If you're wondering why there's been so little activity here at Twisted Flicks recently, its because I'm currently soaking up the atmosphere on holiday in Japan. As you can imagine, there's many better things to do here than blogging!
However, while cycling around Tokyo today, my attention was grabbed by some advertising adorning a streetside clock for the movie Hana to Hebi 3 (Flower and Snake 3).
It's a little surreal seeing advertising for a bondage movie right out in the street like this - and Ginza is not at all a seedy neighbourhood! Its where all the luxury shops are, with the likes of Luis Vuitton, Chanel, Armani etc.
Intrigued, I followed the arrows and came across a grimy movie theatre below the street, the Ginza Cine Patos.
An LCD screen on the wall was showing trailers for upcoming attractions ... and one that caught my eye was the Japanese trailer shown below for Takashi Ishii's Nûdo no yoru: Ai wa oshiminaku ubau - aka 'A Night in Nude' Vol 2 - a sequel to his highly acclaimed 1993 flick. Thought some of you fellow J-Cinema fans might be interested. Looks to be starting its theatrical run in Japan, Oct 2nd, 2010.
Trailer (Japanese only)
And for those that can read Japanese, here's the official website.
France, 2009
Director: Gaspar Noe
Starring: Paz de la Huerta, Nathaniel Brown IMDB: 7.4
I'm going to cut straight to the chase. Enter the Void is a downright masterpiece, it simply pushes all the right buttons ... for me. I could say your mileage may vary, but I'll go a step further. Your mileage WILL vary, and I'll explain why shortly. Enter the Void is an edgy, experimental, visceral, mind-blowing experience that will more than polarise audiences, so uncompromising is director Gaspar Noe in his vision.
Anyone familiar with Noe's last film Irreversible will be aware he is not one to shy away from shocking the viewer - in fact its something that he strives for. It's safe to say he has not chosen to change his ways here! This is a truly adult movie ... and anyone with hangups about sex, drugs, or violence should stay well away. An open adult mind is a prerequisite.
The film wastes no time in establishing the impact it intends - right from the get-go the opening titles slam into the screen in rapid-fire succession accompanied by a suitably pounding soundtrack. These were impressive enough to be followed by excited applause at the festival premier I attended. The crowd were in high spirits, ready to laugh and interact with the movie in true festival tradition. But it wasn't long before everyone was deadly silent as they were gripped by the intensity of what was unfolding.
Enter the Void is based in Tokyo, and centers around siblings Oscar and Linda. After losing their parents at a very early age the two become extremely close, and Linda makes Oscar promise never to leave her. Nevertheless, they are fostered out to separate homes, and when we first meet Oscar he is living in Tokyo, desperately trying to raise the money to allow his sister to join him.
Being a bit of a drug fiend, its not long before he hits upon the obvious way to raise a bit of quick money - dealing drugs. In the seedy underbelly of Tokyo, in a country notoriously anti-drugs ... this is a dangerous proposition.
The first major scene of the movie involves Oscar (Nathaniel Brown) getting high on DMT. The sound, visuals and atmosphere of this scene are the most impressive translation of a hallucinogenic experience that I have ever seen in a movie. Noe has stated that his inspiration for the film's neon look came from his experimentation with the drug DMT / Ayahuasca - and for what its worth, he compares the effect to the movie Tron.
And its Noe's extraordinary success in representing this state of mind that will turn off many viewers. It's all a bit vague, blurry, and disorienting ... the film fully immerses you in the trip, and is in no great hurry to bring you back down again.
The viewer is taken on a wonderfully psychedelic joyride both inside and outside of Oscar's mind, and into and out of The Void. The visuals are spectacular, thanks in part to the design input of Marc Caro (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children), and the camera takes an almost first person perspective being firmly located just behind Oscar's head for most of the film's run time.
The plot makes use of concepts from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, a text that describes the state of consciousness after death, and explicitly compares the experience to the effects of the drug DMT (a well-known effect of the drug). To say more will require entering spoiler territory, suffice to say that this metaphysical idea is fully explored as a major concept of the movie.
Once Linda (Paz de la Huerta) arrives in Tokyo, she soon discovers the easiest way for an attractive young foreign woman to earn a living in a city where western women are very popular. The neon visuals of the strip bar she works in segue seamlessly into the previously mentioned psychedelic motif, and the leggy lead actress throws all modesty to the wind in an extremely brave performance.
Which brings us to the sex. There is quite a lot of it, and its reasonably explicit. Explicit enough to warrant a hefty adult rating anyway. Especially when Noe's swooping camera travels room to room through a love hotel, an idea that would have been utterly exploitational and voyeuristic were it not for the integral plot detail that it served.
As mentioned earlier, Noe is no stranger to hitting the viewer between the eyes with visceral and explosive violence. Some scenes had the impact, almost literally, of being hit in the face with a sledgehammer. This is an aspect of the movie that would surely be best experienced in a theater.
Noe takes his trademark floating camera aesthetic to new heights of excellence here, in combination with some remarkable CGI. This technique caused a lot of excitement when used in Irreversible, but here is used to much greater effect, especially as this time its not just a method but perhaps the best way to portray the story. Some scenes are absolutely breathtaking in scope, and while I was too busy enjoying the ride to bother with technical analysis, I am quite certain that some of these scenes were actually impossible. No doubt the eventual DVD will explain how it was done, and would be fascinating in itself.
The sound of the movie likewise fits the surreal and psychedelic tone, but more in the way David Lynch will use sounds to engender an emotional response without the explicit use of songs per se.
I've not wanted to give too much away in this review, but I hope it comes across just what an ambitious film this is. Noe takes the viewer on a roller-coaster experience in more ways than one, and here 'experience' is the key word. The only criticism I could make of the movie is that at times it is slow and occasionally repetitive. But in this regard it is worthwhile to note that one of Noe's biggest influences for this movie was Kubrick's 2001. Another movie with lengthy non-verbal sequences. It seems quite experimental in nature - you need to let it wash over you, immerse yourself in the alternate realities it presents.
To quote Hunter S. Thompson ... "Buy the ticket, take the ride" and catch it on the big screen if at all possible.
34% of viewers on IMDB rate Enter The Void a 10/10 ... I'm one of them.
Postscript: To learn more about Noe's influences for the film, I highly recommend checking out the documentaries DMT: The Spirit Molecule, and Tibetan Book of the Dead narrated by Leonard Cohen.
Get another opinion
@ Axe Wound. A great review with more details of the plot.
@ The Playlist. For the opposing viewpoint (beware, spoilers)
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Starring: Gloria Guida, Lilli Carati IMDB: 6.2
To Be Twenty is an entertaining slice of '70s eurotrash from Italy - 95% hippie sex farce and 5% brutal horror - an interesting mix to say the least. The farce centers on two hot and horny young women and the unlikely scenario that they are having trouble getting laid.
Tina (Lilli Carati) and Lia (Miss Teen Italy, Gloria Guida) meet at the beach while hanging with a bunch of friends. There's no beating about the untrimmed bush here - full-frontal nudity within the first 24 seconds quickly sets the tone. Tina explains that she's young, hot and pissed off. Lia says she is too. They become instant friends.
They decide to hitch-hike together to Rome where Lia knows a commune they can join. Unfortunately they forgot their underwear, so no-one wants to risk picking them up.
Tina hits on the novel idea of waving her ass instead of her thumb, and soon they catch a ride from a friendly trucker. Because they're wearing no underwear he makes them ride in back, no doubt to preserve the upholstery.
Without further ado the girls arrive in Rome. They've got no money - but they're young, hot and pissed off - so they go shoplifting for food. There's no end to what these girls are capable of. With lunch taken care of, next on the agenda is cigarettes and they've hatched a cunning plan for that too ...
Tina: "A blowjob for a packet of marlboro's"
Store Owner: "Did you say 'Marlboro's?"
Tina: "I said 'Blowjob'"
Store owner: "No, thank you."
This guy must be gay.
With food, caffeine and nicotine requirements taken care of, all that's left to do is find the commune and get laid. Finding the commune is not hard as its well known to be full of queers, whores and druggies, at least according to the neighbourhood crone they ask for directions.
As soon as they arrive Tina notices a guy who's just her type, unfortunately he's in an acid stupor which explains why his t-shirt has his name and address printed on it. Forward-planning is essential for any psychedelic drug experience.
The commune owner, Nazariota is happy to let them stay except he's running low on funds so they'll have to pay rent. This is a real bummer for the ladies as they have no money, so he suggests they work for their lodging instead. There are many ways to help out at the commune, but the job best suited to them he thinks is 'communication', which is Italian for having sex with everyone. That's cool with Lia as long as the guys are clean, so the owner promises they'll wash their balls in the sink first. Wow, talk about going the extra mile.
With their accommodation sorted, Tina's mind returns to the itch between her legs and she changes into something more revealing. Wandering through the commune in search of sex she soon finds a room full of guys, and issues the ultimate rhetorical question, 'Does anyone want to screw me?". Seems the guys have been hitting the bong all day long however, and are too stoned to emerge from their torpor. Now that's some powerful anti-drug propaganda right there.
Tina wanders outside and tries her luck again with the stupefied tripping dude. Despite being in Disneyland, a kiss is not enough to wake this sleeping beauty, so she tries her hand at cardio-penile resuscitation instead. No response is forthcoming and she is frustrated yet again.
In the meantime, Nazariota has sold the women for sex to help pay the bills, which the girls eagerly agree to. Quickly they get naked and a group sex session ensues. The meditating mime dude that shares their room seems remarkably disinterested by proceedings. Unfortunately the guys are only after a quickie and are in and out before our poor girls are fulfilled. Not to worry, Lia suggests that they try each other instead. Genius.
After a few minutes of softcore caressing which stands as a visual metaphor for the hot lesbian sex we don't get to see, the girls are once again pressed into work mode. This time selling encyclopedias. Tina's sales technique includes visually demonstrating the encyclopedia's entry for 'self-gratification'.
Tina's made some good money on account of her inspired sales methods, but Lia is disillusioned with it all. Which ultimately doesn't matter, because that night the commune is raided by corrupt police and the girls are deported from the city for being potential terrorists.
At this point in the movie we've been having a sleazy good-time that's everything you'd expect from a 70's euro-trash sex comedy. Then suddenly the movie takes an abrupt turn for an unforgettable final scene which I won't spoil here, except to say its brutal, extreme and a complete departure from the rest of the film. Its totally over the top, and jaded lovers of exploitation cinema will lap it up. Needless to say, the non-jaded will likely be shocked, disgusted and sickened. You have been warned.
In summary, I can't say that the acting was anything great. The cinematography was nothing special and the soundtrack was some godawful disco-lounge shit. However, I did quite enjoy this movie. Why? Well for a start, the two lead actresses were smoking hot, and that always helps. But also because its the kind of movie that could only have come from a specific time and place, they sure don't make 'em like this any more.
Director: Man Kei Chin
Starring: Wai Kin Lam, Hikaru Wakana, Kaera Uehara, Serina Hayakawa IMDB: 6.7
This straight to video effort from specialist Category III director Man Kei Chin continues in the vein of his previous sex comedies such as Sex & Zen II, The Eternal Evil of Asia, Naked Poison etc. If you've seen any of these you will know what to expect - bawdy humour, soft core sex, and rampant nudity.
In my opinion, Sex & Zen II and The Eternal Evil of Asia were amongst the best of Hong Kong's Cat III genre in the 1990's, so I was keen to see what he came up with this time. His trademark style is still there with a unique mix of lush period sets and costumes, martial arts, raunchy comedy and sex.
Unfortunately the comedy is spread a bit too thin in this one, although there are certainly many laugh out loud moments - especially towards the end. Sometimes however, the sex scenes threaten to turn this raunchy sex comedy into something more like softcore porn with a story, and some scenes jump directly to the next one without much effort at continuity. But where else could you see a story line like this ...
Simon Qing (Wai Kin Lam) is the heir to the Qing Dynasty, and his father is a sex expert who basically spends all his time shagging. When his wife is on her deathbed, her last wish is to be given one last orgasm.
He makes sure to educate his son in all the arts of female seduction, and imparts timeless words of wisdom such as ...
"To defeat your enemy, one must have an iron fist. To win a woman's heart, one must have a strong penis."
Unfortunately his father has forbidden him to have sex until he authorises it, so Simon becomes a furious masturbator, pleasuring himself frequently all around the palace. Finally however, he gets laid and falls in love, only to find out that she was a prostitute hired by his father to give him some 'hands-on experience'.
Simon then sets out on his travels in what is basically a Spring Break road-trip set in ancient China. Further details are unnecessary - basically he finds lots of women and has his way with them - in various positions, locations, and combinations. There's even some acrobatic kung-fu flying sex, and a memorable scene involving a sleepwalking dwarf.
Most importantly for this kind of movie, the actresses are attractive and lose their clothing often.
If you've never seen a Hong Kong Category III sex comedy before then this would be worth checking out, if only for the 'I didn't know films like this existed!' factor. If you enjoy this, I highly recommend Sex & Zen II which stars Taiwanese actress Shu Qi in one of her early roles, before she became a major Hong Kong movie star.
If you're wondering why there's been so little activity here at Twisted Flicks recently, its because I'm currently soaking up the atmosphere on holiday in Japan. As you can imagine, there's many better things to do here than blogging!
France, 2009
, and Tibetan Book of the Dead narrated by Leonard Cohen. 
