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Film: Memories Of Matsuko
Release date: 14th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 130 mins
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Starring: Miki Nakatani, Eita, Yusuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, YosiYosi Arakawa
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Musical/Mystery
Studio: Third Window
Format: Blu-ray
Country: Japan
Based on the acclaimed novel by Muneki Yamada, Tetsuya Nakashima’s Memories Of Matsuko comes to Blu-ray for the first time, after being adapted into a television series in its native Japan, and garnering worldwide acclaim from audiences and critics alike.
Young slacker Shô Kawajira (Eita) has moved to Tokyo with dreams of making it as a rock star, but soon finds himself leaving his band and breaking up with his girlfriend.
After stalking the streets of Tokyo’s Shinjuku district in search of a seedy thrill, he is abruptly woken by his well-to-do father, Norio, who arrives carrying a casket of ashes and some troubling news. He informs his son that his 53-year-old aunt, Matsuko, has been found murdered. He explains that she has led an entirely meaningless life and has been estranged from the family for thirty years. Previously unaware of her existence, Shô is uninterested until Norio asks him to clean out her apartment for him.
After arriving at the dilapidated building and beginning to sort through the piles of rubbish in the apartment, Shô finds an old photograph which allows him to begin to piece together elements of Matsuko’s life and the events leading to her murder. Intrigued, he learns more from the people that knew her in life, and soon discovers that her time on Earth was anything but meaningless.
After feeling like she was playing second fiddle to her terminally ill sister, Matsuko struggled with trying to win her father’s affections, eventually making him proud by becoming a school teacher, only to be dismissed after trying to protect a student, Ryu, who was accused of theft. What followed was a series of abusive relationships, plagued by suicide, murder and crime, including a spell in prison, work as a hostess girl and eventually becoming a Yakuza’s girlfriend.
Her intriguing story unfolds as Shô works his way through her belongings. Shô has some unexpected encounters of his own while aiming to solve the mystery surrounding her untimely death…
At first glance, it seems apparent that Memories Of Matsuko owes a debt of gratitude to Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie - from the artificial vibrancy of the colour palette to the playful nature of the narrative and naïve innocence of the protagonist - and in many ways this comparison is justified. However, Memories Of Matsuko carries with it a darker edge, and uses the fabricated sense of innocence to juxtapose the potentially disturbing and challenging aspects of Matsuko’s interesting life. Moments of hardship and terror are interspersed with impromptu musical numbers and scenery straight out of a child’s pop-up book. This playfulness continues into the ‘real’ world of Shô as he meets a colourful cast of characters, ranging from a tattooed mentalist punk to a vivacious porn star, who all share a connection to his late aunt.
One of the most engaging elements of the film is Matsuko herself, perfectly portrayed by Miki Takatani. She forms a perfect balance between the extroverted surrealism and fragility of the character, without becoming too melodramatic. Each stage of Matsuko’s life requires a shift of tone which proves effortless, exemplified by one of the most endearing running gags. As a child vying for her father’s affections, Matsuko finds that by pulling a face, in tribute to a Manzai act they see together, she could make her father laugh, thus taking some of the attention away from her sister, Kumi (Mikako Ichikawa). Throughout her life she continues to rely on this facial contortion as a coping mechanism in times of duress (of which she experiences many). As the troubling situations Matsuko finds herself in mount up, pulling this face becomes customary, with often hilarious results. However, as these situations grow from simply troubling to outright shocking, and the character retreats within herself on the road to becoming the eccentric recluse we know has just been killed, this act stops, sadly signalling an end to the childlike innocence of Matsuko, just as she has been corrupted and abused by those around her.
Matsuko laments that she needs a man to be happy, despite each one of them mercilessly beating and abusing her. This perseverance in the face of such adversity is rewarded by the ascent into heaven once Shô deciphers the mystery surrounding her murder, but is a questionable end result for someone who does little to escape her situation and defends these men to the detriment of her few positive relationships. This mixed moral message offers little to the film’s success, and somewhat undermines Matsuko’s complex and interesting characterisation.
The perfect balance of the film’s narrative tone is exacerbated by the unique visuals, which add a sense of melancholic surrealism to proceedings. This film really finds its home on Blu-ray, where the crisp, energetic palette glows and adds richness to the film that mesmerizes in high definition.
A vibrant, surreal and exciting film, Memories Of Matsuko is equal parts murder mystery, bildungsroman and fantasy. Takatani’s excellent performance forms the backbone of the narrative, and the superb art direction and imaginative use of a variety of narrative forms seems perfectly tailored to the Blu-ray format. RB
Film: Memories Of Matsuko
Release date: 14th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 130 mins
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Starring: Miki Nakatani, Eita, Yusuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, YosiYosi Arakawa
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Musical/Mystery
Studio: Third Window
Format: Blu-ray
Country: Japan
From the heart and mind of multi award-winning Japanese director Tetsuya Nakashima - famed for the critically acclaimed Kamikaze Girls and, more recently, the Oscar-nominated Confessions - comes a visually stunning and peculiar musical- drama with a gritty undertone bubbling beneath its cherry blossom surface.
Do not let the genre fool you; this is far from the family friendly musical we have all come to know (and possibly love). Think more Sweeney Todd as opposed to Grease. The word “sex” is echoed three times within the opening minutes of Memories Of Matsuko, so PG this is not.
The resonance of such profanity can be heralded to Sho; a down-and-out, 20-year-old man drowning in a sea of porn and alcohol. He is quickly dumped by his current squeeze for living a somewhat meaningless existence.
After a particularly vice-filled night to dampen his heartbreak, he is awoken by his father, Norio, in a surprise visit. Norio, who is indifferent to the squalor of his son’s lifestyle, asks Sho for one simple favor. That is to clean the apartment of Matsuko Kawajiri, a 53-year-old, overweight and unkempt woman living as a worthless recluse. And to Sho, the aunt he never knew existed, until she was found murdered in cold blood.
From this point on, the story is told retrospectively, with Sho learning of his aunt’s life through the many different colorful characters he meets, whose lives are intricately linked with the memory of Matsuko. Beginning with the comic relief, tattooed neighbour and police detective, we jump back in time to Matsuko’s early years as a young, attractive school teacher. Matsuko’s story begins to unravel as the film jumps between the present day and the past.
From her childhood days, her rocky relationship with her father and sister, her downfall as a teacher, to her forays into abusive relationships, prostitution, prison, murder, love, friendship and salvation. We soon learn of every harrowing detail, which will eventually lead to her breaking point, and ultimate demise...
On the surface, Memories Of Matsuko is a simple story of love, loss and redemption told through bright, overly saturated colours and the occasional sing song. Matsuko (Miki Nakatini) drives the storyline as the naïve, head-in-the-clouds princess searching for that one true love, while trudging through the heartbreakers and rejects. However, writer and director Tetsuya Nakashima has taken this two-dimensional cliché and invigorated it with a genuine sense of humanity and life. He has in turn contributed a perfect reminder of one very important aspect of filmmaking - extraordinarily good storytelling!
Miki Nakatani’s portrayal of troubled heroine Matsuko Kawajiri is beyond any reasonable doubt, simply awe inspiring, and well-deserving of the six separate Best Actress awards she has received for such a complex character. She is able to capture the fundamental nature of a woman who is caught in a downward spiral, beginning with such captivating innocence as a young adult. We are able to understand the basis of why her character will ultimately end up the way she does, starting with the simple psychological fodder of ‘daddy issues’.
The neglect she receives from her father (who favours her over her sick sister) is a surprisingly relatable issue in today’s world. It is the strong yet simple ideal that Tetsuya Nakashima plays off, to bestow a sense of empathy and sympathy to a character who is, in effect, an extremely needy and, at times, self-absorbed person.
But it is because of the multiple dimensions this character has that Miki Nakatani proves her worth as a diverse actress. As Matsuko grows from the stereotypically cute young woman, both her character and her performance begin to gradually mature.
The constant strive to please people in the hope that it leads to acceptance is upheld as the backbone of such a character, and Miki does exceptionally well to provide the obligatory three dimensions throughout the film. But all is well and good saying she can smile or cry when the time is right, what is actually the most admirable aspect of Miki Nakatani’s performance is the significance of sincere emotion, charm and the authentic sense of confusion she injects into a character who is put into situations none of us would wish upon ourselves.
Her emotions are juxtaposed against her scenarios; so the subtleties like smiling softly after being beaten are visual oxymoron’s that make us forget that Matsuko is just a character in a film, and instead we see heartfelt performances from all the characters, that transcends past the screen and touches our hearts. We begin to realise that Matsuko is human, and feels as we would feel if we were to face blow after blow, devoid of any salvation.
If this sounds like you will be watching a human train wreck, then admittedly it is just that. As things go from bad to worse in Matsuko’s life, we find out through her eyes how she must feel despised (which is made clear at the beginning of the film when she utters: “Please forgive me for being born”) from the people she has hurt to her feelings of rejection. What Tetsuya Nakashima weaves from this is a cast of characters that prove the complete opposite.
This is where the one grumble rears its ugly head. A lot of the supporting characters, while heartfelt and very enjoyable to watch, can also be a tad over exaggerated. This is maybe intended to fool viewers into a false sense of security, especially coupled with the cartoony visuals; however, some characters feel like caricatures of people they should have been, with the saying ‘less is more’ applying.
As mentioned before, the visuals are CGI heavy, utilizing animation and quirky sound effects. All of this is put to good use alongside some very unusual cinematography. While definitely not everybody’s cup of tea, in the context of the subject matter being tackled in the film; it is clear that this is all intended to be a bizarre contrast to the very adult subject matter.
Diving deeper into the cinematography, it is clear that a lot of thought has been put into blending the emotion and colour together. Like a lot of Asian cinema, colour is vital. So like with Hero or Lady Vengeance, you will get your darker more sombre colours with your sad scenes, and your bright over-the-top colours and over exposure in happy scenes.
The same goes for the musical sequences; while very cute, catchy and enjoyable, coupled together with very applicable and literal lyrics, it, at times, can actually get quite awkward, especially if you’re a testosterone-filled male. The cutesy animations and bubblegum lyrics can make any adult feel fairly embarrassed if they are caught watching this alone. However, given a chance you will find that these musical sequences are actually a very inventive, and a creative muse for exceptional storytelling.
With an award from the Japanese Academy for Best Music Score; the music is intelligently interwoven into the story. So don’t expect to see hundreds of characters bursting into random harmonies. But instead the music acts more like a backing track to Matsuko’s life. Matsuko does not generally ‘sing’ but instead she ‘sings along’ to sometimes funny, or sometimes racy, but always genuinely intimate and applicable songs that pack one hell of an emotive punch.
Memories Of Matsuko is an epic tale of harrowing humanity, filled with lessons of life and unconditional love. Tetsuya Nakashima has woven together an irrefutable blend of good storytelling and interesting visuals to bring you a story that will touch you from the beginning to the end. If you enjoyed films like Amelie then be sure to give this a try. VLN
When a bored college student learns that a long lost aunt has been found dead in a park, he begins piecing together her life to see if it had any value. What he finds is a revelation.
Talented film director Tetsuya Nakashima (Kamikaze Girls) wields a host of cinematic tools to make Memories Of Matsuko a memorably entertaining and emotionally powerful fairytale tragedy, weaving together realistic human drama with offbeat comedy and spectacular (Bob Fosse-like) production numbers to tell the heartbreaking story of Matsuko Kawajiri, a starry-eyed woman who spends her entire life searching for a worthy ‘prince’ capable of returning her limitless love.
Versatile actress, Miki Nakatani, renders a virtuosic performance in the lead role of Matsuko.
Film: Memories Of Matsuko
Release date: 14th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 130 mins
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Starring: Miki Nakatani, Eita, Yusuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, YosiYosi Arakawa
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Musical/Mystery
Studio: Third Window
Format: Blu-ray
Country: Japan
Blu-ray Special Features:
•
Making of
•
Storyboard to film comparison
•
Interview with music composer Gabriele Roberto
•
Theatrical trailer
•
Trailers of other Third Window Films titles
Film: Casshern
Release date: 10th April 2006
Certificate: 15
Running time: 142 mins
Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
Starring: Yusuke Iseya, Kumiko Aso, Toshiaki Karasawa, Akira Terao, Kanako Higuchi
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Drama
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
One could reasonably assume that with such a talented cast on show, and a frankly stunning amount of effort put into imbuing the film with an original aesthetic, there seemed little scope for Kazuaki Kiriya's directorial debut (and a production debut for the Casshern Film Partners) to do anything but garner mass critical acclaim. So what went wrong?
Set in a 1984-esque future, where the world is divided into various super-states that are constantly at war with one another, Casshern focuses on the lives of a father and son. The father, Kotaro (Akira Terao) – as one of the leading scientists in the Eastern Federation – is obsessed with cracking the code to neo-cell (read: synthetic human) technology, ostensibly to help his country, but in reality it’s because his wife is terminally ill and can only be saved through such a breakthrough. Meanwhile the son, Tetsuya (Yusuke Iseya), is away fighting for the Eastern Federation in a conflict with Europa that has lasted fifty years.
The film takes its first turn when Tetsuya is killed in action and Kotaro, overcome with grief, submerges him in the neo-cell gene-mix in the vain hope of resurrecting him. What in actual fact happens is the rebirth of 'Legendary Hero' Casshern through Tetsuya's body, and the subsequent creation of a race of rogue androids through the neo-cell mixture, calling themselves Bio-Roids and led by the fearsome Burai (Toshiaki Karasawa). So far, so cool then.
Supplementing the main storyline is the bratty-but-smart son of the Eastern Federation's Head of State, and heir to his throne, Kaoru (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), a man whose aim is to usurp his father and establish 'The Fed' as the leading global power through any means. You've seen this type of chap before: he's borderline Machiavellian and classical in his composition as a character.
Notwithstanding, on the other side of the fence we have the innocent Luna (Kumiko Aso): Tetsuya's girlfriend and a character around which much of the protagonist's story revolves, even if she rarely has an impact herself.
The story follows this group of characters as they attempt to hunt down, negotiate with, avoid or utilise Burai and his Bio-Roids but, as the story develops, it becomes clear that these beings - wrought as they were by human hands - do not wish to involve themselves in human affairs, unless by 'involve' you mean 'obliterate entirely'…
Casshern is undoubtedly pretty. Not in the sense that Avatar is visually stunning, more in the sense that it has such a bold and striking aesthetic that it is impossible to mistake the film for anything else. The seamless blend of almost anime-like backdrops and marching robot armies with live-action fight sequences is stunning, and the way these are complimented by impressive special effects and character and set design that is frequently jaw-dropping only adds to that experience.
However looking great does not a movie make, and there are problems beneath Casshern's shiny surface - the main bone of contention being that the film’s ambition in presenting an over-arcing aesthetic and a vibrant world for the plot to take place within is also its greatest drawback. Too often it performs leaps of faith from scene to scene as it attempts to cram two or three films worth of substance into a 142 minute running time. There is just so much going on that it often leaves the viewer behind in an attempt to fit everything in, and this frequently leads to apathy, unable to get to grips with what’s happening.
The acting is solid (at times very good - Karasawa and Oikawa's performances are both brilliant), but there's little scope for anyone to perform because of how frequently Casshern attempts to encapsulate literally everything that is going on within the world. There is political intrigue and upheaval, a love story, a tale of a husband’s love for his wife - and that same man's deteriorating relationship with his son. It is, quite frankly, too much for one film.
As something to just sit back and watch it really is entertaining: the design is good enough to cover for unexplained elements of the plot and the action sequences are pretty much constantly stunning, but there feels like there's so little substance behind what's happening that it's difficult to fully recommend Casshern, despite the areas in which it excels – notably in the action and sci-fi – because it lacks drama. Drama is certainly attempted, but none of the characters get enough screen time to ever gain any real empathy from the viewer, and so ultimately Casshern fails in this category.
Should appeal to people of most ages, who want to see a visually pleasing film, but too frequently Casshern substitutes looks for substance and in doing so can become incredibly frustrating to watch. JD
