Director: Iwai Shunji Duration: 58 minutes
During the past week I have watched three Iwai Shunji films: _Undo_, _Picnic_, and _Ghost Soup_. _Undo_ depicted the mental decay of a woman who feared change. _Picnic_ depicted the lives of three mental patients whose personal demons prevented them from being part of "normal" society. Then there is _Ghost Soup_ which is a bit harder to sum up in a short sentence.
_Ghost Soup_ is Iwai Shunji's first film. A made for television production starring a 17 year old Suzuki Ranran, and the American actor David Spector. After having viewed some of Iwai's more serious works such as _All About Lily Chou Chou_, _Ghost Soup_ can make the viewer flinch a bit because some of the dialog is a bit corny. however, as the film progresses it does get better and some parts are actually quite touching.
The story follows the struggle of Suzuki Ichiro, yea I know, who has had to move into his new apartment early on Christmas Eve. He is quite put out by the numerous individuals who come to his door asking to do things such as subscribing to the newspaper and joining a church. However, most annoying individuals are Nana, Suzuki Ranran, and Mal, David Spector, who are determined to throw a Christmas party inside of Ichiro's apartment. However, Ichiro does not want said events to occur, so Nana and Mal plot on how to remove him. Which results in Mal trapping Ichiro in a sack and dumping him far away from his apartment. Ichiro's trip back to his home is one one of the best parts of the film. He reflects on Nana and Mal and realizes that he is the only one who can see them and also he visits some locations which are some how related to his two guests.
I don't want to write too much on this film, because it is quite simple. This is definitely not a must see, but those who want to view Iwai's early stuff, go for it!
