Seijun Suzuki's "Princess Raccoon"

"No man should love a raccoon".

Perhaps that opening line of Seijun Suzuki's 2005 film "Princess Raccoon" (or "Operetta Tanuki Goten") may sound like obvious advice. Or maybe something that really kinda goes without saying. But since this is a Seijun Suzuki movie, you can't just go around assuming things...




Working with several different Japanese folklore tales, the film presents the story of young Prince Amechiyo who encounters and falls in love with the lovely raccoon spirit of the film's title (played by the - did I already say lovely? well it bears repeating - lovely Zhang Ziyi).






More important than the plot really is the staging of the story - as its Japanese title indicates, it is indeed an operetta and the story unfolds through numerous songs (in many different styles) with broad acting, broader gestures and brash sound effects as well as the occasional comic relief character. To further emphasize things, it is actually staged as a play would be with typical sets and props.





However, Suzuki uses the fact that he is filming these staged events in order to superimpose backgrounds, move figures around and do many other little tricks that obviously couldn't easily be done during a play. And yet he still keeps it very simple - the effects are distinctly on the cheap and add an air of "cheesiness" and fun to the whole thing.




The numerous song styles are a clear indicator of the lack of seriousness. My first thought when the short "rap" number began with the two old characters was, well, horrified fascination. But when I put it together with the short tap dance routine, it made more sense...It's taking the standard stage/musical cliches and reworking them all into a fantastical tale.






If you accept that these are design points for the film (through limitations Suzuki has set for himself) and have a sense of humour about it all, you'll likely do fine...If you want to approach this as linear storytelling or try to put a standard movie watching framework around it, you'll fail miserably and walk away shaking your head.

At the very least though, it's a gorgeous film to look at. The beautifully coloured sets, wonderful background visuals and inventive lighting are alone enough to keep the viewer's attention.









But there is also a story under it all. We've been forewarned that any love between a human and raccoon should be doomed, but apparently during the thirteenth moon there may be a chance for our lovers. It all begins poorly for young Prince Amechiyo though, as he has been banished to Mt. Kairasu by his father, the Lord of Garasa Castle (just as his mother was many years before for disobeying her husband). His son's crime? He has finally reached the stage where he may outshine the Lord as the fairest of them all. After being put to sleep, Amechiyo is carried to the base of the mountain but ends up being dropped in Raccoon Forest. The raccoons who find him are very mistrusting of humans and believe them to be the bearers of disease that will eventually destroy their forest. As the prince and the princess begin to fall in love, the raccoons may prove to be right as the Lord decides that he will wipe out Raccoon Forest so that he may build a new castle on the mountain.




If this all sounds a little whacked out - it is. But I found it heaps of fun. In the end, I probably found "Pistol Opera" a bit more entertaining since Suzuki plays with storytelling conventions in it a great deal more by adding subtext and context via his images. As well, setting it in a world at least somewhat akin to our own gave it a greater surreal feeling. "Princess Raccoon" is straight fable - but still an entertaining and beautiful one to watch. Just don't try to guess what you might see next...

Short Film Blog-a-thon - Three videos by New Order

This post is part of the Short Film Blog-a-thon being hosted by Only Cinema and Culture Snob.




Music video is the perfect place for young filmmakers to educate themselves in the ways of filmmaking. Perhaps not so much in terms of narrative storytelling, but certainly in the areas of visual creativity and editing. These are the things that caught my attention during the 80s when videos became the dominant form of marketing for music.

Among all the "by the books" performance clips, there was a wealth of fun. Those great Peter Gabriel videos from "So", the weird spastic moves of David Byrne in "Once In A Lifetime" and a whole mess of things you've never seen before in those Godley & Creme directed videos. And later in the 90s, anything Michel Gondry touched...

But the ones that sprang to mind when I thought of music videos in regards to the Short Film Blog-a-thon were three clips by the same group: New Order.


Blue Monday


Why is that dog standing on a table? Why is that woman standing in a bucket? And why are there tennis balls flying around the band members' heads?

"Blue Monday" is one of those videos that is essentially a random set of images thrown together in time with the music. But when the visuals are
this arresting, interesting and fun, you don't care. It's remarkably effective at attaching the song to images which will last in your brain well after the video has finished. And isn't that exactly what those marketing types are looking for when they create a promotional video?



The flip-book animation works wonderfully with the staccato and staggered beats of the song - both the shapes and squiggles moving about the full screen as well as the smaller animations jittering on the pages being flipped in those little books being held by the band members. And by the end of the song when those tennis balls (which we've already seen under the feet of that dog) are orbiting and bonking everyone's heads, you realize you haven't missed any deep profound meaning...You just suddenly want to see the whole damn thing over again to catch stuff you missed.


Here's the full video:





True Faith


In the same spirit as the random visuals of "Blue Monday", New Order's "True Faith" takes it a step further by ramping up the silliness - there's just no rhyme or reason for what's happening. Not a shred of relationship to our reality, but at least there's no attempt to create it.

It's also a step up in attaching the music to the visuals. You likely won't forget the punching bag-like figure using sign language. Or the red, blue and yellow bouncing guys who time their movements to the music. Or the slapping...

And speaking of timing to the music, this is one of the best videos I've seen at using the beat of the song to drive the actions and antics of what's on screen. It helps propel the song forward and sucks in the viewer for the length of it.

The video also uses some effective snippets of the band performing live. They are just long enough to allow yourself to imagine you are among the silhouetted throngs in the audience, but short enough to leave you wanting more. It's a common theme with these videos - immediately after watching them, you want to see them again.


The full video:






Perfect Kiss


And then we get to the Jonathan Demme directed "Perfect Kiss". Completely opposite from the above two videos, this is simply a band performance in the studio. But it's one of the best out there.

As far as I can tell, this isn't a lip synched mimicking performance - what you hear was created live by them in the studio during the filming (though there was likely some mixing after the fact). For all the labels attached to the band and their music ("cold", "detached", "synthesized", etc.),
these folks can play and pull out great sounds from their equipment. Peter Hook's bass playing in particular is fantastic and is used more as a melodic line than a bottom end time keeper. That job is held by the keyboard lines and synthesized beats - though they don't appear difficult, there was a great deal of thought put into them beforehand to create the sounds that are triggred throughout. Bernard Sumner's guitar comes in later in the song to great effect as well. Dammit, there's even cowbell!

One of the secret's to the band's music is the layering of the sounds - both synthesized and played. It serves to engage the listener and creates an ebb and flow that makes their songs (at least for me) seem shorter than they are. Demme decides to film the performance in mostly static close-up shots of either the band members or their instruments (fingers on keys or strings) and I see this as a way of emphasizing that layering of sounds to the overall song. Only later in the video does he cut to a wider shot and a few medium ones.

Another contrast to the two videos above is the seriousness of it all. It's a single focus - the performance of the music - and the band members are there to do their jobs. The lack of any smiles, warmth or any kind of emotion from the group fits the tone of the song and the general theme of their music.



The full video:





For a band that removes emotion from their music, these three videos certainly manage to put a smile on my face every time.

Esoteric Picks #26

Geez, you take a few days off from posting and your hit count goes straight down the tubes. It's like people are expecting regular intervals of...what do ya call it...content.


Tunes

R.L. Burnside - A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey (1996)


Cranky gut bucket blues is R.L. Burnside's forte and when combined with the raw electric attack of Jon Spencer (and his Blues Explosion), you end up with an amped up shambling walk through the juke joints of the Southern States. I'm not a huge fan of Spencer's music (or his singing style), but Burnside manages to keep him in check and pulls out his strengths. Burnside himself gives an appropriate summation of the album in "The Criminal Inside Me" when he says If you don't get outta my face quick/I'm goin' kick your ass, you son of a bitch. And dammit he means it.



Classic English Language Film

Crimes And Misdemeanors (1989)


Two men at different stages of their marriages (one trying to end an affair and the other considering starting one) are the focal points of the crimes and misdemeanors taking place in one of Woody Allen's best post 80s films. Martin Landau is terrific as the medical professional who kills his girlfriend just as she is ready to spill the beans about their long term relationship and then has to live with what he has done. Allen's character (a documentary filmmaker) also faces his own moral quandries - though smaller in scope. In order to earn some money, he takes on the job of filming his slimy TV producer brother-in-law and this necessitates the shelving of his dream project. With the job comes production assistant Halley (Mia Farrow) who becomes the object of his desire since his own marriage has become quite stale. The sharp, funny and occasionally sad script is solid from start to finish.



Recent English Language Film

Ocean's Thirteen (2007)


As with the previous "Ocean's Twelve", this most recent entry in the series is not really about the plot or the heist. Don't get me wrong, those elements are great fun and (if you are willing to let reality take a short holiday) have consistent stories whose convoluted threads manage to sort themselves out in the end. But the films are really playgrounds for director Steven Soderbergh - they allow him to experiment with new techniques (ways to introduce characters or impart information), dabble with colours and essentially get his buddies together to have a party with very expensive equipment. Though some may feel it to be a private exclusive party, I always feel quite welcomed.



Foreign Film

I Am Cuba (1964)


The stunning black and white cinematography of this Russian directed film stood out from just about everything else at the time it was made. And so did its propaganda - unflattering portrayals of Americans, the plight of the working class, etc. And though the messages of the four individual stories within the film are far from subtle, you get to see a great deal of the people, places and ideas of Cuba at that point in history. The camera work and visuals are the true stars here though - in particular two separate tracking shots that have influenced many directors (Scorsese and P.T. Anderson to name but two) and remain marvels of technical achievement even today. It also doesn't hurt that the land and the people are so incredibly photogenic...



WTF?

The Ruling Class (1972)


Peter O'Toole plays a young British man who gets pulled into duty in the House Of Lords after his father dies accidentally. Considering that he sometimes thinks he's Jesus Christ and other times believes himself to be Jack The Ripper, you can see how the rest of his family may be somewhat concerned. And so what do you do when insanity is all around you? Well, you break into song! What better way to poke fun at the British class system than to do it through a black comedy murder mystery musical. This is the kind of role tailor made for O'Toole - he clearly relishes playing a character who is obviously bonkers but who may very well be smarter than anyone in the room at any given time.

The Oscars - Final 15 Candidates for Best Documentary

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences released their list of the final 15 candidates for this year's Best Documentary Oscar. In alphabetical order:

• “Autism: The Musical”
• “Body of War”
• “For the Bible Tells Me So” (review at Toronto Screen Shots)
• “Lake of Fire” (review at Toronto Screen Shots)
  
• “Nanking”
• “No End in Sight” (review at Toronto Screen Shots)
• “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience”
• “Please Vote for Me” (my review)
• “The Price of Sugar”
• “A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman”
• “The Rape of Europa”
• “Sicko”
• “Taxi to the Dark Side”
• “War/Dance”
• “White Light/Black Rain”

AJ Schnack has a terrific breakdown of the candidates as well as a pretty damning statement about the Academy. I've only seen "Please Vote For Me" (which was great, but a big surprise), but certainly expected "No End In Sight" to be in the running and am not surprised at "Lake Of Fire" and "For The Bible tells Me So" (from what I've heard about them and their subject matter). But there seems to be an absence of, I don't know...something different, something to root for...something like "Audience Of One", "Helvetica", "Wordplay" or "The Bridge". I can't say if any of these are more worthy of a spot than the others (or even if they would have qualified this year), but I certainly would have welcomed them.



I agree with Schnack and others (like Allison Willmore on the IFC Blog) that In The Shadow Of The Moon really should be in the running. My bias is clear here, but it's such a terrific document of not only the events and the time period, but of the fascinating intelligent men that went through it.

Short-Film Week Blog-a-thon

The deadly duo of Ed Howard (Only The Cinema) and Jeff Ignatius (Culture Snob) will be hosting a Short-Film Week Blog-a-thon coming up December 2nd to the 8th.

According to Culture Snob: "Commercials, music videos, movie trailers, and episodes of television programs are all fair game, as are proper short films". This creates a wide open field of possibilities - but I have no idea what I might focus on.

As an aside, it got me thinking of movie trailers I like. This recent trailer for the new horror film called "[rec]" is pretty cool and makes me want to see the film (which is kinda the point...). It simply shows scenes of an audience while they watch the film and their reactions to it:




Looks fun to me!

October Horror - The Fun Continues!

Though I tend to pack mostly Horror films into my movie viewing during October, I'll watch 'em any time. And since I built up my "to watch list" much more than I shrunk it last month (thanks Cinebeats!), I thought I would continue to pack 'em in throughout November as well. Here's a couple of note that I've seen this month already:

• The House With Laughing Windows (Pupi Avanti - 1976) - This easily would have made my Top 31 Flicks That Give Me The Willies if I had seen it in time. Avanti creates tremendous tension and superb visuals during the film and packs it with some pretty unsettling characters. This was so good I immediately moved another of his films ("Zeder") to the top of my zip.ca list. I demand a revote!

• Tales From The Crypt (Freddie Francis - 1972) - Another fine and entertaining anthology film from Amicus Productions. 5 strangers get sealed into a room and are told stories about their deaths by the keeper of the crypt they were visiting. Each person's story is around 15 minutes, moves at a good clip and gives them a nice gruesome end...Good clean fun! I'd review it further, but Final Girl already did an awesome job. These are screenshots from each of the 5 stories:
  

• The Vault Of Horror (Roy Ward Baker - 1973) - For some strange reason, people always compare this film with "Tales From The Crypt". I just don't get it...Sure it's an entertaining anthology film from Amicus Productions with 5 strangers sealed into a room where each person's story about their death is around 15 minutes, moves at a good clip and gives them a nice gruesome end. But the stories of their deaths are from their own dreams - No crypt keeper here. That's like totally different...
  

• The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Roger Corman - 1960) - Another of the Roger Corman and Vincent Price collaborations using an Edgar Allen Poe story (this was their first I believe). Beautiful sets, glorious colours, ominous atmosphere and Price doing his typical great job.

• The Descent (Neil Marshall - 2005) - The creatures were pretty hideous and made for some quality jump scares, but the most frightening aspect of the film is the thought of being trapped in a cave. Even worse, trapped in a narrow passageway in a cave.

• Madhouse (Jim Clark - 1974) - This was silly fun from the moment someone discovers a woman has been murdered when they touch her shoulders and her head falls off (a sure sign you've got a fun-filled movie on your hands)...It's not as good as some of Vincent Price's other films of the period ("Theatre Of Blood", "The Abominable Dr. Phibes", etc.) mainly because the story wanders all over the place, but it makes great use of some clips of some of his older films.
  

• The Whip And The Body (Mario Bava - 1963) - Man, Bava can sure flood the set with great colours. It really helps to create the surreal atmosphere for the ghost story that follows. The acting and dubbing is not so hot here, but it's just a beautiful film to look at.

Some other horror films I'm hoping to see this month:


- More Bava (via box set 1 and 2)!
- Warner's Twisted Terror Collection
- Hammer Horror Series
- Amicus Collection
- Tombs Of The Blind Dead by Amando de Ossorio
- Demons by Lamberto Bava
- The Blood Spattered Bride by Vicente Aranda
- Horror Hotel (aka "The City Of The Dead") by John Llewellyn Moxey
- Cinderella by Man-dae Bong


Well OK...Maybe not ALL of them this month...