By John Noonan
PINK AND GRAY There are few who wouldn’t agree that there can be a large gap between how people perceive us and how we want to be seen. This perhaps goes tenfold for those people who live out their lives in public, particularly celebrities whose morals are held to a higher standard than us mere mortals. Pink And Gray, directed by Isao Yukisada (Crying Out Love In The Center Of The World), examines these ideas in a road-to-success story based on the novel by J-popstar, Shigeaki Kato. Down on his luck actor, Riba (Masaki Suda), finds his megastar friend, Gotchi (Yuto Nakajima), hanging from the rafters of his palatial apartment, with six envelopes waiting for him. Riba is instructed through Gotchi’s suicide note to choose one envelope, follow the instructions and, in turn, become famous off the back of his suicide. This is merely the opening to the film, which rewinds in time to show how these two young men met, their varying degrees of success, and their relationship with Sally (Kaho), an old school friend caught in the middle. As Gotchi’s star rises, Riba finds himself trapped in its shadow, which inevitably leads to jealousy and fighting. It’s pretty standard stuff, but this is part of Pink And Gray’s trap. A sudden shift in the narrative finds us set adrift, whilst Yukisada drains the colour from the screen’s palate, and melodrama makes way for subtle and dark performances from his three leads. There’s a chance that some will cry foul, but this is not a twist for the sake of being clever. The rug pulling is essential to the film’s exploration of how we perceive ourselves and others. Smart and engaging, Pink And Gray offers a novel interpretation of the standard dark-side-of fame tale. $16.00
THE INERASABLE Architecture student, Kubo (Ai Hashimoto), has started to hear noises in her bedroom. In particular, the sound of someone sweeping. Bemused and believing that she may be being visited by a spirit, she contacts a horror writer, known only as I in the credits and played by Yûko Takeuchi. I writes short stories based on user submissions, and finds something in Kubo’s story that deserves to be dug into a little deeper. When it comes to ghost stories, there are certain things that we’ve come to expect…particularly now that we live in a world of James Wan’s barnstorming franchises. There’s always the curse, a family under duress, and perhaps even a gothic landscape or two. What makes The Inerasable stand out from its peers, however, is how it filters these beats through a clinical eye. This is the perfect balance between ghost story and police procedural. As Kubo and I begin stripping away the history of the former’s home, they come into contact with various tenants and landowners who all have tales to tell. Some of these tales go back hundreds of years, and all point towards a nefarious curse. Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura, The Inerasable isn’t about chains rattling in the attic and zombie children climbing out of TVs. Whilst there is a spiritual element to the film that crawls up on you through the plot, the focus is very much on how these stories of evil deeds are perpetuated through time. Take for example, the tale of the mother who killed her babies. Was she pushed to do so by demons, or is there a more haunting conclusion? Put together like an intricate puzzle, The Inerasable’s climbing terror and chilling nuance is only marginally let down by an ending that dampens the subtlety of what came before it. $16.50
SAMURAI HUSTLE RETURNS When we talk about samurai and cinema, we conjure up the emotion of Koboyashi’s Harakiri, or the epic scale of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Very rarely will we dip into comedic waters, and yet Samurai Hustle Returns, a sequel to 2014’s Samurai Hustle, would like to remind you that military nobility and slapstick can go hand in hand. Following on from the first film, the amiable Lord Naito (Kuranosuke Sasaki), far away from his village, receives word that his villagers have started an uprising. If he and his band of merry Samurai do not return quickly, then Naito’s rule will be overturned, leaving the villainous Lord Nobutoki (Takanori Jinnai) to stand in his absence. Being a five-day journey away, the decision is made to run home in the hope that they can reach the village in two days. It’s an absurd idea, but then Samurai Hustle Returns is often a delightfully absurd film. Director, Katsuhide Motoki, has constructed a cartoon world where overreaction is the default reaction, and people managing to read signs from hundreds of metres away is brushed off as simply just having good eyesight. The biggest laughs come when Naito and the gang are hot tailing cross country, with their historically accurate garbs getting in the way of them getting their knees up. Unfortunately, a less than lean middle sees the film running on the spot as we count down to the finale. Yes, relationships are built upon, and decisions are made, but the jokes are put on the backburner. Whilst the film’s pace improves in the final act, it’s a shame that so much time is wasted. Overall though, you can’t browbeat a film too much for wanting you to have a good time and to share a simple message. “People are precious!” Naito shouts at one point. “Friends are precious.” You can’t argue with that. $16.00
Pink And Gray, The Inerasable, and Samurai Hustle Returns are all screening at The Japanese Film Festival, which plays in Sydney (November 17-27) and Melbourne (November 24-December 4). For all screening, ticketing, venue, and session information, head to the official site.
