Party 7

There are many very strange films coming out of Japan over the past few years and they are slowly making their way to the United States. Party 7 has two actors who later appear in the better known "Survive Style 5".

The plot is very simple; a stupid criminal tries to hide in an out of the way motel with the mob money he stole. Several people, an ex-girlfriend, her new fiancé and the criminal's partner in crime, manage to find him and confront him in his motel room. These confrontations are observed through a one-way mirror/painting by the owner of the motel, in his Captain Banana suit, and the son of his recently deceased best friend. There are also two strange motel employees involved and a yakuza boss in flashbacks. And a twitchy travel agent.

There are about 5 sets in the film total, it's almost like watching a play. The whole film is based on the characters' interactions as opposed to visual action. While there is lots of action in the crazy animated title sequence which was done by Peter Chung of Aeon Flux fame, it calms down a lot for most of the movie. Great art direction and photography, droll script and very good acting.

Recommended.

When it comes to boundary-pushing off the wall cinema, Japan is the world's undisputed leader. Party 7 is one of the most bizarre, creative and hilarious films I've seen in a very long time. Set almost entirely in a hotel room with adjoining peep-suite, the film thrusts together an ensemble of quirky characters and feeds them a non-stop supply of bizarre, perverse and highly amusing dialogue. The plot is almost non-existent, yet manages to be clever and surprising, and the delivery is perfect. You haven't seen anything like it, and you're either going to love it or hate it... it's as simple as that.

Me, I loved every little bit of it!

(And yes, Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl is a great film as well)

Party up @ Hotel Mexico for a mixer of mayhem, tangential dialogue, and bizarre circumstances starting right from the courtesy desk!

Socially maladjusted Okita, played to an eccentric point by the wonderfully gifted Tadanobu Asano, shows us fits of joy, sadness, and paranoia. Asano playing Okita, no matter how odd he is, successfully brings out his human factor. Also, there are unwanted guests, lies uncovered, shady bellhops, windows peered, stylized camera shots, a wacky hotel staff, and a very costumed eccentrics I've ever seen. Party 7 makes you laugh and in an unconventional way. If you like a variety in your film buffet, come down to Hotel New Mexico. Kana (AkEMI-KuN!) makes it all worthwhile!

Today I acquired the "Party7 - Perfect Edition" DVD, released by Tohokushinsha Film, on their Best Selection brand. Initially the DVD caught my eye because of the beautiful girl on the cover (the gorgeous Akemi Kobayashi), but then I saw that it was another film by Katsuhiro Ishii, so I had to get it. For any of you who aren't aware of his work, you can look here (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411002/); his film Sharkskin Man and Peachhip Girl is classic, and you all know of The Taste of Tea.

So about the film. On the cover, there is the aforementioned, "beautiful girl" (in a silver bikini top, and red black and white flame print leather. or are they PVC, hotpants, mind you! :D). Under the film's title, it says "Perfect Edition", and I am not sure why exactly. I wonder if it is not just some "english" garnering on top, but it's probably because there is an adventure game that enables you to view trailers, sketches and other extras, on the disc.

I have already mentioned the heartbreakingly cute Akemi Kobayashi, but the film also stars Masatoshi Nagase, Keisuke Horibe, Yoshinori Okada, Tadanobu Asano, Yoshio Harada, and Tatsuya Gashuin: seven characters, hence Party7. All of them are larger than life, and some are truly bizarre and would be perfect in an anime or comic. In this film, all of the characters are at least a little strange, but I think that that is the point, and if you have already seen SM&PG you know what to expect.

The film jumps back and forth between 2 major story-strands, and some auxiliary ones, but it primarily centers around Nagase's character Miki, and the hotel room he is hiding in. With very similar premise to Ishii's previous work Sharkskin Man and Peachhip Girl, he has stolen crime syndicate money, and is on the run. However, Party7 is by no means a re-run of old ideas. There is so much more in this film that differentiates it from that, and any other film .. of any genre: This movie is very weird. Delightfully strange in fact. From the stylishly animated opening, to the creative design and editing throughout the film, to the enigmatic peeping-tom superhero, Captain Banana; this film is rarely predictable.

Captain Banana? Oh yeah, I jumped head a bit ... this film has a few story-strands that interweave and cross over each other. The story centers on Miki, who is hiding out with the stolen money, in Hotel New Mexico, when an old girlfriend, Kana (the pants stretchingly delicious Akemi Kobayashi) comes looking for him, looking to clear some debts. At the same time, a hit-man (Horibe) is sent by the Syndicate Boss, to find and kill Miki. In the background to all this, a serial peeping-tom, Okita (Asano) is released from prison, and visits his dying father in hospital. On his deathbed, he tells Okita of a secret room in a hotel: a room from where he can spy on the guests. Upon sneaking into this room through a vent, Okita finds himself faced with the PVC clad, helmeted, Captain Banana (Harada) - the master of this high-tech and comfortable Peeping-Room. Together they spy on the adjacent room, occupied by Miki, and the story unfolds.

I can't say too much about the plot though, because, though simple, so much of it is a surprise. It is really supported by the fantastic dialogue, and I am sure many mainstream movie-goers have already compared it Tarantino's work, but they would be denying this film maker his credit. The conversations are hilarious, ranging from amusing squabbles, to some perverse re-countings of peeping-tom adventures. As is the style of the director, the viewer often arrives in the middle of a conversation, and has to work backwards to find out the topic. It's really well done, and very involving.

Party 7 is a unique, and engrossing film, that has, at its heart a very simple story. However, it's the organs and limbs around that heart that make it truly fantastic. I didn't find it to be as special as SM&PH, but that film is a hard one to top, and maybe it is Party 7's simplicity that holds it back a little. This kind of surreal and twisted film-making is perfect for after-showing conversations with friends (over beer of course, or Pepsi for you youngsters .. hey you can't watch this anyway!:P ), and there is definitely much to puzzle over.

Don't get me wrong though, there is much more to this film than it being an oddity. It is its oddness that makes it so good. There are not many films out there like this, and if you haven't seen this, you are doing your brain an injustice!

wow...i was looking for a Japanese film that was the perfect cross between 'Mystery Men' and 'Mystery Train'. the cinematography is exceptional, very isolated and claustrophobic.....you really get no sense of an outside world until near the end. Mystery Train' had to be a huge influence on this movie. the animation was maybe the only distraction for me...the ending, not to give it away, was perfect.