4.17.2005
kiyoshi kurosawa
if there's one thing to be said about the current crop of japanese supernatural thrillers-- best personified by the grudge and ring films-- it's that they appear to be, perhaps accidentally, constructing a new genre of horror itself. and parameters are being set accordingly... these films concern themselves with simple cause/effect premises (i.e. watch a VHS tape that makes you die a week later), prompting some sort of official investigation (either by a detective, or an agency, or a specialized protagonist), which inevitably leads to the discovery of an other-worldly atrocity of some sort. the emerging genre is caught between the ghost story and the detective story. and thanks to certain key filmmakers, this formula is not yet formulaic-- it is a useful catalyst.
having recently seen three of his films, i'm inclined to say that kiyoshi kurosawa is clearly emerging as a major force in this regard. with his careful compositions, nihilistic sense of humor and lean philosophical understatement, kurosawa (no relation to akira) is making the sort of intelligent, atmospheric horror best personified by alfred hitchcock or, more specifically, the val lewton productions of the forties (which are also new and exciting to me). his films are at once watchable, beautiful, insidious and subversive.
(MINOR SPOILERS TO FOLLOW, but nothing too bad...)
kurosawa's films generally begin with a categorical inverse of the typical horror plot line, in that there is no experience of the protagonist's psychological (or supernatural) breakdown. kurosawa's universe begins in the aftermath of such a traumatic event. in cure, for example, koji yakusho is not in danger of losing his identity-- it's already long gone. the film's fire-lighting antagonist ironically takes over the role of investigator, pushing ever closer to the protagonist's central lack with incessant, diabolical questioning. he utilizes the logic of explanation typically reserved for a hero. the horror at stake is philosophical rather than psychological. if 2001 best personified the sublime horror of nietzschean "eternal return," than cure does the same for the "socratic method." the villain's endless, empty questioning points to a stubborn and unchanging entropy. there is no remedy for the hero's torment, and the villain's endless taunts emphasize the lack of a psychological identity at all. whereas the typical horror narrative hacks away at a once-coherent individual whole, the horror of cure is in the constructive dimension. the terror is that of a nothing attempting to become a something, instead of the reverse.
doppelganger pushes similar themes in a different direction. here, the protagonist's identity is alive and well, but duplicated in a second form. koji yakusho stars again, this time as a mad scientist trying to mechanically duplicate the behavior of the human brain (via a hilariously broke-ass robot of some sort). yakusho eventually stumbles upon his literal doppelganger-- a subject who is 100% physically "him." but there is no struggle for authenticity, and little spiritual hocus pocus. for a while, the two join forces in a manner not unlike that of cronenberg's dead ringers (a film to which doppelganger might pay a perverse homage). together they seduce a woman, steal parts for the scientist's work, and hire an assistant. the momentum of creative duplication takes center stage, with increasingly bizarre and ridiculous results. kurosawa takes great, goofy pleasure in exploring the parent trap-esque cinematic possibilities of his premise. ultimately, his playful indifference to individuality begins to shape into a comedy, at which point the film lets it all hang loose. by its conclusion, i was both baffled and delighted.
best of all, though, is his recent film bright future. without revealing too much, the film concerns two conspiratorial young friends who work at a factory. one of the two (portrayed by tadanobu asano) has a poisonous jellyfish for a pet, as well as a rather irrational temper. eventually, and somewhat inexplicably, he murders their boss from the factory and lands himself in jail. the free member of the duo is instructed to take care of the jellyfish, which asano has been attempting to assimilate to fresh water. eventually asano's father arrives, attempts a reconciliation with his jailed son, and finds him as elusive as any good kurosawa character must ultimately be. frustrated, he joins forces with his son's friend in attempting to bring asano's aquatic project to fruition.
the emerging impression of bright future is not entirely horrible or humorous. with well-handled computer generated imagery, kurosawa's jellyfish becomes an apt symbol for the curious, inhuman richness that fuels the momentum of his films. again, familiar subjectivity is called into question. but in bright future it is done so almost out of an admiration for the erasure at work. kurosawa treats nothingness and destruction with a great love. as i watched a parade of computer-generated, venomous jellyfish glide along a fresh-water river (one wonders if wes anderson may have been watching the same thing???), i felt a deep affection for the plague being unleashed. like the films of shohei imamura before him, kurosawa's work embodies a kind of warm nihilism. he expresses himself through affectionate gestures of defiance. he reshapes and revitalizes his cinematic universe according to the divine whims of his own deep kinks.
having recently seen three of his films, i'm inclined to say that kiyoshi kurosawa is clearly emerging as a major force in this regard. with his careful compositions, nihilistic sense of humor and lean philosophical understatement, kurosawa (no relation to akira) is making the sort of intelligent, atmospheric horror best personified by alfred hitchcock or, more specifically, the val lewton productions of the forties (which are also new and exciting to me). his films are at once watchable, beautiful, insidious and subversive.
(MINOR SPOILERS TO FOLLOW, but nothing too bad...)
kurosawa's films generally begin with a categorical inverse of the typical horror plot line, in that there is no experience of the protagonist's psychological (or supernatural) breakdown. kurosawa's universe begins in the aftermath of such a traumatic event. in cure, for example, koji yakusho is not in danger of losing his identity-- it's already long gone. the film's fire-lighting antagonist ironically takes over the role of investigator, pushing ever closer to the protagonist's central lack with incessant, diabolical questioning. he utilizes the logic of explanation typically reserved for a hero. the horror at stake is philosophical rather than psychological. if 2001 best personified the sublime horror of nietzschean "eternal return," than cure does the same for the "socratic method." the villain's endless, empty questioning points to a stubborn and unchanging entropy. there is no remedy for the hero's torment, and the villain's endless taunts emphasize the lack of a psychological identity at all. whereas the typical horror narrative hacks away at a once-coherent individual whole, the horror of cure is in the constructive dimension. the terror is that of a nothing attempting to become a something, instead of the reverse.
doppelganger pushes similar themes in a different direction. here, the protagonist's identity is alive and well, but duplicated in a second form. koji yakusho stars again, this time as a mad scientist trying to mechanically duplicate the behavior of the human brain (via a hilariously broke-ass robot of some sort). yakusho eventually stumbles upon his literal doppelganger-- a subject who is 100% physically "him." but there is no struggle for authenticity, and little spiritual hocus pocus. for a while, the two join forces in a manner not unlike that of cronenberg's dead ringers (a film to which doppelganger might pay a perverse homage). together they seduce a woman, steal parts for the scientist's work, and hire an assistant. the momentum of creative duplication takes center stage, with increasingly bizarre and ridiculous results. kurosawa takes great, goofy pleasure in exploring the parent trap-esque cinematic possibilities of his premise. ultimately, his playful indifference to individuality begins to shape into a comedy, at which point the film lets it all hang loose. by its conclusion, i was both baffled and delighted.
best of all, though, is his recent film bright future. without revealing too much, the film concerns two conspiratorial young friends who work at a factory. one of the two (portrayed by tadanobu asano) has a poisonous jellyfish for a pet, as well as a rather irrational temper. eventually, and somewhat inexplicably, he murders their boss from the factory and lands himself in jail. the free member of the duo is instructed to take care of the jellyfish, which asano has been attempting to assimilate to fresh water. eventually asano's father arrives, attempts a reconciliation with his jailed son, and finds him as elusive as any good kurosawa character must ultimately be. frustrated, he joins forces with his son's friend in attempting to bring asano's aquatic project to fruition.
the emerging impression of bright future is not entirely horrible or humorous. with well-handled computer generated imagery, kurosawa's jellyfish becomes an apt symbol for the curious, inhuman richness that fuels the momentum of his films. again, familiar subjectivity is called into question. but in bright future it is done so almost out of an admiration for the erasure at work. kurosawa treats nothingness and destruction with a great love. as i watched a parade of computer-generated, venomous jellyfish glide along a fresh-water river (one wonders if wes anderson may have been watching the same thing???), i felt a deep affection for the plague being unleashed. like the films of shohei imamura before him, kurosawa's work embodies a kind of warm nihilism. he expresses himself through affectionate gestures of defiance. he reshapes and revitalizes his cinematic universe according to the divine whims of his own deep kinks.
