Title: 悪人 (Akunin) English Title: Villain Released: 2010 Directed By: Ri Saniru (Lee San'il) Story By: Yoshida Shuichi Starring: Tsumabuki Satoshi, Fukatsu Eri “There are too many people in the world who act as if there is no one important to them and that they have nothing to lose. And this makes them feel as if they have become strong. They look at those who want and who have lost through eyes of contempt.” Those hoping to witness a truly evil and twisted character will likely be let down at Villain, a movie which attempts to stray from the “black-white” mentality by calling into question traditionally established assumptions of good and evil and thus, in the process, features no real character with which the label “evil” can be attached. In fact, even the title of the movie is used ironically, as the main protagonist and antihero Yuichi, turns out to be a much more likeable and sympathetic character, rather than any sort of villain. Instead, the movie attempts to critique more concrete and fundamental problems such as a lack of sympathy and compassion that seems to be characteristic of the society in which we live. As far as the viewer is able to sympathize with Yuichi, even though he has committed murder, and dislike other certain characters, the movie is successful in challenging ideas of guilt and innocence as well. Certainly Yuichi’s circumstances, which are disclosed in varying amounts throughout the movie, would allow us to see that he has been just as much a victim, if not more so, than he has an actual perpetrator. Similarly, the characters who would traditionally be regarded as victims are presented in such a way that they must be seen as bearing at least some part of the guilt. On the one hand, for example, we are first tempted to sympathize with Yoshino, the young woman killed by Yuichi, after seeing the way she has been treated, but in the following scenes are forced to retract some of this sympathy after learning how she has treated Yuichi. Villain is successful then, in creating a certain group of characters with which we find it difficult to fully sympathize with. At the same time though, the movie does ask us to sympathize with Yuichi, the criminal – protagonist. For a large portion of the movie, we are assisted in this by the movie’s crowning achievement, the presence of Mitsuyo. Although both Mitsuyo and Yuichi suffer from isolation and rejection from the society around them, both their feelings are only fully articulated through Mitsuyo. Similarly, she is also a bridge which makes it possible for the audience to arrive at some understanding of Yuichi. At its center, Villain strives to highlight that, in current society, those who are beaten down and punished are those who are already weak and whose position was already low. In other words, the weak become weaker. Moreover, as the quote above implies, showing an indifference to the weakness of others can make one temporarily forget their own fragility, thus granting one a false sense of strength and power. In one aspect then, the heroization and victimization of Yuichi can be seen to contrast even the very penal system, a system reinforced by the society under critique. Additionally, the movie goes on to stress this power relationship within society through the examples of Yuichi’s grandmother, who is hounded and attacked by both the media, and loan-shark doctors, as well as through Yoshino’s father, who is repeatedly unsuccessful in his attempts to receive just some small apology from the man implicitly involved in his daughter’s death. While the movie might be more successful with the examples of some of the secondary characters, it almost oversteps itself in taking for granted that its audience will grant them the necessary favor of sympathizing with Yuichi. This assumption is pushed to its limit when he is seen, not just to be a good and likeable character, but in fact is portrayed almost as a martyr through his action of willingly making himself a sacrificial victim. If the stretch is not made, admittedly a tenuous one at times, one’s image of Yuichi and, perhaps the film in general run the risk of turning sour. Even if one is ambivalent about Yuichi though, some beautiful scenes, such as Mitsuyo’s escape from the police station, as well as a touching love story, and an always welcome commentary on the importance of compassion, redeem Villain and serve to make it a worthwhile watch. Likely not the most memorable film you will see, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.
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Title: ヴィヨンの妻 (Viyon no Tsuma) English Title: Villon's Wife Release Date: October 10, 2009 (Japan) Villion’s Wife is based on the book of the same title by Dazai Osamu. However, having not read the book yet, I can’t write a correct essay of how well the movie follows the story. I can however, do my best to tell a little about the movie, which I really enjoyed and would highly recommend. This is a pretty accessible movie. That’s saying a fair amount already, as a lot of Osamu’s work tends to be based around depression, alcoholism, and suicide. The author himself committed suicide with one of his wives, in an eerily similar fashion to an attempt by one of the main characters in Villion's Wife. Despite this, the tone of the movie is not incredibly dark, and I would even venture to say, slightly encouraging. The protagonist, Sachi (played by Matsu Takako), is the young wife of the unpredictable, and rather out of control Otani (played by Asano Tadanobu). The character Otani is loosely based on Osamu himself, and it can be assumed that some of the movie is based on real events as well, as the book was semi-autobiographical. Matsu Takako plays a really memorable role. She patiently and lovingly endures the suffering and hardships brought on by her alcoholic, cheating husband in a role that is somehow both beautiful and painful to watch at the same time. With a forced half smile, she dresses up nicely, puts her baby on her back, and trudges out in search of her husband who has run away and left her with a pile of debts to pay off. The scenery is beautiful, the image of a young mother and child is beautiful, and yet the audience is moved to tears by sympathy for the direness of the situation. Asano Tadanobu is one of my favorite actors. He’s appeared in an exhaustive catalogue of movies, some of the more memorable ones that I’ve seen being Survive Style 5+ and Kitano Takeshi’s Zatoichi. He fit into this role so well, that I didn’t even realize it was him as I first started watching this movie. It didn’t seem at all like “this is Asano Tadanobu playing Otani,” rather it was entirely “this is Otani playing Osamu,” – he transcended his persona and become the character and it was really fantastic to watch. A great scene of Sachi hearing the details of her husband’s theft from a restaurant owner and learning the amount of debt her husband has accumulated. As it becomes clear that she is going to have to be the one to pay off the debt, she begins to laugh while tears are still streaming down her face. The scene was very touching, and also surprising for me, to see such a reaction (laughter) at a time when many would feel simply anger or sadness. This, however, is a good example of gomakasu, a reaction more familiar to Japan than the West and similar to laughing in spite of one’s self or one’s situation. And again, another scene sure to leave an impression, and one of the darkest scenes of the movie, is that of Otani and his lover Akiko attempting double suicide in the woods. The couple fills themselves on sake and sleeping pills, and Otani goes on to tie a noose around his neck while hanging off a waterfall. A shocking picture without a doubt, and yet, the composure of the two, and the collected way they go about it, their grim determinist outlook, make the whole thing seem strangely natural. Despite the impression that descriptions of scenes like these might give, I want to reiterate that this is a fairly accessible movie. The themes are simple, the story is simple – there aren’t a lot of things that are going to be lost over people’s heads. At the same time, it’s not a light watch and it’s not something that you’d want to have on in the background at a party. Be expected to be sucked into the author’s world, to be put in the shoes of a young woman who maintains hope amidst the hopeless, and to walk away fascinated by this amazing portrayal of Osamu’s work, Villon’s Wife. |
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