Customer Reviews

The Calamari Wrestler

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a Japanese live-action film (with subtitles) about a pro wrestler who dies, but is reincarnated as a man-size squid, and tries to reclaim his lost wrestling title.
Took me about fifteen minutes before I realized it was a satire of the boxing movie, "Rocky". Actually, it's a satire on all of the Rocky movies combined.
Laughed so hard I fell off my chair a few times. Absolutely brain-melting, Highly recommended (that is, if you happen to enjoy the truly bizarre)
Nick

Given my lifelong fascination with both squid jokes and professional wrestling, this film was certainly a "must see" for me. Started out great actually. Seemed at first more like Kafka's Metamorphosis and less like a satire. Played almost straight - like a drama but with just the right touch of unavoidable campy humor, you catch yourself getting over the absurd concept of a human-sized, reincarnated as a squid, former professional wrestling star out to reclaim his love and his wrestling title, and start legitimately getting into the plot. What could have been a possibly brilliant, surreal, entertaining and original film, however, takes an odd left turn and gets lost due to an abrupt shift in tone right around the time of the squid's championship match when his opponent morphs, for no apparent reason, into a giant octopus...

From there its cheap fish jokes and frenetic and bizarre and random plot "twists" that are reminiscent of cartoon Anime like Bobobo-bobo-bobo on Cartoon Network.

Weird flick but less due to its bizarre plot than the bizarre shift it takes half-way through the film. That said, this isn't a bad film. It doesn't fall into the "so bad it's good" category either. It's also surprisingly entertaining, quite funny at times. However, had it just stayed consistent with the direction it was going in the first half, it would have been a much better film.

Still, it's entertaining and worth a watch if you're into off-beat cinema.

"Calamari Wrestler" is an absolutely bizarre film. It is almost like a Troma flick, like "Toxic Avenger", but much of the Troma fun comes from the sex, violence and raunchy humor, whereas "Calamari Wrestler" is kind of....sweet. And even romantic.

The story, what there is of it, follows a wrestler who is reincarnated as a giant squid. Now, this guy loves wrestling so much, he isn't about to let his new squid body get in his way. He jumps back in the ring, and the Calamari Wrestler becomes an overnight sensation, especially when he faces off and beats the Octopus Wrestler. All the sports flick cliches come into play, as the Calamari Wrestler gets star struck by his own fame, finds true love, endorses products...until suddenly, a strong young shrimp steps in and beats the Calamari Wrestler down. He must train hard to regain his title and self-respect.

There are no special effects here to speak of. The Calamari Wrestler is just a guy walking around with a big squid suit stuck on him. Part of the charm is just how seriously the actors take the story. One almost bounces back and forth wondering if this is a comedy or not.

But make no mistake, it is. Director Minoru Kawasaki specializes in doing parody flicks, riffing on popular genres and making strange movies like "The World Sinks Except Japan" and other oddities.

Just how odd do you like your movies? That is the question you have to ask yourself when considering "Calamari Wrestler". If you like the bizarre and surreal, if a Midnight Madness b-movie is your idea of heaven, then this just might be for you. It was a little too much for me.

The opening sequence of the film is amazingly hilarious, and it sadly does not keep that level of hilarity throughout. BUT there are some great moments, mainly the wrestling scenes with the squid, octopus and shrimp/lobster thing and all of the "heartfelt" scenery. The training montage is comic gold. Strangely, the film is like a soap opera where the main character is a squid that wrestles. The low budget costumes are perfect for the tone of the film and will often make you laugh out loud (the eyes are great).

Recommended only for fans of films of the super weird Asian variety.

I loved "The Calamari Wrestler" from the moment the giant squid stepped into the ring and counters Koji Taguchi's signature Reverse-Inverted Full Nelson with a Northern Light Suplex to win the championship, shattering Koji's dreams, and making his fiancée Miyako (Kana Ishida) cry. As Miyako ponders where she's seen that squid before, the trippy title sequence and theme music cries "Ika, Ika, Ika!" which is Japanese for "Squid, Squid, Squid!"

Shortly after the credits we see the squid meditating at the temple, and find him to be a very peaceful creature outside the ring. We learn that Miyako used to date and still longs for the great wrestling champion Kanichi Iwata (Osamu Nishimura,) who contracted a rare disease. She believes him lost, but he actually went to Pakistan and became a giant squid as part of his life-restoring therapy. She suspiciously notes that the squid likes to eat red bean rice cakes with citrus dumplings, and recalls that those were Iwata's favorites. The squid tells Miyako that Kanichi is dead, but she quickly comes to terms with his simply having become a giant squid and falls in love with him all over again. The delicately framed shots of the squid stalking the countryside at sunset are beyond great, and when they walk hand-in-tentacle, the shots are even better. The two still clearly love each other, but it can be very dangerous for Kanichi to get too close to her. Despite the hazards, they dance in a park to celebrate, and finally Miyako tempts Kanichi too much, making him return to his human form, which makes him gravely ill. He returns to the temple to become a giant squid again, but it is extremely challenging.

Koji is so upset at his professional setback at the tentacles of a squid, he goes to Pakistan to train and comes back a cherry red octopus. Battle "Cephalopoda" is on! The giant cephalopod costumes are absolutely wonderful, and the characterizations the actors give their tentacled characters are likewise perfect. The rematch is an amazing piece of athletic theater (more so than most wrestling, even) with not only a giant squid and giant octopus vying for the title, but a final surprise that is truly original and very amusing. I won't spoil the conclusion, but will just say two words: Squilla Boxer. (You'll see.)

"The Calamari Wrestler" is part Japanese monster movie, part wrestling satire (I can't imagine that director Minoru Kawasaki hasn't seen "Rocky,") part love story, and bits and pieces of lots of other things. I loved everything about it from the subtle nuances of how the squid carried his shopping cart so properly while on an outing to buy bread and sardines (he politely gives back change when the shopkeeper gives him too much money back,) to the scene where he wears sunglasses in an attempt to disguise his identity. This is a squid to look up to, a role model for good citizenship and good sportsmanship everywhere, and I highly recommend "The Calamari Wrestler:" it is an utterly unique film, and is brilliant in concept and execution.

The DVD has several extras, all of which are worth watching. First and foremost is an interesting "making of" feature, but there are also production stills, trailers, television spots, and even an extremely artsy music video about love and a giant wrestling squid. How could you not love this movie?

The Calamari Wrestler (Minoru Kawasaki, 2004)

In a month when I saw two of the five films nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture in 2007 (and a third which should have been and was ignored)-- one of which won-- I would be hard-pressed to call anything other than one of those the best movie I'd seen all month, right? Well, I'm not sure anything I'll see for the rest of this year will measure up to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, but for sheer pleasure, nothing I've come across so far this month has topped The Calamari Wrestler. I grant you, Minoru Kawasaki (also responsible for Executive Koala, among others) is not making Julian Schnabel-league films, but then he's not trying to, either.

A takeoff on the highly-regarded Karate Bear Fighter, The Calamari Wrestler is about Japanese pro wrestling, which, in this odd alternate universe, is in decline. Until, that is, at the end of a title match, a giant squid mysteriously appears in the ring and hand the winner of the match his head on a plate. Calamari quickly becomes a fan favorite, and much of the rest of the movie deals with the upcoming rematch (but there's more, and I'd have to get into major spoilers to reveal the last third of the movie).

What's so great about it? It's hysterically funny. Cruelly cheap special effects, subplots and shots stolen from just about every boxing movie known to man, dumb plot twists, a silly script, this movie has it all. I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard at a movie. If an American comedy has been a tenth this funny in the past forty years, I haven't run across it. And every time you think it's hit the height of stupidity, don't worry-- it finds another peak to jump to. It's an awful movie, but it's an awful movie in the best of ways. ****

Yes, yes, yes, I enjoyed THE CALAMARI WRESTLER and I'm proud of it! Let's face it folks, if you order this movie you either must have SOME idea of what you're in for or you have an I.Q. that's below sea level. Everything about it is exactly what I expected it to be--almost. I have to admit that the final showdown in the arena did have a big surprise that I wasn't anticipating but that was just an added bonus. If you're looking for golden age Japanese entertainment that the whole family can enjoy, this is it.

The story? Professional wrestling champ Kanichi Iwata (played by Osamu Nishimura) contracted a fatal disease but took a miracle cure that left him to live the rest of his life as a giant squid--provided that he didn't let any nasty human emotions enter his head. Iwata can't keep away from the ring however, and he returns just in time to snatch the championship belt away from his biggest competitor Akira (Koji Taguchi). Things are complicated even further by the the fact that Akira is romancing Iwata's ex-girl friend Miyako (played by Kana Ishida) and even confesses to her that he wanted her just because she had once belonged to Iwata! To make a long story short Akira winds up as an Octopus colored somthing between Shocking Pink and Windsor Rose and another challenger comes on the scene to give them both grief--some kind of giant crustacean! As one seafood loving newsman says, "The final showdown match should prove to be very delicious!"

If you want to have some fun this is where its at folks. The whole thing just becomes completely surrealistic as the Calamari strolls through town with a basket on his arm doing his grocery shopping or has lunch with his girlfriend at a restaurant wearing sunglasses to disguise himself. You've got to see it for yourself. Really.

Trust the Japanese to make the wierdest movies ever. This was very strange, but a lot of fun. Between this and "Battlefield Baseball," I am firmly convinced that the Japanese have taken the strange movie crown from the Italians. However, any fan of low budget B movies should take some time to peruse this title.