Gerorisuto

I was Luke-warm to the Director's "Rubber's Lover" and have yet to see "Pinocchio 964" (I do own it, so it's just a question of when I can find the time to view it). But I digress, this short film is less of a story, than a series of random events just strung together and tedious events at that. A crazy girl running, throwing up, spitting out ice cream, screaming, etc,etc.. Note to self, when live action people throw up for minutes on end it's silly, but when puppets do it (Ie. "Team America") it's hilarious. This 12 minute short film can be found on Unearthed's DVD of "Rubber's Lover"

My Grade: F

This early short film from the director of PINOCCHIO 964 and RUBBER'S LOVER didn't do a whole lot for me, though I will readily admit that the extended throwing up scene in the middle made me squirm in my seat and wish it would end. I am pretty desensitized to violence and gore by now by now but for some reason I can't quite stomach scenes where people puke for more than a few seconds. So props to Fukui for provoking a reaction. GERORISTO seems to be about one woman's violent revolt against society as a whole, especially the Japanese society where you always have to be polite and blend in. She does the exact opposite, stumbling wild-eyed through the subway, yelling at people on the street, clutching them etc.

Even as a fan of experimental film, I couldn't stand this short. The infamous three minute scene in which the lady vomits was unpleasant but not in a way that takes cinematic talent, it's just that watching a handheld shot of someone puking for a prolonged amount of time inherently makes me feel a little queasy. Everything surrounding this is not particularly memorable, but it is better. It feels very amateurish but not in a charming way. Instead of trying to compensate for obvious budgetary limitations with creativity, entertainment value, philosophical depth, etc., the director chooses to focus more on shock value while also posing this as an art film. I have heard some of his features are good and mean to watch them, I hope they're much better than this mess.