Takeshi Ishii at Fantasia
Winnifred Louis
Just wanted to comment, after seeing Takeshi Ishii present GONIN and
GONIN 2 at Fantasia (http://www.fantasiafest.com/) in Montreal
yesterday, how truly impressive I thought those films were, and how
brilliantly Mr. Takeshi came across.
Before GONIN, Mr. Takeshi appeared and made a few minor introductory
remarks about the film. He started off by saying "I'm not Takeshi
Kitano, but I am Takeshi Ishii" (which drew a hearty round of applause
and cheers from the audience), and then basically invited us to enjoy
the movie.
GONIN in particular I thought was a brilliant exercise of style and
emotion, buoyed by equally brilliant acting from an ensemble cast. If I
were more familiar with Japanese film, doubtless I'd be able to be less
vague -- the only people I recognised were Naoto Takane (?) -- the Latin
Dance man in SHALL WE DANCE, who was chilling as a deranged businessman
-- and Beat Takeshi, who has a small but memorable part as a queer
hitman traumatised about his illegitimate birth. NT is one of the main
group, a gang of 5 men of varying backgrounds who for varying reasons
decide on a self-destructive attempt to steal 100 million Yen from the
Yakuza. All 5 of the men I thought delivered brilliant performances.
Between the showings of GONIN and GONIN 2, director Takeshii Ishii
appeared for a short Q&A. He struck me as a very personable and modest
guy, and the questions were quite interesting. Unfortunately, I hadn't
prepared to take notes, but this is what I remember of the interaction.
Mr. Takeshi, of course, spoke through a translator, who by the way
greatly impressed me with the fluency of his translations in and out of
Japanese and French, and with his easy mastery of an annoying
interjection from a boorish fan, at one point. Since I'm now
(imperfectly) translating my (imperfect) memories of the translator's
French into English, I hasten to note that these 3rd-remove quotes don't
reflect the intelligence and drive that came across at the time, from
Mr. Takeshi:
Q: What is the greatest challenge you face, in making such complicated
movies in a crowded environment like Tokyo?
TI: I've never really made my films with big budgets, and I've gotten
used to that. I think that helps. [smiles]
Q: Were you influenced by Western films about rebellions that go wrong,
such as [annoyingly long list of Western films inserted here], or does
GONIN come out of a Japanese tradition, that we might not be familiar
with here in the west?
TI: Well, if you've seen '100 YEARS OF CINEMA' you know that Gonin is
not unique, because it picks up on themes that have been repeated often
in the past. I was influenced in many ways by [short list of mostly
Japanese films that I didn't catch b/c I'm not familiar with them --
sigh].
One thing that I was trying to get across in GONIN that reflects my
input more -- I don't know if you noticed this aspect of the film -- is
that before they die, each of the characters finds ... [some hesitation
from the translator] a spirituality. Each of them discovers what they
needed the money for, what was the most important aspect of their
lives. That is something I was trying to communicate.
Q: Are any of your mangas available in North America? How do you think
the style has influenced your later films?
TI: Even in Japan my early stuff is hard to find. Needless to say, if
anyone in the audience wants to try and bring my films to North America,
he should contact me. We'll try to create a job especially for you.
[smiles]
Even when I was creating the manga -- and you know, in manga one must
be very precise, the composition of the frame must be exact -- I was
using a rectangular format, instead of the square format. [Much
gesturing, drawing the rectangle vs. the square in the air.] I always
knew that I wanted to make live action films, even when I was creating
manga. With the rectangular format, similar to the frame of live action
movies, I think that sense of composition has very much helped me today.
Q: What is the significance of the title "Gonin"?
TI: Well, there is a Japanese proverb to do with gonin, which involves
excusing yourself but at the same time taking responsibility. But
that's a mistake, that's not what I meant at the time. Basically Gonin
means '5 men', i.e. the five men in the gang.
Following the Q&A, Mr. Takeshi and the translator attempted to leave,
but fans crowded around them at the back of the theatre & Mr. Takeshi
spent 10-15 minutes signing autographs and being fawned on. Then GONIN
2 was shown.
I actually enjoyed G2 more than G1, emotionally -- G1 is best described
with words like "gut-wrenching" "viscerally disturbing" "traumatising"
"draining" and "depressing", whereas G2 is slightly more upbeat.
(Notably, the 100% death rate for G1 is not mirrored in G2.) However,
GONIN 2 doesn't have the sense of urgency and control that G1 has. I
was hugely, hugely impressed by the fact that Takeshi Ishii would even
attempt to script a movie about 5 women who escape horror and penury
through violence, and I think to some extent he succeeds in making the
motivations of the women & their actions as credible and engrossing as
those of the male characters in GONIN. However, there ain't no denying
the fact that G2 is still very much a 'male gaze' movie -- there are
four or five scenes where Takeshi seems to take time off the main plot
so the audience can ogle at gratuitously naked women. One result is
that the pacing is looser, less gripping, than for GONIN 1. Second, I
think that in grappling with the credibility issue -- how to portray
women who resort to violence -- Takeshi made a basic decision that the
plot couldn't be taken as seriously. So in GONIN 2 the despair of the
women & their subsequent rage is portrayed less grimly, less intensely
than the male angst & revenge in G1 -- Takeshi introduces elements of
surrealism, of humour. I think the surrealism and humour succeed, to
some extent, but there too, Takeshi has relaxed the grip on the
audience's emotions that he maintained throughout GONIN 1.
Overall though, I was blown away by both films, and I greatly appreciate
the efforts of the FANTASIA staff in bringing them, and Mr. Takeshi
himself, to Montreal. I'm looking forward to catching BLACK ANGEL,
Takeshi Ishii's most recent film, on Monday.
many cheers,
Winnifred
Kailin
Gonin 2, so can't really accurately review that film. If you recognized
Naoto Takenaka from Shall We Dance, you should also have recognized
Masahiro Motoki also from Shall We Dance. He is the other proffessional
dancer that she briefly meets with the possible intention of making a
new partner. In Gonin he is the young disco diva type, who is drop dead
gorgeous. Koichi Sato played the disco owner, and was in The Silk Road.
Hope that helps identify a few more of the people for you.
--
Peace, Love and Rock & Roll,
Kailin
"When hell freezes over, we can all play hockey there."