User reviews

After the surrealness of the Tetsuo films and the blue filters and voyeurism of Snake of June, I was not sure where Tsukamoto would go with this film. I saw it as part of the London FIlm Festival and it was one of my favourite films.

The story is of a Hiroshi (Asano Tadanobu) suffering from amnesia (as a result of a car crash in which his girlfriend dies) slowly regaining his memory through performing an autopsy on her. It raises questions on the nature of the self and how mutable it is.

For example, Hiroshi was pressured in to becoming a medical student, but he rebelled and became a drifter. After the crash he loses his recent memory, but he is inexplicably drawn to study medicine. Is this the call of his nature or a way of healing? Once the trauma's of teenage years are stripped away and we return to the core of the self before social conditioning steps in, are we more innocent or closer to what we can become? All this may sound very deep, but this film is all about childhood/innocence and the self in my opinion.

Pretty different from the other three films mentioned above, but still has lots of blue/grey filters and an extremely acute sense of sound. Some of the autopsy scenes have some wonderful slurping noises and tension that really set me on edge.

After a tragic car accident where his girlfriend Ryôko Ooyama (Nami Tsukamoto) died, Hiroshi Takagi (Tadanobu Asano) suffers amnesia with his memories completely blanked. When he sees a book about dissection, he decides to join the medical school with the support of his parents. In the dissection class, his group participates of the autopsy of a young woman, and while cutting apart the tissue, he partially recalls his accident. Later, when he sees a tattoo in the arm of the corpse, he discloses that she was his girlfriend and becomes obsessed to go further in the examination of the body.

This is the first work of director Shinya Tsukamoto that I have had the chance to watch, and I liked very much what I saw. This weird, original and fascinating story is disclosed in an adequate pace and supported by wonderful work of camera and lighting. The central lead cast trio, with Tadanobu Asano, Nami Tsukamoto and Kiki, together with the supportive cast, have also great performances. I intend to see this movie again in a near future, since I saw a DVD spoken in Japanese with English subtitles and therefore I may have missed details on the magnificent image. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Not Available"

Vital contains a single scene of such true, deep, tearjerking, aching love that despite all of its sleepy subtleties, it is truly great cinema. This scene makes you cry and relate to it, and only one who's ever been in deep, heavy, painful love with someone can watch it and understand what I mean. It's such stirring drama in one shot lasting about 5 minutes between two people, and you want that scene to last forever. I haven't felt any kind of emotion like that from a movie in God knows how long.

There isn't much else to say about this film. Somehow, Tsukamoto has made a film so powerful based on one scene that is more emotional and moving than any work I've seen in nearly a year from many much much less dry filmmakers.

I think whoever listed this as a "thriller" was going by the plot description rather than the actual film, in which an amnesiac medical student spends several months dissecting his ex-girlfriend at the University. The student is taciturn, is followed around by another, infatuated medical student, and because to have memories of his ex. And that's pretty much the movie. It is deliberately paced and at times purposely opaque.

The director has at times a film students fondness for meaningless composition, notably in an early scene in which the students parents stand perfectly still and converse. This sort of statues-holding-deadpan-conversations work well in Hal Hartley movies, but they feel a bit pretentious without Hartley's humor. The opening jittery camera-work also seems like something a film student would do. This sort of thing put me off, but the movie did generally keep my interest, becoming slightly more involving and less pretentious as it progressed, and in the end I feel okay about sitting through it, although I can't say I'd give it a strong recommendation.

as usual, tadanobu asano provides a subtly seizing performance as a medical student who returns to school from a car accident that killed his gf (an extremely attractive yet horrible dancer). the med student has lost some of his memory, but is searching for answers which arrives in the form of flashbacks. during an autopsy, he discovers that his cadaver is his former gf, and he mentally struggles to regain his composure during a surreal and trippy ride in his mind.

unlike some of the director's earlier works, this film does not spazz out with an inordinate amount of guitar fuzz and headache inducing images (but there are still some bizarre images of smokestacks integrated with migraine inducing punk rock for a few fleeting moments). instead, the film focus on the medical student's more subtle descent into confusion and then enlightenment as he struggles to regain his memory and make peace with himself.

in the midst of the med students flashbacks, another sexually bizarre med student (another extremely attractive woman) courts tadanobu.

if you're squeamish and wouldn't watch HBO's "autopsy" program, then i would not suggest this movie to you.

I normally watch films with no expectations or anticipation of what they have to offer but I wish I'd done some background reading on "Vital" before I settled down to view it. Expecting a horror film, I was left disappointed. Described as a thriller, I didn't find "Vital" particularly thrilling or attention grabbing.

While the film is beautifully shot, the movie relies on mood to keep the viewer engaged with what is unrolling on the screen. In the end, though, it's a somewhat confusing meditation on death and left me feeling more than a little frustrated.

6 out of 10. This is a stylish entry in Asian cinema but it lacks substance. I've no doubt it will delight some viewers but it will frustrate in equal measure.

This film really gave me an impression and was for myself a very memorable experience.

Like many others i was also quite surprised about the emotional and gentle character of this film. Before starting to watch i prepared myself for something extreme and uncompromising like i experienced in many Shinya Tsukamoto's films. But that is a good thing for this film; making it possible to reach a broader audience. And it definitely deserves it.

Technically this film is superb. Lighting and camera were excellent .. and the colors ... Sound design and music weren't that demonstrative but still played, in a subtle way, an important role. Acting was also impressive. Tadanobu Asano, one of my favorite actor since Ichi the killer, was a perfect fit. Nami Tsukamoto was very scary, in a good way ;). But she doesn't have a record at IMDb yet. I wonder why .. her acting was very promising. And letting Kiki perform modern dance was for the atmosphere and art-style a very good idea.

To sum the story up, by leaving all the artful details behind, you could say it is about the painful yearning for the loved one. This was extremely good implemented. Just everything, art, sound and acting supported the presentation of this yearning.

This is one of those films you don't simply watch. You have to experience them.

I was mostly disappointed with this film. I'm a fan of Tsukamoto's other work, and while this film indicates his growth as a director, and has a strong cast, I felt it had issues with pacing, and a pretty dissatisfying ending.

Asano Tadanobu, normally an engaging lead, seems to be coasting through this film, brooding, mainly. Of course, maybe that's how his character was written, but I found myself wondering when it would pick up in several places and unable to identify with him.

Kunimura Jun is wonderfully powerful as Ryoko's father, and I wound up wishing he was more of a central character. I also felt Ittoku Kishibe, who can conjure a truly menacing screen presence, was rather wasted as Dr. Kashiwabuchi.

There are some interesting philosophical questions raised, but they are never really addressed or explored fully. I guess I'm also getting tired of the "I don't know whether I'm dreaming or awake" cliché in many movies in this genre. Plus, it's a little ham-fisted to have a character just come out and say that.

Vital contains a few interesting scenes involving a dance, and some of Tsukamoto's signature music video-style strangeness in a few places, but in summary, a slow, dark film with no real scares or thrills.

This movie was a strange experience, I started watching what I thought was a horror movie and ended up watching a tough "hard to swallow drama".

This movie should get, at least, 7 stars for originality! I never saw anything like it. The idea was genuine, the characters were creative and the set was very appropriate and perfectly matched every scene. It has a great photography, high quality images with nice shooting angles helping and transmitting the feelings and emotions connected with each character. From the technical point of view the only inferior element was the soundtrack, which didn't quite caught my ear.

However, the plot and its progression is a total different subject! I had a hard time understanding where the flashbacks ended and started and this movie has lots of them! Then, the main character's individuality was very peculiar, I mean, too peculiar, it just turned my head around and made it very hard to understand what was going on, what was he feeling and, thus, where the movie was going... Depressive thoughts and activities are splattered all over the movie, the main character has a hard time distinguishing reality, imagination, memories and dreams, and so do we...

From a subjective point of view, the movies theme was too depressing and it's just not my style. From an objective point of view, the plot could have been delivered in a more proper way.

In spite of all flaws, the movie did entertain me and I couldn't leave my sofa until I knew how this confusing and strange movie would end.

It seems the majority of people who see Shinya Tsukamoto films are people who are fans of his to begin with. I am definitely a fan and have seen almost all his films - "Bullet Ballet", "A Snake of June", "Tokyo Fist", "Tetsuo 1&2". Tsukamoto is one of my favorite directors. In my opinion, he towers above most other film makers. His style is totally unconventional and he tends to make movies that can't easily be categorized, so fan-boy types tend to ignore him as overly "artsy", while lovers of more lush, slow-moving Japanese films tend to see him as overly frenetic and violent. Plot and linear narrative is typically incidental in favor of emotional catharsis (his films rarely wrap themselves up neatly, if at all - which can infuriate people). He tends to find a subject and fetishize it (guns in "Bullet Ballet", voyerism in "A Snake of June", metal and machinery in "Tetsuo", physical strength in "Tokyo Fist") rather than follow a standard "he did this, she did that" plot thread.

I would call "Vital" his warmest film to date. This is clearly a more toned down and relaxed Tsukamoto. Perhaps a sign of the director's move toward middle-age. There is very little of the manic hand-held camera work and thundering music from his earlier films. It's mostly static, beautifully framed images of non-moving people. Almost like paintings. Gone also is the furious video scramble editing technique that was taken to such wild extremes in "Bullet Ballet" and "Tetsuo".

The plot involves a young man recovering from amnesia after a car accident, who enters med school only to find the first cadaver he dissects is his old girlfriend (who died in the car crash). The memories start coming back to him, but the young med student (having no memory or reference point for the memories) instead begins to treat them as daydreams, and possible realities.

It sounds creepier than it actually is. The film is basically a love story, and quite a wistful one at that.

Highly recommended.

Vital is arguably Shiny Tsukamoto's best movie, and one of the most resoundingly beautiful films I have ever seen. This is an all-time favorite for me.

This film follows a young man whose girlfriend was killed in the same car accident that caused his loss of memory. He soon enrolls in medical school and signs up for a dissection class to study the human body. Outside of class he begins to see his dead girlfriend in his dreams, but he is confused as to whether they are dreams, memories, or supernatural visitations. So there are lots of interesting themes at work here, and Tsukamoto plays with all of them while at the same time mirroring the beauty of biology. And how many romance movies can think of that emphasize the beauty of biology? There are not many films like this in existence.

One major positive of this film is the direction, lighting, framing of shots, and cinematography – which are all fantastic. Every frame is mesmerizing in its color scheme and visuals. For example, there's a lot of orange used near the beginning, but it later shifts towards a blue scheme that supplements the rainy environments. It reminded me a lot of Christopher Doyle's cinematography (which can be seen in films such as "In the Mood for Love" and "Hero"). Although Doyle did not do the cinematography for Vital, the visuals have the same craftsmanship and impact. Coupled with a hypnotic score, they really enhance the feel of dreams and memories.

The main actor here is Tadonobu Asano, who is mega popular and you've probably seen him in films such as Ichi the Killer and Survive Style 5. He's perfectly cast here as a rather gloomy fellow who is reserved but also suffering mentally and emotionally under the surface.

From what I've said thus far, this may seem like a somewhat downbeat film, but I feel that this is a heavily romantic experience, and this is most strongly presented during the dream sequences because this couples' relationship was prematurely taken away from them and these brief moments are the only times they get to spend together – if they're actual supernatural visitations. Remember, they could simply be dreams or memories. Regardless, the dream sequences are very memorable, my favorite of which occurs on a beach and incorporates a fairly passionate dance performance.

One fact that was brought to my attention while reading Tom Mes' book "Iron Man: The Cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto" (a fantastic book, by the way, that I highly recommend), was that Tsukamoto intentionally downplayed the grotesque aspects of dissection in favor of a focus on artistry and beauty. This is an excellent strategy when making a romance film. If you're a viewer who is squeamish about dissection scenes, you really have nothing to worry about. The majority of the dissections are shown via hand-drawn sketches, which are really cool. If you've seen diagrams within biology textbooks, you have an idea of what you're in for, but the sketches they show in Vital are practically artworks. When to see them, you think to yourself "Man, the interworkings of the human body are a very beautiful thing." It's no surprise that Tsukamoto found the work of Leonardo da Vinci as a major source of inspiration. So if you're scared of gore or violence, you can easily watch this. There are a handful of scenes where the exposed body is shown, but it's portrayed like a body is typically prepared for dissection in real life. So the "gore" aspect is practically neutered here.

Like many of Tsukamoto's films, Vital is a bit on the weird side and some scenes may be left to the viewer's interpretation – but that's the way this guy makes movies. You can always tell when you're watching a Tsukamoto film, even though he has made wildly different films throughout his career. Earlier in his career (late 80s and 90s) his films were very violent, but that began to change quite a bit during the late 90s. Vital is certainly one of Tsukamoto's most mellow films, but it has just as much impact as anything he's done before. This is great stuff, and a prime example of why I love this director so much.

It's his least wild, though it does have a certain sense of weirdness to it. The story involves a medical student (Ichi the Killer's Tadanobu Asano) who experiences a bout of amnesia after a car accident. When he re-enrolls in school, he finds himself in a dissection class taking apart his former girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat during the accident. There's a subtext of necrophilia, which Tsukamoto explores in the film's first half. But he ends up veering away from any taboos and into more conventional drama. Actually, it's still pretty unconventional. It gets a bit too ponderous in the second half, and there are some scenes that drag. But Tsukamoto captures some brilliant images, and his infamous editing style pops up frequently, and is put to great use. There are some truly wonderful sequences. I especially loved all the sequences where the protagonist visits his dead lover in a fantasy landscape. The film ends beautifully. I really liked Asano's two female co-stars, Nami Tsukamoto (not sure if she's any relation to the director) and Kiki. Both are gorgeous, though each of them could eat the occasional burger. They're absolutely skeletal. Thank God for companies like Tartan Asian Extreme. This DVD is an especially nice edition with quite a few worthwhile extras.

Vital is a profound Japanese psychological drama that oozes with atmosphere. Directed by veteran Tsukamoto Shinya, the man behind cult movies such as science-fiction horror movie Tetsuo: The Iron Man, dramatic action thriller Tokyo Fist and dramatic mystery movie A Snake of June, this film stars charismatic Asano Tadanobu, known for his involvement in critically acclaimed films such as Ichi the Killer and The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, as well as two strong female lead actresses with actress, architect and model Kiki and professional ballet dancer Tsukamoto Nami.

The story revolves around a young man who has had a car accident and awakens in a hospital without remembering what has happened and who he is. His family gradually nurses him back to health when the young man decides to join a medical school. He becomes one of the very best students along with an ambitious female student who develops an obsessive love interest in him. Things however take a sinister turn when the students perform autopsies on recently deceased people as the young man recognizes his corpse as his former girlfriend. Painful memories soon come back haunting the unstable student as he realizes that the woman died in that fateful car accident. With the help of his parents, the mourning family of his former girlfriend and the female student who observes his every move, the young student will have to be strong to remember the most sinister memories of his life, grieve his lover's passing and ultimately overcome her tragic demise.

This movie has at times been advertised as a thriller or even as a horror movie but that's certainly not what it is. The only creepy elements in this film are the constantly gloomy atmosphere that however also shows that there is always hope in despair and the dissection scenes of the corpses that are slightly graphic but never exaggerated. This film convinces with difficult topics such as grief, guilt and obsession that are treated with care, empathy and intellect. This movie is essentially a wonderful romance that shows that love can even survive death. The film has several artistic and surreal scenes involving wonderful drawings and haunting dream sequences. The acting performances are absolutely stellar because they avoid lengthy dialogues and rather focus on body language, dance choreographies and facial expressions. The movie's soundtrack blends in perfectly and the title song Blue Bird by renowned Japanese pop and folk singer Cocco is a timeless masterpiece.

At the end of the day, Vital is a slow-paced drama with artistic expressions, philosophical depth and excellent acting performances. This timeless movie has aged very well and deserves more attention and recognition. The slow-paced movie entices you with its mysterious atmosphere from start to finish and won't let you go. Its unique trademarks will even make you want to revisit this brilliant movie. Anyone interested in gloomy dramas with depth should give this overlooked gem a fair try.

What worked:

• the movie is a beautiful piece of art, great in almost every aspect. What made the movie even more enjoyable is the convincing dissection setup and the genuiness of the dissection in the classroom setting. The movie is unique, raw and a hard watch for some viewers. Overall , the movie worked despite its length.

What did not work:

• camera movement; one this that made me dissatisfied is the camera movement which was done unnaturally making it hard to grasp the scenes. Maybe they were meant to be that way but some repeated shaking made some scenes hard to watch.

Final verdict: recommended