2LDK

A movie in the Japanese "Duel" Project, Duel project you might ask?

"Imagine, if you will, two Japanese directors who meet at a film festival, each familiar with (and appreciative of) each other's work. Then imagine a night of binge drinking that leads to the gauntlet being thrown down - a little friendly competition to see who can make the best 'Duel to the Death' film. Then throw in a few rules like 1) The script can contain no more than 2-3 characters 2) The film must be shot in seven days and on a small budget 3) the film can only take place in one setting, and most importantly 4) at least one character must die. Thus, the Duel Project was born. "

The other movie in this project is Aragmi by Ryuhei Kitamura

The movie itself is about two rival actresses sharing a stylish apartment in Tokyo. They have both auditioned for a part in a new big movie and one of them will get it. They are also fighting over a guy named Takuya.

The movie itself takes place purely in the apartment with only two actors. But it never gets boring. The acting is surprisingly solid from Eiko Koike & Maho Nonami. And camera work and directing is stylish.

The movie is now without flaws, but it's a pretty funny ironic comedy about a rivalry turned bad, very bad. And defintly an enjoyable movie experience.

This was a well acted, nicely paced story of two opposite roommates, competing for the same part in a movie. The story develops as we hear their thoughts and discover how much they hate each other, despite their politeness to each other. Tensions rise as the poorer, more homely, neat-freak confronts the wealthier, more sexually-experienced, relaxed princess about breaking house "rules." Attacks start out with mind games, to implied verbal slights, to overt insults, and then to ever-escalating physical assaults. This film is wild. It's funny in how much they hate each other, and how far they go, non-stop. If you can't find humor in violence, don't bother watching this. While this film goes deeply into mental, emotional, social conflict-- it is a fight movie. So don't expect Shakespeare! Also not a complex film: only two adept actresses in the same condo the whole movie. This simplicity made me like the film more. Unique. The only thing I could compare this to would be an American film called "Tape" which, while not violent, only involved 3 actors (Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and ?) in one hotel room, brooding over mental-psychological conflicts.

For some reason I was led to believe this was to be a comedy. Upon further research after seeing the movie, I could not find any evidence that it is a comedy, but I'm sure I got that idea from somewhere. Maybe it's considered a dark comedy, considering I don't usually find them funny, but not necessarily bad. Another though was maybe I just did not get the Japanese comedy. I honestly thought this was a drama with a tiny bit of horror on the side.

Anyhow, 2LDK starts off with sort of a slow burn effect, meaning it took some time to establish a feud between the two actresses, who happen to be roommates for the night and both going for the same part in a movie called Yakuza Wives. Every little thing annoys the other, such as slurping their soup and borrowing shampoo without asking, which continuously gains intensity through every scene.

When the "fight to the death" finally happens, it is extremely outrageous and over the top. Everything is used from chainsaws, ice picks, toilet bowl parts, bathtubs along with electric appliances, etc. The end could be considered somewhat comedic, although predictable. Not many movies aren't predictable anymore.

The movie was not bad. In fact, I'd recommend it if you have nothing to do. Plus, I liked how the entire movie only had the two women in it. As stated earlier, I just misunderstood what I was about to see. After reading up on it and realized the "contest" between the two directors, it has stirred my curiosity to see the other movie,which I believe is called Aragami. Very interesting. 6/10

In essence this is a very simplistic and minimalistic movie. It's entirely set inside one apartment and only 2 actresses can be seen on screen. Also the story in its core is very simple and straight-forward but very well- and effectively executed.

The story plays out wonderfully. It's about two young aspiring actresses, who share an apartment and are both in the race for the same role. They clearly don't like each other very much to begin with but they are friendly to each other, since they realize they have to simply put up with each other and make the best of it. They are often tiny annoyances between the two, which should be very recognizable for those who once shared an apartment with another person. However things soon start to escalate more and more between the two.

Because of the extremeness and over-the-top aspects of the movie and its story, you could also really take this movie a comedy. Not that it will make you laugh out loud but the way it's build up and plays out really reminds you of the structure of a comedy. It makes this a very entertaining and pleasant movie to watch.

It's besides well shot by Yukihiko Tsutsumi. You have to remember that the entire movie is set in just one apartment but yet the director manages to never make any of the scene's look alike and the movie also never starts to repeat itself. Granted, that this is also partly due to its very short running time (70 minutes).

A great, short, enjoyable movie to spend some time on.

8/10

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1st watched 7/11/2006, 7 out of 10(Dir-Yukihiko Tsutsumi): Creepy, yet entertaining chicks taking jealousy to the extreme flick. What this movie is, is a no-holds barred representation of what would happen if two women were filled with jealousy and hatred towards one another and had no conscience whatsoever to keep them from going to extreme measures to put the other away permanently. It starts off slowly as the characters are introduced 1 by 1 after returning home from their respective acting auditions for the same role for an upcoming coveted movie. They share an apartment that consists of 2 Bedrooms, A living room, A dining room and a kitchen; thus the title, 2LDK. We're initially tricked into thinking that the horror aspect of the movie is going to come from outside sources instead of from within. We are then shown thru the character's thoughts that anger is heating up quickly and builds to an overflowing point that never lets go until the end of the movie. At times, the extreme violence tends to pull you away from the screen but the director(Yukihiko Tsutsumi) then promptly grabs you back in as if he knows how you're going to react. This Japanese movie goes places deep within the hearts of characters that Hollywood only barely scratches at the surface. Many times in American movies it's turned into a blood-and-guts fest only without any probing into the characters. This movie is much more than that and for this reason it's a pleasurable(kind of) viewing experience if you can last thru to the very end, despite the graphic violence.