The World of Kanako (2015)

just watch it!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I had previously seen an earlier film helmed by Tetsuya Nakashima, namely Confessions (2010). I seem to remember that one dealt with some disturbing material involving high school kids. Well, this latest film from Nakashima also delves into these particular waters. In this one we have an older central character, a man who is an alcoholic, violent and a bad father. He is a former detective who is on the hunt for his missing daughter. As he progresses in his investigation, layer by layer he discovers more and more of his teenage daughter's horrendous double-life.This Japanese mystery-thriller was not unlike the South Korean film Oldboy (2003) with its complete absence of likable characters populating a world where every part of society is rotten. If anything, this movie is even more extreme in this regard. It's a very violent film, although its heavy stylization meant that the nastier elements are less disturbing overall. In truth the style that the film presents its story is possibly both its strength and its weakness. It is made up of rapid edits, with memories and present day occurrences being interwoven together. It is a bit full-on I have to say and thank heavens for the rewind button! It can be hard to follow if I am totally honest and you will need to be alert to keep up with this one. So I think the presentation can be a bit of an issue, however, it is also this very complex editing that ensures that the story is more compelling. Once you look back on it, the story has certain weaknesses, with an ultimate resolution to the mystery not necessarily being as interesting as the journey we take getting there. But the journey is interesting and dynamically told and, in fairness, I am sure this one would benefit from a re-watch given that there really is a lot going on. In addition to the relentless editing, there are also anime and comic-book graphics interspersed throughout, as well as twee Japanese schoolgirl material mixed in with disturbing and violent stuff; while there is a constant reference to 'Alice in Wonderland' with the idea of a girl falling down a hole that just keeps on going. It's a heady mix of ideas all things considered and I have to say that its ambitious presentation made this one a film well worth seeing.

Getting a chance to host an event on IMDb's Film Festival thread,I started gathering up the titles on DVD.Putting things into place whilst nearing the end of IMDb's Horror board October Challenge,I was pleased to discover that one of the films was hitting UK DVD (that Empire magazine reviewer Kim Newman would pick as his "breakout star" in His October 2016 "straight to video" page) on Halloween, (despite coming out in cinemas in 2014)which led to me entering the world of Kanako.The plot:After a bitter divorce detective Akihiro Fujishima loses contact with his wife and their innocent teenage daughter Kanako. Carrying the bitterness on his shoulders, Fujishima is taken aback when his ex- wife phones to reveal that Kanako has gone missing.Finding that Kanako (who got perfect marks at school) has left all her belongings in the bedroom, Fujishima starts tracking down her pals.Pulling info out of them, Fujishima is horrified to discover a completely different world of Kanako to the one he knew.View on the film:Spraying the screen with Comic-Book-style credits,co-writer/(along with Miako Tadano & Nobuhiro Monma) director Tetsuya Nakashima and cinematographer Shôichi Atô unleash a hyper-stylised Neo-Noir revenge nightmare,blazing with unsettling catchy cover songs and burning rapid-fire edits from editor Yoshiyuki Koike.Breaking out in waves of lavish animation being kicked with harsh point-blank violence, Nakashima closely works with Koike to pull back some of the confrontational edge with a rich dour Neo-Noir stillness splashed from every clue Fujishima finds,as the vibrant reds and blues engulfing Kanako life image fade into bursts of crimson and sour greens.Taken from the world of Akio Fukamachi's hard-nosed novel,the screenplay by Nakashima/ Tadano and Monma sharply use flashbacks to get under the burnt skins of loners Fujishima and Kanako,as the writers brilliantly twist and turn the initial pristine image of Kanako,and also tear open the ruthless brittle wires of Fujishima's scrambled mind.Shaking the animated violence he uses to get clues on Kanako,the writers soak the title in a tense, sombre Neo-Noir atmosphere,as Fujishima finds his perfect image of Kanako to melt away in the snow.Screaming out in pure anger over finding Kanako, Kôji Yakusho gives an excellent performance as Fujishima,whose Noir loner desperation Yakusho fires up with unforgiving, wounded rage,as the world of Kanako crumbles.

I just seen the movie and i am speechless, one thing tho it made me scared of good looking Japanese women. Seriously after the movie i felt you cant trust anyone.There is a mixed emotion and feeling after i seen it and i ain't sure what to say. I do like Asian movies as they are different, they make you think, sometimes to much. When it comes to the disturbing parts of the movie and then i don't mean the bloody parts, its a bit like Swedish movies who can be when they put their mind to it very disturbing, you get a bad feeling in your stomach.Like in some other reviews i also felt a bit Tarantino over it and i cant say i think Tarantino makes a lot better movies, more rather if he seen this i believe he wish he had made it.

from the start of the movie until the end contain discomfort atmosphere with violent and some nudity.The story is quite confusing and I regret that I watch this movie.But after me and my friend have some discuss about this story it quite give us a lot of idea and what director want to teach us about so we give another shot for this story and we got what this story is to remind something for Japan people.The soundtrack is really various and their production is beautiful(even though cg is bad in action) Really recommend for someone who could open- mind for some weird story that is hard to understand.This movie is really good for someone who study art and who love plot twist or complicate story.Last remind.everyone can't be trusted.