- クラウド (Cloud)
9/7/26 (Mon)
Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s 2024 suspense film takes a hairpin curve midway to become a very different flick.
Category Archives: Film
Endless Desire (果てしなき欲望)
- 果てしなき欲望 (Endless Desire)
9/5/26 (Sat)
Imamura Shohei’s 1958 heist comedy was his third that year, the first (his debut feature) being the similarly titled Stolen Desire. These seem to have been studio assignments, so the fully formed Imamura style isn’t quite there. But the seeds are in place. This is supposedly based on an obscure Edward G Robinson film, though that’s not officially credited.
Loving Vincent
Hush (ハッシュ)
- Hush (ハッシュ)
8/28/26 (Fri)
(Looking for hair on their bellies)
This is the 25th anniversary of writer/director Hashiguchi Ryosuke’s seminal gay film, which I haven’t seen since it came out. I remember little more than that I enjoyed it, but I thought of it when I saw one of the leads, Takahashi Kazuya, in this year’s Samurai Vengeance as a, let’s say, unconventional-looking onnagata. This film was back when he was young and beautiful, as were we all.
The story of two gay men and a woman who wants a baby sounded like a setup for a typical romcom, but the film takes an unexpected turn into more profound territory. Continue reading
Maybe … Maybe Not (Der bewegte Mann)
- Maybe … Maybe Not (Der bewegte Mann)
8/24/26 (Mon)
I learned about Sönke Wortmann’s 1994 comedy when I was telling a German friend about a different film, Killer Condom. He recognized the writer of that film as the gay manga artist whose work was the basis for both, and strongly recommended this one. I took one look at the eye-catching poster and was sold. Described as one of the most famous German comedies ever, Wortmann’s debut feature proved a colossal success at the box office. The German title seems to be something like “the restless man”, indicating a man with an unstable or constantly changing life, while the English title outside the US is a boring The Most Desirable Man. The nice US title refers to the confusion of others from the main character’s clueless actions; there is no maybe regarding his straight sexuality, i.e., this is not a story about a man discovering his gay side, but about others projecting their fears and fantasies on him.
Hello, Dolly! (1969 film)
- Hello, Dolly! (1969 film)
7/24/26 (Fri)
I hadn’t thought about the Barbra Streisand vehicle since its release in 1969, so my memories, not entirely positive, were pretty vague. When a friend suggested it out of nowhere, I figured it was a good excuse to take another look.
A Complete Unknown
- A Complete Unknown
6/20/26 (Sat)
I had skipped this in the theater since I’d seen enough of Bob Dylan in the documentary Don’t Look Back, which covers roughly the same time period as this film. But the flight to Europe was long, and I do like the music.
The filmmakers cast an admirably neutral light on Dylan, who again comes off as a fine musician but rotten person. He is dismissive of others both creatively and personally, sleeps around with little thought to the women’s feelings, and is disloyal even to those closest to him. Highway 91 is a tremendous album and all that, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior at the folk festival. It’s like going to a Broadway Musical concert and playing heavy metal: it’s just rude. It wouldn’t have killed him to show respect to his mentor by singing just one or two oldies, especially given that he owes his career in good part to the mentor. He could have quietly withdrawn after that, and it wouldn’t have affected sales of Highway 91 whatsoever. He comes off as a selfish jerk, though that’s no surprise after the documentary.
As a film, though, the material was terrific. Continue reading
Cruel Story of Youth / Naked Youth (青春残酷物語)
- 青春残酷物語 (Cruel Story of Youth / Naked Youth)
8/15/26 (Sat)
Oshima Nagisa’s sensational 1960 sophomore effort proved a major hit for Shochiku, a far cry from its staid family fare at the time. The cruelty in the title is no joke. In line with the nihilistic Sun Tribe films that were popular at the time with all the usual images (motorboats, Hawaiian shirts, nightclubs, apathetic men, casual sex, abortions), but showing the seamy side of society rather than the aimless middle class. Stylistically in line with New Wave French films with its jumpy camerawork and discordant images; Oshima specifically cites Breathless as an inspiration. This film sparked what is known as a Japanese New Wave, though he dismisses the phrase as a mere signal for sex and violence – which is certainly true in his case.
People’s Hero (人民英雄)
- 人民英雄 (People’s Hero)
7/18/26 (Sat)
Derek Yee’s 1987 thriller is a deft Hong Kong homage to Dog Day Afternoon. Continue reading
Exit 8 (8番出口)
- 8番出口 (Exit 8)
7/8/26 (Wed)
A young man on a subway, listening blankly on his earphones to the incessantly repetitive “Bolero”, sees a guy lashing out at a woman whose baby is crying but does nothing to help her. He alights at a station and gets a call from his girlfriend, who tells him she’s pregnant. She is frightened and trying to decide whether to abort it. He tells her that he’ll go right away to the hospital.
Heading for Exit 8, he becomes caught in an endless loop of corridors. A sign informs him that he can only go forward if there are no anomalies – but it’s up to him to decide what is and isn’t an anomaly. If he fails, he will be sent back to the start, where he must go through the process again.
The Fisher King
- The Fisher King
5/30/26 (Sat)
Terry Gilliam’s 1991 film, based for his first time on another’s writer’s work, is not my cup of tea. Continue reading
Samurai Vengeance (木挽町のあだ打ち)
- 木挽町のあだ打ち (Samurai Vengeance)
8/21/26 (Fri)
The Japanese title of Minamoto Takashi’s entertaining period flick, based on a best-selling book, translates to Revenge at Kobikicho, referring to a former district that boasted one of Edo’s three great Kabuki theaters, the Moritaza (near today’s Kabukiza). I was taken by the odd spelling of the word “revenge” in the title, only later realizing its significance. The English title as usual throws in “samurai” for marketing purposes, but the only real samurai swordfight in the film is not what it seems. This is, in fact, less a warrior bloodfest than a comedy-mystery.
The setting is 1810. A woman coming out of a crowded performance at the Moritaza – playing, as it happens, the ultimate vendetta drama Chushingura (The 47 Ronin) – is suddenly approached in the snowy streets by a ruffian. The “woman” turns out to be a samurai, Kikunosuke, in disguise, and the ruffian, Sakubei, is the one who killed the man’s father back in rural Mino (today’s Gifu). Kikunosuke throws off his bright red kimono to reveal a warrior’s outfit and sword underneath. People quickly gather to watch a real-life revenge drama, and the theater obliges by turning its spotlights (did those exist in 1810??) onto the fighters. After a vigorous battle, Kikunosuke emerges with the attacker’s head and declares loudly that he has achieved his vendetta. It seems odd that the hunted would seek out his hunter or that they would coincidentally meet on the streets in faraway Edo, especially given Kikunosuke’s disguise. But that doesn’t seem to occur to anyone amid all the excitement. When this scene repeats itself at the end of the film, we see it in a whole new light (shades of One Cut of the Dead).
sekenbanashi 