07/30/2018

Review: Madeline’s Madeline (Fantasia Festival 2018)

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

Each and every summer I see a lots & lots & LOTS of movies, courtesy of the New York Asian Film Festival and JAPAN CUTS, but this year there’s a third film fest that I’ve been invited to cover, and that’s the Fantasia Festival! I’ve actually gone over some of Fantasia’s offerings already, since they can be found here in the Big Apple, via the two aforementioned fests, such as Inuyashiki & Violence Voyager. But then there’s the movies that I thankfully didn’t have to trek on up to the Great White North to see, and hopefully you won’t either (as you can tell, some of these get around)…
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Since debuting at Sundance earlier this year, Madeline’s Madeline has been THE breakout hit at every film festival it has appeared at, with the latest stop being Fantasia. Hardly a shocker, given the lead’s mesmerizing debut performance, along with the director’s gleeful attempt at sensory overload (perfect for Fantasia Fest), plus subject matter that’s genetically engineered for high-brow/art-fart movie going crowd (so in that sense, it’s also an odd one out).

The star of the show is a 16-year-old woman transitioning towards being a 17-year-old woman, and like most coming of age flicks, Madeline’s torn two worlds. The first is the mundane, everyday existence that her mother’s center stage of; you want to root for this woman, Regina, since it ain’t easy being a single mom, especially when the child has (an unidentified form of) mental illness. Being in NYC probably doesn’t help either. Yet she also tries to be the cool mom and it’s super cringe-y. Again, being in NYC ain’t helping. Coupled with bouts of eye-rolling neurosis and you’ve got a perpetually low altitude helicopter parent. An early scene has Madeline showing off her estranged dad’s basement dwelling to a bunch of guy friends, where they all sit around & watch pop’s porn on VHS; Regina stumbles across the scene and thinks it’s a good idea to join the viewing in progression, which includes the suggestion that the guys “whip out” their penises. It’s excruciatingly awkward, yet admittedly, an awesome scene.

With all that in mind, it’s no any wonder that Madeline desires escape, and this other world is an acting class headed by her other mother, so to speak. Alas, the woman that Madeline apparently wishes was actually mom is Evangeline, the stereotypical artiste who wields an almost cult like hold over her students. Also very early on, it’s established that Madeline is a pro at their very goofy form of method acting; perhaps due to some innate skill, all the hormones running through her, or the aforementioned mental illness (probably some combo of the three), which allows Madeline to really get into pretending that she’s a cat. Also established immediately is Evangeline’s infatuation with her star pupil, who slowly starts making the young woman the star of their upcoming production. As one might assume, Evangeline manipulates Madeline’s frail psyche to get the desired results, which in one case is acting like a pig. Things then get super weird and complicated when Evangeline, who is expecting a child btw, invites Madeline home to have dinner. There she meets Evangeline’s husband, and here we discover that maybe Regina was right, so maybe Madeline watching her dad’s porn collection was maybe a bad idea after all.

Madeline’s Madeline will no doubt appear in many top ten lists at the end of this year… some have even gone far enough to state that it’s one of the best of the century thus far… and I’ll probably agree with much of the praise, despite not finding the film enjoyable. Cuz as someone all too familiar with not only individuals attempting to perfect the art of parenting, but also folk involved in the profession of acting… primarily in the Big Apple… the portrayals of Regina and Evangeline were uncomfortable spot on. In the end, it’s all about star Helena Howard; her legit “holy sh*t” impressive first stab at being a movie star is attention grabbing and attention holding. Even when the rest of the movie, in particular the overactive aesthetics, tries a bit too hard. Howard will no doubt be that dark horse fave who won’t get the Oscar next year, though as someone else has already pointed out, she’s also guaranteed to be in the next X-Men flick to introduce a new crop of teen mutants at the very least.

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07/25/2018

Review: Yocho, aka Foreboding (Japan Cuts 2018)

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

The latest from Kiyoshi Kurosawa serves as a companion piece to his previous film, Before We Vanish. As one of the curators at Japan Society noted at the screening, they share the same “cinematic universe”, though Yocho feels less me too-is when considering the original format; it was initially a television miniseries that made its debut a month after the precursor hit the big screen. The theatrical version is essentially the original five episodes in a heavily edited compilation; I’m dying to know how long each one was, and therefore how much (as well as what exactly) was left on the cutting room floor. Because…

Yocho is essentially Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s take on Invaders of the Body Snatchers (well, technically his second). Which means it’s also about aliens planning a takeover of earth, who have embedded themselves in society, to covertly gather intel. But instead of stealing people wholesale, as in their identities, they rob people of abstract concepts, or “conceptions”. Early on a victim has the concept of “family” taken, hence why she freaks out when encountering her father, since she no longer understands the word, along with the meaning behind it. This same individual eventually becomes comatose, since the very concept of family is the basis of human society. The film primarily revolves around two humans; first is Etsuko, friend of the aforementioned victim, who after taking her to the hospital, ends up having a chance encounter with an alien pretending to be a doctor. Second is Etsuko’s husband Tatsuo, the assistant to one Dr. Makabe… aka the aforementioned alien in disguise? It works like this: when an alien lands on earth, they appoint an escort to show them the lay of the land. Tatsuo is one such lucky human, who picks and chooses Makabe’s victims, as well as help him produce the concepts that are desired at the moment.

Initially, Tatsuo targets individuals that he has issues with, but as things keep going, the weight of the situation becomes unbearable. But it’s not like he can just walk away from his role… or can he? Also, there are other aliens besides Makabe, right? Overall, Yocho is a fine accompaniment to Before We Vanish, yet one can’t help shake the feeling that perhaps it’s best absorbed via the original format. Because there’s definitely the sense that something is missing; with so much material to pull from, it’s understandable that the priority would be parts that ultimately drive the narrative forward. Yet any fan of Kiyoshi Kurosawa can tell you that the appeal of his work comes from the silence between the beats (hence why the idea of a conceivably five-hour long flick by the man to be most intriguing). Yet despite all that, Yocho nevertheless a thoroughly engaging and entertaining flick, one that further cements Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s status as a master class director, perhaps the absolute best in the realm of modern Japanese cinema. It’s just not his finest; see them both, and in any order really. Alas, I wasn’t able to see a screener beforehand, so the film’s lone screening has come and gone, though it will hopefully show up in one of the two dozen Roku channels that has become the home for Asian cinema!

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07/19/2018

Review: Violence Voyager (Japan Cuts 2018)

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

Time to look at JAPAN CUTS 2018‘s other animated feature, and much like Night is Short, Walk On Girl, it’s not your ordinary anime. In fact, Violence Voyager is so unique that Japan Society saw it fit to give the film its very own trailer…

Simply put, Violence Voyager is one part children’s book story, other part body horror tale. The film concerns Bobby, who despite his initial status as the cool kid in class, by virtue of being an American in Japan, is now low on the social totem pole. Perhaps due to becoming best buds with Akkun? Aside from being a nerd, he looks frankly weird. Like, he resembles an alien, that weird (spoilers: he’s not). But whatever, Bobby & Akkun have each other, all the other kids be damned, so that’s what really counts… though there’s actually a third boy, who resides in a faraway village.

When Akkun discovers a path in the woods, him & Bobby decide to pay the aforementioned Takaaki a visit, but are sidetracked by an amusement park, again in the middle of nowhere. The pair discover that the place has been single-handedly built by just one guy, the proprietor. Both Bobby and Akkun are impressed, as well curious (well, more so the former), so they end and… Surprise! The place is a trap; at first it’s fun & games, running around the park & shooting at cut outs of robot looking monsters with water guns, but when they discover Tokiko, a young girl who has been separated from her boyfriend and held prisoner for days, along with actual monster that shoot flesh melting acid, things go to hell real quick. Cuz it’s discovered that the park is used to snare kids, so the proprietor can subject them to a process that mutilates and transforms them into a mindless army of killing machines (i.e. the aforementioned robot looking monsters). At least there’s heartwarming reunion of sorts…

It’s worth noting that the kids are stripped naked, so if you were someone uncomfortable with the tiny bit of nudity in Ghibli flicks, then consider yourself warned. Violence Voyager tries its best to unsettle & disgust the viewer in a wide variety of ways, via disturbing subject matter, and is successful thanks to the non-traditional animation style; we see illustrations move around on screen in like paper dolls. Though imagine one that resembles a child that’s naked, covered in blood, and with one eye ball sucked out of its skull, now residing on the side of its malformed head (with its optic nerve stretched out to a crazy degree). The best part is the use of “practice effects”; when kids vomit, it’s real liquid we see flying. I LOVED Violence Voyager: it’s seriously one of the best films to come from Japan Cut, not just this year but ever IMHO.

Yet I fully realize that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea… then again, Ramen Shop has been long sold out (trust me, you’re not missing anything; Violence Voyager is legit a thousand times more compelling & engaging, whereas Ramen Shop is a flat out bore)… why not see for yourself this Friday, July 20, at 11:30 PM?

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