Japan Cuts ’14: Greatful Dead

Japan is the nation that brought us the hikikomori phenomenon and Nami is grateful, so to speak. However, she is not interested in garden variety shut-ins. It is the seriously cracked loners, or “solitarians” as she dubs them, that fascinate her. Her unhealthy obsession will take on dangerous dimensions in Eiji Uchida’s Greatful Dead (yes, that is how it is spelled, trailer here), which screens as part of this year’s Japan Cuts: the New York Festival ofContemporary Japanese Film.

Nami’s parents were highly flawed. Her mother’s compulsive third world child sponsorship never left her time for her own daughters. In contrast, their father was only interested in her, so when she abandoned her family to live the Mother Theresa lifestyle, it essentially killed him inside. Eventually, he takes up with a seductive new mistress Akko-chan, but she hardly helps his state of mind. At least he has a lot of money to leave Nami.

Now in her twenties, the privileged Nami consumes like mad, while her sister revels in the ordinariness of her stable family life. Nami wants no part of it. She prefers documenting the sad and sometimes twisted lives of her solitarians. Her latest seems to hold special meaning for her. Mr. Shiomi was evidently once a man of some position, but now he shuns his family, leading the sort of aggressively anti-social existence Nami finds so charming. However, when Korean evangelical Su Yong starts to reform and uplift Shiomi, it threatens to spoil Nami’s fun. Extreme measures will be taken in response.

In a way, Greatful asks which is the stronger force, consumerism or Christian fellowship. Surprisingly, it treats the latter quite fairly. However, it takes viewers to an existentially dark and bloody place, like nothing one would ever see in Evangelical cinema. Still, Su Yong is unquestionably the film’s most sympathetic and virtuous character, played with deep sensitivity by Korean indie star Kim Kkobbi.

Nonetheless, Kumi Takiuchi completely dominates the film, effortlessly transitioning from eccentric kookiness to raging sociopathic ferocity. It is an unsettling performance, because she shows the little girl inside Nami, lashing out for attention. Likewise, Takashi Sasano is pretty fierce himself, convincingly portraying Shiomi’s personal evolution and his sudden snap back into brutishness, courtesy of Nami.

Greatful is absolutely chilling at times, but its morbid sense of humor takes the worst of the edge off. It is quite cleverly constructed and Uchida’s execution is unflaggingly tight and tense. It is not what you would call “feel good,” yet Uchida someone leaves us some ambiguity to clutch at. Highly recommended for those who take their horror-comedies unsweetened, with a side order of social commentary, Greatful Dead screens tomorrow (7/18) at the Japan Society as part of the 2014 Japan Cuts.

KAFFNY ’13: Pluto

Forget about secret society rituals.  These elite prep school kids are too busy keeping their classmates down.  They are the top ten in their class and they will kill to keep it that way throughout Shin Su-won’s Pluto (trailer here), which screens during the 2013 Korean American Film Festival in New York.

Kim June was the top student in his public high school, but that does not impress anyone in his new school, particularly not his American roommate, Yu-jin Taylor, the top man in their class.  Supposedly, this is his big opportunity.  He was only admitted because a suicide opened up space for him.  That was Yung Su-jin’s roommate.  Now the slacker computer major is out to settle the score with the ruling elite.  Kim sort of likes her, but the working class transfer student opts to curry favor with the privileged ten instead. 

As part of their “rabbit hunting” initiations, Kim does their dirty work in exchange for inside information on approaching exams.  Naturally, Taylor and his cronies clearly have no intention of letting him into the club.  However, as viewers can readily glean from the film’s complicated flashback structure, it is a very bad idea to play mind games with someone as tightly wound as Kim.

While Pluto’s class warfare themes are obvious and inescapable, Shin’s uncompromising screenplay surpasses mere polemics, portraying the sociopathic will-to-power at its rawest.  This is not the sort of film that will have anyone saying “so there” when it ends.  Kim might be our protagonist, but he is not an exactly a downtrodden POV character audiences would like to identify with.  Surprisingly, his nemesis Taylor turns out to be the most nuanced of the lot.  Of course, his cronies do not much care for his sudden subtle dimensions of character.

Pluto boasts some considerable star-power, thanks to Kim Kkobbi appearing as Yung, a relatively modest but intriguing supporting role.  Lee Da-wit is eerily soulless and desperate as the hollow-looking Kim.  Yet, it is June Sung who really keeps viewers off-balance as the not exactly remorseful Taylor.

Many of the sins of prep school dramas past repeat again in Pluto.  As if required by an unwritten law, all the adults are ridiculously dense and the cops are problematically passive.  Still, Shin raises the stakes for all future prep students behaving badly, making a film like Tanner Hall look tame and pale in comparison.  Despite some clumsy excesses, it is mesmerizing in-your-face filmmaking. Recommended for the reasonably jaded, Pluto screens this Friday (10/25) at the Village East as part of this year’s KAFFNY.