This review may contain spoilers
Do yourself a favor, hug your children
I finally got around to watching the World of Kanako. This movie is hard to watch in many ways. The subject matter is tough. The editing is tough. The pace is frantic. The movie feels like a knife dangling above your head at all times.
This movie is like 80% tension. And I love it for that reason. But what I don't appreciate is how it was edited. The major thing I need to address immediately is how the movie is edited in such a way that makes it really frustrating to watch. There's so many cuts and angle changes. It feels like they were definately trying to recreate the pulpy 70s movies but didn't understand quite the reasoning for the cuts.
I really liked the acting. It was extremely well done. Showa was unlikeable but had some redeeming traits. He was a very complex main character and I was not expecting him to be so messed up with his morality. But I suppose Kanako wouldn't be the way she was unless she had parents like that. Nana Komatsu plays the role in a fantastic way. She's every bit as irredeemable as her father and has such a fantastic turn. I liked how her character just gained layer upon layer. It was my first time seeing Nana in a major role and I enjoyed her. Great way to use her. AibHashimoto only appears briefly but you could tell she was a rising star from the little time she had. I wasn't so sure about the main boy. I couldn't really pull one way or the other if his acting was good or not.
All of the side characters were really lived in. The world felt gritty and fucked. Particularly the guy playing the crooked cop. He seemed so cartoonishly evil.
The cinematography was top notch despite the editing. Some really fantastic noir-esque shots and great ambience. There's a really coherent feeling throughout the movie. There's a few particular shots I really liked. Like when the mother or her glass down on the photos or when The dad fell and the blood was black like the wings of death.
The music was too much. Like it felt like the movie never was breathing because of how much music was crammed in. I think the editing and music lengths hurt this movie greatly. Too much style over substance. If they tightened this up I think it would of easily slid into a 9.
I do think it's a ok watch if you are in the mood for some tragedy. It's good but could be better.
This movie is like 80% tension. And I love it for that reason. But what I don't appreciate is how it was edited. The major thing I need to address immediately is how the movie is edited in such a way that makes it really frustrating to watch. There's so many cuts and angle changes. It feels like they were definately trying to recreate the pulpy 70s movies but didn't understand quite the reasoning for the cuts.
I really liked the acting. It was extremely well done. Showa was unlikeable but had some redeeming traits. He was a very complex main character and I was not expecting him to be so messed up with his morality. But I suppose Kanako wouldn't be the way she was unless she had parents like that. Nana Komatsu plays the role in a fantastic way. She's every bit as irredeemable as her father and has such a fantastic turn. I liked how her character just gained layer upon layer. It was my first time seeing Nana in a major role and I enjoyed her. Great way to use her. AibHashimoto only appears briefly but you could tell she was a rising star from the little time she had. I wasn't so sure about the main boy. I couldn't really pull one way or the other if his acting was good or not.
All of the side characters were really lived in. The world felt gritty and fucked. Particularly the guy playing the crooked cop. He seemed so cartoonishly evil.
The cinematography was top notch despite the editing. Some really fantastic noir-esque shots and great ambience. There's a really coherent feeling throughout the movie. There's a few particular shots I really liked. Like when the mother or her glass down on the photos or when The dad fell and the blood was black like the wings of death.
The music was too much. Like it felt like the movie never was breathing because of how much music was crammed in. I think the editing and music lengths hurt this movie greatly. Too much style over substance. If they tightened this up I think it would of easily slid into a 9.
I do think it's a ok watch if you are in the mood for some tragedy. It's good but could be better.
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