Nain sôruzu

I didn't find this movie very appealing or interesting. It's kind of bizarre and crazy in a David Lynch meets Tarrantino type of way, but there is no tension, it just meanders along. Also none of the characters, nine prison escapees, is really relatable or makes you want stick around. In one word, it's boring.

This 2002 Japanese film is the third feature film showcased in the inaugural Singapore Fantastic Film Festival (The first two being Kontroll and Immortel, which I should be able to watch by the end of the fest).

9 Souls is at times a complex movie, and at times one which has a simple tale to tell. It blurs and crosses the line so often, it makes it difficult to try and classify its genre - part gore, part comedy, part social commentary.

The title refers to 9 prisoners, who are introduced in more detail during their escape from prison (in a very creative introduction by the way), ranging from murderers to a porn king, from a juvenile delinquent to a vertically challenged escape artist. It turns into part comedy once they escape, and have to find the means and substinence to help keep themselves alive in a strange new world.

Prior to their escape, their world is their prison cell, rudely interrupted by a tenth crazed prisoner, a counterfeit king who leaks out the secret to the whereabouts of his stash. With this bit of information, they embark on a quest to recover this lost promise of treasure before going their separate ways.

Which forms the second half of the movie. Throughout the first half, we are exposed to the dreams and hopes of these escape convicts. Being locked up for some time, they each have a secret desire to either reunite with their loved one, or have plans to live a better life. At some point, you will ponder if it was wise of them to each seek their dream, knowing its dire consequences, or would rather choose to stick together in their new found family.

Thoughts on second chances in life also crosses your mind, if these serious crime offenders deserve another break in life, or are forever condemned in the eyes of society for their one moment of folly which has kept them locked up.

The pacing of the film is at times choppy, and you'd have scenes that come out of the blue (like cross-dressing as a disguise). I heard quite a number of people around me give the "hmm... where did that come from" comment.

The soundtrack is kept simple, to a constantly played guitar tune, which in scenes of peace are kept soft, and in scenes of angst, being played to a crescendo. I find this effective in conveying emotions in the film, without the need of a bloated soundtrack.

Rated R21 here for its subject content and scenes of gore which is not really shown on screen, this film is recommended for those who seek a different film offering, which is what this film fest is striving to achieve.

This is well made with some fine cinematography and considering it is a two hour film really does keep moving along. Unfortunately we are not really going anywhere and although presumably this is supposedly part comedy part tragedy, the comic moments probably appeal more to a local audience and as for the tragic side, because this comes in the second half it will only work if your sympathies are with the characters. Mine weren't, the whole notion of nine escapees sticking together seemed daft and there was too much laughing at fat or shy people and generally too much pissing about - literally! So well put together, however, that even if the story is not fully engaging there is enough charm here to at least persist till the end.

Here is another great film critics will love. The problem is that it is not a very good movie.

The films premise is simple. Nine convicts escape a prison after the tenth one goes crazy and tells them where the treasure is.

The first half has a lot of slapstick some of it very broad while the second half is a character driven descent into fantasy and melancholy.

The two halves simply don't mix. Individual scenes do work very well (The guys crashing a friends house who has a new Filipino bride is hilarious While a later scene with the big guy working in the restaurant tugs at the heartstrings.) They simply don't mesh with each other.

The movie as well is missing entire set-ups. One scene shows the guys desperately looking for change under a deserted vending machine to buy a snack. The very next scene has the whole crew in drag sitting down in a restaurant. Where did they get the dresses and wigs? (The crew includes both the big guy and a midget) How did they get all the clothes and money to buy the meal? And most puzzling is why are they in drag? They are clearly guys in drag and lets face it is there anything more memorable to witnesses than a big guy and a dwarf eating a meal dressed as women? I mention the big guy and the dwarf because besides the old guy everyone else seems to blend into each other. (In fact they wear matching white jumpsuits throughout most of the movie) The movie has very little character development in the first half and as a result the second half really lacks an emotional punch. As we are often trying to figure out who is who in their individual payoff scenes.

Speaking of a drag the second half has all those wonderful sweeping camera shots and big emotional moments and great symbolism that makes a great film. It is also excruciatingly slow which makes for a boring movie.

9 Souls is a big disappointment, the reviews gush about a great film and it's in there somewhere, good luck finding it yourself.

There were a few disturbing scenes in this movie. One early in the beginning, and most in the later parts. I'm the type of movie viewer that goes out of my way to avoid violence and gore, and I didn't see this one coming from the description and being that it is billed as a comedy.

But having said all that, I found it to be an interesting look into Japanese life that we never see including scenes of run down neighborhoods and poverty. Also the way the gang communicated to each other goes against everything we were taught or shown about Japanese culture.

I think it's a good movie. The gore and the one disturbing scene was totally unnecessary in my eyes. If that had been omitted, I would probably have given this a rating of 8 or 9.