Customer Reviews

Who's Camus Anyway?

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

 

 

Writer-director Mitsuo Yanagimachi is news to me, but after seeing this glorious valentine to the movies, I'm going to dig up everything of his I can find. WHO'S CAMUS ANYWAY? is loaded with references to film (and other arts, as well) -- great fun to spot them as they fly by, thick and fast. Mann, Visconti, Welles, Altman, Godard -- every frame's dripping with love for these artists, plus many, many more. But Yanagimachi's not simply name-dropping here; there's a fascinating exploration of our old friends, illusion and reality, going on, too. And he does the best job I've ever seen of capturing that peculiar, insular atmosphere of an arts school, where the students are simultaneously aquiver with infinite possibilities and tremulously exploring their own personas. Fascinating, surprisingly moving, and strongly, strongly recommended; the sort of picture that rewards multiple viewings. (And try to spot the major blooper in the spelling of a subtitle; the person translating the script into English didn't know film as well as Mitsuo does!)

Absolutely a sheer delight to watch. Well produced, brilliantly directed, wonderful performances. Unique in the aspect that it's a film within a film, following Japanese film students as they try to film their take on the deep and confusing novel The Stranger by Albert Camus. As the production goes on, however, the students begin to encounter problems not only with the source material, but encounter issues with themselves.

The DVD:
Anamorphic widescreen, 1.85:1.
No extras about the movie, but a 10 minute animated Korean short film is included.

Definitely worth the purchase.

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.

I understood what they were trying to do and applaud the effort. However, I just didn't connect with anything in this movie. Always interesting to comtemplate that fine line between fantasy and reality... where does the movie really end, etc. Overall, didn't have the same stellar reaction as the other reviewers.

Sure this is a tough movie for some to get into. Possibly because it bears a lot of similarity and has references to many classic international films. There are repeated literary references as well.

The story follows a group of young 20 something college students and their professor and their goal of finishing a film as their last project before moving on into the world. Despite several setbacks early (replacing the main star for example), the crew gets on track to begin filming in one week.

The main actor for their film was absolutely brilliant. He switches so well between his role as the actor and his role as the killer for the students' film. There is a chilling dialogue between himself (as the killer) and another actor (as the investigator). Several (most actually) of the students ponder the motives of the killer, which was based off a true story (for the film anyway). One of the crew brings up the novel "The Stranger" by Camus and that is where the title of this film comes into play.

There is the usual youth drama: relationships going right or wrong, nerves, lack of sleep, etc... But there is also a lot of secondary drama from the professor. We never really get too involved in his back story, but we get glimpses of his past and then we are treated to a rather shocking (things like that are pretty uncommon in Japan) and embarrassing brunch scene. We begin to understand his character a bit more at this moment and we suddenly feel his pain and embarrassment.

There is a bit of graphic violence near the end (it's the actors for the student film), and there is a chilly narration laid over the scenes. We are shown the film as it would look completed, as well as given little cuts to the actual students' directing and filming these scenes.

All in all it is a bit of a coming of age story, but one that is layered and complex. Film geeks like myself will enjoy the references to "The Story of Adele H.", "Masculine et Femenine" (Godard), and a nice mention in passing of one of my personal favorites "Le Samourai". Well filmed in a very independent, art house style. I highly recommend this film for those tired of the more technological and less story driven popular films of today.

Through all of the cute name dropping and meta-diagetic production woes depicted in Mitsuo Yanagimachi "Who's Camus Anyway?", the life force of this movie is the sheer energy that exudes from the film like a scenester on a guitar. Well all of that energy with the cinematographic chops to make it work. This is exemplified in the opening of the movie. Three, as of yet, unintroduced high school students are gushing about their favorite director, and then the film indulges their discussion of the best long takes by offering up its own rendition as it gracefully slides from their conversation to a group of hip hop dancers practicing in the courtyard.

This works to the film's advantage because in the end it is more about these ingenue filmmakers than the actual production itself. The problems of the meta-film reflect back on characters making it (with the epi-center being the male lead) in the tradition of 8-1/2 and Day for Night, but Yanagimachi revitalizes this tradition by depicting auteurs on the opposite end of the jaded spectrum. Instead of getting the insulated prospective of a world weary director, the viewer can drift from dilitante to neophyte with unbridled gusto. The grainy film stock and hand held camera mirrors the wide-eyed view of the world offered by the narrative. Despite the ending, the film left me with a feeling of possibility: no matter what hurdles stand before you--whether they by financial, thechnical, or emotional--if you are passionate about what you do, you'll get it done.

In that sense it works well as an analysis of what the life of a film student is like: drifting between friends, crews, and relationships; obsessively comparing, critiquing, and copying loved directors; and passionately watching the collective produce of your class because you know that if the art imitates life, then it can work the other way around too. But this movie isn't only for the initiated: just like all good movies, it invites you to walk in the shoes of its characters. The only difference is that Yanagimachi has already taken the first step for you by having his characters so immersed in their own film. And, honestly, it's a wonderful step to take.

For their class project a group of students makes a film with the title "The Bored Murderer." When the male lead falls ill, that role falls to the very weird Takeda. At first this meets with enthusiastic approval, but when he plays his role a little too intensely they begin to wonder if he is sane or not. Before too long we realize that this film is not only about the student film and all its problems of story, budget, cast, sites, etc., but about their own lives and how their film roles and real lives merge. Goofing around with their hand held videos and camera phones they film each other making the film. Problems abound in their personal lives even more than with their film project. The girlfriend of the director Naoki is badly co-dependent and tried to commit suicide. Naoki sleeps around. Nakajo, a famous film professor, has quit working, is lonely for his deceased wife, and is obsessed with a gorgeous student. The assistant director Kiyoko breaks down in tears. In this film about film-making, life imitates art. Who's Camus Anyway? won the Best Film award at the 2005 Tokyo International Film Festival. In Japanese with English subtitles.