Opera Jawa [Indonesia, 2006]

Opera Jawa is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to discover when I started this film project. Indonesia isn’t a known hotbed of art film in Asia like Japan and China are, so to find a gem like this is fantastic. I don’t even know where to start with it, but suffice it to say it is bizarre and challenging in the best way possible. Based on “The Abduction of Sita” from the Hindu epic The Ramayana, the film is a visual and aural extravaganza that assaults the senses as it delights them. It’s sensory overload to the extreme: song, music, sensual dance, gorgeous landscapes, slaughterhouses, fortune telling with pig livers, street violence, etc. New York Times film critic Jeannette Catsoulis absolutely nailed it in her review:

“A colorful and confounding head trip, Opera Jawa is guaranteed to test the fortitude of all but the most adventurous viewer.”

I’m a music junkie and have been into Indonesian gamelan music (both Javanese and Balinese) for a long time and its prominent place in Opera Jawa is the reason I picked the film in the first place. I’m not familiar with The Ramayana like I am some other Hindu epics, so some of it was lost on me at times, but it didn’t really matter given how visually appealing and intriguing it was. It’s not a simplistic retelling though, it’s set in modern times against a modern background of political and social unrest and relies heavily on symbolism (some of which I wasn’t familiar with.) It was a gorgeous combination of ancient and modern, sacred and profane, beautiful and violent. Full of contradictions, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. I found out it was the director’s seventh film and I definitely plan on searching out more. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s one of the few 100% rated movies I’ve ever seen on Rotten Tomatoes.

TRAILER: Opera Jawa

Tulpan [Kazakhstan, 2008]

I was not expecting to find a Kazakh film at the local library, but it was a pleasant surprise to find something so easily from a country not known for its cinematic output.

Despite having a 96% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, I just couldn’t get into this. Tulpan is the story of young man, Asa, who has just returned from service in the navy and is hoping to establish life as a shepherd on the steppe. He moves into the yurt of his sister (Samal), her husband (Ondas) and their three kids. Before Asa can begin his own life of shepherding, Ondas tells him he must get married because he can’t live on his own. Ondas has promised Asa a herd of his own as soon as he gets married. Ondas, Asa and a friend go visit the home of Tulpan, the only available woman on their part of the steppe. Her stern parents don’t seem terribly impressed by him and Tulpan (we never see her face or hear her speak) peeks at Asa through a curtain and she declines interest in him citing his big ears as the reason. Asa is distraught seeing as there’s no one else to marry and he carries on living in his sister’s family’s yurt. Ondas thinks Asa is clueless and is accordingly verbally abusive to him. And that’s basically it. That’s as much plot as we’re ever given. The rest of the time is just them herding sheep, laying around the yurt, arguing, etc. Nothing much ever happens and none of the characters are particularly likable (save for Samal who seems decent enough.) As one negative review I read of the film said, nothing really happens in this movie and the exotic setting of the steppe isn’t enough to save it. It’s like a faux documentary.Y ou get the bonus of a bunch of stillborn sheep and a rather lengthy scene of a lamb being born. Not much here for me. Can’t really figure out what the critics loved so much about it.

For something about Kazakhstan that I did enjoy, I’d highly recommend Christopher Robbins’ travelogue/history Apples Are From Kazakhstan. It is a spectacularly well written and fascinating book.

TRAILER: Tulpan

The Bow [South Korea, 2005]

Part of this project is me watching films I’ve never seen. I haven’t seen this before, however, it is the first one I’ve watched by a director I’m semi familiar with. I’d seen two of Kim Ki-duk’s previous films: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring and 3-Iron. I particularly enjoyed SSFWS, though 3-Iron was quite good too. With that being said, I had very high hopes for The Bow but felt a bit let down by it. The basic synopsis is that an old man and a 16 year old girl live on a fishing boat and while he at first appears to be her caretaker, it’s quickly revealed that he plans on marrying her when she turns 17. She seems fine with this arrangement and appears happy with her life on the boat. They support themselves by hosting tourists on the boat to go fishing. Things unravel when a man and his teenage son show up and there is an immediate attraction between the two teens.

The young man’s arrival ushers in a tsunami of tension because the old man gets particularly ornery and begins being cruel to the girl. As tensions rise, the boy makes it plainly known that he intends to rescue her from her life aboard the ship. The girl starts to gravitate toward him and begins to get angry with and dismissive of the older man for trying to control her interest in the boy. The day comes where he aims to take her off the ship and that’s when the Stockholm syndrome kicks in. The old man attempts suicide in the most bizarre fashion and that’s what brings the girl back. They proceed with the marriage (with the young man on board the ship) and when they take the smaller boat away to consummate the marriage, one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen on film occurs. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but damn, it was ten kinds of weird and has to be seen to be believed. I showed that scene to someone and the response was “Why would you show that to me?”

I like the fact that the film is shot entirely on boats and the fact that there’s barely any dialogue, but there were a few things about it that annoyed me. For one, the music was distracting. It’s a pretty serious movie and yet the soundtrack seemed like the Korean version of something that’d be on the Hallmark channel. It was incredibly plastic and sappy and just didn’t fit at all. Perhaps that was intentional. Maybe the music was representative of the unrealistic nature of the relationship, but I feel like that’s a stretch. And that last scene was just beyond bizarre. I know Kim Ki-duk’s films are often controversial and I like some of them, but The Bow was the first serious letdown I’ve had watching one of his movies. It’s also the first major letdown of this project. That being said, I can’t recommend his earlier film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring highly enough.

TRAILER: The Bow

Hospitalité [Japan, 2010]

Writer/Director Koji Fukada has constructed a bizarre, dark, farcical comedy in Hospitalité. Four people live in the workshop/apartment combo of the Kobayashi printing company. One day, Kagawa shows up claiming to be the son of a man that financially invested in Kobayashi’s father’s printing company that he’s inherited. Kobayashi, though a combination of a sense of duty and Kagawa’s incredibly dynamic personality agrees to take him on as a part-time employee. Kagawa is masterful in taking a mile when given an inch and before long he’s wormed his way into Kobayashi’s spare bedroom. Without telling the Kobayashi’s he’s even married, his Brazilian wife moves into the house and the new international couple sets to completely upending the seeming normalcy of the Kobayashi household.

Kagawa, played expertly by Kanji Furutachi, begins to manipulate the various members of the Kobayashi family…exposing their pasts and shortcomings and using their secrets against each other for his own benefit. The film takes swipes at xenophobia in Japan and “polite society” in general. It’s absurdist humor and over the top delivery are perhaps just what was needed to deal with themes that would be difficult to bring up in a more straight ahead fashion. I felt like it kind of took a dip at the end and dragged a little bit, but was overall a fun little film.