Bunraku First Impressions + Why Gackt Scares Me
I FINALLY watched Bunraku. And I know that the viewing is way overdue, though I can’t say I realized how much time had gone by since its release. 2011! Ah well. I don’t think it would have revolutionized my life should I have seen it earlier. The Blockbuster (video/game rental and sales store) near my house is closing. They started selling movies at $9.99 or less, and gradually decreased the price by a dollar each time. Seven(?) more days till they shut down, and the store is virtually empty. I got Bunraku for $1.99 - seeing it for that price, I couldn’t resist.
Unnecessary rambling aside: What a gorgeous movie! I love the puppet-theater set. It has this really cool paper/comic book theme. Personally, I found that to be one of the most engaging aspects of the movie. It recreated a fantasy land that I could still believe real people (and not cartoons) lived in.
Totally bored with Josh Hartnett’s character - The Drifter. Does he have a real name? Ever? He’s just so lifeless! And I guess every movie has a sort of character who’s too cool for school but I was not interested in him at all. He could have simply not been in that movie. Except to conveniently rescue Yoshi from jail.
Which brings me to Yoshi. Obnoxiously unoriginal name aside, I thought Gackt did a fantastic job! I’m not familiar with Gackt’s acting prior to this movie except a clip I watched from the episode of Mr. Brain that he appeared in. (Btw, I heard that was a great drama - anybody seen it? Or even the full episode that Gackt appeared in?) And his terrible dancing, haha. I was a little worried that he might… well, be cheesy (not that I have a valid reason to have expected this, I was just worried). However, I was impressed. And I must say, he always looks so inhuman to me in "real life," though not in this movie. So maybe it was the blue contacts and sunglasses? I swear he scares me, like a tall, strict, super strong dominating sex machine. Basically for the same reason people are crazy in love with him I find him bizarre. It’s not fair, but if I met him on the street I’d probably very politely cross to the other side. He looked so handsome and humble in Bunraku. And his English is good too. I know he speaks English already, and that makes all the difference, but he seems like the determined sort. So even if it wasn’t easy for him, hey, Gong Li learned all of her lines in Memoirs of a Geisha phonetically (WHICH IS SO COOL!). Why not him?
I’ve been open about the fact that he’s not my favorite guy ever, (especially after calling him scary and inhuman just now) but I thought he stole the movie. The way it was marketed (or maybe I perceived it this way) I didn’t realize he was a co-star. I thought he had a minor role, a scene or two.
I wouldn’t put my foot down and call this amazing cinema but I’m happy to have watched it and will watch it again. I really enjoyed it. And meritorious or not, it made me happy. And I’ve been beyond unhappy these last few days so that’s saying something. Can’t put a price on happiness, not really, but $1.99 ain’t bad.
One thing I can drive a blade through right now after one viewing - Demi Moore’s character, Alexandra, was not done any justice whatsoever. She’s what, the chosen whore? And then they go so far as to close the deal on the former romance they MORE than hint at, only to have her die immediately after they encounter each other with absolutely no discussion? Like damn, how inappropriate! That added to the fact that she only left Momoko to get scissors to set her free (such beautiful self-sacrifice) - it just seemed dishonorable in a way.
I’m gonna watch it through again (at least with commentary on so I can hear some of the director’s explanation for things), but probably once clean, once with commentary, and then report back if my opinion changes.
So who wants to talk Bunraku? GO!
Unnecessary rambling aside: What a gorgeous movie! I love the puppet-theater set. It has this really cool paper/comic book theme. Personally, I found that to be one of the most engaging aspects of the movie. It recreated a fantasy land that I could still believe real people (and not cartoons) lived in.
Totally bored with Josh Hartnett’s character - The Drifter. Does he have a real name? Ever? He’s just so lifeless! And I guess every movie has a sort of character who’s too cool for school but I was not interested in him at all. He could have simply not been in that movie. Except to conveniently rescue Yoshi from jail.
Which brings me to Yoshi. Obnoxiously unoriginal name aside, I thought Gackt did a fantastic job! I’m not familiar with Gackt’s acting prior to this movie except a clip I watched from the episode of Mr. Brain that he appeared in. (Btw, I heard that was a great drama - anybody seen it? Or even the full episode that Gackt appeared in?) And his terrible dancing, haha. I was a little worried that he might… well, be cheesy (not that I have a valid reason to have expected this, I was just worried). However, I was impressed. And I must say, he always looks so inhuman to me in "real life," though not in this movie. So maybe it was the blue contacts and sunglasses? I swear he scares me, like a tall, strict, super strong dominating sex machine. Basically for the same reason people are crazy in love with him I find him bizarre. It’s not fair, but if I met him on the street I’d probably very politely cross to the other side. He looked so handsome and humble in Bunraku. And his English is good too. I know he speaks English already, and that makes all the difference, but he seems like the determined sort. So even if it wasn’t easy for him, hey, Gong Li learned all of her lines in Memoirs of a Geisha phonetically (WHICH IS SO COOL!). Why not him?
I’ve been open about the fact that he’s not my favorite guy ever, (especially after calling him scary and inhuman just now) but I thought he stole the movie. The way it was marketed (or maybe I perceived it this way) I didn’t realize he was a co-star. I thought he had a minor role, a scene or two.
I wouldn’t put my foot down and call this amazing cinema but I’m happy to have watched it and will watch it again. I really enjoyed it. And meritorious or not, it made me happy. And I’ve been beyond unhappy these last few days so that’s saying something. Can’t put a price on happiness, not really, but $1.99 ain’t bad.
One thing I can drive a blade through right now after one viewing - Demi Moore’s character, Alexandra, was not done any justice whatsoever. She’s what, the chosen whore? And then they go so far as to close the deal on the former romance they MORE than hint at, only to have her die immediately after they encounter each other with absolutely no discussion? Like damn, how inappropriate! That added to the fact that she only left Momoko to get scissors to set her free (such beautiful self-sacrifice) - it just seemed dishonorable in a way.
I’m gonna watch it through again (at least with commentary on so I can hear some of the director’s explanation for things), but probably once clean, once with commentary, and then report back if my opinion changes.
So who wants to talk Bunraku? GO!