Battle Heater (1990)
By: CJ on April 28, 2004.
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| Region 2, PAL. 1.85:1 (Non-anamorphic). Japanese DD 2.0. English Subtitles. Artsmagic (UK). 93 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: George Lida
Starring: Pappara Kawai,
Akira Emoto, Kaoru Okunuki and Bakufu-Slump
Tagline:'It's
fuelled by blood'
Country: Japan
AKA: Battle Heater:
Kotatsu |
Another offering from Artsmagic in the form
of George Iida's (Joji Iida) truly bizarre Battle Heater. Lida, known to
audiences through his films Another Heaven and The Spiral (Rasen)
unleashes an astonishingly oddball film this time
around.
Where to begin? Well, the heart of the story
centres around Furuchi who has acquired an electric
room heater (known as a Kotatsu), but this is
no ordinary room heater; this one possesses a
malignant spirit that thrives on the blood of
human beings. This is not all there is to the
film though, as it also chronicles the lives of
the apartment where Furuchi lives – and
what an array of eccentric characters they are
too! There is the old man who keeps having long
lapses of silences whilst in mid-conversation;
the cyberpunk-style kids who play in a rock band;
the cheating wife who has carved her husband in
half, and keeps the upper half standing upright
in a bowl - and not forgetting Furuchi's
boss who habitually administers Furuchi with electric
shocks for no apparent reason whatsoever. As you
can see, the film is populated with a variety
of colourful characters, which keep things interesting.
However, there were several moments throughout
the film that left me scratching my head in bemused
puzzlement, but it's these absurdities that
make me go back for more, where Asian cinema is
concerned. Then again, I've always been
a strange chap…
Despite the central concept, the film is not
a bloodbath; it plays rather like an eccentric
black comedy. It had me laughing in several places
(and yes, it was intentional humour on the part
of the filmmakers) – and there's not
much that has me laughing, so the film scores
points for that alone.
It wouldn't really be fair of me to give
too much of the story away, as this would spoil
the fun for potential viewers. All I can really
do is recommend that you see this for yourself,
as whatever I write will come nowhere near to
being able to properly convey how demented this
flick is. George Lida actually manages to take
this rather silly idea and turn it into something
very watchable and surprisingly entertaining.
He ably manages to take all the various strands
of the story and weave it into a cohesive whole,
which is quite impressive considering how much
is going on throughout the film. It's great
fun and highly recommended – though it may
well be a little too bizarre and leftfield for
some viewer's tastes. I enjoyed it immensely
though, if that's any recommendation. |
| Video |
| Artsmagic have done a very fine job with the transfer;
the colours are vivid and stable throughout, and
the blacks are solid and free from digital 'smearing'.
The image is as good as you would expect from a
low-budget Asian film (also obviously shot on digital
video). The film is presented in non-anamorphic
1.85:1, but looks very nice nonetheless. |
| Audio |
| The audio is presented in 2-channel Dolby Digital
and is clear and free from any defects. The dialogue
is clear and crisp and the music is rendered pleasingly.
No complaints in this department. |
| Extra Features |
The disc comes with an on-camera interview with
director George Lida which is informative and interesting.
However, I did notice that the audio is out-of-synch,
but since the interview is presented with subtitles,
it didn't present too much of a distraction.
Artsmagic need to take note of this though and watch
out for this potential problem on future releases.
Also provided are filmographies and biographies.
At least Artsmagic have taken the trouble to furnish
the disc with a smattering with extras, which can
only be a good thing. |
| The Verdict |
| An exceptionally bizarre film, even by Asian standards,
and yet strangely compelling and highly entertaining.
The actors perform their roles well and the intentional
humour is actually very funny – albeit very
black humour. This won't be to everyone's
liking, especially those who prefer more conventional
movies, but if you fancy something a little different,
then give it a try. You never know – you might
enjoy it! In summarising, I would say that
I found the film hugely entertaining and a real
hoot. It won't exactly stretch your brain-cells,
but it may give you a laugh. I think of far worse
ways to spend 90-odd-minutes of my time than in
the company of this surreal slice of eastern cinema. |
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