Who's Camus Anyway

Well done movie overall. Intentionally ambiguous ending will probably annoy a lot of people. If you aren't familiar with Japanese films, you'll probably be annoyed with various loose ends, but real life is full of loose ends, so just accept that and enjoy the excellent cinematography.Marked off a star only because I disagree with the choice to have gone with such a grainy look for the film. It makes it feel older than it is, though it may have been intentional as it references so many older, respected movies.

Who's Camus, Anyway? follows the trials and tribulations of a group of Japanese university film students, more specifically, it follows the final five days of the shooting of their first film, which recounts the story of a high school student who killed an old lady just for fun. Each day leading to the film's conclusion is filled with tension and anxiety, ranging from long planning meetings to the character's daily lives. What makes Who's Camus, Anyway? a great experience though, is the great character development that is so prevalent throughout the film.From the impressive opening sequence, to its stunning conclusion, Who's Camus, Anyway? is a great character study.The private life of the various protagonists interferes with the preparation of the film, and the professor who oversees their works (nicknamed Aschenbach after the character in Death in Venice) must also cope with his own personal problems. Each character on the film crew is given ample screen time, and by the end of the film, I felt like I was actually part of the film crew myself. The film is essentially a film with a film, giving us (the viewer) an inside look into how a student film is actually made, from the budget, the casting, to eventually the shooting process. This all takes a backseat though, and what are mostly displayed are the character interactions, and this is where the film really shines.The director, Mitsuo Yanagimachi, shoots the film with a great eye for shot composition. Each shot is delicately taken with care and definitely gives the viewer a great perspective to the film's scenes. His choice of youthful actors was great as well; they each were able to play their parts convincingly and gave great performances.The music throughout the film was great and was a pleasure to listen too. It reminded of music that would be played during a play or opera, and this film certainly played out like one. The music was able to display the emotional impact of certain scenes quite well, and in some cases, enhanced the scenes significantly.My final say on this film is very short and consists of only three words; just see it. It's a magnificent film, with a great cast, music, and direction. It also raises questions such as "does art imitate life, or is it the opposite?", and with a stunning conclusion that will definitely have you speculating, how can you not appreciate this film? A totally engaging experience, I whole-heartedly recommend viewing this film, you will not be sorry.

WHO'S CAMUS ANYWAY? / THE BORED MURDERER (KAMYU NANTE SHIRANAI. Adolescent Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating ...Rating = *** (barely)Director: Mitsuo YanagimachiProducers: Kazuo Shimizu et al.Streaming2005Film = barely three (3) stars; cinematography = four (4) stars; lighting = 3.5 stars; subtitles/translations = 2.5 stars; score = 2.5 stars. Director Mitsuo Yanagimachi (who is also credited as the screen writer) uses a movie-in-a-movie plot (with some clever touches) that goes off the tracks and enters a realm of absurd existentialism. (This may make the viewer wonder if one movie might have gone into the editing suite, but another one came out!) A college literary class (using a recent headline-grabbing absurd murder committed by a Japanese schoolboy and an old novel (written by French author Albert Camus depicting a similarly absurd murder) becomes so obsessed with creating its movie (as a class term project) that they begin living their lives as if they were characters in the story line (or so it would seem). (All this transpires in a week or so.) Students chat a lot about movies often best known for cinematic techniques/tricks while the Director is duplicating these processes (like discussing films known for apparently long, unedited tracking shots while Yanagimachi is using a long, unedited tracking shot). The Director also inserts revealing nuances of behavior and characterization. Acting is a bit on the hammy side as actress and actors (and Yanagimachi) try to simulate Tokyo college campus life. Cinematography (wide-screen, color) is good, but exterior scenes can be seriously under lighted. Subtitles are too long given their on-screen flash rates. Using the same font and color simultaneously for dialog and opening credits can be confusing (without very careful reading). Signs, postings, etc. are not translated. Score is quite good. Unfortunately it is often in the wrong movie! Music usually does not "fit" the scene and can distract rather than add to on-screen events. Not especially recommended. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

Instead, watch these other great foreign movies:- Time Traveller: Girl Who Leapt Through Time [Subtitled]- Hula Girls- Ichi- Kiss of the Dragon- Key of Life- Like Father, Like Son- The Seven Samurai (became The Magnificent Seven)- Three Outlaw Samurai- Train Man became (became The 40 Year Old Virgin)- Japanese version of "Shall We Dance" was remade as an American version.- Ringu- Audition- Departures- La Femme Nikita became The Point of No Return- Leon The Professional- Piche Entre Ciel Et Terre- The Devil's Backbone- The Orphanage- Pan's Labyrinth- Under the same moonOther great Korean stories are:- daisy (Korean movie)- My Girl and I (Korean movie)- Once Upon a Time in Seoul (Korean movie)- Couples (English Subtitled)- Rough cut (Korean movie)

if you like weird movies about movies , as i do, you'll enjoy this