Love's Whirlpool (2014) & Call Boy (2018) (Daisuke Miura)

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Love's Whirlpool (2014) & Call Boy (2018) (Daisuke Miura)

Post by HungFist »

New film from Daisuke Miura in 2014: Ai no Uzu

"The story revolves around a nightly gathering in which a group of men and women attend an orgy event held in the back of a sex shop from midnight to 5am. This situation leads to much of their time being spent sitting around in bath towels having awkward conversations with each other as they decide who to have sex with."
- http://www.nipponcinema.com/blog/sosuke ... -ai-no-uzu

In case you don't know Miura, he's a very controversial playright famous for driving his actors to the verge of nervous breakdown with his ultra-realistic and largely unscripted theater plays. Miura's previous films, Boys on the Run, was one of the more delighting Japanese films in recent years. It's a mainstream romantic comedy (or anti-romantic film with dislikable characters, as one viewer put it) but has Miura's touch in it, resulting in a fresh romantic comedy with bite.
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Re: Recent and not so recent Japanese dramas

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Re: Recent and not so recent Japanese dramas

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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

Post by HungFist »

Saw this yesterday. It's absolutely fantastic! Excellent study on group behavior, anonymity vs. openess, sex vs. feelings. Does many things contrary to expectations, including placing Mugi Kadowaki in the most sexually explicit role. The only flaw is a couple of slightly naive turns which make the film more romantic and less realistic. Visually stylish as hell.

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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

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This is turning out be an unexpected hit! Similar to many other small audience films Love's Whirlpool opened in Tokyo (on March 1) in just one theater. Then happened something quite unusual. It went on to play full seven weeks in that theater! Not only that, it was picked up by two other small theaters during that time. And once it finished the seven week run in the original location, three more theaters in Tokyo simultaneously picked it up.

Now, seven weeks after its original release, it has already been shown in six theaters in Tokyo and is currently playing in four. In Sapporo it had a three week run in a multiplex, and immediately after that it was picked up by an arthouse theater for an additional unplanned two week run.

In total, the website is listing 46 theaters in Japan in which the film has played or is scheduled to play, and more theaters are added all the time. Not bad, not bad at all, especially for an 18 rated movie.
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

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And the film just continues being a major indie success! One small theater in Yokohama has been playing it for 11 weeks straight! In Tokyo it just stated in a new theater and it's still playing in some of the old ones.

The official website can't even keep track of the theaters it's playing in anymore. There's now 60 listed nationwide, but the list is incomplete. Before the film opened, it had been booked to six or seven theaters nationwide...
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

Post by HungFist »

Japanese DVDs and BDs 2014/08/08

Standard Edition and 2 Disc SE available, but with Toei's extortion prices (6800 for the special edition that doesn't seem all that special) I'll just go for the Standard Edition.
- http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_dvd. ... sid=928777
- http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_dvd. ... sid=928779
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

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Finally translated my Finnish review (in slightly shortened form):
http://sketchesofcinema.wordpress.com/2 ... whirlpool/

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(screencaps from youtube trailer)
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

Post by Tenchu1998 »

Excellent review, man. I haven't seen this movie. Nor did I even know of it, until I saw this thread. But, damn... I am not sure I want to see this, as there is a chance it could add to my cynicism. :)
HungFist wrote: The only flaw is a couple of slightly naive turns which make the film more romantic and less realistic.
I can share a fun fact about myself, in regards to the topic of the movie: I am 25 years old, and apart from masturbation, I have never had sex with a woman in my entire life. So, personally, I am still unfamiliar with what the difference between romance and realism is. I mean, today it seems we mostly find romance in a relationship to be this quaint, outdated mentality. But, personally, I am still a firm believer of romantic relationships with meaning. Although perhaps I am being contradictory here, too, as I've never, ever been in a relationship and haven't experienced romance myself. So, perhaps I become to snobby at times - but I can get bothered by the fast food sexuality that is taking place. These questions also arise.
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

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As for the romantic/realistic, I meant in the film's context. Cuteness, romance and sweet love can still be found in Japan; however, a yakuza-organized sex party probably isn't the place to look for those. These two worlds don't really mix well, so the couple of more romantic turns in the film feel a bit out of place in the context.
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

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Seems to have come out on English subbed HK DVD (no BD unfortunately)

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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

Post by Tenchu1998 »

^ Watched this one.

I really liked it. Beautifully shot, great cinematography and acting. Very well directed. Interesting topic, and good story.

It was definitely a saddening watch for me, seeing these young people engaging in this behavior. I have no problems with orgies, or anything; only this fast food sexual services I feel is reducing human beings to McHumans. Despite being unfucked as I am, I would never waste so much money on such a shallow experience. That's just me, though. But I'm just saying.
HungFist wrote:...The only flaw is a couple of slightly naive turns which make the film more romantic and less realistic. Visually stylish as hell.
I will have to disagree with that being a flaw. In general I don't think it's important for a movie to be totally realistic - I am still not sure if that is even completely possible, given that movies are not documentaries. I think the point is that despite the set up of this whole thing, these people still carry a lot of emotional baggage. As a director, you have to find ways to depict and express these things. It's very subjective.

I think the movie needed the stylish elements to keep audiences emotionally engaged.
HungFist wrote:As for the romantic/realistic, I meant in the film's context. Cuteness, romance and sweet love can still be found in Japan; however, a yakuza-organized sex party probably isn't the place to look for those. These two worlds don't really mix well, so the couple of more romantic turns in the film feel a bit out of place in the context.
I don't think those were truly romantic turns, though. Not really. The young boy ends up developing a crush on the college girl - this is pretty realistic, as these things happen. The ending part was actually quite hard hitting, in my opinion. It just showed the boy being naive, and then getting let down because of it.

But, yeah... I thought it was a sad watch. Good movie, though.
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

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Miura has a new movie coming out in April, Shonen (娼年), about a male prostitute. Based on his own play, which was based on a novel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUMqNek1IZY

Always interested in a new Miura movie, but why does this look like crap visually???
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

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HungFist wrote:Miura has a new movie coming out in April, Shonen (娼年), about a male prostitute. Based on his own play, which was based on a novel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUMqNek1IZY

Always interested in a new Miura movie, but why does this look like crap visually???
Full trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPrbW6HYRAU
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

Post by Guro Taku »

I think it looks fine visually. A bit confused that a male prostitute seems to be mostly having sex with women (there is only one male client shown in the trailer) but maybe that's more realistic in Japan?
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

Post by HungFist »

Guro Taku wrote:I think it looks fine visually. A bit confused that a male prostitute seems to be mostly having sex with women (there is only one male client shown in the trailer) but maybe that's more realistic in Japan?
Maybe yes. Host clubs seem to be pretty popular among women, so...
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (Ai no uzu) (Daisuke Miura, 2014)

Post by Guro Taku »

HungFist wrote: 23 Feb 2018, 10:52 Miura has a new movie coming out in April, Shonen (娼年), about a male prostitute.
DVD/Blu-ray from Happinet September 14th.
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (2014) & Call Boy (2018) (Daisuke Miura)

Post by HungFist »

I was wrong to doubt Shonen

Call Boy (娼年) (Japan, 2018) [DVD] - 4/5
This film's got to have the longest, relatively most realistic sex scenes in any mainstream film. It's also another terrific, emotionally brutal and ultra-realistic film by the most interesting director in Japan, Daisuke Miura. The opening alone is great: a handsome university student is picked up by a seductive older lady. When they get to her place, the gist is revealed: he's not to have sex with her but her mute daughter, while she watches. She's also the owner of a call boy service to which he is soon hired. This is an adaptation from Miura's own stage play - a world where he gained notoriety for his abusive directing methods aimed at bringing the best out of the cast, and whether you approve his methods or not, the performance are once again terrific (as they were in his romantic-comedy-gone-punk Boys on the Run and modern-day-Roman-Porno with style and psychological depth to boot Love's Whirlpool). I hesitated seeing Call Boy for its lower tech looking visuals, but the otherwise stylish camera work, New York jazz score and superb character realism overcome it. The realism is partially relative, though, with perhaps a bit too much AV influence to the slick sex scenes (though you could argue that`s exactly what the young Japanese are influenced by in real life) and half of the customers being in the Ami Tomite / Yuki Sakurai / Kokone Sasaki (all Sion Sono actresses, btw) range of burning hot, and the rest including Daiei star Kyoko Enami (!), now in her mid 70s, in an unexpectedly sweet role. All that's quite ok, this IS cinema after all.

Side note: this is being a huge rental hit, it seems. I had to go to two stores to get it (all the 1st one had was 30 empty cases with all copies rented out) and still settle on a DVD (all BDs out in the 2nd store as well). And that was on a Wednesday night!
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (2014) & Call Boy (2018) (Daisuke Miura)

Post by Guro Taku »

HungFist wrote: 26 Oct 2018, 14:49 This is an adaptation from Miura's own stage play
The credits claim it was based on a novel by one Ira Ishida with no mention of a stage play. Looks like Miura adapted it for the stage first in 2016 and then proceeded with a movie version. Also of possible interest: there are a total of 3 "Call Boy" novels by Ishida, one from 2004, a sequel from 2011 and a third volume from 2018. No idea if the movie covered all 3 volumes or just the first. The stage version, at least, is said to have incorporated elements from the second book as well. There was also a manga version published in 2013.
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (2014) & Call Boy (2018) (Daisuke Miura)

Post by HungFist »

I knew about the novel, but assumed the film was based on the stage play since Miura did that first, and I believe the male star was in it too. I could be mistaken. I didn't know there were 3 novels though, nor about the manga.
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Re: Love's Whirlpool (2014) & Call Boy (2018) (Daisuke Miura)

Post by Guro Taku »

HK release with English subtitles from Panorama Distributions on January 18th. Cat. III of course but I have serious doubts this will be uncut.
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