masapi

This completely unknown Asian monster/robot film is a gem for many Godzilla fans who need new feed of '70ies rubber monster flicks. Those nostalgic fans who were 10 in the '80es, being able to see this movie on some private TV channel, still remember the kid finding the small statue in a hidden catacomb, the statue growing under some x-rays, the huge unusual robot like giants and the cheesy long-haired enemy jumping around like wild, their extensive battles on the surface of the planet, and of course, the mesmerizing score by Pink Floyd (!!! – read below).

Indeed, its production history is rather curious, and has been reconstructed patiently by Roberto Zanni on his blog, from which I'm posting this excerpt.

Actually, I'm forced to post it on the Discussion Board since IMDb is marking too many foreign words as "error" and hence doesn't allow me to hit "submit"! So please go back one step and check out the Discussion Board. Sorry for this strange IMDb issue!

There are so many other problems with this film. While making a zombie film shouldn't demand a huge budget, this film demonstrates that you need mostly a BRAIN rather than budget. Even the cheapest and silliest spaghetti-zombie is more interesting and entertaining... and they have been done 20 years ago. Even the shaky videocam Blair Witch is deeper than this flick. Here a new list of problems:

1. Character roles: stereotyped and oh so boring.

2. Acting: embarrassing.

3. Script and dialogues: terrible.

4. The plot: pointless and unoriginal.

5: the horror: which part exactly is meant to be frightening?

6: Photography and aesthetics: grey grey grey.

7: Zombies: rabid outcasts led by a white masked pierrot

8: Srating/ending titles: is it meant to be a sort of live action video game?

9: Music: was there any?

Better go see "VIRUS / Hell of the Living Dead" by Bruno Mattei.

There was a black and white Berlin with angels, now there is a black and white Berlin with aliens! Wim Wenders' angels come from far away, they are all around us, you don't see them, you feel them. Whereas the "aliens" addressed by Florian Gärtner are among us, and you ignore them, they are outcasts yet they live and love and suffer like any other human being around us. The young director (who plays also a major role in the film) learned from Wenders work and uses the same city, same camera-work, the poetry, the feelings, the sound-scape, the silences, even the color, to depict a tiny, simple yet powerful moment in the life of a young person in need of identity, of love. You will be able to read the film through different levels and find many points in common with your own life experiences. Your cozy home town somewhere in the distant country side, the alienating city, your prince of dreams, vanishing love, blinded hearts, glasses, disco pubs, student flats, the '90s or your 20s... This young director in his first work of nearly independent production reached outstanding levels of art and techniques. If you loved Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) you will appreciate Ausserirdische (Aliens).