No honor among thieves or kidnappers

Hostage: Missing Celebrity attempted to be an edgy kidnapping story using Hwang Jung Min to play himself as the victim. With uneven casting and an otherwise formulaic story it over relied on its star to create an intriguing film.

Hwang Jung Min played himself in the film which was a rather odd meta-angle. While his actual movies were mentioned, the character was clearly fictional. Hwang is shown as being humble, good to his employee, and shops just like the little people do at a convenience store. Upon leaving the store he finds three hooligans sitting on his expensive car and that is where his troubles begin. When he awakens tied to a chair, Hwang realizes that the kidnappers have not covered their faces which means they likely plan to kill him and another kidnap victim after they receive the ransoms. He puts his movie experience playing characters in precarious situations into action. Before long, the kidnappers come to understand that snatching someone famous puts more pressure on the police to find the missing movie star quickly and the countdown is sped up.

Hwang gave a superb performance as a wealthy actor who lived a comfortable life suddenly being thrust into a dire situation. He portrayed a wide range of emotions as the kidnappers delighted in physically and emotionally tormenting him. He also showed the character’s frustration and resiliency when he tried to escape and when those efforts failed, used the age-old ploy of turning the kidnappers against each other. Ban So Yeon played a young woman whose life was in the balance due to her kidnapped boss being brutally murdered and dismembered after failing to come up with their ransom. She gave Hwang an ally and someone to protect as well. The actress didn’t have much to do but look scared and stick close to Hwang. When using a familiar story formula, a captivating villain is a must. Unfortunately, Kim Jae Beom as the lead villain gave a rather lackluster performance as the murderous psychopath capable of almost anything. Ryu Kyung Soo and Lee Ho Jung weren’t afraid to chew on the scenery in their roles as villainous lovers. The police officers as well as the other villains were largely forgettable.

Though the running time was only 90 minutes it seemed longer as the story became redundant especially near the end. Most of the time those faults were often overcome by Hwang’s onscreen charisma and the rapid pace of the action. The film would have been greatly strengthened had Hwang been given an equally engaging actor to spar with. If the kidnappers had been driven to their cruelty by pertinent and timely social issues it would have added depth to the story, too. They were for the most part thinly drawn psychopaths who worked together in targeting expensive car owners. Hostage: Missing Celebrity for the most part was an entertaining if flawed movie that relied too heavily on its star to conceal the missing thriller aspect of this thriller.

11/23/23

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"One must earn like a dog and spend like a beast"

The Men of Plastic was a comedy about greedy men and women willing to scam patients and double-cross each other in order to get ahead. While the cast was strong, the storytelling was not.

Kang Dae Gook (Ma Dong Seok) is a hustler and facilitator in his neighborhood, closely affiliated with his old high school friend, gangster Cho Tae Chun. When he discovers Tae Chun meeting with an unlicensed plastic surgeon who does ghost surgeries, he takes the opportunity to make a business deal with Tae Chun and Park Ji Woo (Jung Kyung Ho), the surgeon. He enlists buddy Mi Jung (Oh Na Ra) and before long the crew is bringing in money hand over fist. In order to make some legal issues go away they end up approaching the sketchy Gyu Ok (Oh Yeon Seo) and doing business with her. It doesn’t take long for the scammers to get scammed.

I’m a big fan of Ma Dong Seok and enjoy watching Jung and Oh as well. Ma’s primary character trait was wearing loud shirts and mismatched hats and initially he sported a fiery pink-red hair dye. This was not one of Jung Kyung Ho’s stronger performances, largely due to his character’s cold, untrusting nature. A strong bromance would have helped this movie enormously but the two men never seemed to trust or like each other. Most of the characters were hard to feel anything sympathy for. The one bright spot was Oh Na Ra. She brought an effervescent energy badly needed when she was onscreen.

South Korea has the highest per capita amount of plastic surgery done in the world. Nearly 1 in 3 Koreans will have some work done on themselves often by the age of 21. The movie was set in 2007 and the team was encouraging medical tourism. As of July 2023 (post-pandemic lower numbers), around 82,000 foreigners visit Korea for various beauty treatments and surgeries. The fierce competition for clients was touched on with Ji Woo being the victim of a “surgical hit job”. There was no introspection or comedic rumination on why the waiting room was always filled with young women who felt the need to hand over large sums of money to improve their looks. This was strictly a by the book routine comedy.

Men of Plastic could well have described many of the characters as they were difficult to care about even when they were about to lose everything. At nearly 2 hours, this film dragged rather badly at times. If plastic surgery fascinates you or you are a fan of the cast you might want to check it out, but otherwise it’s one that can be skipped or as it will be soon in my case—forgotten.

11/18/23

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Eleven years after A Werewolf Boy premiered, I have finally gotten around to watching it. The story felt like a fusion of Harlequin romance and fairytale with a warning. While often predictable it was also enjoyable and addicting.

Kim Sun Yi along with her mother and sister move into a house in a remote rural area. Their landlord is the “slimeball”, Ji Tae. Not long after settling in Sun Yi discovers a feral young man hiding next to a shed. He wolfs down the food her mother gives him. Unlike so many rigid Korean mothers in dramas, open-hearted Ok Hui takes the stranger into their home. With 60,000 orphans from the war, it wasn’t a leap of imagination to think he had been abandoned and left to fend for himself. She gives him the name Cheol Su. Sun Yi takes it upon herself to train Cheol Su like a puppy with good results. “Wait” comes to mean many things as the story progresses. As Cheol becomes more civilized she begins to teach him to read and write. Ji Tae comes to resent Cheol Su’s protective nature whenever he attempts to put the moves on Sun Yi which leads to dire consequences and a bizarre wartime experimentation revelation.

I enjoyed Park Bo Young and Soon Joong Ki’s performances. It was refreshing to watch them when they acted freer and more natural than their more crystallized on brand performances in recent years. Jang Young Nam has great depth as an actress and it showed in this film, too. Yoo Yeon Seok was given the tough job of playing Ji Tae, a character with zero nuance and an animal far more dangerous than a wolf.

A Werewolf Boy was a chaste romantic coming of age tale set in a beautiful bucolic setting. Promises were kept and broken, something unavoidable on the road to adulthood. It veered in and out of fantasy, showing once again that the worst monsters are actually human beings.

10/27/23

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Royal rumble!

Kaiju Mono flipped Kaiju parodies on their head and then slammed them with a DDT. In the opening scenes, reports of violent weather, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions were explained as Mother Nature not taking our BS anymore. Kaiju Mono came as a warning. Filled with sexual innuendo and a monster that hunted virgins of any sex, this film didn’t try to take itself seriously or make sense at any point. Somehow it also managed to be ridiculously funny even when it was completely inappropriate at times.

Kaiju Mono was an underground dweller who came to the surface when she needed snacks or to take her anger out on humans. Deep in the woods, two lab assistants came across a strange egg where a bizarre incident connected to Mono had just occurred. When the monster decided to go on a rampage and head toward Tokyo, Dr. Jotoro, a Sailor Moon cosplayer and scientist, developed a serum that would make his skinny lab assistant a giant, muscled Titan. Dr. Jotoro had also developed expandable briefs so that Nita wouldn’t have to wrestle nude, much to the chagrin of the ladies watching the downtown battle. Nita managed to drive Mono away and instantly became a celebrity, especially since his muscles remained after returning to normal size. When Mono once again stomped into town looking for her egg, she thrashed Nita, causing Dr. J to have to work on a new formula for him.

Nita had three different iterations, each bigger and badder and played by three different actors. The wrestling scenes were funny and fairly acrobatic for the limited space they fought in. The movie made fun of the military, protestors, industrial espionage, the fickleness of fame, and the news media. No one was immune to their zingers and Mono’s chomping. The film did show the benefit of older people when another hero emerged. As the movie explained for the non-Japanese audience, the original Ultraman made a guest appearance. The biggest drawback for me, other than some draggy moments in the middle, were a few gay and cross-dressing jokes that have not aged well.

“Will this lead to a glorious future or man’s extinction?” Kaiju Mono didn’t answer that question or any others, but it didn’t need to. Director Kawasaki playfully poked fun at Godzilla movie tropes and created some solid laughs throughout the film. This film isn’t for everyone, it helps if you enjoy Kaiju films, pro wrestling, and irreverent humor. Silly and never taking itself seriously, Kaiju Mono managed to not lay an egg.

10/24/23

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If you are feeling nostalgic for something akin to the Power Rangers or going further back, Sigmund the Sea Monster, Super Legend God Hikoza might be what you are looking for. It would also help if you are twelve-years-old or younger, you might not notice how bad the writing and acting for this film were.

Four scientists work for Dr. (Dr. what? They never mentioned his name, maybe it was Dr. Doctor) at the UISAS (Ultra Institute Space and Astronaut Science). Takao and Okubo are childhood friends who bicker nonstop largely because Takao berates him and hits him almost continuously. The other characters with the exception of Yoshiki find it charming. Yoshiki is in love with Takao and the new hire Yuria is in love with Yoshiki. It’s like a junior high school only less mature. When Takao knocks Okubo down at a temple, he falls on a 400 year old doll. While the two are fighting over it they are brought inside the doll just as an evil giant fish attacks. After beating the fish back, they go on to learn more about the god Hikoza whose remaining consciousness resides in the doll and his relationship to the friendly aliens called Godnes. Four centuries ago, the evil alien Shachihokon attacked and Hikoza managed to seal him until the present time when he was released and took over some poor guy with a bowl haircut. After defeating Catfish dude, the Bickersons become celebrities and go on the talk show circuit, make commercials and even guest star in a Kota/Power Rangers episode. But they are celebrating too early for Shachihokon has dirty tricks up his sleeve and the four scientists will have to grow up quickly to defeat him.

I thought maybe the date on the film was incorrect. This felt more like 1980’s television than a 2020 movie regardless of how tongue-in-cheek it might have been. The acting, sets, and writing were awful. Takao was particularly childish and a bully. The rest of the four were equally as childish, just not as physical. Shachihokon’s costume was pretty hilarious especially when he used his special tongue power. The catfish monster was reminiscent of Friend’s Hannukah Armadillo. Hikoza’s early costume looked like a trash can with arms and legs although the final Hikoza costume had a nice samurai effect.

This film was primitive looking and the big final battle felt more like an Afterschool Special on the value of communication and how to deal with your feelings. If you loved/love Power Rangers and are longing for something like it, this is definitely a film to try. If you are content to leave campy costumes and posing behind, best to avoid Super Legend God Hikoza.

10/21/23

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Korea's oldest surviving Kaiju movie

Space Monster Wangmagwi is the oldest surviving Korean Kaiju film. It also boasts one of the largest cast of extras for any film coming in around 160,000. The Koreans put their own stamp on a rampaging monster tearing up a capital city while the military watches powerlessly genre.

Bride-to-be Ahn Hee and pilot Jeong Hwan are celebrating the eve of their long-awaited wedding when Jeong Hwan is called back to his base. What everyone is about to find out is that aliens are orbiting the Earth and have unleashed a monster in their quest to conquer the planet. Even with people running around screaming and abandoning her wedding day, Ahn Hee dresses for her event, even having her hair done until the stylist scurries away. When she realizes no one is coming, not even the groom, she and her mother decide to leave as the monster slowly approaches them. Each one took turns falling down over and over again, in order to give the ugliest Kaiju in Kaiju history time to catch up. Ahn Hee is grabbed by the monster a la Fay Wray in King Kong style. A young street boy named Squirrel, who has stolen food and a knife from a deserted house decides to run up the monster instead of running away. The boy takes matters into his own hands and does more good in thwarting the aliens’ objectives than the military and civilian forces combined.

Space Monster Wangmagwi was quintessentially Korean. Instead of focusing on a handful of characters directly involved with stopping a monster, SPW had a series of vignettes that had nothing to do with saving the world. Some of the things you would never see in a Japanese Kaiju film included—a long pooping scenario, several instances of theft, child birthing, and two idiots betting about different things during the catastrophe and wagering everything including one man’s wife. There were also copious amounts of tears.

The building miniatures were exquisite as was the rubble, looking far more believable than some of the cardboard towns Toho was using at this time. I thought at first they were using forced perspective or some other film magic and then the monster would lean against one of the buildings or start tearing it down. Very impressive work. Too bad they didn’t put the same care into the monster suit. I didn’t think anything could top the moth-eaten Kong suit in King Kong vs Godzilla (1962), then Wangmagwi said, “Hold my beer.” The costume looked like a flight suit covered in cow dung, I hate to be crude but that’s the first thought that came to my mind. Wangmagwi also seemed to forget that he was holding a human in one hand when he was beating on buildings. The Gamma aliens weren’t much better, they wore what appeared to be dented gold buckets on their heads. And when the spaceship was flying the wires showed as it wobbled. The science was bizarre. Due to different gravity from the home world, the monster grew 500 times his size when dumped on Earth. Setting aside the absurdity of that “science,” wouldn’t the aliens have become gigantic as well, making settling the planet awkward?

My favorite part of the movie would usually be my least favorite. There have been many Gamera movies where I hoped the giant turtle would snack on an annoying child. Squirrel may have been cocky but he was cleverly proactive. The precocious thief’s actions, and not the military, saved the day. His maneuvers also pointed out how slow-witted the aliens were. The aliens only fear of the military was that they would trash the neighborhood and leave the planet uninhabitable for the conquerors.

I enjoyed having the chance to watch this film that was largely unavailable for decades. I might not have relished the poop and wife betting comedy, but I was happy to see this piece of Korea’s Kaiju film history.

10/19/23

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"Keep the peace, have patience, forgive an offense" and watch out for those hopping vampires!

Carter Wong took on The 8 Masters, bronze men, as well as a room full of hopping vampires. What more could you ask for in a kung fu flick?

When his father is killed by the 8 Masters, young Chu Shiao Chieh is rushed to a Shaolin temple by his father’s dying friend, Chou. The monks take Chu in and teach him the art of kung fu. When he matures, he is tested by deadly traps and the notorious bronze men. After passing the tests he is released into the world to pay his debt to Chou’s family for the sacrifice he made. The wise monk admonishes him to, “Keep the peace, have patience, forgive an offense.” When Chu returns home, he finds that his mother is blind and Chou’s daughter is living with his mother. Chu doesn’t even have time to unpack his suitcase before the 8 come calling, all wanting a duel to settle their debts with his father. How long can he hold out before granting their demands?

Carter Wong was never a great actor, but he was fun to watch and not too stiff in this role. The movie started out promising with kung fu training and the fights during his Shaolin trials. Once he left the temple the energy dropped precipitously. Watching him beaten and refusing to fight repeatedly until tragedy struck became tiresome. When he finally took on the 8 Masters one at a time during the last 30 minutes the movie picked up again. He battled Phillip Ko Fei, Lu Ping, hopping vampires, and Chia Ling to name a few. Chia’s character held a secret, key to the movie as did Doris Lung Erh’s. I gave the movie a .5 bump for the cast and the hopping vampires.

Director Joseph Kuo filmed much of the first half of the movie in night scenes making it hard to see what was happening. When Chu finally relented and took on the masters, viewers were given a scenic tour of the area-a mountaintop, the beach, a river, and forest. The version I watched was cropped and dubbed, none of which was the filmmaker’s fault. When movies have been cropped, dubbing is sometimes a necessary evil as the subtitles tend to run off the screen.

The fights used a variety of weapons even when Chu took on everyone without one. There were times with the camera zoomed in too close and the fights undercranked, the action was blurred and the moves obscured. I much preferred when the scenes played out where the different styles could be observed.

The 8 Masters would have been a much better film if Kuo could have kept the pacing up throughout the story instead of bringing it to a screeching halt in the middle. Despite the lull, it was nice to have a loving mother-son story, a rarity in kung fu flicks. And if nothing else, there were bronze men and hopping vampires to shake things up.

10/16/23

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Varan was a patchwork monster of a movie. Production was originally for a 3-part co-produced limited television series. When the American production company involved fell apart, Toho decided to make it into a feature movie. With a shoestring budget, filmed in black and white for television (no color sets yet!), and utilizing stock Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again! footage, Varan struggled to cut an identity of his own.

Siberian butterflies are discovered in a remote Japanese mountain village which causes a research professor to send two of his scholars to investigate. What they find is something far bigger. When they don’t return, a new team is dispatched. The team berates the local villagers who worship the mountain god Baradagi, calling them superstitious. Before the village priest can say, “don’t get so cocky city boy,” the superstition comes to life and begins terrorizing the team and villagers. The monster dubbed Varan flies off, meaning Tokyo may once again be in the sights of a cranky Kaiju.

Varan had real potential. Like Triphibious, he could walk on land, live under the water, and fly in the air. The costume was cool and Nakajima Haruo who brought many a Kaiju to life, including Gojira, knew how to make a monster movie. His assistant, Tezuka Katsumi, was also given credit. The story let the big monster down, with Varan often treading water or sitting on the bottom of the bay which didn’t feel very threatening. More time was given to the ships, planes, and tanks than Varan. Many of those scenes were from Godzilla Raids Again, especially the tanks at the airport firefight. The editing wasn’t as seamless as you would expect from a Honda movie but given the circumstances, he did the best with what he had. Ifukube Akira wrote the music and it had the commanding monster marches he was known for. The writers did come up with a creative way to dispatch the One Movie Wonder though it’s said Nakajima suffered burns from it during the filming.

This is where I need to bring up the American version. It features Myron Healey and only uses 15 minutes of the original film with a different story about desalinization attached. You might find it billed as Varan the Unbelievable.

Varan felt too much like a re-tread of Gojira and this Kaiju needed his own unique story. Big G can do many things but he can’t fly, okay only that one time. For fans of guys in rubber suits Kaiju films, it is one to check out to see what Honda Ishiro could do when handed a mess of movie ingredients. As always, I grade these old niche movies on a curve.

10/13/23

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Pass the Tylenol...

The Emperor and His Brother starring Ti Lung had an over-stuffed story and cast making the plot almost impossible to follow. It's been a long time since a kung fu movie gave me a headache trying to make sense of a convoluted plot. Even a strong cast could not save this movie from sinking.

I'm acquainted with how historical movies and dramas begin with a brief history recap. For those of us not as familiar with Chinese history, I actually appreciate them. This film took the summary to new extremes. For over three minutes characters raced through the film's backstory at a rapid-fire pace. I actually paused the film to see if this was a sequel to another movie. No, Chor Yuen and writer Ni Kuang just crammed as much as they could into a small amount of time. I didn't even try to keep up.

Wen Tai Lai was wanted by the Emperor because he knew the Emperor's secret. He was a Han and not a Ching! Ku Feng took Wen in but the fugitives were betrayed by a child offered a telescope by the Emperor's man Chang Chao Chung. Ti Lung appeared as the new clan chief and began working to devise a plan to help Wen escape. Eventually, Ti discovered that he was the Emperor's brother! With this bloated cast there were numerous breakout attempts leading up to a battle royale in the Imperial Garden.

The film had an unnecessarily convoluted plot that had me rolling my eyes when it wandered away from the main story. Side stories were started and then dropped, including ill-fated romances! For that matter, the movie ended without tying up the main story in a satisfactory manner. Guess they ran out of film.

What the film did do well was evidenced in the final fight. The baddies led by Lo Lieh's Chang used Tiger, Eagle's Claw, and Iron Fist styles to combat the good guys. For once, the good guys were a stronger match than their opponents. Usually by the end of these films, most of the good guys are dead with three or four survivors ganging up on the Big Bad to take him down. Ti Lung's Blossom Fist and Peacock maneuver were invincible. The final escape by the good guys was ludicrously bad though. Aside from Ti Lung and Lo Lieh, the film had numerous recognizable fighters and stunt men. Scorpion Venom Sun Chien was the strategist for the good guys. Kent Cheng had a small comic relief role as well. Ku Feng came through in the most emotional segment of the film as a father who had to make the ultimate sacrifice for honor and his clan.

The Emperor and His Brother with its bloated cast and story had too much going on to focus on the story. Every time it launched into another long complicated way to overstate the plot, I lost interest and started looking for the Tylenol. If they'd cut the cast and streamlined the story it might have been far more enjoyable. Strictly for hard core fans and Shaw Brother completionists.

8/25/23

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"Every time you lose something, you have to discover another piece of yourself"

Summer Blooms was a gauzy slow journey through a young woman's grief and guilt. Hatsumi's life froze in one moment in spring, not looking back and not moving forward. A series of events jarred her loose from her self-imposed exile compelling her to face the truth of her life and the death of her ex-boyfriend.

Hatsumi works part-time in a soba noodle shop, listens to the radio, and floats through her days. We're told her boyfriend had died three years ago in the spring, an event that upended her world. She gave up teaching and for the most part, living. Whether it was sorrow over the loss of a great love or something else we don't know. The noodle shop owner is retiring and closing the shop ending her tenure there. An old student attempting to make it as a jazz singer drops into her life. The energetic, kooky young woman shakes up her mundane routine. With the restaurant closing, a customer who had eaten there every day just to see her, finally works up the courage to speak to her. He wants more from her, but she seems reticent to go out with him. A pregnant ex-colleague asks her to substitute for her while she is on maternity leave, pressuring her to make a decision. And more dramatically, the deceased ex-boyfriend's last letter to her shows up at her door step.

After three years of existing, she decides to confront the past and travels to the town where her boyfriend's parents live. Here her truth comes out as well as the reason for his death. To be honest, I'd figured it out early on, but the movie takes us well into the last act before it shares these revelations. I found his letter to be self-serving and it seemed she did as well. It turns out it was one of many he'd written her, with her not responding to them. In the end she wrote him a letter that helped her move from spring to summer.

Asakura Aki was perfect for playing a reserved young woman with a fake smile. She gave us tiny glimpses into the pain beneath and through the former student Kaede, flashes of the fierceness she was capable of displaying. Kawasaki Yuriko as Kaede gave just the right balance of youthful bravura and frightened homeless waif with an abusive boyfriend. She also supplied a clue that Hatsumi's ex-boyfriend might not have been mentally well-balanced. Miura Takahiro's Totaro, the craftsman in love with her, was rather bland and something of a red flag with his behaviors.

Summer Blooms was a light exploration of Hatsumi's grief and guilt and her withdrawal from the world. It took a collision of circumstances to finally force her to face her monotonous life and the reason for it. Due to the reason for her seclusion, I was expecting more of a moment of emotional discovery and more revelations to the audience for why she felt she needed to suffer so much. What led to the fateful moment that crystallized her life in seclusion? In the end, it felt like the movie was skipping stones on the shallow surface of her life and only briefly touching on the real reason behind her actions when the stone sank below the waves. Though the film attempted to show how one young woman responded to loss and finally worked through it, the story lacked the depth to have a proper conversation and left many pertinent elements of her previous relationship unknown.

8/14/23

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Not as entertaining as the original

Sanshiro Sugata Part II was a pale reflection of the original Sanshiro Sugata from 1943. While the original was fun and had a solid story arch, the sequel's story was thinner, more confusing, heavy on propaganda and not very entertaining.

Sugata has been away for two years but hasn't learned much. He helps a young rickshaw driver when a drunk American sailor beats the boy. A Japanese fight promoter hears about the incident and invites him to compete against "Lister the Killer," an American boxer, but he declines. Unfamiliar with boxing, Sugata decides to watch a match and is disgusted by the showy sport, alluding to it looking like dogs or roosters fighting. He returns to the dojo where Higaki Gennosuke's brothers show up looking for a battle with him. Sensei Yano sends the rude brothers away. "The man who knows not himself knows nothing." Later, Higaki Gennosuke whom Sugata defeated in the previous film, who is quite ill but healed in spirit pleads with Sugata to stay away from the unbalanced brothers. Sugata has been suffering from self-doubt wondering whether he should give up judo because of the harm that comes to his opponents but he also wants to fight whenever he can which leads to him not sleeping. He's also concerned about the survival of Japanese martial arts. The three laws of the dojo state that no one is to drink in the dojo, no fighting for money, and no fights without the sensei's permission. Suffice to say he breaks all three, fighting both the American and the crazy karate brother.

This sequel's fights weren't as well done or exciting. The final battle on the snowy mountain was hard to see as the bodies were dark silhouettes on the white background. In the first film, the contests furthered Sugata's growth, in this film, they all seem to be about promoting Japanese martial arts as superior to other forms.

Where Sugata traveled a spiritual path of self-discovery in the first film, he seemed completely confused and erratic in this one. The propaganda was heavy-handed, though it was understandable in the waning days of WWII when the writing was on the wall. While I could easily recommend the first film, this second one may be more for Kurosawa completionists.

8/11/23

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"A lotus will only grow in the mud"

Kurosawa Akira made his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata in 1943. Set in the Meiji era, the story followed brash young fighter Sanshiro Sugata as he learned about judo and himself. Though the plot was quite simple, Sanshiro's journey from thoughtless bully to thoughtful fighter was appealing to watch. (The film lost seventeen minutes of footage after it was cut by the Japanese censors deemed some scenes not appropriate for wartime viewing.)

Sanshiro comes to town in order to learn more about jiu-jitsu. He wanders into a dojo just in time to hear the members deciding to mete out punishment to a rival instructor who is teaching a new version of jiu-jitsu called judo. Sanshiro asks if it's an ambush. "Ambush? It's just a match without a referee." And one where the opponents greatly outnumber the unsuspecting teacher. Sanshiro watches in fascination as Sensei Yano throws the half-dozen men attacking him into the river. Sanshiro quickly changes his mind and decides to train in judo instead. Initially, the young fighter takes every opportunity in town to become involved in a fight to test his abilities. After Yano tells him he knows nothing about humanity and that teaching him would be like "putting a knife in a lunatic's hand", Sanshiro attempts to prove his loyalty and worth by spending the night in a mucky lotus pond. When a flower blooms from the mire, he gains a revelation about life and himself. Much of the rest of the film entails Sanshiro competing against other opponents on his path toward growth as a person and in judo. He develops feelings for an opponent's daughter which complicates matters when he has to face her father in a competition.

Whether or not they were realistic, the fights were engaging. Each match engendered personal progress in Sanshiro. The best fight was Yano's against the rival school's ambush. With a quiet confidence Yano defeated his foes in a humorous manner. The most emotional fight was Sanshiro's contest with Shimura Takashi's Murai, who had fallen away from his practice and was no match for the younger fighter. The older man was gracious and let Sanshiro know they were not enemies which stirred more self-improvement in the young man. The climactic clash against the film's villain, Higaki, reminded me of a samurai duel the way they circled and sized each other up. One man found enlightenment through a flower, the other used one as an ashtray. Without Yano's guidance Sanshiro might have ended up like the arrogant Higaki. The last confrontation was where it truly looked like a Kurosawa film with the wind bending the tall grasses and clouds racing across the sky.

This may not have been Kurosawa's most emotionally or narratively complex film but it had a compelling hero's journey as Sanshiro learned the spiritual aspects of his practice and in life. He grew as a man and as a fighter under the guidance of his wise sensei. Unlike so many of Kurosawa's later heroes who were forced into isolation during their emotional crucibles, Sanshiro remained devoted to his sensei and gained friends from former opponents. I found Sanshiro Sugata to be an entertaining film, even in its shortened version.

8/11/23
Edit: I read there is a DVD version available that was able to include the missing minutes.

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"Such foolish things don't happen" Wanna bet?

Return of Daimajin is the second in a series about the title character, only this time he lives on an island in the midst of a lake shared by two peaceful clans instead of on a mountain. Trouble begins brewing and bubbling when an evil warlord decides to use the two clans' festival for the god to overthrow their castles.

Danjo of Mikoshiba enslaves his people and kills those who try to escape. Some refugees make it out through the mountains and find a haven with the kind Chigusa and Nagoshi clans who live on opposite sides of Lake Yagumo. During the festival to celebrate the lake god, Danjo and his men take advantage and overthrow both clans, killing the lords and taking one of the sons hostage. The blasphemous Danjo sends his men to destroy the god's statue on the island with explosives. The other lord's son, Juro, escapes and flees to the island where his love, Lady Sayuri is also hiding, having miraculously survived the explosion and destruction of the statue.

Later, the hostage Katsushige is freed when a local boy helps him. He heads to the island as Juro is escaping Danjo's forces and both are captured because neither one can row a boat fast enough even when they had a head start. The two heirs, people who helped them, and Sayuri are set to be executed. Will Sayuri's tears be enough to sway the lake god? If the god of stone has one soft spot, it's a beautiful woman's tears and he rapidly parted the waters, destroyed his island with the baddies on it and began tearing down the defensive walls in order to wreak havoc on Danjo and his band of evil doers. I particularly liked how Danjo died the same way he had planned for Sayuri.

This movie was entertaining as I've grown fond of the big green faced guy, but I didn't find the story and characters as compelling as the first one. The overlays weren't as seamless as the first and third movies, some scenes rather obviously spliced together. Daimajin was faced with a couple of new obstacles which didn't even slow him down, but it was fun watching the evil doers try. Daimajin looking over with a "Really?" expression on his face was humorous. Because much of the action took place on or near the water Daimajin had some fancy water tricks up his sleeve along with his usual storms, landslides, and earthquakes. Though numerous bad guys died, the body count seemed less than the other two films, at least no children were killed.

Once again, the scoffers and cruel overlord were brought to a rough justice. The people who were respectful and peaceful were rewarded after suffering and trying (and failing) to save themselves. I have enjoyed this series of films blending samurai and Kaiju. The sets, story and acting were better than average for this time period of monster movies. Return of Daimajin was entertaining and one worth trying if you like old kaiju films.

7/24/23

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Honey, this guy doesn't use doors!

Daimajin was the first in three movies about the mercurial mountain god which were filmed roughly around the same time. As someone who enjoys a good Kaiju movie I found this one to be entertaining. Unlike other Kaiju who either came into town to stir up trouble or fight other Kaiju, this stone warrior had his own code. An evil lord found out the hard way that you do not want to attract Daimajin's attention for wrong doing!

The movie begins with the villagers ruled by the Hanabusa clan participating in their ritual to the local mountain god. The treacherous samurai Samanosuke uses the opportunity to stage a coup. Everyone in the ruling family is killed except for the young son, Tadafumi and his sister Kozasa, who are spirited away by the loyal retainer, Kogenta. Kogenta seeks help from the priestess, Shinobu who takes them to the forbidden mountain and hides them in the cave next to the Majin statue.

Ten years later finds the people pressed into forced labor building Samanosuke's great gate. Villagers are starving and dying under his cruel rule. Now eighteen, Tadafumi decides it's time to return and kill Samanosuke if it will help the people. Kogenta goes ahead to the camp in order to contact people loyal to the Hanabusa family in the hopes of gaining more support for a rebellion but is taken prisoner and tortured instead. Tadafumi attempts to rescue him and is captured, too. The son of one of Hanabusa's loyal subjects runs to the priestess to ask the Majin for help. He finds the princess but the two of them are captured by Samanosuke's men on the mountain. When the samurais attempt to destroy the Majin statue the mountain destroys them. Kogenta and Tadafumi are scheduled to be executed at dawn causing Kozasa to beg the mountain god for help even if he requires her life in exchange. Daimajin awakens and unleashes his terrible fury on the evil doers.

This film played out as more of a samurai movie for most of the running time. Daimajin waited until after the 60-minute mark to make his appearance. Fortunately, the acting was pretty good, especially for this genre and the story was compelling. Daimajin made for a fierce and frightening avenger, especially when it seemed he would rampage on the victims of Samanosuke's ruthlessness after he finished dispatching the bad guys. Because he wasn't over 300 feet tall, his presence could be seen in relation to the people in a more immediate way. In a bit of karmic irony, Samanosuke died in a manner similar to the crucifixion execution he was using on the heroes, and in the manner his vassals used to try and destroy the statue, which of course released Daimajin. Bad guy should have listened to the old priestess, she tried to warn him!

The mountain scenery was beautiful and blended well with the miniatures and special effects when the samurai transgressed on the sacred ground. A few of Samanosuke's buildings came across as flimsy, but the better for Daimajin to tear down as he stomped his way to vengeance. When Samanosuke closed the door to the building he hoped to hide in, it was humorous, because doors had no effect on the giant stone warrior, nor did fire, bullets, or giant chains. The only thing that had an effect on him were the tears of a pure-hearted woman.

As a long time Kaiju fan, I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of this series of movies. I accidentally watched the last one first, but as they are not tied together it didn't affect understanding the story. The acting, sets, and storytelling have been strong for the genre. Most 1960's Kaiju movies would not have stood up to waiting an hour for the monster to appear. The giant stone warrior in this film was just a bonus to the already entertaining story. By this time Toho was marketing Godzilla to a younger audience. With the deaths and torture scenes, Daimajin could appeal to adults as well. If you enjoy old Kaiju and samurai movies, this is one to give a try.

7/23/23

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"Everyone has a weakness. Even a hero."

During WWII and after Ozu's first military tour he filmed The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family. Ozu ran afoul of censors concerned that he didn't mention the war in a wartime film, but his emphasis on filial piety and the need to take care of aged parents smoothed things over. His biggest concession was sending the youngest son to China to work in the land of opportunity. Pretty sure the Chinese did not think of the Japanese in their homeland the same way but I will try to look at the merits of the film aside from that disconcerting historical context.

The Toda patriarch suddenly dies in his mansion after a big family birthday party. The adult children are shocked to discover that the wealthy businessman was nearly bankrupt. After everything but a worthless villa near the ocean is sold off to pay his debt, the mother and youngest daughter, Setsuko, are left homeless. The eldest son takes responsibility allowing the two women, plus the old family maid, to come live with his family. The youngest son, Shojiro, decides to seek his fortune and prove to his father that he is capable and scurries off to China to make his fortune. The eldest son's wife treats his mother and sister like unwelcome guests no matter how unobtrusive they try to be.

On they move to the eldest daughter's house. She immediately bristles because her son loves his grandmother so much that she feels she will lose authority in the house. When Setsuko wants to find a job as she and her mother are penniless, the family puts their foot down. They would be embarrassed for her to be a clerk. More embarrassed than their father bankrupting himself? Mother, daughter, and devoted servant end up finding shelter in the deteriorating villa.

For the one-year anniversary of the patriarch's death, Shojiro makes his way home. At a formal remembrance dinner, he calls the family out on the carpet for treating their mother so shabbily, leaving no one unscathed. "Children should be kind and warm to their mother…You talk without doing anything." The chastised family members abandon the expensive dinner with only the small trio and son left in the room to enjoy the meal in peace. Shojiro believes the truth-filled disruption may bring more harmony and better siblings in the future. Though the women seem to be happy living by the sea, Shojiro insists they come to live in China with him. Given the times, they had little choice but to pack their bags again, at least Shojiro wanted them to be near him.

Ozu had asked for more money to film this movie. The studio responded by giving him less time to film and wanting to see the finished project before increasing his salary. The Toda Family went on to be quite successful partly because of Ozu's skill but also because of the famous stars Saburi Shin as the youngest son Shojiro and Takamine Mieko as the youngest daughter Setsuko. Ozu had largely solidified his style for this film---the low angle shots, meticulously composed frames, lingering shots over geometric rooms and objects (often the father's plants and bird), and more of face straight on to camera shots. Ozu was more concerned with story than acting, and felt that excessive drama was not needed for an audience to be emotionally touched, a method he sought to convey here.

As he would with other films, the disintegration of the family and traditional values were beginning to show. And as in Tokyo Story, a parent was treated as an inconvenience. After recently watching Kurosawa's Ran (based on King Lear), I was reminded of Hidetora finding no welcome mat rolled out by two of his sons when he was homeless. Shojiro, like Saburo, became the prodigal son who lovingly welcomed the parent, albeit with a happier ending.

The film reflected Ozu's life in some ways. After his father's death he took both his mother and a younger brother in. At the end of the film, a bashful Shojiro literally ran away to hide at the beach before a matchmaking date. "Everyone has a weakness. Even a hero." Ozu was a lifelong bachelor who lived with his mother until she died. A parent's aloneness after a death or a child marrying often played into his stories.

Ozu also tackled class distinctions. When Setsuko and her friend Tokiko met for lunch, Setsuko discussed wanting to find a job. Tokiko informed her that taking orders is much different from giving orders and would be difficult for someone who had never been exposed to that way of life. Shojiro told Setsuko that in China no one would look down upon her for working or doing whatever she wanted. The privileged upper class was seen in lower regard, especially in the disregard they had for the elderly and servants and traditional values.

After watching a number of Ozu's silent films which portrayed a looser filming style it was interesting to see that famous Ozu formula begin to firmly coalesce in the The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family. Despite being over 80 years old the film remains timely. Children still argue over who is going to take care of an aging parent. People still focus on their own lives forgetting there are others in need of love, acceptance, and something as basic as shelter. Thankfully, there also people who will open their hearts and homes to those in need, especially for a beloved parent. The lack of color did not take away from the beauty of Ozu's meditative and architectural shots, he always knew how to use light and shadow to his advantage. A timely story, well-acted, and skillfully filmed made for an entertaining film.

7/20/23

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