Big Bang Love, Juvenile A
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Movie Reviews of Big Bang Love, Juvenile A
Movie Review: He has done it again
Summary: 5 Stars
Takashi Miike has created a story that is very interesting and provocative. I really enjoyed this movie and I put it up there as another classic for the Japanese director. Another great movie!Movie Review: Prison Pleasantries
Summary: 4 Stars
Man, Big Bang Love, Juvenile A is one tough cookie to crack! If you're an admirer of Takashi Miike (pronounced MEE-KAY) and his other surreal works like Gozu, Izo and Box...you're definitely going to "enjoy" this beautiful oddity. Those of you that "fanned up" after Ichi The Killer and Audition may want to tread carefully because Big Bang Love, Juvenile A isn't an easy watch at all. It's homoerotic, German Expressionist cinema mixed with chaotic, religious and scientific symbolism; a neo-noir prison romance.
Would I recommend this film based on the acting and cinematography alone? Absolutely. Overall, Takashi Miike's mis-en-scène is breathtaking and, according to his personal DVD blurb, this is his masterpiece. Who can argue with the man? If he feels this is his masterpiece, so be it. One thing Big Bang Love, Juvenile A is not though...is entertaining. This film is almost completely bereft of any entertainment value, it's art plain and simple and, as we all know, art doesn't always have to entertain to be significant. Personally, I thought this was an amazing film and I'll probably require a few more viewings to grasp some of the imagery present but this will more than likely never leave my home. It's a fascinating film, very personal and far from being a crowd pleaser.
Films that provoke thought or emotional responses are often misunderstood. The topics of gender and love, religion and science, past, present and future and punishment versus rehabilitation are rarely looked upon as entertaining so be aware before renting or purchasing this that it just may not be for you. I'd still recommend giving it a try.
Movie Review: Not his masterpiece but one of his better films
Summary: 3 Stars
On the cover art for this DVD Takashi Miike declares that "This is my masterpiece." I hate to disagree with him but I think Audition remains his best film. Fortunately that film and this one have a lot in common. They both have brilliant uses of color and odd shot compositions designed to make you uneasy and unsure of your surroundings. This film takes place in an all male prison. Two new inmates are admitted on the same day. Though strangers to each other both men have a lot in common. At some point in their lives they were sexually abused and both men committed violent murders which landed them in jail. One is shy and vulnerable the other tough and aggressive. The more violent of the two finds himself beating up the guards and his cellmates as soon as he arrives. He also acts as protector for his new friend. The two men slowly open up to one another and reveal very little about their past instead choosing to talk about the possibility of getting out of prison and whether they would like to go to heaven or space. The violent man chooses space since heaven would have people in it and it has been his experience that people just depress and disappoint you. There is an attraction between the two men that is hinted at but we never know if they act on that impulse. What sets the plot in motion is when a murder is committed. The violent man lays dead while the shy man is on top of him with his hands around his neck. As the guards pull him off he freely admits that he did it. It would seem like a no brainer since the victim was obviously strangled to death and here is the suspect with his hands still attached to his throat. The mystery deepens since seemingly everyone in the prison had a motive for killing this man. It could have been any one of the dozens of men he beat up or even the warden who has his own painful reason for revenge against the man. An investigation follows which is very entertaining to watch. Miike employs flashbacks to the two men's youth and also the murders that landed them in jail. He shows some scenes up to four times, sometimes from a different angle, but each time revealing a little more in context. Everything is answered in the end but until it is things are a bit confusing. In the excellent bonus features on Disc 2 the actors confess to not understanding the script after they initially read it and still admit some confusion as to what is really going on. There is also an interview with Miike included. This film like other Miike films reminds me of the work of David Lynch, both for their strong and unusual visual style, but mainly for the fact that no matter how hard you try to pay attention and catch every clue it still seems like things aren't adding up. This is a very strong effort from Miike and the DVD has some good bonus features that try to explain some of the meanings of the film.Movie Review: Jelly Bread
Summary: 3 Stars
Before delving into this review I must admit that I am not really a fan of Miike Takashi's films. I have watched Audition, Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q, and The Happiness of the Katakuris, among others, but for the most part the filmic world of Miike's films have left me a bit cold. I have definitely had my "oh my god" and "holy crap" moments will watching the films, but as a whole I have found them to be empty experiences that go little beyond gore, excessive violence, and absurd situations. (Maybe I should try other films by him?) Anyway, the main reason why I watched Big Bang Love, Juvenile A yesterday was because of its short duration, but I watched it again today because the diaphanous, evasive plot seemed to be hiding something more...
After a bizarre opening sequence, or two, two detectives introduce the fact that a murder has taken place. An inmate named Kazuki Shiro has been murdered by another named Ariyoshi Jun. However, some facts just do not add up and the detectives investigate the murder. Ariyoshi Jun, Matsuda Ryuhei, was put into prison after he murdered the man who raped him. Although it was in self defense, the grisly manner in which Ariyoshi mutilated the body repeatedly throughout the night made the self defense aspect a bit suspect. Kazuki Shiro, a young hoodlum with an amazing tattoo on his back, punched another man to death and has a long record of violence. However, the two strike up a tender relationship with many homoerotic undertones, so when the effeminate Ariyoshi murders the stronger Kazuki by strangling it is a bit puzzling.
The above plot summary does little justice to the bizarreness that is pervasive throughout the entirety of the film. Set in a bizarre future setting within a prison flanked by a huge rocket ship on one side and a Mayan pyramid on the other, the film actually has a timelessness aspect to it. Cut off from the outside world, time ceases to flow, and guilt of crimes fester until they almost reach bursting point. It is this festering that makes the film interesting, beyond the evasive storyline, strange setting, etc.; it is festering guilt that makes this film stand out a bit from others in Miike's body of work. Tom Mes of midnighteye.com states that "This is a Takashi Miike Film. It will make you wonder, curse, marvel, tremble, scratch your head, grow bored, and awaken rudely. Celebrate it."
While I might not quite be "celebrating" the film, it has jabbed a serrated sliver of thought into my brain and it is one that seems like it will be there for quite awhile.
Movie Review: A Dark Yaoi Murder Mystery
Summary: 3 Stars
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A is a dark story of mystery that is set in a dark prison in a strange land of pyramids, rainbows, and a rocket ship. The photography is beautiful. The action consists mainly of poses, extreme violence, and interrogation with the occasional tender moment between the two main characters. It was good practice for my Japanese.
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