Eri Eri rema sabakutani (2005)

Director:

Shinji Aoyama

Writer:

Shinji Aoyama (writer)

Release Date:

28 January 2006 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A.D. 2015: A virus has been spreading in many cities worldwide. It is a suicidal disease and the virus is infected by pictures...

Plot Keywords:

Virus | Experimental Film | Guitar | Plague | Sound Effect

Cast

Tadanobu Asano	...	Mizui
Aoi Miyazaki	...	Hana
Mariko Okada	...	Navi
Masaya Nakahara	...	Asuhara
Yasutaka Tsutsui	...	Miyagi
Masahiro Toda	...	Natsuishi
Shingo Tsurumi	...	Kazemoto
Yûsuke Kawazu	...	Miyazawa
Erika Oda	...	Eriko

Also Known As:

Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (Japan) (promotional title)
My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

France:107 min | Argentina:117 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:13

Company:

Rumble Fish

Depending on your "musical" tastes, Brilliant or Awful

Little prepares the average US film watcher for this one. Is it Japanese over the top violence? No. Is it Japanese S & M sex perversions? No. Is it just general Japanese cultural stuff that doesn't translate well? Not really. What is it?

The only thing I knew about the film was that it was about two musicians making found object music after some major crisis in the near future. What sort of music? I knew what a lot of found object music sounds like but the two musicians featured here were totally unknown to me. The first real clue was a prominently displayed "Borbetomagus" sticker. If you don't know who that is, look them up, "art noise" is a generous description. The musicians (and some will question that) are given large amounts of time where they perform their noise generation (including guitars and synthesizers). I have an appreciation for this type of sound experimenting and was involved with the US art noise scene in it's infancy in the late 1970's and early 80's. Unfortunately the performances in the film are dull except for the final extended solo which is excellent. To have such a well made film revolving around this type of sound would be unheard of in the US.

The plot is simply that the only people infected with the "Lemming Syndrome" who survive have attended concerts by the two musicians. A wealthy man tries to convince the musicians to cure his suicidal daughter. That's about it.

Slowly paced but extremely beautiful. A wonderful music track when the noise is not happening. Subdued but good performances from everyone. A couple of scenes were baffling to me and I don't understand the Biblical reference or why the music group is named "Stepin Fetchit".

This review is a recommendation and a warning.