christianvols
Joined Jun 2015
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christianvols's rating
Probably a top contender for most deranged marriage depicted in a film, Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees is a top-notch folktale horror movie about derangement, superstition, obsession, and of course, good ole fashioned marital strife. If Hausu is the pinnacle of 1970s Japanese horror, then this movie is it's more quiet, restrained, but equally deranged older sibling.
At the opening we get a shot of the cherry trees in modern day, and people under them and enjoying the shade and pleasant view they provide, until a child's voice, tells us that the trees used to be feared hundreds of years ago, and would induce madness in those that walked under them, which then transports us to Edo era of Japan, and the madness begins. A beautifully shot, colorful madness, but madness nonetheless.
Tomisaburô Wakayama, who played Ogami Itto in Lone Wolf and Cub, gives a very quiet and unsettling performance, and is nothing like Ogami Itto aside from the decapitations he gets to do very frequently. He is simultaneously pathetic and threatening, as it's difficult to reason with a man who eventually decapitates so many people that he grows bored of it, and does it solely to satiate his wife's growing appetite for heads to do... things with. I think you can guess what she gets out of some of them. Her manipulation of an already gruff and wild man is a sight to behold, and there's an interesting power play in their relationship. She is very clearly in control of him, which would obviously be not very common in this era of Japan's history. But this is not a very common movie. We get to see their relationship evolve from captor and captive, to parasite and host, to maybe, truly in love with each other. Then there is the ending. The less said, the better. But it is truly shocking and visually jaw-dropping. Definitely a unique piece of Japanese horror to say the least, and would make for great post-midnight viewing.
At the opening we get a shot of the cherry trees in modern day, and people under them and enjoying the shade and pleasant view they provide, until a child's voice, tells us that the trees used to be feared hundreds of years ago, and would induce madness in those that walked under them, which then transports us to Edo era of Japan, and the madness begins. A beautifully shot, colorful madness, but madness nonetheless.
Tomisaburô Wakayama, who played Ogami Itto in Lone Wolf and Cub, gives a very quiet and unsettling performance, and is nothing like Ogami Itto aside from the decapitations he gets to do very frequently. He is simultaneously pathetic and threatening, as it's difficult to reason with a man who eventually decapitates so many people that he grows bored of it, and does it solely to satiate his wife's growing appetite for heads to do... things with. I think you can guess what she gets out of some of them. Her manipulation of an already gruff and wild man is a sight to behold, and there's an interesting power play in their relationship. She is very clearly in control of him, which would obviously be not very common in this era of Japan's history. But this is not a very common movie. We get to see their relationship evolve from captor and captive, to parasite and host, to maybe, truly in love with each other. Then there is the ending. The less said, the better. But it is truly shocking and visually jaw-dropping. Definitely a unique piece of Japanese horror to say the least, and would make for great post-midnight viewing.
A very powerful film dealing with complex issues like coming to terms with aging, police brutality, and animal abuse. While kids may find these thematic elements surprising, you'd be wise to force your kids to watch it, as it'll open their naive eyes to the way the world truly is: broken.
In the introduction to our protagonist: "Sir Billi", whose royal title juxtaposing with his dirty and worn attire, says a thousand words in an image I DARE you to find duplicated in some overly pretentious "cinema" like Citizen Kane. It is in this simple yet powerful depiction of riches turned to rags that unlocks the world that the characters of this movie inhabit. Not even wealth can bring you happiness, nor friends, nor family as indicated by Sir Billi's emotional coldness towards his daughter and grandson as he abandons his direct family for the companionship of an anthromorphic goat. The only thing that can you bring you happiness in the world of this film is the somber realization and acceptance that the only guarantee in life is death. Billie tries to warn the animals of this fact, but seeing as they are animals, they barely listen, which is in itself, a clever allegory for the real truth seekers out there pointing out the faults in today's modern society while the sheep are content with just feeding upon the grass of lies and discontent.
In a cold world that not even Scorsese could fully realize in Taxi Driver, Billi, in the twilight of his years, finds his only meaning in the metaphorical breaking of his shackles which were thrusted upon the common people by the strong arm of the law. Billi threatens a police officer with his own brute force, promising to "give him one", and allows Billi to reject the claim that police lives truly matter. In this film, no life matters more than the other, because the filmmakers in a genius way show us that life truly has no meaning except the one we assign it to. We hear of Billi's past adventures but we never see them. Are they the wistful and somber recollections of an old rapscallion wishing for the days of old? Or are they indicative of an ever darker theme rearing its ugly head? The filmmakers are supremely genius for never outright mentioning Billi has dementia, but leaving it open to interpretation, something even Kubrick wouldn't dare leave open-ended.
In the end, Sir Billi is really about the human condition and the flaws within us all. I find it to be a more revealing film each time. With its subtle storytelling techniques and intelligent characters, I couldn't think of a better film for Connery to close the curtains on his illustrious career. Himself now a mirror image of Sir Billi: A broken man, trying to find meaning in the twilight of his years in a world that has passed him by.
In the introduction to our protagonist: "Sir Billi", whose royal title juxtaposing with his dirty and worn attire, says a thousand words in an image I DARE you to find duplicated in some overly pretentious "cinema" like Citizen Kane. It is in this simple yet powerful depiction of riches turned to rags that unlocks the world that the characters of this movie inhabit. Not even wealth can bring you happiness, nor friends, nor family as indicated by Sir Billi's emotional coldness towards his daughter and grandson as he abandons his direct family for the companionship of an anthromorphic goat. The only thing that can you bring you happiness in the world of this film is the somber realization and acceptance that the only guarantee in life is death. Billie tries to warn the animals of this fact, but seeing as they are animals, they barely listen, which is in itself, a clever allegory for the real truth seekers out there pointing out the faults in today's modern society while the sheep are content with just feeding upon the grass of lies and discontent.
In a cold world that not even Scorsese could fully realize in Taxi Driver, Billi, in the twilight of his years, finds his only meaning in the metaphorical breaking of his shackles which were thrusted upon the common people by the strong arm of the law. Billi threatens a police officer with his own brute force, promising to "give him one", and allows Billi to reject the claim that police lives truly matter. In this film, no life matters more than the other, because the filmmakers in a genius way show us that life truly has no meaning except the one we assign it to. We hear of Billi's past adventures but we never see them. Are they the wistful and somber recollections of an old rapscallion wishing for the days of old? Or are they indicative of an ever darker theme rearing its ugly head? The filmmakers are supremely genius for never outright mentioning Billi has dementia, but leaving it open to interpretation, something even Kubrick wouldn't dare leave open-ended.
In the end, Sir Billi is really about the human condition and the flaws within us all. I find it to be a more revealing film each time. With its subtle storytelling techniques and intelligent characters, I couldn't think of a better film for Connery to close the curtains on his illustrious career. Himself now a mirror image of Sir Billi: A broken man, trying to find meaning in the twilight of his years in a world that has passed him by.