As the Gods Will

As Japanese cinema continues to further disregard the differences between cinema and television, Takashi Miike’s new film is only the first instalment of a film series based on a popular comic-book series. This means that after two hours, viewers get an obtrusive trailer for the second episode instead of a denouement. The film offers an unhinged, hyper-stylised mirror of contemporary Japanese society and the crisis of values of the younger generation. Characteristically of the target audience’s apathy and short attention span, however, it periodically veers away from its foundational elements into the realm of phantasmagorical farce. (13/04/2015)

I've been saying it for a long time, and here I have been reassured – Fukushi Sōta really is a bad actor. Considering he's playing the main character here, that's pretty much detracting from the beauty of the thing. Not to mention that I've been praising Kamiki for a long time now about what a good actor he is, and yet he didn't play the psychopath here very convincingly. On the contrary, his "eye-rolling" was laughable. The rest of the cast was very bland. Perhaps the only thing I considered successful were the effects – definitely above average by Japanese standards. I can see what the poet was trying to say (criticism of the young, that is), but it didn't work. Although the murders of all the schoolboys and schoolgirls are depicted quite tastefully, I found them pointless, unnecessary, just for effect. In a story that has no head or heel and is more leaky than my socks. Miike and I really didn't click this time. (24/05/2015)

Takashi Miike is simply my favorite from a director's perspective, because he always perfectly captures the form. I guess I'm repeating myself too much... but this is another beautiful example. At first glance, it's clear that the film is based on manga, because Miike adapted everything to it. The stylization, the craziness of the story, the craziness of brutality. It's just a part of a longer story, but still, a lot is happening. It reminded me a lot of "Gantz" in terms of style and meaning. (28/05/2015)