sannichi Reviews

As It Is in Heaven (2004)

Pay attention, please

[6 November 2004]

A very strong, sentimental, epic, Swedish film I really recommend everyone to see, as long as - and this is vital - you reflect upon what it is you're being fed. A massive amount of prefab truths are pushed at you and they are more or less finely hidden in golden wrapping, ie the music, tear jerking dialogs and circumstances, not to mention in themselves powerful medias such as disability, mobbing, abuse of women and godless religious abuse.

I'm a rather sensitive person and is easily affected by the tricks even though I realize them as blunt. One shouldn't declare others' true emotions invalid, and there are films with much worse content morally out there. The big problem lies not within the acting, directing or general aesthetics, but within the main murmur within the audience during the screening: "this is what I've always thought" and such.

Pay attention, please. Beware that nowhere in this mess is there a human being, only characters. The abuser, the hero, the mobster, the victim, the silenced, the depraved, the Samaritan and so on. My experience of reality looks very different. Is this "what you've always thought" about people? That they're dividable in categories?

And the ending is somewhat beautiful but never in human history has something like it occurred and nowhere will it, unless a strong force of mass psychology is added. "I couldn't have said it better myself". Yes you could.

Dangerous stuff, indeed.

Whisper of the Heart (1995)

Only superficial on the surface

[8 December 2003]

Whisper of the Heart is a film that works on more levels than that of instant satisfaction of cheep emotions and indulgance in nearly absurd animation quality. It delivers raw, specific events of daily life in a context of high significance. Things that at first glanze appear small or even ridiculous build up inner tensions and you can almost feel the life-like unplanned developments of each character. It is quite obvious that the script isn't entirely finished before production starts, as Miyasaki (joint screenwriter) admits, and perhaps this is one of the real strengths of Studio Ghibli animation. This is the way Tarkovsky, Cassavetes and Bergman likes to work if possible, as it is the way real life works; no premises, no planned endings, no though-up characters.

I believe Whisper, along with Totoro, Spirited Away and Fireflies stands up there with the greatest achievements of cinema. That good.

9/10

Lilya 4-Ever (2002)

More and less than a movie

[10/10 · 24 August 2002]

In terms of being the fictional movie it is, Lilja 4-ever had little of cinematic language to pull you into it. Oksana herself has all the personal charisma needed but suffered from a directorial problem; directing in a foreign tongue. It's rather obvious Lukas would have had much more control had he known the language, which shows in more ways than one.

This was my lifeline through-out the movie(!)

If the acting, the cinematography (documentary style as always) and the script had been any better, I would have had to leave the cinema 10 minutes into the film. It's that strong.

I admit I got a little moist on the eyes watching ET as a kid and stuff. But this is something else. My stomach turned inside out on occasion and I did rather nice sprinkler impressions.

As is the case with No Man's Land, this is both more and less than a movie. A should-see, in my view stronger/truer than mentioned brilliant Requiem for a Dream.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996)

Another few cents

[25 July 2002]

As a film-maker, I cannot rightly display the impact this series of emotional torment has made on me. I am not shy to admit that, nor that I believe people should be allowed to see more of this than of Hollywood, which cannot by its very nature allow itself to do this very much.

Someone above mentioned he didn't want a cartoon to tell him what to do with his life. Did Evangelion do that? Didn't the series on the contrary display an countless amount of OPTIONS whether to do this or that, way different than the serving of ideas we see every day?

I wish we could see more of this sort. I wish film-makers world-wide keep gathering inspiration mainly from their surroundings and the events of the world rather than other films. We don't need another Matrix. Matrix' point is made. Let's move on. Make unmade points. Like NGE. And for goodness' sake; let the audience do what they want with it. It's supposed to be their movie, right?

Neon Genesis Evangelion - by the way - rocks.