Hello and welcome dear readers to the annual blog update. Honestly, I can’t believe that it has been seven years since I set up this blog and started posting. A lot of stuff happened to me in the meantime for sure, but I have always felt motivated to write whenever some kind soul left a like or a comment under a review/article.
This latter half of 2022 was especially challenging to me in terms of personal life, which affected the frequency of updates in November and December. Still,I did manage to pull off my desired quota of 52 posts for 52 weeks of a year. The idea is to do the same for the upcoming year.
Evidently, I did not forget about articles as well. I have yet to finish my Rising Sun over Hollywood: American Imaginings of the Japanese Setting in Cinema series with parts 2 and 3. What is more, I will release throughout January my reviews of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s films plus more thoughts on the Heisei Godzilla flicks. I also intend to write a new article devoted to Obayashi for AsianFilmFans, and an article focusing on Haruki Murakami adaptations for MyDramaList. This is the rough plan for the first half of 2023, and I sincerely hope that I will be able to have sufficient free time to complete these passion projects.
Rest assured, I will continue to update the blog itself. I realise that after seven years, its appearance may be a bit dated, but I do not have the necessary strength and stamina to go deep inside the HTML labyrinth and do a complete makeover of the site. Maybe sometime in the distant future…
Well, that’s it from me. As I wrote the previous year, Thank You for being here. Running this blog for the past few years has been a humbling experience which allowed me to stay sane in the midst of real-life insanity. I send you warmest wishes. Please keep on appreciating the grandeur of East Asian Cinema.
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Noriko’s Dinner Table; or, Dirty Horrible Things You wanna put a memory in here? Note: This review was originally written for an external site in April this year, but I decided against its publication in view of the sexual misconduct allegations involving Sion Sono. After over half a year, there are no recent news on the matter, so I am posting my text on the blog. The review appears in its unabridged form.
Let’s take a trip back to the past and explore Sion Sono during his pre-Love Exposure fame. Back in 2002, Siono made cult indie horror called Suicide Circle. This movie focused on the taboo topic of suicides and questionable morality of the Japanese youth in an extremely dark, brutal, and harrowing manner. The innovative (and undoubtedly postmodernist) project would not have gained so much popularity nowadays had it not been for its 2006 follow-up Noriko's Dinner Table.
Release Info
Directed by: Sion SonoStarring: Kazue Fukiishi, Tsugumi Otake, Ken Mitsuishi
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: 紀子の食卓 Runtime: 159 min
Synopsis
Meet Noriko (Kazue Fukiishi) who is a 17-year-old girl from a small town. She desires to enrol at a Tokyo university' however, her overprotective father (Ken Mitsuishi) objects to the idea. He is afraid that Noriko may meet some random stranger and become pregnant. Still, Noriko decides to run away from home. In Tokyo, she meets up with a friend whom she chatted with via an online website, Ueno Station 54 (Tsugumi Otake). Noriko changes her identity and joins her friend's business that rents out people to act as part of family members. After a few months, Noriko's younger sister Yuko (Yuriko Yoshitaka) joins her as well.
Depression Walk With Me
The film in question takes place before, during, and after the events presented in Suicide Circle. Some Sion Sono online fans claim that it is impossible to understand Suicide Circle without Noriko’s Dinner Table, but I dare to say this is not the case at all. Noriko’s Dinner Table is a strong enough movie to stand on its own and does not require the knowledge of Suicide Circle to be enjoyed.
Evidently, the story of the film presents us with the character of Noriko, an introverted girl who spends her free time chatting on a website haikyo[dot]com (literally ruins[dot]com). A friendship she forges there encourages Noriko (Kazue Fukiishi) to abandon her family and boring small-town lifestyle. She arrives in Tokyo and joins her friend, Kumiko (Tsugumi Otake), who goes by the moniker “Ueno Station 54”. Soon after, Noriko’s sister, Yuka (Yuriko Yoshitaka), joins them as well. Noriko’s father (Ken Mitsuishi), desperate to track down his missing daughters, also rushes to Tokyo. Will he be able to re-establish his family?
In terms of its narrative structure, Noriko’s Dinner Table feels more like a novel rather than a movie. This stems from the fact that the film was inspired by Sono’s original novel Suicide Circle: The Complete Edition in which the director outlines the events from the perspective of four major characters: Noriko, Yuka, Kumiko, and Tetsuzo. The movie expands on the themes of suicides and the fragility of life by adding the motif of the degradation of family unit. What seemed to be a perfect family in a photograph is not always like that, according to Sono. There is a generational gap which renders the parents unable to recognise the individuality and true worth of their children.
Another concerning matter is the meta-theatricality presented in the film. Almost every main character assumes an additional identity. Noriko becomes Mitsuko, Yuka becomes Yoko, whereas Kumiko introduces herself as Ueno Station 54. These are parentless people who pretend to be fake family members for money. This in turn allows them to confront their emotions and provide a much-needed catharsis, especially towards the bloody finale. In my opinion, Noriko’s Dinner Table does better in this performance-within-a-performance modus operandi than the recent Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car (2021).
Excellent cinematography cannot go unnoticed. I would not say that the controversial technique of “shaky cam” was utilised, but definitely the majority of scenes were shot in a handheld way, which really enhances the otherworldly perception of reality, as if what we are seeing is a dream. As for the flashback memories of Noriko, it was a surprise to see 8mm footage.
With regard to performances, Kazue Fukiishi definitely steals the movie as Noriko, but at times, it is Tsugumi Otake as Kumiko who feels as the story’s primary heroine. Yuriko Yoshitaka does well in a supporting role, especially in view of the fact that this was the actress’ onscreen debut. Last but not least, Ken Mitsuishi is unforgettable as the father.
Recommendations All things considered, if you wish to avoid the overt creepiness of Suicide Circle and jump onto something more palpable, then I recommend Noriko’s Dinner Table. I think if you like postmodern horror vibes, you can’t go wrong with Sion Sono and his certainly larger-than-fiction idiosyncratic style when it comes to filmmaking.
Overall score: 7/10
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Godzilla vs. Mothra; or, For Mother Earth! There isn't a job that is too tough for me, except, the one time I was married to a real stubborn woman. I am back at my revisitation of Godzilla movies. This time, I would like to focus on the fourth instalment of the Heisei series, Godzilla vs. Mothra from 1992. This text is going to be actually a re-review, but I have already discussed this film on the blog years ago, but I felt that my initial reaction was too crude and too emotional. So here it is: my new thoughts on one of my least favourite Godzilla films.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: ゴジラ対モスラ Runtime: 102 min
Synopsis A large meteoroid crashes in the Ogasawara Trench and awakens Godzilla. An explorer Takuya Fujito (Tetsuya Bessho), his ex-wife Masako (Satomi Kobayashi), and a representative of the Marumoto company Ando (Takehiro Murata), go to the Infant Island and discover the hidden egg of Mothra which is guarded by two representatives of an ancient civilisation known as the Cosmos. They explain that thousands of years ago Mothra used to fight Battra, a monster created by the Earth’s ecosystem as a punishment for the Cosmos’ vanity. The team decides to transport the egg to Japan, but Mothra hatches while en route. What is more, it turns out that Battra got reawakened as well. With Godzilla thrown into the mix, all three monsters rush for a showdown in Yokohama.
Mothra Strikes Back As I have already mentioned in my review of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Toho had various plans for a follow-up, including making a direct sequel that would bring back the Big G’s arch-nemesis once again. However, special effects director Koichi Kawakita together with Minoru Yoshida and Marie Terunuma submitted a script called Godzilla vs. Gigamoth, which was inspired by an unmade Mothra vs. Bagan story. In its essence, the basic storyline is very similar to the final film, but the main difference is the fact that Godzilla fights an amalgam of a good Mothra and evil Mothra in the finale. It is unknown whether the series veteran Kazuki Omori read the script for Godzilla vs. Gigamoth or maybe he based his premise on Mothra vs. Bagan, but under the supervision of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka he penned his own screenplay that was ultimately filmed.
It is clear from the get-go that Toho wanted to cater to as many groups of cinema-going audiences as possible. Women constituted the majority of moviegoers in Japan in the mid-1990s, so it goes without saying that bringing back Mothra was a logical decision. However, the film also tries as hard as possible to be family-friendly: we get light action (see the first act being a rehash of Indiana Jones), parental conflicts, twin fairies (who are not actual twins) and an Oblivion NPC child who struggles to be kawaii in every scene.
Well, the strategy worked for Toho because Godzilla vs. Mothra turned out to be a massive box office success, basically financing the rest of the Heisei era movies. Nevertheless, this movie is not by any means decent. The pacing is uneven, the editing is jarring at times, and all the action reaches a standstill in the second act because there has to be room for family-friendly drama (Fujito actually tries to sell the Cosmos, but Mothra rushes to save them).
I believe the main cause of these issues is the direction done by Takao Okawara. Indeed, this man is an experienced director who worked with the best of the best, serving as an associate director on Akira Kurosawa’s and Kihachi Okamoto’s films, but in my opinion, Okawara fundamentally does not understand Tokusatsu action. He finds it hard to tell a compelling story with Kaiju monsters at the helm. All of his Godzilla films have grand finales, but the middle segments are frequently forgettable.
With regard to special effects and cinematography, Godzilla vs. Mothra is the film that has the best looking Heisei Godzilla. I just love all the close ups of the new BattleGoji suit worn by Kenpachiro Satsuma. What is more, Koichi Kawakita did an amazing job with the battles between Godzilla, Battra, and Mothra; however, the moves of the latter two monsters are a bit clunky at times. The underwater sequences are also great to look at.
Speaking about additional advantages, Akira Ifukube obviously delivers yet another brilliant music score as the film’s composer. Of course, he reuses and repurposes Yuji Koseki’s Song of Mothra from the original 1961 film, but this piece of music is so synonymous with the Queen of the Monsters that it is a given it accompanies her all the time.
With regard to performances, all the actors and actresses feel like a wasted opportunity. Tetsuya Bessho has a more commanding presence than Isao Toyohara from the previous film, but most of the time he is forced to play an Indiana Jones/Han Solo type of guy, which does not add anything to the film. The always-wonderful Satomi Kobayashi plays a bitter ex-wife and her character's objective is to either comment on the monster action or carry the Cosmos around in a special basket. Veterans of the series, such as Akira Takarada, Megumi Odaka, Akiji Kobayashi, and Yoshiko Tanaka do not have anything compelling to do apart from standing in front of giant monitors and observing the monster rumble.
Recommendations All things considered, I did not hate Godzilla vs. Mothra as much as I did during the first viewing. Still again, I regard it as a deeply flawed entry in the Godzilla franchise. The Big G deserved better and Mothra deserved better as well. Ultimately, she received better treatment in the Rebirth of Mothra Trilogy, and Millennium entry Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003).
Overall score: 6/10
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The Monk and The Samurai The lives of two men, a monk and a samurai suffer unbearable loss. Heroic to the end their tales intertwine as they battle with the chaos, redemption, justice and vengeance within. Recently, I was approached with a review offer from Troy’s Team group located in Beijing. From what I know, they are a team of martial artists who worked on several big Chinese productions, such as Kung Fu Yoga (2017) or Ip Man 4 (2019), but they focus on movie production as well.
The latest result of their efforts is a short film called The Monk and The Samurai (2022). A 10 minutes long tale about two individuals influenced and moulded by a traumatic event. The film is primarily a collection of animated images intertwined with live-action clips. I am not an expert in editing, but the seamless transition between the effects made me think whether the filmmakers had use the popular rotoscoping technique to achieve the desired effect. All in all, the visuals are indeed pleasant for the eye.
With regard to the storyline, it is straightforward and easy to follow; this is mainly thanks to a skilful narration by John M. Shang. In fact, director Troy Sandford stated that the film was inspired by an idea to create a book “of short bed time martial art stories ideal for kids and adults” (source: presskit). Indeed, The Monk and The Samurai short feels very much like a bedtime tale to be enjoyed by parents and their children. The film perfectly encapsulates in a nutshell the spirit of ancient Asian myths about gallant warriors trying to do justice in the times of hardship.
All things considered, The Monk and The Samurai is a well-made short film, and I sincerely hope that more “episodic tales” like that will be made in the future by Troy’s Team. My respect goes to the creators and all the actors involved in the project.
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Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah; or, There Can Only Be One I nearly died on Lagos Island, along with my entire Garrison, but the dinosaur saved us all. Now, all of that prosperity I built is now being destroyed by the same dinosaur at this moment, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Very ironic, don't you think? It has been a while since Godzilla, the one and only King of the Monsters, was discussed on this blog. In view of the recent release of Shin Ultraman and the news that Toho is actually making a new Godzilla movie, I am back in the Tokusatsu mode again and decided it would be fitting to finally come round and complete my reviews of all Japanese Godzilla flicks. A daunting task for sure, and some reviewers I follow and respect already undertook this endeavour, but still, I feel I should explore the heart of Godzilla on my own and provide my personal take on the nearly 70-year-old franchise. For this reason, I would like to talk today about my favourite Goji-movie of all time, especially in view of the recent passing of director Kazuki Omori; that is, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.
Release Info
Directed by: Kazuki OmoriStarring: Isao Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: ゴジラ対キングギドラ Runtime: 103 min
Synopsis Tokyo, 1991. An unidentified flying object appears on the Tokyo skyline. The Japanese government is afraid that this may be an alien invasion, but it turns out that the mysterious visitors are people who travelled back in time from the 23rd century. They claim that in their time period Godzilla led to total annihilation of Japan, and the only way to stop the monster is to prevent its origin. A joint research team comprised of Emi Kanno (Anna Nakagawa), an android M-11 (Robert Scott Field), a freelance journalist Terasawa (Isao Toyohara), Dr Masaaki (Katsuhiko Sasaki), and Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka) jumps in time to the year 1944 and carries out the difficult task. Godzilla has been wiped out from existence, but his monstrous reign has been taken over by King Ghidorah. Now, humanity's only hope is to bring back the Big G.
Days of Future Past After the release of Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), the Toho Studios found themselves in a slump with the series. According to Steve Ryfle’s book Japan’s Favorite Mon-star: The Unathorized Biography of Godzilla (1998), Godzilla vs. Biollante was the most expensive production of the franchise at the time of its making, but modest box office performance ultimately made the studio loose 3 million yen on the picture. After two (if counting The Return of Godzilla from 1984) so-so attempts to jumpstart the franchise, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka made a decision to appeal to the fans’ nostalgia. Therefore, Godzilla was to be pitted against his arch-nemesis from the Showa era, King Ghidorah.
Scripting and directorial duties were once again given to Kazuki Omori, the man who cooked up Godzilla vs. Biollante. However, this time Omori put less emphasis on the human drama. Instead, he cranked up the science-fiction aspect to the max, and also added his personal commentary on (or rather critique of) Bubble Era Japan’s international relations.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is often regarded by fans and ordinary movie enthusiasts as the underwhelming entry of the Heisei series, primarily due to its convoluted plot concerning time travel. Steve Ryfle obliterates the movie’s plot in his book in a very shallow and condescending way, repeating many claims from viewers who did not pay attention while watching the film. In fact, if you watch the film while having fresh in mind the events of other Heisei series instalments, the events of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah do make sense, and the film adds more context to the mythos of the Big G and his arch-nemesis in a very bold and straightforward manner that was only outmatched by the grandeur of the original Gojira (1954) and Shin Gojira (2016).
What I am getting at is that I love in this movie all the elements that are oftentimes perceived by critics of this film as campy: time travel, a Terminator-like android, countdown to a big explosion, Godzilla originating from a dinosaur, King Ghidorah originating from kawaii squishy Gremlin-like creatures called Dorats, Mecha-King Ghidorah. The list goes on! Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is a wild, escapist fun that takes itself seriously only at certain places.
These places are obviously Omori’s own thoughts about the leading role of Japan on an international stage. The period of the 1980s indeed seemed as the time of Japan’s economic dominance, but this prospect was clearly gone with the wind by the year 1991. Omori not highlights the ever troubling issue of Japan’s resentment of nuclear weapons (Big G actually destroys a nuclear sub to regain his strength), but the director also underlines heavy preoccupation of the Japanese with rampant consumerism and lavish lifestyle, which may ultimately lead to disastrous consequences.
This is perfectly reflected in an emotional confrontation scene between Godzilla on the loose and a war veteran Shindo (now a prosperous businessman who took part in rebuilding Japan). This scene alone is a wonderful stand out in an entire franchise, which not only ties Godzilla to the people of Japan, but turns the monster into a token of warning against authority power and mindless accumulation of wealth (see Godzilla’s destruction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in the film’s finale).
Speaking about special effects, the practical stuff, miniatures, monster fights, and cell animation helmed by the late Koichi Kawakita are simply outstanding. The production design, especially of the Futurians’ ship, is beautiful to look at as well. One has to appreciate the dedication of the Toho team in the modern age filled with computer-generated images. What is more, Akira Ifukube himself was brought back to the franchise as the film’s composer after 16 years of break. I have already outlined my thoughts on Ifukube’s compositions in my series of blog articles last year, but allow me to say here that I adore the music score for Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Indeed, Maestro Ifukube may have reused a lot of old compositions, but these fit so well with this picture, especially the action themes reappropriated from Godzilla vs. King Kong (1962).
With regard to performances, Isao Toyohara does a decent job as the male lead. Megumi Odaka reprises her role of Miki Saegusa from Godzilla vs. Biollante. She already gained experience on the set of the previous film, so she perfectly knew how to react to monster fights that were added later in post-production. The late Anna Nakagawa is also memorable as Emi Kanno, the mysterious lady from the future who ultimately joins the good guys and becomes a pilot of Mecha-King Ghidorah. Robert Scott Field is a joy to watch as an android M-11 in action. The supporting role of Shindo played by Tokusatsu veteran Yoshio Tsuchiya is also a welcomed addition.
Contrary to some misleading info on the net, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah did become a success at the Japanese box office and managed to reinvigorate an interest in the franchise. For a brief period of time, Toho even considered making a direct sequel to the film titled Counterattack of Ghidorah, but the plans fell through in favour of brining back another familiar monster from Godzilla’s lore (Mothra). Unfortunately, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was released on VHS and subsequently on DVD in the West with a crappy English dubbing that really sucked excitement out of the viewing experience. If you want to enjoy the film in its original, unabridged form, then you have to rely either on the Japanese DVD or Blu-Ray release.
Recommendations All things considered, I will never forget the time over 20 years ago when I sat down in front of TV and watched my first Godzilla movie: this movie. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah may be bonkers to some, but still, it is positively charged with action and science fiction vibes. What is more, it is one of the few movies in the franchise that served as an inspiration for Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) blockbuster. The legacy of this Heisei era movie continues to live on. Please refer to an epic fan-made trailer below to experience the visuals on your own.
Overall score: 10/10
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Shin Ultraman; or, In the Tokuverse of Madness Some things are only clear when you are in between. I believe this is why I exist. Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno, the creative duo behind Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) and Shin Godzilla (2016) return once again to the Tokusatsu genre. Supervised by the Toho Studios and Tsuburaya Productions, the Shin Ultraman movie is the latest instalment in Higuchi and Anno’s so-called Shin Japan Heroes Universe, a marketing project that aims to reinvent the most popular Kaiju heroes.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: シン・ウルトラマン Runtime: 112 min
Synopsis Japan is known as the only country on Earth that is constantly plagued by kaiju monsters. For this reason, the government created a special team known as S-Class Species Suppression Protocol, so they could analyse the giant monsters and help the military in fighting them off. However, the recent attacks render the team helpless. All of a sudden, an extraterrestrial being called Ultraman appears and saves the day. Who is Ultraman? Is he a friend or a foe? The arrival of a mysterious alien sets in motion a chain of events that may lead to the annihilation of Earth.
Nostalgia Service Allow me to start my review by saying that I am not a massive fan of Ultraman. It is not that I dislike the franchise, but I never felt the need to check it out in full apart from bits and pieces on YouTube. As a result, Shin Ultraman is my first proper interaction with this series that has been around for over 50 years now.
At first, I was a bit weary of the movie given the fact that it was cooked up by Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno. As I have stated in my review of Shin Godzilla, I did not greatly enjoy their NGE-charged take at the Godzilla mythos. I was afraid that the directors will repeat their fanboy mojo concerned with fatalism, depression, and bureaucracy in Ultraman, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Shin Ultraman is, for all accounts and purposes, a love letter to the original series that started it, Ultra Q (1966), and to the general spirit of good old Tokusatsu shows from the Showa era. When handing over his script for the film in 2019, Hideaki Anno stated that his intention was not to introduce Ultraman for a new generation of young spectators, but to adults who used to watch the show in their childhood (source). Shinji Higuchi also added that they purposely avoided repeating the bleak style of Shin Godzilla to avoid blandness.
In consequence, Shin Ultraman is light-hearted, special-effects charged spectacle that can be enjoyed by Toku fans across the globe, even those who are unfamiliar with Ultraman. In fact, I dare to say, the movie feels more like a miniseries rather than a feature due to its narrative structure. Every 20 minutes or so, we get new monsters, new threats, and action set pieces thrown at us. Brisk pacing of the film coupled with top-notch cinematography, tight editing, and the soundtrack evocative of classic Tsuburaya TV shows amounts to a more than entertaining viewing experience.
Evidently, Higuchi and Anno couldn’t help themselves and had to throw in their critique of Japanese authority, but this is not a prevalent theme of the picture. More interesting is the examination of human capacity to become an apex predator ready to destroy other species. The resolution of this problem in the finale is done in a very thoughtful manner indeed.
Speaking about performances, Takumi Saitoh obviously shines as the lead, Shinji Kaminaga. Masami Nagasawa does great as the partner and (a sort of) Kaminaga’s love interest, Hiroko Asami; however, Higuchi and Anno just had to fetishise her character in certain scenes (cue giant Masami walking hypnotised across Tokyo in high heels).
The SSSP team is composed of the always charismatic Hidetoshi Nishijima, nerdy Daiki Arioka, and funny Akari Hayami. In contrast to the neurotic protagonists of Shin Godzilla, the SSSP experts seem likeable and cheerful, even in the face of grave danger. The supporting parts of grumpy old politicians were done by veteran actors such as Tetsushi Tanaka, Kyusaku Shimada, Ryo Iwamatsu, and Yutaka Takenouchi (he also appeared in Shin Godzilla). What is more, motion capture stand-ins for Ultraman were the original suitmation actor Bin Furuya and Hideaki Anno. In addition, the film features voice appearances by Issei Takahashi as Ultraman and Koichi Yamadera as Zoffy, Ultraman’s superior.
Recommendations All things considered, Shin Ultraman is a wild, entertaining Tokusatsu ride. In the times of real-life hopelessness, people need more of this sort of light-hearted visual spectacle. Higuchi and Anno stated that the film is intended to be the first part of a new Ultraman trilogy of movies, but only time (and box office returns) will tell if we get the sequels. In the meantime, I look forward to Shin Kamen Rider which is due to come out next year. Shin Ultraman is going to debut on Amazon Prime in Japan next week on the 18th of November.
Overall score: 8/10
Note: All the pictures used belong to Toho Co., Ltd. and Tsuburaya Productions.
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Four Sisters; or, Bildungsroman: The Movie My dear sister. You've done nothing wrong. Not wanting to let her go shows that you've really taken up the role as her mother. The year 2022 is slowly but surely nearing its end. A lot of stuff has happened to me personally, but in terms of movies, the running theme through many months was the filmography of Nobuhiko Obayashi. From Third Window’s Anti-War Trilogy release to their recent Kadokawa Years boxset, I have been fuelled by a desire to discover the idiosyncratic grandeur of this auteur filmmaker. As some of the blog readers already know, the result of my deep dive became An Ultra Fan’s Guide to Obayashi Nobuhiko. However, I believe there is still more to be said about this particular director and his movies. To be specific, I would like to talk about one of his motion pictures which is calm, romantic, and deeply melancholic. That is, Four Sisters, a perfect fit for a windy Autumn evening.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: 姉妹坂 Runtime: 101 min
Synopsis Meet the Kitazawa family. Four sisters: Aya (Misako Konno), Akane (Atsuko Asano), Anzu (Yasuko Sawaguchi), and Ai (Yasuko Tomita) live in their parental household in Kyoto. Two high school friends, Ryo (Toshinori Omi) and Togo (Ichirota Miyakawa) compete against each other to win the heart of Anzu, which sets in motion a chain of events in the course of which the sisters discover that they are not related by blood. Each sister will have to cross into adulthood on her own terms, facing hardships and real-life drama along the way.
Shoujo Magic I have to say that Four Sisters does not get a lot of recognition among Obayashi fans because it is not (for lack of a better word) “Obayashi-enough”. There are no vampires, evil children, or pianos that eat people. Four Sisters is what the title suggests: a story about four sisters. The editing itself and Obayashi’s visual stylistics are quite reserved indeed, but it does not mean they are totally absent. Obayashi divides the film into three separate chapters which, thanks to director’s wit and perceptive eye for details, function as memoirs taken straight out of a photo album. In fact, the beginning and end of each section are reminiscent of Polaroid photographs.
There is not a lot of information about the film online, but it seems clear that after Obayashi’s successes at Kadokawa with such movies as School in the Crosshairs (1981), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (1983), and The Island Closest to Heaven (1984), the Toho Studios wanted to profit from the emerging trend of idol eiga, so they brought the director on board, gave him a shoujo manga called Shimaizaka to adapt, and showered him with their most promising pop stars they had at that time.
Evidently, as usual throughout the 1980s, Obayashi did his magic and put a personal spin on the source material while trying hard to bring out the best performance out of the leading ladies. Consequently, Four Sisters is a compelling coming-of-age drama. It is a story about growing up and finding love as well as inner peace, but certainly not in a conventional way.
Common criticism of the film is that it is too short and some of the subplots concerning the titular four sisters are not greatly elaborated upon. In my opinion, Obayashi was not going for a three-hour epic, but he wanted to create this bildungsroman-like ambience done in the style of the Brontës’ novels. Consequently, the movie is not so much about the exposition but about emotion: motherly love for a child, and longing for a loved one.
This aspect takes me back to the issue of visuals and editing. As I stated previously, Obayashi does not use fast cutting, different frame rates, or a mix of coloured scenes with black-and-white ones. In Four Sisters, when Obayashi wants to convey something intimate, he places a character in front of a camera and uses a really big close up. When he wants to get an unnerving feeling, he plays with the geography of a scene, changing a character’s position in a conversation (see Akane’s medical appointment).
What is more, Obayashi presents us with truly outstanding cinematography. Each and every scene: the framing of characters, their placement within glorious outdoor settings, all of it has meaning! To me, some of the shots like, for example, Akane crying over her mother’s grave, Anzu dancing, or Ryo standing near a stream next to a hospital, are just absolutely breathtaking.
Speaking of the performances, undoubtedly, each and every leading lady gets to shine on the screen, but the true show stealer is Atsuko Asano as Akane. Had the movie been made and released today, I am positive that she would have won an Oscar for her role of a bitter, yet deeply mature and sensitive sister. More words of praise go to Toshinori Omi who, in my opinion, delivered in Four Sisters his best performance out of all Obayashi films he appeared in. Omi no longer plays a sweet schoolboy but a real man who is head over heels in love with Akane.
Yasuko Sawaguchi, known from The Return of Godzilla (1984) does a great job as Anzu. Misako Konno is memorable and graceful as the oldest sister Aya; whereas, Yasuko Tomita is indeed noticeable as the youngest sister Ai. Tomita also played the leading part in Obayashi’s Lonely Heart which was released the same year as Four Sisters. In addition, a whole array of Obayashi’s frequent collaborators such as Yumiko Fujita, Wakaba Irie, Akiko Kitamura, and Toru Minegishi make short appearances as well. Four Sisters was also one of the first major pictures for actor Ichirota Miyakawa who played Anzu’s love interest, Togo.
Recommendations All things considered, I personally think that Four Sisters is Obayashi’s highly underrated masterpiece. In fact, allow me to say (write) a bit more. It is one of the few movies out there that actually made me cry. I am not ashamed to admit it. And I cried again as I rewatched it for the purposes of this review. I can only hope that sometime in the future the Criterion Collection of some other company will strike a deal with Toho and release this outstanding film on physical media in Europe and the US. There are so many Obayashi movies out there apart from House (1977) that people need to see!
Overall score: 10/10
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