Organ

I just watched this movie last night, and I didn't understand it until I read the Mondo Macabro entry on it by Pete Tombs, and some of the reviews here (evidently, I'm not alone in thinking this film loses power by sacrificing narrative clarity for thematic integrity). The fact that the film is low budget and shot in 16mm (somewhat grainy; it would be great to see a Blu-Ray version with better subtitles) adds to the viewer's frustration. Still, Kei Fujiwara has undoubtedly created a nightmarish alternate universe and managed to get it on film which is at least worth five stars.

Organ is really more of an avant garde art film than straight horror, but then again, if you watch a lot of Japanese horror, you've probably noticed that this island culture takes the genre more seriously than in the west (which tends to see it as a more exploitive, money-making, freshman-director type genre). I can't say I enjoyed watching Organ much, but I do respect the director's unflinching vision and daring in bringing such a brutally dark tale to fruition.

If you want to see a bizarre film then you can't do any worse than this quickie from japan, this film resembles the likes of Brain Damage and Videodrome. The music will stick in your head long after the film has finished.

If you are seeking the japaneese David Lynch then look no further than the director of Organ

okay, I'm not going to even try to explain the plot of this unique film... instead i will say that "Organ" can honestly be considered one of the strangest, yet also most beautifully crafted, movies that i have ever had the pleasure of setting eyes on. Some will say that the director was just trying to use the back-story as an excuse to showcase graphic violence and gore in an attempt to gross-out and shock the viewer... but this is the furthest thing that i can conceive as being possible. Yes it is extremely graphic in it's depiction of the twisted inner-workings of the human soul, but the gist of the fact is that the director was trying to depict (or at least in my interpretation...) just that... that humans can be sick and perverse... even those who have been deemed to be social leaders. Granted, the first time you view this film, you may get lost. Between all the blood, violence, and distorted dream-like imagery you are sure to become at least a little confused (especially those of us who do not speak Japanese and are held captives to the subtitles). But upon subsequent viewings, i believe you will find that the story represents a masterful vision of the contrast of the conflicting sides of human personalities... even those of us who are trying to do good are not always saints... every man has his own dark side to him. Just please give this film a chance, and try not to be intimidated by the subject matter within. Instead, just allow yourself to take in all of the sights, sounds, images, and metaphors that are rooted so firmly in this film... and try not be overwhelmed... no matter how hard that may be... and i think you will find "Organ" to be as engrossing as I did.

The premise catches one's eye, certainly, promising all the blood and gore a fan of horror cinema could want. But it was reading about the production that piqued my interest. It's one matter to note the experience Fujiwara Kei boasts in her career, both in her collaborations with Tsukamoto Shinya and elsewhere. It's another matter to learn of the extremely low budget; the personal involvement of the cast to also serve as crew members while effectively funding the endeavor themselves; the sets and materials that were quite literally cobbled together; and the apparent necessitated frugality of shooting only one take for any given scene so as to conserve film stock. Some terrific movies have been made with little more than earnest care and hard work, and the nitty gritty of this project is endearing, and even kind of inspiring. I admit that without particularly thinking about it I formed high expectations on the basis of these factors; 'Organ' seemed to be primed for a good time.

I'm therefore sad to say that my expectations have been only party met, a mixed success, and I'm a little disappointed. I really do admire the effort that all involved poured into this flick, and they are to be roundly commended for their contributions, including committed acting. Nasa Kenji's music is applied somewhat unevenly, but the synth-driven themes are nonetheless a treat for the ears, lending to the dark aura about the proceedings. The production design and art direction are splendid, being drab and dreary and full of detail, and in my opinion they never betray their humble origins. The costume design, hair, and makeup are sharp. Sometimes Fujiwara's direction or cinematography are particularly striking. There really are some swell ideas on hand. And there's certainly no mistaking that the blood, gore, special makeup, and otherwise practical effects are excellent, and decidedly nasty; it's evident how much attention went into this foremost attraction of the picture, and all involved turned in fine work to being the seedy tableau to bear in the most vividly disgusting manner.

Unfortunately, not everything in this feature received the same degree of focus. While some examples are great, at other points I'm distinctly unimpressed with how this was shot, and at some points the direction and cinematography come off as sloppy. Nasa's music is appreciable, but his editing is surely less so, and some of the sequencing plainly raises a skeptical eyebrow as it dubiously chops up the proceedings. And for as strong as the effects are, the narrative that sets the stage for them is simply a mess. There are good ideas, yes, but from the very start the storytelling is wildly incohesive, and almost incoherent. 'Organ' is so-so about identifying its characters, and the scene writing struggles to cogently convey the beats and underlying notions that one would suppose should advance and enrich the story. Under all these circumstances the plot development is desperately scattered, and all we can hope for in terms of a narrative is not concrete information, but broad vibes imparting a very loose idea of the course of events. I can tell you some of what happens throughout the runtime, but that's in no small part thanks to the outside context of a synopsis that someone else wrote. This title is not an abstruse mind-bender; it should not be necessary to trust in someone else's description to help discern what is transpiring.

It's hardly that the film is outright bad. It doesn't quite seem right to criticize it for being generally unpolished, either, because that's just the nature of how it was made. Yet there's no question that for all the skill, intelligence, and passion that genuinely went into the production, the least of it all went into the writing, and in turn to ensuring that the plot was meaningfully established in execution. Granted, on the one hand one could argue that plot isn't specifically integral to a flick about murder and illicit organ trade; on the other hand, Fujiwara obviously meant for this to have solid storytelling as an anchor for the gruesome madness, and that is absolutely not what happened here. If all you want out of genre fare is crimson and viscera, you'll get what you came for, but it's apparent enough that on account of her own shortcomings as writer and director Fujiwara's vision fails to fully crystallize, and as far as I'm concerned the violence and ugliness in and of itself just isn't enough to compensate. I don't dislike 'Organ,' but it altogether comes up short in what it was meant to be, and any recommendation I might offer is only a very soft one tempered with caveats.

I'm astonished at some of the bad-reviews of this film--ignore them. If you love extreme cinema that explores the basis of the human-animal, you have found a home in the cinematic space-time continuum. Ostensibly, this is a Yakuza and detective film, with elements of film-noir and expressionism. It is not a purely genre film at-all, but an art-film with incredible complexity about what it is to be human. Fujiwara is best-known for her role in Tsukamoto Shinya's "Tetsuo: the Iron Man", and her relationship to his work shows here. The human-body is the battlefield, as well as the human-soul. Maybe it took an inspired woman to say this, and a Buddhist at-that. And in many-ways, this feels like a tale by Edgar Allan Poe! It has that feel to it, a very visceral, filth-covered psychology--what much real horror is. In-fact, I'd say it is on-par with Poe and his Japanese-analogue, "Edogawa Rampo" (a pen-name). This is a film I have watched several-times, and it always delivers a new-revelation. One-viewing is not enough to begin to understand it. If it is ugly, it is because life has ugliness. If it has beauty (it does), it is because life does.

There are roughly two narrative-paths in the film: first, the story of the outsider detective searching for his "dead" partner after their uncovering of a horrific black-market organ-smuggling ring run by Yakuza, and secondly, the story of the insiders of the ring, a brother-and-sister. The detective's-half reminded me strongly of Kurosawa's "Stray Dog" (aka "Nora Inu", 1949), and is probably a conscious-nod by Fujiwara. The brother has reanimated the lost-cop and is doing hellish experiments on him, while the sister--Yoko--runs the gang and fends-off the outside world. It's an interesting structure, which makes the film watchable numerous times, but the philosophical-themes of birth-and-death are even more rewarding. Yes, it is extremely low-budget, and shot in 16mm, but it is a well-executed film by a genuine maverick.

At the film's philosophical-center is the relationship with the surgeon-brother in the organ-ring, and the reanimated-cop. As grotesque as the half-dead cop appears, he is more human than the internally-diseased brother. In-fact, he is metaphor for the surgeon's remnants of humanity; Fujiwara makes it clear that the brother and sister were horribly-abused, the origin of their spiritual-decay and sadism. The reanimated-cop is hidden-away by the surgeon in a secret room, and they have an "internal-dialog." The other-half of the narrative is also very powerful, with the outsider detective's obsession with finding his partner taking a horrible-toll on his family. It seems that being a cop hasn't done him or his home any good--even before the body-snatching incident. Fujiwara paints life as-such: birth, mutilation at the hands of others, and finally, death. Sadly, this is the fate that awaits many human-beings in this inhuman era we inhabit. Out of this, one could surmise that Mrs. Fujiwara has a strong-ambivalence to motherhood. What is puzzling is why many women do not. This film is a contemporary-masterpiece. "Organ 2" has been completed, so expect more-of-the-same!

01.21.06 PS: It's hilarious how people don't get this incredible-film, but I believe it is still ahead-of-the-pack. American-audiences are used to a more linear-narrative structure, whereas audiences in Japan and Europe understand a film that is primarily thematic.