Rubber's Lover

Really I can appreciate an artistic movie, especially if its Japanese but it still needs to serve a clear purpose or point all in order for me to fully appreciate and enjoy.

And no, "Rubber's Lover" doesn't really seem to have a clear point about what it is trying to do or say. It's like a psychedelic trip, that isn't even necessarily surreal. It doesn't really feature a clear storyline in it and I won't pretend as if I understood everything about this movie. Honestly, more than half of the time I had no idea what I was watching and what was going on all.

But this is OK really. I can also like and enjoy a movie for other reasons, when it's trying to be more of an artistic one. And from an artistic viewpoint this movie does definitely has its qualities. But still I can only take so much of it. Turning this into an 90 minutes just probably wasn't a very good idea, since the movie is just not an easy one to watch and follow. I'm sure I would had really liked this movie so much better if it got done as an 30 minutes short.

But still I didn't regret watching this movie and it wasn't an horrible waste of time or anything like that. It still was a nice visual experience to have to go through. I'm actually fond of modern movies shot in black & white, like this movie was. The movie does feature some nice looking and interesting moments in it, which makes it obvious that director Shozin Fukui felt at ease with the material and really knew what he was doing. I only wish I could understand as well though.

Obviously not a movie for just everyone.

6/10

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Scientists use a brain-altering drug to conduct experiments, after one such project goes astray, they need to find another test subject in this Japanese splatter-punk film. On it's surface Rubber's Lover can be compared to Tetsuo: the Iron Man (shot in black and white, weird, kinetic, and machine driven), but it's different enough to stand on it's own merits, even if it's not nearly as good as the aforementioned film. Good for a viewing or two, but it's not one of the films that you'll return to over and over again. Still for an obviously low-budget film it IS entertaining.

My Grade: C+

DVD Extras: "Gerorisuto" short film; Interview with Shozin Fukui; Photo gallery; Theatrical Trailer; Trailers for "Electric Dragon 80000V", and "Junk"

Surprising result. Such a surprising result. Such a surprising result. Such a surprising result.

If Rubber's Lover was meant to be understood and fully appreciated, It fell short. I was intrigued by the camera angles, technological props, and trying to find the storyline. This cyberpunk, art house, music video type spectacle, tired me out and seemed a lot longer than the posted 91 minutes. After considerable attempts to understand this movie, I surrendered. If I was at the theater, I would have left early. This movie brings up memories of David Lynch's Eraserhead and Croenenberg's Scanners. If this was a film school assignment in which the assignment was to make the weirdest movie you can think up, this was probably the winner. Not my thing, maybe yours.

Rubber's lover is Fukui's second movie, a prequel to Pinnochio 964. The plot (from what I can gather from reading other reviews and summaries of the movie off the internet as well as my visual interpretation of the movie since I don't speak Japanese and my copy isn't subtitled) concerns a group of scientists working to unleash the psychic potential of human beings. For some reason this involves injecting them repeatedly with a drug dispensed by a huge cannonlike needle, and then strapping a device to their heads similar to a VR helmet. The company they work for decides the project is a loss and sends a secretary to tell them the news of the project's shutdown. The poor scientists react rather badly to the news, and in a desperate attempt to make a final breakthrough, subject one of their own ranks to the drug and device. He responds well so they put him in an isolating rubber suit that deprives him of all sensory input but that which is governed by the experiment. The results are succesful and much mayhem ensues. Thus begins Rubber's Lover.

Shot in black and white, primarily in one location, this is a perfect example of low or no budget but high concept film making. A feeling of isolation permeates thoughout, perfectly controlled by the director's choice of angles and locations. The outdated technology the scientists are using isolates the movie from any specific date in time. The character's reactions to the events happening around them only amplify the feeling of isolation. The effects are gruesome, the editing is kinetic, the story is bizarre. Fans of Tetsuo: The Iron Man will love it as both can easily be compared at the most shallow levels. It is, however, an amazing film that stands on it's own strange island in cyberspace, far removed from Tsukamoto's film. Highly recommended, not for the squeamish.