07/13/2012

NYAFF & Japan Cuts 2012: “Asura” & “Smuggler”

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

This is it, the home stretch of the New York Asian Film Festival! Where the show comes to a close at Japan Society, and were it morphs into Japan Cuts. First up; one of the best animated offerings to come from Japan in a while, along with the latest from a favorite director of mine from those parts as well?

Asura

Maybe you’re like me: a fan of anime that’s unable to stomach what it has become. And that’s because the only things being made in Japan these days are high school comedies starring moe-blobs, lame Evangellion wannabes, and just all around pathetic attempts at fan service. A problem that has only worsened due to the passing of Satoshi Kon (RIP) But a few folks are trying to do something a little different, like Asura. It stars a young boy whose childhood is as sh*tty as they come; his mother, driven by madness (a direct result of consuming human flesh as she was literally starving to death), tries tossing her poor infant son into fire, in hopes of silencing his hunger panged cries and eating him afterward. But Asura survives, and grows up to be a beast child who terrorizes the village with a craving for human blood (like mother, like child). But one day he encounters a monk, and for the first time ever, someone treats Asura like a human being. Which freaks him out, but also leaves a big impression; all of a sudden, he makes his first awkward steps at connecting with other people, but his first attempt goes horribly wrong, when the son of the local head of state (who was harassing some poor laborer and his help, a bunch of starving village kids that Asura was trying to warm up to) is killed. Oops.

But eventually he’s befriended by Wakasa, the girl with a heart of gold. She helps keep Asura on the down-low, and becomes his caretaker, teacher, and brand new best bud. And now he’s really feeling like an actual person. Unfortunately, another man enters Wakasa’s life; Shichiro, the aforementioned laborer. Which leaves Asura feeling dejected and betrayed, and thus he reverts to his old ways. But now that he’s starting to think and feel like a human being, he’s even more miserable than before. Plus, after getting an up-close look, it’s clear that the villagers are honestly no better than animals in the way they treat each other. Then out of nowhere, the monk returns to help keep Asura on the path, by cutting off his own arm and offering it. To basically go “okay, if you are indeed still an animal, knock yourself out with this prime cut of beef” (which marks the second film in the festival to have someone chop their own arm off for the purpose of atonement, at least thus far). Anyhow, things continue to worsen across the land; not only does the lack of crops mean everyone starvation is rampant, but no one can afford to pay the high taxes either, so the townsfolk basically resemble Asura how he used to be. Wakasa, whose not only super emaciated but close to being sold off by her father, since she would indeed fetch some decent coin, is approached by Asura with much needed sustenance. But which she refused to touch because she’s convinced it’s human flesh, though she’s definitely tempted (starvation will make you entertain the craziest of thoughts)

In reality, it’s horsemeat, and because he had to slaughter one of the royal horses to obtain it, the head of state learns that the murder of his only child is still breathing, which leads to a massive hunt. The big, climactic showdown between Asura and all the bloodthirsty villagers is where the gorgeous animation really shines. Asura is a mix of 2D and 3D, a hybrid that’s been experimented with for years in Japanese animation, including the director of the film himself, Keiichi Sato (like in Tiger & Bunny, which he also directed). But here it finally looks right, and very similar to the aesthetics of the PS3 game Valkyria Chronicles. All the characters are done in CG, while the backgrounds are traditionally hand painted, with a colored penciled/watercolor filtering process bringing the two elements together quite wonderfully. The visuals are accentuated by the uber dramatic score, but the real star is the voice of Asura himself, who is a 75 year old seiyū (best know for her role as the original Japanese voice of Goku) who totally brilliant (and heart-breaking) performance of a confused, lonely boy who is coming to grips with his humanity, despite his past and possible future, is completely spot-on. Unfortunately, Asura was screened only once (as is all the Japan Society offerings), and I’m pissed at myself for not filing my review sooner, because it’s definitely a must see, especially for someone who has long since given up on mainstream anime. Hopefully it’ll find a home in America via home video or some kind of streaming service.

Smuggler

Smuggler is the latest from Katsuhito Ishii, whom I’ve become a fan of, thanks to the NYAFF; the festival is how I became acquainted with The Taste of Tea and Funky Forest (both are STRONGLY recommended, btw). And it’s definitely up to the exceptionally high standards that one of Japan’s hottest young filmmakers has come to represent, even if it’s decidedly different animal all around. It’s far less whimsical, playful, and hopeful than those two movies, by a considerable margin; in the first few seconds, our protagonist lets us know that he’s a complete loser, and it’s clearly spelled out soon after. Kinuta is a failed actor who is woefully in debt, a problem that way too many of us can relate to (as opposed to being haunted by a silent, 10 story tall version of yourself, that haunts the little girl in Taste of Tea). Kinuta is approached by some thugs at pachinko parlor with the chance to make some quick cash, and next thing you know, he’s forced to become a “smuggler”, which is a fancy term for indentured slave for the yakuza, handling their dirty laundry. So the rest of the movie details Kinuta becoming accustomed with a POS existence that he seems doomed to live out, alongside his two new co-workers, a hard assed silent type that’s the boss that’s 20 years his senior, or the crotchety goofball that’s 40 years his senior, and who are both doomed to be smugglers for the rest of their lives as well.

Along the way, we become aquatinted with Vertebrae and Viscera, two Chinese hit-men who are also lovers, but more importantly, where all the style that Ishii’s movies generally represent. But in this case, it’s mixed evenly brutal violence; when Vertebrae in particular deals with his targets, the action slows down to a crawl, to emphasize the impact of every single blow, which is further heightened by the discharge of bodily fluids. Smuggler is based upon a manga of the same name, so I would assumed that his set-pieces are intended to emulate specific panels from the source material. The way how everything plays out, in particular how these two parties become entwined with each other, is also very comic book like. Connecting them both is the Japanese mob family whose big boss was murdered by the aforementioned Chinese killers, and “the banker” who eventually causes them to be captured (and who is played by Hikari Mitsushima, without question of the best actress working in Japan right now, and whom I first went gaga for after her career defining role in Love Exposure, another NYAFF classic). Not surprisingly, it’s up to Kinuta and company to transport the surviving member of the duo the new yakuza head honcho, who?s a complete psychopath. So when Kinuta totally screws up and allows their cargo loose, he has to man up and also dig deep into his acting skill-sets by posing as Vertebrae, while the rest of the team is burdened with the Herculean task of bringing the real McCoy in.

So while his coworkers are out on the hunt, Kinuta is slowly tortured to death by the aforementioned ultra insane-o yakuza. When it was being introduced beforehand, this part of the movie was basically described as “torture porn”, but I won’t go that far, because the camera almost always pulls away at the moment of truth. Granted, such insanely f’d up damage is inflicted, and at great length, but it’s also filled with a certain degree of levity. Like how the torturer has comically bushy eyebrows (no doubt borrowed from the manga), and also how he dons a marching band jacket plus adult diaper at a certain point. Smuggler, much like Ishii’s other movies, loves to straddle the line between reality and fantasy, but I guess it was only a matter of time in which he played around with killers and other morally ambiguous archetypes, and to great success thankfully. Smuggler ended up being one of my unexpected favorites this year, which is perhaps foolish to say, given the director’s previous body of work. I suppose it says something about my general expectations when it comes to Japanese cinema these days, even the stuff offered by the NYAFF, which has never been lower. Which I’ll detail in a bit, though I will say that one thing I actually liked is how there was actually an ending, a reasonable (and this case, satisfying) conclusion. Something that’s not a given with movies from Japan anymore. Again, will explain further in due fashion.

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