A sense of dread and menace can be felt from the start of the latest film from writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. On the margins at first, it leaks toward the core of story and character, gaining prominence until it erupts in overcooked violence at the climax. (Followed by a brief coda that promises ‘the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’) Meticulously constructed for a ping-pong effect of on/off disassociation, Ryôsuke Yoshii is the emotionally distanced Masaki Suda, an unenthusiastic factory man and, at home, an enthusiastic ‘reseller’ who pre-buys entire runs of consumer goods at low price, then posts the whole supply on-line at a huge mark-up and waits for orders to flow in from the vacuum he’s created. Pure speculation, but it generally pays off. He ought to be getting rich; he ought to be thriving with his new girlfriend; he ought to be sharing the wealth with his partner. But he’s only more addicted to finding the next deal. Perhaps a new start in a fancy county home would clear a pathway forward. Instead, exposure, poisoning the well on bad faith transactions, fake designer goods and dud electronics. Worse, his I.D. and location hacked, then passed to threatening online threads where disgruntled customers and anonymous hate players join. Suddenly, home, property, life under attack. Looking for help from non-existent friends, live-in girl or authorities? Not likely. Only a local, hired as an assistant (Amane Okayama, excellent), before being poorly treated, shows loyalty. Resolute, resourceful, and what a skill-set in the violent arts. Haunting and absurd, this psychological suspenser might be A Don Siegel Film from a Michael Haneke script. Yet it’s 100% Kurosawa.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Directing since the ‘70s, Kurosawa broke thru internationally in 1997 with CURE. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2020/10/cure-1997.html
No comments:
Post a Comment