magnadoodle666

I can see how this movie is well liked by many people. It's definitely different from a Hollywood movie, and a breath of fresh air from "the formula". At the same time, it's not so different as to cause discomfort or incomprehension. Violence is violence everywhere.

If you compare this movie against other great Asian action movie directors, than I think it's not that special. It's well done, but it's ultimately a light movie. A bit like an Asian version of an Hollywood action movie. There are some moments though (the end comes to mind), where the movie does show some signs of self awareness. But overall, it's a fairly straightforward, over the top gangster movie. If that's what you're looking for, you'll be pleased, but don't expect to be blown away by a masterpiece of cinema.

This is not a movie that's easy to understand, yet it easily makes you think. It smells of nostalgia and of things past and fading. The film that the film crew is shooting about survivors to a nuclear holocaust is a parallel to the director's own journey to collect money from his LA producer in order to continue the film. The movie is visually beautiful, full of the magic of black and white photography. It's also a movie that constantly speaks about itself, about the hardships of shooting black and white, and about the need for "a story" which the film itself seems to lack. It tries not to be a film, but to film life. Yet, in the ordinary and particular of everyday life it conveys the eternal and universal.

If you want to see an action flick, you'll have to pass on this one. But if what you wanted to see is a contemplative movie about homoerotic love and violence, then this is what you've been waiting for.

The movie is set in a prison with the atmosphere of a Buddhist temple. Light, shadow, heat and flesh are at every corner. The film is quite enigmatic, but even if you don't understand, the story is busy enough to keep your attention.

I think that the film tries to convey some Buddhist reflexions about life. The prison is perhaps a symbolism for the false appearances of the world, and the pyramid and spaceship a symbol of enlightenment or escape from the world. There is also a questioning about causality. Kazuka's death blurs the line between murder and suicide. Who's will was it that caused his death? One might be tempted to say his own, but then the movie says that it was the rainbow. Isn't this an example of interdependent origination? To take a phrase from the Wikipedia definition: "This is the understanding that any phenomenon 'exists' only because of the 'existence' of other phenomena in an incredibly complex web of cause and effect covering time past, time present and time future." This might also explain the movie's (japanese) title: "A love of 4.6 billion years", which corresponds to the age of the earth. Anyway, perhaps other commenters will make better sense out of this, but it is undeniable that this is a contemplative movie that might make you think (if you're willing to).

As for negatives, the movie is short and somewhat unfocused.

*mild spoilers I just saw this movie at Fantasia tonight and since there is no review yet, here's a first.

This movie will definitely please Sion Siono's fans. It's more lighthearted and not as disturbing as Strange Circus. The plot is in the B horror movie tradition and centers around a dead girl's cursed hair. But there's also the parallel storyline of hairdresser Yuko and the cute Mami-chan.

This movie doesn't take itself literally and that's an understatement. Siono knows his audience very well and incorporates many gags that will certainly please j-horror fans. Ren Osugi's acting is theatrical and completely outrageous. He delivers a crazy and fascinating performance. It also doesn't hurt that the production values are very high. A must see for fans of the burlesque and horrible.

We follow the story of a bunch of girls who attend a private school with strict discipline. The school is haunted by a fire that took place 3 years ago and that killed all the students. Strange patches drip blood from the ceiling and some girls are witness to scary phantomatic apparitions of former students. The tension builds up as the girls get closer to their final exam. Will history repeat itself? The movie is fairly low budget. The actors are fine, but nothing extraordinary and the whole thing drips of horror movie clichés. There is no comic relief and character development is weak. As there is no main character, it's a bit hard to get emotionally involved. Overall, it's unoriginal, but still creepy.

I saw Wooahan Segye, or The Show must Go On, at the Montreal Fantasia Film Festival and I was impressed by this out of the ordinary gangster movie. The film is about a father's struggle to provide his family with a decent lifestyle and a good education. It doesn't overly idealize gangster's life and grimly reminds you that death could be at every corner. Yet, it also empathizes with this gangster's plight and portrays him as an ordinary father trying to make his family happy.

Wooahan Segye totally succeeded in drawing me emotionally. It also packs its fair share of violence and action scenes that should please adrenaline tuned moviegoers. There are also a few good jokes thrown in and overall the movie manages to find a good balance between more lighthearted action and a serious message about a father's hardships. The audience's spontaneous round of applause as the credits rolled comforted me in my appreciation of this movie.