by Michael Bacon

As Groucho Marx himself once said, “Hello,” and welcome to the grand opening of the brand-new-old-curiosity-shop that is Flickerbook. If you are looking for up to the minute reviews of the latest slick Hollywood money-makers, then I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. But, if you are happy to meander aimlessly with me along the cluttered aisles of cinematic history, I may have a few curios to show you.

Flickerbook was born of my recent habit of watching, across a number of days, a sequence of films loosely connected by theme. In this regular write up I’ll be sharing with you my thoughts on what I watched, plus a smattering of whatever esoteric trivia recommends itself.  To kick things off this first instalment will be devoted to all things “beta.”

The second letter of the alphabet revisited

Tell me, dear friend, do you weep at the sight of the ghastly visitors not-of-this-Earth? And do you howl at the vile machinations of monsters from beyond the grave? Do you wet yourself when giant, mutated crabs deliver poorly written dialogue in bad French accents?

B-movies are fun, and not just because they’re funny. Aside from how truly bad some of them are, they also make a welcome break from mainstream cinema. B-movies are often forced to depart from Hollywood-dictated convention by their limited means. When they’re original, they’re a breath of fresh air; when they’re not, they’re often so over the top they border on pastiche – and if it worked for the A-Team why not for the silver screen?

This month’s line-up draws heavily from that staple of the low budget studios, horror. I’ll be kicking things off with the main features, before a few snapshots of the other flicks I watched this time.

Attack of the Crab Monsters

Something cardboard this way comes…

The plot of Attack of the Crab Monsters is the usual residue left behind after mixing up all the other monster films of the era and boiling off the originality. Naturally, this dependence on cliché is one of the film’s greatest strengths. By setting the story on an irradiated Pacific island where crabs have mutated into intelligent monsters the filmmakers neatly sidestep the need to credibly establish or develop any new conventions for the audience to get accustomed to, thus freeing them to take a headlong run at some brilliantly counter-intuitive leaps of logic.

The cast of characters holds few surprises. After the science expedition which preceded them duly disappears, the usual suspects roll up on the mystery island to investigate. Mandatory inclusions in the team are as follows: one all-American man of science, two phoney “European” profs, and a clutch of red-shirts to get bumped off one by one. Another mandatory is Martha, whose critical contribution to the story is that she has breasts. Backing up this role call of clichés comes the only vaguely well-known actor in the film, Russell Johnson (of Gilligan’s island), playing the everyman radio technician accompanying the scientists to the island. If his plot pigeonhole slot isn’t obvious at first it will be by the end.

During the course of the story it is revealed that giant, carnivorous crabs are eating people and absorbing their brains – not to mention gradually destroying the island on which the team are now trapped. The scientists must investigate; or stare pertly and vacantly into space while the men do the thinking, depending on whom we are talking about.

As far as the acting goes, it often doesn’t. Leading the action are Dr. Macho, Dr. Chest, and the guy who came to fix the radio. The trio compete to see who can do the best impression of a creaky wooden marionette until they are soundly trounced by the titular Crab Monster, which actually is one. Indeed, the most engaging of the nine American characters featured in the film is sadly killed within the first ten minutes (I mean of course the queerly poetic naval pilot, not the decapitated sailor). Fortunately, the uncharismatic posturing of the leads is upstaged by the antics of the far more watchable faux-European duo. Aside from the delightful battiness of their accents, the pair’s tendency to overcook all of their silly lines actually ends up lending the film some camp credibility.

The Euro-profs’ performances represent only one aspect of the film’s theatricality. The much lauded director, Roger “King of the B-movies” Corman, makes heavy use of theatrical convention by asking his audience to accept all of his characters’ bizarre pronouncements as fact, regardless of the evidence of our eyes. So when a chasm mysteriously opens up in the island, the calamitous event is revealed not by special effects but by cutting to a medium-long shot of a cliff-top and having one of the characters say words to the effect of, “Well, this wasn’t here yesterday!”

Indeed, at times Crab Monsters seems a lot like an exercise in seeing how much the audience is willing to take on faith. At various points we’re expected to believe that: there aren’t any birds, plants or bacteria whatsoever on the island; guns can talk; a ten foot wide crab can sneak up on a man in broad daylight without the aid of cover; and ,of course, that the reason said crabs are bullet-proof is because (naturally) they are made of liquid.

Believe it or not, this list does not include all of the film’s most hilarious pronouncements, most of which come in a fantastic twenty minute segment halfway through, when the team really gets to grips with the “theory” behind mutant crabs. I would hazard a guess that the institution which issued these bogus scientists and their diplomas is the same play school at which the papier-mâché crab monsters were assembled. The scriptwriter’s blasé towards science is a real highlight, and extends beyond the demented logic of the scientists’ conclusions to some impressive omissions. In the space of one scene the Scooby Gang electrocute a “leg” which is quite clearly a claw, while the alleged marine biologist, Martha, notes that the mutants look physically identical to sand crabs despite the fact that they have massive, lidded, disk-shaped eyes leering outwards from their shells (real crabs, dear Wide Island Viewer, do not).

But this is just what’s so enjoyable about the film; when it comes to the willing suspension of disbelief, it asks a lot of its audience. However, the fact is that Crab Monsters never once allows you to believe, and instead jumps around screaming “I am a film! This isn’t really real” at the top of its voice from start to finish.

At times, Crab Monsters is a little dry, most particularly the tired gender roles and inexplicable love triangle between the stars. Also frustrating are the moments when our heroes enter the “caves” for the umpteenth time and we are once again treated to a shot of the same obviously day-lit rock face we have seen for every other excursion below ground. But the film is also full of little moments that will make you smile (if, like me, you get a kick out of utter dross) and a few that will make you laugh out loud, and so I heartily recommend it to both lovers of the genre and the generally curious. Attack of the Crab Monsters is impossible to accept as anything other than camp cinema, but as a grown up, I find a little disbelief goes a long way.

Plan 9 from Outer Space

My friend, can your heart stand the shocking facts about grave robbers from outer space? Unless you are petrified into cardiac arrest at the sight of a tin plate hanging from a piece of string, the answer is almost certainly going to be “yes.” If you are to receive medical treatment as a result of watching Plan 9 from Outer Space, I’m willing to speculate it won’t be the result of a terror-induced heart failure. You’re much more likely to either a) rupture a lung laughing, or b) need glass shards removed when you try to turn the TV off with your face. Plan 9, of course, is the cinemaphiles’ fabled “worst film ever made.”

Plan 9 is certainly a very bad film, but what’s more is that it is bad with a very different sort of badness. Rather than the admittedly naff giant insects and lizards which stomped their way around the screens of most low budget 50s flicks, the even lower-budget “monsters” terrorising middle America in Plan 9 look like a couple on their way to an Addams family-themed costume party and, well…a fat, bald man wearing face glitter. Whilst the prospect of a fat, bald man in face glitter chasing me around a graveyard in real life scares the crap out of me far more than giant ants do, I’m afraid that on the big screen even styrofoam ants would make for more credible horror.

The acting, while occasionally the rich, glazed ham which typifies the form, is more often at the level of a high school play. The protagonist’s wife in particular, and the policemen investigating the grave robbers in general, are so bad it’s amazing even the B studios would have them. The script isn’t the self-indulgent poetising which marks the best lines in other “so-bad-they’re-good” features; it’s just poorly written. In other “crap classics” the badness is something which swells at moments into a visceral force which rushes from the screen and grabs you. In their own unholy way these films have exactly the qualities their directors intended them to have – intensity, drama, tension. The fact they have attained them in completely the wrong way just adds to our enjoyment. But Plan 9 fails to attain even this accolade; it isn’t just terrible, it’s rubbish.

It might seem from the argument I’ve put forward so far that I couldn’t possibly recommend Plan 9 from Outer Space. On the contrary, though, I wholeheartedly do. It is undoubtedly a film some will find very, very funny. I do, however, wish to issue a warning to all bad cinema fans who have yet to watch. Most bad films are entertaining because they have something in common with the popular films of their day. They emulate the idiosyncrasies and foibles that better-made films can get away with (and thus they cast a humorous light on the form), but Plan 9 is more a master class in what-not-to-do than a shamefaced copy or amusing near miss. It is, without a doubt, the worst made thing I’ve ever seen. That said, there are plenty of better films I’ve liked less.

Tremors

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me…

Tremors (like Star Wars, Back to the Future, or The Godfather) is the kind of film you will get told off for not having seen, but rather than turn video Nazi, I just want to list here the reasons why you should watch Tremors. Contrary to what some reviewers claim, it is arguably neither a B-movie nor a spoof. Tremors does, however, definitely have enough in common with the style to bear comparison, especially the giant underground worm monsters which terrorise a sleepy valley.

Naturally, the higher production values make Tremors far slicker than its B-movie cousins, but what separates it from them more than anything else is that Tremors is actually a really good film. There is great chemistry between the incredibly charismatic Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon, and this is arguably Bacon’s best comic performance before he settled into more serious roles. The script gives the duo and solid supporting cast ammunition to spare, so quotable banter becomes the film’s forte. It’s fast, exciting, funny, slick, and pretty.

First and foremost, though, Tremors is fun. Yes, it won’t change your life, and there are surely films which are funnier or more original, but while it may not be sublime, Tremors certainly is flawless. It doesn’t set a single foot wrong, and the worst thing I can criticize is that the stop-motion “snakeoids” are a tad dated. That’s a really minor gripe, though, so just watch it! And if you’ve seen it already, watch it again.

Lobster Man from Mars

He’s deader than a son of a bitch!

Unlike Tremors, Lobster Man from Mars is undeniably a B-movie spoof. Starring Steed from the Avengers and a bunch of other people you’ll think you recognise it’s an endearing (if flawed) pastiche, complete with a nonsensical script (see tagline above), budget effects, and a ridiculous plot. Lobster Man from Mars is, on occasions, very, very funny.

Unfortunately, these occasions are a little spread out; the haunted house section of the tale, in particular, falls quite flat. What’s more, a lot of the humour depends on the audience having a genuine enthusiasm for film. For example, Englishman Anthony Hickox’s character spends the whole film playing off the stereotyped Brits of Hollywood antiquity, but viewers unfamiliar with the type might not even be aware of the joke.

Lobster Man is a film for film lovers. I can’t say I would recommend it for casual viewers, but I will say that when it hits the target it’s bang on.

The Crawling Eye

Aye, aye!

In comparison to Crab Monsters, The Crawling Eye (alias The Trollenberg Terror) is rather successful as a low-budget horror. Yes, it is still cheap and cliché-laden, but everything from the script to the European accents are of a higher calibre. This ought to be hardly surprising as it’s a Hammer film, and the little British studio is famous for being among the best of B. Maybe it’s best for aficionados rather than general viewers, but I liked it nonetheless. I must confess this is actually the first Hammer film I’ve ever seen. It made me want to watch more.

“Norwegian Wood” movie poster

by Dan Moeller

After coming across the “Norwegian Wood” (ノルウェイの森) youtube trailer I must say I was more than eagerly anticipating the movie. This is the first of Haruki Murakami’s famous works to have been adapted to the big screen. Considering most of his books include talking cats, out-of-body experiences, and the like, “Norwegian Wood” is definitely one of his more grounded works. I pictured the scenes vividly while reading the novel, yet had never imagined a movie could encompass Murakami’s voice.

Although I have only read three of Murakami’s many novels - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore, and Norwegian Wood - I feel I still have a pretty good sense of Murakami’s writing style. The main character is usually a realistic sort of guy (with a love for nature, fitness, and routine) who plunges into the not-so-real spectrum. This guy, more a passenger than a driver, usually encounters a girl who is sucked into a bad place by something very sinister. There are a good amount of sexual interactions and many would seem very perverse if Murakami’s subtle design hadn’t painted each scene with a sense of “reasonable.” In a way, Haruki Murakami could be Chuck Palahniuk’s (see: Fight Club or Choke) polite and reserved twin. Throw in a handful of pop culture references and you have the makings of a Murakami best-seller.

The film is beautiful in regards to both sight and sound. The cinematography was great, with lush scenes shot around Tokyo, panned in a no-rush Japanese style. A good example of this trademark style is the quick and bloody fight scenes in Takeshi Kitano’s “Zatoichi” (2003) opposite to the lingering views on placid landscapes sometimes in the same scene. The original soundtrack, contributed by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, mixes with a handful of tracks from the experimental rock band Can. Can’s very Beatle-esque sound adds to the 1960s atmosphere of this movie and offers a very nostalgic yet culminating feel when we finally hear The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood.”

Being a fan of both Murakami’s work and this movie’s atmosphere, I am still very much at odds with the direction and story. The book (with a lofty 296 crowded pages) is filled with anything but fluff. Each character and each scene seemed to have been boiled down to their essence. The problem is that although the movie clocks in at over two hours, Murakami’s intended voice seems to be cracking as lively scenes and characters have met with the chopping block. An older self looking back with occasional humor, the main character and narrator of the book now seems immature and the message indecisive at best. We are left with a barrage of sex scene after strange sex scene that amounts to a disconnectedness where Murakami previously had composed closure.

Director and screenplay writer Anh Hung Tran is famed for his stylistic works. His career work on only seven films in 22 years is accredited to his exacting style and his lack of funds. Tran fought for four years to win Murakami’s approval on making the movie. When asked if faithful to the novel Tran said he was faithful to the emotions he felt while reading the book. Although Tran seemed to be one of the few directors capable of tackling a Murakami novel, it seems he fell a bit short on this piece.

I enjoyed the movie for the most part and worked through the lulls, but I recommend avoiding sizing the movie to the novel; you’ll only feel short-changed. Despite the Japan release in December of 2010, a US release date has not yet been announced.

You can see a trailer of the movie here.

Shimane-ken JET Jonathan Edwards tells us everything a self-respecting ALT should know about the Japanese monster Godzilla, who could be returning to the silver screen in 2012. This story is an updated version of the story that appeared in the November 2009 issue of Shimane-ken’s Black Taxi.

By Jonathan Edwards

Every country has their pop culture icons. While most fade into obscurity outside their homeland, there are those hailing from media strongholds that represent their nation to the rest of the world, for better or worse. Australia had Crocodile Dundee and the late Steve Irwin, Britain has Dr. Who and James Bond, and the United States has a massive legion of comic book super heroes. Japan is no stranger to this either, as in the past 25 years the world has seen a flood of animated and video game characters saturating the pop culture of our own respective countries. Yet before the coming of Pikachu and Sailor Moon, Japan had one star already well established. Shoving aside talented actors like Toshiro Mifune, and directors like Akira Kurosawa, this one character came to represent Japan’s film industry as the masters of budget effects and campy glory. The mighty Godzilla.

Fifty-five years ago, Godzilla first graced theaters in a Toho Co. Ltd. picture known as Gojira (the name your students will recognize), an atomic harbinger of doom far removed from the beloved anti-hero status he currently holds. Notable director Ishiro Honda used his experiences from World War II to present a city reduced to flaming rubble, and the resulting death toll with a reverence absent from science fiction pieces of the time. For those that have not seen the film, I suggest you do regardless of feelings for the rest of the genre. The movie ends with a line roughly translated to “I cannot believe this Godzilla to be the last,” which at the time was supposed to reflect upon the current threat of the atomic age.

Instead, the closing line became the loophole through which 27 other films have been made, the first of which was released less than a year later. Thanks to a slew of other giant monster films the United States soon developed an interest, leading to the first great crossover since Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman as King Kong “guest starred” in Godzilla’s third film. With Godzilla suddenly representing Japanese pride against the grand daddy of American special effects, the villain began a slow but steady transformation over the next few films into a hero. The threat he represented was downplayed, he befriended Toho’s roster of original monsters, earned a son (he’s a mutant, don’t ask), and even a recurring three-headed arch-nemesis from space. By the mid-1970s Godzilla looked like a lovable Muppet and behaved more like Ultraman than Cthulu. He appeared without cause and little to no explanation just to beat the snot out of whatever space alien robot slimeball thing was terrorizing Japan that year and left promptly afterwards.

This changed in 1984 with a reboot erasing all the ridiculous jumbled continuity of the previous 29 years. Fulfilling the final prophecy at the end of Gojira, a second Godzilla emerges from a volcano and goes on a rampage that brings Cold War tensions to Japan’s front door step. It’s interesting to note that in this film, the Japanese Self Defense Force actually kills Godzilla, an epic first. That is, until the USA and USSR launch nukes at Japan in fear of the monster and accidentally revive him. Again a villain, Godzilla faced off against opponents in six more films, most of them reimagined from the previous series. Surprisingly, Godzilla’s status during this time never reverted back to all out hero, as Japan seemed to deem him the lesser of two evils (the other being the monster with second billing) at best by the final films. Before he could regress any further, Toho made the stunning decision to kill off Godzilla “permanently” in 1995′s Godzilla vs. Destroyah via a convenient case of nuclear heartburn. In truth, this was to pave way for the new American series, and we all remember how well that went.

Fans refuse to speak of it to this day.

Embarrassed after the 1998 American travesty, Toho immediately revived Japan’s beloved icon in the third, and so far final, series of films a year later. With so much history behind the monster at this point, each film picked which previous movies were canon to best shape Godzilla and his opponent of the day. With continuity thrown blatantly out the window, the series became an excuse to reuse old popular opponents with overly showy Hollywood-esque special effects, which staled very quickly, save for one film. 2001′s Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: All Monsters Attack gave Godzilla one of his most bizarre interpretations ever as the collective hatred of the World War II dead. This subtle commentary on Japan’s policy of revisionist history, while successful, was quickly paved over for more poor over-the-top films until Godzilla’s 50th birthday. Toho tried to revitalize the series before retiring the monster for the third time, an effort that sounded promising in concept.

For his 50^th birthday, Godzilla would travel the world in this final film in an attempt to return to Japan, while evil aliens throw an army of monsters (over half of Toho’s roster) against him. Toho even acknowledged the American film version as Zilla and gave him a spot in the movie just so Godzilla could take revenge personally. The effort fell flat when they hired popular action director Ryuhei Kitamura to helm the project. People may recognize the name Kitamura from films like Versus (Japan’s amazing and hilarious answer to Evil Dead) and Azumi, where he showcases a brilliant talent for fight choreography… between human beings. Thus Godzilla’s epic semi-centennial bash between him and a legion of Toho’s monster lineup was marred by a film that focused more on mutant humans fighting each other than the creatures with top billing. The film flopped, and Toho announced Godzilla’s retirement would be longer than the three to four years originally speculated.

That was 2004. In the following five years, little was heard from the franchise save for rumors here and there. Supposedly, a Japanese director from the first series of films was trying to put together an IMAX film independently, an ordeal that was lost in Development Hell. Fanbase excitement built when Toho has gave fans a brief glimpse of Godzilla’s possible future. While making a sequel to the successful film Always: Sunset on Third Street in 2007, Toho secretly created a completely CGI Godzilla rampage for a character’s brief daydream sequence. The short but surprisingly well done scene caused speculation to explode, especially considering Godzilla’s 55th birthday was approaching. However, November 3, 2009, came and went with no word from Toho, and the rumor mill slowed, disappointed.

Yet this past March an announcement finally came, culminating the rumors that had only just been dashed. Toho had been in talks with Legendary Pictures, the group behind the new Batman films, 300, Watchmen and other popular geek titles, in doing an American reboot to the American remake for 2012. While seeing Toho again relinquish control is unfortunate, Legendary Pictures has a good track record in staying faithful to source material. Fans are hopeful the carelessness that plagued Roland Emmerich’s film in 1998 will not be repeated. Japan has given Hollywood a second chance to create the big budget film fans want to see; they would be wise not to take the opportunity for granted.

In the meantime, with a film lineup larger than James Bond’s (officially 28 to Bond’s 22), there is plenty to look back on. And being in Japan, finding Godzilla films in a rental store is far easier than the ordeals I and other fans had to go through growing up in the rest of the world. If you ever need something to do, I again highly suggest picking up at very least the first film.

A Guide to Godzilla Movies

1954 — Godzilla (Japan) / Godzilla, King of the Monsters (U.S.A., 1956)
1955 — Godzilla Raids Again
1962 — King Kong vs. Godzilla
1964 — Mothra vs. Godzilla
1964 — Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
1965 — Invasion of Astro-Monster
1966 — Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
1967 — Son of Godzilla
1968 — Destroy All Monsters
1969 — All Monsters Attack
1971 — Godzilla vs. Hedorah
1972 — Godzilla vs. Gigan
1973 — Godzilla vs. Megalon
1974 — Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
1975 — Terror of Mechagodzilla
1984 — The Return of Godzilla
1989 — Godzilla vs. Biollante
1991 — Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
1992 — Godzilla vs. Mothra
1993 — Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
1994 — Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
1995 — Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
1999 — Godzilla 2000
2000 — Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
2001 — Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
2002 — Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
2003 — Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
2004 — Godzilla: Final Wars

By Joshua Zimmerman

There is something about the animation work of Hayao Miyazaki that captures the imagination. The artwork, the stories, the myth all combine into timeless works of animated cinema. Much of this comes from the core concepts and ideals that Hayao Miyazaki uses when making his films. In many ways the process is just as interesting as the final result. But to see how his mind works you have to take a journey to the outskirts of Tokyo and visit the Studio Ghibli Museum.

Located in the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka, the museum sits inside the lush Inokashira Park. If it weren’t for the many signs near the station pointing the way, most people wouldn’t even know it was there. From the outside the museum seems like an animation come to life. Designed from sketches by Miyasaki himself, the idea behind the museum was that it too was on display and part of the magic.

Now before you start planning a trip out to the museum, know that you just can’t show up and buy a ticket. So popular is the museum that visitation is tightly controlled. Only by purchasing a ticket well in advance, for only 1,000 yen from a kiosk at a local Lawson, can you actually enter the museum. Without a ticket you’ll be turned away at the gate.

The inside of the museum looks like something out of a 19th century European castle with high ceilings and an open air feel. Designed to have no specific route, it’s easy to become lost in one of its many exhibits.

As part of its standard exhibits are rooms filled with original sketches and artwork from the many Studio Ghibli films. The entire setup shows the process of turning sketches into full-length animated films. Everywhere you turn there are fun filled hands-on props to show how the movies come together. Even adults can’t keep their hands off them.

During my recent trip to the museum I was able to see a new exhibit on the movie Ponyo. Besides the usual hands-on experiences such as flipping though sketches, rough drafts of images, and large models was the surprisingly massive pile of sketches used for the rough draft of the film. Nearly 200,000 pages in total.

The longest line in the museum was for the robot guardian that sits on the roof. A life-sized model of one of the robots from Laputa has become a well sought after photo opportunity.  Children and parents alike waited in line to get a photo taken with it, trying to take a little bit of the magic home with them.

If you have any interest in the Studio Ghibli films, I would highly recommend visiting the museum. Not only does it bring out the childlike magic in everyone, but it also gives you a newfound respect for the work that goes into creating these wonderful animated films.

Korean movie ‘Old Boy’

By Bob Corlett

Asian movies are the reason I am in Japan today. I was 13 when I first saw the anime Akira, and ever since then I have constantly searched for more and more obscure and unique Asian films. In high school I was always trying to get my friends to watch them so they could understand why I was so obsessed. I guess you could say I’m an Asian movie otaku.

Scouring the Internet and finding hidden gems is a massively rewarding experience, though sometimes turkeys do crop up. After years and years of searching for the greatest Asian films, I’ve compiled the ones I consider to be the very best into this brief guide. This list is meant to be just a quick introduction, not an in-depth discussion of the films. While it showcases only a tiny percentage of what Asian cinema has to offer, these are the movies I really think people should see. No martial arts films are included, as that is an entirely separate story altogether (which I might write, depending on the response to this). I hope you will find a few suggestions that you might not have heard of otherwise.

A quick disclaimer: if you do decide to watch one of these movies, please do so in their original language. Dubbing is useless, retracts from the quality of an actor’s performance, and can change the mood and/or meaning of a scene. Plus it sounds stupid. And besides, watching Japanese movies will help you with your Japanese. It is not for me to tell you where to find these movies, just to tell you that they are there… somewhere. If you need to find English subtitles for a film, though, then www.kloofy.net is the best place.

So let’s begin with a brief mention of anime movies. I won’t dwell on this as there is already a splendid article on anime on the Wide Island. But I have to mention the following movies:

Graveyard of the Fireflies

A boy and his sister find themselves orphaned after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This is by far my favourite anime and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Every student in Hiroshima knows this movie.

Akira

This is the story of a boy with strange telekinetic powers, set in a futuristic dystopian Tokyo. It’s a genuine classic and something no Japanophile can miss.

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the movies!

Korea

The Vengeance Trilogy – Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance/ OldBoy/ Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Park Chan-wook’s milestone of Korean cinema, this trilogy features three stories of revenge played out in seemingly beautiful ways. These films should be noted for their graphic violence, but please do not let that put you off.

Save the Green Planet

A quirky tale of a man who wants to do exactly what the title says in any crazy-ass way he can imagine. It’s a sci-fi comedy with the added sheen of a Korean perspective.

Welcome to Dongmakgol

A South Korean military unit gets lost in the forest during the Korean War and stumbles upon a remote village. A comedy/drama that showcases the cinematographic skills of Korea, the popcorn scene is truly spectacular.

Friend

Three friends grow up and apart in this Korean gangster movie. An excellent cast and superior plot.

The Host

A monster movie done the way a monster movie should be done. Excellent effects and a cast that actually isn’t a load of balls.

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring

The story of a boy who grows up in a sheltered mountainside temple and the subsequent temptations of the outside world. One of the most beautiful films to come out of Korea. Not much talking, with a very subtle technique.

A Bittersweet Life

An awesome opening that leads into a fantastic study in bad-guy redemption. Very violent, but very good.

Attack the Gas Station!

A film about people who want to attack a gas station. That is all.

Joint Security Area

Another Chan-wook masterpiece, this time set at the border between the North and South. A tragedy occurs and the Swiss are brought in to find out exactly what happened. An original and intimate look at the relationship between the two feuding countries. It smashed box office records when it opened in Korea.

My Sassy Girl

An excellent and surprisingly original “love” story that has spawned another stupid Hollywood remake. It’s quite possibly the best of the Korean “romantic” movies (though 3-Iron comes close).

Failan

Choi Min-Sik (star of OldBoy & Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) stars as a man who goes on a redemptive quest to find the story of a woman he “married” who has passed away. A truly amazing film about how we perceive people through their actions.

China/ Hong Kong

God of Gamblers

Chow Yun-Fat stars as the title character, who suffers an unfortunate accident and must be brought back to his original self by his new friends… and chocolate. A classic.

In the Mood for Love

Wong-Kar Wai’s epic tale of love and loss set in 1960s Hong Kong.

The Killer

John Woo’s 80s movie is a classic of Hong Kong cinema. Features Chow Yun-Fat in a defining role as a hitman-with-a-heart, showcasing just how much Hollywood owes to the Far East.

Violent yet essential viewing.

Infernal Affairs Trilogy

Scorsese’s The Departed was based on these original Hong Kong movies. These are better.

Hard Boiled

When everybody has to die, just hire John Woo to shoot it and Chow Yun-Fat to do it (with a baby in his arms).

Japan

All About Lily Chou-Chou

A look at high school otaku culture in Japan that has one of the most ethereal soundtracks ever put to film. If you recognise a portion of it, know that Tarantino stole it from this film, not vice versa. This is always the second film I recommend to anyone who asks me about Japanese films (the first will come later).

Zatoichi

Beat Takeshi (a.k.a. Takeshi Kitano), who also directs, and Tadanobu Asano (the greatest actor, ever) star as two samurai. Kitano plays Zatoichi, the blind, gambling addicted swordsman, and Asano is the bodyguard hired to kill him.

Survive Style 5+

Vinnie Jones is in it! Another Asano movie that is quite possibly the quintessential Japanese movie. It might not make sense, but it is just too much fun to miss. Random stories and a random plot, definitely something to watch with other people.

Dead or Alive

This film was the first international “hit” directed by Miike Takashi, who has an output of roughly three or four movies a year. A dark and violent look at the yakuza underworld (what other way could you look at it?), with the most outrageous ending ever seen on film.

The Happiness of the Katakuris

Guests of a quiet mountain hotel start to die and the owners need to find ways of dealing with this problem.

Another Miike film, this time a musical based on the Korean movie The Quiet Family. A mix of live action, stop motion and hand drawn techniques.

The Bird People in China

The story of a man who travels to China accompanied by a yakuza to find a remote mountain village. Another Miike film, this being his most relaxed and most observed piece, possibly even his best.

Hana-Bi

Kitano returns as director/actor/painter in this movie about a cop on the edge (please ignore the cliché). This is far and away my favourite of Kitano’s movies. The acting is spot-on and the imagery will stay with you for a long time. There are a couple of violent scenes, but the beauty of the others far outweighs them. During the making of this, Kitano suffered a horrific motorcycle accident that paralysed half his face, and the second half of the movie reflects this beautifully.

Tetsuo – The Iron Man

Shinya Tsukamoto’s metallic masterpiece is the classic cyberpunk movie and definitely should be watched with an open mind. It’s a very industrial film and one that needs no real plot summary, as I can’t make one.

Ping Pong

The second greatest sports movie ever made (after White Men Can’t Jump). Only this is about the über masculine sport of table tennis. Now, I love table tennis and play it in some of my school clubs, but even if you don’t appreciate the sport, this movie is still worth watching. The story is always interesting, the characters are generally insane and the ping pong sequences are like Forrest Gump on smack. Fun for the whole family!

Versus

An extremely low-budget independent movie about guys in a forest killing each other. A guilty pleasure with over the top violence.

A Scene at the Sea

Another Beat Takeshi directed movie, this time about surfing and the relationship between a surfer and his suffering girlfriend. Very slow and barely a word is said, but in one respect this is possibly Kitano’s most powerful film.

Seven Samurai

The Kurosawa classic about rogue bandits helping a village defend against other… rogue bandits. It has inspired pretty much every film since, so for that reason alone it should be watched.

Rashomon

Another Kurosawa classic, this film features one story told from differing perspectives, each revealing a different side to the story. A timeless take on the power of memory, truth and the reliability of the senses.

::

Now for my final two recommendations: I feel these movies need to be separated from the pack due to the impact they had on my perception of what film can be and because of the power they pack in their celluloid. They are not for everyone and they require a certain commitment to watch, but their power, and moreover their stunning beauty, will remain with the viewer long after they have finished.

9 Souls

Nine criminals escape from a prison in Japan and band together to find their own brand of redemption. Amazing performances, heartbreaking characters, an awesome soundtrack and wonderful scenes make this the best of the best for Japanese film.

The Last Life in the Universe

Another Tadanobu Asano movie, only this time with a Thai director, an Australian cinematographer and a lot of English dialogue. I can’t say too much because this film is best viewed with no plot preconceptions and with a clear head. This is my favourite movie ever made (I hope that will be convincing enough for someone to watch it!).

I realise the films on this list are not for everyone and that some require a lot of patience to get through, but I hope you find one that sparks your interest and give it a try. I think these movies have the potential to revolutionize your whole concept of what a movie can be.

Enjoy!

If you have any suggestions, questions or comments, please leave a comment! You can also email me at dried_lungs (at) hotmail (dot) com. I’d L-O-V-E some recommendations. I have some of these movies, so I’d be happy to send/lend them to you if you’re interested.

Raw dolphin

By Greg Beck

Last weekend I ate dolphin. Wait! Where are you going? Let me explain. I did not set out to eat dolphin. I went to an international exchange barbecue hosted by my friend in Osaka. The participants came from Japan, America and Australia. We all brought food and drinks for one another, and learned how to play cricket. We fired up the grill and started throwing on what we brought, and one of the Australians said, “I have a bit of dolphin in the cooler if you want to try.”

Here is where I feel the pressure. I love trying new food and I have never said no to a challenge. I keep a list in my head of animals I have and have not yet eaten, and dolphin is one of things, like whales, that I know I shouldn’t eat, but… maybe just once. So that is exactly what I did. I tried the steak part and the skin part, once raw, once grilled, each.

While I ate Flipper, I found out more. The Aussie who brought it said he loved the stuff, and always ate it raw with soy sauce. He bought it from Taiji, the very subject of the new film “The Cove”, which the (far-too-biased-to-really-be-called) documentary condemns for their annual killing of literally tens of thousands of dolphins. It is also the main capture spot for dolphins used in shows and aquariums worldwide. I had seen previews and wanted to see the movie, but I already knew the gist of it: dolphins are intelligent, majestic animals that should never be caged or killed for food. I love, respect and admire dolphins, but just like dogs or cats, if I find myself in a place where they are eaten normally, I’m going to try a little.

Grilled dolphin

We all continued to discuss the subject and the man who brought it talked about how he, as a foreigner, couldn’t find it at the stores there, but if his Japanese wife went in alone and asked for it, the shopkeepers would bring it out from behind the counter. This sounds very diabolical, but given the threat protesters and demonstrators could pose to the businesses who sell it out of simple indifference, I can understand why they would be careful. Why are there no Japanese protesters causing problems in Taiji? That is a larger and better question for someone who wants to research the topic.

When I came home from Osaka, I immediately watched “The Cove”. But much like actually eating dolphin, the experience was unimpressive. Sure, the movie made a few good points about mercury levels, pollution, and the over-fishing of whales and dolphins, but this movie was less about the killing of dolphins and more about how difficult and dangerous it was for the crew to get in to Taiji and record the killing of dolphins. Their goals were admirable, what they exposed was deplorable, but the whole movie screamed of their own egos.

Ultimately, I do not feel bad about eating dolphin, because I was not actively pursuing it, I didn’t pay for it, and I didn’t create any new demand for it. I got to find out what it tastes like, and that was enough for me. The taste, by the way, was similar to liver but with the texture of beef. The skin, mostly fat, was obviously chewy, oily, and not very good. Now that I have crossed that line I can say from experience that it is not worth trying. But I also know that if you are like me, you want to make that decision for yourself. In contrast, I also tried crocodile that day. It was delicious, like sword fish, and came from an animal that is decidedly stupid, ugly, and disagreeable. So I’d like to conclude by saying, save a dolphin, eat a croc.

Editor’s Note: Anime (Japanese animation) has a bad rap as being a very geeky (otaku) activity. While this may be somewhat true, we at Wide Island View think it’s also a great way to understand and enjoy Japanese culture. So for those of you who don’t usually watch anime, here are some anime recommendations from Wide Island View co-editor Joshua Zimmerman and three other so-called “regular” people. Try it — you just might like it!

Judy Kroo spent two years on JET, living on a very small island in Hiroshima Prefecture. She now lives in Yamanashi Prefecture.

They say that people of good taste are people without originality, but I imagine that they (whoever they are) would have revised their opinion after reading about my taste in anime. That is to say, my taste is neither original nor particularly good. Despite of all the peer pressure I faced growing up, I never went through an anime obsession phase — not in high school when my drama club friends spent Friday nights watching bootleg VHS tapes with incomplete (or sometimes nonexistent) subtitles, nor in university even though I lived in an all-male corridor filled with science and math geeks.

It wasn’t that I didn’t watch anime, but I never quite got what all the fuss was about. I just saw weird, half-puerile plot lines pretending to be deep and profound, warped by an obsessive puerile sexuality. That and a ton of robots. It seemed ridiculous, though saying so was to invite an onslaught of the most nerdish kind of anger.

Therefore, what follows is the list of someone who is still skeptical about the whole enterprise, yet has learned to appreciate the pleasures of the aforementioned robots (albeit very slowly and halfheartedly).

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (風の谷ナウシカア)

This is a classic Miyazaki movie, set in a future when much of the world’s ecosystem has been destroyed and the remnants of civilization live in isolated areas between huge swathes of decay populated by giant insects. The movie concerns a young princess, Nausicaa, who has the ability to communicate with these insects and must fight against a group of humans intent on using the weapons of the past to destroy them. The reason I love it so much is because it was the first film that I watched all the way through in Japanese without using English subtitles. Every time I watch it, I am attracted not only to the strength of the main (female) character but I remember all the work and effort I put into my studies and how awesome it felt to be able to watch a movie and actually understand what everyone was saying.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ms-ilMug8A

Sailor Moon

My students invariably make fun of me when I tell them about this (very old) anime, which was the first anime that I ever watched. I was in high school when Sailor Moon, a story of a somewhat airheaded middle school girl who discovers that she is in fact a warrior destined to save the earth, first aired in the United States. It would come on right after I got home from school, and all my drama club friends were obsessed with it, so I thought I might as well watch it too. After-school clubs meant I only watched it sporadically, so I was never entirely sure what was going on, but I liked how Serena was kind of a brat and full of herself and how over the top the stories were.  It was a great little afternoon escape for me.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ten4sIwapQ4

Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊)

Ghost in the Shell has both television and movie stories as well as manga and video games. I enjoy the movies, especially the second film, “Innocence”, which presents a vaguely hallucinogenic version of a dystopian future and concerns the investigation into the murder of several high ranking members of society. I  like using the movies as listening study aids because they are just so bloody difficult. The main characters continually reference literature and history and often quote directly from books using really tough Japanese when they speak to each other. Even with the Japanese subtitles turned on, I have to refer to my dictionary all the time, but I love the challenge of it and anyway it’s excellent practice.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAK2PVKio0g

Helen Truax is a former Hiroshima JET who now lives and works in Wisconsin, though she would gladly trade a block of cheese for some okonomiyaki.

Cowboy Bebop

This anime about bounty hunters several hundred years in the future has a fun and quirky style and has a great mix of characters. The style is somewhat film noir with plenty of dry humor and action. Each of the 26 episodes more or less stands on its own, so you don’t have to watch them in any particular order, and you can watch the entire series in a relatively short amount of time. Note from Josh:  I love the music in Cowboy Bebop. The mix of jazz cowboy funk sung by Japanese artist Yoko Kano graces my iTunes playlist to this day.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdcRjSsAPg4

Fullmetal Alchemist

This series is about a pair of brothers with near-magical powers who travel from town to town on the orders of the military, trying to stop magical creations from destroying the country. It’s set in a fantasy-tinged 1800s European-style landscape, and most of the stories center around the powers of the brothers and the magical fights they have. It has a lot of anime-style blood and organs, so if that bothers you, you might want to stay away.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM36plSzwro

My Neighbor Totoro

This is the classic movie that put Studio Ghibli on the map. Recent releases from the same studio include Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. It’s a great look at Japanese family life as well as what it’s like to live in the countryside. The magical characters from this movie have become as ingrained into Japanese society as Mickey Mouse or Winnie-the-Pooh. It’s a definite must-see for anyone living in or planning to visit Japan.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpUm19bQXsk

Otaku Dan writes about otaku culture and other personal interests on his blog. He first watched anime at the age of 6 and has been a devoted fan ever since.

By Matt Rose

Teams from around Hiroshima-ken worked together to create an eclectic mix of films for this year’s 4th annual Fukuyama Let’s Film Festival on May 30.

We received seven entries, including one from an ex-JET in Tokyo and the festival’s first entry from our neighbors in Okayama-ken. Hopefully we’ll see more from them in future events!

This year’s participants were challenged to include the following elements in their short films:

• Prop: A Post It Note
• Location: Somewhere in view of the Japanese character 中
• Line: “According to the prophecy…”

The films ranged from spoof motivational mustache-growing tutorials, samurai ghost stories, tales of urban alienation, Fight Club pastiches, and several music videos, one of which was hilarious.

First prize went to Callum Watson and Kyo Morita’s “Waiting For Spring”, a touching cross-cultural love story in which every actor was forbidden from using their first language.

Roughly 85 people attended the event, which took place at Fukuyama’s Cinemode Annex cinema. In total, ¥75,000 was raised for this year’s charity of choice, UNICEF.

This will be the last Let’s Film Festival organized by Toby Ley and Matt Rose, but the reins have been passed on to Callum Watson and Diane Poon, so look for updates about upcoming events from them.

Please join the Facebook group to stay informed, and to see some previous years’ entries.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JO1DCQI-Cg

“As I learned more about Japan… I began to realize something unexpected; the object of my affection was neither pure nor perfect. She had a dark side, a seedy underbelly…”

By Alexis Franks

When I think back on what drew me to Japanese studies, I can’t help but chuckle. It was a scene from Natsume Souseki’s Kokoro, a novel about a young man who befriends an aged teacher known only as “Sensei.” This scene contains all the quietude and pathos that novice Japanophiles crave: a pair of run-down teahouses on a rocky stretch of beach; gulls shrieking over the calm black sea; a lonely old man at the water’s edge, rinsing salt from his bathing costume and humming a Japanese folk song under his breath. This is what I want, I thought. Give me more of this.

As I learned more about Japan, the country that I had fallen so hard for, though, I began to realize something unexpected: the object of my affection was neither pure nor perfect. She had a dark side, a seedy underbelly. And, in time, her vices became more fascinating, more lovable, than her virtues.

The filmmaker Juzo Itami (1933-1997) made it his life’s work to explore these vices of his mother country, to turn the classic image of a timeless, wa-drenched Japan on its head. During his time as an actor, Itami gained enormous popularity for his portrayal of a childish, workaholic father in Yoshimitsu Morita’s subversive take on the Japanese education and family systems, The Family Game (Kazoku Ge-mu, 1983). It is difficult to erase the image of Itami, as the clueless head of the Numata clan, pouting to his exhausted wife that his morning eggs “aren’t runny enough,” that he can’t bring the plate to his mouth and noisily suck them up. “I like doing that,” he moans.

Itami`s first foray as a director, The Funeral (Ososhiki, 1984), won him international acclaim. A satire, The Funeral relates the pathetically funny attempts of a “modern” Japanese family to put together a traditional funeral service for their deceased grandfather. When they congregate in the room where the service will take place, no one knows how to address the priest or to sit properly – an uncle lists and finally tumbles to the side as his leg falls asleep. When they try to practice the Buddhist chanting that will feature heavily in the service, the daughter of the dead man can’t find her husband, who must lead the ritual, because he’s busy ravishing his secretary in the bushes just beyond the house.

The money that Itami earned from The Funeral enabled him to finance his next three features: Dandelion (Tampopo, 1985); A Taxing Woman (Marusa no onna, 1988); and A Taxing Woman`s Return (Marusa no onna II, 1989). In the first, Itami explores the Japanese fascination with food and the ecstatic, almost orgasmic pleasure that Japanese people get from eating. Dandelion works as a series of vignettes. It follows, by turns, the story of a young woman who gets pointers on making the perfect ramen dish from a truck-driving stranger; the frustrations faced by an etiquette teacher trying to show her middle-aged female students “the proper European way” to eat spaghetti, which involves no slurping, no sucking, and no draining of bowls; and the comings and goings of a young couple who rent a room in a love hotel during their lunch hour each day, cracking egg after egg and transferring the yolks back and forth between their mouths as a form of foreplay.

A Taxing Woman and A Taxing Woman`s Return both star Nobuko Miyamoto, Itami`s real-life wife. Not pretty in any conventional sense, Miyamoto is known for portraying characters admired more for their pluck than their physical attributes. She is the “taxing woman” of the titles of these films, a high-level inspector for the Japanese Tax Bureau, which, at the time the films were made, was authorized to confiscate up to 80 percent of a civilian’s yearly earnings for tax purposes. Miyamoto presents her inspector, Ms. Itakura, as a woman who loves her job, who uses her smarts and her charm to sniff out the increasingly ingenious scams of tax evaders. There is the businessman who hires young nurses in dementia wards of hospitals to seduce frail, dying patients so he can hide assets in their inactive bank accounts; there is the pachinko parlor owner who squirrels bankbooks away in custom-made cigarette cases and slot machines. And there is the teenage boy, befriended by Ms. Itakura, whose electronics-selling enterprise at school turns out to be a front for his father’s money-laundering operation.

Itami stopped working for a few years after the release of Minbo, or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion (Minbo no onna, 1992), which also features his wife. This film follows the exploits of a young woman who takes it upon herself to resist feeble-minded extortion attempts by Japanese yakuza bosses. The story so offended real yakuza members that a gang of them ambushed Itami outside his home and beat and slashed him to within an inch of his life. He spent several months in the intensive care ward of a nearby hospital.

In 1997, five years after his hospitalization, Juzo Itami committed suicide by leaping from the roof of his office building. A Japanese tabloid, Flash, had published an article the week before accusing Itami of cheating on his actress wife (a charge he denied in his suicide note). If this sad event had featured in one of his movies, the Itami character would have survived; at the last minute, an onlooker would have talked him down from the roof or a flatbed truck would have passed by the building at just the right spot to provide him with a soft place to land. He would have gone on with his life, chalking up the experience to a moment of bleak, and not altogether unamusing, insanity. But it was real life, not a movie, and Itami died, finally reverting back to a “typical” Japanese man who chose to resolve the (real or perceived) sins of his life with the ultimate act of self-sacrifice.

When I consider Itami`s last act, I wonder if my first impression of Japan, the one gleaned from Kokoro, wasn`t correct. If a man like Itami can kill himself to settle his earthly accounts, I think, then maybe Japan really is all about solitary suffering and the fleeting poignancy of life. Maybe the sea and the gulls and the humming old man have it. But then I recall Itami, as Mr. Numata in The Family Game, contentedly licking egg yolk from the tip of his nose, and I change my mind. And I love Japan more.

Films of Hiroshima

If you’d like to know more about Juzo Itami, there is a museum in Matsuyama. For more information, please check out the website at http://itami-kinenkan.jp/.

Hiroshima-ken has a rich film history as well. Here is just a sampling of the many fine films with a connection to the ken.

Tokyo Story

Filmed in Onomichi, this 1953 classic was directed by Ozu Yasujiro and tells the story of an elderly couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their children, who are busy with their own hectic lives and consequently do not make time for their parents. The film is frequently cited as one of the top ten greatest films of all time.

Yamato (Otoko-tachi no Yamato)

While not considered a classic by any means, this recent blockbuster was also filmed in and around Onomichi. It tells the story of the ill-fated battleship Yamato during the last days of WWII.

Hiroshima, Mon Amour

This French New Wave film, directed in 1959 by Alain Resnais, concerns an affair between a French actress and a Japanese man who survived the bombing of Hiroshima. The film is considered very innovative for its use of flashbacks.

Zatoichi

Parts of Beat Takeshi’s 2003 take on the tales of Zatoichi the blind swordsman were filmed in Fukuyama.

Ponyo on a Cliff

Miyazaki’s next film, concerning a goldfish princess who wants to become human, takes inspiration from Tomo-no-ura, where Miyakaki briefly lived in 2005.