Anyway, like I said, the best film I've seen recently (besides the Banksy "documentary" EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP) is the MAN WHO STOLE THE SUN. I didn't really expand upon my thoughts for it on the previous page, but it's a clear-cut 10/10. It's 2 1/2 hours long and I was tired, not really feeling up to watching a long film but within 30 minutes, I was hooked. The film is edited and directed in such an exciting way.. really mindblowing.. and there are weird stop motion scenes, and scenes which basically amount to 1-frame-a-second. Action scenes filmed in very experimental ways. The film itself is kinda like a dark comedy, at times, but the whole thing is VERY nihilistic. It called to mind something Miike said... "all Japanese art since WW2 has been a response to the nukes." I dunno if ALL art has been a response, but you can definitely see how nihilistic and cynical and pessimistic "entertainment" has become since then. Look at this cover, btw:
This film really has nothing to do with this cover. But what a cover, nevertheless! THIS FILM IS NOT A PSYCHADELIC WESTERN. Hah. It's more like.. the darkest comedy ever, with lots of weird experimental stuff, a pointless romance that ends tragically -- almost seeming like a parody -- the whole thing is thrilling as hell, dark as hell, and kinda insane. I bet there's 40 minutes of the movie just showing a guy building an atom bomb, step by step, which apparently is why the film is banned in Japan (it might still be, or the ban might have been lifted; nevertheless, the film remains largely unseen, despite obviously costing a LOT of money to have been created, and having won "film of the year" at more than one film festival).
Definitely a strange film, there's another 30 minutes or so of the film devoted to a bus hijacking scene (I've seen many Japanese films with bus hijackings -- what's the deal?). The way this scene plays out -- the editing, the acting -- is what really makes this film stand out. Shortly after, the lead character -- a nice teacher -- seems to go insane, but remains likeable. He just happens to have an a-bomb. It's never explained why, though it's safe to assume that he's just boring and annoyed with contemporary Japanese culture. He uses his a-bomb to get things from the government, like longer baseball game screenings on television. And he gets the Rolling Stones to play the Budokan! Haha.
An insane, essential film. Should be easy to find on DVD, and torrents, and is required viewing. I don't just hand out 10/10's, and this is probably a bit of a low 10, but I mean, there just flat-out doesn't exist films this damn compelling, entertaining, and insane.