Antena

I happened onto this movie by chance(they aired it at 10pm on TV where I am), but after having seen it, I feel that little bit wiser.

The story follows Yuichiro Ogiwara(Played by Ryo Kase of Honey & Clover(live action) fame), a philosophy student living alone but after some ramifications he ends up living with his mother and younger brother. The Story takes place both in the past and present, Yuichiro is having troubles living at home, its brings back bad memories, so he seeks refuge in self mutilation and pain, and to assist him he decides to see a dominatrix recommended to him by a female friend.

Antena is about people, because it is very much a movie on philosophy, very moving movie, at times it seemed forced, and there were a few unnecessary scenes, or perhaps I didn't quite understand the significances of it.

I really don't wanna give to much away, the story is very delicately woven, and believe me, its to easy to play the guessing game in this movie but play all you want it will probably not be quite what you expected, all I have to say is, peel the damn orange before you try and eat the fruit.

One of the earliest works by director in focus Kumakiri Kazuyoshi for this season's Japanese Film Festival, Antenna probably benefited from its R21 rating to draw in a sell out crowd this afternoon, with the director in attendance to introduce the film, which he described as strange - so who would have thought it really was that literal, with its narrative firmly focused on a dysfunctional family still reeling from the effects of a mysterious disappearance of Marie, the sister of Yuichiro (Ryo Kase) the protagonist from whom we follow through in his therapy, some many years ago.

As it was revealed during the Q&A session that the story was adapted from a science fiction novel, I suppose that would have explained some of the rather abstract elements in the film, such as the titular antenna, or antennae that got featured in the story, ranging from gigantic actual hardware, to figurative ones such as Yuichiro's younger brother Yuya (Daisuke Kizaki), who constantly enters a fit when his imaginary antenna which he describes as feelers, would go into overdrive twitching. But with other elements such as a cross-dressing child, an S&M service provider, and sins from the past all get thrown into the mix, Antenna turned out to be quite ambitious, if only its intended signals to be fine tuned properly would this turn out to have provided a better payload with regards to theme of struggling with loss in very personal fashion.

The bulk of the tale follows Yuichiro's intent to engage in S&M in order to, based on the context of his research, go into alternative therapy to deal with a loss and a secret buried so deep that he needed help to unlock his subconscious. It's this alternative method that earned the film its rating, what with self mutilation with unflinching cutting of the flesh using cheap box cutters, which to some serves as a way to feel alive, and the constant self-gratification under the guidance, or instruction and order if you will, of Naomi (Akemi Kobayashi), whom Yuichiro engages the services of. It's frankly quite bizarre, especially when there's voyeurism, shock therapy, and in events on other characters such as hangings and illicit sexual relationships, that will probably earn Kumakiri a reputation as a shock jock, if this would be the only film you've watched from his filmography.

The story and continuity got choppy with its liberal use of flashbacks, and in the later part of the film, dream fantasy sequences that also introduced that of collective dreams, that made this one really trippy ride that blurs the line between fantasy and reality, yet leaving things quite unresolved if you're looking for firm answers to the predicament of the characters. Yes the obstacles get overcome to a certain degree, but One will hardly find reason to care for their loss nor celebrate in their victories since pathos did not get firmly established, and this becomes an exercise to get from start to end in the most meandering fashion possible.

Hopefully the other films slated would be a little bit more palatable, and offer a lot more to an audience, than this misfire.

A traumatic childhood involving the disappearance of his little sister transforms a man into a sexually repressed masochist. The most striking aspect of "Antenna" is its relentless exhibition of deep psychological torment. This film goes to some really dark places and the lead character is one of the most suffocated, severely disturbed individuals to ever grace the screen. He expresses his anguish by avoiding healthy relationships, engaging in acts of self-mutilation, and meeting a dominatrix. All of these elements are showcased in their full, liberated forms (viewer beware of some rather explicit sexual content) but the film never feels gratuitous or exploitative because the characters and themes are expertly developed from start to finish. The sessions with the dominatrix (who is both sexy and intelligent) are used as an extreme form of psychiatry, and one extended sequence during the latter half represents one of the most amazing exhibitions of gut-wretching psychological torment to ever grace celluloid. This film is worth seeking out for that scene alone. It makes the cry scene in "Good Will Hunting" (1997) look like a grammar school play.

Like many films from Japan, "Antenna" uses a fragmented storyline that demands an attention to detail as well as some deliberation by the viewer to piece things together. (After the opening half hour it shifts to a more lateral, straightforward narrative that's much easier to follow.) At first it's unclear as to what exactly caused the protagonist's serious mental condition, but a combination of flashbacks and dialogue help to properly develop the catalysts so that the viewer fully understands the hows and whys. In addition, the relationship between the other two living family members (the mother and the younger brother) superbly complements the main theme.

This is yet another fantastic example of how the Japanese can use sado-masochistic elements in mature, non-clichéd ways (i.e., no rubber suits or whips) to provide a very strong, interesting psychological study. In some aspects this film reminded me of the coming-of-age S&M film "Moonlight Whispers" (1999), but with even more intensity at its peak moment. Over the past few years I've become extremely impressed at how sex and violence can be used advantageously and artistically to develop characters and provide unique cinematic experiences.

"Antenna" comes strongly recommended, along with other edgy dramatic fare such as "Moonlight Whispers", "Vibrator" (2003), "Shoujyo: An Adolescent" (2001), "Tokyo Fist" (1995), "Strange Circus" (2005), "Harmful Insect" (2001), "Neighbor No. 13" (2005), and others.