And this is not anti-Murakami propaganda. There's nothing I could praise about this film except for some of the cinematography, and maybe Johnny Greenwood's score. There was just something off, the script reflected mostly the shell of the novel but never reached any of its interiors. The characters were nothing but flat and unrelatable. The movie is about sex, love, and death but I felt nothing, no sympathy for any of their cries because the emotions of the actors seem so distant and their motives so unclear. Needless to say, Tran Anh Hung failed to capture the essence of Murakami's writing and only kept the structure and form--this is a lifeless film.
It was also kind of revolting at times. I recall to the scene with Midori and Watanabe by the swimming pool, where Midori tells Watanabe about her sex fantasies--she imagines Watanabe coming onto her, she refuses and says no because she's seeing someone, but Watanabe does it anyway. I don't remember if this dialogue took place in the novel, but nonetheless this is some real fucked up shit. Another such scene was when after the death of Midori's father, she asks Watanabe to take her to see a porn film on the phone. Maybe the true intention behind line was Midori wanted to lighten the mood, or maybe she wanted to distract herself, but I mean this is some seriously twisted shit. I don't know. I shouldn't make moral judgements on fictional characters.
Maybe some of his other movies are good. I've never watched any of Tran's films, but I know this one is definitely not one I should start out with. He really fails to translate the beauty in Murakami's language, details, and imagery. Maybe he's better at films that are about Vietnam than those set in Japan.
--Bruce
No comments:
Post a Comment