By APA Staff

The old Chanoma Film Festival of Los Angeles is now the less-cheesy, though still wonderfully populist Japan Film Festival. APA reviews some of the films on view, whose impressive breadth makes the revamped JFF an exciting addition to Little Tokyo.

Maiko Haaan!!!
dir. Nobuo Mizuta

A story about a youngish salaryman named Onizuka (Sadao Abe) who transfers from Tokyo to Kyoto, ditching his urban girlfriend to pursue his fanatical love of traditional, apprentice geisha. Little does his know that his girlfriend has followed him there with plans of geisha integration. The film is a wondrous hybrid of parody, melodrama, musical, and theatrical twists and turns along the line of taped vaudeville. As such, it is often an excuse for the staged antics of the manic Abe, whose weird, over-the-top mannerisms and howling, girly shrieks are frankly often hilarious. The jokes are hit-or-miss, but they're hyperactively delivered on a motorcycle so you don't notice the gaps between the laughs. It is all the more remarkable that the film slows down in a measured second half that is almost another film entirely -- the Naked Gun-like parodic nonsense somehow parallels and complements meaningful character growth and critique of obsessive folly -- and it's all still vibrant and alive. Director Nobuo Mizuki does an admirable job handling the shifts in tone, but the project deserves recognition as yet another proliferation of the Otona Keikaku theatre troupe into Japanese mass entertainment, and most notably yet another hit from its star screenwriter/comedian/jack-of-all-trades Kankuro Kudo, who has been churning out quality entertainment ever since his hit TV series Ikebukuro West Park back in 2000. For those of you who haven't seen Yaji and Kita or Kisarazu: Cat's Eye, think a cross between the crazier sides of Koki Mitani and the manga humor of something like Kenji Hamaoka's Super Radical Gag Family. Along with Abe, the film features the comic return of Sabu's leading man Shinichi Tsutsumi, and a miscast Ko Shibasaki, who is far too cute for the gritty role demanded of her, but who nevertheless finds a memorable part due to Kudo's generous script. --Bryan Hartzheim

Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina
dir: Shinji Aramaki

Apple Deus Saga: Ex Machina is the second CGI film based on Masamune Shirow's cyberpunk manga serial from the 1980s. It takes place in a world rebuilt after World War III, filled with humans, cyborgs, and a hybrid of both called Bioroids. The film continues the story of a Deunan, a female soldier and Briareos, her cyborg lover, as they attempt to prevent a computer virus from controlling every human, cyborg, and Bioroid in the world. The previous Appleseed CGI film offered astounding visuals, but had a dull, convoluted plot that was both shallow and pretentious. Ex Machine doesn't fare much better, as director Shinji Aramaki tries too hard to shoehorn in all of the complex social and philosophical themes from the manga into the two hour film. The film's take over the world by assimilating everybody into a collective consciousness is hardly original, with obvious plot twists and developments that audiences will figure out long before the characters do. On the plus side, John Woo lent his action directing prowess to the film, with all his signatures flourishes appearing in full force: acrobatic gunplay, slow motion shots, church shootouts, and doves, which actually serve as a plot device. Ex Machina's visuals improve on its predecessor with a more realistic sheen and additional colors. The characters still retain their anime aesthetic, which oddly makes the human characters come off as doll-like in contrast to the realistic environments. Even with the improved action sequences and enhanced visuals, the movie is barely better than its predecessor, and still almost every bit as bland and convoluted.  --William Hong

Kaidan
dir: Hideo Nakata

My friend and I only had Kobayashi Masaki's Kaidan (1964) as a guide going into this film. Kobayashi's film consisted of four different ghost stories, had great set design, and was wonderfully atmospheric. So we were under the impression that Nakata Hideo's Kaidan would be a kind of remake or revisiting of Kobayashi. Unfortunately, Nakata -- famous for Ringu -- could channel neither Kobayashi nor Sadako to make this ghost story of a curse haunting a man's every relationship rise above the status of mediocre, if at that. Certainly, the point of a curse is its viral tenacity; and most of the film's cast captures well enough the mixture of desire and anxiety that comes with a curse. But after two hours of seeing Shinkichi get involve with one woman after another only to have part of her face start to scar and eventually die, it's hard to find reasons to care, especially since practically all the characters are unsympathetic. No doubt the most suspenseful moment of the screening was the projection problem, when part of the film was ruined and we had to wait around 10 minutes to get the film back on. My friend and I had a great conversation about Peeping Tom (1960), Kobayashi's Kaidan, Miike Takashi's work -- in other words, everything that this film is not.  --Rowena Aquino

Hula Girls
dir: Lee Sang-il

It's hard not to fall for Lee Sang-il's Hula Girls, a heartwarming film about Japanese coal miners' daughters who overcome all odds and become national hula-dancing sensations. Their inspiring rise from obscurity to fame, through physical and emotional sacrifice, is exactly what you'd expect from such a tearjerker. Yet it never feels as banal as it probably should be because Lee delicately treads the line between melodrama and casual charm. The result is pure tiki confection -- the cinematic equivalent of a "Mahalo" and a shaka sign. Credit actress Yu Aoi for keeping those dimples and puppy eyes in check, so as to focus the attention on her surprisingly captivating hula moves. The effectiveness of the film's sentimentality frequently rests on Yu Aoi's shoulders, and as she does in Shunji Iwai's films, Aoi effortlessly balances heartbreak and perseverance, as in the film's touching train station farewell. While I find the labor politics of Hula Girls a bit hard to bear -- it essentially justifies worker complacency in the name of exotic hip-shaking -- the film nevertheless keenly depicts the social tensions that arise as a small Japanese town reluctantly shifts from an industrial economy to a tourist one.  --Brian Hu

Always - Sunset on Third Street
dir: Takashi Yamazaki

In this heartwarming take on family and belonging, Takashi Yamazaki's Always - Sunset on Third Street explores post-WWII life in Tokyo from the perspective of everyday people struggling to carve new beginnings. Unexpected families are formed when country girl Mutsuko (Maki Horikita) works as an automotive helper to hot-tempered Suzuki (Shinichi Tsutsumi) and adds a second child to his family. Just across the street, introvert novelist Chagawa (Hidetaka Yoshioka) takes in an abandoned boy Junnosuke (Kenta Suga) as a favor to his love interest -- bartender Hiromi (Koyuki) who dreams for a family to call her own. Despite the sometimes ridiculousness of simple dialogue, Yamazaki's remake of the classic manga is at best, endearing. Set during the historic construction of the Tokyo Towers, Always - Sunset on Third Street's 1958 backdrop witnesses the introduction of Americanized luxuries such as television, rock & roll, and Coca-Cola. When characters dream, Yamazaki creatively assembles their ideas on a screen behind them, looking larger than life and as if warped in time. The nostalgic reflection on Japan's post-war experience is met with an overarching economic and social optimism for the future.  --LiAnn Ishizuka

Trainman
dir: Masanori Murakami

Trainman is the film made geek chic in Japan. This runaway Japanese hit is supposedly based on a true story about a social inept otaku, Trainman, who saves a beautiful woman, Hermess, on a train from a drunken businessman. This beauty and the geek tale has all the trappings of a modern day romantic comedy. Trainman channels the help of Japan's ubiquitous 2chan message board netizens to win Hermess's heart. These anonymous netizens, whom Trainman never meets in person, provide the film with a great deal of color and humor. Even though the supporting cast remains separate, the film does a wonderful job conveying a sense of unity and camaraderie amongst these people as they provide Trainman with all the advice and encouragement he desperately needs. These energetic internet exchanges are the film's most interesting segments, as it is somewhat agonizing to see Trainman stumble and mumble his way through dates with Hermess. The film is mostly fun until when the film's final act slathers on the melodrama, which becomes hammy and excessive. Also, the film oddly chooses to reveal the little details that show why Hermess actually likes Trainman at the very end. Aside from the contrived melodrama, Trainman is enjoyable and offers a fun look at Japan's now popular otaku subculture.  --William Hong

Yunagi City, Sakura Country
dir: Kiyoshi Sasabe

The film tells of succeeding generations of survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, spanning the 1950s to the present day. The film is divided into two parts. An almost Ozu-like pace begins the film, as a mother and daughter go about their lives, even while knowing the effects of radiation that they carry in their bodies. This pace is maintained for the first 45 minutes, when the film moves to the present day. The shift to present-day is, in actuality, about discovering the past and how it constantly shapes the present. This time-travel is triggered one day when Nanami (the granddaughter of the family in the first part) secretly follows her father back to Hiroshima to find out the cause of his recent strange behaviour. The movement from Tokyo to Hiroshima becomes characterised by the film trading in the linear progression of past, present, and future for an interaction of all three simultaneously, as if to mirror the complex play and slipperiness of memory. As she discovers more about her family past, the more the past and present meet each other on the same plane. In its rejection of a straight-laced, chronological account of one generation after another finding out about the atomic bombing in the second part, the film makes more visible and effective the ongoing resonance of the past in the present. The drawback is that in the process, it also rejects the politics of the bombing and remembering (e.g. survivor's guilt) that it raises in the first part.  --Rowena Aquino

Sumo Hot Pot
dir: Toshiki Sato

Based on a true story, Sumo Hot Pot is an inspirational sports film about a group of outsiders that band together for the love of friendship, sumo, and hot pot. The film follows the experiences of a Japanese female student as she attempts to reverse the fortunes of her college's neglected sumo club alongside international students. During their improbable journey towards winning a regional tournament, the eclectic group overcomes racial and cultural differences. The unlikely situation proves to the film's most compelling aspect as it plods along due to overabundance of training sequences. While these sequences do a good job showing the characters bond through the arduous physical training, watching them becomes wearisome. Aside from a few tersely comical exchanges between two of the members, an American and Arab (surprise surprise), Sumo Hot Pot lacks any compelling conflict. Although the members of the club try to prevent the club from closing down, the languid pacing reduces the sense of urgency. Even more disappointingly, the film doesn't go into depth on why some of the members joined the club and made such a huge commitment. Despite this glaring oversight, the characters are generally likeable, making it hard not to cheer for these underdogs.  --William Hong

Black Night
dir. Patrick Leung, Takahiko Akiyama, Tanit Jitnukul

Three films in one: the first, a story about a dead but vengeful girlfriend; the second, a psychological horror story about an aquarium worker and ghosts; the third, a boy who may or may not be dead. This internationally-produced horror omnibus throws in every J and K-horror cliché but the kitchen sink: girls with bulging eyes, ghost boys who want their mommy, slamming doors, long hair, traumatic pasts, and lots and lots of water. That's the theme of all three shorts -- the assemblage of talent from Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand might not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy competitive film world, but we'll always have…water. If I had to rank them, Jitnukul's portion, "The Lost Memory," is the most competently made, with Akiyama's and Leung's shorts possibly serving as future camp classics if they actually had some imagination or fun in them. But thank Jesus we don't have to rank 'em. None are offensively bad, but the themes, mood, and novelty of these films are a dead horse that has been beaten very far into the ground with the aide of countless current Hollywood remakes of much older Japanese and Korean films, most spankingly relevant here being the brilliant versions of Dark Water by Hideo Nakata and Walter Salles. Let's just put a moratorium on the copycat Pan-Asian horror out there, let a pro like Takashige Ichise or SirLaosson Dara handle the rest of these kinds of films, and spare ourselves a lot of wet and grainy grief.  --Bryan Hartzheim

Tokyo Cowboys
dir: Daneeta Loretta Saft & Patrick Johnson

Tokyo Cowboys is a raw documentary that follows a group of white men who seek fame and success in Japan over the course of two years. It is essentially a collection of home video-like footage spliced together, held loosely together by a distant and seemingly detached female narrator. It provides a personal glimpse into how these men, who range from performers, radio personalities, and musicians, define achieving success in Japan. As foreigners in Japan, they consider themselves cowboys seeking success in uncharted territory, just like the pioneers made their mark in the Wild West. The documentary captures the frustration for the cowboys who fail to meet their goals, and for the ones that do make it, the hollow nature of achieving success in a foreign country devoid of ones peers. The documentary also peers into the lives of the women who follow these men and the relationship strains that ensue. It doesn't pull any punches when it comes to detailing the cowboys' sometimes unflattering behavior and actions. As of this writing, the documentary is still unfinished and slightly underdeveloped, notably showing brief clips of a white woman (the narrator/director?) unrelated to any of the cowboys featured. Even as an unpolished, incomplete piece, Tokyo Cowboys is still a very compelling and insightful glimpse into the minds and hearts of its subjects.  --William Hong

This World of Ours
dir: Nakajima Ryo

Nakajima Ryo's film was a major winner at the 2007 Pia Film Festival in Japan. Understandable enough: heart-wrenching, tortuous emotion resulting from teen angst and nihilist disorientation that moves from teasing and karaoke to gang rape and suicide attempt. Nakajima's camera gets intimately, uncomfortably close to a group of teenagers' point-of-no-return experiences, as if trying to get beyond the epidermis of pain to see how hurt really works. Of course, This World of Ours has many precedents -- some very interesting ones at that, e.g. All about Lily Chou-Chou (2001), Suicide Club (2000), Love and Pop (1998), Blue Spring (2002) -- that set the parameters for your Japanese, angst-filled, violent and sometimes bloody high school student genre. Given this context, I came to realise exactly why This World of Ours doesn't entirely work. The film begins interestingly enough, with a series of high school students and their respective problems. But as "this world of ours" progresses, the film seems to shift gears: instead of tackling the layers of the social power structure governing their lives, it gives way to filming emotion for emotion's sake. After all, one can only take so many successive close-ups of a person's face contorting with pain and frustration for it to become either really self-indulgent or just silly. The program notes in the festival catalogue writes that it "may not be for everyone." On that note, it's right on.  --Rowena Aquino

If Today was the Last Day
dir: Akina Yanagi

As a graduate film project, director Akina Yanagi's directorial debut was intended to capture the essence of a waning Japanese island's culture. It follows the trials of two estranged sisters, Seiko and Meiko, who reunite and attempt to restore Hachijo island's local festival. Seiko, who leads an introverted life in the city, has her world shaken upside down by Meiko, who is terminally ill and lives by a carpe diem philosophy. A good portion of time is devoted to stressing why it's important not to sacrifice tradition in favor of modern convenience. Extolling the virtues of the island's tradition doesn't make for very compelling material. The film crawls to a grinding halt towards the middle, where very little happens plot wise. The film's energy is sapped with too much time devoted to Seiko and Meiko mooning around looking sad and doing nothing. By the end of the film, Yanagi accomplishes her goal of crafting a warm story about the bonds of family and tradition against the backdrop of Japan's natural beauty. While the plot isn't particularly deep, the gorgeous footage of the island makes the film a compelling travel brochure.  --William Hong

Published: Friday, May 2, 2008