Silence (2016 film)

Based on the novel by Shusaku Endo, Silence is the story of two Jesuit priests who travel from Macau to Japan to find their mentor who had renounced his faith in his attempt to spread Christianity in 17th Century Japan. Directed by Martin Scorsese and screenplay by Scorsese and Jay Cocks, the film is the third film in an unofficial trilogy of films exploring the ideas of faith that Scorsese had done with The Last Temptation of Christ and Kundun where two young men travel to a world that is isolated from everyone as it showcases two men trying to hold on to their ideals at a time when anything foreign in Japan is forbidden. Starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Tadanobu Asano, Ciaran Hinds, and Liam Neeson. Silence is a ravishing yet haunting film from Martin Scorsese.

Set during a period in Japan where Christianity is forbidden in the country due to the belief that it would corrupt its ideals, the film revolves around two Jesuit priests from St. Paul’s College in Macau who travel to the isolated country where their mentor had been in the country in an attempt to spread the ideas of Christianity to the Japanese. Yet, they would arrive into a country where the practice of Christianity is kept in secret as it would lead to this revelation about what Japan is trying to do to suppress ideas outside of Japan forcing these two young priests to face major challenges. The film’s screenplay by Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks opens with images of torture towards not just these Jesuits priests but also followers where Father Cristovao Ferreira (Liam Neeson) watches in despair as he is unable to do anything to help those being tortured. It would lead to this main narrative where Father Ferreira’s pupils in Father Sebastiao Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver) travel to Japan to find their mentor and confirm these rumors that he had committed apostasy.

The film’s first act is about Rodrigues and Garupe learning about their mentor in Japan and their desire to find him knowing that Japan is not easy to enter as they’re aided by a troubled alcoholic guide in Kichijiro (Yosuke Kubozuka) who was a former Christian as he is also trying to seek some salvation. There, they would meet several villagers who practice Christianity in complete secrecy as some would be caught by samurai working for a mysterious inquisitor. The second act has Rodrigues and Garupe take on different paths to help Japanese Christians as much of the film’s narrative is told through the perspective of the former who would endure immense challenges of faith. Throughout the course of the film, Rodrigues would ponder these ideas of faith as well as why there’s a number of high officials of the Japanese consulate that are resistant to Christianity as there are a lot of fallacies to the idea of Christianity. Even as Rodrigues would have to see followers be tortured to death as some would apostatize but others would refuse leading to their own death.

The character of Kichijiro is someone who would continuously stay alive knowing he’s caused trouble as he constantly goes to Rodrigues to confess as it would play into some of the things Rodrigues would see. He would try to appeal to a revered governor in Inoue Masashige (Issey Ogata) who is a unique individual that has this slimy persona as a man that mocks the idea of Christianity yet is also willing to listen to what Rodrigues has to say. The film’s third act is about what has happened to Ferreira and the challenge that Rodrigues faces. Especially as Rodrigues is forced to face his own faults in his devotion as well as what his followers were willing to do to maintain the idea of Christianity.

Scorsese’s direction is definitely rapturous for capturing a moment in time that was intense as far as how Japan was willing to protect itself from outside forces and isolating itself from the rest of the world. Shot mainly in Taiwan, the film has Scorsese going into a world that is mainly set in forests and villages to play into something that is exotic and removed from what is happening in Europe. There are a lot of wide shots of the various locations and settings in the film including some unique high and low camera angles to play into the idea that God is watching yet he remains silent in his action. Scorsese’s usage of medium shots and close-ups play into the struggles that Rodrigues and Garupe would face in the film’s first act as well as the sense of doubt that loom in the latter as he endures some frustration over the living situation in Japan as he and Rodrigues have to hide. The film’s second act has Scorsese take on some imagery that play into the idea of God’s existence such as this shot of Rodrigues drinking water and sees a picture of Jesus Christ in front of his reflection as it’s modeled by this portrait by El Greco.

It’s a moment that play into Rodrigues’ determination to help many as well as continue this mission to spread the Christian faith in Japan but it’s also a moment that forces him to see what this Japanese council will do to prevent that from happening. Even as there’s these intense moments of violence that Rodrigues would have to witness as Scorsese doesn’t shy away from the brutality of the tortures and such that is happening to these Japanese Christians. The film’s third act that relates to the reveal of what happened to Ferreira as Scorsese would showcase not just this sense of humility that Rodrigues has to endure but also the harsh reality over what he had to do for the survival of those who count on him. The film’s ending is over-drawn as it is told from the perspective of an outsider who watches Rodrigues in the choice he makes as it shows what he would do for the remainder of his life. It does play into the role he has to play for Japan at a time where few outsiders are allowed into the country while contemplating into why he and so many others had suffered for their beliefs. Overall, Scorsese creates a riveting yet evocative film about two Jesuit priests traveling to Japan where Christianity is forbidden as they deal with God’s silence.

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography for the usage of low-key lights and filters for some of the exterior scenes at night to the more naturalistic look for some of the scenes in the daytime as well as the usage of fire for some of the interior scenes at night. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker does amazing work with the film’s editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts, dissolves, and slow-motion to play into the drama as well as some of the things that Rodrigues would see. Production/costume designer Dante Ferretti, with set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo and supervising art director Wen-Ying Huang, does excellent work with the look of the houses and places in the villages and small towns in Japan as well as the interiors at the church in Portugal along with the look of the robes that many of the characters wear.

Special effects supervisor R. Bruce Steinheimer, with visual effects supervisors Pablo Helman and Jason H. Snell, does fantastic work with a few of the visual effects such as the image of Jesus Christ that Rodrigues would see in a watery reflection as well as a few pieces of set-dressing for some of the location. Sound editor Philip Stockton does superb work with the sound as it play into the natural atmosphere of the location as well as this idea of silence in an otherworldly environment that is enchanting to hear. The film’s music by Kim Allen Kluge and Kathryn Kluge is terrific for its low-key approach to ambient music mixed in with traditional Japanese music while music supervisors Randall Poster and John Schaefer would create a soundtrack that feature a lot of the traditional Japanese music of the times.

The casting by Ellen Lewis is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Ryo Kase and Nana Komatsu as a couple of Japanese Christians whom Rodrigues tries to help, Bela Baptiste as the Dutch trader late in the film, and Ciaran Hinds as Alessandro Valignano as a Jesuit leader who is expressing concern over Ferreira as he wonders what has happened in Japan. Issey Ogata is superb as Inoue Masashige as this grand councilor that has this unique presence whenever he appears while he is also kind of slimy in the way he says things as he represents someone that is willing to challenge Rodrigues’ views. Yosuke Kubozuka is fantastic as Kichijiro as an alcoholic Christian who guides Rodrigues and Garupe to Japan as he is also someone full of pity into the things he’s done. Shinya Tsukamoto is excellent as Mokichi as a village leader who is also a Christian that does whatever he can to hide Rodrigues and Garupe where he would endure punishment that is just brutal to watch.

Tadanobu Asano is brilliant as the interpreter to Masashige as a man that is fascinated by Rodrigues’ views yet he remains devoted to Japan’s need to maintain its identity as he is a complex individual that is trying to make sense of the situations that Rodrigues is in. Adam Driver is amazing as Francisco Garupe as a young Jesuit priest who copes with the harsh environment of Japan as well as the frustration of not doing anything where he and Rodrigues would separate to find Ferreira as well as spread Christianity to Japan. Liam Neeson is remarkable as Cristovao Ferreira as Garupe and Rodrigues’ mentor who traveled to Japan to spread Christianity to the country only to disappeared in the belief that he had renounced his faith where he appears briefly for much of the first act and again in the third. Finally, there’s Andrew Garfield in an incredible performance as Sebastiao Rodrigues as a young Jesuit priest that is determined to find his mentor and carry on in the mission to spread the word of Christianity in a country that is resistant to the idea where he is forced to see what happens to Christians in Japan as well as wonder why God hasn’t done anything to help them or say something.

Silence is a phenomenal film from Martin Scorsese. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous images, top-notch editing, and compelling themes on faith and some of its fallacies. It’s a film that explores a moment in time where men’s ideals are being challenged by resistance as well as ponder the existence of God. In the end, Silence is a sensational film from Martin Scorsese.

Martin Scorsese Films: (Who’s That Knocking on My Door?) – (Street Scenes) – Boxcar Bertha – (Mean Streets) – Italianamerican – Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Taxi Driver - New York, New York – American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince - (The Last Waltz) – Raging Bull - The King of Comedy - After Hours - The Color of Money - The Last Temptation of Christ - New York Stories-Life Lessons - Goodfellas – Cape Fear (1991 film) - The Age of Innocence (1993 film) - (A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies) – (Casino) – (Kundun) – (My Voyage to Italy) – Bringing Out the Dead - (The Blues-Feel Like Going Home) – Gangs of New York - (The Aviator) – No Direction Home – The Departed - Shine a Light - Shutter Island - (A Letter to Elia) – (Public Speaking) - George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Hugo - The Wolf of Wall Street - (The Fifty Year Argument) – (The Irishman (2018 film))

© thevoid99 2018

2017 Cannes Marathon: Our Little Sister

(Played in Competition for the Palme d’Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival)

Based on the manga series Umimachi Diaries by Akimi Yoshida, Our Little Sister is the story of three women who learn about the death of their father as well as the realization that they have a fourteen-year old half-sister who has no one to take care of her. Written for the screen, edited, and directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, the film is an exploration of sisterhood and family where three women deal with the estrangement and loss of their father as well as the new person in their life. Starring Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Suzu Hirose, and Kaho. Our Little Sister is a ravishing and evocative film from Hirokazu Koreeda.

Set mainly in the seaside city of Kamamura, the film revolves around three women who take in their fourteen-year old half-sister following the death of their estranged father as they all deal with his loss but also the things that led to the estrangement and other issues revolving around them. It’s a film with a simple premise that explores four women who share the same father but one of them has a different mother as they all deal with living together in their grandmother’s home as well as other things in their lives. Hirokazu Koreeda’s screenplay doesn’t really go for any kind of traditional narrative structure as it’s more about the building of a relationship between these three women and their newly-discovered half-sister whom they invite to live with them. The eldest in Sachi Koda (Haruka Ayase) is a woman works at a hospital as a nurse as she is the most maternal of the three as she had helped raise her two younger sisters since their father left them for another woman and their mother would suddenly abandon them after the fallout of the affair.

The other two sisters in the banker Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa) and the 21-year old shoe store clerk Chika (Kaho) are also trying to live their lives and go through some form of growing pains as they would take in their 14-year old half-sister Suzu Asano (Suzu Hirose) as they knew about her for a while but never really got to know her. Much of the film is about these four women living together in this small town as they introduce Suzu to this very warm and lively community of people that includes a diner owner they’ve known since they were kids as well as a regular customer of that diner and their great aunt who is a little hesitant about meeting Suzu. Yet, Suzu would eventually fit in with her new surroundings as she also becomes close to her older sisters as it would play into the development of all four women. Especially as Sachi is having an affair with a married colleague while Yoshino’s life of being with men who aren’t good would finally take its toll.

Koreeda’s direction also takes a very simple approach to the story as it is largely shot on location in Kamamura as the town itself is a character in the film. While Koreeda would use some wide shots to establish much of the film’s locations as well as some scenes around the house of the four sisters. He would favor something that is more intimate as it is the right tone of the film where Koreeda doesn’t really go for anything stylistic other than in the compositions which definitely captures a lot of depth in the image. Especially with the medium and some of the wide shots in capturing the four sisters in a single frame as there aren’t many close-ups in the film so that Koreeda can focus on the four sisters together or individually. There are moments of humor but it’s mostly subtle as is some of the drama where it is very restrained as Koreeda is more about building up the relationship between Suzu and her three older sisters. Notably in these little moments where there’s a reveal about Suzu’s relationship with her father as it raises question about what her sisters missed out on.

Koreeda would also create little subplots in the film that help add to the development whether it’s Chika watching over Suzu with a friend or Yoshino trying to help the diner owner with her finances. It all has something that does feel natural as it’s also Koreeda would create these scenes and dramatic moments very patiently which includes a key meeting between the three sisters and their mother during a memorial service for their late grandmother. There is a sense of tension that is looming but Koreeda chooses not to go overboard as he knows where to hit the right notes. Also serving as the film’s editor, Koreeda would maintain that simplicity as he only uses a few fade-outs for transitional reasons where it is about these sisters bonding as it would include moments that are very touching without the need to be overly sentimental as Koreeda knows where to hit the right notes. Overall, Koreeda creates an intoxicating and rapturous film about three women bonding with their newly-discovered half-sister.

Cinematographer Mikiya Takimoto does excellent work with the film’s very naturalistic yet colorful cinematography as it doesn’t aim for any kind of particular style but rather something very straightforward including some of the scenes set at night. Production designer Keiko Mitsumatsu, with set decorator Ayako Matsuo and art director Mami Kagamoto, does brilliant work with the design of the home the sisters live in as well as the interiors of the local diner they go to as well as some places in the city. Costume designer Sachiko Ito does nice work with the costumes as it is very straightforward as the clothes play to the personality of the characters along with the robes they wear for a local ceremony in the summer. Sound mixer Yukata Tsurumaki does wonderful work with the sound as it also presented in a very simple manner to play into the atmosphere at the house and areas in the city. The film’s music by Yoko Kanno is incredible for its usage of sumptuous string arrangements that is very low-key but very effective as it help sets a tone for the drama without overdoing the scene or the moment.

The casting by Toshie Tabata is fantastic as it feature some notable small roles from Kirin Kiki as great-aunt Fumiyo, Lily Franky as the diner owner Sen-ichi, Jun Fubuki as the estranged mother, Shinichi Tsutsumi as a diner regular who knew their father, and Ryo Kase as a colleague of Yoshino who would help her settle financial matters for Sen-ichi. The performances of Suzu Hirose, Kaho, Masami Nagasawa, and Haruka Ayase are phenomenal in their respective roles as Suzu, Chika, Yoshino, and Sachi. Hirose’s performance as Suzu is a joy to watch as a 14-year old coming of age as she exudes an air of innocence into her performance while Kaho’s role as Chika is full of energy and wit as someone who is young but also responsible as she is very excited about being an older sister for Suzu.

Nagasawa’s performance as Yoshino is fun to watch as someone who goes from being a typical mid-20s woman who likes to have fun and sleep around to being responsible as she does whatever she can to help out a family friend. Ayase’s performance of Sachi is definitely the most reserved as the eldest of the four sisters as she is also the most maternal as she acts as a mother figure to Suzu while also be very flawed in her own situations. The four women together have this potent chemistry that is just incredible to watch as it feels like they are sisters as they fight, laugh, and cry together as they are a major highlight of the film.

Our Little Sister is a tremendous film from Hirokazu Koreeda. Featuring a remarkable ensemble cast as well as a very simplistic yet engrossing story that is carried with gorgeous images and its location. It’s a film that manages to provide so much by doing so little as it prove that even something ordinary like a story about sisters can be extraordinary and more. In the end, Our Little Sister is a magnificent film from Hirokazu Koreeda.

Hirokazu Koreeda Films: (Lessons from a Calf) - (However) - (August Without Him) - (This World) - (Without Memory) - Maborosi - (After Life) - (Distance) - Nobody Knows - (Hana) - Still Walking - (Air Doll) - (I Wish) - (Life Father, Like Son (2013 film)) - After the Storm - (The Third Murder) - (The Shoplifters)

© thevoid99 2017

Like Someone in Love

Written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami, Like Someone in Love is the story of a sociology student who works as a part-time prostitute where she befriends an elderly client who is more interested in helping her rather than have sex with her. The film is a simple tale of a growing bond between a young woman and an old man as they deal with life as well as the choices they make. Starring Rin Takanashi, Tadashi Okuno, and Ryo Kase. Like Someone in Love is a rapturous and entrancing film from Abbas Kiarostami.

Told in the span of nearly a day in Tokyo, the film revolves around a student who works part-time as a call girl where she visits an elderly client who would treat her kindly as she is going through personal issues relating to her fiance`. It’s a film that is a very simple story about a young woman meeting with an old man as she is reluctant to do a job as she is also dealing with a lot of things yet is amazed by this old man’s kindness and generosity. Abbas Kiarostami’s screenplay doesn’t rely very much on plot but rather the development of a growing friendship between this old professor and this young woman as they spend a day together. Especially as the old man Takashi (Tadashi Okuno) is helping out the young woman Akiko (Rin Takanashi) who is a sociology student and hasn’t told her fiance Noriaki that she works as a call girl as he is jealous as well as very possessive.

Kiarostami’s direction is very ravishing for not just its simplicity but also in creating something that is just filled with so much in the frame. The opening sequence inside a restaurant has Kiarostami having Akiko talking but she’s not in the frame as if it’s someone else there and then it cuts to a reverse shot of her talking to a friend. Much of it has Kiarostami employ not just long takes but also compositions that are simple with its medium shots and close-ups as well as these gorgeous shots of a car moving as its windows reflect everything it shows. The scenes between Takashi and Akiko such as their first meeting is one that is very light-hearted as well as some of the scenes in the car as it would include this intimate yet fascinating conversation between Takashi and Noriaki.

Kiarostami’s approach to framing does have this air of beauty in the image as well as how he positions the camera into the exterior of Takashi’s home and how it is shot in the inside. Even as it help create that restrained sense of drama as it helps build this fascinating relationship between Takashi and Akiko. The direction also maintains that sense of quietness where it just captures that air of realism but also something unexpected which does play into the drama. Overall, Kiarostami creates a touching yet riveting film about a call-girl befriending an elderly professor.

Cinematographer Katsumi Yanagijima does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography to capture the nighttime beauty of the exteriors in Tokyo as well as some of the scenes set in the day as it maintains something that is natural. Editor Barman Kiarostami does excellent work with the film‘s editing as it is very straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts to play into some of the drama. Sound editor Nobuyuki Kikuchi and sound designer Mohamadreza Delpak do fantastic work with the sound in capturing the air of realism in the way cars sound as well as what goes on in and out of a room or in a location.

The casting by Tsuyoshi Sugino is great as it features some notable small roles from Kaneko Kubota as Akiko’s grandmother, Koichi Ohori as the cab driver, Mihiko Suzuki as Takashi’s neighbor, Reiko Mori as a friend/fellow call-girl of Akiko, Hiroyuki Kishi as a former student of Takashi, and Denden as an old friend of Takashi who is also a pimp of sorts for Akiko. Ryo Kase is amazing as Akiko’s fiance Noriaki as this very obsessive man who wonders what is Akiko is doing as he continuously confronts her while getting some advice from Takashi thinking he’s Akiko’s grandfather. Tadashi Okuno is incredible as Takashi as a former college professor who is intrigued by Akiko as well as being someone that is willing to help her as he displays that great sense of kindness. Finally, there’s Rin Takanashi in a remarkable performance as Akiko as this young sociology student who is trying to make money to cover her student debts while lamenting over her grandmother and issues with Noriaki.

The 2014 Region 1/Region A dual-format DVD/Blu-Ray release from the Criterion Collection presents the film in its original 1:66:1 aspect ratio 3.0 surround DTS-HD master audio soundtrack for the Blu-Ray release as it’s all supervised by Abbas Kiarostami. The special features on both discs feature the film’s theatrical trailer as well as a forty-seven minute making-of documentary on the film. The documentary showcases Kiarostami’s approach to filmmaking and his views on storytelling as well as emphasizing more on rehearsal rather than shoot in the moment. The film also features interviews with Kiarostami and some crew members as well as how Kiarostami is able to direct the actors despite the fact that he doesn’t speak Japanese as he is aided by a translator. It’s a fascinating documentary short that explores what Kiarostami was doing as well as why he prefers digital over 35mm film.

The DVD/Blu-Ray set also features a booklet that includes an essay by film professor Nico Baumbach (brother of filmmaker Noah Baumbach) entitled On Likeness. The essay discusses several of Kiarostami’s motifs as a filmmaker as well as some of themes he had explored with his other films. Baumbach also talks about some of the plot elements in the film as well as some of the moral themes that Kiarostami would explore. Baumbach also suggests a lot of interpretations into the story as well as it’s ending as it is one of the most shocking. It’s a fascinating read that serves as a great accompaniment to the DVD/Blu-Ray set.

Like Someone in Love is an incredible film from Abbas Kiarostami. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous images, and a restrained yet intoxicating exploration of love and kindness. It’s a film that doesn’t play by the rules while managing to be a whole lot more than what it’s simple plot suggests making it a fitting final film from Kiarostami. In the end, Like Someone in Love is a phenomenal film from Abbas Kiarostami.

Abbas Kiarostami Films: (The Experience) - The Traveler (1974 film) - (A Wedding Suit) - Report (1977 film) - (First Case, Second Case) - (Fellow Citizens) - (First Graders) - (Where is the Friend’s Home?) - (Homework) - Close-Up - (Life and Nothing More…) - (Through the Olive Trees) - Taste of Cherry - (The Wind Will Carry Us) - (ABC Africa) - (Ten) - (Five) - (10 on Ten) - (Shirin) - Certified Copy

© thevoid99 2016

Letters from Iwo Jima

Based on the books Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief by Tadamichi Kuribayashi and So Sad to Fall in Battle: An Account of War by Kumiko Kakehashi, Letters from Iwo Jima is about the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II told from the perspective of the Japanese who would defend the island against the Americans. Directed by Clint Eastwood and screenplay by Iris Yamashita from a screen story by Yamashita and Paul Haggis, the film is the second part of Eastwood’s double-feature film about the battle of Iwo Jima as the first film in Flags of Our Fathers was about the American perspective. Starring Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Ryo Kase, Tsuyoshi Ihara, and Shido Nakamura. Letters from Iwo Jima is a tremendously haunting film from Clint Eastwood.

The film is about the battle of Iwo Jima told from the perspective of the Japanese as they’re led by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) who deals with the limited resources and lack of support from his fellow generals to face the Americans who had just destroyed the Japanese navy in the Philippines. With Iwo Jima the one island that stands between mainland Japan and the Americans, Kuribiyashi and his men not only have their backs against the wall but also the fact that they might not go home as they’re forced to fight to just survive. While the film is largely told from Kuribayashi’s perspective, it’s also told from the perspective of a young soldier named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) who watches the battle as well as endure all of the chaos that goes on as he tries to fight for Kuribayashi despite the charges of cowardice from other officers.

The film’s screenplay is very straightforward though it begins and ends in modern-day Iwo Jima where archeologists would find the letters that Japanese soldiers wrote to their loved ones. These letters would be the basis for who Kuribayashi, Saigo, Lt. Col. Baron Takeichi Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), and the former Kempetai officer Shimizu (Ryo Kase) are as they deal with not just with the forces they’re fighting in the battlefield but also those behind the scenes. Kuribayashi and Nishi, as the latter is a former Olympic gold medalist in equestrian, are men who have been to America and are aware of what they’re capable of while coming from a very old-school idea of war as they both express their disdain for modern machinery. They’re also men who are more concerned with trying to keep soldiers to stay alive while not do something rash in the battlefield as Kuribayashi finds himself at odds with superiors who want the soldiers to fight on the battlefield against the Americans which Kuribayashi believes is suicide.

Then there’s Saigo and Shimizu as the former is a baker who learns he’s about to become a father while the latter is an officer who is in deep conflict over his loyalties as well as being accused as a spy. Upon the terror of the battle where Saigo realizes that men are killing themselves rather than die in the hands of the Americans, he tries to find some way for he and Shimizu to go to Kuribayashi who is trying to mount a final attack. Yet, the battle becomes more complicated when Lt. Ito (Shidou Nakamura) tries to launch an attack that proved to be fatal when Shimizu would later encounter an American soldier (Lucas Elliott) as it would showcase the similarities between the two men in this war. What Iris Yamashita does is bring a lot of depth to these characters while creating something where there are no villains but rather men who are put into a terrible situation.

Clint Eastwood’s direction is definitely mesmerizing for massive scope of the film as well as creating an intimacy and sense of terror of what goes on in the caves at Mount Surabachi. Using some extravagant wide shots of the locations in Iwo Jima with some of the shooting set in California, Eastwood aims for something that plays into what the Japanese were going through as they would defend this small island as Kuribayashi would scout the island and see what could help them. While Eastwood takes great advantage of the locations as well as create as sense of claustrophobia and suspense inside the caves where the men are trying to survive the assault of cannons and grenades. The battle scenes would showcase what the Japanese would do as well as some of the foolish tactics that Kuribayashi had warned his superiors about that would contribute to Japan’s loss.

The direction also has Eastwood use the wide shots to create some unique flashbacks into the world of the characters through flashbacks about their life before the war. It’s these segments where Eastwood gets the chance to humanize these characters along with scenes in the cave where the men try to survive the American onslaught. The use of close-ups and medium shots help play into the film’s intimacy inside the caves where there is a chance for these men to die with honor as well as fight for reasons beyond the call of duty. Overall, Eastwood crafts a very chilling yet astonishing film about the Japanese fighting to survive in the island of Iwo Jima.

Cinematographer Tom Stern does brilliant work with the film’s stylish cinematography with its de-saturated colors of blue and gray to play into the desolate look of the island as well as in his eerie approach to lighting for some of the film’s interior scenes in the caves as well as the nighttime exteriors. Editors Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach do excellent work with the editing to convey the sense of terror in the battlefield with some rhythmic cuts as well as methodical pacing to play into the suspense and drama. Production designers Henry Bumstead and James J. Murakami, with set decorator Gary Fettis, do amazing work with the design of the caves as well as trenches in the battlefield as well as the small villages on the island of Iwo Jima.

Costume designer Deborah Hooper does wonderful work with the costumes from the design of the Japanese army uniforms as well as traditional clothing the characters wear in the flashback scenes. Visual effects supervisor Michael Owens does nice work with some of the minimal visual effects such as the wide shots of the U.S. naval ships coming towards the island. Sound designer Charles Mayne, along with sound editors Alan Robert Murray and Bud Asman, does fantastic work with the sound from the way the cannon blasts are heard inside the cave as well as the sense of dread that goes on inside as the battle rages on outside of those caves. The film’s music by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens is superb for its melancholic approach to the music with its use of pianos and trumpets while creating some operatic arrangements to play into the bombastic tone of the film.

The casting by Phyllis Huffman is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Mark Moses and Roxanne Hart as an American couple Kuribayashi met at a party in his honor, Lucas Elliott as an American soldier who meets Nishi during the battle, Ken Kensei and Nobumasa Sakagami as a couple of Kuribayashi’s superiors who oppose Kuribayashi’s idea to fight the Americans, Nae Yuuki as Saigo’s wife in the film’s flashback scenes, Yuki Matsuzaki as Saigo’s friend/fellow soldier Nozaki, and Takashi Yamaguchi as Saigo’s friend Kashiwara who leaves the battle due to the bad water of the island. Other noteworthy small roles include Takumi Bando as the very tough Captain Tinada who prepares everyone for what is ahead while Eijiro Ozaki is terrific as Nishi’s loyal lieutenant Okubo who would warn the soldiers about surrendering to the Americans.

Hiroshi Watanabe is wonderful as Kuribayashi’s deputy Lt. Fujita who is prepared to do whatever is necessary for his leader while Shidou Nakamura is excellent as Lt. Ito as a soldier who is baffled by Nishi and Kuribayashi’s strategy only to realize the error that he would make in battle. Tsuyoshi Ihara is amazing as the compassionate Lt. Colonel Baron Nishi who was a man who attained great fame while understanding the strategies of the Americans as he views them with great respect. Ryo Kase is brilliant as the former Kempeitai officer Shimizu who deals with his own loyalty and duty in war as his encounter with an American soldier has him deal with the cruelty of war.

Kazanuri Ninomiya is fantastic as the young soldier Saigo who is the film’s conscience as he thinks about the terror of war while being loyal to his soldiers and Kuribayashi. Finally, there’s Ken Watanabe in a magnificent performance as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi as a man who brings this balance between a leader and as a man who knows more about his soldiers than some of his officers while being a strategist who knows what the Americans are capable of. There’s a great sense of restraint and compassion in Watanabe’s performance as he brings many layers to his character as it is one of the most humanistic performances ever told in a war film.

Letters from Iwo Jima is an outstanding film from Clint Eastwood. With a cast led by Ken Watanabe as well as some amazing technical work from its crew. The film is definitely one of the great films about World War II while allowing Western audiences the chance to showcase a viewpoint that isn’t seen very often from other war films. Especially as it’s told with such sensitivity and humanity that most war films would often avoid. In the end, Letters from Iwo Jima is a phenomenally rich film from Clint Eastwood.

Clint Eastwood Films: (Play Misty for Me) - High Plains Drifter - (Breezy) - (The Eiger Sanction) - (The Outlaw Josey Wales) - (The Gauntlet) - (Bronco Billy) - (Firefox) - (Honkytonk Man) - Sudden Impact - Pale Rider - (Heartbreak Ridge) - (Bird) - (White Hunter Black Heart) - (The Rookie) - Unforgiven - (A Perfect World) - (The Bridges of Madison County) - (Absolute Power) - (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) - (True Crime) - (Space Cowboys) - (Blood Work) - (Mystic River) - Million Dollar Baby - Flags of Our Fathers - Changeling - (Gran Torino) - (Invictus) - (Hereafter) - (J. Edgar) - (Jersey Boys) - American Sniper - (Sully) - (The 15:17 to Paris) - (The Mule)

© thevoid99 2014

Restless

Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Jason Lew, based on his play, Restless is the story of a death-obsessed young man who falls for a cancer-stricken young women as they her remaining time together. While the man also communicates with a World War II Japanese fighter pilot, who is also a ghost, he has to deal with the loss he‘s endured and is about to face. Starring Henry Hopper, Mia Wasikowska, Schuyler Fisk, Ryo Kase, and Jane Adams. Restless is a touching yet very off-beat drama from Gus Van Sant.

Following the death of his parents a few years ago, Enoch (Henry Hopper) is a teenager who no longer attends school as he spends most of his time conversing with a dead kamikaze pilot named Hiroshi (Ryo Kase) and going to funerals uninvited. At one funeral, he meets a young woman named Annabelle (Mia Wasikowska) where they become friends as they go to funerals and other places where she reveals she is dying from cancer and only has a few months to live. Enoch spends a lot of his time with Annabelle as their friendship grows into romance where he reveals why he lives with his aunt Mabel (Jane Adams) after his parents’ death. While the time becomes fruitful, Annabelle’s time is starting to run out forcing Enoch to come to terms with all that he’s lost as he’s about to lose the girl that he has fallen in love with.

The film is essentially a romantic story about two death-obsessed teenagers who fall in love with each other where one of them is set to die in a matter of months. There, the film explores these two people in the span of a few months where a boy is still trying to come to term with the death of his parents and his own near-death experience while falling for a girl that is very lively and exciting despite the lack of time she has left. While there’s a ghost who watches over this young man as he observes this blossoming relationship, the specter of death would loom as the inevitable is to happen as the character of Enoch would have a difficult time trying to deal with what is going to happen.

Screenwriter Jason Lew succeeds in creating characters who are very interesting in the way they deal with death as there’s also an innocence into the relationship between Enoch and Annabelle. Notably in the way they go to hospitals where they visit the morgue or attend funerals together as they’re often surrounding themselves with death. The character of Hiroshi is someone who is just observing these two people as only Enoch can talk to him yet he is someone who is probably in limbo where there’s moments of him all by himself writing a letter. While a lot of the structure of the screenplay is loose and very unconventional so that the story can explore this relationship. The only thing that doesn’t work entirely is how the melodrama is expected to arrive where it’s execution isn’t as thought out as it could’ve been. That’s the only draw back to a well-written script by Lew.

Gus Van Sant’s direction is quite straightforward for the way he plays out the story about young love. Yet, there are still compositions that are quite engaging for the way he explores this unconventional relationship between two young people. Notably the scene where they’re both lying on the ground with chalk markings around their bodies. There’s also some amazing moments such as the trick-or-treat scene where Van Sant makes the actors feel very comfortable while creating close-ups and wide shots to play out the romance that is happening as it’s set in his home of Portland, Oregon. While Van Sant keeps a lot of the unconventional aspects of the film restrained to observe this relationship, he finds something that is engaging in the story of these two young people while allowing the story to just play out. While the overall work might be considered minor Van Sant, it’s still a better film than what is expected in a film about young love.

Cinematographer Harris Savides does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the lush yet colorful scenes for some of its nighttime interior and exterior scenes to a much brighter yet evocative look for the daytime exterior scenes as well as the look in the hospital. Editor Elliot Graham does nice work with the editing where Graham creates some amazing montages to play out the blossoming romance while a lot of it is pretty straightforward. Production designer Anne Ross, with set decorator Sara Parks and art director Benjamin Hayden, does some very good work with the set pieces created such as the rooms Enoch and Annabelle have to the funeral places they attend.

Costume designer Danny Glicker does a wonderful job with the costumes from the black suits that Enoch wears to the more eccentric clothing including the white dress that Annabelle wears to contrast Enoch‘s character. Sound designer Leslie Shatz and sound editor Robert Jackson do brilliant work with the film‘s sound to capture the intimacy of the funeral halls to the broad atmosphere of the locations the characters encounter such as the train bridge. The film’s score by Danny Elfman is superb for its low-key orchestral score that features a take on Carl Orff’s Gassenhauser to play out the romance. The film’s music soundtrack is terrific for its mix of folk and indie as it features music by Sufjan Stevens and Nico in some parts of the film.

The casting by Francine Maisler is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it includes some memorable small roles from Chin Han as the very kind Dr. Lee, Luisa Strus as Annabelle’s somewhat-aloof mother, Jane Adams as Enoch’s caring aunt, and Schuyler Fisk as Annabelle’s concerned but open-minded older sister Elizabeth. Ryo Kase is excellent as the kamikaze pilot Hiroshi who follows Enoch along in this exploration of death while observing the growing relationship between Enoch and Annabelle. Henry Hopper is very good as the confused Enoch who is trying to come to terms with death as he visits funerals and such to be connected with it where Hopper has some charm to his character though isn’t fully able to pull off some of the film’s heavier, dramatic moments. Yet, he does however have some amazing chemistry with his co-star in Mia Wasikowska.

Mia Wasikowska is the film’s real highlight for the way she creates a character like Annabelle and make so enjoyable to watch. Filled with lots of quirks and charm, Wasikowska brings an understated quality to her performance as a young woman that is dying. Yet, she brings a lot to the performance whether it’s wearing unique clothing to funerals or talking about birds and organizing candy. It is definitely one of Wasikowska’s finest performances.

Restless is a stellar yet engaging romance from Gus Van Sant that features a radiant performance from Mia Wasikowska. Along with noteworthy performances from Henry Hopper and Ryo Kase, it’s a film that works for its exploration of young love and death where the latter is a recurring theme in some of Van Sant’s recent work. While it’s a film that doesn’t reach the heights of a lot of the great films Van Sant has done, it does offer something that his art-house fans and some of his mainstream fans can enjoy. In the end, Restless is a marvelous film from Gus Van Sant.

Gus Van Sant Films: Mala Noche - Drugstore Cowboy - My Own Private Idaho - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - To Die For - Good Will Hunting - Psycho (1998 remake) - Finding Forrester - Gerry - Elephant - Last Days - Paranoid Park - Milk - Promised Land

The Shorts & Videos of Gus Van Sant - The Auteurs #4: Gus Van Sant

© thevoid99 2011

Tokyo!

Tokyo! is an omnibus film by three different filmmakers about the city of Tokyo for three different stories. For this film, non-Japanese directors were employed as Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho provide their own different stories set in Tokyo. Starring Ayako Fujitani, Ryo Kase, Ayumi Ito, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Denis Lavant, Jean-Francois Balmer, Julie Dreyfus, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yu Aoi, and Natao Takenaka. Tokyo! is an extraordinary ominbus from the trio of Gondry, Carax, and Joon-ho.

Interior Design (Written and directed by Michel Gondry, based on the short story comic Cecil & Jordan in New York by Gabrielle Bell).

Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani) and Akira (Ryo Kase) have arrived in Japan to stay at the home of their friend Akemi (Ayumi Ito) for the first screening of Akira’s first film. The couple is also looking for an apartment while dealing with low money and parking tickets prompting Akira to take a job. For Hiroko, she finds herself not really doing anything and trying to find an apartment as their car has been impounded. With the screening for Akira’s film happening, Hiroko ponders her own existence as something strange happens to her in her moment of despair.

Merde (Written and directed by Leos Carax)

A strange man (Denis Lavant) comes out of the sewers to wreak havoc and terrorize people as many wonder who he is and what is he doing. After more chaos that led to the deaths of many, the man is captured with no one able to understand him. A French lawyer named Maitre Voland (Jean-Francois Balmer) arrives to Japan to communicate with the man as a trial is set to happen. Yet, the trial becomes a media circus as the man’s statement of hate divides people as he is to be sentenced to death by hanging if found guilty.

Shaking Tokyo (Written and directed by Bong Joon-ho)

A hikikomori (Teruyuki Kagawa) is living a life of isolation has he hasn’t left his apartment for a decade with his telephone being the only outside link so he can order food with the money he has. One day, he makes his first eye contact in a decade to a beautiful young woman (Yu Aoi) who is delivering pizza as an earthquake happens and she faints in his apartment. Though he was able to revive her, she leaves as he yearns to see her again. When a new pizza delivery man (Natao Takenaka) reveals that she quit, the man seeks to find her as he goes outside for the first time in a decade.

The film is essentially about three different stories all set in Tokyo for each director to create their own forty-minute story about things happening in Tokyo. For those three filmmakers, they each get a chance to put their own stamp about life in Tokyo from their own perspective. In Michel Gondry’s short, it’s about a woman whose attempt to help her filmmaker boyfriend in finding an apartment and to help him is a mixture of Gondry’s whimsical humor but also with bits of light-drama that includes his own quirky visual style. Leos Carax’s film is a comedy about a man wreaking havoc creating a state of anarchy as he’s put on trial in a film that is dark but also very humorous. Bong Joon-Ho’s short is a more dramatic piece about the world of the hikikomori in this touching tale of isolation and longing.

The shorts that each filmmaker creates adds to the beauty that is Tokyo and its people as the stories that Gondry, Carax, and Joon-Ho create from an outsider perspective allows the audience to be engaged by these stories. With the characters they present through the different locations in Tokyo, the three filmmakers create a film that is truly spellbinding and imaginative. Whereas most omnibus and anthology films tend to have segments that are great and some that aren’t, this film manages to do more by actually having three great segments that combines into one dazzling film.

The cinematography by Masami Inomoto (Interior Design), Caroline Champetier (Merde), and Jun Fukumoto (Shaking Tokyo) each has a distinctive yet grainy look to the film but they also allow themselves to add their own elements to each segment. Inomoto brings in more stylish look to the coloring for Gondry’s segment while Champetier adds something much darker to the look of the trial scenes in Carax’s segment. Yet, it’s Fukumoto who stands out with a more sunnier yet lush look for many of the interior settings in Joon-Ho’s segment. The editing of Nelly Quettier for Carax’s segment is the most stylish for its jump-cuts and multiple split-screen segments. Cedric Fayolle’s visual effects work for the segments by Gondry and Carax is superb as he creates a wonderful look to a transformation sequence in Gondry’s segment while providing some explosive stuff for Carax’s segment.

The production design work Hiroshi Hayashida for Gondry’s segment is among the best of the three for its claustrophobic look in the apartment while Mitsuo Harada’s work in the Carax segment doesn’t include much except for the cave that the stranger lives in. The set pieces for Joon-Ho’s segment by Toshihiro Isomi is wonderfully stylish for its stack of pizza boxes, books, and various objects. Paul Hsu’s sound work in Gondry’s segment is very good for capturing the chaotic atmosphere that is Tokyo. The music of Etienne Charry for Gondry’s segment and the original music of Byung-woo Lee for the rest each provide some wonderful moments for the film. Charry adds a sense of whimsy to Gondry’s piece while Lee provides some more ominous pieces for Joon-Ho’s segment with a more comical piece for Carax’s score.

The casting is excellent as the film includes some small but notable appearances that include Satoshi Tsumabuki as a businessman that Akira meets in Interior Design, Julie Dreyfus as a interpreter in Merde, and Naoto Takenaka as the pizza delivery man in Shaking Tokyo. In the Interior Design segment, Ayumi Ito provides a very good performance as Akemi, a friend of Hiroko who tries to help her while Ryo Kase is also good as Hiroko’s ambitious filmmaking boyfriend Akira. Ayako Fujitani is brilliant as Hiroko as a young woman lost in a world of ambition and trying to find something as she feels useless in her life. In Merde, Jean-Francois Balmer is very funny as the lawyer while Denis Lavant is great as the strange creature who wreaks havoc upon everyone. In Shaking Tokyo, Yu Aoi is wonderful as an eccentric yet shy pizza delivery girl while Teruyuki Kagawa is phenomenal as the equally shy yet secretive man living as a total recluse.

Tokyo! is a charming and exhilarating omnibus film from the trio of Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-Ho. Fans of these filmmakers will no doubt enjoy the shorts they make while it also offers something for those new to the omnibus/anthology films. It’s a film that proves what omnibus films can do when its filmmakers are each on the same page about how to make all their material into one great package. In the end, Tokyo! is an extraordinary film that features some of the best work of Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho.

Michel Gondry Films: Human Nature - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Dave Chappelle’s Block Party - The Science of Sleep - Be Kind Rewind - (The Thorn in the Heart) - The Green Hornet - The We & the I - (Mood Indigo) - (Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?)

Leos Carax Films: Boy Meets Girl - Mauvais Sang - Les Amants du Pont-Neuf - Pola X - Holy Motors - (Annette) - The Auteurs #36: Leos Carax

Bong Joon-ho Films: Barking Dogs Never Bite - Memories of Murder - The Host - Mother - Snowpiercer - (Okja) - Parasite - The Auteurs #44: Bong Joon-ho

© thevoid99 2011