Yonimo kimyô na monogatari - Eiga no tokubetsu hen

I loved this film. Unlike most "Twilight Zone" movies which focus too heavily on spooky scares, this gives you the full buffet table. There are four shorts: (1) horror, (2) comedy, (3) psychological drama, (4) romance.

I read about this film on IMDb while researching the career of Momoru Hosi, who did the 3rd segment "Chess". Momuru Hosi is a talented new director who has only done one other movie, UNIVERSITY OF LAUGHS, which I recommend very highly. His contribution "Chess" is by far my favourite of the 4. It creates a very surreal atmosphere pleasing to the eye, and at the same time it tells a profound allegory of human life. Great musical score, too. This short alone is worth the price of admission.

The other 3 were also very well done with fine acting, creative plots and vivid cinematography. One thing I love about Japanese cinema is the vivid use of colours, perspective and graceful camera motion. (This is the opposite of American "reality TV" where everything is bleached and flat, and the camera operators seem to be on crack.)

In all, you've got quite a spectrum to choose from. But of course that means that if you're expecting only one genre, you'll be disappointed for the other 3/4. These 4 films were purposely selected to be as different from each other as possible, and that's exactly what you get.

I should also mention that there's a 5th short which is the "envelope" story through which the other 4 are told. This itself is not to be underestimated. You'll just love the storyteller (who is a cross between Rod Serling and a creepy yakuza), and his message, though brief, is a profound one in the end.

"Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari" (or however you subdivide the title) appears to be, from the cover art, another of those popular Japanese horror flicks, a la "Ringu", "Tomie", et al. Well, that's only about 25% right. Unfortunately, the creepy cover art initially led me to overlook this title, despite its comparison to one of my favourite vintage TV shows, Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone". Upon closer examination, however, I must admit the concept of "Keitai Chushingura" convinced me to purchase the DVD.

As detailed elsewhere, the movie consists of four short films tied together by a creepy guy (credited as "Tamori") in a bus station who tells stories to others stranded by a downpour. The first, "Yukiyama" is the horror entree, starring Yada Akiko ("Saimin", "Aishiteiru to Ittekure"), who does her best "Blair Witch Project" impression. Tense, a little confusing, but well done. I kept thinking of the Snow Demon in Kurosawa's "Dreams". "Keitai Chushingura" was initially my favourite, since it brought a hilarious twist to the time-honoured Bushido legend of the 47 Ronin of the Ako Clan. This time, Oishi is portrayed as a reluctant womanizing hero who has to be coerced into his historically relevant action by the promptings of a caller from 300 years in the future who's part of an "historical accuracy study" or something like that. Good stuff. "Chess" is a surreal, clever twist on the game which seems like it came right out of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". Finally "Kekkon Simulator" was a totally non-creepy, neat little romantic story featuring Inamori Izumi ("Long Vacation", "Hito Natsu no Propose", "Ashita ga Aru sa!"), which was touching without being excessively weepy. The only letdown was perhaps the final short monologue from Tamori-san, but it in no way detracted from a fine film. NOTE: As of 12/2001, I believe there are only Region 2 & 3 versions available on DVD, both of which have English subs.

This Japanese anthology is something of their own version of Twilight Zone; from its narrator to the way each story is presented.

A group of people find themselves stuck on a train station waiting for the heavy rainfall to stop. A mysterious stranger suddenly shows up and offers to tell them different stories. Now, I expected these stories to contain horror, comedy, or a mix of both. Turns out only the first story (out of four, not including the wraparound segment) is somewhat horror-adjacent. The other three are mainly sci-fi tinged comedic dramas.

Whatever their genre, the stories themselves are nothing to write home about. Some have surprising twists, others are quirky and whimsical, but overall each one of them leaves something to be desired. They mostly last about 30 minutes and still manage to feel sluggish and slow. They're sporadically entertaining if you can vibe with the film's light hearted nature. However, I must praise the audio-visual presentation, as the film looks really good with surprisingly elaborate sets at times and some larger-than-life soundtrack choices.

Overall, this was watchable, but not quite impressive enough to be easily recommended. Only for anthology film completionists.

A group of travellers, trapped in a railway station waiting room by a torrential downpour, pass the time by listening to a mysterious man who tells four stories of the bizarre and unreal.

His first tale concerns the survivors of a plane crash who, desperate to seek shelter from a raging blizzard, risk their lives to set off on foot for a cabin which, according to a map, is not too far away. They eventually find the deserted shack and settle down for the night, but, as they sleep, someone (or something) kills them one-by-one. Could the ghost of a girl they left to die in the cold be responsible?

In the second story, a cowardly samurai finds a cellular phone, sent to him by a historical researcher from the future who is keen to verify some facts. The samurai learns that he is destined to become an important historical figure, but in order to do so, he must lead a dangerous coup...

Story number three features a chess champion who, after being beaten by a computer, hits skid row. Three years later, he is found by a millionaire who wishes to play the ex-champ in a chess game which, once started, takes a distinctly weird turn...

The final tale follows a couple about to marry, who decide to 'test-run' their future life together via a marriage simulator. Will their lives be wedded bliss or does the simulator show trouble ahead?

This uneven anthology compensates for its sometimes rather weak storytelling with some surprisingly good visuals from the four directors involved (each handles a separate segment). The direction and cinematography are deftly handled; at turns creepy, funny, surreal and heartwarming, the movie may be unexceptional plot-wise, but it is never boring to look at.

Short summary: A group of people get stuck in a railway station because of a sudden rainstorm. One young man tries to make time pass by telling a ghost story to the others. When he can't remember the ending, an older man cuts in with a different story that's connected to the first. The rest of the movie intercuts this first setting in the station with the stories this man tells, all very very different. The first is a regular ghost story about a group of people getting stuck in a small cabin in the middle of a blizzard due to a plane crash. The second is a rather humorous piece about a samurai who finds a cellular phone. The third is a thriller about Chess (I know how it sounds, but it's really very good) and the last one is a sort of hi-tech love story.

I really really enjoyed this movie. All the stories are very different, yet they all seem to have the same type of mood in a way. The first story, the ghost story, was really effective in creating a very scary environment. I usually don't get very affected by this sort of thing, but this part felt very disturbing, a mark of very good horror craftsmanship. The third story, the Chess one, is my favourite. The one movie I can really compare this to is The Game, it has the same feeling of not knowing what is real and what's not. The 'Samurai Cellular' and 'Marriage Simulator' are pretty good, but not of the same quality as the other two stories.

Overall, this movie was a very pleasant surprise for me. I really hope that it'll be released on DVD with english subs soon.