Nakashima Tatsuya is a genius Japanese director. His “Confessions” and “Memories of Matsuko” are living evidences of his brilliance. The downside is that he doesn’t come out much but when he does, it will be through a thought-provoking wild picture like The World of Kanako.
Being a serious fan of Nakashima filmmaking, I was eagerly anticipating this. But I wasn’t ready for this darker tone and pitch black atmosphere. Needless to say, I was pleased in a very good way. The picture was a clear depiction of an ill society with lots of vacancy within.
The storyline was based on several flashbacks to draw Kanako’s life. The multitude of switching between the past and the present was an intelligent procedure to keep the suspense until the end. Of course, the overuse might turn out confusing especially by the end but it was a definite win for the film’s two hours’ longitude.
The plot’s successively coherent events helped expressing the characters’ nightmarish adventures. But it was the excessive violence that pinpointed the severity of what actually happened. Of course brutal beatings and cuttings can come out extremely discomforting but it’s their gruesome nature that grabs the memory and highlights the nasty reality Nakashima was trying to illustrate: Nothing is what it seems. There’s always a hidden reality underneath.
Beside Nakashima’s explosive style in picturing a chaos in stunning colours, there were his brilliant main leads. They’re what strengthened my wish to see this picture in the first place; the veteran Yakusho Koji (he was on a whole different level), the brilliant Tsumabuki Satoshi, the charismatic Odagiri Joe, the much imposing Nakatani and even the impressive younger talents Hashimoto, Komatsu and especially Shimizu. The film’s loaded cast helped bringing few of the craziest characters ever.
There’s zero hero in this film. All of its characters are some sort of anti-heroes, psychos, sadists, violent pricks and even demons. It was the intense characterisation that made me glued to the screen the whole time. They make one hell of an entertaining bunch. They were perfectly entwined in a messy havoc. They even get crazier as the film goes on and on unravelling their traits one by one. Some characters didn’t get proper explanations as they popped on the screen but it all went well for the final blow.
Maybe Nakashima went abroad with the repeated violence, brutality, rape, drug use and all the ugly side of REALITY but it was especially genius how he has wrapped his characters in a surrealist cover of apparent fantasy. It does take a big director to convince his audience about the line between reality and fiction without getting caught in his own scenario. Hats off to you oji-san!
The World of Kanako is a fascinating take about the ugliness in society (more particularly Japanese). It’s an intriguing view about people’s masks and their crazy reactions when someone pushes the wrong button. It’s basically a gripping watch centring on wild characters being pushed to the edge.
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-Wildness beyond imaginations.... check!
-Violence... check!
-Hopelessness...check!
-Spot on comedic scenes...check!
-Amazing performance from the whole cast...check!
-Magnificent use of flashbacks, colours, lighting and music... MAJOR Check!
-Memorable... We'll see about that ;)
-Story... I don't usually watch anything where there is no one to root for, much less enjoy it, but somehow this story was engaging so...check! But it was mostly because of it's characters rather than the story itself.
This is definitely a director piece. What I love about this movie is exactly what I loved about Confession. The not so linear timeline, the constant use of flashbacks, seeing only part of the picture piece by piece until it makes all sense, the effective use of music to indicate the absurdity of the situation, the colours used show the madness in the world. The movie doesn't shy away from anything, and the story is told by one hell of a messed up dirty old ojisan. Under a lesser director, this movie would've been like any other, average, forgettable. Nakashima has a way of mastering the image he's showing. A true artist who manages to connect with the audience through images.
Yakusho Koji's genius was beyond my imagination (currently checking out his movie list ;)) Tsumabuki was adorably delightful. I smile on every scene he's in. Sometimes I burst out laughing. Specially in his last scene in the movies. Hilarious! It just caught me by surprise. Odagiri, oh Odagiri, he may not appeared long in the movie, but it was long enough to captivate me. To the point that I didn't realize I was missing my chance to get some great screencaps of him XD. What a scene that way. Words cannot describe it. It was so effortless on his part. Playing crazy characters for him is like a kid getting his favourite toy on christmas!
That young cast! No fear for the future of the Japanese cinema as long as they're around. It's my first time seeing Komatsu Nana so can't judge much but she has the perfect demonic beauty that she uses effectively here. Hashimoto Ai always knows the best thing to say at the right moment. Hiroya Shimizu was also perfect his the use of his character is interesting.
It wasn't an easy watch but totally worth watching. If you're a fan of Nakashima movies, especially Confessions, you'll definitely like it. If you are a fan of any of the cast, they make such a spectacular job it's worth venturing into this movie!
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The story is very disturbing: there are rapes, murders, beatings, drugs, prostitution, etc... That kind of content COMPLETELY fills the film. Besides, none of the characters are likeable. Not even a bit. You might pity some, but that's it. I HATED them. And yet, I couldn't stop watching. No matter how disturbing and violent the film became, I could not take my eyes away. There's something mesmerizing about it. And the story itself is rather interesting.
What makes the film so mesmerizing is probably it's OUTSTANDING acting. The cast alone is already jaw-dropping.
EVERY ONE is amazing. Koji Yakusho gives a completely committed and award-worthy performance as the completely hateful Akikazu Fujishima. Miki Nakatani is in the film for about 10 minutes, but you can't forget her.
But the young cast are the ones that truly deserve praise. In this film you can find the actors that are probably going to be the future of japanase cinema. Nana Komatsu is hypnotizing as Kanako. You hate her as much as you love her, no matter what she does. And trust me, she does some stuff that's utterly disgusting. Fumi Nikaido, Ai Hashimoto and Aoi Morikawa don't get too much screen time, but every single one of their scenes is fantastic, and their acting is SPECTACULAR, especially, Fumi Nikaido's. Hiroya Shimizu gives one of the BEST performances in the film. Trust me, he's one to watch. Mahiro Takasugi and Shono Hayama don't appear much, but they're scary in this film.
The soundtrack is also pretty good, and it fits the film really well.
I also have to mention the cinematography and the editing of the film. Both aspects are VERY impressive in this film (they always are impressive in a film by Tetsuya Nakashima).
I don't know if I'll watch it again soon, because it's very disturbing and hard to watch, but I liked it.
To sum up, The World of Kanako is a extremely disturbing film, but its direction and its cast, which is one of the best casts I've ever seen, are more than enough to give it a chance. If you like Tetsuya Nakashima's work (specially Confessions), don't even hesitate, because you're probably going to like it as much as I did.
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Kawaki (its more original title based on the novel by Akio Fukamachi, literally translated to Thirst) is graphic, gritty and insanely beautiful in its own twisted way. The crazy amount of jump cuts from one place to another, overwhelms to the point of suffocation and dizziness yet it makes you pay attention, it makes your eyes glued to the increase with the fear that you might miss a beat. It's almost as if you're being assaulted with all these images rushing before your eyes. Maybe for a thriller, it is a little too extreme.
There are four timelines, while complicated (and rather annoying) at first, it's not meant to make your head spin because it's actually just rather simple. When you adjust to this style, you'll eventually connect the dots. It's not meant to be a puzzle. Yet it gives off the vibe and makes everything so mysterious when it's really just...simple.
That's Asian cinema for you. A simple plot yet an insane mashup of sorts to make it engaging and edgy. The transitions are quick, spontaneous yet they are needed as it contributes to the overall storytelling and ironically, end up making things smooth. The colors are dull, empty and almost dead. Even with scenes with Kanako, where things are suppose to be brighter (or livelier), the colors are...empty as if to reflect her character. Yet it is beautiful to watch because there are empty colors and empty light flares yet the extreme close-ups gives you a light, almost seductive and evil vibe very much like our femme fatale, Kanako.
There's also the corny old-style music that plays during intense scenes which in general wouldn't fit but here, it acts as a contrast, to draw out the scene and the characters and their actions. And speaking of characters, while the story is about a search for Kanako, it's really her father, Akikazu Fujishima that we get to know more about. Other than the fact that he's a miserable old man...through his search for his daughter, we also come to understand more about his personality, the destruction of his family and eventually himself. His love and hate for his daughter is just like his white coat soaked with blood. Of course, Koji Yakusho gives a great performance. This father-daughter pairing makes you question if the fruit truly does fall far from the seed and that parents (and children) themselves can destroy each other. This a tandem deemed for oblivion.
But newcomers like Nana Komatsu (whom I love so I'm probably biased here) plays the good-girl-image so well and in the end, we don't really know anything about her except from what people think of her. That what makes her disappearance interesting and what thrives this drama. It backs us up in a corner, thinking how much of a monster our characters are based on what we are shown or what we are told. But are they really? Also, Fumi Nikaido and Hiroya Shimizu are amazing as well.
I love the metaphor around Alice in Wonderland and how it plays a part on Kanako's character. If you're expecting a closure at the end, don't. You have the "freedom" to choose what to believe in the end. (Ironically, freedom is destruction here) With issues like drugs, prostitution, rape, murder...The World of Kanako is truly a mashup of sorts. What is The World of Kanako in a nutshell? It's in the opening lines. "I love you...I'll kill you." It's really a film about twisted, destructive love. Nakashima plays around with so many elements, the beginning connects with the ending and so forth. It's actually been a roller-coaster watching this.
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I have no clue what happened but I kind of liked it???
To be honest, I had no clue what was going on here. But I really like the implicit meaning behind it.I actually watched it because of the speculations from Girl From Nowhere, saying that the series was a reference to this movie.
And so, I decided to watch it.
NON-SPOILER REVIEW:
If you hate GORE, RAPE, VIOLENCE, DRUGS, or back-to-forth timelines - then this is NOT for you.
The World of Kanako expresses a reality that truly exists. Even though it's a little dramatized, the theme is still there. It's a game of cat and mouse, except Kanako is smart, and ruthless. The suspense of his existence is there and is a complete question even after the movie ends. Also, there is no good person here.
In essence, I think The World of Kanako is exactly that - a world that feeds on the existence and remnants of Kanako. She lingers and leaves a mark on all she encounters. Both sides of the world, whether it's criminal activity or school, she affects everyone.
The music was great, I enjoyed it. Especially at 1:23:01 is a nice song...but not the best scene to bop to. I suggest you prepare for that scene if you're going to watch this. Lastly, the scene that made everything the most intriguing scene was 1:14:23. The way Takasugi Mahiro played his lines was FANTASTIC. His last line was awesome too.
Once again, if you don't like movies that mess up your brain - this one ain't the movie for you.
Overall I'm not watching this anytime soon. A bit of a waste, but an interesting theme to follow.
MINOR SPOILER REVIEW:
There's a lot to uncover in this movie, and honestly, I don't know where to start. The main character played by Yakusho Koji is an absolute mad lad. Each of these characters has some form of obsession and something that makes them inherently bad. This movie brings out the worse in society in terms of crime and emotions - and Kanako explores these emotions ruthlessly.
In my opinion, there's nothing to tug at your heartstrings, just...emptiness. I think that's what the director wanted to present as well, and in a way - put us in Kanako's shoes. We only know bits and pieces of the characters, but we never have a side of them to truly love or hate. This movie is a puzzle piece that we, as the audience are trying to uncover - and I think Kanako's personality reflects this idea, especially at the end.
The ending (in terms of meaning) really reflects full circle. The character's obsession never ends. Like father, like daughter - and our culprit figures this out as well.
As for its drawbacks, I would say that the ending is kind of anti-climatic and a bummer. Second, some of it was confusing, but luckily I got the main concept. Third, the character was a bit disturbing in terms of threatening the people he met. You'll...know what I mean sooner or later. Lastly, Nagano's sister. She kept following the man even though he assaulted her - and I'm just like...???
Overall I'm not watching this anytime soon. A bit of a waste, but an interesting theme to follow.
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