For how much fagen and becker like to present themselves as jaded cynical new yorkers the more i listen to aja the more genuine it feels. Like yeah it’s immediately followed up by the much seedier noir-inspired gaucho but aja is just a straight-up love letter to their jazz/rnb influences. They must have been absolutely fucking fanboying when they got wayne shorter to play some riffs on one of their songs
Obviously they’re as dry and sardonic as their reputation…
The yakuza clans in this movie are portrayed as an ever present and inescapable force for the main characters… it makes sense if the life is all you’ve grown up with. And despite the constant oppressive danger and the dog-eat-dog nature of the lifestyle theyre able to find time for some really heartfelt interpersonal moments. MC taking a bit before the final showdown to stare at a fly milling around in the hole he dug for himself feels like the…
tired: borat cleverly uses the disguise of a bumbling, offensive, loudmouth foreigner to expose the worst parts of american nationalism that are so pervasive in its people
wired: my wife :)
