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| Artsmagic (USA). All Regions, NTSC. 1:85:1 (16:9 enhanced). Japanese DD 5.1. English Subtitles. 93 Minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director:Takashi
Miike
Starring: Naoto Takenaka,
Saki Takaoka, Yuki Nagata and Shonusuke Shofukutei
Screenplay: Nakamura
(based on a novel by Toshikazu Nakaba)
Music: Kôji Endô
Country: Japan
AKA: Kishiwada shônen
gurentai: Bôkyô |
Nostalgia is Takashi Miike's
second entry into the Young Thugs series
and tells the story of Riichi Nakaba's formative
years (Innocent Blood documents
his teenage years). So it's actually a prequel
of sorts to Miike's own Young
Thugs – Innocent Blood.
Set in 1969, the story is pretty much a tale
of the passage of rites of young Riichi, as he
passes from youth to adolescence. It charts his
fortunes as he deals with the difficulties of
school, rivalries with his peers (which continues
in more brutal fashion in Innocent Blood)
and coping with his somewhat dysfunctional family.
Dispensing with the ultra-violence, which is commonly
(and mistakenly) associated with Miike's
work, it focuses more on the human drama and the
difficulties of approaching adulthood. Set against
the backdrop of the lunar landing, the film shows
Riichi growing up against a backdrop of technological
change and progress, and so there is a distinct
reflection of old and new. This is a Japan that
is facing a huge cultural shift, whilst Riichi
faces huge changes in his own life.
Despite the characters being so odd and the presentation
of Riichi's family as being so dysfunctional,
everybody comes across as being rather likeable
– and Riichi's imperfect father, although
somewhat insensitive, is hard to hate, even though
his behaviour is reprehensible at times. Miike
regards this as his favourite film – it
certainly seems to be his most personal work,
with great care and attention given to character-building
and meticulous period detail. The main problem
is that it's really not all that interesting
to watch and moves along at a snail's pace.
It's nowhere near as entertaining as Innocent
Blood and seems to get bogged down in
itself early on in the film. That's not
to say it's a bad film by any means, just
that it's not very compelling viewing. I'm
sure the supposed autobiographical book by Toshikazu
(Riichi) Nakaba himself is a great read, but it
doesn't translate well to the medium of
film.
Overall it's a rather dull and uneventful
movie populated with characters that should have
provided more interest, but didn't. This
is one for Miike completists only, I'm afraid. |
| Video |
| Artsmagic give the film a smart looking 1.85:1
anamorphic presentation, which looks superb. The
transfer is clean, sharp and free from any artifacting
or print damage. Colours are consistent and the
blacks are solid and free from digital smearing.
Very nice indeed. |
| Audio |
| The disc has a Japanese 5.1 audio track and is
perfectly acceptable. No audio fireworks to speak
of, but it's balanced nicely across the 5.1
sound platform. No complaints in this department
and, I should add, comes with clear and easy to
read English subtitles. |
| Extra Features |
| Artsmagic grace the disc with some worthwhile
supplementary features, which include an informative
and insightful on-camera interview with Miike himself,
a feature documenting the people and culture of
Osaka, where the film is set, artwork gallery and
biographies and filmographies of the cast and crew.
It's an impressive package overall for an
obscurity such as this and will no doubt be very
pleasing to fans of Miike's films. |
| The Verdict |
Less impressive than the other films I have seen
from Miike's oeuvre, but one that will undoubtedly
be sought out by Miike completists, but sadly it's
less than interesting for the casual viewer. It's
a well-crafted film for sure, just not very exciting
or involving. Nevertheless, it's nice to see
it on DVD for Western audiences to see and make
up their own minds about it and I'm sure there
are some who will derive great pleasure from watching
it – but I found it all rather tedious and
something of a chore to sit through. I've
given it a two out of five rating because, despite
my dislike of the film, I still recognise that it's
a well-made movie in spite of its major shortcomings.
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