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Reviews
Hak mau II: Chi saat Yip Lai Hing (1992)
Hong Kong Action takes a tour of Russia and the United States
Though often likened to the French film, "La Femme Nikita", this second installment of the Black Cat series offers much more action, excitement, and overall enjoyability. Whereas Nikita was simply trained to be an assassin, in Black Cat 2, Erika comes across as having more similarities to the cyborg villain in the Terminator. Most notable are the Black Cat's point-of-view shots. Rather than presenting a human gaze of the world, Erica's vision is presented as something like a computer screen, or surveillance camera. Also, her emotionless composure and mechanical chip implants make her much less human than La Femme Nikita.
Although the story takes place in America and Russia (never in Hong Kong), the version I viewed was dubbed entirely in Cantonese. This produced a rather jarring viewing experience since most of the cast was white. Still, there are a bunch of memorable sequences, such as one involving a snowy mountain, and another in a machine shop, which make Black Cat 2 a very fulfilling movie.
Afropunk: The 'Rock n Roll Nigger' Experience (2003)
Punk in America is way too white.
Afropunk is a film that explores the experiences of African Americans living the hardcore/punk lifestyle in the United States. The film presents a surprisingly comprehensive account of the matter as the director captures the lives of a wide variety of black punks and bands that cover many of the subgenres that fall within the banner of hardcore/punk. Even more, the film manages to convey the perspectives of both black males and females, which is rather impressive, considering the fact that most punk scenes are unfortunately dominated by (white) males. Whether in the suburbs or in the city, the point reiterated in the film is that there is a terrible lack of racial minorities who are participating in the punk movement. And why should this be? Especially considering the importance of the anti-racist message within punk rock, it doesn't seem to make much sense that white males should dominate a subculture that is supposed to strengthen a demographic that has been excluded from mainstream society. I think the overall message in Afropunk is not that punk is not black enough, but rather, punk in America is way too white.
Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz (1997)
Only for jazz fans!
Do you like Herbie Hancock? How about Ornette Coleman or Thelonius Monk? If these musicians appeal to you, then you will definitely enjoy listening to this film. This documentary is about the record label Blue Note, which recorded some of the most popular modern jazz musicians in America. It's about a white man's ability to sense talent in a black musician. It's about immigration, running a business, and most of all... Jazz! However, it's a pretty boring film, if you're not into jazz music. Visually, it consists of still photos of the musicians and label owners inter cut with talking head interviews of people who had some connection with the label, it's musicians, or the music. But since it's a made for t.v. doc, I guess its main purpose is to be education.
In that case, I guess it is successful.
Kazoku gêmu (1983)
An Art Theatre's Guild Classic
In a somewhat indirect way, this film comes across to me as a precursor to Miike's "Visitor Q". At its core "Kazoku Gamu" is the story of an outsider who frequently visits a family and greatly influences (and disrupts!) the household. While it is nowhere near as gross as "Visitor Q", there are disturbing undertones (such as child molestation) hidden beneath the film's pleasant surface.
Even with all comparisons put aside, "Kazoku Gamu" remains a really entertaining film on its own. There are many moments where characters burst out with erratic behavior, as well as really funny dialog. All the acting is very well executed too.
A classic of its time.
Denchû kozô no bôken (1987)
Pre-Tetsuo Apocalyptic Madness
This film is very low budget. However, Tsukamoto's creativity and imagination totally make up for it. "Denchu Kozo no Boken" is a fantastic story about time travel, vampires, and a nerdy kid with a metal pole growing out of his back. 25 years in the future, the skies become blackened and the world is terrorized by a gang of cyborg vampires...
"Tetsuo" plus "Versus" meets "Back to the Future"! There is a lot of imagery in this film that is revisited in Tetsuo, as well as a really cool soundtrack.
One of Japan's 1980's super 8mm gems.
Step Across the Border (1990)
avant garde for the conservative
Despite its praise from the editors of Chaier du Cinema, Step Across The Border presents a rather poor account of guitarist, Fred Frith. Although Frith himself is a talented individual, this film hesitates to acknowledge his more ambitious projects, such as Naked City, but instead portrays him in a conservative light, simply as a guitarist who has collaborated with musicians in 3 or 4 different countries.
What disappoints me the most about this film are the sequences in Japan, where shots of anonymous and random Japanese are edited between shots of Frith, playing his music. What is this film attempting to say at these points? That the Japanese are somehow representative of the avant garde? Indeed, Frith has collaborated with musicians from Japan, like Yamataka Eye. Unfortunately, rather than simply showing this, Step Across The Border seems to glorify the Japanese and their nation, as something interesting and weird that can be associated with Frith's music.
Arakimentari (2004)
talking heads tell all
Although the life of the controversial photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, is the subject for a potentially great film, Arakimentari proves to be a fairly banal documentary. The director Travis Klose tags along with Araki in Japan, and presents "a day in the life of" scenario that is interwoven with talking head interviews and standard biographical information. While the film succeeds in displaying the wide range of work that Araki has produced, Arakimentari has virtually no formal or stylistic merits.
At best, this film is an educational introduction to Araki and his work. But for those who are familiar with the photographer, and are aware of the potentials in documentary film-making, Arakimentari may come across as a disappointing investment of 85 minutes.
The soundtrack by DJ Krush however, is worth mentioning.