Rouge (1988) [Film Review]

Rouge; or, Chinese (Anti-)Love Story 
This week’s review will be about a classic Hong Kong production from 1988, starring Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung in the leading roles. Rouge, excluding Hong Kong's 3rd category flicks, probably the most bizarre and stylistically extraordinary movie that came out of that particular Asian film industry.

Release Info

Directed by: Stanley Kwan Starring: Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Alex Man, Emily Chu

Language: Cantonese Original Title: Yan zhi kou Movie Industry: Hong Kong Runtime: 96 min

Plot 

We follow the story of a high-class courtesan called Fleur (Anita Mui) and her passionate relationship with a rich gentleman known as “12th Young Master” (Leslie Cheung). Initially, it is only a sexual relation, but 12th Young Master becomes so infatuated with Fleur that he develops deeper feelings for her and vice versa. Unfortunately, due to the objection from the Master’s family, the couple is unable to get married. Therefore, not willing to live separately, they decide to commit suicide and search for themselves in another life.

 

Then, the story cuts to a newspaper journalist in Hong Kong of 1987 who sees Fleur walking up to his front desk. The woman came back as a ghost from the afterlife over 50 years after her death in order to find her beloved one. Troubled journalist and his girlfriend resort to help the courtesan before she completely fades away.

Ghosts, courtesans, and a modern cityscape 

Now that’s what I call a crazy ghost story. I have no idea why, but Hong Kong filmmakers had this strange affinity for ghosts and incorporated them in every possible genre (maybe they were profitable trope?). Anyways, as I said previously, the perfect word to sum up this film is the adjective bizarre, however not in a negative sense. What I mean is that the director Stanley Kwan simply plays with his audience as the story goes on. Initially, it seems that the film’s going to be a historical drama (set in 1934, with great scenography and costumes), but then it shifts to a stereotypical love affair, only to shift once more to a comedy/ghost story. During the first 20 minutes of the film, there’s a careful set up of the plot and the characters when completely out of the blue Hong Kong of the 1980s shows up (which is quite confusing, because the whole stuff with suicide and soul-searching is explained way later in the film through Fleur’s flashbacks), but this unexpected transfer of the setting is a good thing, for it keeps the viewers engaged. In addition, there’s also a factor of entertainment.

 

It’s quite hilarious to see an ordinary modern guy like Yuen (Alex Man) to interact with ghostly Fleur who manifests her paranormal presence pretty straightforwardly, but it still takes a lot of time for the journalist to get the picture. Interesting is also the quest of Fleur. She’s been through hell and back (quite literally) and still hasn't found the 12th Young Master yet. She has only three days left to find him, before disintegrating on the anniversary of their death. Yuen and Chor (Emily Chu) got at lengths in searching for the missing lover, which in turn pushes them to re-evaluate their own relationship. All in all, the whole thing is about trying to understand the meaning of true love (but not in soap-opera style).

 

Needless to say, the movie is engaging, entertaining, and surprising with a big twist at the end and the heartbreaking reunion between Fleur and the 12th Young Master that left me gobsmacked. Not only Stanley Kwan did a splendid directorial job, but also Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung who were absolutely perfect in their roles. On a side note, Rouge is said to be a cursed film, because its both leads died in 2003 (Anita suffered from cancer, whereas Leslie committed suicide). Whether it is true or not, I’m not going to be the judge of that. It is a great shame that such great actors passed away so early and won’t make any worthwhile pictures as this one.

Recommendations

Yes, I consider Rouge a worthwhile film. I had a great fun watching it and unlike other flicks about love-from-the-afterlife such as Truly Madly Deeply or Dragonfly you’re not required to suspend your disbelief and the story doesn’t leave you with a bitterness at heart. All things considered, Rouge is a solid motion picture and I recommend it to anyone who’s on the lookout for some interesting film.

Overall score: 8/10

Samurai Assassin (1965) [Film Review]

Samurai Assassin; or, The Never-Ending Bloodshed

      There are a total of thirty-six gates into Edo Castle. Eighteen of these cross the Outer Moat. The other eighteen cross the Inner Moat. In essence, they are the bottlenecks that control access to the Castle. The Daimyo enter the Castle through one of the gates usually, the one closest to their Edo mansions. Thus, each Daimyo has chosen one entrance as his favorite.

Toshiro Mifune strikes again with his samurai blade of justice. Obviously, it goes without saying that we can expect piles of disembodied corpses along his quest in Kihachi Okamoto's chanabra flick from 1965, Samurai Assassin.

Release Info

Directed by:Kihachi Okamoto Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Reiji Miwa, Masao Suzuki, Tomoyuki Tanak

Language: Japanese Original Title: 侍 Runtime: 123 min

 

Synopsis

The film focuses on a samurai called Niiro Tsuruchiyo (Toshiro Mifune) who gets himself involved in a conspiracy plot of samurai clans from Satsuma, Mito, and Choshu provinces. Their aim is to assassinate the Shogunate’s official li Naosuke. Initially, everything seems quite clear, but when Tsuruchiyo is ordered to kill his best friend, and later falls in love with a geisha, the situation gets out of hand.

Sakuradamon no Hen

The plot for this movie was allegedly based on the real historical event called the Sakuradamon Incident (1860), during which the real li Naosuke was murdered shortly after leaving the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle. The victim was drawn out of his palanquin by a samurai, Arimura Jisaemon, and then decapitated. After Naosuke’s death, historical accounts vary. According to one version Jisaemon committed seppuku immediately after the murder, whereas other account claims that the samurai stuck Naosuke’s head on his sword and ran away with it. Nevertheless, it is true that the event did take place and that the samurai murdered the minister, because they found the new policy of Japan’s opening to commercial trade with foreigners as unacceptable.

The movie quite faithfully depicts the struggle of the Mito samurais but also adds a few twists to the whole narrative. Namely, the film opens with the first attempt to assassinate Naosuke which failed because the Minister did not leave Edo Castle. The group of conspirators suspecting a traitor being among them, conduct a quiet investigation. Therefore, by a series of flashbacks we get to how such a shabby recluse as Niiro Tsuruchiyo joined the cause of the rebel samurai. Nevertheless, the samurai’s past remains partially dubious for the viewers throughout the film. When it is finally revealed in the plot twist of the finale, you wonder about one word that can best describe this picture: irony.

Although Samurai Assassin was directed by the brilliant Kihachi Okamoto (who made The Sword of Doom and Kill), it does not seem to be as epic and filled with grandeur as the rest of his films. Primarily, this movie focuses on politics and convoluted conspiracies, which makes it very difficult to relate to the character played by Mifune (especially when he portrayed such positive samurai as Musashi Miyamoto and Sanjuro), who is basically a thug who does not know what to do with himself.

Yet, such a grim and dark tone of the film (amplified by black and white colours) only reinforces the on-going critique of the samurai class. Okamoto again shows us they are not romantic warriors of valour, willing to battle for honour, but rather they are insidious villains who thrive on manipulating the weak-minded minions. In consequence, Niiro becomes such a victim of their evil-doings and, unfortunately, a prime hero of their morbid play.

Recommendations

If you are more into classical samurai stuff, be careful with Samurai Assassin. It may not be as entertaining as other chanbara flicks, but it is certainly interesting for its plot which grows on you after a while. Although it may seem difficult to get into the film, it is definitely worth watching at least one time.

Overall score: 6/10

Patlabor: The Movie (1989) [Anime Review]

Patlabor: The Movie, or, Robo Police Story

      And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

This week’s review will exceptionally not be about a standard Asian motion picture, but it will focus on an anime flick. I can already hear all the yells from cinema connoisseurs that anime films are not what one would call movies per se. I agree with this statement to a certain extent, but it cannot be denied that anime constitutes a highly integrated part of the Japanese culture, including its high and low spheres. Thus, we should not be prevented from taking into consideration one of the highest cinematic achievements in terms of an animated story-telling that Patlabor: The Movie actually is.

Release Info

Directed by: Mamoru Oshii Voice actors: Miina Tominaga, Toshio Furukawa, Ryunosuke Ohbayashi
Language: Japanese Original Title: 機動警察パトレイバー the Movie Runtime: 98 min

Synopsis

Welcome to Tokyo of the year 1999. Since the 1980s, the world has made a huge development in terms of robotics and especially in manufactured “Labors” that have revolutionised modern industry. However, along with their usage, Labor-related crimes have skyrocketed as well. That’s why the Metro Police created a special Patrol Labor unit called Special Vehicles Section 2, whose aim is to prevent such crimes. Needless to say, members of that section are the laughing-stock of the whole police force. Although successfully completing missions, they often demolish everything that stands in their way, thus generating huge financial losses.

The story begins with the development of the so-called Babylon Project, an advanced technological attempt to connect small islands in Tokyo Bay and artificially create new land for the expanding Tokyo suburbs. However, some Labors participating in the construction go haywire and break loose, even when not controlled by the human pilot. Section 2’s skillful commander, Captain Goto, begins his investigation and determines that all labors recently upgraded in Shinohara Heavy Industries were contaminated with a virus devised by the company’s programmer Eiichi Hoba. The Patlabor team steps into action in order to find Hoba and prevent the annihilation of Tokyo before it is too late. However, the problem is that Hoba has already committed suicide…

Cyberpunk Spoof

When watching Patlabor do not expect anything in the style of Ghost in the Shell, Akira, or Blade Runner. This film is primarily a buddy-cop adventure, thriving on the chemistry between the  Section 2’s characters. We have Noa, Asuma, Ohta, Hiromi, Shinshi, Kanuka, Goto, Shige, Sakaki, and Shinobu. Quite a lot of characters for one picture, but since the film’s story is a team-assemble type, everyone has their fair share of screen time. In addition to this, in spite of a quite comedic and light-hearted tone to the movie, the whole conspiracy-plot is very engaging.

Basically, if you have not seen the 7-episode-long OVA entitled Patlabor: Early Days, I recommend that you do so, since the movie heavily relies on the premises from this series. To be more specific, it addresses the question of non-manually operated Labors and a possible resistance from their side. Do not worry, it it not T3: Rise of the Machines (2003) all over again, but a well-thought-out study of what advanced cybercrime may bring us in the future. In addition, there is also action. Labors serve as an excuse to show some top-notch fighting sequences with the final showdown in the Babylon’s “Ark” being pure icing on the cake, especially for Kaiju fans.

Recommendations

Needless to say, Patlabor: The Movie is awesome. It is funny, interesting, and (most importantly) action-packed, with a brilliant music score from Kenji Kawai, great animation, and decent voice acting. What is more important, it does not feel like anime at all. It is so entertaining that it enhances the viewing experience. If you like Godzilla or Pacific Rim (which was, ironically, inspired by Patlabor) this movie should not disappoint you, even though it is an animation. In addition, I also highly recommend to anime fans the Patlabor franchise as a whole (with three theatrical films, three anime series, and a live-action TV show). If you have not seen Patlabor, go and check it now!

Overall score: 9/10