I've enjoyed a fair number of Japanese films over the years but have hated my fair share of them too. I shouldn't really associate films directly with their country of origin but I do it fairly often.
One of the wonderful quirks of much Japanese cinema is the defiance against pigeon-holing and so there can be pockets, within the same film, of slapstick and violence, matter-of-fact gore and long exposition. As a result, the feeling that something untoward may happen is all pervasive and I think that it really helps the film along as there is a genuine tension when the wife soon finds out, or more accurately, works out, what has happened. She has her revenge, of sorts.
The more detailed plot points are largely unnecessary, but this chance encounter has resulted in quite a lot of money for the couple so they decide that they should do a similar thing but more systemically - preying on vulnerable single women in order to pry savings from them. The story itself follows the exploits of the couple and what they have to do, as a team, in order to trick their victims.
There are questions raised about the ease with which everyone accepted the adultery (victims were aware of the marriage) and how there are some people that are desperate for attention - and not necessarily in the way that we often think of. As the pair have a number of victims, it is at once heartening and disheartening to see them have their hopes raised and then dashed in such a simple way. It almost seems as if the women are so unused to anybody considering them, and their feelings, that there is almost a Florence Nightingale effect that takes hold and that is what makes them such easy prey.
The thing I found quite curious, and again likely to be cultural difference, is that they don't appear to be scamming for keeps but in order to borrow the money so that they can restart their business. Some might say this is a fable about the difficulties of raising capital for entrepreneurs in Japan and how there needs to be a way for some businesses to be able to leverage the latent savings of the domestic, family saver. I'm not sure that was the intention of the director but I think a lot of these films are often about the side-effects of small "c" conservatism on the national psyche (although maybe sub-consciously).
I feel the purpose of the film was possibly to highlight the difficulties of women (and to a lesser degree, men) in the world of expectations that we all live in - and the husband/fiance does seem to be a vehicle to show the tensions that women in Japan (maybe more so than many other industrialised nations) face with the marriage of progression and conservatism that Japanese culture has.
Overall, it was an enjoyable film and it is now not that often that I watch films all the way through without a break so this must have been compelling enough. When it moves out of the exposition stage into the meat, the film definitely moves up a notch and there is a comfortable uneasiness throughout the film from then on.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone that is either used to, or is comfortable with, slightly incongruous pacing and style. I'll leave it up to you as to whether it is a juxtaposition or just incongruous.
Trailer and film details here:
The thing that often strikes me about the kinds of Japanese films that make their way to me is that they often have a very strong concept but quite regularly let themselves down in the actual storytelling - I guess they make brilliant short pitches. They also, more commonly than other films, seem to flit between comedy and pathos with no care for smoothing it over (Battle Royale and Battle Royale 2 [old review] are shining beacons of this!). Personally, I really like this and makes me feel unsure about what could happen (usually everyone/someone dies) but I can definitely see why it would turn people off.
This film is essentially about fraud but I'd say the type of fraud seems to say something about the society it is from - marriage fraud.
There seem to be a number of these films where you can see the monetization of social interaction and I always find them quite interesting (if not necessarily good) and this reminded me a little of "Noriko's Dinner Table" which is conceptually one of the most messed up/interesting films (about a girl who runs a rent-a-family business) I have seen.
There seem to be a number of these films where you can see the monetization of social interaction and I always find them quite interesting (if not necessarily good) and this reminded me a little of "Noriko's Dinner Table" which is conceptually one of the most messed up/interesting films (about a girl who runs a rent-a-family business) I have seen.
The strange thing about this particular film, and what keeps it compelling throughout, is the accidental way that they have fallen into this and the reasons for doing so - from the same event.
Whilst celebrating the 5th anniversary of the opening of a restaurant, a fire is started and burns it down (taking with it all the hard work and investment - I imagine it is poetic license but insurance is not mentioned at all) causing the proprietors to reassess. The husband (Kanya) was a chef and the wife (Satoko) the manager and so they try to find similar work - she works in a "mediocre ramen" place and he works in a number of kitchens leading to despair at their working quality and lack of control for him.
Whilst celebrating the 5th anniversary of the opening of a restaurant, a fire is started and burns it down (taking with it all the hard work and investment - I imagine it is poetic license but insurance is not mentioned at all) causing the proprietors to reassess. The husband (Kanya) was a chef and the wife (Satoko) the manager and so they try to find similar work - she works in a "mediocre ramen" place and he works in a number of kitchens leading to despair at their working quality and lack of control for him.
A chance meeting with an ex-employee at, of course, the train station for Kanya leads to a rather strange combination of adultery and pity. The adultery is almost to be expected in films, but the pity, upon hearing of the fire, is a little out of the blue. For reasons that I can only assume make sense culturally, afterwards she offers a loan of some money (and it is cash...) right there and then for him. And then he returns home in the morning to a worried wife.
One of the wonderful quirks of much Japanese cinema is the defiance against pigeon-holing and so there can be pockets, within the same film, of slapstick and violence, matter-of-fact gore and long exposition. As a result, the feeling that something untoward may happen is all pervasive and I think that it really helps the film along as there is a genuine tension when the wife soon finds out, or more accurately, works out, what has happened. She has her revenge, of sorts.
The more detailed plot points are largely unnecessary, but this chance encounter has resulted in quite a lot of money for the couple so they decide that they should do a similar thing but more systemically - preying on vulnerable single women in order to pry savings from them. The story itself follows the exploits of the couple and what they have to do, as a team, in order to trick their victims.
There are questions raised about the ease with which everyone accepted the adultery (victims were aware of the marriage) and how there are some people that are desperate for attention - and not necessarily in the way that we often think of. As the pair have a number of victims, it is at once heartening and disheartening to see them have their hopes raised and then dashed in such a simple way. It almost seems as if the women are so unused to anybody considering them, and their feelings, that there is almost a Florence Nightingale effect that takes hold and that is what makes them such easy prey.
The thing I found quite curious, and again likely to be cultural difference, is that they don't appear to be scamming for keeps but in order to borrow the money so that they can restart their business. Some might say this is a fable about the difficulties of raising capital for entrepreneurs in Japan and how there needs to be a way for some businesses to be able to leverage the latent savings of the domestic, family saver. I'm not sure that was the intention of the director but I think a lot of these films are often about the side-effects of small "c" conservatism on the national psyche (although maybe sub-consciously).
I feel the purpose of the film was possibly to highlight the difficulties of women (and to a lesser degree, men) in the world of expectations that we all live in - and the husband/fiance does seem to be a vehicle to show the tensions that women in Japan (maybe more so than many other industrialised nations) face with the marriage of progression and conservatism that Japanese culture has.
Overall, it was an enjoyable film and it is now not that often that I watch films all the way through without a break so this must have been compelling enough. When it moves out of the exposition stage into the meat, the film definitely moves up a notch and there is a comfortable uneasiness throughout the film from then on.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone that is either used to, or is comfortable with, slightly incongruous pacing and style. I'll leave it up to you as to whether it is a juxtaposition or just incongruous.
Trailer and film details here:
No comments:
Post a Comment