Being the final film of the recently departed Nobuhiko Obayashi I watched this with one laughing and one crying eye. Obayashi was known for his visuals, humour and wild even experimental style. A prime example being 1977's Hausu which has become somewhat of a cult classic by now and for good reason too as it is a perfect destillation of all his greatest qualities.
Labyrinth of Cinema is an even more extreme example of his style which is both joyfully wonderful and ultimately a detriment.
The wrap-around story is about the last movie theatre in Onomichi city, Obayashi's birthplace, closing its doors forever with an all-night showing of Japanese war films. This attracts a colorful variety of odd characters who get sucked into the movies themselves and the historic events they portray.
What follows is a 3-hour long very meta, often funny, often tragic trip through 400 years of history and 100 years of cinema with the focus being on world war II, Japanese atrocities against their own and other people and ultimately Obayashi's own experience of being a child during the Japanese Empire including the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Despite what this may sound like the message of the film is actually very positive and uplifting yet doesn't really mince words when it comes to humanity's destructive capabilities.
The fact that this movie even exists is inspiring in itself. Obayashi was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2016 and given only a few months to live, yet he still completed this film and another three hour epic Hanagatami before it.
What makes Labyrinth of Cinema a much lesser film than it could have been is the complete and at times ridiculous oversaturation of style, which makes it really hard to recommend. It becomes quite exhausting very quickly. While it does get better and eventually allows important emotional scenes to breathe more it was still too much for me. And I'm usually a big fan of the sensory overload approach to art.
With more restraint this could have easily been a more epic live action version of Satoshi Kon's Millenium Actress. Still, the joy and energy this dying old artist brought to the screen in his final film is inspiring and there is plenty of good commentary that really packs a punch.
It's not going to be for everybody, if you're not well-versed in Japanese history, culture and cinema a lot of the details will go straight over your head, but I'm sincerely glad I saw it and wow, what a way to go.
Labyrinth of Cinema is an even more extreme example of his style which is both joyfully wonderful and ultimately a detriment.
The wrap-around story is about the last movie theatre in Onomichi city, Obayashi's birthplace, closing its doors forever with an all-night showing of Japanese war films. This attracts a colorful variety of odd characters who get sucked into the movies themselves and the historic events they portray.
What follows is a 3-hour long very meta, often funny, often tragic trip through 400 years of history and 100 years of cinema with the focus being on world war II, Japanese atrocities against their own and other people and ultimately Obayashi's own experience of being a child during the Japanese Empire including the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Despite what this may sound like the message of the film is actually very positive and uplifting yet doesn't really mince words when it comes to humanity's destructive capabilities.
The fact that this movie even exists is inspiring in itself. Obayashi was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2016 and given only a few months to live, yet he still completed this film and another three hour epic Hanagatami before it.
What makes Labyrinth of Cinema a much lesser film than it could have been is the complete and at times ridiculous oversaturation of style, which makes it really hard to recommend. It becomes quite exhausting very quickly. While it does get better and eventually allows important emotional scenes to breathe more it was still too much for me. And I'm usually a big fan of the sensory overload approach to art.
With more restraint this could have easily been a more epic live action version of Satoshi Kon's Millenium Actress. Still, the joy and energy this dying old artist brought to the screen in his final film is inspiring and there is plenty of good commentary that really packs a punch.
It's not going to be for everybody, if you're not well-versed in Japanese history, culture and cinema a lot of the details will go straight over your head, but I'm sincerely glad I saw it and wow, what a way to go.