Fantastic Fest 2010 – Julia’s Eyes/13 Assassins
Your samurai brawls are fun!
JULIA’S EYES (2010)
Directed by: Guillem Morales
Written by: Guillem Morales/Oriol Paulo
Many years ago, Mario Bava invented a genre called “giallo.” It’s a thriller that uses obsession, objectification of women, POV shots (especially from the killer) and lots of stylistic violence of the naked heart stabbing variety.
Not many people have really gone back to the genre since the early 80s, but the guy who perfected it, Dario Argento, flirts with it now and again. He just can’t seem to get it quite as perfect as he used to.
Guillermo del Toro discovery, Guillem Morales, has gotten it right again. He throws more style and Hitchcock references than a film nerd can shake a stick at.
Julia (Belen Rueda from The Orphanage) is losing her eyesight, and she’s scared to death of it. Her sister has already lost her eyesight to the same degenerative disease and there’s really no stopping it. When her sister hangs herself, Julia thinks that someone drove her to it. Was her husband involved? Or was it her sister’s mysterious boyfriend that no one remembers seeing? (I love the concept of people who can hide in plain sight because they’re so non-memorable.)
Throughout most of the movie I was counting the Hitchcock references (Vertigo, Psycho, the non-Hitch Wait Until Dark…), but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the film. It was a pretty amazing modern giallo that would do Bava proud.
Directed by: Takashi Miike
Written by: Kaneo Ikegami/Takashi Miike/Daisuke Tengan
Miike has finally done it. He’s matured into the filmmaker that we all knew that he could be. After years of making crazy, over the top films like Visitor Q, Audition and Gozu, this film is quite the departure.
An ex-samurai has decided that he’s had enough of the young man who is about to join the Shogunate. He knows that this cruel man will be bad for Japan and its people. He finds a gang of 13 men to follow him and hunt the man down.
By the time they find him, he is surrounded by 200 dedicated soldiers. What are 13 guys to do against 200?
The first half of the film is all build-up. A lot of talking and not much action. Luckily, it’s so well written and acted that it’s hard to find fault.
Then the blood-letting begins. For a little over an hour, people get killed in horrible, bloody ways…and it’s amazing. Miike only goes over the top every once in a while, and it’s totally within character of the film.
Speaking of character, the characters in this film are people you can actually believe. They have true friendships (although typical samurai friendships) and loyalty. They were a very big reason to see this film.
If you’ve ever been hesitant to see a Miike film, don’t worry. I’m a fan and I’ve been hesitant. He’s VERY hit or miss. 13 Assassins, though, is a big hit. There’s really nothing wrong with it and I think that even people who don’t really like Miike will love it.
That’s it for Fantastic Fest 2010! It was a good year with lots of great films and only a few stinkers. Now, it’s off to the Closing Night Party…in a ghost town…with a maze.
Yep. I’m so there.
