Lost In Translation: Finding Yourself

Clerks didn't really register as an independent movie to me immediately when I saw it because I knew that it had mainstream successors (and the only thing I knew about indie films at the time was that they existed and that their fans had a reputation for being pretentious). Lost In Translation on the other hand triggered some weird awakening in me. This was a different kind of movie, one that didn't rely on storytelling, but rather on characters and imagery (note: not all indie films lack plots, the way these three do; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Miss Sunshine, and Juno all have concrete stories).

The film is little more than a series of encounters between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, two actors I highly admire, as they try to figure out their lives in Tokyo. Murray plays Bob, an aging actor. He became famous and rich for making movies, but now he is in Tokyo filming a Suntory Whisky (the Japanese spell whiskey without an "e") commercial. There are few things he'd rather be doing; he sees the job as beneath him and he doesn't fit in with Japanese culture (he also stands about 1.5 feet above everyone else, making him stick out and creating troubles in the shower due to a very low shower head). Johansson plays Charlotte, a new wife who is having an existential crisis; her husband is a photographer who never has time for her, and she defines herself relative to him. She came with him to Tokyo because he is shooting a new band, but the few times he is around, he is with other artistic types who confuse and put off Charlotte.

Bored and uncomfortable, the two have a chance encounter one night in the Park Hyatt Hotel Bar, and they start a friendship based on their shared ennui. They discuss their lives and try to help each other put things into perspective. Bob is long past the stage of his life where he is still figuring out who he is and what he wants to do. But Charlotte shows him that people are worth being around and that people have a spark in them that must be properly ignited. Bob's marriage is not failing, but it has become routine, and he and his wife are almost a business partnership than a romantic couple. Charlotte is kind of the same way with her husband, and when she comes to life with Bob, he sees that everyone just needs the right attention and stimulus.

When the two aren't together (and when Bob isn't working), they go to various places around Japan to try and take in whatever culture they can. The ulterior motive for this is to show the audience breathtakingly beautiful shots of Japan. I could almost watch a 90 minute film of the two of these characters going to various temples, gardens, and mountains, and still enjoy it.

Up next: Bringing down the house?...

Coraline: The Other Other World

I read Neil Gaiman's novella of Coraline in late 2007 (I was about 21). The story is technically written for kids, but it still succeeded in creeping me out (I mean that in the best possible way). Coraline is a young girl who feels neglected by her parents, and when she finds a bizarre door in her house leading to an alternate world similar to, but more interesting than her own, she can't resist the thought of staying there forever. However, not all is as it seems; all of the residents of the Other World (I had read Coraline before I started this blog, but I don't think I intentionally stole the title from the book) have big black buttons over their eyes, and although her Other Mother and Other Father seem nice and fun, she quickly learns that the Other Mother has sinister plans.

The film version of Coraline, directed by Henry Sellick (he also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas), is extremely faithful to the book. The basic plot is the same, and the characterizations are nearly spot-on from the book. The largest difference is the inclusion of a character named Wybie; Sellick created Wybie so that Coraline would have someone to talk to on her journey, rather than speaking to herself during many parts of the narrative (though that worked in Alice in Wonderland). For the most part, Wybie was a good addition to the story; my only gripe is the way he affected the climax (in the book, Coraline relied completely on her wits, whereas in the movie, Wybie intervened).

But what made me happiest was the way the film faithfully kept the book's dark tone. Whenever Coraline was in the Other World, even when things still seemed great, there was a sense of foreboding, a "not-quite-right" feeling. Yes, I knew what was coming, but the button eyes, sickly sweet disposition of the Other Mother, and unnatural aspects all created a creepy vibe for the audience. I still have a hard time believing how relatively successful the movie was because of the tone (then again, Nightmare Before Christmas is a cult classic); I knew that Gaiman and Sellick fans would go see this, but I wasn't sure how much mainstream appeal it would generate.

Not only did the movie do fairly well at the box office, it was critically acclaimed. This is one of the best non-Pixar animated films I've ever seen, and the critics agreed. After seeing this, I finally became convinced that we could finally get a Good Omens movie; in the past, movies based on Neil Gaiman works have been poorly received and/or ignored by moviegoers, but now, we have seen that a Gaiman-based film can succeed on both counts.

Finally, I think this was the first theatrical movie I saw in 3D, and until seeing it, I had been skeptical about the new format. I wondered if it would be able to translate to the home theater format, and I was afraid that a lot of movies would resort to "cheap 3D tricks" (to quote Muppet Vision 3D from Disney MGM Studios). Coraline, however, was able to use the 3D technology effectively without throwing in any 3D gags (my fear was based on the Monsters vs. Aliens trailer, which was full of them, such as a guy playing with a wooden paddle and ball).

Up next: The art of parody...

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: The Sun Is Shining

Did you think I forgot about this? Wow, way to start off with a really bad pun. Anyway, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a philosophical science fiction tale disguised as a romantic comedy (I'm serious, many reviews have labeled it as a romantic comedy despite the fact that calling it a comedy is a complete stretch of the term, and the film contains absolutely zero tenets of the romantic comedy). And I want to warn you now that while I try to keep my personal life out of my posts, one of the reasons I've been thinking about this movie recently is that, currently, I am of the mindset that love fucking sucks.

This isn't Jim Carrey's first dramatic role (I think that was The Truman Show), but of all the ones I've seen, it is far and away his best. He plays Joel, a shy, timid, and soft-spoken man who, for no reason at all, decides to skip work one day and go to the beach... in the middle of winter. The only other person there is a woman with blue hair (it's colored hair; she is not a blue-haired old lady), and he runs into her in a few places throughout the day, before she finally introduces herself to him on the train home. She is Clementine, and she is Joel's total opposite. She is loud, socially aggressive, and speaks her mind. The pair begin a relationship and they look like they are meant to be together forever.

Things turn sour, though, and a few days before Valentine's Day, Joel tries to patch things up between them, only to find that Clementine doesn't seem to know him at all. He learns that she went to a clinic called Lacuna, which uses a special device to erase memories of traumatic events and situations. Clementine had her relationship with Joel erased, and this causes Joel to decide to have the same thing done to himself.

Most of the movie takes place in Joel's mind, as the memories slowly get erased. We see Clementine become fuzzy and landscapes disappear as Joel's subconscious awaits the peace of mind that will come from no longer remembering this emotionally abusive relationship. But then a memory is brought up that is not only good, it is wonderful. Joel and Clementine were not meant to be, but they had more than a few nearly perfect moments. They truly did love each other, but they couldn't make it work. When they were good together, though, they were very good. Joel begins to realize that losing his memories of Clementine mean losing all the good times he had with her as well. Joel's mind soon tries to fight the process and save his remaining memories of Clementine.



The movie examines the worth of our memories, and lets viewers read into the idea as deeply or as shallowly as they want. To some, this is nothing more than a tragic love story, but there is so much more going on below the surface. The idea that we could remove painful and traumatic memories sounds like a good idea at first, but the movie points out how dangerous it can be without ever explicitly stating the idea. For one thing, it is likely that, especially with lost loved ones, there would be plenty of good memories entwined with the bad. There is a shot of a woman in the clinic who is going to get the memory of her dead dog erased. Sure, losing a pet (let alone losing a loved one) hurts like hell when it happens, but to erase their death also erases their life, and all the good times you had together.



But more importantly, our memories make up who we are. We learn from our mistakes, and become stronger when we deal with pain. We know what to do and what not to do based on what we have done, and our experiences shape our lives. Eternal Sunshine certainly showed us the consequences of having memories erased, but two deleted scenes from the film really hammered the point home:

(SPOILER ALERT)

Mary the Lacuna receptionist had her memory of her affair with her boss erased, but what was removed from the film told us that she also removed the memory of having an abortion. Without these memories, she once again made passes at her married boss.

And the original ending showed us Joel and Clementine repeatedly falling in love, ending badly, erasing themselves, and repeating.

This movie is very layered, but it is an incredible experience if you are willing to think along with it. The only caveat is that it is extremely depressing; this isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but if you are not in the mood for this movie, it will knock the spirit out of you. But as I said, it is an incredible work of filmmaking and will have you rethinking the pain in your life.

Up next: Eternal flame...

Lust, Caution: Under Cover Mission

I realized the other day that, with the exception of Cowboy Bebop, all of the films take place in the past and during times of turbulence (usually a war). Lust, Caution also holds the distinction of being the only narrative I've ever seen to hold an NC-17 rating (I've also seen The Aristocrats, which was a documentary, and A Clockwork Orange, but that received an X rating when X didn't necessarily refer to the adult film industry). This movie was the first NC-17 movie to receive a wide release in the US since 1995's Showgirls (and yet, I didn't even hear about this movie until it was released onto DVD).

The story is about Wong Chia Chi, a young university student who lives in Japan-occupied China during World War II. She falls in with a small theater group who are led by a passionately anti-Japanese theater student named Kuang Yu Min. Kuang's brother was killed by the Japanese, and he has resolved to rally support through his patriotic plays. But he soon decides that this isn't enough, and when he learns that an old schoolmate is now working for a high-ranking Chinese official in the puppet government, he decides that they can use him as an entry point to assassinate the official. The rest of the group take on assumed names and pose as driver, husband, and such in an effort to plant Chia Chi, who adopts the name "Mrs. Mak (Mak Tai Tai)", as a seductress and eventual assassain.

At first, the plan moves ahead slowly; Mr. Yee, the target, is extremely paranoid, and despite his attraction to Mak Tai Tai, he doesn't make a move. All seems lost when Yee and his wife move away. But a few years later, Chia Chi and Kuang find themselves in the same city as the Yees. Kuang has joined the official (I can't think of a better word than "official", but I doubt any rebellion is ever "official") resistance movement. This time around, Chia Chi receives extensive training and reassumes the role of Mak Tai Tai in an effort to finally kill Yee and severely hurt the Japanese occupation.

The second time around, Yee takes the bait. However, Mak Tai Tai soon learns that nothing could have prepared her for her mission. She grows to hate him when finally begins the sexual relationship she had trained for. Unfortunately, Yee is as ruthless in bed as he is in business. The NC-17 rating came from multiple scenes of extremely graphic, near-rape sex (and full frontal nudity). Yee treats this woman he claims to have feelings for worse than an animal. And yet, as time goes by, Mak Tai Tai begins to feel a kind of love for Yee in addition to all the hatred. She has to keep up the charade until her compatriots can find a suitable moment to kill Yee, which means luring him away from his security detail. Therefore, she spends a lot of time with him on dates and in private settings, and treats him the way he expects a mistress should treat him. In one of my favorite scenes, she sings a beautiful song (though, according to the trivia section of IMDB, it was the theme to a film released a few years before the setting of Lust, Caution, and is kind of a pop song in China) to him, expressing "her" feelings to him.

The film has a slow pace, but it is an incredible story. Watching the students evolve from idealist young theater students into people capable of murder is fascinating. The difference between the way they act before the plan, their own form of training, and the way they act once they become full-fledged resistance members is incredible. And then the relationship between Mak Tai Tai and Yee is both beautiful and painful at the same time. Yee loves her in his own twisted way, while Mak Tai Tai fights an internal battle over his treatment of her.

One interesting thing that I noticed is the way women were treated in 1940s/50s China. I saw Wong Kar-wai's In The Mood For Love earlier this year (it was pretty good, but the main reason I saw it was because it is required viewing for 2046, which is a sort-of sequel), which takes place in China a decade after Lust, Caution. In both films, the housewives spend most of their time playing mahjong and gossiping. It is considered strange for them to be out and about on their own after marriage, except to go to their jobs. Also, both films star Tony Leung, who played a very sweet and soft-spoken character in In The Mood For Love. It was very jarring to see him play such a ruthless character in Lust, Caution, but he played it very very well.

This was the first Ang Lee movie that I've enjoyed (though the only one I'd seen previously was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and I was likely too young to appreciate it). After seeing this, I immediately rented Brokeback Mountain and thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Lee has been added to my list of directors to stay aware of, as I hope to see his next film in theaters.

Up next: Kaubōi Bibappu: Tengoku no Tobira...