The World of Kanako
This is an insane movie, often enough for the better. If one is sensitive about the portrayal of violence against women, though in this context it's to characterize one man as a true minion of evil, it could be a difficult sit. (Note: I am sensitive about it and a lot of other things, but not the portrayal in the context of art, unless the art is problematic. Thus, I did fine with Kanako.) The editing amplifies the intensity of this film about a step-father, Akikazo, tracking his missing step-daughter, Kanako, through a bizarre criminal underworld, at parts just flashing images at an breakneck pace. Flashback (ten years ago), flashback (more recent), present, party from a few years ago, present, party, present, flashback, flashback, present, party present party, like faster than you can read those words. You're following one psychopath searching for another, and what the step-father finds in Kanako's wake is a lot of dead bodies and damaged minds. It's got plenty of stylized violence as well as just violence violence. Sometimes you get a reprieve when you hear the pops and see the red killing graphics on the screen, but then cut forward to the fallout. It saves a little of what could have been very tedious violent content.
As to what it means, I think this can probably be utilized by people of various world views. At her core, Kanako is empty, manipulative, and pretty much evil. But her exterior, be it her physical appearance or the way she carries herself, is beautiful. She is massively seductive, but in a detached way. Classic case of desiring the same thing that will bring about your downfall. Her existence is based on drawing people in and capitalizing on their slavish loyalty to her. The analogies in our modern world come pretty easily. Facebook. Fast food. Fossil fuels. (And just to get JDC's goat) Capitalism. The flexibility of the metaphor doesn't detract from how well the idea is represented here, as Kanako is essentially pursued through time, and we get glimpses into everyone who was eaten up by her, and also from a force (the stepfather) that tried to control her and ended up driving himself mad. Even if the editing is sometimes a bit overkill on the maximalism, the pacing of the core story and the devices used to transport us from victim to stepfather to next victim, etc., work very well. You see the web that extends from Kanako to her stepfather, the toxicity that emanates from this core figure, and you can see anyone who gets caught there is probably screwed. Even if I don't use Facebook, I will still be stuck with the leaders voted on by a lot of people whose primary news source is Facebook. Caught in the web. (Not hating on Facebook users, I was one from its inception until recently. I just know it's not good for democracy, or really anything but the lesser concerns.) Ultimately, even if my eyes were a little bugged-out after watching this bananas picture, it was a solid sit.
I know basically everyone has been here way longer than me, so I wonder: Is JDC (stylized: jdc) the King of Cult on the boards? (Obviously not a bad thing, I'm just continuously processing everyone's taste here.)