Worth watching just for the shots of 70s urban Japan alone. Add in the music (including a bunch of performances in an underground club and a moment where the movie turns into a musical for one scene for no reason) and the styles and you've got a wonderful little time capsule.
This film feels much longer than it's 80 minute runtime and it's great to put on with some friends and let the images and sounds wash over you.
It speaks to how excellent this film is that I liked it so much even though I wasn't able to process it that well due to sitting behind a big tall guy who I had to keep peering around to see the subtitles. I need to watch it again and really drink it in.
Also that same old guy form the noir foundation introduced this film by saying it was complicated and demanding and that in order to figure it…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
I watched this with a friend who said it was one of his favorite movies and that he rewatched it once a year "to keep the magic alive" and while I already knew that this dude would love to cruise around in a hearse with all his buddies now I know where that impulse maybe came from. Or perhaps this film just surfaced the urge that was already there. We can never truly know another.
At first I didn't catch…
These men are demons. Harpo in particular frightens me. He is like a child but without the innocence that leavens a child's cruel nature. His face only smooths out from it's imbecilic grimace when he plays the harp, then his features show the beauty and nobility that is normally hidden behind sheer idiot malice. What torments a man so that his nature becomes so warped? Does he revolt, in these moments of sanity, at the things he has done? Does he revel in the actions he can take when unburdened by conscience? I do not know which is worse.
