Tales of the Misfits
Characters are self obsessed, angsty, self-destructive and in some sense rejected by society. I was truly absorbed by these characters throughout the movie, and being a coming of age film lover, I really like the character study treatment they have given on each character especially the interview part. Film was deep, very philosophical, it tackles existentialism quite profoundly. I also heard it was based on a manga so if that's true that would make it the darkest and the most depressing manga based movie I've ever seen. I also love the setting, it is set in an industrial area in 1990's, and vibe is a blend between depressing and nostalgic.I love the cinematography, it's very atmospheric, and camera work is documentary like, love character close up shots and the background. Music is simplistic but effective, it builds the tension for each scenes and the transition to the next. I also love how the ending credits song is upbeat such contrast to the whole theme of the film, it gives smile to my face.
Great acting from all of these young cast lead by the Fumi Nikaido which in my opinion the best young actress in Japan, she's really good with these type of characters. Yoshizawa Ryo is a revelation in this movie, I didn't know he can act like this, such intensity, reminds me of a young Kengo Kora. The rest of the cast did great job as well because it's not an easy feat to play these types of characters.
Not for everyone obviously, lots of gore and sex scenes. Also the narrative doesn't have anything to do with romanticism but existentialism. Slow but thought provoking film, it probably requires a rewatch to fully understand the message of the film.
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Moreover in my opinion the characters were each totally individual and thereby you could see from a lot of different perspectives. Nevertheless what happened would leave me scarred for life so I cannot relate and do not want to do so.
In summary it is a fascinating but shocking and depressing movie which I would recommend for anyone searching for something meaningful. To watch it though, you will need some strong nerves.
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Beautifuly twisted psychological bowl of soup
I have no idea why this movie took so long to watch, lol. But all in all its twisted but i liked it. Its like a soup full of teen mental cases that dont work together but somehow do. Some of the presentations of ideas were actually surprising and the story was so not predictable so i can safely say that i wasn't disappointed. It shows you just how many issues go on in our heads and tells it as it is without any sugar coatings which i really appreciate. The director needs a medal simply put. Its twisted and very psychological so if youre looking for something that will make your brain do a doubke take this is for you.The movie doesnt really have character developement but im thinking that was the point because majority of the characters are shown merely with the results of their own self absorbed toxicity and if there was any character development at all it was morr of a lesson to them all to chill the heck down especially for Konnanzaki. He had the most development and that was it. The rest of the characters merely move on with living, and it makes sense because no matter what trauma you go through when the sun goes down and comes back up you just keep living by default.
Its a very meaningful and deep psychological movie that im very sure can be relatable to anyone who wants to watvh this. In a sense in these messed up characters you can actually seen yourself or some of youyour own habits in these characters.
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Pretty dark shitt
This film has a certain kind of 2000's vibe, the 1.33:1 aspect ratio,camera work, the mood, shots,direction and cinematography everything was spectacular.The characters were pretty fucked up through I don't know if it's really how Japanese kids are but I guess that's how they try to portray their lives in movies.I liked it a lot it's pretty good imo.I can't imagine myself as any of the characters they all were kinda fucked I hope if anyone's going through this they may find warmth and peace. How should I put it I haven't watched such kind of film in a long time so i feel kinda depressed after watching this but I enjoyed it anyway. You should definitely watch it if you enjoy depressing dark movies, this is the sort of film not everyone can appreciate though.Was this review helpful to you?
Too edgy for me
This is a difficult one to rate.I assume the screenwriter is aiming for a dark and edgy vibe, obviously based on the manga. There are many teen issues dealt with here however one particular plot line used is jarring and gives it a somewhat make-believe feel.
Hard teen angst themes, other than the main actor (thank you for this discovery), there is either over or under acting. Some are over enthused, others act like everything happening is typical in their town.
I wasn’t inspired to dig deep and analyze everyone’s psych.
Good intro to Ryo Yoshizawa though.
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