I saw this film a couple of months ago when it came out in theaters, and I must admit it was a pleasant surprise! Though I do have some mixed feelings.
This film is heavily reliant on atmosphere and mood, which the visual do a fantastic job accentuating. However, it's a film that is widely open to interpretation. There is a clear-cut narrative and a solid plot, but there is no conclusive answer to any question the audience might have upon finishing the movie. None of the information revolving around our protagonist can be confirmed, but enough is revealed for us to interpret. That level of uncertainty adds a lot to the atmosphere of the film, along with the mute protagonist, the title, the claustrophobic set - all of it really feels purposeful. The depressing part of that is that you can't confirm if it was purposeful or not, and that only ties with what I believe to be one of the film's themes.
Tackling philosophical ideas doesn't hold the film back from having grain of humor, which - as unexpected and surprising as it was, made the experience more fun. There were a couple of genuine laughs in the theater! And some clever moments that spurred some internal "aah"s.
The lack of comprehensible language doesn't hold back any of the characters from actually having character either. Despite none of the characters speaking a language we can comprehend, there is a lot more character to them than any randy in Final Destination 4. There was a certain segment mid-way into the film that was extremely enjoyable for me to watch and kept me engaged enough to stay with the rest of the film. I hoped for more segments such as that one in the film's remaining runtime, but that was just wishful thinking.
Although my experience was mainly positive, I do have a couple of minor criticisms. The pivotal critique I have with this film is the pacing. There were a couple of moments in the film that failed to keep me invested due to the time they spent on the scene. Looking back, I believe the intension was to build tension, but it was not as effective as I hoped it could be. This enkindled moments where I couldn't tell whether the film was trying to go for "serious" or "comical". Although there were certainly comedic aspects to the film that felt appropriate, some other parts felt a little out of place. There's a constant battle between the shift in mood that left me a little conflicted. If anything, I can praise this film for being bold enough to have its own unique style. Here I am after all, writing a review upon watching this film a couple of months ago because it was just that memorable.
In spite of commending this film for tackling a subjects that appear philosophical, that was also one of my main issues with this film. You can't tell. It's nice to see movies that don't underestimate their audiences, but it's another thing to see a movie where you can't tell if the movie is trying to be simple or deep. I only dismiss the film as "philosophical" because I thought that's what the movie was going for. Now I can't really tell.
Going back to the positives, one of the things about this film that stood out to me was the gradual improvement in animation as the film progressed. You can see director Takehide Hori's improvement as a filmmaker as the narrative flows, and it's quite awe-inspiring when you watch the film for the second time and notice how the clunky the first 15 minutes might be.
Although this movie might not be for everyone, it's a movie that really lets you appreciate the work, effort, and patience this one man put in for 7 years.
While I can imagine some audiences calling this film pretentious, that shouldn't hold you back from actually seeing the movie to find out for yourself. If you go into the film with an open mind, I'm sure you'll be able to come up with your own interpretation. By the end of the film, I'm sure you'd have a new-found admiration for this director.
I personally wish for more people to watch it so I can discuss some of my theories on it. Or I'll wait for a blu-ray release. Everyone coming out of my theater had a pretty positive experience so I hope you can have one too.
This film is heavily reliant on atmosphere and mood, which the visual do a fantastic job accentuating. However, it's a film that is widely open to interpretation. There is a clear-cut narrative and a solid plot, but there is no conclusive answer to any question the audience might have upon finishing the movie. None of the information revolving around our protagonist can be confirmed, but enough is revealed for us to interpret. That level of uncertainty adds a lot to the atmosphere of the film, along with the mute protagonist, the title, the claustrophobic set - all of it really feels purposeful. The depressing part of that is that you can't confirm if it was purposeful or not, and that only ties with what I believe to be one of the film's themes.
Tackling philosophical ideas doesn't hold the film back from having grain of humor, which - as unexpected and surprising as it was, made the experience more fun. There were a couple of genuine laughs in the theater! And some clever moments that spurred some internal "aah"s.
The lack of comprehensible language doesn't hold back any of the characters from actually having character either. Despite none of the characters speaking a language we can comprehend, there is a lot more character to them than any randy in Final Destination 4. There was a certain segment mid-way into the film that was extremely enjoyable for me to watch and kept me engaged enough to stay with the rest of the film. I hoped for more segments such as that one in the film's remaining runtime, but that was just wishful thinking.
Although my experience was mainly positive, I do have a couple of minor criticisms. The pivotal critique I have with this film is the pacing. There were a couple of moments in the film that failed to keep me invested due to the time they spent on the scene. Looking back, I believe the intension was to build tension, but it was not as effective as I hoped it could be. This enkindled moments where I couldn't tell whether the film was trying to go for "serious" or "comical". Although there were certainly comedic aspects to the film that felt appropriate, some other parts felt a little out of place. There's a constant battle between the shift in mood that left me a little conflicted. If anything, I can praise this film for being bold enough to have its own unique style. Here I am after all, writing a review upon watching this film a couple of months ago because it was just that memorable.
In spite of commending this film for tackling a subjects that appear philosophical, that was also one of my main issues with this film. You can't tell. It's nice to see movies that don't underestimate their audiences, but it's another thing to see a movie where you can't tell if the movie is trying to be simple or deep. I only dismiss the film as "philosophical" because I thought that's what the movie was going for. Now I can't really tell.
Going back to the positives, one of the things about this film that stood out to me was the gradual improvement in animation as the film progressed. You can see director Takehide Hori's improvement as a filmmaker as the narrative flows, and it's quite awe-inspiring when you watch the film for the second time and notice how the clunky the first 15 minutes might be.
Although this movie might not be for everyone, it's a movie that really lets you appreciate the work, effort, and patience this one man put in for 7 years.
While I can imagine some audiences calling this film pretentious, that shouldn't hold you back from actually seeing the movie to find out for yourself. If you go into the film with an open mind, I'm sure you'll be able to come up with your own interpretation. By the end of the film, I'm sure you'd have a new-found admiration for this director.
I personally wish for more people to watch it so I can discuss some of my theories on it. Or I'll wait for a blu-ray release. Everyone coming out of my theater had a pretty positive experience so I hope you can have one too.