So, I gotta stay away eBay (despite there is an unusual abundance of
blank championship belts for under $60.00) and Amazon (I can't even
swing $35...better make sure my Nerd Block gets cancelled...shit, too
late [crappy websites won't get a link regardless of the cool anime
stuff I received]). Thus, I have to come up with a new plan to work
around this, and further emphasize the need to get "Guy Does Finishing Moves on Zombies," to promote "Main Event of the Dead" finished. I'll throw that pitch at the bottom of the blog.
Fortunately, Netflix came
through for me when I received Satoshi Kon's "Tokyo Godfathers." Sadly,
renting it through this service is the most affordable way to do so (I
really should have booted up my Window Vista PC, my Dazzle Video Import
hardware and Roxio software...first time I ever consider using the tech
for piracy). When you consider the old movies that may never see
streaming services, the $7.99 DVD service is really worth it. And it
kind of makes you have to watch it ASAP because if you do not, you
negate the value of your purchase (like cancelling Nerd Block too
late..."Evangelion," worth 35/"Mr. Bean," not worthless). This also
makes my "not going to get shitfaced nights" dedicated to watching new
flicks (to me) so I'll can get back into the practice of writing movie
reviews. I figure my knowledge of film should further support why "Guy Does Finishing Moves on Zombies," to promote "Main Event of the Dead" needs to be completed. If he knows the medium so well, surely his script (that you can get a treatment of by e-mailing russthebus07@gmail.com) can't be too bad.
Keep
in mind, this course of action will only occur on nights that I'm not
going to be a poor bore at the front desk. I need to save my other sober
nights for "Disney Infinity" and "Infamous."
This film from one of my favorite anime directors ("Perfect Blue" is
a must view) is quite an appropriate title when it comes to my
developed course of action for slow hotel nights. Three homeless Tokyo
residents are trying their best to be cheery on Christmas Eve, but it's
difficult for the alcoholic Gin, transvestite Hana, and runaway Miyuki
to stand each other, let alone accept the spirit of the season. God may
be looking over them, because as they are digging through the trash for
some classic literature for Miyuki, they hear the whines of a newborn
baby.
Hana
believes this is his "virgin birth" and decides that he must play the
role of mother, refusing to listen to his compatriots that they need to
turn the newly christened Kiyoko (translates to messenger of God) to the
police. Because the immediate needs of the child, Gin softens his
stance and Miyuki can relate to the child's plight in her own way. A
compromised is reached in the morning when Hana demands that he cannot
give the baby up until her parents explain their actions to him. So, the
three that society have forgotten will venture on a quest to find a
baby's parents that may lead the three to finally understanding and
accepting each other.
I
think Kon realized that story may be a bit cliche, so Yakuza, wannabe
Droogs and hidden ailments of the three compatriots will present
themselves to add greater challenges to our protagonists.
I
will warn you this is a subtitled only release. The positive of this is
that the authenticity of the translation cannot be questioned. The
negatives are whatever the typical person has to bitch about reading. My
only issue with the lack of a dub is that I like to see multiple angles
to my animation. It's a different art to dubbing animation, and with
anime's lack of mouth movement to the correct sound spoken, a good dub
is about as good as a track where I will not recognize the actors. For
fun, a dub can also throw in extra sounds/dialogue to explain the story
even further.
Aside
from this, "Tokyo Godfathers" is one of the best subtle stories I have
seen in anime. Do not worry, crazy things will occur, but they happen to
further our understanding of the characters, not to just break
up monotony. It's kind of like the J. R. R. Tolkien adaptations to
screen, but every action scene provides depth to the protagonist(s)
instead of serving as an obstacle to present the illusion that the story
is more than midgets walking towards a goal.
The
character of Miyuki offers a lot more to be discovered about her, and
the story only breaks the surface. Fortunately, the adult characters,
the easiest to understand characters, are totally flushed out, so their
stories and how they could seemingly coexist make the film very
rewarding. Kon realizes that it is still a cartoon, so the film has a
style that lacks realism which may make swallowing some of the tougher
character traits a little easier.
Also
he successfully reminds us of the medium with the incorporation of
devices where characters comfortably break the fourth wall. They're very
subtle devices that are not too far removed from Wile E. Coyote holding
up one of his signs.
A
huge positive of this film is how Kon was able to bring together
three story-lines into just 90 minutes. That seems like a daunting task
for many Asian directors to do with only one line to follow, and perhaps
its through making the audience yearn to see the characters stick
together that makes it work so well. Kon obliges, and you are given the
time to pop "Perfect Blue" into the player (that's why I keep two VHS
decks on standby) to see the range of his storytelling ability in just
one night.
"Tokyo
Godfathers" is a case for preventing a major distributor (Sony in this
case) from getting a hold of marvelous niche films. I doubt there is any
rush on their behalf for a Blu-Ray of this masterpiece in storytelling,
so it maybe a decade before we can easily see this feature again. Since
this and Kon's "Millenium Actress" suffer from poor distributing and
Satoshi Kon has since passed away, I fear he may be forgotten in the
states as one of the best directors of traditional animation.
Not my best closing, but I think its worth your time to listen to the following suggestion:
The "Main Event of the Dead" Test Reel Needs:
- Someone with some makeup or special effects experience.
- The true antagonist of the feature is a woman, so an actress to set up the premise of "Main Event of the Dead."
- Three or four wrestlers to take the finishing moves.
- One or two wrestlers to deliver the moves.
- A wrestling ring with a canvas that can afford to be left a little messy. If we can get extra from the crowd-funding campaign, we'll make replacing it a priority.
If you need a treatment of the script for "Main Event of the Dead" please e-mail me at russthebus07@gmail.com.
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