Japan Japan

I can't believe this film! I loved it so much when I saw it in Toronto.

I must admit, I was a bit lost and depressed at the time, asking myself big questions like where I am going, and who I belong to, who thinks I belong to him etc. And then came this film, and it's not that it solved anything, but for me I was happy to find someone closer to my language than most of what I see and hear around me. The film does not fall to cheesy psychological or dramatic clichés, and still the viewing experience is very reach with clips and picture-in-picture techniques, very modern but still completely not "MTV" or Commercial-TV "Fashion" fake-teen-spirit-in-order-to-sell, but something deep and intelligent.

This crappy conservative world does not deserve this amazing film!

So much style. Handsome young men and women. Personal and social troubles of the 21st century. God. It even predicts the financial crisis.

Such a rebellious punk film, and still so deeper and smarter than all the old-fashion pretentious art-house crap that usually comes from the big film festivals.

Viva la revolution!

There are just too many freshman film experiments already out there. At this point you really do need something special under your belt to make another one work. And story DOES count when trying to tell a story, experimental or not. I'm a firm believer that you actually need to know what the rules are before you can go out break them with anything approaching creativity. This film has none of the above. Consequently it's about as interesting as watching random traffic pass through an intersection. Hey, if that's your poison, certainly watch the film. I guarantee that you WILL get what you're looking for. For the rest, I recommend that you just read the cover blurb and move on. Quickly.

OK. first of all. i ask people to ignore the other comment since the person who wrote it said that he knew nothing about the movie before going to see it. beware. the film is very "unique". it is not for everyone. im not really surprised that people can really REALLY hate this movie. i saw it at a film festival in montréal and i felt kinda bad for the old couple sitting right next to me. it's very upfront (i.e. you can see excerpts of gay porn).

anyways, i don't wanna say much about it but i really liked how the film was made. its like a mash-up of all sorts of different styles. (i.e. at one point, you only see quoted white text on a black background.)(another part of the movie feels like a music video)(another part uses Google Earth and synchronizes the zoom-ins and zoom-outs to a song playing in the background).

it doesn't really respect any "structure". it goes from one medium to another. it's kinda amateur. it kinda looks like something you can do with iMovie. (it sometimes looks and feels like the movie Tarnation...minus the "real" drama).

all of these factors usually end up making a kinda hard-to-follow and "unfluid" movie. but in this case, it doesn't. all of the little effects the director uses in the movie aren't useless. instead of making it look like some sort of student-exercise, the effects end up helping the movie by making it better, fresher and funnier.

the aesthetics and the ambiance of the movie also reminds me of the music and the artwork of the sri-lankan singer/artist, M.I.A. (especially her Kala album): a mix of different styles and recycled bits that kinda look like it was made from scrap but ends up sounding/looking so refreshing/original/contemporary.

the movie is fun, fresh and sweet. the main character is absolutely adorable (i think i'm in love, gotta learn more about him), the photography and editing is great, the story is interesting (and convinces that a movie does not have to be in a dramatic structure). i loved the visual freedom the creators allowed themselves, i don't think it had any of a shock value, but only to portray the main character's world. i'd love to see the movie again, i'd be very pleased had it been longer (there were moments where we're lead to believe the film is over and i was always glad it didn't). i'd also love had they shown more porn, anime and yaoi. the movie inspired me, usually i escape from anything titled "documentary", i might just be a little more open minded next time after a film like that. :)

This is definitely not a film for everyone and surely it is meant for people who like the more experimental, essayistic ironic approach to the medium. It's naughty and funny and sad in how it depicts the alienation of the hero from his surroundings but also from his dreamed-of culture. His "Japan" is not really Japan. It's mixed with other places, and it is shallow, like someone who is trying to draw a face he sees from the other side of a valley.