The World of Kanako

Take darkness and make it darker must have been the intent of director Tetsuya Nakashima with this morbid film. Akihiro Fujishima is a former detective who has issues to put it mildly. When his ex-wife calls him frantically about their teenage daughter, Kanako, who seems to be missing, he dives in with a kind of mad relish that leaves you cringing. The film is a rush of flash backs and the present, each revealing parts of the puzzle, none of which is gentle. Stay away if you are looking for calm night of rest.

Rating: * * +

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13 Assassins

The Meiji restoration is at hand but the principals in the story are of course not aware of the unfolding of the future. All they see is Lord Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki), the shogun’s half brother threatening to cause large scale internal strife with his psychotic ways. Shimada Shinzaemon (Kôji Yakusho), samurai par excellence is summoned from his quiet retirement and tasked to unofficially pluck this thorn from the nation’s side. Soon twelve men are picked and the blood bath is unleashed spectacularly on the audience. Takashi Miike brings back the spaghetti samurai “western” in a style long forgotten, interspersed with his unique brand of cruelty and sudden humor. Let the Total Massacre never end…

Rating: * * * +

Tokyo Sonata

A family that is slowly splintering is the epicenter of the film. With his job being outsourced to China, Ryuhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) goes from being Director of Administration to a man stands in line at the free food stall. Furtively hiding his layoff from his wife, he wanders the streets in a Murakami-esqe daze. Megumi (Kyôko Koizumi) is gracefully stoic as she puts up with her distant husband. Her teenage children meander while she clutches at the seams that hold her family together. The film is almost like reading a Murakami novel until a point. There Kiyoshi Kurosawa loses his grip on the viewer and you wait placidly for the end.

Rating: * * +

Warm Water Under a Red Bridge

An unemployed man is told about a treasure hidden in a house opposite a Red Bridge. The owner of the house turns out to be a beautiful woman who has a strange ailment. She fills up with water and the easiest way for her to vent is to have sex. Our unemployed friend, Koji Yakusho (Babel), has no problem in obliging. Yes, only the Japanese can come up with this kind of a theme. There a few sub-plots surrounding the venting. Most hilarious being that of the African who is training to run in the Olympics. One of the strangest and wackiest movies I have seen in a while.

Rating: * *

Babel

The story of a gun, a bullet and the far reaching effects of a single shot. The shot not only wounds its victim but its splinters go far across continents with unnerving accuracy. From the director of Amores Perros, Alejandro González Iñárritu, this flick leaves you stunned yet in a strange kind of bliss in spite of its starkly realistic nature.
There are scenes from the movie where you find it hard to believe the people in it are actors. Superb acting all around.

Rating: * * *