The following warnings occurred:
Warning [2] Undefined array key 0 - Line: 1640 - File: showthread.php PHP 8.0.30 (Linux)
File Line Function
/inc/class_error.php 153 errorHandler->error
/showthread.php 1640 errorHandler->error_callback
/showthread.php 915 buildtree




Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Grass Labyrinth (1983)
#1
Also known as "Kusa-meikyu"
by Shuji Terayama (the David Lynch of Japan)

This is the tale of a young man who lives with his mother and is pursued by a wild woman (a nymphomaniac). It is told in flashback, or rather flash-sideways, since it is meant to embrace parallel worlds. While lacking a plot, it does suggest logic -- if that makes any sense. It is deftly surreal.

Many young filmmakers seem to have this skewed perception of surrealism. They think all you have to do is shoot a bunch of random stuff and stick it all together without editing and it's a masterpiece of surrealism. Well, that's my definition of junk.

So I was leery of the hype for this work, which runs only 40 minutes. To my pleasant surprise, Shuji edited his footage -- and in a very sophisticated manner. While I would hesitate to call it a masterpiece, it stands well alongside the works of Luis Bunuel, which is a weird thing to say because I've seen almost nothing by Bunuel (just his earliest two shorts).

I need to go on a Bunuel feeding frenzy. As for Shuji Terayama, the bastard died young. Grass Labyrinth is considered by many to be his most accomplished work -- though he did direct a full-feature-length film called Les Fruits de la passion which might be worth a look. Why? Well, it stars Klaus Kinski.

--craneflly
Reply


Messages In This Thread

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)