Extremely ambitious and visually inventive “Bunraku” (Bunraku) directed by Guy Moshe (Guy Moshe) looks like a bastard Seijun Suzuki and brothers wachowski mixed with “A Clockwork Orange” (A Clockwork Orange), with touches of a classic screen musical, with a large dose of noir style and a moderate amount of video game and comic book culture elements. Moshe It was clearly aiming high, so it's hard to be too critical of the film for not achieving its lofty goals. The fact is that the various influences have difficulty coming together into one whole, and the film suffers from this as much as "Scott Pilgrim vs. Everyone" (Scott Pilgrim Versus The World), but the result was a much more satisfying mixture of comics, kung fu, musicals and video games. There is no doubt that all components “Bunraku” are well done, but these parts are unfortunately scattered throughout the film and instead of standing out, they mostly do the opposite.
The action takes place in the distant future. The world suffered from a nuclear disaster and, in order to avoid the second end of the world, the survivors introduced a strict ban on firearms, returning back to fists and blades, and thereby the right of dominance passed to the strongest. One small town is completely controlled by Nicola nicknamed “Lumberjack” (Ron Perlman with dreadlocks) and his gang of deadly killers led by Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting, Grey's Anatomy). Nicola with his gang he easily beats up his opponents, and if someone ever comes to overthrow his dictatorship, it will be outside help.
Allusion to two strangers on a train. Josh Hartnett It's worth playing only noir characters like this for the rest of his life, he was born for such things. He is a nameless, unarmed cowboy with fists of steel and a goal of revenge, and a famous Japanese pop singer Gackt – samurai without a sword named Yoshi, who wants to return an ancient medallion that has been passed down in his family from generation to generation. With the help of a mysterious bartender (Woody Harelson) these two join forces in achieving a common goal - the overthrow Nikola.
Speaking of two key influences, the most obvious is the impact Suzuki. Extremely ostentatious, “Bunraku” is one of the most design-heavy films made in decades. There is no attempt to hide the artificiality of the scenery; instead, Moshe and his team revel in it, using color generously and playing with its proportions to create a striking alternate world. Influence wachowski seen in the form of individual cultures and philosophies remade into pop culture, driven by an unwavering flow of action scenes. The film is beautiful: there is something to look at in the corner of every frame, with every character doing something incredible.
As for incredible things, we must give credit to the fight choreographer Larnell Stovall (Undisputed 3), who had a small role in the film, allowing him to showcase his own martial arts skills. Stovall with such a cast it simply works wonders, in particular with Hartnett и Gacktom - they both look like real fighters on screen. The difference between them and the real fighters he trained Stovall specifically for the film, and who starred as assassins from the team Nikola, almost invisible. Each fighter has his own unique style - Hartnett uses only fists Gackt – more typical samurai style, and McKidd – something completely unimaginable, like a mixture of musicals, “A Clockwork Orange” and traditional martial arts. This gives the fights variety and, despite their large number, there is no repetition.
In terms of acting, everyone is equally strong - Hartnett, Gackt и McKidd, in particular - only one Demmy Moor, apparently, there were problems with getting into the rut. I will say in her defense that Moore little work was allocated, but still, in this film she seemed out of place.
If the acting, fighting and design are strong, then what's the problem? Basically, it lies in the fact that the various elements did not become one, as a result “Bunraku” looks on screen like several different competing films, as if some actors came from one film and some from another.
There is simply no connection between them. This becomes even more obvious due to overdependence Moshe from the narrative - it is omnipresent and often emphasizes already obvious events - and the visuals look like they were created to speak "Look at me! This is great!" It would have been much better if he had simply stood back and let the world take on a life of its own, as the constant interference and redirection interrupts the flow of events and literally “throws” the audience out of this carefully constructed world instead of helping them become more immersed in what is happening. The film is also not helped by an overly ironic and selfish script; in addition, in one place or another, extremely clumsy phrases sometimes “fly” out of the mouths of the characters.
Individual components “Bunraku” leave a good impression, there are many moments and aspects in it that can cause delight and even love. But these moments never really come together into a satisfying whole, and the film, with some missed opportunities, feels like less than the sum of its parts.
Author: Todd Brown
Source: Twitch
Translation: EvilDollaR
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Tags: bunraku, Woody Harrelson, Guy Moshe, Josh Hartnett, Kamui Gackt, Kevin McKidd, Larnell Stovall, Ron Perlman
Tags: bunraku, Woody Harrelson, Guy Moshe, Josh Hartnett, Kamui Gackt, Kevin McKidd, Larnell Stovall, Ron Perlman
This is a great movie.
The action scenes are great, the plot is simple, but framed in such a beautiful arthouse, I would even say kitsch, cover that you forget about it, and the hero-actors are so organic in their places that you want to give the film 5 points.
The film is too non-standard and one might even say arthouse for big screens, but at the same time very expensive for DVD (25 lemons is quite a budget). I suspect it will be released in a very limited release in unexpected places, and then in a month or two on DVD. It is unlikely that they will show it in theaters here.
How little reviewers always write about martial arts scenes =(
50% of the success of this film depends on the scenes with BI, and he fit it into 1 paragraph = (A whole article needs to be dedicated to this!
Guys, when is the release, is there anything said about it, will it be released straight to DVD or will it be on big screens?
Let's hope that after the release of the film, Larnell Stovall will talk about all the intricacies of working on the fights in this film.
Yes, they messed something up with the trailer...
But there is a video in which Gackt dances on the set.
Brown saw it at a festival in Toronto.
Well, when will we see the trailer???