The World of Kanako (Tetsuya Nakashima (Confessions)) (2014)

[HungFist]

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvvJmBhgNwU

"When beautiful straight-A high school student Kanako goes missing, her mother asks ex-husband Akikazu – a drifting, irresponsible former cop – to find their daughter. Akikazu begins a desperate search in the hope of reuniting his ‘perfect family’ – by any means necessary.

But as his investigation progresses, Akikazu starts to discover the darkness that lies behind his daughter’s impeccable façade. Clue by clue, revelation by revelation, he starts his descent into the hellish underworld of Kanako’s secret life…"
- http://www.wildbunch.biz/films/the_world_of_kanako

"...based on a Akio Fukamachi's debut novel "Hateshinaki Kawaki", winner of the 3rd annual "Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!" award in 2004."
- http://eigapedia.com/movie/kawaki

Looks a bit a like mix of his earlier works Confessions, Kamikaze Girls, and Memories of Matsuko. All of them have lots of fans, though I'm not necessarily one of them. Confessions is visually stunning, though.

Good cast: Fumi Nikaido, Ai Hashimoto, Koji Yakusho and, well, Joe Odagiri.

[Tenchu1998]

I want to see this movie! I like the colors and the tone of the trailer. I think Nakashima does this stuff quite well, and I felt excited watching the preview. Will have to wait for DVD/ Blu Ray release, though...

I like 'Memories of Matsuko' and 'Confessions'. The thing about 'Confessions', to me, was that I felt it was a little unbalanced. I like the beginning confession, and the genius kid's confession (end part of the movie). The middle of 'Confessions' felt more like filler, and a way to set up the ending, to me. I agree 'Confessions' does look stunning, especially on Blu Ray! The resolution is off the charts! It's a modern movie that reflects upon modern times - so, I think it was appropriate to shoot some stuff with the high-speed cameras, in order to set that modern tone. Although, I am curious to see how 'Confessions' will age with time - some movies look good for their time, and sort of wither out as time goes by.

[HungFist]

Schilling review:
- http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/201 ... 65RhkAxijE

Opens today. The release date was changed from the original to one week earlier.

[Tenchu1998]

Yes! Looks to be another brilliant Nakashima movie in bleakly sharp colors. If anyone is to stylistically depict modern Japanese drama, it's Nakashima. It looks as if it will be more in tone with 'Confessions', and I am totally alright with this. This is Nakashima's field of expertise. Maybe he could make a trilogy out of making 3 movies in this bleak, modern style.

Good news for me is that Third Window Films is releasing this one in early 2015!

[HungFist]

Went to see it. It's Nakashima back to his usual hyperactive music video style ala Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko, only this time the genre is violent thriller. Alcoholic ex-cop (Koji Yakusho) goes on a rampage to find his missing daughter, only to discover she wasn’t quite the pure angel he though she was. The father is not much better; beating and raping people left and right on his quest to uncover the mystery. "Shock Therapy Entertainment", as the film's advertising slogan states.

The film is ridiculously over the top, but decidedly so, and extremely violent in places. It doesn't quite pack the punch it wishes it would, and it gets a little tiresome after a while (few cuts last longer than half second, the film goes from music video aesthetics to animated shots, and there's constant shifting in time between present and past). Still, some scenes hit the nail with a sledge hammer and bring a maniac grin to the audience’s face.

Koji Yakusho is rather excellent in the lead role, despite the frenetic editor serving his performance in one second shots. Nana Komatsu does sufficient job driving everyone mad as the titular character. Fumi Nikaido appears briefly as a bad girl, nearly unrecognizable with blond hair.

The film caused a bit of stir in Japan after the distributor marketed it to young people by giving students an extra discount. The film is rated 15, but some of the content is 18 level by most countries' standards and guaranteed to upset moralists.

Subtitled Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVpLNCx2y7E













Nikaido

[Tenchu1998]

Thanks for the review! This feels like a movie right up my alley. I am all about the "Shock Therapy Entertainment" with fast cuts and stuff going on all the time.

I will have to wait for the 3rd Window Films release, to see this one. Will have to wait a while, but really looking forward to seeing it.

[Tenchu1998]

Yeah, saw the Japanese release.

I dug it. I liked the lush intro at the beginning of the movie. There is some nice visual moments here - Fumi Nikaido standing on the rooftop is a very beautiful shot. I like the over-the-top element of the movie. It's a pretty simple story, really, so I think the movie needed the really crazy action to kind of shake it up like that. I mean, the movie is like a stylish graphic novel in a movie format.

I learned one thing from this movie - Asian people have got some of the hardest heads in the world.

But, yeah... Not exactly a masterpiece. But still a good watch, in my opinion.