Atavisten

I love Masaki Kobayashi's movie Harakiri, I really do. What that movie has that this one doesn't I'm not sure. But what this has an abundance of is over stylization.

The backdrops here are painted in a grand style, the actors have a lot of makeup and act super-theatrically. Not that I don't enjoy theater, it's just that this is over the top.

And somehow this detracts from setting a mood for me. I did not feel scared once, nor felt drawn into the storyline. And it's not even very aesthetically minded however subjective that may be.

Lafcadio Hearn was important in bringing Japanese culture to Europe, now however there are better options.

This is something of a mixed movie, it's a fictionalized documentary or maybe the other way around? I don't grasp how this movie came into being, but for sure it's a beautiful moment in movie history. A guy is impersonating famous Iranian movie director Mohsen Makmalbaf when given a chance to do so on a bus-ride. He plays the game too far though and ends up in court suspected for fraud. This is based on a real story and Abbas Kiarostami got unto this quite early on.

The strength here is the way you get to sympathize with the impersonator given his background, lack of future prospects and general innocence. Besides his crime is very minor.

Mr. Badii is ready to die, his grave is dug out and he just takes one last trip around with his car. The people he meets gives him some perspectives on the value of life, or lack thereof.

Abbas Kiarostami is a master, and this is the best movie I have seen from him so far. It is poetic and harsh at the same time, which is a fine balance.

Truly this must be one of the best movies from the nineties, I will not attempt at a ranking, but inventive cinema like this has few competitors.

Ershani does a very fine role with his Mr. Badii indeed.