Tomie

I wonder about the Japanese sometimes. What motivates them to make a movie? In the case of this one, it appears they just wanted to have Tomie look like Sadako, the nice ghost from Ring. I really can't see any other reason for this movie to exist. It's just that good.

It starts with Tsukiko undergoing hypnotherapy to help recover her memories prior to a traumatic accident. What she has conveniently forgotten is that this accident was actually her witnessing the murder of a classmate named Tomie at the hands of her then-boyfriend. Turns out this isn't the first time this has happened to Tomie. In fact, she (or parts of her) has just moved in to the apartment below Tsukiko, gearing up for a little bit of payback.

Sound interesting? It isn't. It's a good idea: a perpetual murder victim who always comes back to settle the score. But this movie is so poorly directed and written that the story gets overcome by boredom. The filmmakers have even gone so far as to almost make the movie confusing beyond comprehension by inserting an ending that raises more questions than it answers (that and poor subtitling confused the hell out of me). Really not worth the time to watch, plus however long it takes you to figure out what's going on. Avoidable.

Based on a manga, and spawning four sequels, this film is about a young lady named Tsukiko (Ms. Nakamura) who has enlisted the help of a psychiatrist (Ms. Doguchi)to try to remember the events of 3 years before, described as an "accident". You find that a fellow schoolgirl named Tomie (Ms. Kanno) was killed, but no one can find the body..because she won't die. This film is more psychological drama than horror film. In the apartment below Tsukiko lives a male student who seems to be raising some mutant strain of something in a box. Is this Tomie re-incarnated? The film moves slowly, and even drags a little at times, but for fans of the manga it is essential viewing. A much better film than it has to be, its watchable. All 5 films are available in a box set. For this film, the concept is intriguing if not wholly essential.

I really enjoy this film. I've watched it twice - trying desperately to figure out what the hell happened at the end, but to no avail. Strangely though, I still find myself in love with it. I think it had has a great deal to do with Miho Kanno's performance. And also the mood. And that's what it is: a mood movie. I can excuse the plot. I think I'd rather be confused by a plot than have a badly filmed, acted and directed movie. It's kind of artsy to me. If you're looking for a horror movie that makes perfect sense, and will make you say, 'wow, that's clever!' go home. But if you're in a strange mood, and it needs feedin', go for it!

Hmm. I mean, aesthetically, it's pretty great. It looks good for something that's going for a grounded and low-key sort of visual thing. It's not quite digital horror, but it scratches the same sort of itch that other Japanese horror films from around this time definable as such do.

I also watched it right after a movie where the music was the worst part (The Place Promised in Our Early Days), so it's nice that the best part of Tomie was the music. I'd almost be surprised if the main theme didn't inspire the title track from Radiohead's Kid A; that song sounds so similar, and came out after this movie.

Unfortunately, it's also a mess narratively. I wasn't a huge fan of Junji Ito's Spiral when I read it last year, and Tomie gives me the impression his stuff is inferior still in the format of a film.

From the opening credits, I was hooked. There's a strange static and distorted voice over the black screen with simple white titles. Then we're taken to a noisy city street where a young man is digging through a white paper bag. Within a few seconds, what should be horrifying segues into one of the most beautiful moments of stillness I have ever seen in a film, Asian or otherwise. The music is at once haunting and peaceful. It's like those moments in a Miyazaki film that are so peaceful, with a tinge of Dario Argento's Goblin soundtrack.

It is very hard to find a decent review of this movie. The one positive review I found gave away the entire plot. It's one of those movies that is so metaphor-laden, it makes absolutely no sense if you just watch the images and hear the sounds. Still pretty amazing, but I don't think it would keep someone's attention if they weren't thinking while viewing. There is a lot more going on here than just a few murders.

Like many (too many?) Japanese movies, there is a lot left unsaid. Characters with strange quirks are introduced, and it never explains why they have those quirks. Transitions from one scene to the next sometimes feel awkward. It sometimes feels like you're reading a book by a first-time author, as it is not clear why some scenes are even included. This is not a polished high-quality cinematography type film either...not up to the standards of Ringu or Dark Water. It lies somewhere between the blockbusters and Evil Dead Trap.

Even as I make those criticisms, I could only bring myself to take one smoke break. As much as Tomie may look like Sadako (and every other female ghost), this is a truly engaging film that still has me thinking 24 hours after viewing it.