Director: Kang Hyeong-chul Notable Cast: Do Kyong-soo (D.O), Park Hye-soo, Kim Min-ho, Jared Grimes, Ross Kettle
Set during wartime and taking place in a prison camp, Swing Kids decides to shake things up within the war genre confines by bringing life to the very real depressing times of the era by injecting life into the scene by way of tapdance and song. Does it work? Given that director Kang is at the helm, the answer is a confident yes.
There admittedly isn't a lot going on with the plot. It's things you'd expect given the setting but what we do get is a plethora of memorable and completely entertaining characters set to burrow their way into your heart. From the cocky but relatable lead, played extraordinarily by D.O of E-XO fame, to an overweight Chinese immigrant who is probably my favorite of the many side additions.
Clearly when going into a movie like this, one is there to see the dance moves on display and there is no shortage of song and dance here. Many classics from the era, both Korean and around the world are played here and admittedly I didn't know most of the songs, but that said, it grooves and gets you amped up the way a good dance movie should. I really wanted to go out and get my own tap shoes the moment the credits began rolling. Gared Grimes, a very renown tapdancer, just stole every moment here, both in terms of dancing and acting. A pleasant surprise. To further add to that surprise is the fact that all the English-speaking actors were great, perhaps a first for Korean cinema.
A possible turnoff and a bit of an annoyance to my viewing experience was how dark the film veered at times. Sure, it is war and the horrors of it can be felt, but I think the shocking, although completely effective outbursts of graphic violence and showing it very much like it is may hinder how wide of an audience this otherwise delightful and very light-hearted film extends to. Something like this should be enjoyed by the whole family but is most certainly not a child friendly feature given these hard to watch moments.
Any moments with these two guys is pure gold.
At the end of the day, Kang Hyeong-chul has once more reaffirmed himself as Korea's leading comedic director. He crafts brilliantly unique laugh fests with just the right amount of heartstring tugging drama and an over abundance of visual flair, making him one of the absolutel best. If you see one movie this holiday season to get you pumped, make it Swing Kids.
P.S. Name a movie with more impressive editing this year? I didn't think so.
Arrow Video Features: * New High Definition digital film transfer * Presented in High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD * Original uncompressed Stereo PCM audio * Audio commentary by director Takashi Miike *
The Making of the Katakuris - An original documentary from the film's
production featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage with the
cast and crew * Interviews with the Katakuris cast members Kenji
Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Shinji Takeda, Naomi
Nishida, Tetsuro Tanba and Miike * Animating the Katakuris - A look
at the creation of the film's stop motion effects with animation
director Hideki Kimura and Miike * Trailer and TV Spots * Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil *
Booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Johnny Mains and a
re-printed interview with Miike conducted by Sean Axmaker, illustrated
with original stills
Director Takashi Miike has to be the most diverse director
one is likely to experience in their film lifetime. Whether it’s the atmospheric
horror of Audition, the cartoonish
action of Dead or Alive, or the
intense drama of Hara Kiri: Death of a
Samurai, his work encompasses so many genres and such strange stories that
it’s hard not to be fascinated with any of his material. Which is why when I
say that The Happiness of the Katakuris
is by far his strangest movie that it means something. Playing off as a sort of
parody on family drama comedy musicals, Happiness
is likely to be one of the most unique film experiences you will ever have…and
this latest Blu Ray release by Arrow Video aptly gives the old and new fans a collector’s
item worthy of the quirky awesomeness of this film.
All together now!
For the Katakuris family, their recent hand built bed and
breakfast is their future. It’s too bad that they built it a bit too far off
the beaten path to attract many customers. That’s why when a customer rolls in
at a strange hour and is found dead on the premise that they need to get rid of
the body or risk a reputation for their family business. From there, the shenanigans
are only starting…
If there is anything to be said about director Takashi
Miike, it’s that everything in his films are intentional. So going into The Happiness of the Katakuris, viewers
should understand that if things feel awkward (because they will) or that if it
has radical tone changes (because it does) that those are meant to be there.
This movie is very strange, but don’t be afraid of the weirdness. Just run with
it. For example, there are moments where the film will convert to stop-motion
animation, including an opening sequence with a sort of fairy like creature
that will never been seen again in the rest of the film (it doesn’t necessarily
work as well as one would assume). Again, just go with it, feel free to laugh
at the ridiculousness of the film and the strange concept behind the entire
thing. The film is played completely straight forward and serious, but it
should rarely be taken as such. This movie is a comedy first and foremost and
succeeds at it in spades even when it fringes on hints of horror, drama, and
fantasy. Not all of it works, but the strange concoction has to be taken into
account.
As was mentioned above, The
Happiness of the Katakuris is not only a comedy, but a musical too. Yet,
musical fans will probably consider it the worst musical ever made. This is
because, in a way, the film acts as a parody of musicals. Songs will randomly
pop up at inopportune times, the dancing is often misaligned with the music or
with the group of characters doing the dances, and the songs themselves don’t
necessarily follow a structure. Hell, most of the actors in the film (who do
phenomenal jobs at selling their characters with their acting prowess) are not all
great singers or dancers and it just adds to the entire ridiculousness and charm of the
film. In particular, one of the secondary characters who dresses in a military
outfit for most of the film, is hilariously off from his musical numbers. It
just benefits the experience.
...and yes, this is a character in the movie.
Yet, as with all Takashi Miike films, The Happiness of the Katakuris has a remarkable amount of heart
underneath the humor. The film takes drastic tonal changes throughout and even
dives into some dramatic material which is usually partnered with a comedic
punch, but the focus on the family and what happiness means to them is a thread
that runs through and gives some structure to many of the more ridiculous moments.
The core of the film are themes that many of us can relate to – i.e.
forgiveness, love, and life balance, it just all happens to have strange
circumstances around it like earthquakes, zombies, and a streak of bad luck
that leaves a handful of people dead.
The Happiness of the
Katakuris is a film that will alienate cinephiles. It takes a rather basic
story about a family who have to overcome some strange circumstances and it whips it into one of the most unique
experiences you are apt to have. People will either love it or hate
it. Arrow Video’s packed latest release of the film does have enough special features
to graft more layers onto an already strange viewing experience. The insightful behind the
scenes features, commentaries, interviews, and even a small overview of why
Miike is such a unique director make this latest release of The Happiness of the Katakuris a must
own for cult film fans. Not only is the film highly recommended, but this
release makes it a must own.
Written By Matt Reifschneider
You know you have to see this movie to believe it. Feel free to purchase the film from Arrow Video at the link below!
Notable Cast: Allie MacDonald, Minnie Driver, Meat Loaf,
Douglas Smith, Kent Nolan
Despite graduating college with a degree in theater,
musicals have always been one aspect of film that have never agreed with me.
They are just so presentational, so cheesy. Yet, I was rather intrigued by Stage
Fright and the blend of musical and slasher horror film. I wouldn’t say I
had high expectations going into this tongue-in-cheek flick, but I was
fascinated enough to delve into it for review. The resulting combination
between slasher and musical is certainly fun and there were some great inspired
and very funny moments, but it came off ultimately as a mixed effort that lacks
a bit of flow to make it all work.
Camilla (MacDonald) has already lived through one horrific
experience when her mother (Driver) was brutally murdered at her Broadway debut
of “The Phantom” when she was a child. She now works at a small summer theater
camp with her brother (Smith) under the supervision of her guardian (Aday).
When they announce that the summer show they will be performing will be a new
rendition of “The Phantom,” she decides to try out for her mother’s role. Too
bad someone wants to stop this show from happening and they will leave a body
count to make sure it all comes down.
Nothing is scarier or sillier than kabuki theater.
Ultimately though, Stage Fright comes off as a mixed
bag. While the comedic moments work and the slasher moments work, the flow
in-between the two styles can be a bit choppier than one would expect. The film
starts off with a very strong balance between all of the different aspects as
it blends some serious horror beats with comedic timing, but the latter half of
the film tends to lose sight of getting that balance to work and the final act
tends to be a little too serious for my tastes to get it to work as smoothly as
it could have…particularly as the ‘twists’ of the plot start to reveal
themselves to the audience.
A little slice of Meat Loaf for your evening.
For Stage Fright, the concept is a much better idea
than the movie. The film is packed full of fun moments and silly aspects, but
the script and flow of the feature tends to undermine much of what the film has
going for itself. It’s not very often that a slasher musical slides its way
into my viewing queue so Stage Fright does have that going for it.
Outside of the horror and/or musical audience though, it might have be as fun.
