Gakuryu Ishii's career has gone through various stages, from his high-speed, groundbreaking shorts of the Seventies; to violent, noisy punk of the Eighties; and his more sedate, thought-provoking Nineties. The new millennium, however, has been an inconsistent period of narration-less, obscure documentaries and strange experimentation. They have been a little bit mad, and not often good.
His latest, "The Box Man" based on Kobo Abe's novel, is much in line with this, in that it is mad, experimental, but not always good. But this is very much in keeping with a director who doesn't make many compromises and goes his own way.
For a start, it's not the easiest story to make cinematic. A former photographer (Masatoshi Nagase) has chosen to live his life sat in a cardboard box, observing the world through a slit cut into it. Having become obsessed with the previous occupier, he has now become a man of intrigue for others. A former general (Koichi Sato) and his 'fake' doctor assistant (Tadanobu Asano) also want to experience the world from the box lens, and become 'The Box Man' themselves.
With an obscure plot that is more philosophical debate than anything, this doesn't lend itself to an entertaining watch, and the script doesn't offer a huge amount to make it any less complex. This is overly long for what it is also, losing itself in its arguments, becoming something of a cluttered mess on conclusion. You are no clearer as to what to think come the end.
There are two ways in which this works: cinematography and humour. As with many Ishii films, the use of urban landscapes is good, with a maze of alleyways trapping from every conceivable angle. As the confusing network of Japanese external wiring looms statically overhead, this looks good, though perhaps not anything particularly new.
The choreographed fight scenes, however, are something unusual, as Nagase and Asano fight it out while crouched in cardboard boxes. This creates some wonderfully batshit moments, with Ishii not afraid to break from the over-philosophising to raise a smile. And the more said about scenes involving enemas the better.
As such, it can be quite a jarring watch, switching between moods. But rather than a rollercoaster, it feels more confused as to what its purpose is. And overindulgence becomes a problem. This is longer than it needs to be, thinks too much, and has more nudity than it probably needed.
Being a rogue and groundbreaking director can also mean there will be many failures along the way. This has some good elements from a great filmmaker, but overall is just a bit cluttered and confused. It is not an easy watch, though Ishii's films never have been comfortable, and it certainly goes a little way out of the box.
Politic1983.home.blog.
