SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!
Almost a Peter Greenaway number, could have been, the seeds were certainly in place, and the environments & costumes were definitely rich enough, and the actors absolutely of caliber (see "Undu", "Inugami" or "Angel Dust"). Excellent cinematography throughout, although some of the steady cam work could have been smoother, or done with a dolly, as the operator appeared to be running through the woods hopping roots and rocks. This works great if the shot is chasing someone, but feels very distracting when the shot is orbiting an otherwise static central point of focus. The plot has schisms, perhaps from a desire to adhere so religiously to the very letter of the novel the film is based on that annoyances like continuity, suspension of disbelief and a minimal amount of clarity were sacrificed for the master aesthetic goals. The opening scene, for example, is so swift and unclear that as it has so much bearing on the outcome of the story, through either coincidence or fate (never really clarified) this scene of all scenes should have been expanded or at least expounded upon. Especially when trifles like the couple being lit from a mirror while having sex in the bushes after just being robbed by bandits (an odd in of itself, but one I'll go with) are pondered on at great length. Or how the husband got tied up exactly. No recounted story addressed that, and worse, all accounts heavily weighed in the fact that the husband at some point had to be freed by someone. Sure, the base plot, what really happened to the dead guy and how'd the hand get lopped off certainly entertains, as each time the story gets revisited for a fresh perspective the forest environment radically changes and every version looks stunning. Seeing Yuki Amami being undressed for each remembered account has merits for some, I'm sure. Inversely, seeing the master bandit Red Lizard evolve through the accounts from a brutal rapist into a kinder gentler rapist into a sensitive hard lover into just a man enchanted is very disconcerting. And the notion that you can keep your eyes closed while your wife is being raped so that you might better pretend she is actually having sex with you is something only a male could come up with. And back to the opening scene, I get that the Red Lizard has twice brought tragedy into the protagonist's life. Don't have any idea why, or worse, why I should care. A thought: Red Lizard might possibly be an homage to Ash in Evil Dead 2, which really would explain everything after all.
Almost a Peter Greenaway number, could have been, the seeds were certainly in place, and the environments & costumes were definitely rich enough, and the actors absolutely of caliber (see "Undu", "Inugami" or "Angel Dust"). Excellent cinematography throughout, although some of the steady cam work could have been smoother, or done with a dolly, as the operator appeared to be running through the woods hopping roots and rocks. This works great if the shot is chasing someone, but feels very distracting when the shot is orbiting an otherwise static central point of focus. The plot has schisms, perhaps from a desire to adhere so religiously to the very letter of the novel the film is based on that annoyances like continuity, suspension of disbelief and a minimal amount of clarity were sacrificed for the master aesthetic goals. The opening scene, for example, is so swift and unclear that as it has so much bearing on the outcome of the story, through either coincidence or fate (never really clarified) this scene of all scenes should have been expanded or at least expounded upon. Especially when trifles like the couple being lit from a mirror while having sex in the bushes after just being robbed by bandits (an odd in of itself, but one I'll go with) are pondered on at great length. Or how the husband got tied up exactly. No recounted story addressed that, and worse, all accounts heavily weighed in the fact that the husband at some point had to be freed by someone. Sure, the base plot, what really happened to the dead guy and how'd the hand get lopped off certainly entertains, as each time the story gets revisited for a fresh perspective the forest environment radically changes and every version looks stunning. Seeing Yuki Amami being undressed for each remembered account has merits for some, I'm sure. Inversely, seeing the master bandit Red Lizard evolve through the accounts from a brutal rapist into a kinder gentler rapist into a sensitive hard lover into just a man enchanted is very disconcerting. And the notion that you can keep your eyes closed while your wife is being raped so that you might better pretend she is actually having sex with you is something only a male could come up with. And back to the opening scene, I get that the Red Lizard has twice brought tragedy into the protagonist's life. Don't have any idea why, or worse, why I should care. A thought: Red Lizard might possibly be an homage to Ash in Evil Dead 2, which really would explain everything after all.
