Comments on: Survive Style 5+: “What is your function?”

By: Egg

Egg — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:39:30 +0000

Very nice (and for me, timely) overview. I’d wanted to see this film for a few years, having caught clips and glimpses here and there. I was mostly left with the impression that it was an offbeat comedy with really pretty cinematography starring Tadanobu Asano and Vinnie Jones, and that alone was enough to sell me. Imagine my surprise when, last year (over Christmas, no less!) I finally got a chance to see it and wound up with something more like a Wes Anderson film that’s had the quirk meter turned way up. I really enjoy the drama and life lessons that shine through all the candy coated wackiness. Even though it’s a film that deals with pretty profound life stuff, it never stops being charming or entertaining, and even though some of the subject matter is violent, as a whole it’s so…unrelentingly sweet.

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:24:44 +0000

@moritheil: the fourth wall breakage isn’t really done much after that point but there’s a lot of surrealism (not just in the sets and props, either) and East-West culture clashing. It does have a lot to say about human nature behind all the craziness though…these weird people seem to convey some pretty profound things, ironically. And yes, you have to add it to your list! It’s one of the most original and striking films I’ve seen in ages.

By: moritheil

moritheil — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:10:05 +0000

A very intriguing review. Breaking the fourth wall early in a work often heralds incompetence, but it seems to have been done decently here. The use of madness as a lens through which to examine the human condition has roots in both Japanese and Greek theater, so it seems only fitting that a work which in which East and West meet employs it.

I guess I’ll have to add this to my list.