that have been scattered throughout the film, making me wonder if they could have been his. I also think it is interesting to mention that the style of painting Horibe had picked up was pointillism, so I wonder if there was any meaning behind that as well. I also think the idea of flowers played a major role in the movie. A scene I had really liked was when Miyuki was watering the dead flowers and some guy began to berate her saying “No use watering dead flowers”. This angers Nishi and so he beats him up, granted I think it was a bit uncalled for but I think he reacted so intensely because he saw it as a metaphor for how he has been treating Miyuki. He was essentially trying to take care of someone who unfortunately was bound to die in the end.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie, I also want to mention how much I enjoyed the 1990s soundtrack and the very interesting characters. It was an interesting look at what can happen when we lose touch with some of our not so pleasant emotions such as anger and guilt,     

I really appreciate your analysis when it came to the father teaching Sugihara how to box. I suppose I saw the safe circle at face value but what you say makes much more sense. It representing Sugihara’s closed off nature painted a way better picture of his personality. 

Go - Isao Yukisada

Admittedly, I’m a sucker for a good coming of age story, and Go fit the bill for that pretty well. The story itself didn’t seem remarkable to me, but at the same time I don’t think it was super generic either. I think the film touched on some good themes such as the discrimination of Korean-Japanese (which I wasn’t aware of), as well as some issues with family and being emotionally open. As much as I did enjoy the film, I found that it dragged a bit in the first half. Up until about an hour in I did find myself checking the timestamp a few times to see how far I was, and I think that’s just a symptom of setting everything up being inherently slower than when actions start to take place and things fall apart. 

I think the most obvious and main theme that was touched on in this film was discrimination, and in the case it was prejudice against Korean-Japnese within Japan. This issue is addressed directly and is a driving force for the plot, so it’s not exactly subtle with it’s undertaking. While I think this is an important topic to address, I think with how open the film was with it there isn’t much I can say that would be insightful, so instead I want to mainly talk about a different theme that stood out to me, which is the idea of emotional openness (or lack there of). 

When we see Sugihara’s father teaching him to box, he mentions that while you’re within your circle you are safe. This to me stood out not only in terms of boxing, but from the idea of being open as a person. Sugihara’s father is a great boxer, and the only person in the film we see Sugihara lose to, and when he does, he loses terribly. Sugihara’s father also seems incredibly closed off emotionally. He keeps people out of his circle, and in turn, keeps himself safe. We get the sense that Sugihara himself is pretty closed off, only allowing a few select people in, and in each case, we see that this ends up hurting him. In one way or another, the two main people he lets in (Jong-Il and Sakurai) end up as a source of grief. By the end of the film, we see both his father and him start to be more open and accepting with a willingness to “let their guard down”. 

Overall, I did like this film and would probably watch it again. Although I felt it dragged a bit in the first half, it wasn’t terribly slow and kept me interested and engaged for the majority of the runtime. I like the messages that were presented and thought everything else (acting, cinematography, etc) was all well done. Like I said, I’m a sucker for a good coming of age story and this is that.

GO - Isao Yukisada

 Viewing Go by Isao Yukisada was interesting in the sense that this feels the most familiar. Many of the films that we have seen in class have such different styles of directing which most likely stems from the fact the films are much older. Go however was filmed only 21 years ago which so it still feels very familiar. To begin the soundtrack felt very modern with the music being used as a means to drive the story further without relying on simple motifs placed throughout the film. The shots were also very fast paced and reminded me of the action films of the early 2000s that seemed to be just about everywhere. 

The films was a coming of age story about a young man named Sugihara who finds himself studying in Japan although he is originally from Korea and falls in love with Sakurai who is a Japanese girl he met during one of his friends' parties. Overall I really enjoyed the pacing of the film and found myself believing the performances of both Sakurai and Sugihara. I remember how happy I was when they were both together and embrace for the first time as she tells him she loves him. I think what made it so special was simply witnessing the origins of Sugihara’s upbringing. From the start of the film you can tell that Sugihara has not had an easy life, this in part to having a father who does not necessarily seem like a bad person but far from the model parental figure. So seeing the genuine connection he has really just brightened up my day. On that note, I found myself unsure as to how I felt about Sugihara’s father. Although at times he was clearly an abusive parent, it is hard to not sometimes see that there was genuine care for his son.

Another very interesting topic to come up while watching this film was the relationship between North Korea, South Korea, and Japan. I will have to admit ignorance to the fact that I really have no idea what was going on between the countries at the time this movie took place. So I was really confused in the scene where Sugihara admits to Sakurai that he is not pure Japanese and that he is in fact from Korea. I could not understand why she cared so much or as to why it made such an impact on the relationship they had built. It is mentioned later that it was her father who was being prejudiced towards Koreans saying that they are dirty. I find myself curious to know a bit more about the history between North and South Korea when it relates to Japan. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this film and it is fun to see the films become more and more familiar with how they are shot. I look forward to seeing how Japanese films continue to evolve from what they used to be.

After reading your blog post I found myself a little less confused about the general theme of the movie. I had an issue fully understand what it was that I was watching from start to finish. The plot itself was simple enough to follow but when you bring up the ideas of family disconnect it all makes much more sense as to what the film was trying to say. Overall I think we share similar opinions on the film, definitely not the worst we have seen but I wouldn’t place it in my top 5 either.

The Family Game

The Family Game (1983), which was directed by Yoshimoto Morita, is definitely a movie that I found very strange and had a hard time following in terms of themes. The general plot was simple enough to follow, The father of the Numata family hires a tutor (Yoshimoto) to help his youngest son (Shigeyuki) get better grades in order to get into a good high school. During the film we see this happen despite Yoshimoto’s strange methods and behavior, and eventually Shigeyuki gets into the top school. However, the movie itself is anything but simple. 

The only thing I could come up with theme wise is the lack of true connection between the family. It seems that the only thing they ever talked about amongst each other was school, whether it be parent to child talking about grades and class, the parents talking about their kids going to good schools and having poor grades, or briefly the two brothers discussing high school. This is practically the only topic ever covered. We also see a sort of stereotype in Shinichi (the older brother) being a star student and Shigeyuki failing to live up to the expectations set for him by his older brother. The father is mostly absent and when we do see him he is either alone, drunk and/or drinking, or talking to his family about school. The mother seems to just be doing her motherly duty and rarely does anything else. 

The only time any of the family members have any kind of meaningful conversation is with someone outside of the family. Yoshimoto seems to be a sort of outlet for the family in some aspects. Shigeyuki and him talk about hobbies, relationships, interests, and other things not related solely to school. Yoshimoto and Shinuchi also have a conversation not related to the topic of school. We see that the mother struggles when she is presented with a topic of conversation outside of her standard life (granted, dealing with her distraught neighbor about the death of her in-law isn’t exactly an easy topic to approach). I did find that scene very interesting because we get assaulted with numerous sounds such as the phone, her son, the neighbor, and the tea kettle all rising until it cuts to silence. 

Another theme that might be present is the Numata family being stuck in the past. As I mentioned there is this idea of the family only existing through their family status as mother, father, brother, etc. I guess the best way to describe it would be like the idea of the nuclear family. We see them eat dinner in relative silence with maybe a bit of conversation. However, when we look at the family of the girl that Shinicchi starts to date/hang out with, they sit around in a circle and also watch TV at dinner. The entire feel and setting of their house was so much different than the Numata household. 

There are so many things about this film that confused me. Why did Yoshimoto occasionally act like a creep? The kiss was weird and him putting his hand on the thigh of a mostly naked child was unsettling, but then it never seemed like anything was off other than that. Why did he chug literally every beverage he was handed? I really wasn’t sure about the ending dinner scene where Yoshiomoto starts throwing food everywhere. It was like no one noticed until it got to a certain point of chaos, which I’m assuming is commenting on the families lack of awareness, but it was very strange. I also don’t know what the ending with the extra loud helicopter and the boys passed out, followed by the mom sleeping at the table was. My brain wants to tell me that there was a gas leak and they died, because I can’t make sense of it. 

In terms of the cinematography I did really like the use of sound building up to cut into silence. This was done multiple times throughout the film and I think it worked well each time. I also really like the shot of Yoshimoto chasing Shigeyuki down the stairs from a distance with Yoshimoto one flight behind. 

Overall, I thought the movie was alright. Definitely not in my top, but I liked it more than a few of the others we’ve watched in class. I’m sure once we discuss it I will understand it a bit better and maybe grow more appreciation for it.