kaiju poignancy
So, I watched The Calamari Wrestler last night.
my dinner's getting away!
For those of you who don't keep up with high-art cinema, it's about a giant squid that becomes Japan's 'super-wrestling' champion while suffering from debilitating wet dreams (...yes) and the daily challenges of being a giant squid just trying to fit in. And it's quite good for being a DTV release on their shores (and ours, obviously, since Japan didn't see fit to offer it as their Academy Awards representative as best foreign film). The funniest part, aside from being about a giant squid wrestler, is that it's played completely straight.
just another normal day in japan
Sure, it has its comedic moments, but they rarely ever wink at you. And no, it's not about a guy in a squid-suit, it's about a real giant squid (played by a guy in a squid-suit) who wants to become Japan's greatest wrestler. This is, I assume, how they came up with the title for the movie, but I could be wrong.
A few things I found interesting while watching this:
!) that it's surprisingly easy to win the love of the Japanese people if you're a hideously human-sized squid in wrestling boots - though how much this plays into their appetites wasn't deeply explored (but alluded to!).
$) that you can, apparently, reincarnate yourself while you're still alive into giant versions of sea creatures if you train in the mountains of Pakistan.
*) the metaphorical implications that you become less human the more pure of heart, mind, and desire you are (you become a squid as a result, I guess - hmm, I like these film makers).
%) that it's in Buddhist monk's best interests to train giant squids into becoming wrestlers.
&) that I oddly enough wasn't surprised to see the female protagonist enter so readily into an intimate relationship with a giant squid.
No, kids, this is not hentai - this is purely PG-rated heart warming stuff, a lesson we can all reflect on about not letting life hold you back and rising to the top despite being a humongous anthropomorphic cephalopod - something Stallone did with Rocky, though he cast himself in the role of the nightmare-inducing abomination.
finally the tables have turned *nom nom nom*
There are a few drawbacks, though. Any time there's a portion of the movie where there is not a giant squid in wrestling boots somewhere in the picture frame, the movie halts dead in its tracks - this is evident in the first 40 minutes where too many scenes don't have a single squid in them. Also, it's about wrestling. I don't much like wrestling - I think the movie would have been vastly improved if they had changed the sport from wrestling to horse polo (also know as 'polo'), jai lai, or even curling. I mean, come on: The Calamari Curler has a nice ring to it you have to admit. Though, it was exciting to see a wrestling match which settled something I had been arguing with people since I was in my mother's womb: that a giant squid would win a wrestling match with a giant octopus (spoiler).
our babies will rule the ocean!
Also, the ending was too goofy and made little sense.
But I heartily recommend The Calamari Wrestler (why do I always want to type 'Katamari'?), especially for those of you who could use a break from the infantalized, low-brow crap you normally watch.
my dinner's getting away!
For those of you who don't keep up with high-art cinema, it's about a giant squid that becomes Japan's 'super-wrestling' champion while suffering from debilitating wet dreams (...yes) and the daily challenges of being a giant squid just trying to fit in. And it's quite good for being a DTV release on their shores (and ours, obviously, since Japan didn't see fit to offer it as their Academy Awards representative as best foreign film). The funniest part, aside from being about a giant squid wrestler, is that it's played completely straight.
just another normal day in japan
Sure, it has its comedic moments, but they rarely ever wink at you. And no, it's not about a guy in a squid-suit, it's about a real giant squid (played by a guy in a squid-suit) who wants to become Japan's greatest wrestler. This is, I assume, how they came up with the title for the movie, but I could be wrong.
A few things I found interesting while watching this:
!) that it's surprisingly easy to win the love of the Japanese people if you're a hideously human-sized squid in wrestling boots - though how much this plays into their appetites wasn't deeply explored (but alluded to!).
$) that you can, apparently, reincarnate yourself while you're still alive into giant versions of sea creatures if you train in the mountains of Pakistan.
*) the metaphorical implications that you become less human the more pure of heart, mind, and desire you are (you become a squid as a result, I guess - hmm, I like these film makers).
%) that it's in Buddhist monk's best interests to train giant squids into becoming wrestlers.
&) that I oddly enough wasn't surprised to see the female protagonist enter so readily into an intimate relationship with a giant squid.
No, kids, this is not hentai - this is purely PG-rated heart warming stuff, a lesson we can all reflect on about not letting life hold you back and rising to the top despite being a humongous anthropomorphic cephalopod - something Stallone did with Rocky, though he cast himself in the role of the nightmare-inducing abomination.
finally the tables have turned *nom nom nom*
There are a few drawbacks, though. Any time there's a portion of the movie where there is not a giant squid in wrestling boots somewhere in the picture frame, the movie halts dead in its tracks - this is evident in the first 40 minutes where too many scenes don't have a single squid in them. Also, it's about wrestling. I don't much like wrestling - I think the movie would have been vastly improved if they had changed the sport from wrestling to horse polo (also know as 'polo'), jai lai, or even curling. I mean, come on: The Calamari Curler has a nice ring to it you have to admit. Though, it was exciting to see a wrestling match which settled something I had been arguing with people since I was in my mother's womb: that a giant squid would win a wrestling match with a giant octopus (spoiler).
our babies will rule the ocean!
Also, the ending was too goofy and made little sense.
But I heartily recommend The Calamari Wrestler (why do I always want to type 'Katamari'?), especially for those of you who could use a break from the infantalized, low-brow crap you normally watch.