Okinawa International Movie Festival 2013: A Celebration of Laughter & Peace (Part 1)

Then it was on to the movies...

The festival kicked off in earnest with the Asian premiere of Nakata Hideo's latest dose of J-Horror, The Complex. The film stars former AKB48 member Maeda Atsuko as Asuka, a young trainee nurse who moves into a new apartment complex with her family. On hearing strange noises from next door she investigates, only to discover the corpse of an elderly man trying to claw its way through the wall. Even after the body is taken away the disturbances continue, and at that moment the rest of her family mysteriously disappears. 

Nakata is revered as one of the pillars of the J-horror movement, thanks to seminal entries like Ring (1998) and Dark Water (2002). However, in recent years he has struggled to recapture that same eerie atmosphere of those earlier efforts, and unfortunately The Complex continues this trend. The film shows some early promise, undermining Asuka as an innocent heroine with a promising revelation, introducing spooky ghost-like characters inhabiting the complex itself, while adding new characters like Narimiya Hiroki's love interest and even a female exorcist. Sadly, Nakata struggles to create much of an atmosphere or generate any genuine scares. The narrative quickly unravels, leading to a messy, incoherent conclusion, while Maeda proves herself incapable of carrying the film with a flat performance lacking in nuance or charisma.

"Deru-cine" is a special filmmaking project helmed by writer Goto Hirohito, which discards the traditional notion of audiences watching films ("miru cinema"), in favour of appearing in the film themselves ("deru cinema"). Goto and his crew grab members of the public on the day of the screening and use them as extras (zombie hordes etc), which are then inserted into the main narrative. The process is repeated each day the film is screened, meaning the film itself evolves each time, depending on the audience that has assembled to watch it. 

The plot of El Shuriken vs. Evil Intention follows the eponymous masked luchador as he teams up with a sexy gun-toting agent (Inagaki Saki) to avenge the death of her boss and stop a deranged scientist from taking over the world. It's all incredibly ridiculous, and filmed on a micro-budget, but for most of its 40-minute running time, Goto keeps things exciting and fun, while engaging his audience in a way rarely experienced. By its very nature, this isn't a film likely to travel much, but it embraces the festival spirit enthusiastically, while highlighting a new take on audience participation.

The audience was buzzing at the world premiere of Kondo Masahiro's sci-fi high school flick, 7 Days Report, for the most part due to the presence of its studly cast. Shirahama Aran made headlines earlier this year after bedding AKB48 poppette Minegishi Manami. When their relationship was exposed and she was unceremoniously kicked out of the band, Minegishi brutally shaved her own head in a misguided act of contrition, before taking to YouTube to offer a tearful apology to all her fans. Regardless of how you may feel about that incident, the crowd at last night's world premiere certainly weren't holding any grudges. The main theatre at the Okinawa Convention Center erupted in a cacophony of pubescent adulation when Shirahama took to the stage, accompanied by fellow cast members Namioka Kazuki and Karate Robo-Zaborgar star Itao Itsuji.

High schooler Ryota (Shirahama) is a week from graduating when he discovers that he is really a clone. In fact his entire school is part of an experiment designed by Itao's scientist, and all the teachers are really his lab technicians. Ryota manages to escape, but soon finds himself at an identical, real school building, where he comes face to face with the real him! Horrified to discover that his genuine doppelgänger is a timid, victimised kid, Ryota seizes the chance to focus his own insecurities on helping his new friend gain the confidence to stand up to his enemies and profess his love for the gorgeous Mizuki (Yamashita Rio).

As a teen melodrama, 7 Days Report is mostly successful, and proves a fine debut for Shirahama, but the film rarely capitalises on the existential possibilities of its science fiction set-up. Rather than examining themes of identity and individualism at an age when teenagers are struggling to define themselves, 7 Days Report instead preaches about not squandering youth and making the most of our short lives. These are perfectly valid themes (just look at Blade Runner), but there was plenty of opportunity between the numerous shots of Shirahama strutting around in his underwear or standing awkwardly in front of his dream girl, to have made fuller use of the film's intriguing premise.