yeah, he's awesome, some of his stuff reminds me of SOGO ISHII and SEIJIN SUZUKI (kind of like Kitano, hey!), because both of those directors did similiar things to this Ishii, starting out with one kind of genre exercise and then just piling on the absurdities, deconstructing the idea of the film, with some really surreal and interesting results. taste of tea was a beautiful film -- at times, it definitely had a Kitano vibe, as well as a Shinji Aoyanama and an Ozu vibe -- but when it got really surreal and out-there, it reminded me of some of the great Japanese new-wave filmmakers of the past, like Nobuhiko Obayashi (his short film EMOTION in particular --
http://www.ubu.com/film/obayashi_emotion.html) and Shuji Terayama (whose experimental film works cast a long shadow over just about everything else that's ever been created in film'; I'm not embarassed to say that Terayama is my biggest influence as a director, because he taught me that
if you
can craft really inane visuals, you
should! Because that's really the most important thing as far as filmmaking goes -- especially of the experimental nature -- because films are a viaul language, afterall. worry about the "story" later, if you want; just make some crazy visuals! His full length films PASTORAL TO DIE IN THE COUNTRY and THROW AWAY YOUR BOOKS AND RALLY IN THE STREETS actually changed my life). Still, while having roots in the very very visual Japanese new wave of the 60's/70's, a film like TASTE OF TEA forges its own path. It's got a LOT of personality, something missing from many cold, recent Japanese films (even recent Japanese films I LOVE -- like Scrap Heaven, Hanging Garden, and the masterpiece All About lily Chou Chou -- seem primarily concerned with the cold, bleak, lonely modern lifestyle of the average Japanese person's lifestyle).
One can't overstate the importance of Asano -- is there a more important, intelligent, and consistent actor in the world today? He has truly worked with nearly every important Japanese director of the past 20 years -- everything from Tsukamoto to Teruo Ishii, from Sogo Ishii (Ishii is a popular name!) to Kitano. He makes noise music, appears in art films, as well as mainstream films, and even the films he's in that aren't GREAT (Screwed, for example) are always interesting. He's also one of the great "silent actors", I've noticed; he seems to pick a lot of roles where he gets to be almost completely silent for the whole role, yet he's able to convey so much emotion. without saying or doing much. He's also the go-to guy if you want your film to achieve instant credibility; he very very rarelyt chooses projects that, well, suck.
Just in recent years, he has appeared in so many of my favorite movies OF ALL TIME... Survive Style 5+, Cafe Lumiere (god this film rules; so underrated), Fried Dragon Film, Swallowtail Butterfly, Labyrinth of Reams, Focus, Distance, Eli Eli Lema Sabachitani (a film that is hilarious, surreal, ridiculous, and beautiful; it's about NOISE!), Sad Vacation, Sharkskin Man/Peach Hip Girl, Electric Dragon 80000v, Gemini, Last Life in the Universe (one of the best films ever), Bright Future, Taste of Tea, Dumbeast, Umoregi, Dead End Run, Funky Forest, Vital (one of the best films ever, again), Tokyo Zombie, all 4 segments of Rampo Noir (probably my favorite role of his), Kaabee, Taga Tameni, the masterpiece Maboroshi, Face of Jizo.... and let's not forget his role in (are you ready for this title) Wong Kar Wai (one of the best directors ever)'s film Wkw/tk/1996@7'55*hk.net!!!!!! Oh yeah, he was in Ichi the Killer, but so were a lot of people, so yeah.
So, basically, if Asano is in a film, it's probably worth checking out. Also, whereas American films and French films and films from various other countries seem to be in something of a confused rut, Japanese films continue to boldly invent and have become even more wacked-out, experimental, and downright
fun to watch. Depressing films like Vital are mainstream hits, insane 4 hour panty shot snapping epics like Love Exposure are the biggest film of all time (!), and then you've got films like Gonin, supergritty urban Tokyo gun epics.. bullet ballets and pistol operas. Filmmakers like Kiyoshi Kurosawa and his atmospheric films are reinventing horror. They're also on the cutting edge of film production and style over there. I think Battle Royale was probably the most important film, when it came out, in ushering in the NEW new wave over there. And then there was a sort of rediscovery of stuiff like Tetsuo and Pinnochio 964 and Rubber's Lover and Miike's stuff like the Black Society Trilogy. I love Japanese movies.
So, I'm glad you like Taste of Tea, it was definitely one of the best films of the decade, in my top 5, alongside BACK AGAINST THE WALL, REFLECTIONS OF EVIL, FROWNLAND, IN PRAISE OF LOVE, ....yeah.
Hey, joe, I keep remembering films you'd probably like.. too bad free leech is over. You have seen HAUSU right? Maybe you should ask for the recent criterion release for your birthday! Heheh. it's by far the most insane horror film to ever come out of japan (maybe THE CAT -- by the woman who did RIKI OH!!!! -- is a
bit crazier). Also, have you seen FATTY DRIVES THE BUS? That's another one of my favorite movies ever, definitely in that MICROWAVE MASSACRE/BRIDE OF FRANK no budget but completely nuts and awesome vibe.
Whee!