Quote:
|
Originally Posted by atsonicpark
Funny Tsukamoto was mentioned. I said on the "dedicate a post to your favorite director" thread that he was my favorite director. And he is. And having seen every single Tsukamoto film (even the shorts) and every single Cronenberg films, I'm shocked you don't see him and Cronenberg's similarities. They're virtually identical in style (not colors, which Tsukamoto is known for, but moreso the pacing and framing of shots) and explore a lot of the same themes. Seriously, A Snake of June and Bullet Ballet could've easily been Cronenberg films. Anyway, both brilliant directors, who are very generous with the running times of their films as well  (look at someone like Miike or Lynch who seems to HAVE TO make every single film well over 2 hours to get their point across -- too much of a good thing) Another funny thing about both directors, as I said earlier, is Cronenberg seeming to focus on guns in a lot of films but only in the ending, with one exception (A History of Violence which features tons of gun action). Tsukamoto also does this, ending many of his films with gun violence, including A Snake of June, Tetsuo II (which is ABOUT a guy turning into a gun but there isn't much gun action until the end), and of course Bullet Ballet (which is about a guy making a gun, amongst other things). Very interesting. Anyway, now that Tsukamoto's been mentioned, I want to say that everyone NEEDS to watch Tokyo Fist, easily one of the best films ever. It makes Raging Bull look like a fucking joke. |
I dunno. It's not that I don't see any similaritites between them. Both directors create films that solely focus on "strange" characters. My beef with Cronenberg though is that I haven't seen a film of his where any of the characters were particularly likeable. It's like he's trying so hard to be strange and off-putting that he forgets about everything else. His films are just very cold and completely unengaging to me. And I TRIED to enjoy several of his films. I'm a big horror fan, and could not even enjoy his "horror" offerings. I wouldn't mind Cronenberg's glacial pacing if I actually thought his stories were worth the time. Tsukamoto's Bullet Ballet was genius, gorgeous to look at, and even the violent "despicable" characters showed moments of weakness, and humanity. Cronenberg's characters, even the "likable" ones are empty shells for me.
Tsukamoto on the other hand actually has a sense of humor about himself and his films. There's tons of seriousness buzzing about in his work, but its balanced by subtle humor and touching character quirks. I thought Gemini and Snake of June were (underneath the chaos and sexual depravity) very sweet and uplifting love stories. His films can be disgusting and tender all in one breath. Look at Vital, which I thought would turn into another boy loves corpse sleaze-fest a la Cronenberg's tacky body horror... instead it ended up being a VERY sweet and melancholy story about depression, loss and relationships. None of the characters turned out to be who I thought they would. I genuinely think he is a brilliant director and its a shame he is so often compared to Cronenberg. Even his wacky horror flick "The Goblin" was a fun little fairy tale with some genuinely disturbing images and ideas sprinkled throughout.
To sum up.... Cronenberg does nothing for me... and Tsukamoto might be well on the way to becoming my fave director.