I wanted to double post like I did Jungle Emperor Leo, but I gave up. Specially after reading people's comments on Anime Supremacy page.Not a Camellia:
What do you mean? Why should others' opinions change what you do?
Unless it's to save your energy because others have said something similar already. But if you have a different opinion, it's useful to put it on the page.
re itwmd's replies that i can't quote without losing spoilers
It felt very much like grief to me, largely stuck and unexpressed until his wife's mum's death opened the wound. And also selfishness, or perhaps a self-absorption which can come from grief and not having enough spare emotional capacity to give others as much as we should. He's a widower who hasn't scattered his wife's ashes. Her mother, the person he can talk about her with as well as being his friend of many years, dies. Two sources of grief right there.
Grieving himself, perhaps. I understand the reality of this because of how much chronic illness has limited my life, it's very common for us. I'm not so sure about him. It may be that he became terrified of dying because of the trauma of losing his wife so young (he would have been around 47), or maybe he already had a fear of his own death and that was why he couldn't scatter her ashes. By the time of the film, these two aspects are intertwined and he finally faces both. Not that he's done grieving, it never goes away it just becomes more manageable.
It was selfish of him to ask her to move in with him and then change his mind, regardless of her reason. I don't think her reason for agreeing to was as limited as you do. I see nearly losing him as a simplifying and therefore deciding factor but not the only one. Living there would mean a big change to her life and he took her by surprise with it, so she needed time to think. But he put her through that decision and then tossed it away for his own preference.
The relationship felt typically Japanese to me, as they're presented in films and series. I tend to assume there are things going on we don't see, but maybe there aren't. There was a lot of cooking for and eating together, and he said something like the best thing is eating with someone you like. I've heard that elsewhere, probably Kinou Nani Tabeta? Anyway food does seem to be how they convey intimacy, at least in films.
No, I wasn't annoyed by the voice overs. Maybe because I have short sentence philosophical conversations with myself in the garden too? Maybe it's a matter of translation and we're hearing them differently as native and non-native English speakers? Over all, I'm not sure the film had as much depth of thought as it seemed it would. Or maybe I've just already given a lot of thought to death myself given the situation of my life. Anyway, those are my reactions to what you've raised.
Best Wishes to All, technically good but felt incomplete, more like a trailer than a short film. I preferred The Invitation whose ending made it complete, and therefore satisfying, in a way that was missing in Best Wishes.
closet, the simplest of the three horror shorts I've seen so far and probably my favourite.
KARAKASA, pretty much professional quality and really creepy
I'm not feeling well since yesterday morning, so no productive writing (either work or reviews) -- but good days for watching!
The Lone Ume Tree -- the best of all festival films so far. The film shows us the story of an elderly woman and her autistic son, their struggles with their neighbours, without ever being sentimental about it. If you only manage to watch one film until the time is up, I think it should be this one!
Daimyo Tosan / We're broke my Lord -- reminded me of the comedies I watched growing up from the 1970s and 1980s, but without the machismo and with more accounting. Predictable story, clear villains, colourful and bright.
Karakasa -- Solid. The story felt very 19th century to me. Showed very early what is going on, and does neither explain it nor make it more horrifiying.
The Invitation -- why don't they ever turn on the lights? Simple, creepy, the ending was a bit meh.
@Elisheva: Thank you for giving your perspective; it's given me food for thought. I will reply when I'm up to more writing --
I'm not feeling well since yesterday morning, so no productive writing (either work or reviews) -- but good days for watching!i watch too many dramas:
I was worried about you. Hope you get back to your normal soon. No rush on replying, we have time :)
Yes, The Lone Ume Tree is excellent. I ranked it high, just after We Made a Beautiful Bouquet and Father of the Milky Way Railroad, but I can see why you'd put it higher.
The lack of machismo in We're Broke - didn't realise it, but that's part of why I liked it :)
I don't watch much horror but KARAKASA really drew me in. I liked the ending of The Invitation, it brought it around full circle IMO, like this was going to just continue and continue and continue. Why don't you leave/turn on the lights has been a common feature in the shorts.
I am what I am - about an aroace woman navigating others' insistence she have a relationship. The structure of it felt like it paralleled films about finding your right person for a relationship, it's just that the right thing for her is different. It's really well done.
I'm bouncing off many of the comedies. As much as I love the slower pace and earnestness of J-film, I struggle with a lot of their comedies, especially if the subject isn't something I click with either. The hyper-violence of Baby Assassins was too much and while I can see what they're doing in contrasting it with the girls' nonchalance, it's not how I want to spend my time. The Handsome Suit probably has a good message about looking beyond appearances, but the first hour is built around humour that puts people down for their appearance. Might try Wedding High again.
Only have KIBA, Twenty-Four Eyes and My Broken Mariko left, plus seeing if I can manage the animation style of Jungle Emperor Leo on a less seizure-prone day.
I was worried about you.Elisheva:
That's sweet, thanks. It happens more often than I want that I go incommunicado. Either because work is exhausting or just because my spoons suddenly run out. And then, sometimes, I just forget that there was a conversation happening before. :(
I liked the ending of The Invitation,Elisheva:
It's mainly the minutes before the real ending, the part where the police officer is chased by the girl and the parents in their plastic bags -- that was more funny than scary for me. The last minute, with the empty house and the new arrivals, yes that was better. I'm not sure if all of that was really needed at all. Maybe I've read too many horror short stories as a teenager. I love it when the author just tells enough to get my imagination going, and it has to take over to fill in the gaps.
That's why I loved the non-ending of Best Wishes to All -- after they've set the background, when the young man arrives, all smiles and hopeful, the girl's glance at her grandparents ... chilling. I'd say it's more macabre than classical horror, more Roald Dahl than Suzuki Koji.
I loved Closet the most -- that one doesn't need darkness to convey a real sense first of unease, then of terror, slowly raising the heart rate. Two jumpscares in less than nine minutes -- the second gave me such a fright that I shouted. Eight and a half minutes well spent!
I'm bouncing off many of the comedies.Elisheva:
Quite understandable. Actually, I'm surprised I liked the ones I watched as much as I did. Thanks for the warning about "The Handsome Suit" -- while I said "We're broke My Lord" felt like a 1970s comedy, this one sadly looks more like a bad 1980s/90s comedy. Not sure about "Baby Assassins".
Only have KIBA, Twenty-Four Eyes and My Broken Mariko leftElisheva:
My Broken Mariko seems too sad for me, if you choose that, tell me, if I'm right?
I poked around the JFF website for a bit today, and found that for most of the films, the directors took short videos where they say something about their films.
You can either find them in the info section of each film or -- and that might be more convenient -- there is a YouTube playlist with all of them: ?Director's Message - JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL ONLINE 2024 - YouTube
I poked around the JFF website for a bit today, and found that for most of the films, the directors took short videos where they say something about their films.i watch too many dramas:
Thank you for finding this. I had so many problems navigating JFF's website last year I didn't try too much this year. It will be good to review everything I've seen.
Just finished KIBA. I liked the twist at the end and the film was well made but I didn't get on with the emphasis on business and its artificial, constructed problems like competition. Not sure how to rate it. Like it was probably good for what it is.
Need to clear my head before I pick up the rest. Want to reply to some of your thoughts on the horror ones. closet was my favourite too.
I understand about spoons.
My Broken Mariko seems too sad for me, if you choose that, tell me, if I'm right?i watch too many dramas:
It's next on my list so maybe tomorrow, depending on how I feel. I have some lighter Thai fare ready all set to get my head back on track if need be. I'll write something here after, whenever that is.
I loved Closet the most -- that one doesn't need darkness to convey a real sense first of unease, then of terror, slowly raising the heart rate.i watch too many dramas:
closet was my favourite, although sort of tied with KARAKASA even though they're hard to compare. closet did at least as much with less and that's impressive. Left me thinking both that I want to watch a full length feature from the director and very certain I should absolutely not :D He surely has a bright future ahead of him. If bright is the right word for his oevre :)
It's mainly the minutes before the real ending,i watch too many dramas:
Ok, it was the real ending that made it complete for me. The part before that you didn't care for, take it or leave it for me, but I have less experience with ghost stories than you do. It felt like a non-ending too, in that this cycle was going to continue and continue. BWtA just didn't work for me at all. Not a fan of macabre. But I guess I can see why other people like it better now. (I'm used to being the odd one out in my preferences.)
I probably shouldn't be thinking about these things at dusk on a very gloomy day. Eek :)
The end of the festival's film part is in sight.
After BL Metamorphosis, I will have watched all of those films from my category of " I definitely want to watch them", plus some of the "Would be nice if I can get around to them" films.
Baby Assassins, The Lines that define me and I go GaGa are left of the second category. Edit: I forgot Single 8, that's also on the second list.
KIBA:
I didn't get on with the emphasis on business and its artificial,Elisheva:
I thought as much. Business is not your favourite, I've heard. Both series in the festival are business focussed -- do you know already if you will want to watch either of them?
closet did at least as much with less and that's impressive. Left me thinking both that I want to watch a full length feature from the director and very certain I should absolutely not :D He surely has a bright future ahead of him. If bright is the right word for his oevre :)Elisheva:
I agree! I'm not too good with longer horror stories, and given how much these 8 minutes had my heart rate up, I would NOT want to see a full length feature film from him.
Ok, it was the real ending that made it complete for me. The part before that you didn't care for, take it or leave it for me, but I have less experience with ghost stories than you do.Elisheva:
I understand now -- yes that makes sense.
You make it seem as if I am some kind of horror expert, which I'm not! I just read anything with letters on and in it until my late twenties, did not care much about genre, or when it was written. I think this is why a lot of fiction feels familiar, like I've seen it already, even if it's new.
Maybe enough with the talk about horror stories? I would not want to rob you of your sleep ;)
My Broken Mariko - intense, difficult but light amongst the dark, and very very goodElisheva:
It is sad but in a way that's ok for me.
I'll put it in the category of "probably not" then, together with Milky Way Railroad and Handsome Suit. Maybe, if there's still some time left, I'll rather rewatch one or two films.
I did watch "I am What I am". It's much more personal for me, so much so that I could not even see anything but the story. Sobata Kasumi is me if I were a Japanese woman. No more words left.
Both series in the festival are business focussed -- do you know already if you will want to watch either of them?i watch too many dramas:
The one person who's chatting with me on dreamwidth about the festival rates them very highly, especially Rikuoh. I have to give them a try for her. Hopefully with 10 hours instead of 2, there will be enough focus on other things as well. If it's 10 hours of work environments, I won't make it :) I am topping up on some Thai in preparation ;)
I like stories about people, so I am what I am and My Broken Mariko rate high for me, especially when they're done as well as those are. They both feel like very real people dealing with very real things.
Baby Assassins, The Lines that define me and I go GaGa are left of the second category. Edit: I forgot Single 8i watch too many dramas:
I enjoyed Single8, it was fun and easy to watch. Lines is aesthetically beautiful. I Go GaGa was too long and repetitious for me (J-docs usually are) so I didn't finish it but am glad I saw some of it. The Lone Ume Tree is the one I'm thinking to rewatch but it's one that I remember well.
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