With "Cloverfield" being the huge financial success it is, you might hope that this starts a revival of the monster movies made in the fifties and sixties. I'd like that, for I have always been a monster fan.
But of course, if there is ONE country which has monster-movie experience, recent and as heritage, it's Japan. They don't really need a 'revival' and last year one cleverly made comedy proved that beyond any doubt.
I'm talking about "Dai-Nipponjin" (Big Man Japan). A movie which shows the most inglorious hero ever: a total dumb-ass loser who happens to have inherited the family business, which unfortunately for him is fighting giant monsters.
Now this is far from the newest movie playing here at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. We even have two good reviews for this on the site already, by Mack and Todd.
But I am so glad it's being shown!
For this may be the festival's giant (haha) strength: giving people the ability of seeing movies like these in a big venue, with speakers capable of handling the task. And really, spoof or not, once the monster-battles start you need a cinema with decent sound!
I don't necessarily have much to add beyond what Todd and Mack already said, so I'll try and keep it short, after the break (where also another monster picture can be found).
Note: I've tried more or less to keep it spoilerfree, but if you REALLY want to stay "pure" skip to the part called "The Movie".
The Story:
Hitoshi Matsumato plays an odd man being followed by a camera crew. It's all a bit shaky-cam (which reminded me of "Cloverfield" again) and the man is obviously a bit of an idiot, so you quickly start to wonder what's going on. But suddenly, a call comes in from the ministry of Defense: the man is needed to avert a disaster!
For he is the superhero known as "Big Man Japan"!
Who grows into a giant and fights monsters, whenever he gets electrocuted!
Whose exploits can be followed daily on television!
It's not a fun job anymore though: people are bored with him, the monsters are lame and his agent is ripping him off. But one day "Big Man Japan" loses a fight, and suddenly the ratings for his television show skyrocket. This puts forces into motion which start conspiring against him, but will the dimwitted and reluctant hero ever notice what's going on?
The Movie:
Generally, Japanese audiences are fascinated by failure. When a home-run is scored in baseball, the television cameras do not focus on the ecstatic player running his round, but instead show the beaten pitcher who made the mistake. "Dai-Nipponjin" caters to this fascination in a big way. And while I was constantly laughing at the jokes and absurd situations, by all means this was to my surprise one of the saddest movies I've seen in years.
"Big Man Japan" is constantly abused from all sides and is unable to cope with it. While the character never gets sympathetic you still feel for him because he is being treated so unfairly, and the glimpse into his troubled youth is also rather dark.
Don't let that scare you off though: it speaks volumes about the talent of Hitoshi Matsumato that at one point he can make you laugh at a dead baby!
(A giant monster baby, but still...)
The second surprise was the quality and design of the special effects. The monsters are too bizarre and ridiculous for words, yet their execution is stellar! Given the spoofy nature of this film I expected that it would skimp a bit on the monsters, but each one is being animated with care. And, as mentioned before, the sound design during the fights rocks the Earth.
Conclusion:
While "Cloverfield" is easily (and often) described as "Godzilla" meets "The Blair Witch Project", this film is far more original and therefore harder to describe. With its wit and focus on media-manipulation, "Godzilla" meets "Network" comes close though. It's also damn funny.
Recommended in a big way!
Hitoshi Matsumato scores a well-deserved monster hit, so I'll leave you with the man himself in front of his alter-ego's hulkishly purple underpants.
The only reason CLOVERFIELD made that much money was because of all the HYPE it had. Also most of the feedback from people who saw the movie is very negative. From 'it was pure crap', 'I wasted my money on that?' to 'it could have been something good, but was not'.
I saw where they are going to make a part 2, well with all the bad talk about the movie going around they sure wont make much money on a part 2.
this film is excellent. matsumoto is a genius. hope it's going to be released on dvd that has english subs soon.
I loved this movie. Got to see it on the big screen and can't wait for it to be released.
It seems that Magnet (a label from Magnolia Pictures) are set to distribute it in the US in early 2008, according to a press release on their official site.
"The first releases on Magnet’s eclectic international slate define the type of unconventional, risk-taking genre fare it will showcase: Toronto Midnight Madness selection BIG MAN JAPAN (DAINIPPONJIN) by Hitoshi Matsumoto; Tony Stone’s heavy metal Viking epic, SEVERED WAYS; action omnibus TRIANGLE created by the kings of Hong Kong cinema: Ringo Tam, Johnnie To, and Tsui Hark; Jeremy Saulnier’s darkly comic, hipster slasher flick MURDER PARTY; Olivier Assayas’s Cannes-selected thriller BOARDING GATE starring Asia Argento and Michael Madsen; and Mark Hartley’s expose on classic Australian genre filmmaking NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, featuring Quentin Tarantino. Many more titles will be announced shortly."
"MURDER PARTY, the first film under the Magnet banner, will be released by Magnolia Home Entertainment on October 16. Other titles will see theatrical and DVD release beginning in early 2008."
Source:
http://www.magnetreleasing.com/press_release.html
Asian Flix.
Cloverfield has made tons of money all over the world so a sequel will be made. I just hope it will be a more straight forward monster film that takes place at the same time but now with the little explanation thrown in.
For the deadpan element on display, Dianipponjin is not to be missed. It runs out of steam in the final 20 minutes or so, but man, the first 45 minutes are perfection. Simple perfection.
From what little I have read about Dai-Nipponjin, it sounds (in premise) a lot like an Americam comic book called Ultraklutz by Jeff Nicholson. It started out as a homage to/parody of Ultraman.