Doragon heddo

Having watched a huge panorama of movies already, i was pleased to see Dragonhead. It is an Easter-Asian movie, and i decided to watch quite a few others after this one.

The special effects are just good, sometimes really good. It is a good approach to such a movie too, because you start to think it's a nuclear disaster at the beginning, and then you find out it's actually something a bit worse than that, when the crust of the earth moves, the Earth's balance shifts. That's true, but especially when the magnetic field gets messed up, our apocalypse will come, or rather will rain down on us without holding back the tears of destruction.

When you have a volcano popping up not far from you, and throwing up huge magma bricks at you, that is not nice, i wasn't surprised the humans, well at least the Japanese lost the will to fight for life. But then again, some people have to believe in the future, because there is always a future, no matter how grim things look like.

I put 10/10 for Dragonhead, because of its realism, Apocalypse is not about happiness, it is boring, and everyone just needs to find the will to fight on, against all odds. If you like something a bit different than big blockbusters, then this movie is so for you, because in Asia they approach everything from an objective point of view, that is what makes their quality.

Yes, the two leads are rather dull and the complete breakdown of society in about 48 hours, while explained by a few throwaway lines of dialog is a little hard to swallow. Still, Dragon Head is a success. A story where 2 high school kids emerge from what they think was an underground train wreck to find a natural disaster has decimated the entire countryside. Their immediate goal is to get to their homes in Tokyo. Along the way, the encounter the dregs of what remains of the populace, escaping death several times. The two youngsters also learn, that despite losing everything, in this new world, having each other is their most important possession. The ending is anti-climatic, but thanks to some nice special effects and upbeat music leaves off on a hopeful, if not positive note.

I really liked this movie. It is a "catastrophe" movie, even though it has nothing to do with the typical western idea of such a happening. It does not indulge in the process of reversing the trauma, it rather centers it's plot on surviving the drama. The characters are not typical western heroes, willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the collective. They are merely humans trying to survive in a world suddenly so different and hostile. It covers the bonds between the survivors, the human will to live, and the human will to just let go. An excellent movie, with some forms of dialogue typical for Japanese movies, and fond of human relations. It has great effects, but it's not a Hoolywood blockbuster movie with stupid plot. The disaster is just described, some ideas are given, but there is not detailed description of what happened. And there is no turning back.

What is really disappointing about this movie is that the art direction is so fantastic, it makes the inane acting so upsetting to watch. Seriously, 3/4 of this movie focuses on the main character stumbling around, falling down, and then waddling around on the ground like an invalid. None of the characters act at all rational, and yet they are all surrounded by amazing sets and brilliantly realized visions of the apocalypse. If only the director could have things move faster, or have people stop falling over. I thought to myself, "if I took a drink every time someone falls down to the ground, I'd be dead." It might make a fun time at a party of with some friends, but if you're looking to enjoy a good movie, I would skip out on this tumbling mess.

There have been great Japanese disaster films like Submersion of Japan, and dreadful ones like Earthquake 7.9. This film falls between the best and worst in the good range.

A teenage boy wakes up on a train. He remembers traveling with his class somewhere when something happened, something terrible of which he is one of the few survivors. The first 40 minutes are set in a collapsed train tunnel where the survivors try to come to terms with their situation, both in the tunnel and in their heads. Its an odd way to start a film, but it works since it allows things to be set up and expectations to be dismantled.

After the 40 minutes the movie moves outside as the survivors struggle to travel across what is now a truly alien earth. What happened is not clear at least at first, but it was big and powerful and not over.

For the most part this film works in spades. Visually this film has set the bar to new end of the world films, and I can only imagine what a live action version of the manga and anime classic Akira would look like in the hands of these film makers. The acting is mostly fine with several eerie performances by several of the supporting cast. I also love the fact that this film is dealing with more than just destruction. There are ideas being battered about, as with the strange pair of kids who's father has removed that part of their brain that allows them to fear. Its trippy and creepy at the same time.

Unfortunately the film also has two serious, but not fatal problems. The first the film occasionally moves into cliché a couple of times, as in the crazed soldiers who hook up with our heroes. Why do we need this insanity, even if the film attempts to explain it? The other problem is the pacing is uneven. Sometimes sequences seem to go on a bit too long, while others are too speedy. It grated on this viewer and it felt longer than two hours. As I said its not fatal, but it is annoying because the film as a whole deserves better.

I liked this, especially its sense of the new world. 7 out of 10. See it if you get the chance.