Kenichi Ugana‘s “The Gesuidouz” is a pleasant deadpan oddity a few Japanese punk group, whose 26-year-old lead singer Hanako (Natsuko) is satisfied she’ll be useless at 27, the identical age as Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain. The quartet’s sardonic musical vitality interprets visually at each flip, with vibrant, subdued visible affectations that discover humor within the morose.
The result’s a fluffy, confident ode to creativity and discovering one’s voice by way of style cinema — the group’s songs and albums revolve round Hollywood horror movies — with a specific viewer in thoughts. The movie is, on one hand, undoubtedly Japanese in its sensibilities. Natsuko interprets Hanako’s despondent temper into reflections and refractions on feeling trapped in her pores and skin; she seldom strays from the character’s icy stillness, although she reveals a surprising sense of heat now and again. However, North American midnight film followers who frequent the likes of Montreal’s Fantasia Fest and Austin’s Incredible Fest will discover themselves represented each bodily and spiritually. The Gesuidouz’s worldwide success finds them admirers in Quebec, and even amongst a few recognizable American style administrators, who makes amusing cameos.
Nevertheless, earlier than discovering this success, the group should first trudge by way of the distress of poor album gross sales and threats of being dropped from their label, at which level their supervisor (Yuya Endo) offers them an ultimatum. Nicely, it’s extra of an ultimatum that Hanako forces out of mentioned supervisor (she’s helpful with an influence drill), however the movie’s premise finds the group taking over residence on a rural farm, on the situation that they give you a brand new hit. Right here, Hanako befriends the farm proprietor’s candy, aged mom, who doesn’t perceive the band’s attraction, however isn’t any much less fascinated by their work, and proves to be an sudden assist system.
All of the whereas, Hanako and the opposite group members — performed by a multi-ethnic ensemble comprising Leo Imamura, Yutaka Kyan, and Rocko Zevenbergen; the band’s title means “guesthouse” — converse to and acknowledge the digital camera, which is initially a stand-in for a selected journalist, who asks them questions at a very low and listless level. Nevertheless, the lens finally takes on the conceptual presence of a watchful, curious eye. Though it’s nonetheless and sometimes distant, it goads them into discovering themselves once more, and crash-zooms into every of their faces throughout moments of inspiration, which the actors exaggerate earlier than breaking into earworm instrumentation.
The film options bits of magical realism too, like an advice-giving Shiba Inu canine, and singles which can be fairly actually (and considerably disgustingly) birthed within the type of speaking cassette tapes. Nevertheless, these largely go unremarked upon, including to Ugana’s stone-faced humor. In Aki Kaurismäki-esque vogue, this deadpan strategy disguises surprisingly shifting moments.
Whereas a lot of “The Gesuidouz” issues the concept of creativity by way of imitation and inspiration — it might make a becoming double function with Swedish younger punk film “We Are the Finest!” — Ugana’s strategy nonetheless proves extremely unique. The movie is, for essentially the most half, a breeze, with simply sufficient that means nestled into its easy-going scenes to make for a pleasant and at occasions affirming watch, although its audience is hyper-specific. There’s nothing flawed with an in-joke or in-group cinematic language as long as it’s efficient.
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