To Sleep So as to Dream

This is the most impossibly beautiful film I've ever seen, a mediation on loss, longing, beauty and time. Using old film techniques, humor, Dadaism, and glorious black and white cinematography, it is also a fanciful homage to early silent cinema in Japan. Especially the Benshi, the silent film narrators. This was a tradition in Russia and Poland as well, a narrator or actor would read the inter-titles of a silent film, adding commentary and at times their own political bent to a feature. This was popular throughout silent cinema's reign, and particularly relevant in industrial or agrarian communities with lower literacy rates. Shunsui Matsuda, a Benshi who traveled throughout coal mining regions of post-war Japan where shortages made re-runs of silent films popular entertainment, appears in Hayashi's film. (Mr. Matsuda is also to be lauded for his work preserving old films, many prints he acquired by searching in thrift shops and restoring them. His excellent book, "The Benshi: Japanese Silent Film Narrators", details both his work and the Benshi tradition.) In many ways comparable to Mohsen Makhmalbaf's "Once Upon a Time Cinema", though without the political commentary, Hayashi's work creates a complete magical world combining both the past and the present. Now if only I could get a copy on DVD.

Normally, i like weird movies like this. It's not a bad movie. Pace is good, acting is not great however it was never a distraction. Story was somewhat interesting. However, it didn't make much sense. Supposedly there is a big revelation at the end, but it was so confusing and irrational that i could not understand the whys and hows. Yes, it was touching, and i was a bit moved but still, it was too messy, at least for me. It's possible that i didn't understand some crucial points. Either way, i must be honest : It was not an enjoyable experience even though it never got boring. Still, if you love weird and touching movies, you might like it more than me.