BIG MAN JAPAN (2007)

DATE: 4/3/2008 FIRST VIEWING

WHERE: Orpheum Main Stage, part of 2008 Wisconsin Film Festival.

Festival screening #3…in 1 day no less. PZ and Kate had to take off right after OSS-117 to get to Monona Terrace to see MAD CITY CHICKENS. Bryan and I headed off to Noodles so that we wouldn’t pass out from hunger before the next film. Bryan had been really excited to see this movie, from the description and the promo pictures alone. And with him just coming back from Japan last summer, and our love of kaiju movies (esp. Godzilla). For this screening we went up to the balcony…where we saw one of the Sequoya library employees! 9:45 on a Thursday is a bit late to start, and after a long night, there was a spot in the mid-section where I was zoning out. Not sleeping…but getting close. I began not really reading the subtitles, but my brain was doing its own translating so that I “thought” that I was hearing the character speaking in English. Well, at least speaking to ME. So…there are a couple of stretches that are …hazy? I made it, though…

THE GOOD: faux-documentary style; perception of “hero”

THE BAD: could have trimmed a bit; some of the battles felt like they were in slow motion

THE WONKY: the comb-over on Strangle Monster; Stink monster sex; the crazy ending; Baby Monster…ok ALL the monsters; volcano nipples

There is quite a bit to like about this movie. the mock documentary style really works in giving a personalized view of Big Man Japan, his thoughts, and what it takes to protect Japan. I liked the somber tone, and the fact that, as a hero, he feels a duty and pride with what he does…but, as would be the case in today’s society, the public is cynical and ungrateful, and he is exploited by the media, and by his agent (selling ads on his skin…”you can’t use my hips…they are my best part!!”). That is all interesting…how he is viewed, the toll his lot in life takes on his family and on him.

Then there is the ridiculous battles, and more ridiculous monsters. These were fun, but somehow…they felt a little off…too slow, or too…cgi? That didn’t really bother me, but something about how they played out didn’t grab me…I found myself outside a lot of the fights. The monster design was pretty absurd and fun…and the conversation Big Man had with the Stink Monster was pretty funny. “Go away!” “No! I just got Here!!!” “what do you want?” “SHUT UP!!!!” but it ended with a completely bizarre and gross monster mating scene.

For me, I think that the movie was a bit too sprawling…too much to cover, going back and forth a bit much…I liked the shifts in tone just fine…and a lot of it was hilarious…but I think that the pacing between all of the elements ended up slowing things down and taking away from the overall experience of the film.

The ending…completely off the wall…but somehow fit right in with the movie’s sensibility. Wasn’t sure if it was a comment on the absurdity of everything, a shout out to Ultraman et al, Japanese culture, but it was fitting. Bryan wasn’t sure he liked the ending…and liked the movie ok, but I think that he wanted to like it more also.

I did like BMJ’s tendency to be drawn to things like umbrellas, dried seaweed…things that “only get big when you need them to”…although…I think that we would have benefited from BMJ getting big a couple times less…

6 out of 10