Paprika - (2006)
This is the second Satoshi Kon film I've seen after watching and not particularly liking Perfect Blue. It is immediately apparent that there exist great similarities between the two. In Paprika a machine has been developed which allows the recording of dreams, there also exists another machine which allows a person to enter into another persons dream and act as a sort of guide. People who use the machine start to go insane and so one of the scientists at the developmental lab has to go and investigate. The setting of the dream world allows Kon to go absolutely mad with the visuals, including the recurring surreal image of the big parade that seems to be traveling nowhere but we know its end destination is somewhere bad.
The main problem I have with the film is that it has a major pet peeve of mine, which is that it explores the question of the minds view on what is real and what is not real. Numerous things happen that we are supposed to believe that are real but then it is revealed that "Haha, we tricked you...or did we?" The film medium allows this to be done too easily, the idea just isn't realistic in the slightest. What I do like though is that the structure doesn't get in the way of the drama, we still have the payoffs at the end and are left quite satisfied at the end of it, something that we won't see in the third review. The imagery is great but the real highlight for me is the music and sound in general. Too often the images are left to do all the work but here that is definitely not the case.
Grade: 7.6/10
Henri 4 - (2010)
My friend decided that we should see some films at the film festival were we live so I said yes, we saw two films tonight this is the first. The film follows the life on Henry of Navarre, who becomes Henry IV of France. His rise is fortold by a visiting priest who is later named as Nostradamus, which got a great laugh at our screening. The only review of the film I saw before I went in was of someone on imdb who said "Europudding" and I am inclined to agree. The film is all over the place narratively. About halfway through a whole new set of characters are introduced, including a second love interest. The other set completely disappear and are only mentioned in dialogue. I think it might have been conceived as a set of films rather than just one.
A lot of stuff happens off screen including a very climactic battle, they probably ran out of money. The period is evoked very well though apart from the fact that the houses of the French monarchy seem to be pretty basic for people that are supposedly fantastically powerful. Also, there seemed to be a sound syncing issue although it was probably that a lot of it was overdubbed so it just seemed to be a syncing problem. The film feels more like 4 hours than the 2 and a half it is which was unbearable in the boiling cinema that we saw it at. There are at least four sex scenes in the film which really came out of nowhere and seemed mostly to happen when nothing much was happening, they are also relatively tastefully done so they don't stand out too much.
Grade: 5.4/10
The Sentimental Engine Slayer - (2010)
The second film we saw was one that my friend really wanted to see. The director is heavily involved in the band the Mars Volta, who he really likes. I've not heard much from them but I didn't like them that much. He knows much more than me about music though so they are probably great. Upon looking at the credits, the director also seems to be the main actor, I didn't really know this when I saw it. The film is about some waster called Barlam who lives with his sister and is a basically an allround boring guy. The film isn't really told in any sort of coherent fashion and experiments greatly with mixed up timelines and the film looping back on itself. Its as if the director saw Pulp Fiction, Memento, a few David Lynch films and a bunch of other films that do this sort of thing (and better I may add) and decided that he'd do it like that. Or maybe he didn't see them and he thinks he is the first person to think of this sort of thing. There are also moments where Barlam seems to do some crazy things, except maybe these things didn't happen, its like he said "lets just jump cut to them never having happened and see what happens."
The soundtrack is also an assault on my ears. Sometimes things go incredibly high pitched and sometimes there is an incredibly thumping bass drum, none of it seems to match the drama is happening on the screen though so it's pointless. Also, he decides that he will distort the voices of certain sections or not include subtitles for certain phrases to leave you ultimately quite confused about what is happening. Confused is not something I generally like feeling in the cinema. Its the type of film that you feel will fulfil the classic cliche where if you say its terrible someone will turn around and say "if you didn't understand it, it means you're too stupid too." Which I think is terrible thing to say. Another thing I thought was weird was that the Barlam looks about 15 which is strange because the guy playing him is like 30.
There is one very good scene in it though where Barlam's boss tells him of his first time having sex and it is a simple slow zoom in and out to reveal that something has changed in the scene. There is absolutely no use of weird techniques or sound issues and if only the director had done more things like this instead of the rest of the scenes which I had no time for. The film was made in 2007 and has sat on a shelf until now, never a good sign. My friend really liked it though, so other opinions are available. (And I seemed to be in the minority on not liking the film listening to other people's comments)
Grade: 3.4/10