風立ちぬ (Kaze Tachinu): "The Wind Rises"

Kaze Tachinu (2013).

Following our recent trip to the Pokemon movie (and Man of Steel a few days prior to that), Angie and I decided to head along to 風立ちぬ (Kaze Tachinu) on Wednesday evening. The new film from the acclaimed Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki (called "The Wind Rises" in English), we were excited to watch it - albeit without subtitles, as with the Pokemon film - making it the third film we'd seen in the space of a week (I was also keen to check out World War Z and Star Trek Into Darkness, which have just been released here, but I haven't gotten around to those as of yet).

Unfortunately, I currently have quite mixed feelings about this film.

It appears to be the personal labour of love (and swansong) of director Hayao Miyazaki (famed for Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and other Ghibli classics). As what has been announced to be the final film of his career as he head's into retirement, a lot of people don't quite know what to make of this film, as it's been attacked by both the political left and right in Japan (on the left for being too kind to Japan's war effort, and on the right for being too harsh on it).

To put things into context, I have to make it clear that without subtitles it is very difficult for me (with my limited Japanese language ability) to understand the full context of the visuals and dialogue of the film. Reading it purely on a sensory level, however, the whole thing appears to be a bit overly simplistic, with a rather dubious moral position which suggests that the pursuit of one's creative spirit is fine if that individual is ignorant of the acts of war their creations are used for.

The film's protagonist: Jiro Horikoshi.

In this case, we are asked to accept a very positive reading of the film's protagonist - Jiro Horikoshi (based on a real historical figure, making this something of an animated biopic) - who designed planes which were used by the Japanese military during World War II. I'm not one to delve into the politics of this in detail, but it is a bizarre choice for a film studio to make which is usually associated with child-like wonder and fantasy (with some exceptions, of course, such as Grave of the Fireflies).

It's incredibly frustrating, because without the necessary language abilities, I can't really interpret the film accurately or appropriately. I'm missing a huge chunk of the context, and I feel that my subjective opinion is really difficult to validate without a deeper knowledge of the language. I'm only interpreting from what I saw, which could well be off the mark.

It's worth noting that, as always with Studio Ghibli, the animation is simply sublime, and the music is breathtaking. Just listen to this stunning theme; it will take your breath away.

It's very, very difficult to read this movie impartially.

I'll definitely be watching this again with subtitles, and giving a more thorough analysis of the movie then. Right now, I'm trying to reserve judgement until I really know what I'm talking about. At present, I've found this particular article from the Asia-Pacific Journal very useful in contextualising the film, which I'd highly recommend to anyone.

Regardless; a curious film, by all accounts.

 

A Trip to a Pokemon Movie: Mewtwo vs Genesect

Mewtwo vs Genesect!

As is probably well known by now, being in Japan somewhat reignited my love of Pokemon somewhat (to the point that I even set up a local Facebook group for Fife Pokemon fans back home in Scotland). The games still continue to engage me on my DS, and it's been quite fun to get back into such a good RPG franchise.

Still, I'd given up on the Pokemon anime series years ago (around about the time I started high school, naturally). I hadn't watched a single episode of Pokemon since then. Well, no matter; with a new Pokemon movie coming out this year, I decided I simply had to go - as something I owed to my eleven year old self. So, last Sunday, Angie and I went along to the Aeon Cinema in Takamatsu to check out the new movie; "Mewtwo vs Genesect".

Well, it was... er, not great.

Post-screening blues: you can tell I look a tad deflated.

(Spoilers ahead.)

The film is basically your typical story, and a bit of a rip-off of the first Pokemon movie (which is the only other one I've watched). Basically, five laboratory-grown Pokemon named Genesect break out of their lab and search for a new home (we're never given any backstory as to who made them or why). Meanwhile, a brand new (!) female Mewtwo has been born in what appears to be another secret lab by another group of scientists (?!). This Mewtwo has since learned the value of friendship with it's Pokemon pals before the start of the movie (?!?), though distrusts humans (like the original Mewtwo). The Genesect attack a Pokemon sanctuary / park where Ash (and his rubbish new friends) happen to visiting in order to make it their new home (no idea why they had to aggressively invade it, mind you). Ash and Pikachu do almost nothing for the whole film while the new Mewtwo fights the Genesect and eventually teaches them the power of friendship and love, with the usual clichés, etc. Yadda yadda yadda... Uninspired, and almost identical to the plot of the first movie that I watched when I was a kid.

It's... terrible. It really is. Unless you're five. Maybe.

Also, Team Rocket show up for a couple of very brief cameos and do nothing of any note. They have no bearing on the plot or any interaction with the main cast whatsoever. Very disappointing considering they were the best part of the show when I watched it (they have pretty much nothing to do here). Additionally, Brock and Misty are nowhere to be seen (though apparently they were written out years ago, for some reason). Their replacements are terrible - especially the green-haired goon who keeps spouting nonsense in English like "SU-PAH SU-WEET!".

I honestly don't know why they didn't just use the same Mewtwo character that's been in the films before. If the character has exactly the same backstory, then what's the point? There's tons of flashbacks to it's origin anyway, so would it really have been so difficult to sync them up?

The movie is also preceeded by a twenty-ish minute short where Pikachu and a few of his Pokemon pals meet a new Eevee evolution and have various fun adventures with it and other Eevee evolutions. Fairly harmless, but I did feel a bit stupid at 25 watching something clearly intended for the very, very youngest members of the audience. Danny Glover has this covered. It also has an extended five minute sequence where the cast stare at various screensavers (and no, I'm not making that up). It's really just too long for what it's supposed to be, but maybe the kids enjoyed it.

What struck me most about this was how little the characters seem to have grown in the decade or so since I stopped watching the show. Ash appears no better a Pokemon trainer than the last time I saw him. There seems to be honestly no point in watching this series, because the character will simply never catch them all. As soon as Nintendo brings out a new game, he has another hundred or so to catch - yet he hasn't even caught all of the last set each time (in fact, he used to actively let them go for some reason). Essentially; the series becomes pointless as there is no conceivable end or conclusion to it. It will simply endure in perpetuity as long as it is profitable.

You can watch the full trailer for the movie here (or below). Strangely, a lot of footage from this trailer isn't in the actual movie itself - these scenes seem to have been animated specifically for the trailer. Many of the events pan out completely differently here (it must also be said that Team Rocket has almost as much screen time in the trailer as they do in the film!).

Overall, I have to say that I don't think I'll be going to any Pokemon movies again in future. It's clearly aimed at kids much, much younger than myself. While the game series continues to be a great RPG franchise that I still love to play, I'm reminded that I stopped watching the anime on TV years ago for a reason; I had simply outrgown it, and the nostalgia factor sadly didn't make up for it's limitations on this occasion.

Still... I can't say there wasn't just the *tiniest* part of me that didn't remember the good times when I was a wee boy, watching this show after school.

Don't get me wrong, though. This movie was awful.

Eiji Yoshikawa's 'Rumble in the Jungle' Movie Screening

Eiji Yoshikawa.

Eiji Yoshikawa is a fascinating man. A trained boxer who lives in Kagawa, Eiji has travelled the world on what he calls his quest to "fight for peace". He has lectured internationally and runs a fascinating blog on his website where he shares his views, which I highly recommend. I've been lucky enough to have met Eiji a handful of times, and he really is a lovely guy with a lot to say about modern Japan, international relations and global humanitarian concerns. He also runs an English school in the Ayagawa area.

I recently attended a film screening hosted by Eiji in the Ayagawa area, where I watched a cut of his film "Rumble in the Jungle". You can watch the trailer below.

The film is the story of a boxer Eiji met from the Philippines, named Cirilo Espino. Eiji trained with Cirilo in the Phillipines, and filmed time together over a series of events covered throughout the documentary. The documentary touches upon the poor quality of life for many in the Phillipines, and their struggle to try and improve their quality of life against their adversity.

I can't say too much more for fear of giving away the full story, but it's quite an emotional journey with a few shocking moments where tragic living conditions are spotlighted. It's an inspiring film.

I was thrilled to attend the screening, as an enthusiast of independent film-making myself. I popped along with Stephen Branston and Angela Fukutome, who also gave our feedback following the film. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and quite a moving and revealing one.

You can find out more about Eiji on his website, here.